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STAND BY ME 4K Steelbook Review
Rob Reiner’s Classic Stephen King Adaptation Stands the Test of Time.
Review disc provided by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, images captured by reviewer and subject to copyright. There are films that can land on you so hard at such a perfect time that they can almost make you afraid of revisiting them, of discovering that you have no solid tether to the person you were when the story meant so much to you and you’ve somehow invited an unwelcome stranger into your house. What makes Rob Reiner’s film — adapted from the Stephen King novella “The Body” — so effective, in spite of however long it’s been since the last meeting, is that it knows this all too well. For all that Stand By Me is absolutely one of those “1980s Nostalgia Movies,” it’s not in mourning for the time or the place in which its set, but for the people who pass through it.
Review disc provided by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, images captured by reviewer and subject to copyright. Set in Castle Rock, Oregon in 1959, the movie follows Gordie (Wil Wheaton), Chris (River Phoenix), Teddy (Corey Feldman), and Vern (Jerry O’Connell) as they hike out into the woods to find the body of a local boy who went missing, but what it’s “about” is far more dense than you’d expect from its sub-90 minute running time. The four 12-year-olds are clinging to their last summer before junior high school, and what starts as a lark to be hailed as local celebrities grows into a study of the men these boys will become, even as they cling fast to their youth on their journey to confront death.
Having one of the great observational writers of our time on source material duties couldn’t have hurt, but Stand By Me is universally counted among the best King adaptations for a reason. For all the plates he’s having to spin, Reiner captures a window into the world these characters inhabit so elegantly that it seems simple. The screenplay by Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon weaves through character introductions, flashbacks, story-within-a-story vignettes, and even a frame narrative without ever feeling rushed or crowded, and Reiner wrings incredible pathos out of his young actors alongside the “kids on an adventure” comedy and thrills. Scenes like the boys playing cards in their clubhouse or local bully Ace (Kiefer Sutherland) threatening Gordie and Chris on the street are the kind of invisible table setting that are fully functional in establishing relationships but also feel like a version of experiences these characters have had a hundred times before.
Review disc provided by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, images captured by reviewer and subject to copyright. The movie also features a meandering “story over plot” structure as the kids rove toward their backwoods destination. Between the seemingly direction-less structure and the keen observation of youth on the cusp of change, it’s almost like someone doing their version of a Miyazaki movie before that was a thing people shot for. Reiner had a knack in this era for movies that seem loosely-designed on the surface but are in fact tight as a drum. That serves him especially well here, but none of it works if the performances aren’t all keyed in just right. While the cast is packed with character actor legends and blistering up-and-comers, it’s a testament to Phoenix and Wheaton how much of the story rests on their shoulders and how natural they make it look.
Stand By Me paints a picture where the ugly shadows of the town these boys long to escape and the light of the bonds that keep them together — even if only for now — are inextricable. And while so many films about the longing for the days of our youth are ever looking behind, Reiner’s movie argues that the death of childhood finds rebirth by instead looking forward.
Review disc provided by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, images captured by reviewer and subject to copyright. Presentation:
There’s a case to be made for this being Rob Reiner’s prettiest film, and the 2160p Ultra High Definition conversion kicks up the quality from the Anniversary Blu-ray appreciably, filling the 1:85:1 frame with more detail and clarity than any other release by a long stretch of track.
The movie’s warm pastoral color palette and soft lighting really benefit from this transfer, and the dawn and night time scenes really show off the blacks nicely. Remastered from the 35mm negative and presented in Dolby Vision, this transfer really nails the “looking through a hazy backyard widow” aesthetic of Thomas Del Ruth’s cinematography while still capturing the fine details like minuscule ripples in the water or the fraying cords on the boy’s camping packs. The layer of grain never makes things feel overly fuzzy or murky, even in the dimmer scenes, adding texture instead of the over-slick plastic look of excessive scrubbing. It’s a beautiful picture seemingly without trying, which is how you know a lot of people tried very hard indeed to achieve this result.
Review disc provided by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, images captured by reviewer and subject to copyright. In addition to the English 5.1 mix from the earlier blu-ray, the 4k release of Stand By Me features both an English Dolby Atmos and English DTS-HD Mono option. Vocals are punchy and clear even when spoken low, and the bass doesn’t show off much except for when it’s time to run a train down the tracks or give a cowboy serial kick to a gunshot, and then it flexes tidily. What’s especially impressive is how vibrantly the background sounds come through, laying just under Jack Nitzsche’s snyth score to make the woods and fields really come alive as the kids stroll along.
Bonus Content:
It’s fortunate that the previous Blu-ray had a handful of solid exras, because this release barely adds to them. There’s exactly one set of new exclusive features in this release, and then the 25th Anniversary extras are on the included Blu-ray disc.
Disc 1 (4K UHD)
Deleted and Alternate Scenes – Presented in HD (6 min)
Disc 2 (Blu-Ray)
Picture-in-Picture Commentary – With Director Rob Reiner and actors Wil Wheaton and Corey Feldman
Audio Commentary – With Director Rob Reiner
Walking the Tracks: The Summer of Stand By Me – Making-of featurette, SD (37 min)
“Stand By Me” Music Video – SD (3 min)
Review disc provided by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, images captured by reviewer and subject to copyright. Stand By Me is available from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on 4k Steelbook, 4k Blu-ray, and Blu-ray disc.
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THE IRON CLAW Wrestles With the Joy and Burden of Family
Going into Sean Durkin’s The Iron Claw, I didn’t really know what to expect. The story of the Von Erich family and the crushing highs and staggering lows they experienced is something of which I was completely unaware. A friend of mine with deep knowledge of wrestling history told me not to read up on them before seeing the movie, so I didn’t. That preserved a level of shock value, but the best thing it did was leave me open. Even as the film moves through its sports drama and biopic paces, it keeps the audience locked into the perspective of second-eldest son, Kevin (Zac Efron). Doing so gives The Iron Claw a layer of depth that proves to be crushing by the end.
Efron, and his hulked out frame, is up to the challenge. I’ve always enjoyed him as an actor, more for his comedic chops than anything, but he is great. In a film overflowing with excellent performances (what else is new for a Sean Durkin film?), Efron is the sun everyone else revolves around. The first time Kevin appears onscreen, waking up to start another day of training, you can practically feel the pain coming off this man in waves. That sense only grows as Kevin navigates the ups and downs of his career, love life, and home life.
Durkin’s screenplay crafts scenes that allow the cast to hit multiple notes within any given moment. Obviously, that’s just good writing and acting. The Iron Claw does the thing of being so good at what it’s doing that it makes it look easy.
As presented in the film, everything that befalls the Von Erich family stems from one event: Fritz Von Erich’s failure to become the wrestling champion he wanted so badly. Unable to fulfill his own dream, Fritz did everything he could to achieve his dream through his sons. That opens up one of the most resonant themes of the film, which is exploration of the roles we choose for ourselves and what happens when we do or don’t live up to them. Nearly every character in the film is helping to facilitate Fritz’s goals. Holt McCallany plays Fritz as a stern father who loves his kids, but maybe not as much as he loves their potential.
Throughout the film the Von Erich boys find happiness on their own, only to have it snuffed out under Fritz’s watch. Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) is an Olympic-caliber discus thrower who got into the family business after the United States boycotted the Moscow Olympics. Younger brother Mike (Stanley Simons) was a musician at heart. Both, along with brother David (Harris Dickinson) go on to have the wrestling success that had once seemed a formality for Kevin. Through it all, the thing that anchors the boys is their unwavering love for each other. Through disappointment and struggle, as long as the boys have each other to lean on they’ll be fine. In the ring or sneaking out of their parents’ house to go to, their bond is unbreakable.
Rounding out the ensemble are Maura Tierney as Doris, the family matriarch, and Lily James as Kevin’s wife Pam. They create an interesting dynamic despite not sharing many scenes together. Doris is yet another person caught in Fritz’s ambitions, and Pam represents a form of escape. The characters can’t help but feel like sacrifices to the biopic formula, women there to support the men in their lives. But there are a couple moments where Tierney and James transcend. They get arguably the film’s best scene, a quiet moment before a funeral. It’s a moment emphasizing Doris’ past, Pam’s future, and their shared present.
It all comes back to Kevin, who spent his whole life trying to fill the roles of others. The first born Von Erich son died as a young child, leaving Kevin to take on the oldest son mantle. Then he tried to be what his father wanted, only to take a seat as his brothers surpassed his wrestling success. In a scene near the end, Kevin watches his sons play football in their yard. It’s an idyllic image fraught with so much happiness and anguish that reduces Kevin to tears. Thinking of the ensuing conversation he has with his sons still makes my eyes well up weeks after seeing the film.
It bears mentioning that there is a sixth brother Durkin has chosen to omit. This may raise a stink for those who demand fidelity in their films, but since I didn’t know the family story going in, it had no impact on me. I learned about this after the fact, but I can’t say it changed my thoughts on the film. What Durkin and his cast, Efron in particular, have crafted is tremendous.
The Iron Claw opens in theaters December 22nd.
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Discovering the Secret, Stylish World of EILEEN
“I live a little differently than most people.”
It’s so hard for a film to pull off a surprise today. Most audiences tend to see every major twist and revelation coming before the characters, or at least say that they do to their friends once the movie has ended. Logic suggests that this has less to do with the level of cleverness on the part of the audience and more with the fact that they’ve simply memorized the conventions of whatever film genre they’re watching. Regardless of which one may be the actual case, it’s tough for any movie to put one over on an audience these days. Eileen doesn’t have that problem and instead, enjoys a third-act reveal that’s so out of left field, but also fits with the events that have occurred so far. It’s a twist that earns its audience’s gasps and manages to take Eileen to a darker place than before. This turn may also be the reason that the film might not work for some watching, if only because it proves that Eileen was never going to be the film anyone thought it was.
Based on the novel of the same name, the 1960s-set Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie) plays the title character, a young woman stuck in the small Massachusetts town she grew up in. Eileen works a miserable job as an assistant in a boys’ reform school and lives in the same house as her alcoholic father named Jim (Shea Whigham). When the Harvard-educated psychologist Rebecca (Anne Hathaway) joins the faculty, Eileen finds herself instantly mesmerized by her. As she becomes more and more drawn to Rebecca’s beauty and worldliness, Eileen suddenly sees her life headed in a direction she never saw coming.
Eileen is being sold as a thriller, a genre that does indeed fit the story being told. The opening notes of the score and titles immediately set the stage for a tense and mysterious experience. William Oldroyd’s film is a slow burn of a thriller that works thanks to the tension that keeps bubbling under the surface in every scene. But Eileen is first and foremost a character piece, exploring its title character with a curiosity that doesn’t judge her even when we venture inside the darkest areas of her mind. The film presents Eileen as a stunted little girl yearning to explore herself as a woman. Driven by her desires, Eileen’s longing for the idea of a life outside of the one she’s always lived allows her to be understood, even at her lowest moments. The film’s moody music and soft, faded colors give this the perfect sense of place for Eileen’s world, putting us right in the hopelessness she calls her life. The faded environment Eileen lives in applies to everything and everyone except Rebecca, who quickly emerges as the only bright and vibrant element our main character recognizes through both her appearance and demeanor. Once Eileen locks eyes with Rebecca, we know her life has now changed.
Even in today’s filmmaking world, Eileen exists as a rarity in that it is a buzzed-about film that offers two great roles for women that are both different and intriguing with more than meets the eye. The repressed Eileen is a compelling enough character who becomes even more compelling in her reaction to Rebecca’s entrance into her life. It’s easy to see Rebecca as the fantasy of the kind of woman Eileen would like to be. The audience watches as Rebecca becomes the root of Eileen’s obsession, but in a sense, it’s almost as if she conjured her up. Witnessing the way Rebecca exists in Eileen’s world, it feels like the latter created her in her own mind and gave her the kinds of characteristics and freedom she wished she had. This is heavily suggested when the two meet for drinks and Rebecca switches their names at the bar before convincing Eileen that they dance together. There’s a growing intensity in their relationship that parallels the end of Eileen’s rope when it comes to her own life. This is signified most by Eileen’s appearance, which becomes less demure the more Rebecca rubs off on her. When it’s time for Rebecca’s exit, the fantasy is all but finished, and a new reality sets in.
Had Eileen been made in the 80s, I could have so easily seen the likes of Jodie Foster and Jessica Lange in the lead roles. While McKenzie and Hathaway make their characters their own, it’s hard not to see shades of Foster’s Clarice Starling or Lange’s Cora Smith being channeled in ways that only heighten the work that these two actresses do. Watching them interact in scenes together is interesting due to their unique takes and styles. McKenzie is internal, Hathaway is open and the result is just the kind of inimitable chemistry needed for the story to work. Both ladies carry the film but are also ably supported by Whigham (never better) and Marin Ireland as the mother of one of Rebecca’s patients.
Going back to the 1960s and the world of Eileen, it’s impossible to overstate just how much the film feels like it belongs in that era. Having not read the novel, I can’t say that the story was always set during that period, but watching it on film, I can’t imagine Eileen existing in any other decade. With a score that’s just as beguiling as Rebecca, and end credits which would feel right home during that time, Eileen all but feels like a 60s movie. But how would the film have played in the 60s? A few explicit shots would have been removed, for sure, but part of me can see Eileen existing in that cinematic landscape. Subtext and all, the film does serve as a testament to the kinds of films from before that pushed boundaries and scared censors in order to bring the dark truth of humanity to the screen. Eileen may feel like an obvious throwback simply because of its aesthetics, but its real homage runs a little deeper.
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POOR THINGS is an Indulgent and Beautiful Odyssey
Emma Stone leads a joyous, bizarre journey that becomes director Yorgos Lanthimos’ best film
Stills courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. Ever since his feature Dogtooth propelled him to international heights, Yorgos Lanthimos has become our international laureate of provocative absurdity. There’s fiendish glee in how the Greek auteur exposes the ridiculous constructions of social niceties, whether it’s in the distant past of The Favourite’s Stuart-era England or more modern mundanity like The Killing of a Sacred Deer or The Lobster. Ranging such topics as sexual politics, conformity, and more overt systems of control, Lanthimos heightens the strange and outlandish nature of his characters’ self-made prisons, often crushing his characters under the very wheels they’ve built for themselves. Faced with such systemic, inescapable horror rife with all manner of grotesque, self-satisfying behavior; of course, the only rebellious response possible is to laugh.
But what makes Lanthimos’ latest, Poor Things, such an effective and divine miracle compared to his other work is the presence of the one thing that would have seemed so out of place among his past comic tragedies–hope.
Set in a phantasmagorical representation of the early 1900s, Poor Things follows the accelerated development of seemingly child-minded Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), the live-in patient of the secretive, disfigured surgeon Godwin “God” Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Newly-hired assistant Max (Ramy Youssef) charts Bella’s astonishing progress re-learning words, concepts, and the basics of human behavior seemingly as a child’s mind trapped in the body of an adult. While Max grows to love Bella, God sees her as a benevolent experiment, one where he may push humanity’s understanding of their own behavior into uncharted territory. A philandering lawyer, Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), sees an insidious opportunity in Bella as an infantilized woman, and spirits her off across the globe as his pet as much as his lover. Finally free of the house that’s been a comfortable prison, however, Bella seizes the chance to explore and indulge in whatever pleasures and horrors life has to offer. Her rapturous journey sets ablaze whatever normalcies Bella’s captors and companions have constructed…and radically transforms how both they and she see the world.
Past Lanthimos films have centered on a feverish embrace of inanimate objects to create meaning–including the Wikipedia-esque lists of hobbies as dating profiles of The Lobster, the insulating security found in the objects of Sacred Deer, and how personal items left behind allow actors to impersonate the dead in Alps. Lanthimos and frequent writing collaborator Tony McNamara elevate this to fantastic new heights with Poor Things, charting the beautifully surreal journey of how a Victorian woman with a literal child’s brain recognizes and champions a developing sense of agency and self-determination. Over time, Bella repudiates the idea that she can be treated like a controllable object because she’s a woman; instead, Bella uses her sense of freedom and choice as the most subversive weapon she can wield. Emma Stone is fiendishly funny in this film precisely because of how straight she plays what would be an cartoonish character elsewhere. Even as she learns concepts the world has already embraced, it’s the world that’s absurd to Bella, with its ritualistically backward notions of how people of any gender are expected to behave in “polite society.” Stone thrusts Bella into ridiculous and provocative situations with fitting childlike wonder and confidence that quickly rubs off on the audience, even if it’s derailing a dinner party to jerkingly dance a solo waltz or threatening to punch a loud baby.
Equally entertaining is the film’s supporting cast, who all approach their roles with outlandish aplomb. Dafoe’s towering persona is wonderfully maniacal, hidden under overlapping scars and makeup as if he escaped from his own Frankenstein feature, and embracing his traumatic past and consequential medical quirks with scientific curiosity (a repeating gag involving bubbles is beautifully bizarre). The cracked mirror image of Ryan Gosling’s Ken in Barbie, Ruffalo’s Wedderburn is a revolting himbo whose imagined status as a Victorian sex symbol is undercut at every turn by his buffoonery. Duncan may suck down oysters and champagne with the best of them, but his sense of power and status exists only as far as others can support it. The dynamic between Bella and Duncan quickly reveals just how fast both are preceding along tracks of adulthood and infancy–especially as Bella’s independence takes a fitting blowtorch to Duncan’s masculinity and ego.
The world is also wondrously realized as how Bella must see it–full of alien and extravagant beauty and wonder. There are almost no straight lines to any of the architecture, as if using children’s drawings as blueprints willed to fantastical reality, while colorful red and green smoke billows into skies of stars that appear like firing synapses. The gratingly inventive score by Jerskin Fendrix also tracks alongside Bella’s development, evolving from surreal plinks and thrums to an eventual symphonic blast of triumph, with all of the frantic strings and synths that can accompany her highs and lows.
While it’s hilarious to see Bella break taboo after taboo, it’s nothing but inspiring to see how she translates that rebellious drive into her fledgling sense of independence. Defying the expectations of her rakish captor, her magnanimous creator, and everyone along her path, Bella is resolute in her belief that only she will decide her fate. She strikes up conversations with strangers (lovely to see Jerrod Carmichael and Hanna Schygulla here), embracing new perspectives even if they initially terrify her. Bella embraces the financial and sexual freedom of being a prostitute, to the gut-busting horror of Wedderburn. Every experience, regardless of whether it may affect how the world sees Bella or how Bella sees the world, is one with the potential for growth. Kathryn Hunter, the gem of Joel Coen’s Macbeth, is equally magnetic as Madam Swiney, who oversees Bella’s career as a sex worker–imparting to her how horror, sadness, and corruption are necessary elements of life that make all of us more well-rounded people. While Bella does face some of humanity’s worst during this stretch of her journey, Swiney’s self-serving wisdom does aid Bella in confronting and overcoming humanity’s worst aspects and actions–transforming her into the epitome of a well-rounded, independent hero.
In Poor Things, the rigorous pursuit of knowledge inside and out becomes the surprising antidote to whatever damage the world and its cruel systems might inflict. The strange and alien elements across Dogtooth and The Favorite may be united in their unflinching cruelty–but Poor Things’ embrace of self-actualization is an armor of hope that provides a potential path to survival. It’s a marked point of growth for filmmaker Lanthimos, one befitting his central character: he’s evolved his signature incisive absurdity by tempering it with new optimism, all without sacrificing any of his love of the horrific or macabre. This cinematic transformation, coupled with a fantastic ensemble and jaw-dropping results from talent behind the camera, makes Poor Things one of the best films of 2023.
Poor Things is currently in limited release from Searchlight Pictures, with an expanded wide release on December 22, 2023.
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Surrealism on the Silver Screen – DREAM SCENARIO and POOR THINGS
Moviegoers this weekend have options for not one but two strange surreal and darkly funny dramatic comedies.
This is one of the most interesting box office weekends in some time, especially with some very strong offerings from Japan – Godzilla Minus One expanding its hugely successful run, and Hayao Miyazaki’s final opus, The Boy and The Heron making its opening.
But that’s not the only interesting pairing going on this weekend. We’ve also got dueling surreal comedies – both American productions, directed by European filmmakers, featuring characters who are university biologists, and putting familiar A-list stars in some of the most challenging and impressive acting roles of their careers.
Dream Scenario
From Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli, A24’s Dream Scenario features Nicolas Cage in an absurd “dream scenario” that soon becomes a nightmare.
Paul Matthews is for all intents and purposes a perfectly normal and unassuming university professor. Like anyone, he has his professional challenges and a family life with its ups and downs. Basic life stuff.
Not at all a particularly interesting person, and perhaps even a bit of a schmuck, Paul suddenly becomes the most interesting person in the world when the internet uncovers a phenomenon: he’s a recurring character in the dreams of millions of people around the world, who are shocked to discover he actually exists.
What’s initially something of a personal windfall for Paul, who innately craves attention and approval, gradually becomes a nightmare as he grapples with the dark side of fame, pressures on his family, and the betrayal of being universally loved until he’s not, as a world that’s initially fascinated with his inexplicable presence becomes increasingly horrified at his intrusion.
Nicolas Cage gets to flex his range mightily. Internally, Paul is a human with a unique expertise, a family, and hopes and aspirations. But to most, he’s just some guy, an NPC in a larger world. Paul’s natural demeanor is milktoasty, but as his Kafka-esue nightmare scenario of sudden fame, bad decisions, and betrayals takes its toll, we see other sides of his personality emerge.
Despite its grim subject matter, the films is genuinely kind of delightful. There’s a lot of dark humor at Paul’s expense as he’s a sad-sack who gets kicked around and finds himself in absurd and uncomfortable situations. Yet we’re also pretty sympathetic to his plight even as he uncovers new ways to makes things worse for himself.
Cage is, to a degree greater than most, an actor who’s had some dizzying ups and downs. His larger-than-life acting has been both praised and reviled, he’s had highly publicized debt tax debts with the IRS, and he’s been one of the most prevalent involuntary subjects of internet memeification. It really is interesting to think of what experience Cage brings to the table on a personal level, which perhaps no one else could.
The film’s many dream sequences, where we see the perspectives of various characters as “Paul” enters their dreams, often behaving in absurd and non-sequitur fashion as dream logic goes, are often hilarious and always interesting, and the film’s final moments make surprisingly poignant impression.
Poor Things
Opening this weekend, Poor Things is the latest from Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, whose deeply polarizing output over the last few years – including The Lobster, The Favorite, and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, has been both critically acclaimed and oft reviled.
Polarizing can be a good thing; it means you’re doing at least one thing right: challenging your viewers to have a response.
The film initially begins from male perspectives, focused on respected but bizarre experimental biologist and instructor Dr. Baxter (Willem Dafoe) and his younger protege, Max (Ramy Youssef). Max becomes the heavily scarred doctor’s helper in his newest and most daring experiment: Bella (Emma Stone), a woman whom the doctor returned to life after discovering her freshly drowned corpse, by means which will later be made known.
Bella is physically an adult, but her mind reverted to that of a toddler, and Baxter has taken on a fatherly role in her second upbringing. She is shielded from the world but becomes the obsession of hedonistic scoundrel Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) who discovers her existence and, consumed with lust and the idea of being able to control a childlike woman for his sexual fulfillment, whisks her away on his foreign travels.
And thus begins the bizarre and eventually triumphant journey of Bella Baxter into womanhood. Bella’s venture into the world changes her in a way that her sheltered life never could, but what’s great about her story is that she rises to the occasion and responds to every challenge thrown at her. Because of her unique mind and upbringing, she’s undaunted by social mores or prejudices, and generally just playing life by her own rules, quickly outgrowing Wedderburn and becoming an independent woman, and eventually returning home an almost different person than the girl who left.
Stylistically, the film is both gorgeous and grotesque, utilizing through different cinematographic and musical techniques to evolve the story along with the character, initially harsh and misanthropic with a jarring score and fisheye lenses. As Bella develops, so too does the film’s presentation. I was initially very put off by the film’s earlier sequences and disturbing and violent imagery, but the movie spends the rest of its tale moving the needle back in the other direction and developing Bella to a character to cheer for: intelligent, brave, and resourceful.
Regardless of where you might land with the film’s narrative or extreme choices (Lanthimos is definitely a polarizing filmmaker and his work can be difficult or annoying to watch), it’s a sumptuous work of artistic achievement with incredible steampunk-inspired production design, lavish sets, stunning cinematography, and a unique and deliberate score – which I kind of hated, but it’s definitely doing exactly what it set out to do.
I’m not as enamored with the film as many of my colleagues but it’s one which I’ve somewhat come around to; initially repulsed by its grotesquery and extreme tendencies, but somewhat won over by the agency of its unflappable protagonist and its feminist attitude of resisting male control, indelible artistry, and winsome conclusion.
A/V Out.
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The High School Perspective – Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour
The Eras Tour hits streaming December 13th. It’s not to be missed!
There are only a few people who can get me to break my yearly October Scary Movie Binge: among them Martin Scorsese and Taylor Swift. If I’m honest, it surprised me too; but there I was, at the theater to watch a concert movie instead of the usual horror my soul craves.
But Taylor Swift created a moment with the Eras Tour concert film; all movies want to create a moment, but few do. Barbie and Oppenheimer did earlier this year, each needing the other for the cultural movement that was Barbenheimer. It felt as if everyone saw these films, even those who don’t usually go to the movies; and, as a result, both films, each good in their own right, made incredible amounts of money.
I thought Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour came out randomly on October 13th, I’ve since learned nothing Swift does is random. 13 is her favorite number, her lucky number, and she loves to take on industry norms, like the idea that October 13th should be reserved for horror films. As she does when she takes on an industry, she won. The Exorcist: Believer had to vacate its original release date, and nearly every theater in America was bejeweled. Millions were made in presales, a moment was created, and I wasn’t going to miss it.
Full disclosure: Going into the film, I was not a fan of her catalog, but I respected Swift as an artist. I didn’t have a favorite song, nor could I name a handful of them. The film changed all that. Swift is an incredibly talented songwriter and performer; her stage presence is an infectious joy. She’s having a great time, and therefore the audience has a great time. The set itself is a site to behold: monstrous screens, amazing imagery, a moss covered piano and cabin in the woods, all of which is backdrop to countless costume changes. Everything has a weight, the weight required to span eras. It is clear she played a part in every decision made.
What impresses me most, though, now that I’ve been brought into the Swiftdom by way of the concert film, is what Swift has done with her own catalog. Rerecording 4 of 6 albums whose rights were sold to a private equity firm in 2020, Swift has literally reclaimed her voice. Truly, a pioneer in taking on the music industry, and reclaiming the artist as center, not the C-suite. Artists of all sorts have to go through a gauntlet of agents, managers, executives, and other people in suits made-up of red tape just to get something created and out into the world. Often, in the end, what they’ve created doesn’t even belong to them. Swift bucked the system, created her own way forward, and most important, left a trail of breadcrumbs for her fellow recording artists to follow. Scooter Braun probably thought Swift would never go to all the trouble; he could not have been more wrong, and he’s paying for it where it likely hurts most- his wallet.
Similarly, this concert film completely bypassed the studio system and went straight to distributor, AMC. The move was so bold, and early tracking overwhelming positive for the Eras Tour, that studios vacated the slot and stepped out of her way. If Swift wanted to own October’s Friday the 13th, it was hers. In so doing, she reiterated her mantra; we need not take the well-worn path, we can always make our own way. In so doing, Swift has opened the door for artists, from Bryan Adams re-recording his old songs to Olivia Rodrigo negotiating her contract to own her songs outright; and this was just the beginning. Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce not only opened big on December 1st with nearly $30 million worldwide, which is historically a docile time for the box office, but the Beyonce directed picture is currently carrying a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
I did not attend the Eras Tour concert. But watching the film brought me right there, front and center. Director Sam Wrench cut the most effective and evocative angles. And while I could only name a few songs going into the film, now every song I hear I think, “I could listen to that again and again.” Obviously, Swifties loved the film, earning a rare A+ CinemaScore. The overwhelming positive feedback has been well documented from TikTok to The Times, but the surprising story here is the effect the film had on the rest of us who just wanted to be a part of the moment. We found more to love than we ever expected.
Final words: Glad I went. Glad I was a part of the moment. Had a really good time, as did seemingly all in the packed theater. Maybe my soul needed Eras even if it was craving horror.
Eager to be Pleased Friday Night Reaction: A
Cinephile Review: A
Critical Response: A
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BARBARELLA Screen Comparisons: How Arrow’s New Restoration Stacks Up Against Paramount’s 2012 Release
This article contains several comparisons which contrast the older Paramount Blu-ray transfer with the new Arrow restoration. The frames aren’t necessarily exact matches, but should give a solid indication of the visual differences.
Jane Fonda stars as the sexy spacefarer Barbarella in director Roger Vadim’s lushly-designed cosmic adventure based on the classic French comics. Barbarella originally hit Blu-ray in 2012, with subsequent re-releases and repackages. The Blu-ray is frankly an excellent one, and it probably presented a challenge for Arrow to try to top.
Arrow’s new 4K restoration is taken from the original negative, and is now available to own on 4K UHD and Blu-ray, so we took it for a test drive!
Please note that all images herein are 1080p Blu-ray screen captures (not 4K).
My observations of the new release:
- On a Blu-ray to Blu-ray level, a slight boost in clarity and fineness of grain (the 2012 print was already excellent). Better still on the 4K disc (not pictured).
- The colors are often more rich and vibrant, sometimes much more so.
- Some of the framing is a little different (not necessarily better or worse – just different).
The “slider” images below allow for a quick comparison of the stills from both discs by color, cleanliness, framing, but are downscaled and not representative of the full 1080p resolution. These are only illustrative of differences, and not definitive, especially in terms of resolution and clarity.
For a truer direct comparison, it’s recommended to download the image files and view them at full size on a large monitor with 1080p or higher resolution. You can download all images at full resolution in a single file zipfile below:
This film’s celebrated opening titles sequence offered some surprises. The framing on this frame is quite different, and the title text bits, which bounce about madly all over the screen, are noticeably crisper and whiter on the older transfer – perhaps artificially so as the result of some filter enhancements? While the white letters are softer in the new transfer, they also seem more fittingly filmlike and native to the image.
Left: Old Paramount // Right: New Arrow Arrow’s new edition is noticeably vivid, with a more prominent the color saturation. On other films this might invite scrutiny, but it seems fittingly perfect for Barbarella, a film which is intentionally guady and celebrated for its wildly out-of-this-world 60s-chic production design.
Left: Old Paramount // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Paramount // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Paramount // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Paramount // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Paramount // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Paramount // Right: New Arrow This is a gorgeously designed film with a lot of eye candy; here are some additional comparisons with no particular notes except to give a more rounded analysis. Blu-to-Blu, it’s hard to see a lot of difference – as I mentioned, the original Blu-ray was already pretty superb.
I don’t think I can recommend or justify the standard Blu-ray edition purely in terms of being a visual upgrade (though its ample extras package makes a more convicing argument). But the gorgeous 4K UHD disc is a jump worth making.
Left: Old Paramount // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Paramount // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Paramount // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Paramount // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Paramount // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Paramount // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Paramount // Right: New Arrow -
TREMORS 2 Screen Comparisons – Arrow’s New Restoration Against Universal’s 2013 Blu-ray
This article contains several comparisons which contrast the older Universal Blu-ray transfer with the new Arrow restoration. The frames aren’t necessarily exact matches, but should give a solid indication of the visual differences.
New on 4K UHD and returning to Blu-ray from Arrow Video, Tremors 2 makes its return to home video in a terrific new release that features a new 4K restoration from the original negative, approved by director S.S. Wilson.
The first three Tremors sequels originally hit Blu-ray as part of the “Tremors Attack Pack” 4-movie collection in 2013, which was an attractively priced set for what was then the entire series, but featured rather lousy PQ (likely from the existing DVD masters of the time) and paired the movies on discs.
You may recall the huge boost in resolution and grain clarity when Arrow released the first Tremors movie, which we covered at the time. It’s a very similar situation here (unsurprising since they shared a disc), and I’m once again sharing comparisons of the new and old editions. Please note that all images herein are 1080p Blu-ray screen captures (not 4K).
My observations of the new release:
- A huge boost in clarity and fineness of grain (very typical for Arrow releases).
- Much brighter, especially in external shots
- Warmer color timing
The “slider” images below allow for a quick comparison of the stills from both discs by color, cleanliness, framing, but are downscaled and not representative of the full 1080p resolution. These are only illustrative of differences, and not definitive, especially in terms of resolution and clarity.
For a truer direct comparison, it’s recommended to download the image files and view them at full size on a large monitor with 1080p or higher resolution. You can download all images at full resolution in a single file zipfile below:
Right off the bat, the opening titles present an immediate indicator of the improved definition. The text, which previously had some unsightly edge enhancement and spotchiness, is now crisp and solid.
Left: Old Universal // Right: New Arrow Arrow’s new edition absolutely throttles the old Blu-ray in terms of clarity and fine grain. This is especially noticeable on fabric and hair.
Left: Old Universal // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Universal // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Universal // Right: New Arrow The older transfer had poor presentation of grain, rendering it with chunky, ring-like artifacts. This is noticeable in solid expanses such as skies and walls.
Left: Old Universal // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Universal // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Universal // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Universal // Right: New Arrow As some of this shots above already demonstrate, the new restoration is brighter in appearance, with more relaxed contast. This is especially evident on outdoor daytime scenes with natural sunlight.
This feels like an intentional choice, given the film’s desert sun-drenched settings, but sometimes it seems a little too bright, and blue skies more prone than before to look closer to white.
Closely related, the color timing is a little warmer and there’s more rosy skintones and overall general pinkish tendencies.
The tonal differences are where opinion weighs more heavily, and these transfers do look quite different, so I’m focusing a little more on this area. I think viewing this as stills, especially at a smaller size, may give the impression that the older transfer has the edge, especially since the higher contrast gives the illusion of more definition. However in motion, and at full size (offered as a zip file at the beginning of this article), the new look is stunning and befitting of the desert environs.
I will also note that these are direct Blu-to-Blu comparisons, and I don’t have the 4K disc to see how it stacks up, but I can imagine it makes even more impressive display of the fine resolution, and the option of the HDR component is likely to give it an additional edge in terms of color representation.
Left: Old Universal // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Universal // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Universal // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Universal // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Universal // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Universal // Right: New Arrow 
Left: Old Universal // Right: New Arrow -
POOR THINGS: F#ck the Patriarchy!
Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things could be one of the sharpest cinematic satires of the year and a film that makes you rethink how you watch movies. The latest by the director of Dogtooth, The Favorite and The Lobster has him pairing off with the writer of Cruella of all films – Tony McNamara to adapt the tome by Alasdair Gray Poor Things: Episodes from the Early Life of Archibald McCandless M.D.. As the film begins in a fantastical take on the 1920s a young med student Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) is recruited by his horribly disfigured, yet charismatic Frankenstein-esque looking teacher Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) to observe an “experiment”. This just happens to be his “daughter” Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a beautiful young woman who appears to be severely mentally disabled. It’s even remarked upon “how beautiful she is for a retard”. The film predictably has the med student falling for the beautiful young mentally impaired ingénue.
And because we’ve been conditioned by Hollywood, we as an audience think almost nothing of it.
In the beginning this romance feels very much like many others we’ve seen until now. That is until it’s revealed that Bella was reanimated by Dr. Baxter after jumping to her death and wasn’t his daughter, he just acquired her recently deceased body. She was however pregnant at the time of her death, and the doctor not wanting to bring back the tainted mind of a suicidal woman, instead removes the mind of her unborn child from her womb and inserts that brain inside the of her mother. This shocking reveal really imbues the rest of the film with a searing subtext as Hollywood loves to infantilize its naive female protagonists in film, and here we discover the wide-eyed Emma Stone literally has the brain of an infant. The film then chooses to operate as you would expect in a Hollywood movie, comically and earth scorchingly so, and by doing so contaminates and annihilates every other film you’ve seen by having her possible suitors happy with Bella simply as she is, as she dreams of bettering herself.
In short order Bella is basically offered up by her “father”, who she refers to as “God”, in a loaded bit of subtext – to her caregiver as a wife. It’s here the silver tongued playboy lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) comes into play to write up a prenup, not knowing about Bella’s origin.This is just as the woman discovers her first vice, which is sex and she is seduced by Duncan, who convinces her to run away with him immediately after being betrothed and start this weird and surreal journey of self discovery through this fairy tale world of Lanthimos’ creation. Dafoe’s character, who only wants what’s best for his creation, reluctantly lets her leave and the film goes back and forth as we see the doctors attempt to trap lightning in a bottle again with another “experiment” once again attempting to tame the female spirit.
In Bella’s travels she’s a trophy wife, a literal whore, and a student. All of these are used to explore these ideas of women on film by Lanthimos and Stone and how they are pretty much all broken. While the first act explores the infantilization of women on screen the second act digs into female sexuality and how it’s portrayed on screen and the double standard and slutshaming that results. The third and final act explores from a character standpoint while we have Bella attending med school and thereby ascending to godhood in a manner of speaking, in a man’s world. Interspersed are some rather frank discussions as Bella owns every part of her journey to where she was going unapologetically and the film uses this sort of bizarre 1920s-esque setting to really hammer home some of these points, since while a lot has changed it’s still the same.
The character of Bella has Emma Stone using the medium of cinema to essentially deconstruct how women and their bodies have been infantilized, exploited and then considered damaged goods because they “bore it all”, even though that’s what they’re essentially pressured/groomed to do. It’s her performance that at times borders on performance art, that is attempting to dissect and deconstruct these archaic constructs that drives this story that to some might simply be a funny story about a girl who does a lot of terrible things, but to others something much more profound. Bella is never sorry and that’s the point, she never apologizes and when she finally comes face to face with her “God” at the end, surprisingly he is nothing but proud of how she was able to break free of her many limitations and pursue her path of enlightenment.
My only real knock on the film is the use of cinematographic styles that has Lanthimos utilizing fish-eye, pinhole, black and white and color in the same 10 minute span. It can be a bit distracting and I really couldn’t grasp why this is narratively important to the film or the story, but trust me I was trying. That said Poor Things is a masterpiece and a very important film that hit particularly hard for me as the symbolism started to click in, and the metaphors and satirical underpinnings started to reveal themselves and its lessons are something that are now more apparent than ever. This all rested on Emma Stone’s capable shoulders who really masterfully takes us on this journey with her and evolves this character from a literal infant to a med student in a two hour span in some seriously impressive character work. While some may get hung up on either the raunchy humor, or the nudity, these are simply distractions aimed at those not ready to tackle the film on its own terms.
Think of Poor Things as the level 2 to the feminism in cinema discourse that started with Gerwig’s Barbie earlier this year.
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OPPENHEIMER Packs a Punch on Any Screen
Christopher Nolan’s 4K-UHD release reminds us of the potency of cinema, and the importance of physical media
With a box office take approaching a billion dollars, news of 4K/Blu-ray releases selling out nationwide, and hefty buzz going into awards season, Christopher Nolan’s latest effort is undeniably one of the cinematic success stories of 2023. Perhaps surprising given the film is at it’s core a biopic, and a meditation on the unleashing of a world changing power. Perhaps unsurprising given Nolan’s previous success with cerebral blockbusters such as Dunkirk, Interstellar, Inception, and Tenet. While there are interweaving stories and time-frames here, they all converge on the man and the moment. An enthralling look at the race against time to beat the Nazis to the A-bomb, and the aftermath of it’s detonation, as the destructive force sends shockwaves through the social and political arena, and the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer.
The core of the film is the journey taken by Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) from his precocious days as a student of theoretical physics, through his rise in academic, and eventually his being selected by one Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves Jr. (Matt Damon) to spearhead an effort to beat the Nazi menace in the USA’s development of the world’s first atomic bomb. The effort, from 1942 to 1946, involved the recruitment of the foremost physicists and mathematicians and engineers to collaborate at the newly founded Los Alamos Labs in New Mexico. More than a research facility, this was a secure community built to house these academics, their families and support staff, for their long haul effort to crack the atom.
Nolan, ever the fan of non-linear or parallel story-lines, dips back and forth in time to flesh out other aspects of this enigmatic man and others involved in the project. Most notably two key periods. The first, centered around Oppenheimer’s secret 1954 security hearing where he was faced with efforts to discredit him. A response to his growing prominence as an outspoken force against the ongoing development of the H-bomb program. The second, focused on the 1958 confirmation hearing of Lewis Strauss’ (Robert Downey Jr.) to become President Eisenhower’s Secretary of Commerce. Strauss being a key political figure in the development of the Atomic weapon (and energy) program, and the man predominantly responsible for tearing down Oppenheimer to ensure his own ascension.
Politics and power. Hypotheses and equations. Period piece meets legal drama. Various components that could be dry, or poorly composed. In Nolan’s hands, it make for some of the most compelling, propulsive, and dynamic storytelling you’ll see this, or any year. This is not a historical drama that seeks to chronicle the horrors unleashed upon the Japanese, but instead focus on the man and the moment when Pandora’s box was opened. The film also mirrors another tale, one of a man birthing a monster, Frankenstein. Oppenheimer is the epitome of a driven scientist. Focused, detached, driven. The urgency of their success in beating the Nazis is clear, the aftermath of what they unleash only starts to sink in once it’s too late to turn back. The film also draws from the myth of Prometheus, who took fire from the Gods and gave it to mankind, forever changing their fate and ensuring his perpetual doom. Oppenheimer isn’t quite tethered to a rock and subjected to having an eagle eat his liver for eternity as punishment, but the moral and political consequence of his achievement certainly serves as a test of his character and fortitude.
It’s a masterful turn from Cillian Murphy who shoulders more than just the narrative, but the entire weight of what the film is reckoning with. A glacier like surface, especially those deep-baby blues, perpetuating this enigmatic figure. Murphy’s delivery and physicality convey the early airs of a creative force, to the later hollowed out shell of a man, quietly internalizing a sense of regret and atonement. Oppenheimer showcases a ludicrously stacked ensemble. Benny Safdie, Josh Harnett, Alden Ehrenreich, Jason Clarke, David Krumholtz, Alex Wolff, Dane DeHaan, Kenneth Branagh, Macon Blair, Matthew Modine, Tom Conti, and Olivia Thirlby, to name a notable slice of the talent involved. Matt Damon as Groves, the military man overseeing the project adds a much needed gruff charm to counter the academic edge that infuses the film, while Gary Oldman has a brief, but glorious appearance as President Truman. Robert Downey Jr will (rightly) see plenty of buzz come awards season, and it’s also worth highlighting the work of Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh as J Robert’s wife Kitty Oppenheimer, and his mistress Jean Tatlock respectively. Both crucial aspects of the film, and partners to Murphy, that help to lay out more of the flawed humanity that makes up this titular figure.
The film exudes quality in every element of its craft. The script, from Nolan, Kai Bird and Martin Sherw, is enthralling, as well as brilliantly structured. Stunning cinematography from Hoyte van Hoytema showcases superb production design, with attention to period detail. Sound design is a thunderous affair, which combined with Ludwig Göransson’s muscular score, makes for one of the most visceral experiences of the year. Nolan’s direction comes with it’s usual sense of aplomb. Oppenheimer is propulsive and relentlessly compelling, whether depicting a cross-examination in a boxy office space, or experiential sequences that dance within the atomic realm. An indelible work, that underscores the drive that comes with discovery, and the flaws deep within humanity.
The Package
Visually, Oppenheimer is a knockout. In IMAX, vibrant and visceral images were burned onto our retinas and into our minds. It all but feels like a guaranteed Oscar for Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema. The home video release, while obviously lacking the scale of the movie theater, does an outstanding job at conveying the work that went into the film’s visuals and compositions. Superb detail and texture. Crisp colors enhanced by deep inky blacks. It’s a flawless transfer, and likely to become one of your new go to picks when you want to show off the image quality of your home system. Beyond the superb visuals, the release is also supported by a host of extra features that further appreciation for Nolan’s feature, as well as the talented folk that contributed to it:
- The Story of Our Time: The Making of Oppenheimer – Running over 70 minutes, this is an exhaustive dive into the making of the film. Drawing from interviews, behind the scenes footage, crew conversations, and more, it covers all areas of the production. It;s actually broken down into 7segments: Now I am Become Death, The Luminaries, The Manhattan Project, The Devil of the Details, Walking a Mile, Can You Hear the Music?, and We Can Perform This Miracle
- Innovations in Film: 65mm Black and White Film in Oppenheimer: Hoyte van Hoytema and tech crew discuss the experience of utilizing the monochrome approach taken for select sequences in the film, from technical problems during filming and processing, to integration into the whole feature
- To End All War: Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb – A historically tilted featurette that delves into the truth behind the titular figure and his involvement in the Manhattan project
- Meet the Press Q&A Panel: Oppenheimer: A panel putting together Nolan along with some of the key figures depicted in the film, whereupon they give their opinions on their portrayal, and how the events are depicted
- Trailers: Teaser, theatrical trailers, and the IMAX trailer
The Bottom Line
Going into the last few weeks of 2023, you’ll be seeing Oppenheimer crop up on plenty of year end “Best of” lists. Rightly so too. It’s a towering work, that is as compelling as it is complex and considered. Propulsive and dynamic storytelling, brought to life by one of the best ensembles you’ll see all year. Nolan himself has verbally championed the importance of physical media, and with this home video release, he backs up those claims. A superb release, and a exemplar as to the enduring importance of physical media.
Oppenheimer is available on 4K, Blu-ray, and digital, now.
