Eddie the Eagle Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman
• Director: Dexter Fletcher
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Surround)
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed: French, Spanish
• Region: Region A/1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: 
  PG
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• Release Date: June 14, 2016
• Run Time: 106 minutes

        As is often the case with films based on true stories, much was altered for the cinematic story of courageously inexperienced British ski-jumper, Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards. Characters were added, events were changed, timelines were skewed, and in some cases the facts were more outlandish than the fictional screenplay by Sean Macaulay and Simon Kelton. While one can’t help but wonder what a darker and more accurate version of this story may have looked like onscreen, Eddie the Eagle easily wins over audiences with a charming spirit and a pair of magnetic performances. Sometimes a crowd pleasing feel-good movie is more desirable, especially in the cynical times we live in.

Get a Job Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Miles Teller, Bryan Cranston, Anna Kendrick, Alison Brie, Christopher Mintz-Plasse

Director: Dylan Kidd

Format: NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Region: Region A/1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R                    

Studio: LIONSGATE

Release Date: June 14, 2016

Run Time: 93 minutes

        Millennials have been called the “entitled generation,” carrying an air of arrogance and expectation without the benefit of experience or hard work to back it up, and Get a Job is a cinematic enabler for this infantile mentality. While it does address the egotism of modern college graduates, the sycophantic screenplay from first-time writers Kyle Pennekamp and Scott Turpel attempts to lay blame on the encouraging way that this generation was raised, as though their shitty attitude were the fault of supportive parents and participation trophies. But rather than following through with this cynical game of finger-pointing to some actual social commentary, these amateur screenwriters lazily resort to resolve it with a mindless young adult wish-fulfillment fantasy. This movie is utter garbage, made even worse by the talent that was wasted to make it.

 

Jarhead 3: The Siege Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Scott Adkins, Charlie Weber, Dante Basco, Romeo Miller, Erik Valdez

Director: Will Kaufman

Writer: Michael Weiss

Producers: Jeffery Beach, Phillip Roth

Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (DTS 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (DTS 5.1)

Subtitles: French, Spanish, English

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: Not Rated

Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Release Date: June 7, 2016

Digital Copy Expiration Date: May 2, 2018

        Jarhead, the 2005 war film from director Sam Mendes, is an unlikely movie to build a franchise from. The reception was mediocre, the action was nonexistent as intentional commentary on the state of modern warfare, and there was little opportunity for significant characters to return. Thematically, the sequels don’t even belong in the same category, much less carrying the same title. They get away with this by carrying over a supporting character and turning the franchise into mindless action. While it may not be cut from the same cloth as Jarhead, it is rather predictable for a straight-to-video sequel.  

 

Alaskan Bush People: The Complete Seasons 1&2 DVD Review

Actors: Billy Brown, Gabe Brown, Noah Brown, Ami Brown, Bam Bam Brown

Details: Box set, Color NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Region: Region 1

Number of discs: 3

Studio: LIONSGATE

DVD Release Date: June 14, 2016

Run Time: 450 minutes

        When the Discovery Channel reality series “Alaskan Bush People” first aired on television, many viewers were skeptical of the authenticity. Some theorized that the family claiming to have lived in the wild for the last 30 years was merely a group of actors, while others simply didn’t believe the outrageous claims of survival that they made to the cameras. Personally, I am hesitant to believe anything in reality television isn’t at least somewhat contrived. Although I have no reason to believe that this family isn’t related, I also have little faith that many of the situations in the show aren’t staged to a certain degree. Even in the trivia section of the series on IMDB.com, the episodes are referred to as “reenactments” of events taken from Billy Brown’s book. It automatically raises a red flag when the man claiming to want nothing from civilization has promoted himself through the publication of books. Others have found YouTube channels and other websites with other members of the family also trying to increase their fame.

 

Kill Your Friends Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Nicholas Hoult, James Corden, Ed Skrein

Director: Owen Harris

Format: Dolby, NTSC, THX, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English

Number of discs: 1

Studio: Well Go USA

Release Date: June 7, 2016

Run Time: 103 minutes

        Kill Your Friends is not outrageous enough in its violence or dark enough in its tone to give the satire of the novel it is based on enough edge, despite the screenplay being written by author John Niven. Worse yet, comparisons are bound to be made with American Psycho, which still feels more groundbreaking despite being made 16 years earlier than this film. Had director Owen Harris taken this narrative in another direction, it may have avoided the comparisons that the material obviously had no chance to live up to, but instead much of the violence ends up feeling more perfunctory than shocking. There is potential amongst the differences for some uniquely scathing commentary, but Kill Your Friends instead unwisely focuses on the most derivative elements of the narrative.

 

The Confirmation Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Clive Owen, Jaeden Lieberher, Maria Bello, Robert Forster, Tim Blake Nelson

Director: Bob Nelson

Format: NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Region: Region A/1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG-13             

Studio: LIONSGATE

Release Date: June 7, 2016

Run Time: 83 minutes

        Much of the narrative in The Confirmation has been done previously, and occasionally with far more dedication to realism (there are moments which bring to mind Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves), but it is in the optimistic tone and engaging performances that this film finds its stride. Like the Oscar nominated film, Nebraska, which first-time director Bob Nelson wrote the screenplay for, The Confirmation is often equally hilarious and heartbreaking. Nelson understands as a filmmaker that these two things need not be mutually exclusive, which grounds the film without drowning audiences in cynicism and sadness. Some may find the resolution a bit too neat (especially those expecting the Bicycle Thieves similarities to play out), and others may find the film’s morality a bit too flippant. This is a balancing act between two extremes, likely to leave both sides slightly unsatisfied, while neither outright disappointed. A few more risks in the narrative may have solved this problem, or it could have brought the entire house of cards tumbling down.

 

Touched with Fire Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Katie Holmes, Luke Kirby, Christine Lahti, Griffin Dunne

Director: Paul Dalio

Format: AC-3, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Region: Region A/1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R                  

Studio: LIONSGATE

Release Date: June 7, 2016

Run Time: 110 minutes

        While I appreciated the discussion of mental illness and its connection to artistic creativity within the narrative Touched with Fire, at times the individual scenarios of the specific plot overshadow the larger topic. Writer/director Paul Dalio based the film on his own experiences, and while this brings honesty to the material, it often also runs the risk of carrying romanticized bias of personal memory. In this case, some distance from the content may have helped to create a stronger film. Despite compellingly convincing performances from the lead actors, Dalio’s narrative often feels aimless at best, and predictably melodramatic at its worst.