Ride Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Jake Allyn
• Actors ‏ : ‎ C. Thomas Howell, Annabeth Gish, Jake Allyn, Forrie J. Smith
• Language ‏ : ‎ English (DTS 5.1 Surround)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Subtitled, Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 54 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ August 27, 2024

        The concept of independent cinema has become increasingly muddled in Hollywood, with star-studded movies like Everything Everywhere All at Once winning the highest awards and big-budget releases like Civil War costing more than many studio releases ($50 million). And yet, there still exists a mostly unseen world of independent cinema, which often must survive without name actors and massive budgets. These films follow the tradition of independent cinema before the Sundance Film Festival made it just another offshoot of Hollywood, and Ride is a prime example of this type of filmmaking, for better or worse.

 

The Bikeriders 4K Ultra HD Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Jeff Nichols
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon
• Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ French, Spanish, German
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, Latin Spanish, French
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Studio Distribution Services
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ 4K, Subtitled
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 56 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ August 13, 2024

        Director Jeff Nichols previously showed his abilities accurately recreating the 1960s in the film Loving (2016), has often given voice to stories in the American South, and understands how to tell dramatic stories in understated ways. All of these factors seemed to make him the perfect choice for an adaptation of Danny Lyon’s photo-book of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Unfortunately, The Bikeriders feels like a movie based on photographs, with detail-oriented images often taking importance over plot and character development.

 

The Fall Guy 4K Ultra HD Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ David Leitch
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Studio Distribution Services
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ 4K
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 6 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ July 23, 2024

        With a cast member from both Barbie and Oppenheimer and a soundtrack that prominently includes Taylor Swift, The Fall Guy looked to be a film formulated to be a success by the film industry. And its failure shows that there are some things that can’t be controlled, including what audiences will be interested in, and efforts to repeat the fluke that was Barbenheimer are likely to fail because of this. The fact that last summer had a bleak biopic as one of the biggest hits should prove that nobody knows anything, but regardless of box office success, The Fall Guy is still a fun time at the movies. Efforts to bleed a bit more from the stone also resulted in an extended cut of the film (released for purchase online soon enough after the theatrical release to indicate studio’s lack of faith in the theatrical success), which is included as an extra on the 4K release.

 

Sting Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Kiah Roache-Turner
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Ryan Corr, Alyla Browne, Jermaine Fowler, Penelope Mitchell
• Language ‏ : ‎ English (Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Australia
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Subtitled, DVD, NTSC
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 32 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ July 30, 2024

        Creature features have always been among my favorite horror sub-genres, because of the potential for fun thrills and a variety of unique monsters. While the use of large spiders from space is not a unique concept, the larger problem with Sting is the lack of fun. Too much of the narrative is bogged down by unpleasant family drama, altering the tone of film that could have been much more enjoyable with a different approach. As far as horror movies with spiders, I would choose Arachnophobia (1990) over this. And as for alien invasion films set in an apartment building, Attack the Block (2011) understood how to make the most out of the concept. Sting falls short, though it does contain impressive creature effects from Weta Workshop.

 

Alienoid: Return to the Future Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Choi Dong-hoon
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Ryu Jun-yeol, Kim Tae-ri, Kim Woo-bin
• Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ English
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, French Canadian
• Language ‏ : ‎ Korean (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Korea, Republic of
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 2 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ July 30, 2024

        Cliffhanger endings to movies have become all-too common these days, from books being split up like Dune (or any final installment of a successful franchise like Twilight or Harry Potter) to superhero narratives only revealing the villain in the final scene to force audiences to buy another ticket to get any resolution (yeah, I’m looking at you Spidey). Personally, I’m quite sick of it, which is why I found the lack of resolution in Alienoid (2022) so frustrating. Thankfully, Alienoid: Return to the Future has an ending instead of leading to a third film, but it retains many of the other issues found in the Korean blockbuster.

 

Tarot Blu-ray Review

 

• Directors: Spencer Cohen, Anna Halberg
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Harriet Slater, Adain Bradley, Avantika Vandanapu, Jacob Batalon, Wolfgang Novogratz
• Studio ‏ : ‎ SONY
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray, Subtitled, Digital_copy
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 32 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ July 9, 2024

 

        Fans of the genre know that a film being bad isn’t the worst thing when it comes to horror, especially when compared to being boring or forgettable. I wouldn’t say Tarot is necessarily boring, but it isn’t good or bad enough to be memorable in any way. Even having seen the film, I have to force myself to even remember why it was as unimpressive as it was. Beyond the bland cast and generic premise, Tarot is never even remotely scary. While some horror films get audiences invested by convincing them to care about the characters in peril, Tarot just had me longing for a quicker demise.

 

The Last Stop in Yuma County Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Francis Galluppi
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Jim Cummings, Jocelin Donahue, Richard Brake, Barbara Crampton
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, French Canadian
• Language ‏ : ‎ English (Stereo), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 31 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ July 16, 2024

        On one hand, I am glad that independent films like The Last Stop in Yuma County can still get made, since the industry has been so drastically altered by the shifting landscape of the Sundance Film Festival, not to mention the industry changes brought by the age of streaming. On the other hand, even for someone who loves edgy narratives and is a lifelong fan of the Coen brothers and their darkly comedic take on film noir narratives similar to this, I could not defend some of the choices made within The Last Stop in Yuma County. Maybe some lines should never be crossed, but I think the larger issue here is the manner in which they are crossed. What begins as an enjoyable little single-location crime film turns into an exercise in despair and grief, though the filmmaker doesn’t seem entirely aware of the impact of every decision.

 

Founders Day Blu-ray Review

 

• Director: Erik Bloomquist
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Devin Druid, Emilia McCarthy, Naomi Grace, Olivia Nikkanen, William Russ
• Studio ‏ : ‎ MPI Home Video
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 106 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ June 4, 2024

 

        Horror and satire have often been an effective pair in the hands of skilled filmmakers, but the efforts to behind Founders Day feel as sincere as the politicians depicted in the storyline. Perhaps I have just seen too many slashers, but the twists all seemed easily predicted and the execution of the genre’s simplest pleasures are rote and uninventive. While I can’t say for sure whether the filmmaking was inept or lazy, I can say that it was often bad enough to be distracting. Or maybe the problem is that there was nothing in Founders Day good enough to distract from the bad.

 

Io Capitano Blu-ray Review

 

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• Director ‏ : ‎ Matteo Garrone
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Seydou Sarr, Moustapha Fall
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Cohen Media Group
• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.85:1
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Italy
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 1 minute
• Release date ‏ : ‎ May 28, 2024

        There’s no question that immigration has been a hot-button political topic worldwide in recent years, but director Matteo Garrone (Gomorrah) wisely takes a humanist approach to the topic with his latest film, Io Capitano. Nobody likes being preached to while watching movies, even those of us who appreciate more than the simple escapism of Hollywood genre films. Instead, we like to be told stories with characters we can connect with, and that is what Io Capitano excels at above all else. The fact that the story Garrone is telling happens to resemble the reality of many humans living on this planet today only adds to the power of the storytelling.

 

Blind War Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Huo Sui Qiang
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Andy On, ZiXiong Li, Xing Yang, Hanyang Wang
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, French Canadian
• Language ‏ : ‎ Mandarin Chinese (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), Mandarin Chinese (Stereo)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go USA Entertainment
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ China
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 48 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ June 11, 2024

        There has been a longstanding tradition of blind heroes in action films, long before Donnie Yen made it his signature in sequels and spin-offs for popular franchises like Star Wars and John Wick. Even before Daredevil was created on both page and screen, there have been iconic action films featuring sight-impaired heroes. The Zatoichi samurai franchise lasted 25 films, and that doesn’t even include the multiple remakes and rip-offs. Blind War carries on this tradition within an action movie nearly able to pass itself off as a Hong Kong bullet-ballet action film from the 1990s if it weren’t for the occasional cheap CGI.

 

Creation of the Gods: Kingdom of Storms Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Wuershan
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Kris Phillips, Li Xuejian, Huang Bo, Yu Shi
• Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ English
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, French Canadian
• Language ‏ : ‎ Mandarin Chinese (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), Mandarin Chinese (Stereo), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), English (Stereo)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ China
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 28 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ May 28, 2024

        It is difficult to convey the significance of the classic Chinese fantasy novel Fengshenyanyi to Western Civilization. Not only is it among the most popular fantasy novels, it is also the only mythical epic in Chinese literature history to have originated from real historical events, while also including rich fantasy that includes gods and monsters. Because of this, the novel has been adapted numerous times, but the Creation of the Gods trilogy is the first time the novel has been filmed consecutively.

 

Coup de Chance Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Woody Allen
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Lou de Laâge, Niels Schneider
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
• Studio ‏ : ‎ MPI Home Video
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray, Subtitled
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 93 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ May 21, 2024

 

        Woody Allen has had a long and complicated career as a filmmaker. There was a time when he was considered one of the most prolific and significant American filmmakers, known and recognized for his romance-heavy comedies, nearly always set in the city of New York. But along with controversies in his personal life in recent decades, Allen also changed his career path by leaving the United States to make movies in Europe. This led to an initial resurgence in his career, though it has been a decade since the filmmaker has received the level of critical praise and attention his films were once afforded. While Coup de Chance won’t do much to change the trajectory of Allen’s career, it will make a nice footnote in his filmography.

 

The American Society of Magical Negroes Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Kobi Libii
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Justice Smith, David Alan-Grier, An-Li Bogan, Rupert Friend
• Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ Spanish
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, French, Spanish
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Studio Distribution Services
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray, Subtitled
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 45 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ May 14, 2024

 

        When The American Society of Magical Negroes released its theatrical trailer featuring a scene in which scared white people are purported to be more dangerous than any other animal on the planet, it was met with a lot of backlash. Some were offended by the prejudicial response to a historically racist society, and while it is true that two wrongs don’t make a right, they do make for mildly amusing satire. But it’s all handled lightheartedly, and I was never offended, even without the use of magic to placate me. Unfortunately, the ending loses sight of what makes the film enjoyable and halts the plot for a speech as preachy as the one given in Barbie.

 

One from the Heart: Reprise Blu-ray Review

 

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• Director: Francis Ford Coppola
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Frederic Forrest, Teri Garr
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Lionsgate Home Entertainment
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ 4K, Digital_copy, Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 47 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ May 7, 2024

 

        While it is difficult to imagine a movie like Moulin Rouge ever existing without the experimentation of Francis Ford Coppola’s One from the Heart first occurring, that does not make his unique musical vision a success. While boldly creative and undeniably unique, One from the Heart is also a messy movie that doesn’t work any better after forty years, even with new footage and an alternate edit approved by Coppola. The characters are still unsympathetic and the plot overly simplistic, though it now seems clearer that the real star of the film was the production design, all constructed on the stages of the historic Zoetrope studios in Hollywood.

 

Noryang: Deadly Sea Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Kim Han-min
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Kim Yun-seok, Baek Yoon-sik, Jung Jae-young, Huh Joon-ho
• Language ‏ : ‎ Korean (DTS 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 32 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ May 14, 2024

        As the third and final film in the trilogy about the nautical battles of Korean admiral and military general Yi Sun-sin (Kim Yoon-seok), Noryang: Deadly Sea has the likely benefit of audience familiarity. Not only are most audience members likely familiar with the historical figure following the first two films, but they also understand the approach to these narratives taken by director Kim Han-min. Along with a meticulous dedication to historical accuracy, Noryang: Deadly Sea follows the structure first established by The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014) and the follow-up film, Hansan: Rising Dragon (2022), dedicating the first half to character development and setting up the plot before shifting to battles at sea.

 

Monolith Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Matt Vesely
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Lily Sullivan
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
• Language ‏ : ‎ English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Australia
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 34 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ April 23, 2024

        Independent genre films often face the difficult task of competing with the large budgets afforded similar films produced with studio money. Because of this, independent filmmakers have to get even more creative with their narratives and the execution of genre expectations. While Monolith creates an effective chamber piece out of common science-fiction narrative tropes, with only slight variation, the execution is about as exciting as one might expect from a film set entirely in a single location.