Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Hancock

 

Hancock is an anti-hero movie from 2008 directed by Peter Berg and starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman. Smith plays Hancock, who has powers like Superman but who is alcoholic, anti-social, and mean to everyone, including victims. The movie has two distinct halves. The first half is a crude humor anti-hero superhero movie. Basically, if Superman was an alcoholic who saved people and caught bad guys but really did not give a shit about anyone. The second half is about a plot twist that reveals Hancock's back story. I won't spoil the plot twist but it seems like most people who dislike the movie do so because of the plot twist. 

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is great. While neither the audio nor video quality are quite "reference quality", they are pretty close. The extras include a video diary that plays as a picture-in-picture with the movie, providing behind-the-scenes content while the movie plays.  Then there are several making-of featurettes and trailers for other movies. Ultimately, the movie is good, but not great. While I did not mind the plot twist, I do think the movie would have done fine without it. I liked the redemption of a superhero angle they had going up until the plot twist hit and there were certainly ways to have a similar ending without the twist. The movie is not very family-friendly and will not appeal to everyone. It definitely has a darker crude humor to it. It is the kind of comedy that you either like or you do not. I think all the actors do a great job, but Jason Bateman was the most entertaining because he had to play the straight man the whole time (similar to his character in Arrested Development). The movie is mostly a comedy-action blend, with some drama mixed in as well. Charlize Theron sold her character well and was, as always, easy on the eyes. If you like the actors involved, Arrested Development-type and Apetow-like humor, and action movies, then you will probably like this one. It is definitely worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: 2 Days in the Valley (Special Edition)

 

2 Days in the Valley is a 1996 crime drama/dark comedy written and directed by John Herzfeld. The movie stars Danny Aiello, James Spader, Eric Stoltz, Jeff Daniels, Glenne Headly, Teri Hatcher, Paul Mazursky, Greg Crutwell, and Marsha Mason in the larger roles. It also stars a very young Charlize Theron (who was only 19 at the time the movie was filmed) in her first movie role. The movie also includes several recognizable actors in smaller roles including Keith Carradine, Louise Fletcher (the nurse from One Flew Over the Cuko's Nest), Austin Pendleton, and a very young Cress Williams (from Hart of Dixie and Black Lightning).

The special edition blu-ray which was released in 2023, includes a remastered version of the movie, which looks and sounds great. The extras include a commentary track on the film by the director and a conversation between Herzfeld and Sylvester Stallone who were both students in the drama program at the University of Miami and have known each other for years. That conversation lasts about 35 minutes and they talk about their time in school and the movie. The most interesting thing from that conversation is how Herzfeld had to fight to cast and then keep Charlize Theron in the movie. The other extras include a 30-minute Q&A panel that includes Herzfeld, Theron, Headly, and Danny Aiello (by phone), a short (about 7 minutes long) archival making-of featurette made when the movie was filmed, about 7 minutes of B-roll footage which kind of doubles as a gag reel, and about 17 minutes worth of cast interview clips, also made as the movie was being filmed. Then there are several trailers, including the trailer for the movie (which actually gives away a lot), and trailers for movies like Out of Sight and The Usual Suspects. So, you get quite a bit of bonus content which is getting rarer and rarer these days.

Overall, the movie is excellent. It is well-written and very well-acted. Aiello and Spader are great in their roles as hitmen (very different hitmen), and Theron shines in every scene she is in. Teri Hatcher (who was coming off her role as Lois Lane in Lois and Clark) plays a very different kind of character than what people are likely used to seeing her play and Jeff Daniels is great as a vice cop with anger management issues. While it definitely has the feel of a 90s movie, it holds up well almost 30 years later. It is absolutely worth the time to watch.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Atomic Blonde

 

Atomic Blonde is a spy thriller starring Charlize Theron and James McAvoy. The movie is set in Berlin, in 1989 on the eve of the fall of the Berlin Wall, when every spy in the city is at risk of being when an MI6 agent is killed by a KGB agent and a list of every agent operating in the city is stolen. Theron plays Lorraine Broughton, a high-ranking MI6 field agent, and McAvoy plays MI6's Berlin station chief. The plot of the movie is about agents from various spy agencies, including MI6, the CIA, KGB, and the French intelligence service trying to track down the list, but that is mainly filler between the fight scenes. The movie is based on a graphic novel and the violence is definitely very over-the-top as it tends to be in many of the film adaptations of graphic novels.  There is also some sexual content, including a sex scene between Theron and Sofia Boutella. 

For those who get the 4k set, as usual, you get a UHD disc and a regular blu-ray disc. The A/V quality of the 4k disc is very good, although neither is what real A/V wonks would call reference quality. The only extra on the UHD disc is a commentary track on the movie by the director and the editor. The rest of the bonus content is on the regular blu-ray, and those include deleted and extended scenes totaling about seven minutes, a handful of making-of featurettes that total about twenty-two minutes with the shortest being about four minutes and the longest being just under eight minutes. Then there is a short storyboard sequence for a couple of the action scenes.

The movie is a good action spy thriller. Theron has proven she has the chops for action movies multiple times over the course of her career, but the fact that she can pull off an action lead in her 40s and do as well as she did in her early 30s is impressive. The movie is definitely not appropriate for young kids as it has a lot of violence, swearing, and sexual content. But otherwise, if you are in the mood for a good action movie that you do not have to pay constant attention to in order to follow what is going on, this is a good one.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Fate of the Furious (F8)

 

The Fate of the Furious is the 8th movie in the "Fast" franchise. The plots of the movies have become crazier and more unrealistic over the course of time, and yes, this movie follows that trend (in this movie a missile is punched by The Rock) and you just have to go with it. If you cannot suspend your disbelief, these movies are not for you as the action sequences, which are fun, could never be pulled off in real life.

This movie sees Dom (Vin Diesel) as the bad guy, seemingly turning his back on the team/family. Of course, not everything is as it seems, as there is a larger plot that plays out throughout the course of the movie. The action sequences are crazy and there is some humor mixed in (including Hobbs and Shaw having to protect a baby while kicking ass). This is the movie that really set the stage for the Hobbs and Shaw spinoff as there are several entertaining sequences that include Jason Statham and The Rock. For the most part, the rest of the main cast returns, including Ludacris, Tyrese, Michelle Rodriguez, and Nathalie Emmanuel. Jordana Brewster does not return as her character, Mia, was written out to be off with Brian who retired after Paul Walker passed away. Kurt Russell reprises his role as Mr. Nobody, and the new cast members include Scott Eastwood and Charlize Theron. 

The 4k set is a two-disc set with just the movie itself on the UHD disc and the movie and all the extras on a regular blu-ray disc. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is very good. Probably a tick under "reference quality" video, but for anyone other than a total A/V wonk, it will be fine. The extras include an 8-minute featurette on shooting in Cuba, a four-part featurette about the main characters, a three-part featurette on the car racing culture, a three-part featurette on the stunts, and extended fight scenes. There is a director's commentary on the movie that is included both on the UHD disc and the regular blu-ray. All totaled, the bonus content runs about an hour, give or take. 

Ultimately, if you like the prior movies, you will probably like this one. If you do not like the prior movies, especially the movies after Tokyo Drift, then you will not like this one. It is totally unrealistic and over-the-top, but that is cooked into the series at this point. Charlize Theron is awesome in her role and definitely seemed to be having fun in this role. This was the movie in which the battle between The Rock and Vin Diesel came to a head, with The Rock refusing to do any more of the "main franchise" movies.  If you don't take it too seriously it is a good, fun, action movie.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Huntsman: Winter's War

 

The Huntsman: Winter's War is partly a prequel, but mostly a sequel to the movie Snow White and the Huntsman, which basically ignores Snow White. Kristen Stewart is shown in one flash at the beginning of the movie using footage from the first movie, but after that, Snow White is not seen again. The prequel part of the movie, in the beginning, is basically an origin story for the ice queen Freya (played by Emily Blunt) who is the sister of Queen Ravenna, and Eric/The Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) and his love Sara, played by Jessica Chastain. Then, the movie jumps to a point after the events of the first movie in which Snow White has fallen ill (explaining her absence), and William (Snow White's husband) tasks Eric with retrieving the Mirror before Freya can use its power.

For those who get the blu-ray, the movie looks and sounds great in HD. Of course, there are a lot of CGI special effects that look awesome in the HD format. The disc includes two versions of the movie, the theatrical, and an extended edition that adds a little over six minutes to the movie. The additions are pretty negligible and do not change the story at all. For extras, there is a commentary track on the movie by the director, deleted scenes, and a gag reel, that each clocks in just under 10 minutes, and then a five-part making-of documentary that runs about a half-hour in total.

Overall, the movie is good, but because of Stewart essentially being fired, it is really disconnected from the first movie. Chastain and Blunt do step into their roles well and Charlize Theron is again awesome as Ravenna. Hemsworth does a good job in the leading role and thus Snow White's absence is not felt as much as I thought it would be when it was announced the movie would be made without her.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Mad Max: Fury Road

 

The Mad Max films had always been a bit weird, set in a dystopian future with almost nothing in the way of law, order, or security. Of course, the role of Max launched Mel Gibson's career, but after a string of controversies in his personal life and failed attempts to get another movie made, George Miller decided to reboot the series with Tom Hardy (from Inception and Dark Knight Rises) in the role of Max. The basic story is that Max is captured by a group known as the "War Boys" and is taken to warlord Immortan Joe's Citadel, imprisoned, and used as a "blood bag" for a sick War Boy called Nux. Meanwhile, Imperator Furiosa (played by Charlize Theron), one of Joe's lieutenants, is sent in her armored "War Rig" to trade produce for gasoline and ammunition with two of Joe's warlord allies. She leaves and secretly takes Joe's wives, played by Zoe Kravitz, Rose Huntington Whitely, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee, and Courtney Eaton with her to help them escape. The War Boys are sent to chase Furiosa and the wives down, and Max tried to use the opportunity to escape.

Ultimately, the movie is much more about Furiosa than it is about Max. It is basically a big chase movie with a lot of action scenes spaced throughout. Max was much more of an ancillary character with Furiosa calling the shots. And Theron, once again, shows off her very mighty acting chops, really devoting herself to a very gritty role. Obviously, she has supermodel looks, but this was definitely not a role to show off how pretty she was. Furiosa was a very complex and hard-edged character, and Theron played her very well.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is off the charts good, especially if you have a big-screen TV and a great sound system. The extras include several making-of featurettes including Maximum Fury: Filming Fury Road which runs just under half an hour and contains behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews on set in Africa. Then there is a feature that is titled Mad Max: Fury on Four Wheels about the design of the various vehicles as an extension of wardrobe. An eleven-minute feature on the characters Max and Furiosa, and the transition from Mel to Tom. Then there is a featurette titled Tools of the Wasteland, which is a fourteen-minute feature on the props, an eleven-minute feature on the wives, including interviews with each of the actresses, and a four-minute combination of pre-production tests and raw footage. Then there are a few deleted scenes.

Overall, the movie is very good. As I said, it is a bit weird, but very much in the same vein as the prior movies from the 1980s. While Charlize Theron really dominates and takes over the movie, all of the actors, regardless of how large or small the role they play is, do a great job. So, if you are looking for a good action movie, and you like the dystopian nightmare kinds of storylines, this is definitely worth watching.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Snow White & the Huntsman

 

Chances are, most people are aware of the Snow White story from the Disney cartoon. This is a much different take on the story. The movie stars Charlize Theron as Queen Ravenna, the evil queen who can drain the life from people to stay young and beautiful. Kristen Stewart is Snow White, the "fairest of them all" who, if Ravenna can kill her, will allow Ravenna to stay young and beautiful forever. Ravenna gets the Huntsman (played by Chris Hemsworth) to track Snow White down after she escapes the castle Ravenna has had her imprisoned in since she was a child. He ends up helping her and along with the seven dwarves (who are not a large focus of the story), help Snow White fight Ravenna.

The movie looks and sounds great in HD. There are a ton of great visuals, and the movie makes great use of CGI to, among other things, transform actors like Toby Jones, Nick Frost, and Bob Hoskins, into dwarves. The movie is well written and acted, with Theron basically stealing the show. Stewart gave a good performance as well. Probably not as good as in some of her lower-budget and indie roles, but better than she did in Twilight (although the source material she had to work with there was not exactly stellar).

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the extras include a commentary track on the movie by the director, the visual effects supervisor, and one of the editors of the movie. Then there are several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes that range from just over a minute in length to just over twenty minutes. Around an hour's worth of material, give or take.

Overall, the movie is very good. Theron is definitely the highlight of the film, but all the actors gave good performances, and it told a good, original, version of the story. It definitely had set up for more stories to be told in that universe, but because of the controversy that came out after the movie was released with Stewart and the married director being caught making out, the movie only got Huntsman focused spinoff that largely ignored Snow White's existence. Even so, it is still a good movie that had a good blend of action and drama and is definitely worth watching.