The time has come yet again to highlight some great physical media, and this edition is our most jam-packed in a while. It’s so jam-packed it might as well be jelly. You have the wonderful new Criterion box set World of Wong Kari Wai; the delightfully silly Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, Pixar’s Soul, new 4K releases of both Godzilla and Gattaca, Tom Hanks in News of the World, and the horror film The Reckoning.
World of Wong Kar Wai
Few filmmakers, if any, capture the feeling of yearning as well as Wong Kar Wai. The Hong Kong filmmaker crafts lush, gorgeous, and often heartbreaking stories about the often elusive romances of hopeless romantics. The Criterion Collection has put together a stunning box set featuring the filmmaker’s finest work – his feature debut As Tears Go By, his 1990 film Days of Being Wild, his breakout movie Chungking Express, which introduced him to an even bigger audience; Fallen Angels; Happy Together; his masterpiece In the Mood For Love, and its not-quite-sequel 2046. One of these films alone is remarkable – but put them all together and you have a set that calls to you. It will have you sighing, and swooning, and marveling at the pure filmmaking craft on display.
There’s been some controversy over the color correction on some of the titles – many of the film shave a greenish hue that has upset more than a few movie-lovers. But it’s worth noting that the new digital restorations here were all approved by Wong Kar Wai, and I think we can trust his vision since he made the damn movies. If there is a complaint to be had here it’s Criterion’s packaging choice – this isn’t the size of a normal Blu-ray or Blu-ray box set; it’s much taller. This is a minor quibble and I feel silly even complaining about it, but I personally would’ve preferred a more common shape for the release. Beyond that, though – perfection.
Rent or Own?
You can’t rent this one, so your only choices are really to buy or skip – or maybe wait for all the remastered titles to show up on the Criterion Channel. But this is a must-own. Aside from the frustrating box shape (this isn’t going to fit on a normal Blu-ray shelf), the set is well-worth the purchase.
Special Features Include:
- New 4K digital restorations of Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, and 2046, approved by director Wong Kar Wai, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks
- New 4K digital restorations of As Tears Go By and Days of Being Wild, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks
- New program in which Wong answers questions submitted by authors André Aciman and Jonathan Lethem; filmmakers Sofia Coppola, Rian Johnson, Lisa Joy, and Chloé Zhao; cinematographers Philippe Le Sourd and Bradford Young; and filmmakers and founders/creative directors of Rodarte Kate and Laura Mulleavy
- Alternate version of Days of Being Wild, on home video for the first time
- Extended version of The Hand, a 2004 short film by Wong, available in the U.S. for the first time
- Hua yang de nian hua, a 2000 short film by Wong
- Interview and “cinema lesson” with Wong from 2001
- Several programs featuring interviews with Wong; actors Maggie Cheung Man Yuk, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Chang Chen, Faye Wong, and Ziyi Zhang; and others
- Program from 2012 on In the Mood for Love’s soundtrack
- Deleted scenes, alternate endings, behind-the-scenes footage, a promo reel, music videos, and trailers
- PLUS: Deluxe packaging, including a perfect-bound, French-fold book featuring lavish photography, an essay by critic John Powers, a director’s note, and six collectible art prints
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar feels like a cult classic in waiting. It is a film that’s committed to throwing off good vibes while being unrelentingly, unapologetically silly. The story – such as it is – follows lifelong friends Barb (Annie Mumolo) and Star (Kristen Wiig) as they embark on a vacation to Vista Del Mar, Florida. There they get caught up in a plot involving a supervillain (also played by Wiig) who wants to kill everyone in Vista Del Mar with killer bees. Also caught up in the mix: the villain’s henchman, played delightfully by a scene-stealing Jamie Dornan. The story is bunk, but that’s okay – it merely exists to hang a bunch of absurd, hysterical moments on.
Rent or Own?
Buy this immediately and pop it in any time you need a laugh. Barb and Star is destined to be one of those cult classics that you’ll want to revisit again and again; cinematic comfort food.
Special Features Include:
- Audio Commentary with Director Josh Greenbaum, Writer-Actor Annie Mumolo, and Writer-Actor Kristen Wiig
- “Barb & Star: Making Life a Little Brighter” Featurette
- “Barb & Star: Casting in Paradise” Featurette
- Bloopers
- Deleted Scenes
- “Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar Fashion Show” Piece
Soul
A kind of spiritual sequel to Inside Out, Pixar’s Soul is a slightly uneven but overall remarkable story of life, death, and everything else. Jamie Foxx voices Joe Gardner, a music teacher and wannabe jazz artist who ends up in the afterlife and then the place before life which is called the Great Before. Joe devises a plan to get back in his own body with the help of a soul named 22 (voiced by Tina Fey) who doesn’t want to go to Earth. These opening moments in the Great Before are visually inventive and fascinating, but it’s the second half of the film – where Joe and 22 end up on Earth with unexpected results – that Soul truly comes to life. This isn’t quite as good as Inside Out, but it has just enough raw, emotional power to awe you.
Rent or Own?
The argument could be, “Why buy this if I already have it on Disney+?” But honestly, you can’t go wrong with a physical copy – especially the 4K release. No matter how magnificent and miraculous streaming tech becomes, that physical look will always triumph. If you’re a fan of Soul, it’s well worth picking up on disc.
Special Features Include:
- Deleted Scenes
- Introduction – Writer Mike Jones and story supervisor Kristen Lester introduce the “Soul” deleted scenes.
- Mentor Orientation – Joe sneaks into the You Seminar Mentor Program orientation, trying to figure out how on earth he can get back to … Earth.
- Clubhouse Forgery – Joe follows 22 into her “secret lair” as she reluctantly agrees to help him find his way back to Earth.
- Home Lessons – Stuck inside Joe’s body, 22 clumsily attempts to help the downstairs neighbor.
- Living the Dream – Joe has a heart-to-heart with 22 about her fear of living on Earth, then tries to make his way back home via a dream portal.
- Press Shot – Joe, stuck in a cat’s body, and 22, stuck in Joe’s body, take the subway to the jazz club for a publicity photography session.
- Audio Commentary – View the film with audio commentary by director Pete Docter, co-director/writer Kemp Powers and producer Dana Murray.
- Not Your Average Joe – See the thought and care that went into crafting Joe and his story in Pixar’s first film to feature a Black leading character.
- Astral Taffy – Get an in-depth look at the artistry and technical innovation that went into creating the sets and characters in the world of “Soul.”
- Pretty Deep for a Cartoon – The filmmakers tackle big questions, such as where does a newborn’s personality come from, what’s the meaning of life, and more!
- Into the Zone: The Music and Sound of Soul – Explore the movie’s different sonic worlds and discover how music drives and adds specificity to Joe’s journey.
- “Soul,” Improvised – See how the Pixar Systems team and “Soul”’s crew managed to finish the film on schedule during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Jazz Greats – Giants of the jazz world who consulted on “Soul” share their passion and hard-won wisdom about what music is and does for us all.
Godzilla 4K
Gareth Edwards‘s Godzilla has problems. It is saddled with a ho-hum script that features an incredibly bland lead character, as played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Having a humdrum lead might be alleviated if the supporting characters fared better – but they don’t. Only Bryan Cranston actually turns in a good performance here, as Taylor-Johnson’s father. But he’s out of the picture much too early for it to matter much. And yet, the film succeeds, primarily because that while Godzilla may not understand how to make its humans interesting, it knows exactly how to handle its monsters. Specifically, Godzilla, who is always filmed in a way here that truly showcases his massive, terrifying scale. Godzilla truly feels like a powerful, ancient, horrifying monster – the type of creature that might drive you mad if you actually saw it thundering toward you. It’s too bad the rest of the movie can’t match this power.
Rent or Own?
I’ll go with own for this one. Godzilla is a great-looking movie to begin with, and the 4K remaster makes it look even better. It’s probably just my mind playing tricks on me, but I honestly think this looked better at home on my 4K TV than it did when I saw it on the big screen back in 2014.
Special Features Include:
- Operation: Lucky Dragon
- MONARCH: The M.U.T.O. File
- The Godzilla Revelation
- Godzilla: Force of Nature
- A Whole New Level Of Destruction
- Into The Void: The H.A.L.O. Jump
- Ancient Enemy: The M.U.T.O.s
Gattaca 4K
Andrew Niccol‘s gorgeous, melancholy sci-fi film Gattaca is set in a future where perfection has become the norm. Children aren’t just born anymore, they’re engineered. And only the best of the best can ever get anywhere in life. But that’s not acceptable to Vincent (Ethan Hawke), a less-than-desirable specimen who has a heart problem. No matter: Vincent finds a way to impersonate Jerome (Jude Law), a perfectly engineered person who has recently been paralyzed. As Jerome, Vincent goes to work at the spaceflight company Gattaca. But a murder in the office threatens to expose Vincent’s secret, and his coworker Irene (Uma Thurman) has some suspicions of her own. Lush, somber, and featuring a stunning score from Michael Nyman, Gattaca has aged exceedingly well.
Rent or Own?
You should own this. Gattaca was always a wonderful movie, but it’s gotten even better with age, and the new 4K restoration gives it a crisp, fresh look that makes one think of a movie released just the other day rather than one released some 24 years ago. That said, the special features here are weird – bloopers? I don’t think of Gattaca as a “bloopers” movie, honestly.
Special Features Include:
- Deleted Scenes
- Blooper Reel
- Welcome to Gattaca Featurette
News of the World
Have we as a society started to take Tom Hanks for granted? I honestly think so. In 2019, Hanks’s turned in one of his best performances as Mr. Rogers in It’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and the reaction seemed to be rather muted. And then last year, Hanks delivered again, giving us a quiet, masterful turn in the Western News of the World. Again, there was almost no fanfare. To be fair, News of the World as a movie isn’t particularly outstanding, but Hanks is. Here he plays a Civil War vet who travels the land reading people the newspaper. His travels result in having to return an orphan girl (Helena Zengel) to her family – but the journey won’t be smooth. Paul Greengrass‘s direction often feels far too modern for the material, but Hanks is truly great here, and his performance deserved more attention.
Rent or Own?
While I think News of the World is a fine film that deserved more attention, I also think I’d lean towards a rental in this case. The movie just doesn’t feel like one you’ll want to watch again and again. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth checking out at least once.
Special Features Include:
- DELETED SCENES
- PARTNERS: TOM HANKS & HELENA ZENGEL – Witness the successful (and very fun) working relationship of movie veteran Tom Hanks and newcomer Helena Zengel.
- WESTERN ACTION – Explore the creation of NEWS OF THE WORLD‘s most exciting and challenging scenes.
- PAUL GREENGRASS MAKES NEWS OF THE WORLD – A look at how director Paul Greengrass assembled the very best filmmaking team to realize a lifelong ambition of making a western.
- THE KIOWA – Filmmakers explain why the authentic representation of the Kiowa was so important to them.
- FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH CO-WRITER/DIRECTOR PAUL GREENGRASS
The Reckoning
Neil Marshall is responsible for one of the best horror movies of the last twenty years, The Descent. With that in mind, anytime he returns to direct a new horror movie, it’s worth paying attention to. Sadly, The Reckoning is a major disappointment. The plotline, about a woman accused of witchcraft and tortured by a Witchfinder General, has all the makings of a good fright flick. But Marshall never seems to know what to do with the material, and the movie careens from over-the-top gore to hoky melodrama in the blink of an eye. Charlotte Kirk plays the lead, and she also co-wrote the script, but she’s all wrong for this material. She seems far too modern – this movie is set during the Great Plague, but Kirk gives the impression of someone who has never known a world without cellphones. On top of that, her make-up – which also seems far too modern – never runs, or smudges, no matter how much muck and grime and blood and torture her character goes through. Some of the practical effects here are worth a nod, but The Reckoning shows none of the promise of Marshall’s previous work.
Rent or Own?
You can probably skip this one entirely, honestly. Rent if you’re curious, but don’t expect much.
Special Features Include:
- Deleted Scenes
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