He is Part of the RENTAL FAMILY

 

Jeri Jacquin

On Digital and Bluray from writer/director Hikari and Searchlight Pictures is a stunning look at what we need for our lives sometimes with a RENTAL FAMILY.

Phillip Vanderploeg (Brendan Frasier) has been living in Japan for the last seven years working on his acting career mostly known for a toothpaste commercial. Minor roles here and there, he meets Shinji (Takehiro Hira), the owner of Rental Family who asks him to come in and talk. Trying to earn a living, he goes to the office to hear what Shinji has to say. He explains to Phillip that the job is to play-act family members and friends as the “token” white guy. He also meets staff Aiko (Mari Yamamoto) who isn’t thrilled with him and young Kota (Kimura Bun).

Agreeing to try, his first job is to ‘marry’ a woman named Yoshie to make her parents happy and leaving for Canada. Almost backing out at the last minute, Phillip begins to understand the concept. His next assignment is to be a ‘father’ to the young Mia (Shannon Mahina Gorman) as mom Hitomi (Shino Shinozaki) wants to get her into an excellent private school. Another assignment at the same time is being a journalist to retired actor Kikuo Hasegawa (Akira Emoto) under the guise of writing about his life.

Mia isn’t thrilled about meeting her father, Kevin, and is going to make sure that he knows of her anger. The more time they spend together, Mia warms up to him and Phillip is moved by how charming and wonderful she is. Meeting with Kikuo, Phillip learns so much about one of Japan’s beloved actors. Long walks and even longer talks, the respect is created between the two. So much so that Kikuo wants to take a trip but knows his daughter won’t allow it.

But secrets have a way of coming to the surface and Phillip has to decide what to do and how to handle those he has come to care for.

Frasier as Phillip has found a home in Japan and wants to stay but the jobs are scarce and the roles are not exactly what he wants. Finding Rental Family means he would finally have money in his pocket until more roles come his way. The problem is, he finds that perhaps caring about someone other than yourself means putting your heart out. When that happens, he discovers that there are more people around him that need the same thing he does – to be acknowledged. I just love Frasier in this role watching the layers peel back in his relationship with Mia and Kikuo. Such a sweet, sad and charming character Phillip is.

Hira as Shinji is in the business of making the lives of people better by providing something that his culture has a difficult time with. Such as the “apology” package just to name a few. Excited to have Phillip on board, he also holds a secret of his own about life in his own home. There is a double side to Hira’s character but, like Phillip, it is a slow process of peeling back the layers to find the heart that beats beneath.

Yamamoto as Aiko is a stubborn character but she has every right to be. The cases she takes are a bit harsher and the cracks in that are showing. Yamamoto knows what works and when it doesn’t for her anymore, I love her answer to it. Gorman as Mia is a young girl who is thrust into a situation created by her mother. Believing she finally has a father, she also finds someone else on her side and it is so beautiful to watch, until it isn’t.

Emoto as Kikuo reminded me so much of my own grandfather. Spending time with him as he got older, there were moments of remembrance that were heart wrenching and yet filled with love. Emoto gives his story in pieces until it all comes together and Phillip is a witness to the past that still lives with him. Emoto is amazing and wonderful.

Other cast include Sei Matobu as Masami Hasegawa and Misato Morita as Yoshie.

Searchlight Pictures is responsible for such films as SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, 12 YEARS A SLAVE, THE SHAPE OF WATER and THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURI. They have an extensive film library as well as documentaries, scripted series, and limited series. For more information, please visit www.searchlightpictures.com.

MOVIES ANYWHERE gives viewers the ability to download the Movies Anywhere App. With that you can view films by downloading or streaming to your favorite device using a Digital Code. For more information on Movies Anywhere please visit www.MoviesAnywhere.com.

Digital & Bluray Bonus Features include Rental Family Revealed, Deleted and Extended Scenes: Columbus, Crying Session, Apology, Aiko’s First Client, Clearbright, Tickets, Audition, Phone Call and Final Montage.

RENTAL FAMILY is definitely a different kind of film. I’m sure we have all thought at one time or another that it would be cool to just hire someone to take the brunt of family expectations and then walk away. I’ll admit I have! Director Hikari captures such deep emotion that is cool on the surface but with time and patience, he shows us what really lives inside the hearts of these characters.

Keeping the scenes simple, it allows the audience to feel the relatability although, the scene with the white blossoms is nothing short of breathtaking. Then again, that’s what the whole film is really, one breathtaking moment after another in the lives of people just trying to find their way through situations in their lives. Make sure you have tissue handy because it is that kind of film.

In the end – we all need family!

 

 

 

PREDATOR: Badlands

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently on Digital and coming to 4K Ultra HD and Bluray from director Dan Trachtenberg and 20^th Century Studios is the other side of PREDATOR: Badlands.

Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) and his brother Kwei (Mike Homik) are in the midst of intense and dangerous training. Dek wants to be made part of the Yautja tribe and wants his father Njohrr’s (Ruben de Jong) approval. Part of that is doing what other’s have not been able to – hunt and capture the Kalisk on the planet Genna. After a fight breaks out, Kwei sends his brother off in a ship on his mission.

Landing on Genna, Dek immediate faces creatures and now he becomes the hunted in many ways. Trying to escape them, he meets Thia (Elle Fanning), a damaged android belonging to the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. Missing the lower half of her body and convincing Dek that he needs a tool to help him find the Kalisk, he begrudgingly agrees. In the fight for food, a creature Thia names Bud becomes part of the group causing Dek even more agitation.

Finding Thia’s campground destroyed by the Kalisk, she tells him about another android named Tessa that is like family to her. Attempting to fix herself with the equipment that survived an attack, Dek takes on the Kalisk. What they also get is a team from Weyland-Yutani led by none other than Tessa as they are both taken prisoner because Weyland-Yutani Corporation wants what the Kalisk has.

Dek and Thia decide that this is not how it’s going to go down at all – this is when Dek, Thia and Bud take matters into their own hands and a reckoning is due!

Schuster-Koloamatangi comes out swinging as Dek. Covered completely in special effects and masks, it doesn’t stop him from showing he has what it takes to jump, slash, climb and carry around an f/x android. It is not a bad way to be a leading man at all. His character proves that size doesn’t matter when you have skill and dedication. Starting out hard as nails, he begins to understand the world off his planet and Schuster-Koloamatangi portrays that.

Fanning gets the chance to play double duty as two androids Tessa and Thia. Thia is the one that has a grasp of the planet and its creatures but also has a heart of gold whether that was hardwired initially or not. Tessa, however, is the angry android that wants to please MU/TH/UR and doesn’t care what she has to do to accomplish that goal. Well done Fanning for getting your chops all over this film with humor, no legs for a time and lots of special effects.

Other cast include Stefan Grube as the voice of Kwei, Rohinal Narayan as the voice of Bud, Alison Wright as the voice of MU/TH/UR and Cameron Brown as Smyth.

Twentieth Century Home Entertainment brings award-winning global product and new entertainment to DVD, Bluray, and Digital HD. There amazing collection offers fans an opportunity to expand their own home libraries with the best films. To discover what other titles they have please visit www.20thcenturystudios.com.

MOVIES ANYWHERE gives viewers the ability to download the Movies Anywhere App. With that you can view films by downloading or streaming to your favorite device using a Digital Code. For more information on Movies Anywhere please visit www.MoviesAnywhere.com.

Bonus Feautures include Deleted & Pre-Visualization Scenes with Optional Audio Commentary: Sand Trap-Squirt Canyon-Tessa vs. Abe-Razor Grass-The Outpost-Super Power Loader Extended, Featurettes: Embodying the Predator, Authentic Synthetics, Building the Badlands, Dek of the Yautja and Audio Commentary with Director Trachtenberg.

PREDATOR: Badlands takes the Predator franchise and mixes it up the Alien franchise. It isn’t difficult to figure out which is which with the ships, equipment and concept of getting whatever Weyland wants no matter the cost or who pays the price. This is definitely a film for sci-fi fans with that combination. Schuster-Koloamatangi and Fanny completely carry the film from start to finish and it’s actually quite enjoyable.

Watching it on a large flat screen with a sound bar is pretty cool as well. So, turn off the lights, pop that popcorn and meet the mash up. Not everyone the franchises thought was bad, actually is. Perhaps we have misunderstood them both all along…nahhhhhhh!

In the end – first hunt, last chance!

SPRINGSTEEN: Deliver Me From Nowhere

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently on Digital and coming to 4K Bluray from director Scott Cooper and 20^th Century Studios is the story of an icon with SPRINGSTEEN: Deliver Me From Nowhere.

Spending some time after his latest tour, Bruce Springsteen (Jeremy Allen White) finds a house in Freehold, New Jersey so that he spent time writing songs. Spending time with friend Matt (Harrison Gilbertson), he also buys a car and heads to the play with The Stony Pony. He also ran into people he knew whether they liked his music or not. Trying to deal with a rush of memories, the record executive Al Teller (David Krumholtz) is asking Springsteen’s manager Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong) when the next album would be ready.

Springsteen is being haunted by the memories of his father Douglas (Stephen Graham) who was an alcoholic and mother Adele (Gaby Hoffmann) who consistently tries to keep harm from coming to a young Bruce. The words start pouring out of him and he realizes that the music might not please the executive. Springsteen and his tech Mike (Paul Walter Hauser) create a makeshift studio on the house and record from there. Not understanding his behaviors is Faye (Odessa Young), a woman trying to have a relationship with Springsteen but she can’t get past the walls he has created.

When the cassette is delivered to the execs, they are clearly not happy with the results. Landau explains that these songs are deeply personal for Springsteen and that the conditions for the album are set in stone. In the studio, another album coms together. would also include the song Born in the U.S.A. Landau turns to masters who manage to save the raw words and music Springsteen created in his home which comes in the form of the album Nebraska.

His dynamic with his father begins to change but everything, the memories of childhood, his musician’s life and relationships push him into a dark place that frightens him to the point of collapse. Turning to his friend, it is time for Springsteen to face the past and embrace the future he was born to.

White as Springsteen takes his performance into the darker side of the iconic musician’s life. Battling demons, he spent his life pushing so hard against. As with all demons, they eventually push there way into life and it is through words and music that it all comes back. White gives a stellar performance showing a man very clear on what is causing his inability to do what he wants to do but unclear on how to keep it from owning him. White gives a harsh but painful reality to that confusion and does so with a grace that is steeped in heartbreak.

Strong as Landau is a man clearly in touch with what Springsteen is able to accomplish and, although he might not understand it at times, he is the one man who will fight for him to the end. Strong’s performance is thoughtful, insightful and giving us a look at a friendship most of us will never know in this life.

Graham as father Douglas is a man with his own liquid demons that also cannot be controlled. It is not a surprise where Springsteen learned it from. Graham’s performance is one of harshness and a regret that comes with age. Hoffmann as mother Adele is a woman who, in essence, fights back until her son can fight on his own. She comes from an era where you don’t throw away a husband because of his flaws and you support a son that is doing what he loves.

Krumholtz as record exec Teller cannot seem to grasp the concept of Springsteen’s music but that’s because he only sees dollar signs and not music. Krumholtz gives his character the right amount of ick-factor to get the job done. Hauser as Mike is another supporter of his friend Springsteen and is the constant messenger that takes nothing but his friend’s music to heart.

Other cast include Marc Maron as Chuck Plotkin, Grace Gummer as Barbara Landau, Chris Jaymes as Dennis King, Johnny Cannizzaro as Steven Van Zandy, and Brian Chase as Max Weinberg. Also, Jay Buchanan, Jake Kiszka, Sam Kiszka as Cats on a Smooth Surface.

Twentieth Century Home Entertainment brings award-winning global product and new entertainment to DVD, Bluray, and Digital HD. There amazing collection offers fans an opportunity to expand their own home libraries with the best films. To discover what other titles they have please visit www.20thcenturystudios.com

MOVIES ANYWHERE gives viewers the ability to download the Movies Anywhere App. With that you can view films by downloading or streaming to your favorite device using a Digital Code. For more information on Movies Anywhere please visit www.MoviesAnywhere.com.

Digital & 4K Bluray Bonus Materials include Exclusive Four-Act Documentary: Making SPRINGSTEEN: Deliver Me From Nowhere and Act 1: From Book to Screen, Act 2: Beyond the Music, Act 3: Becoming Bruce Springsteen, and Act 4: Deep Authenticity.

SPRINGSTEEN: Deliver Me From Nowhere is quite a powerful biopic and what makes it so is that most of us during the time were Dancing in the Dark , there was no way to know what lie beneath the surface. It follows that what we see on stage, the performance and the energy, might not always be what lives in the heart of the performer. This story is more personal than I have seen from biopics in recent years (with perhaps the exception of Bohemian Rhapsody).

I loved the telling of the story that isn’t hindered by anything other than White giving us a nosedive into where Springsteen was at that time in his life. Wanting to create something that would last instead of what can be listened to and forgotten after a few plays, all of that came at a cost – the past. Finding his way forward, the journey was hard, frightening and yet life affirming. We could all use a bit of that at the moment.

In the end – he finds music his way!

 

GREENLAND 2: Migration

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently in theatres from director Ric Roman Waugh and STX Entertainment are people looking to start again with GREENLAND 2: Migration.

It has been several years since Clark has thrown Earth into a disaster with John Garrity (Gerard Butler), wife Allison (Morena Baccarin) and son Nathan (Roman Davis) continuing to live underground. John is helping to maintain the facility, Allison has joined the committee and Nathan is in school but beginning to show his teenage side. Outside, anyone who journeys out has to wear a protective suit as the air has the potential to cause irreparable damage.

When it is talked about in committee, there seems to be a place in France where the crater hasn’t caused damage and can sustain life. The earth below the bunker is shifting and there is no choice but for the Garrity’s to escape, but so are many others. It is a race to survive getting to lifeboats taking them away. Everyone agrees that getting to the crater is most important to their survival landing in England first where the tide takes them.

Allison learns that John has been hiding something from her but it can not interfere with the goal – the crater. Each time they make headway, either people with other plans or remnants of the ghost ring caused by Clark bring more destruction. At the same time, there were those who saw the Garrity determination and helped them however they could. That means staying together, one step at a time!

Butler returns as John Garrity who has made himself indispensable in the bunker. Repairing and keeping his family together waiting for the day they can all go outside. Still rugged, still not taking any garbage from anyone and still one step ahead of each disaster, Butler has cemented himself in the role and came back to it so he gets points. Not sure I appreciate how his character ended up but hey, I didn’t write the script so I’ll go with the flow.

Baccarin also returns as wife Allison who finds herself on the committee to do right the residents and help those who are still struggling on the outside. When they are forced to run, Baccarin’s Allison has become an equal partner in the escape but a little needy when it comes to her son. Personally, I don’t know any 15-year-old that would hug all over his mom so it had an ick factor.

Speaking of ick factor, Davis as Nathan returns as with teen angst. This character was written trying to rebel a little by going outside when he’s not supposed to, being a little bit on an ass when talking to his parents and then wimping when it served him. I liked the kid Nathan better. Yes, clearly, I don’t do teen angst and it rubbed me the wrong way. Welcome to my world kid.  

Other cast include Tommie Earl Jenkins as General Sharpe, Trond Fausa as Adam Shaw, Amber Revah as Dr. Amina, Peter Polycarpou as Dr. Haugen, Antonio De Lima as Charles Williams, Nathan Wiley as Major Green, and Gordon Alexander as Lt. Blake.

STX Films and Entertainment is a global next-generation company who has taken on the mission to unlock the value of direct connection stars have with their fans through the development, production and distribution of film, television, VR, digital video, music and live entertainment content. It is the industry leader in transforming beyond traditional platform-driven content to creating talent-driven enterprises. To experience more please visit www.stxfilms.com.

GREENLAND 2: Migration is filled with everything you’d expect from a few years after Clark hit. The human beings of the world are struggling to survive and have literally become scavengers to the outside world. Director Waugh spent the entire film not letting the audience rest for a moment giving the mass destruction of eye candy.

I’m a fan of these kinds of films, since I was a kid. I’m of the POESIDEN ADVENTURE, TOWERING INFERNO era and Roland Emmerich 2012 so Waugh fits into that club. So, I’m easy to forgive other things (like the math not mathing when it comes to Nathan’s age) and performances that didn’t wow me.

The story takes us step by step, explosion and rocking with a look at what humanity may actually be like if pushed over the limits. That part is understandable, even if the world hasn’t turned inside out because of an asteroid, because human beings turning still happens. In the midst of the story being told, there are moments that remind us that in the mixture of it all, hope is still possible. That’s not such a bad way to end the film.

In the end – the world ended and this is just the beginning!

 

A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently on Bluray and Digital from director Kogonada, writer Seth Reiss and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment comes the reality of love, loss and acceptance when on A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY.

David (Colin Farrell) is trying to get to a friend’s wedding and can only get a 1994 Saturn from a strange car rental company. Arriving on time, he meets Sarah (Margot Robbie), an interesting young woman who spends a lot of time teasing David about marriage and his accent. When he tells her he cannot dance, Sarah moves on for the night leaving David anguished that he didn’t try.

Driving home after the wedding, the car’s GPS begin to tell him that he needs to take a rest stop excit for a burger and he runs into Sarah! Spending more time teasing him, they both go to their respective cars but Sarah’s doesn’t start. She has no choice but to hitch a ride with David. And now the GPS is telling them to make stops along the way home. Each time they stop, one or the other reexperiences a moment in their life that made the biggest impact in their lives. Childhood memories, times of great loss and the trials of love in adulthood.

When the struggle becomes too much for Sarah, she begins to move back from David but it doesn’t stop him from expressing how he feels. After an accident, both of them just want to go home but the home they return to is not exactly what they had planned.

Farrell as David is absolutely stunning. Watching his character develop absolutely broke my heart from beginning to end. It is not often a character like David comes to terms with the deepest-rooted feelings a man can have about his life and it is all here on the screen. Childhood sadness, crushes and adult real moments of crush are all on the screen and it is breathtaking. The kindest heart hidden by real fears, Farrell has once again won hearts.

Robbie as Sarah is a woman who tries to openly be a free spirit when, in fact she is barbed-wire surrounding her and is it marvelous. Hiding behind sadness, she puts up a front thinking it will protect her from any pain life throws her way. Even with David, she makes it clear that she is untamable but that is the front most of us put up when the pain of rejection or fear of being “loved to much” is a possibility. I love Robbie giving her character many facets of fun, laughter and quick-fire humor but equally the sadness that won’t let her go.

Shout out to Waller-Bridge who had me cracking up absolutely and the thrill of seeing Kline take part in the twisted mayhem of the story.

Other cast include Lily Raba as Sarah’s mother, Hamish Linklater as David’s father, Chloe East as Cheryl, Jennifer Grant as David’s mother, Billy Magnussen as Sarah’s ex, Sarah Gadon as David’s ex, Jodie Turner-Smith as the GPS, Phoebe Waller-Bridge as the Cashier and Kevin Kline as The Mechanic.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment encompasses motion picture production for television, digital content and theater releases. The studios include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Stage 6 Films and Sony Picture Classics. To see what is coming to theaters and to home entertainment please visit www.sonypictures.com.

MOVIES ANYWHERE gives viewers the ability to download the Movies Anywhere App. With that you can view films by downloading or streaming to your favorite device using a Digital Code. For more information on Movies Anywhere please visit www.MoviesAnywhere.com.

Special Features include Love’s Ever Shifting Landscape: A Relatable Romance, The Magic Behind the Scenes: Crafting the Journey and A Big Bold Beautiful Musical Number.

A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY is a film that is so tissue worthy and I suggest you keep some handy. What is relatable on so many levels of the film is that we have all been there. Experiencing losses on so many levels at every stage of our lives. In those stages, the impact comes strong in each stage after that. It steers us in the direction of decision we make, both good and not so good, not taking into consideration the outcomes.

The film even, under its breath, suggests that perhaps we do just that. Open the doors we have all closed and look at the truth of it all. It may be painful but in that pain are the truths we might have forgotten and perhaps time to take in to make us whole. When it comes to love, that is exactly what director Kogonada pinpoints and brings unfiltered to the screen. It is not often that I sit long past a film is over and think about it in a deeper personal sense, I did with this film.

Farrell and Robbie took their characters into our deepest and darkest fears about being human and allowed us all to go on this big bold beautiful journey with them. Doors will never look the same.

In the end – relive your past so you can change your future!

 

 

 

 

WE BURY THE DEAD

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres from writer/director Zak Hilditch and Vertical is the story of loss and a journey as WE BURY THE DEAD.

A military disaster in Western Australia has led to the most unusual happening as the dead seem to come back to ‘life’. Considered harmless and slow-moving, a large portion of the country is a quarantine zone. Families are grieving not knowing what has happened to their family members. Ava (Daisy Ridley) is one such woman looking for her husband who was on a business trip in Tasmania, when the outbreak happened.

The only way for Ava to go and find him is volunteering to go inside the quarantine zone to go from house to house bringing out the dead – and the living dead. Partnered up with Clay (Brenton Thwaites), a rouge that clearly isn’t worried about the dead and isn’t scared of those that aren’t. Once inside the zone, Ava makes her plan to get to the resort where her husband was last and is surprised when Clay decides to go along for the adventure.

Once on the road, the only thing that they must be concerned with are the military convoys on the road that could stop them from their trip. Stopping for break, they come face to face with Riley (Mark Coles Smith), clearly with the military who separates Ava and Clay while he figures out who they are and what they are doing on the road. Ava knows that this could end her search but her determination is stronger than anything that will stop her!

Ridley as Ava is a woman driven to find her husband by putting herself at risk to get to him. The emotion she carries with her is complex but it pushes her further and further down the road. She notices that the living dead seem to have something left unsaid but the further she goes down the road, there are changes. Each situation that comes up, Ridley gives her character moments of pure humanity and other moments pure survival and it works beautifully. It is riveting to watch her expression be so stoic in the midst of chaos, but then I think ‘that is exactly how I would be’. Trust is a detriment and complacency is deadly!

Thwaites as Clay has such a casual attitude toward what is going on clearing the dead, yet when he has a chance to do something exciting, he’s all in. There is a connection with Ava as to their goal with both having their own stories. Thwaites provides the film with that mysterious element of ‘why would anyone do this?’ in regards to going into the quarantine zone while also offering to go where no one is allowed. That’s the rebellious side of Clay and it balances Ava’s determination.

Smith as Riley – all I can say is wow! This is the part where I don’t talk about the story more because he does such an amazing job yet I want the viewer to experience it for themselves. What I can say is that Smith provides the unexpected element in so many ways. Smith is suspicious of everything and everyone adding yet another layer to an already complex story.  

Other cast include Chloe Hurst as Katie, Kym Jackson as Lt. Wilkie, Dan Paris as Cpt. Vance, Salme Geransar as Pvt. Clarkson, Kim Fleming as the Colonel and Matt Whelan as Mitch.

Vertical Entertainment is a global independent distributor that offers a unique wealth of experience minus the studio costs. Film such as MY MOTHER’S WEDDING, I DON’T UNDERSTAND YOU, FIGHT OR FLIGHT and IN THE LOST LANDS are only a few of the film the studio has brought forward. For more please visit www.vert-ent.com.

Writer/director Hilditch explains, “There’s also something disturbingly poetic about the bodies we see throughout the film who simply dropped dead in the middle of whatever it was they were doing the moment of the pulse. This isn’t a virus; it’s people just going about their lives who simply stopped living due to a military mishap. The added element of the increasingly disgruntled victims who won’t stay down is one that I also think puts a fresh spin on the well-worn zombie genre and keeps the tension dialed up throughout. While themes of grief and closure are the beating heart of this movie, I want the audience to be terrified of this as a genre film, but a genre film that offers a different take on the well-worn zombie tropes.”

WE BURY THE DEAD is a unique and complex story in the zombie genre providing a different picture of dealing with the dead and living dead. What Hilditch has done is allow the groundwork to be laid by adding an uncustomary daymare in the realm of several issues. There is grief, loss, the unknown, chaos, suspicion, stealth just to name a few. Ridley, Thwaites and Smith are on their own, literally, to guide us through the formidable result of populace event under no one’s control!

Using Western Australia as the backdrop of the story allows for long stretches of road and quiet chaos watching the characters develop at their own pace, I love that. Steve Annis, Director of Photography, does an outstanding job of providing those visuals but I’d expect that knowing his work on the AppleTV+ series FOUNDATION (one of my favorites!). Jason Baird provides the very unusual look for the living dead that proves to be a tad frightening at first and then jaw dropping.

WE BURY THE DEAD is a unique and emotional journey that, for me, was unexpected and riveting. This is not an action packed, bloody and chaotic film but instead a slow burn that is urged on by complex human emotions that are both good, bad and frightening.

In the end – volunteer needed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make its Debut on 4K UHD is the Spectacular CLOUD ATLAS

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD from directors Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski, Radial Entertainment and Shout! Studios comes the ethereal story of CLOUD ATLAS. 

It is 1849 and Adam Ewing (Jim Sturgess) witnesses the beating of Moriori Autua (David Gyasi) who has stowed away on his ship. Trying to discover a way to help the man, Ewing goes against the evil ship’s doctor Henry Goose (Tom Hanks) who has other greedy plans for the good-hearted man. When he arrives in San Francisco, his wife Tilda (Doona Bae) discovers his father complicity in keeping people as slaves.

Farther into the future, 1936, composer Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw) avoids his problems in the city by going to composer Vyvyan Ayrs (Jim Broadbent) and it also gives him time to work on his own music. When he ran away, he also left behind his love Rufus Sixsmith (James D’Arcy) but it can’t be helped. It doesn’t take long before Ayrs shows his true colors forcing Frobisher to once again make a decision that will ripple through the ages.

Moving even more into the future, it is 1973 San Francisco when Luisa Rey (Halle Berry) gets a message to meet Sixsmith who is a nuclear physicist. As a journalist, Luisa can’t say no to the chance to intrigue and a chance to get her hands on reports about what has happened at a nuclear reactor. Meeting the over-confidence Lloyd Hooks (Hugh Grant), she is not easy swayed by his sticky sweet charm. One person who notices she is trying to do good is Isaac Sachs, a scientist who slips her the report.

Across the ocean in 2012 is Dermot Hoggins who has no problem knocking off a critic after a bad review of his good. Angry with publisher Timothy Cavendish, he asks for help from his brother Denholme but it leads him to a place that now he can’t even get out of because it’s all been a lie and now, he has to deal with Nurse Noakes (Hugo Weaving)! Talking about the future, in 2144 Korea, clones called ‘fabricants’ are the new indentured servants. Sonmi is one such fabricant who learns from others that there is a world outside their existence. Managing to escape with the help of Commander Hae-Joo Chang, she learns of the writings and the history of the past. She decides then that she will join the resistance at a high price.

In 2321, Zachry lives with tribesman in a small village in the post-apocalyptic world. A stranger comes into their midst; Meronym is looking for a station long hidden needing to find a message that will help the Prescient (Keith David). It is the Abbess (Susan Sarandon) of the village who knew this would happen. Knowing where it is, Zachry has to deal with a few matters first as his village is constantly under attack from a cannibal tribe and his own fears as he is plagued by the devil on his shoulder.

Hanks begins as Zachary but he is throughout the film portraying different characters, as most of the cast is. I expect nothing different from this iconic actor and in this film the range of characters are horrible to absolutely lovely. That’s not a bad range to fit all into one film and I loved every rendition he does. Zachary is the most thoughtful and most frightened of all his roles yet, he does everything possible to keep that fear in check in an effort to do the right thing. A signature feeling from Hanks. Berry begins as a journalist seeking out the truth and ends as a woman in the future seeking out the truth. Her journey through the film is that of the all character not exactly playing by the rules but then again, if it gets the job done I’m all for it.

Sturgess begins the film as Ewing, a lawyer who sees the atrocity of seeing a man being beaten. What he doesn’t expect is that the same man would be the reason he lives to become an abolitionist. Sturgess has the looks of innocence which, even after understanding the cruelty of man, his character keeps his faith and face in each instance of his characters. Keith as Prescient has the voice that makes his presence clear and shows that there are no small roles in this film.   

Whishaw as Frosbisher is the rogue of a musician and following his journey is actually filled with such pain and sorrow. I adored watching him take his role with such a riveting embrace, yes, bad boys can find good. Broadbent as Ayrs and Cavendish is such a duality that he makes look so damn easy and flawless. Weaving as Nurse Noakes certainly does give him a run for his money while entertaining me to the fullest. D’Arcy as Sixsmith carries in his character such a fore longing that is only shown on his face, and it is carried for more years than anyone I can imagine would. He is silently beautiful in his performance and the connections he brings to his other characters. 

Sarandon is the perfect person to play the Abbess. She is the calm and the wisdom in all the madness. Okay, so I’m just thrilled to see her in anything but still, watching her be the future force for women is everything. Gyasi as Autura is a man seeking freedom within the chaos of the time but never forgot his humanity, it wrecked me totally with its sublime humbleness.

A huge shout out to Bae as Somni because her character is absolutely stunning, absolutely. As a fabricant she goes by the rules of her programming, yet once outside the bounds and awaken to the world, she understanding what most don’t – that injustice can not remain silent, no matter the cost. Bae is so sweet and charming in this role with her innocence as well, just so well, well done.

Other cast include Brody Lee as Javier, Ian van Temperley as Enforcer, Robin Morrissey as young Cavendish, Martin Wuttke as Mr. Boerhaave, and Zhou Xun as Yoona-939.

SHOUT! Studios have grown into a tremendous multi-platform media company. Releasing new animated features such as the exquisite Long Way North, and the epic fantasy Beauty and The Beast. Also, their own original horror film, Fender Bender gives fans a good scare. For more of what SHOUT! Studios have to offer please visit www.shoutfactory.com.

Radial Entertainment is a global entertainment company operating with FilmRise and Shout! Studios. They have a library of over 70,000 movies and episodes making it the largest independent catalog. Its programming spans a wide range of genre with true crime, reality, animation, action, westerns, classics, horror and so much more. Please visit www.radialentertainment.com

The Collector’s Edition comes in a 3-disc set loaded with bonus content, including a brand-new feature-length documentary with the filmmakers, cast and crew. New Interviews with a Wide Variety of Cast and Crew, Author David Mitchell, Tom Hanks, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Keith David, James D’Arcy, David Gyasi, Susan Sarandon and Hugh Grant. Also, Co-Producer Roberto Malerba, Co-Director of Photography Frank Griebe, Production Designers Hugh Bateup and Uli Hanisch, Costumer Designer Kym Barrett and Pierre-Yves Gayraud, Make-Up Artist Jeremy Woodhead, Daniel Parker and Sian Richard and so much more.

Bonus Features include New 4K Restoration of the Digital Intermediate, Presented in Dolby Vision, 1080p High-Definition Widescreen, “What is an Ocean…Reconnection the Cast and Crew of CLOUD ATLAS, 7 Archival Featurettes, A Film Like No Other, Everything is Connected, The Impossible Adaptation, The Essence of Acting, Spaceships, Slaves & Sextets, The Bold Science Fiction of Cloud Atlas, Eternal Recurrence: Love, Life and Longing in CLOUD ATLAS and Extended Look Trailer.

CLOUD ATLAS has always been in my top ten films and for several reasons. First of all, it is a ride and a half keeping focus on everything that happens in the two hours and forty-five minutes. The complex stories that are intertwined together bring out every human emotion possible because it is so raw. Adding to that is the music of Tykwer that brings out even more of the emotions the film is trying to tell. The author David Mitchell wrote Cloud Atlas in 2004 and it came to the screens in 2012. In the six stories he tells, the orders jump so that the viewer can piece it together.

It is such a brilliant piece of work both written and on the screen with haunting, longing, awareness and ethereal beauty. Instead of bringing a large cast in to cover all the characters, it is a stroke of brilliance to have the actors play different characters in different stages and it is as smooth as silk. I’ve read articles referring to the structure of the film as a ‘Russian-doll’ and it is a perfect way to say it. What is even more exquisite about CLOUD ATLAS is that the struggles with each story might confuse some but for those of us that are patient for resplendence, CLOUD ATLAS delivers.

In the end – everything is connected!