WICKED: For Good Flys onto Bluray and Digital

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD, Bluray and Digital from director Jon M. Chu and Universal Pictures home Entertainment comes the next and final chapter in the saga of WICKED: For Good.

Some years have passed since Elphaba (Cynthia Ervio) defied the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum). Now given the name “Wicked Witch of the West”, she lives in a hideout and still fights for the rights of those that have been wronged. Best friend Glinda (Ariana Grande) is now in the top spot of being the Wizards spokesperson and called Glinda the Good and still being guided by Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). The handsome, and now Captain of the Guard, Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) is surprised to learn he is now engaged to Glinda but still promises to seek out Elphaba.

In the forest, Elphaba encounters animals escaping Oz, including Dulcibear and the now grown lion cub who is a bit, well, cowardly. That’s not all the changes, Elphaba’s sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) is now the governor of Munchkinland. Being looked after by Boq (Ethan Slater), he lets Nessa know that he’d like to move on from Munchkinland. When Elphaba arrives, it is her sister that wants to know why the magic isn’t helping her wheelchair situation and that’s when a pair of shoes comes into play and another spell doesn’t go as planned.

Wanting to free the flying monkeys, Elphaba and Glinda think they have a deal with the wizard. But, while Glinda walks down the aisle to marry Fiyero, Elphaba discovers once again that she has been lied too. Chaos breaks and so does a friendship and the only family she has ever known. Madam Morrible decides that its time for something to stir in the wind and what arrives is a house with a girl who is misled with promises if she only brings the Wizard one thing – a broom!

Glinda has other plans.

Ervio reprises the role of Elphaba and as time has passed, she is still navigating how to handle what she knows about the Wizard. Foremost on her mind is helping the animals that are running from Oz and navigating her friendship with Glinda. The flying monkeys are always on the chase for her but, the time that has passed has also given her greater understanding about her powers and what she is able to do. Ervio does her role proud, shares her ability to tear up a song and Elphaba has the opportunity to pave the way for everyone to continue to live a different life in Oz.

Grande also reprises her role as Glinda and time hasn’t changed her innocence and, sometimes, quirky optimism that is continually being taken advantage of. Floating in the world of pink and fluff, her feelings for Fiyero are heightened when it is announced that they will be married. The hair-flips, wide doe eyed looks, the high note songs and followers are still in the film but there are moments where she begins to understand that the world she has in her head isn’t exactly the world in front of her. Grande gets another opportunity to show off her vocal range with a long list of songs.

Yeoh as Madam Morrible is up to her usual dual sides of everything. She wants total control of everything and both Elphaba and Glinda challenge that, each in their own unique and awesome way. Yeoh gives her character the absolute right amount of horrible all wrapped up in high fashion and tornado abilities. Goldblum as the Wonderful Wizard isn’t so wonderful as he lives to create havoc in Oz. He and Morrible have decided who is acceptable to live in Oz and will do anything to make sure their plans aren’t interfered with. Goldblum is a family favorite actor and to watch him dance his way through the role of the Wizard is just so much fun (yes, we get he’s a bad wizard but he’s a good bad wizard!).

Bailey as Fiyero is a soldier conflicted and trying to do the right thing in so many different directions. The pull means it is time for him to make a decision about what he wants, and that decision brings about a change that neither Elphaba nor Glinda could have ever seen coming. Still, Bailey brings the charm of the first film into the second with grander emotion.

Bode as Nessa returns as a woman having to take over for her father governing Munchkinland. Her heart is still with Boq but she becomes conflicted and it brings her heartache. Bode owns her role as the sister of the Wicked Witch but her character is also dealing with the good and bad of what is happening in Oz. Slate as Boq believes it is time to move on from Munchkinland and return to Oz, that is the decision that changes everything for him. I loved the change of Slater’s character in that his emotions run deeper than from the first film, more complex.

Other cast include Colman Domingo as The Cowardly Lion, Bowen Yang as Pfannee, Bronwyn James as Shenshen, Keala Settle as Miss Coddle, Aaron Ti as Avaric, Sharon D. Clarke as Dulcibear, Adam James as Popsicle, Alice Fearn as Momsie, Scarlett Spears as young Galina and Bethany Weaver as Dorothy.

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has just added an amazing film to their library and making it available for us to all experience and re-experience in our own home theaters. There are films of every genre available from scary to drama to family films. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.uphe.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 Features include Theatrical & Sing-Along Version, Making WICKED: FOR GOOD, Deleted Scenes, The True Wizard, and Feature Commentary with Direction Jon M. Chu and more!

Award season is right around the counter and I have no doubt that the film will be nominated in so many different categories. Currently, the story has three wins from the Hollywood Music in Media Awards for Best Original Song – Stephen Schwartz (The Girl in the Bubble), Best Original Song – Stephen Schwartz (No Place Like Home), and Best Original Score – John Powell. Also, the 2025 Next Big Thing award from The Queerties and Most Anticipated Movie of 2025 by the Digital Spy Reader Awards. That is just the beginning.

Director Chu says of WICKED: For Good, “I learned so much from Elphaba and Glinda and I think I’ve gotten to let go of that idea of proving yourself. Even though it’s a fantasy, even though it’s a fairy tale, it’s our access into a human experience. What does it feel like when you believe so deeply, when you love so deeply, when you sacrifice anything? That we will have the capacity to do that. It’s what my parents taught me. It’s what American has taught me!”

The film is everything one would want in a part-two of a film. The colors are so vibrant, the cast is a credit to their respective roles, the music is stunning and the songs, well, the songs are exactly what I’d expect – catchy, charming, emotional and all with amazing choreography. The screen is filled to the brim with so much that it is overwhelming in a very good way. Telling this Broadway show on film was already a huge undertaking yet, it was done thoughtfully and with such talent and craftsmanship on all levels.

This was the top film my family wanted to see in 2025 and we were not disappointed at all. My granddaughter was in awe of it all and was so happy walking out telling me she was beyond excited to have seen it and plans to see it again and again. That’s how you know you have something special, yes, the adults will love it but to see that it has reached the younger audience is hope for other musicals in the future of film. WICKED: For Good, friendship, love, loyalty can be magic all its own.

In the end – you will be changed!

They are at the END OF WATCH

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD and Bluray in a Limited Edition Steelbook from writer/director David Ayers and Shout! Studios is the gripping END OF WATCH.

Officer Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Michael Pena) are partners in the Los Angeles Police Department assigned to South Central Los Angeles. Recently returned to duty after an officer involved shooting, Taylor finally returns back to his beat and making work notes for a class he is taking. That doesn’t mean that the problems are over, especially during a disturbance call and gang member Tre (Cle Shaheed Sloan) ends up in an altercation because of the racial remarks he makes towards Zavala. Tre and he fellow gang members are attacked later during a drive by cause more chaos.

The two continue their shift dealing with an arrest during a traffic stop when they discover firearms and cash in the car. It is Taylor who wants to continue to look into it and tries to talk Zavala into it. When they do, they discover a house of human trafficking but ICE steps in learning that the Sinaloa Cartel is responsible and to stay away. In their personal lives, Zavala is happy with wife Gabby (Natalie Martinez) and child while Taylor takes the leap becoming engaged to girlfriend Janet (Anna Kendrick).

During another shift, Taylor and Savala deal with the heinous beating of a fellow cop, wellness check on a woman discovering that the cartel has a message for them. Tre, find respect for Savala, tells them about a cartel assassination plot looking to hit the police. Taylor and Zavala brush off the warning. They should have listened!

Gyllenhaal as Taylor gives a strong performance as a cop who is basically providing video of his days as an LAPD cop. Obviously loving his job, he also finds himself in situations that would make everyone else run for the hills – fast. This is a tough role in the sense that there is a sense of reality to it all because as we know, bad people do bad things. Gyllenhaal has always been known to take on dynamic roles with a bit of edge and Taylor is no exception.

Pena as Zavala is, as always, such an amazing underrated actor. Along side Gyllenhaal, he is as tough as his partner but in a bit of a different way. Not quite as gun-ho but also doesn’t back down when it is called for. I love the mix of his character because Pena has been that actor who you throw a script at and he is going to make that character memorable and stand out. The character of Zavala is intense and shows his realness in so many ways and I’m here for it absolutely.

Kendrick as Janet is a woman who happens to be in love with a cop and everything that goes along with that. Finding the balance between who he is and what he does, Kendrick navigates us through the intensity of emotions and the life she bonds herself too. Martinez as Gabby is a wild wife who accepts Janet and Taylor because her husband sees him as a brother in so many ways. She had me laughing but at the same time is so beautiful with Pena’s character.

Other cast include Frank Grillo as Sgt. Daniels, Jaime FitzSimons as Cpt. Reese, America Ferrera as Officer Orozco, Kristy Wu as Officer Sook, Cody Horn as Officer Davis, Shondrella Avery as Bonita, Maurice Compte as Big Evil, Flakiss as La-La, Diamonique as Wicked, Richard Cabral as Demon, and David Harbour as Officer Van Hauser.

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.

Bonus Features Include Disc One (4K UHD), New 4K Dolby Vision Presentation, and Audio Commentary with Writer/Director David Ayer. Disc Two (Bluray) Audio Commentary with David Ayer, Deleted Scenes and Five Featurettes: Fate With A Badge, In the Streets, Women on Watch, Watch Your Six and Honors.

END OF WATCH was film primarily at the LAPD’s Newton Division in South Central Los Angeles with a budget of 7.1 million (remember, the film was shot in 2011). Shot with a mixture of found footage style, the scenes were captured with four cameras filing at the same time. A combination of vest cams, dashboard and handheld camera, there are two endings to the film with Ayers choosing the one in the released film.

The film is a gripping look at two cops who would do anything for each other and do. These two actors are front and center in the story and it is almost impossible to take your eyes off the screen. It is dark, unbelievable and hard to turn away from with the possibility that this is what cops on the streets dead with on a daily basis. From scene to scene, there isn’t a moment where it is predictable which is what has always caught me about this film.

Director Ayers says of his film, “A friend thought I should write another cop film. When a friend of mine showed me like a highlights reel. It was insane and it was so compelling. Just to flip the cop story further, they are good guys. They are not corrupt. Writing it in six days, the script came out of me like lightening. The story is all about the two characters. Inside the cop car are my favorite scenes. It is so simple, if you have friends, their confirmations are so beautiful and subtle with universal themes.”

Gyllenhaal and Pena are the film absolutely. Watching the story unfold, they are front and center in the story Ayes is trying to tell. Squashing the stereotypical film of cops being corrupt, these two officers are not. That creates a look of a deep relationship between these two characters that will stay with you forever.

In the end – every moment of your life they stand watch!

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.

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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!