MEN IN BLACK Celebrates its 25th Anniversary

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD, Bluray and Digital from director Barry Sonnenfeld and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the awesome Steelbook 25^th Anniversary of MEN IN BLACK.

James Edwards (Will Smith) is a NYPD officer who loves going after the bad guys and this time it’s a freaky chase all the way to the Guggenheim. Trying to explain what happened to the perp, his questioning is interrupted by a man named K (Tommy Lee Jones) and the next thing James knows, he’s eating pie.

Giving him a card, he instructs him to show up at MIB headquarters the next morning to see what its all about. Explaining they are a secret agency that polices aliens using all sorts of extraterrestrial technology, James is all in. What that means is James is going to become Agent J and will be erased from all records.

Of course, across town, so to speak, is farmer Edgar (Vincent D’Onofrio) who has just had something bizarre land in his yard. Checking it out, he becomes an ‘Edgar suit’ for an alien who has an odd need for sugar. It also goes on a spree taking out two aliens disguised as humans and they are taken to the morgue. There Agents K and J meet the coroner Laurel (Linda Fiorentino) and they discover a little dude inside the big dudes head!

Now they know that the bug-Edgar is looking for the galaxy on Orion’s Belt, the race of Arquillians have placed a warship near earth giving them an ultimatum. That puts Agents K and J square in the middle of the potential for a galactic war. But then again, that’s what bug-Edgar wants!

Finding an escape in the 1964 New York World’s Fair Pavilion, the big guns are going to be needed. In the trunk of Agent K’s ultimate in sleek cars, Agent J finds something to suit their purposes because – they are the Men in Black!

Jones as Agent K is a straight faced and extremely serious employee who does not have time to joke around. He gets his alien (even if one time he might have had a slip) every time and takes the purpose of the MIB very, very seriously. That all being said, he does crack me up a little and is completely charming in a twisted sort of way.

Smith as Agent J is the wise-cracking one of the duo and he keeps K on his toes. Wanting to learn everything quickly, he does make a few mistakes and discovers that perhaps this was not his first go around on things. The ‘memory flashy thingie’ becomes something he is eager to use without realizing it has been used on him – a lot.

D’Onofrio as the Edgar-bug is hilarious from beginning to end. He has his own one-liners and zinger defenses that are pretty darn cool. His driving skills are a bit off and he needs to lay off the sugar but all in all a memorable character.

Fiorentino as Laurel is the coroner that gets herself in a little deeper than Agents K and J would have liked. Her role would become stronger and stronger as the story goes along as she finds herself dealing with the Men in Black.

Shout out to Rip Torn as Chief Zed because I absolutely loved him in this role because he makes the same faces I did when my kids were teens driving me nuts while I tried to keep it together.

Other casts include Becky Ann Baker as Mrs. Redgick, Carel Struycken as Arquillian, Richard Hamilton as Agent D, Jon Gries as Nick, Mike Nussbaum as Gentle Rosenberg, John Alexander as Mikey, Patrick Breen as Mr. Redgick, Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Beatrice and Tony Shalhoub as Jack Jeebs.

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 on 4K Ultra HD Notes from the Director’s Chair Featurette and Designing MEN IN BLACK Featurette. Blu-ray Disc include Telestrator Commentary with Director Barry Sonnenfeld and Tommy Lee Jones, Technical Commentary with Barry Sonnenfeld, Rick Baker and Industrial Lights and Magic Team, Extended & Alternate Scenes, Metamorphosis of MEN IN BLACK Documentary, Original Featurette, Scene Editing Workshop, Storyboard Comparisons, Galleries, Music Video and Original Theatrical and Trailer Releases.

MEN IN BLACK hit theatres in 1997 and took off for the stratosphere! It is not only a fun film but it is funny, well hilarious actually, and just a good time watching the big screen. I remember taking my kids (now grown) to see it for the first time and we saw it several times after that.

When it came out on VHS – google it kiddies – the kid had to have it in their collection. Wearing that poor tape out does not even cover it. But, every time we watched, it was together as a family and we always laughed like crazy.

Now, it is time for the grandchildren to have as much fun and still watch it as a family. Get that popcorn popped, get the couch all comfy, turn down the lights and even turn on the sound bar and prepare for one of the most iconic films ever. Memorable characters, a fantastic cast and lines that are recognizable and repeatable even today. Happy Anniversary MIB!

In the end – it is all in an Earth day at work!

This Doctor Brings a DEATH WISH to Bluray

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray/DVD and VOD from director Eli Roth, MGM and Fox Home Entertainment is a man with a DEATH WISH.

Dr. Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis) is a respected physician with a good life supported by wife Lucy (Elisabeth Shue), college bound daughter Jordan (Camila Morrone) and brother Frank (Vincent D’Onofrio). Saving lives by day he is about to celebrate Jordan’s acceptance to college and a birthday.

Preparing for a night out of celebrating, Kersey is called to the hospital for an emergency. Still wanting to celebrate, Lucy and Jordan return home with the goodies to make a cake. Lucy becomes alarmed realizing that there is someone in the house and while trying to get out with Jordan, they are confronted by the burglars.

Giving them what they want isn’t enough as things go horribly wrong. Kersey is called into the ER to discover his family has been attacked. Police Det. Kevin Raines (Dean Norris) and Det. Lenore Jackson (Kimberly Elise) are on the case and swear they will get the criminals responsible.

Kersey isn’t happy with that as time goes by and they still aren’t apprehended. Haunted by what has happened to his family, he begins a journey into being a vigilante that the public dubs ‘The Grim Reaper’. That is until he comes face to face with the man responsible for it all and will not be broken again!

Willis as Dr. Kersey is a trusted doctor and clearly loves his family. Believing he has played life by the right rules, his thought process changes when his family is attacked. It goes even further when he is attacked for trying to help someone which flips the switch for The Grim Reaper to be created. His goal may be to make those who hurt his family pay but Willis gives Kersey a creepier feel with his low-key, frozen emotion performance. Willis has still got the stuff. He scared me more than the criminals!

D’Onofrio as brother Frank is beloved by the family, even if he hits his brother’s wallet on occasion. Worried about his brother and family, D’Onofrio turns on the protective mode. Shue as Lucy is lovely and charming and I’m thrilled anytime she appears on the screen.

Morrone as Jordan is fighting for her life and that’s what keeps Kersey going. Norris as Raines along with Elise as Jackson are trying to find the criminals but this Grim Reaper keeps getting in their way.

Other cast include: Beau Knapp as Knox, Len Carious as Ben, Jack Kesy as The Fish, Ronnie Blevins as Joe, Kirby Blanton as Bethany and Wendy Crewson as Dr. Jill Klavens.

Twentieth Century Fox 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.fox.com.

The Bluray includes the Special Features of Commentary with Eli Roth and Roger Birnbaum, Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary with Eli Roth and Roger Birnbaum, Mancow Morning Show Extended Scenes, Sway in the Morning Extended Scene, Vengeance and Vision: Directing Death Wish and Grindhouse Trailer.

DEATH WISH is actually based on the 1972 novel of the same name by Brian Garfield. It was followed in 1975 by a sequel Death Sentence which DEATH WISH II used elements of the story.

From 1974 until 1987, Charles Bronson brought us the DEATH WISH series of films. He was quiet, raw and extremely dangerous. Now, in 2018, Willis once again gives us the quiet, raw and extremely dangerous Dr. Kersey.

Willis has given fans so many dimensions to the roles he has played. It is clear that comedy started out as his forte but the big screen quickly learned that he has a powerful dramatic side. Oh let us not forget that he can always use that voice to lull us all into a false sense of security before lowering the boom aka THE SIXTH SENSE and SIN CITY.

This is a story of family, madness, acts of a vigilante and fear one man’s acts have on a city. It all starts with a good man living an average life until not-so-good men turn his life upside down. The film brings about a duality in understanding his anger but not condoning his actions. DEATH WISH is definitely a conversation worth having.

In the end – how far would you go to protect your family?