FOR ALL MANKING Sends Season One into Space

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming on Bluray from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and creators Ben Nedivi, Matt Wolpert, Ronald D. Moore is the world of ‘what if’s’ about the history of the space race with FOR ALL MANKIND: Season One.

It is 1969 and, in this universe, Soviet Alexei Leonov has just landed and step foot on the moon ahead of NASA and the United States is stunned. Edward Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman), an Apollo 10 astronaut, is furious and is out drinking when he tells a reporter that NASA basically didn’t do enough to win the space race. Baldwin’s wife Karen (Shantel VanSanten) knows this is trouble.

Director Wernher Von Braun (Colm Feore) is not happy with this and send him to, well, Siberia refusing to work with him again. When Apollo 11 does go up, Armstrong (Jeff Branson) and Aldrin (Chris Agos) run into problems. Crossing the border into the United States, Rosales and his daughter Aleida (Coral Pena) start a new life and gets a job working at NASA. Aleida also finds that she has an interest in space.

Nixon wants a moon base and he wants it now even though Director Braun says it is not possible. The president doesn’t like being told no and a campaign against Braun begins and Baldwin finds himself in the middle of the mess. Margo (Wrenn Schmidt) has been loyal to Braun and is shocked to hear what has been happening. Deke Slayton (Chris Bauer) brings Baldwin back into the fold but not before another Soviet moon shock happens.  

Slayton is frustrated as Nixon once again makes demands of NASA and this time, he wants female astronauts. Included is Tracey Stevens (Sarah Jones), wife of Gordo Stevens (Michael Dorman) of Apollo 15, Molly Cobb (Sonya Walger), Patty Doyle (Cass Bugge), Danielle Poole (Krys Marshall) and Ellen Waverly (Jodi Balfour). The women are excited and the men are nervous as training begins, and it is all dangerous.

The Soviets are having problems of their own as well but NASA is pushing hard. Slayton has decided to remove Gordo from Apollo 15 and send Cobb instead. The problem is she has a chip on her shoulder the side of the moon. Margo tells her that she needs to rethink her attitude and that Cobb has the potential to blow the mission, the switch is flipped and she is on point.

Once on the moon, Cobb makes a discovery that allows the team to claim success in the mission. Poole is dealing with her husband who has returned from Vietnam with mental issues. That doesn’t stop from NASA’s Moon base names Jamestown. It’s now 1974, Baldwin, Gordo and Poole are living on the base and they are worried about communism. President Ted Kennedy is now running things and Apollo 23 causes a disaster that reworks NASA. Margo revisits Braun and finds a reason to get NASA to put her in charge and the Soviets have their Zvezda base.

Apollo 24 is having its issues delaying its meet up with Jamestown and it is becoming clear that Gorgo needs to go home and how that happens is intense. Ellen and Larry (Nate Corrdry) are dealing with issues that the FBI are bringing to the forefront and there is only one solution. Home lives of other astronauts are becoming serious and Baldwin doesn’t know that his son has been in a serious accident. Baldwin also discovers that the Soviets are truly spying on their base.

Karen is struggling and Apollo 24 continues to have technical failure. So much so that Ellen and Deke are dealing with the fallout. Dennis Tracy and Molly are preparing with Apollo 25 as the Soviets infringe on the U.S. mine but find they need their help from a country they shouldn’t.

Ellen and Deke are dealing with what is happening aboard Apollo 24 and once again there is a need between two countries. Baldwin has a chance to find out firsthand what the Soviets are thinking and what they are doing. That does not stop the expansion of Jamestown, no one or nothing is going to stop it.

Kinnaman as Baldwin is a man determined to get to the moon even if he sometimes steps in a bit of trouble. Trying to balance a home life and a career, he sees the effect it has on his wife but the drive to go to space is powerful. I have always enjoyed Kinnaman’s performances and in this series, he does not disappoint and delivers a strong storyline with tension and emotion. VanSanten as wife Karen goes through a series of every emotion possible when trying to support the choices her husband makes but there comes a time when it is now her choice in what comes next in her life.

Dorman as Gordo has a history of being a ladies’ man and everyone knows it, but after a mission to the moon things begin to change for him. Dorman gives his character such complexities and I never know what he’s going to do next and that’s everything. Jones is wife Tracy who knows her husband has predilections and turns the other way. That is until she is recruited into NASA where the balance of their marriage shifts. Jones portrays Tracy as going through being a housewife to a career that no one saw coming.

Balfour as Ellen is working hard to get up the ladder at NASA and is making choices about her life because of the stigma push of society. Balfour is quietly powerful and it will all come to radical decisions for their time. Schmidt as Madison leans heavily on her friendship with Von Braun but will find her own footing. Schmidt carves a path for her character and its again subtlety strong. Walger as Cobb jumps into training but it doesn’t mean she isn’t clear about who wants to be in power and who is in charge of the fake socials. Marshall as Poole is a woman of color who knows what she needs to do to get to the moon. When it comes down to it, Marshall is put in the position that conflicts with NASA and home.

Pena as Aleida has a match problem but once her father introduces her to the possibilities at NASA, she is taken under Margo’s wing to find where she wants to be. Her father has a melt down when she makes it clear than rather going to college to become an engineer, she wants to stay in school with her friends and the boy in her life.

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.

The Bluray includes the 10 Episodes: Red Moon, He Built the Saturn V, Nixon’s Women, Prime Crew, Into the Abyss, Home Again, Hi Bob, Rupture, Bent Bird, and A City Upon a Hill.

FOR ALL MANKIND: Season One introduces the viewer to a world that would not be expecting. It is not upside down or twisted but a linear view, side by side, with the basic history of space. There are issues and incidents that keep us on the ground and then on the other line is unexpected and fantastic storylines that compel continual viewing.

The cinematography of space is pure joy if even if you might not be a total space fan. It shows exactly what we would expect of the cosmos and of life on the moon. The intensity of the missions is filmed beautifully and keeps the suspense exactly where it should be, thumping in the middle of our chests. The political issues are interesting because it tackles the story of ‘what if this didn’t happen’ scenarios and everything is challenging.

Let’s not forget the drama and intrigue of the cast of characters either. It is vast and for both men and women, families and friends, life decisions and issues that although playing in the linear universe to our own, are totally relatable and equally frustrating. The first few episodes are a mixture and take a moment to place but once it happens, everything else expands like the universe.

Strap down because this rocket doesn’t slow down.

In the end – the space race is never going to end!

JUSTFIED: City Primeval Season One Returns

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray from FX and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the return of a successful series with JUSTIFIED: City Primeval Season One.

Willa Givens (Vivian Olyphant) is a fifteen-year-old problem child for Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) and it doesn’t get easier when criminals steal his car. That means he can’t take Willa off to camp meaning he now has to take her at the same time he is extraditing men to Michigan. Things don’t go easier in Detroit but, Raylan gets a gig with judge Guy (Keith David) as someone is trying to kill him. Things doing go according to plan when there is a third problem involving Clement Mansell (Boyd Holbrook) and Skender and they aren’t going to stop.

Rayland and Detective Robinson (Victor Williams) don’t know there is a history going back to 2017 and a robbery. Interesting that the good detective remembers the woman Sandy (Adelaide Clemens) and she is off telling Mansell the cops are snooping around and Sweety Sweeton (Vondie Curtis-Hall) is also in on what is happening. Later, Willa sees what her father is capable of when he deals with Mansell his way.

Mansell tells Carolyn but the police have other plans. One of the men working for Sweety finds the gun that could cause trouble and re-hides it. Things are getting heated as there is a larger plan that Raylan is getting involves with. Knowing this, Raylan has it out with his daughter making it clear she is returning to Florida.

Knowing that he is in bigger trouble than he could imagine, Mansell has Skender’s uncle after him. Sweety has no intention of helping Carolyn, especially when he learns that Judge Guy has a notebook that could destroy a lot of people and the Albanians are on the hunt as well. Raylan is in over his head with Carolyn and Mansell starts off his blackmail schemes to get money from anyone in the notebook.

Rayland, working with detective Downey (Marin Ireland) are trying to get information about the notebook as well. Everyone wants their name off the list and will do just about anything to get it. It’s all starting to fall apart when they learn where the mysterious gun might be and everyone starts singing like a flock of birds. When it is all said and done, Raylan wants to high tail it back to Miami to continue his retirement but – when the phone rings…..

Olyphant as Raylan brings back the swagger the series became known for and he picks it up like a favorite overcoat and the fit is perfect. The one thing about Raylan the viewer can be sure of, his involvement in things is not surface but goes deep with so many twists and turns that you could get whiplash keeping up. That’s what made the series so successful and I’m thrilled to see him back in action.

Other cast include Norbert Leo Butz as Norbert Bryl, Ravi V. Patel as Rick, Paul Calderon as Det. Cruz, Amin Joseph as Jamal, Regina Taylor as Diane, David Cross as Dickey, Terry Kinney as Toma Costia, Natalie Zea as Winona, Luiz Guzman as Officer Ramirez, Matt Craven as Dan Grant, David Koechner as Dep. Sutter, and Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder.

Episodes include City Primeval, The Oklahoma Wildman, Backstabbers, Kokomo, You Good?, Adios, The Smoking Gun, and The Question.

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.

JUSTFIED: City Primeval is the perfect season one to binge on and, just to make things more interesting, I watched all the previous seasons prior. That made for a fun time getting to spend a little quality time with Raylan (come on, you know you love it) and remembering bits and pieces about the character that I had forgotten.

FX did a fantastic job creating this series in the first place with its memorable (shout out Goggins!!) characters. I don’t see this as much as bringing it back and picking up where we left off. There is no way that the character of Raylan was going to ‘retire’ because it is just not in his wheelhouse. Instead, he is still as good as he always was and will continue to be so, thanks to good writing, as we wait for a potential new season.

In the end - dust off your cowboy boots and hats because the handsome sheriff is back in town!

 

VIOLENT NIGHT Celebrates the Holidays on 4K Ultra HD

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD, Bluray and Digital from director Tommy Wirkola and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is a different look about the man from the North Pole with VIOLENT NIGHT.

The holidays are here and Santa Claus (David Harbour) is disillusioned, disgusted and dismayed at what has happened to Christmas. Not his usual ho-ho-ho self, he does the minimum to get the job done and not with an ounce of jolly.

Jason Lightstone (Alex Hassell) gets wife Linda (Alexis Louder) to agree to go to mom Gertrude’s (Beverly D’Angelo) house for Christmas. Taking daughter Trudy (Leah Brady), it becomes clear quickly that there are family issues. Waiting for them is Jason’s sister Alva (Edi Patterson), her bad actor husband Morgan (Cam Gigandet) and son Bert (Alexander Elliot).

There is the usual sibling bickering about the family company and money. That is until all Christmas breaks loose as Mr. Scrooge (John Leguizamo) enters their festivities. He brings his band of merry gun-toting mercenary elves with only one mission – get money and go!

The problem is, they didn’t expect Santa to be in the house who catches on real quick that this is not the house to be visiting. Finding a radio, Santa hears Trudy on her radio telling him not only what she wants for Christmas but what is happening in the house. Wanting to walk away, there is something about Trudy that makes Santa decide that he needs to remember who he is and that makes all the difference.

It’s skull cracking time!

Harbour as Santa Claus is hilarious, sweet, a little vicious but has a story to tell. Once the gang realizes there is a Santa in the house, the chase is on and Harbour gets down and dirty. That makes the film so much more fun in a twisted sort of way. It is next to impossible not to cheer for Harbour’s character and, to be honest, I was all for it. That is part of the fun of the film and trust when I say it is Harbour who makes it thrilling every frame of film.

Leguizamo as Mr. Scrooge is a guy who has serious issues of his own. Money starts out being the motive for the madness but I suspect that Leguizamo’s characters issues run holiday deep. Deciding to go all out to get what he wants, there is nothing or no one, not even Santa that is going to stop this well-designed plan. Then again, Scrooge vs. Santa is a whole other knock down drag out.

Hassell as Jason wants his family back but has to go through a lot this night to see if that can happen. Louder as Linda knows the Lightstone family are a lot but puts it all aside to do the right thing for her daughter, bet she wished she had made other plans! Patterson as Alva is just one hot mess who thinks she has what it takes to take her own brother down, yea, about that…..! Gigandet as Morgan is that family member that just can’t help but show why everyone else rolls their eyes.

Brady as Trudy is just a sweet young girl who wants her parents to be happy and spending Christmas together. When the chaos happens, she reaches out to Santa for help and does not seem surprised when he comes through. There is a bit of another film mixed into Brady’s characters bag of tricks and it’s pretty funny. Well done young lady, well done. Elliot as Bert portrays all the kids us older folk can’t stand to be around and he does it really well!

Let’s talk about D’Angelo as Gertrude. She is saucy, mouthy and can take a hit. She knows what her family thinks of her and it doesn’t change anything about her naughty attitude. I just love this character and D’Angelo did it all with nothing short of bad attitude sprinkled with Christmas glitter!

Other cast include Brendan Fletcher as Krampus, Mike Dopud as Commander Thorp, Stephanie Sy as Sugarplum, John Lowe as Pub Santa, Andre Eriksen as Bjorn, and Erik Athavale as Richard.

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.

Exclusive Bonus Feature include Deleted and Extended Scenes, Quarrelin’ Kringle, Santa’s Helpers: The Making of VIOLENT NIGHT, Deck the Halls with Brawls and Feature Commentary.

VIOLENT NIGHT does not waste a moment and from beginning to end it is Harbour that is a mixture of comedy, drama and charming. Oh sure, Santa has a history and sure he seems like a crushing Ninja but that does not change the fact that he brings gifts to believers. Don’t get me wrong, the film is really violent, really bloody but it is also really hysterical.

Now that being said, it has been quite a while since I’ve seen a film that had me cheering, making faces and dropping my jaw. Okay, so tried to close my eyes and ended up looking through my fingers at one point but darn it was fun. The cast assembled bring a holiday film that I will predict right now will become a holiday tradition (at least in my house).

I think we found another twisted film to add to the family’s equally twisted Christmas binging tradition.

In the end – you better watch out!

BLACK HAWK DOWN Lands on 4K Ultra HD

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD, Bluray and Digital from director Ridley Scott and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the true story of the men and BLACK HAWK DOWN.

Somalia is a nation in civil war and the UN Security Council wants a peacekeeper through military operations.  However, within a year, there is rivalry between UNOSOM II and a militia in Mogadishu loyal to Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The United States has their own response as President Clinton decides to send the Task Force Rangers to capture Aidid who is taking from his own people.

Immediately they capture Osman Ali Atto who sells arms to Aidid and continue their mission to capture Aidid’s top advisers. Staff Sgt. Mathew Eversmann (Josh Hartnett) leads Private Todd Blackburn (Orlando Bloom) and Specialist John Grimes (Ewan McGregor) up for the operation. When a helicopter goes down, Sgt. Jeff Struecker (Brian Van Holt) and his Humvee team converge on the crash site but Lt. Col. Danny McKnight (Tom Sizemore) can’t get through. The Rangers led by Cpt. Mike Steele (Jason Isaacs) and team are also pinned down.

Aidid’s militia is now doing everything they can to destroy any American military they find. Death and destruction happen among the soldiers trying to find a way to escape from those who will do anything to kill. What the militia didn’t count on was the strength and determination of their fellow soldiers and the countries who refuse to tolerate it all.

To go into detail for each of these actors would take more pages than I can possibly use. This is an intense film that brings together the work of all these actors taking on roles that are poignant, frightening, heart-wrecking, strong, protective and every other descriptor of a hero you can possibly want to use.

In a country that is run by individuals who only know death and destruction, their aim was to brutalize anyone who got in their way. This is a difficult film for some to watch for its brutality and its general hatred portrayed all around. Yet, in the midst of that is a wide cast of roles that each see their duty and do not question what it is they are to do – save lives if they can.

Other cast include Ewen Bremner as SPC Shawn Nelson, Gabriel Casseus as SPC Mike Kurth, Hugh Dancy as SFC Kurt Schmid, William Fichtner as SFC Jeff Sanderson, Kim Coates as MSG Chris Wex, Steven Ford as LTC Joe Cribbs, Ioan Gruffudd as Lt. John Beales, Tom Guiry as Sgt. Ed Yurek, Charlie Hofheimer as CPL Jamie Smith, Danny Hoch as Sgt. Dominic Pilla, Zeljko Ivanek as Ltc. Gary L. Harrell, Johnny Strong as SFC Randy Shughart, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Msg. Gary Gordon, Richard Tyson as Ssg. Daniel Busch, Ron Eldard as CW4 Michael Durant, Glenn Morshower as Col. Thomas Matthews, Ian Virgo as Pfc. John Waddell, Tom Hardy as Spc. Lance Twonbly, Gregory Sporleder as Sgt. Schott Galentine, Carmine Giovinazzo as Sgt. Mike Goodale, Chris Beetem as Sgt. Casey Joyce and Jeremy Piven as CW4 Clifton Wolcott.

Boyd Bestner as CW3 Mike Goffena, Pavel Vokoun as CW3 Donovan Briley, Jason Hildebrandt as CW3 Dan Jollota, Keith Jones as himself, Tac, Fitzgerald as Spc. Dale Sizemore, Enrique Murciano as Sgt. Lorenzo Ruiz, Michael Roof as Pvt. John Maddox, Kent Linville as Pfc. Clay Othoic, Norman Rees as Lt. Tom DiTomasso, Razaaq Adoti as Yousuf Dahir Mo’alim, Treva Etienna as Firimbi, Ty Burrell as Tsgt. Timothy Wilkinson, Dan Woods as Sgt. Scott Fales, Giannina Facio as Stephanie Shughart and Sam Shepard as MG William Garrison.

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.

The Special Features include Three Audio Commentaries Featuring Director Ridley Scott-Producer Jerry Bruckheimer-Author Mark Bowden- Screenwriter Ken Noland -Task Force Ranger Veterans, “The Essence of Combat: Making BLACK HAWK DOWN”, PBS Presents: “Frontline: Ambush in Mogadishu”, 8 Deleted & Alternate Scenes with Optional Commentary, “Designing Mogadishu” Featurette, Production Design Archive, Ridleygrams with Commentary and Target Building Insertion with Commentary.

Also included Q&A Forums: BAFTA, Motion Pictures Editors Guild & American Cinematheque, Jerry Bruckheimer’s BLACK HAWK DOWN Photo Album, Title Design Explorations with Commentary, “Gortoz A Ran – J’Attends” Music Video Performed by Denez Prigent & Lisa Gerrard, Photo Galleries, Theatrical Poster Concepts, Trailer & TV Spots, and Original Special Features Designed & Produced by Charles de Lauzirika.

BLACK HAWK DOWN is probably one of the most intense films about war that I can recall seeing. Seeing how the people of Somalia were being treated and subjected to brutality and starvation, it is clear why the world reacted as it did. However, going according to plan had dangers of its own, dangers that the soldiers that committed to the mission knew existed.

It is one-hundred and fifty-two minutes of intensity but a story that director Scott felt compelled to tell. In that lies the story in the book by Mark Bowden and while a dramatization of events, the re-writes and help of the military, BLACK HAWK DOWN has once again come to the forefront and worthy of a spot in anyone’s home entertainment library.

In the end – leave no man behind!

On Steelbook is the Telling of THE GUNS OF NAVARONE

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD, Bluray, Digital and in Steelbook from director J. Lee Thompson and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the story of THE GUNS OF NAVARONE.

Kheros is an island and in 1943 over 2,000 British soldiers are unable to leave. What is called the Axis powers plan to assault the island and even when the Royal Navy tries to intervene, they are fired upon from Navarone Island. The only way to stop the shelling is by sending in a unit that can destroy the guns.

Major Roy Franklin (Anthony Quayle), along with Cpt. Keith Mallory (Gregory Peck), Col. Andrea Stavros (Anthony Quinn), Corporal Miller (David Niven), Spyros Pappadimos (James Darren) and “The Butcher” Brown (Stanley Baker) make up the group that will sail across the Aegean disguised as Greek fisherman and steal a German boat. Now that they are on high alert, Franklin is injured and the group is eventually captured by Muesel (Walter Gotell) and the interrogations begins.

This isn’t a team that is going to be stopped easily as they get German uniforms and make their way to their destination, Navarone. What they find there is treachery, lies and more difficulty than they could imagine to finish the mission, yet, that is what they plan to do and no one or nothing will stop with their own plans. 

Peck as Mallory was/is a large presence on the screen in the film. He has the presence and the voice that is captivating and would make any soldier snap-to! Along with Peck is Quinn as Stavros who has a secret of his own but it does not stop him from going forward with the mission. Darren as Pappadimos was, at the time, a heart throb for many yet he fits into the cast extremely well.

Shout out to Richard Harris as he has been an actor I would recognize a mile away when growing up. I followed every film he was in and, as I got older, was thrilled beyond belief when he took his turn as the headmaster of Hogwarts and, quite honestly, was the reason I saw the film in the first place. As Barnsby, he is equal to the task as his American counterpart actors in telling this story. 

Other cast include Irene Papas as Maria, Percy Herbert as Grogan, George Mikell as Sessler, Gia Scala as Anna, James Justice as Jensen, Albert Lieven as Commandant, Tutte Lemkov as Nicolai, Bryan Forbes as Cohn, Allan Cuthbertson as Baker, Michael Trubshawe as Weaver and Richard Harris as Barnsby.

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 Main Title Progression Reel and Theatrical Trailer on 4K Ultra HD. On Bluray the Features include Commentaries with Director J. Lee Thompson & Film Historian Stephen J. Rubin, Three Documentaries.

Also included is Audio Commentary by Director J. Lee Thompson, Audio Commentary by Film Historian Stephen J. Rubin, The Resistance Dossier of NAVARONE: interactive Feature, Forging THE GUNS OF NAVARONE: Notes from the Set, An Ironic Epic of Heroism, Memories of Navarone, Epic Restoration, A Heroic Score, Gret Guns, No Visitors, Honeymoon on Rhodes, Two Girls on the Town, Narration-Free Prologue and Message from Carl Foreman.

THE GUNS OF NAVARONE hit theatres in 1961 and is based on the novel by Alistair MacLean also called The Guns of Navarone. Premiering at London’s West End Odeon Leicester Square, it went on to be one of the top grossing films of 1961. It went on to win the Academy Award for Best Special Effects, two Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Original Score – Motion Picture, and a Laurel Award for Top Drama. It also came in at #89 in the AFI’s 100 Years…100 Thrills.

Coming in at two hours and thirty-eight minutes, it is a story fraught with intrigue, war, missions, dedication, locations, and the enemy trying to conquer the world. The cinematography is amazing for its age yet holds up to the test of time. Watching it once again reminds me of spending time with the family watching a good Friday night film at home with popcorn cheering on the hero.

In the end – it is the greatest adventure ever films!

It is Gold to the Classic AMERICAN GRAFFITI

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD, Bluray and Digital from director George Lucas and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment celebrating its Golden 50^th Anniversary is the iconic AMERICAN GRAFFITI.

Curt (Richard Dreyfuss), Steve (Ron Howard), John (Paul Le Mat), and Terry (Charles Martin Smith) are spending what is left of their freedom after graduating high school basking in the summer of 1962. Meeting up at Mel’s Drive-In they are getting together because Curt and Steve are leaving for college. Steve’s girlfriend Laurie (Cindy Williams) joins them as they have a conversation about where their relationship is going.

On their way to the dance, Curt sees a white Thunderbird and the lady driving says “I love you” and it sends Curt on a journey to find her. The leader of the gang “The Pharaohs” tells him she is a hooker but he doesn’t believe it. Steve decides to let Terry have his car while he’s at college and all sorts of mayhem happens from that bad decision which involves Debbie (Candy Clark) and a beat down. All the while John is stuck with a precocious Carol (Mackenzie Phillips).

A race changes everything for a group of friends and Curt turns to Wolfman Jack to help him find the woman in the sports car as he races back to Mel’s Drive-In and the pay phone. You never know what you will see from an airplane window!

Dreyfuss as Curt is everything I loved about this character. He gives us angst, uncertainty, a longing for something he isn’t even sure really exists, friendship and the journey away from the small town of Modesto, California. The last summer is the one we carry with us forever because it is when a part of life ends and another begins and that summer is the limbo in between.

Howard as Steve is not Opie for sure (google it children) but he has an idea for his future. Then again, that’s what happens when you are in that limbo, leaving where you have been is so hard but the future is such a pull. Smith as Terry has always been underappreciated as an actor but in this film, he set the groundwork and standard for me following his work and, his character is so charming.

Williams as Laurie is every high school girl’s worry when the ‘love of your life’ goes away with promises of returning to that high school love. I can’t count how many times Laurie had me putting my hand over my heart with an ‘awwww’ moment. Phillips as Carol is a smart mouthed (even if she might get it wrong) girl who doesn’t let anyone get the better of her, until they get close and she needs a bit of rescuing. She is so good in this role.

Shout out to Harrison Ford for his role as Bob because he took on Carol and it was hilarious to watch.

Other cast include Bo Hopkins as Joe, Manuel Padilla Jr. as Carlos and Harrison Ford as Bob Falfa.

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 The Making of AMERICAN GRAFFITI – Genesis of the Project, A Personal Story, Casting, Production Begins, Production Stories, Post Production, Final Words, Screen Tests, Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss and Paul Le Mat, Ron Howard and Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips and Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Theatrical Trailer and Feature Commentary with Director George Lucas.  

AMERICAN GRAFFITI is all the words you can find that describe something as a classic and iconic. What a beautiful look at a time that will never come again and that the sadness of it actually. In 1972, my class would have almost the same feelings because that’s what the final summer is about. Challenging the norms, trying to find out where, as a young person, we all fit in the grand scheme of things.

Some of us knew and some of us didn’t, some of us went head first into the future nervous but unafraid of what we might find and some held back and tried to stay in the world that was slowly dissolving making way for the next batch. I actually know quite a few people who still, in their 60’s (ironic, no?) never left their last summer.

AMERICAN GRAFFITI is stunning to watch in 4K Ultra HD, all the colors, imagination, beauty, and youth of the actors is bold and reminiscent. The connections are there and the story hasn’t lost an ounce of fascination and fun. This is the film that deserves to be watched repeatedly not only for what Lucas created and put on film but for the cinematography as well.

Happy Golden 50^th AMERICAN GRAFFITI!

In the end – where were you in ’62?

 

Reminisce with WHAT HAPPENS LATER

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres from director Meg Ryan and Bleecker Street comes a rom-com that remembers things differently when WHAT HAPPENS LATER.

Wilhelmina Davis (Meg Ryan) is trying to catch a plane to Boston, William Davis (David Duchovny) is trying to catch a plane to Austin. At the same airport at the same time, they both run into a huge problem, well two huge problems. One, a cyclone bomb of a winter storm is grounding airplanes and the second, they know one another.

Doing the “I hope he/she doesn’t see me” dance of covering their faces and hiding behind pillars, it doesn’t help when they finally come face to face. Their story immediately spills out as they were together in their early 20’s. Willa remembers it was William who did the leaving, William believes they parted on good terms – neither is remembering the truth.

Now, William/Bill is dealing with his own marriage and the fact that he upset his 15-year-old daughter with words he regrets saying but doesn’t know how to fix. Willa is trying to help a friend get out of a stick situation in her own home. Knowing they can’t avoid one another; they almost instantly fall into old bantering patterns which is their way of flying around the truth of how they really feel.

As the airport shuts down leaving the two passengers/lovers/acquittances stranded, there is nothing left to do but drink, reminisce, try to dig through the honestly of their parting and come to terms with the pain that that happens when you are 20 and remembering when you are 50+. It’s never to late to speak of the past, understand the pain and then look into each other’s eyes and forgive.

It could happen!

Ryan as Willa is a woman who seems to be stuck somewhere between Bill leaving and a grounded airplane. Knowing that blaming him for everything has solved nothing as the years have gone by and a rain stick isn’t about to give her answers – only telling the truth. Ryan gives us her 1993 YOU’VE GOT MAIL quirkiness and 1989 WHEN HARRY MET SALLY vibe clothing choice along with a mixing of every character she has played in a rom-com. That’s not a bad thing because if the formula works then don’t change it. The role of Willa is charming in all respects so it works for Ryan.

Duchovny as William/Bill gets a chance to flex his comedy muscles and tackle the Ryan-clock of verbal witticisms and timing. He takes his punches but doesn’t hesitate to make sure that a sword can cut both ways. Not meaning to wound, only to poke a little at the fabric that Willa has woven regarding their past relationship. Bringing in a little light is meant to help her see but also forces Duchovny’s Bill to reevaluate his own perspective of what he has been telling himself about that time so long ago.

Bleecker Street is a New York City film company that has brought outstanding films to the public. Their library includes TRUMBO, DENIAL, THE LOST CITY OF Z, BEIRUT, HOTEL MUMBAI, ORDINARY LOVE and THE ROADS NOT TAKEN. For more information on the titles from Bleeker Street please visit www.bleeckerstreetmedia.com.

WHAT HAPPENS LATER is a comedy absolutely geared toward a certain age group of viewers because, quite honestly, I can’t imagine someone in their 20s being all that interested. The pull is the late 80’s early 90’s when Ryan reign supreme as the queen of rom-com’s. The film is based on the 2008 play Shooting Star by Steven Dietz but it is quite clear that Ryan paid attention to creator/director Nora Ephron’s ability to give us love, loss and soulful reconciliation and nods her in the credits.

This is plainly a story of two people finding themselves of a certain age (don’t you hate those two words put together, certain and age?) who find themselves coming face to face with their younger selves trapped in older bodies. Let’s face it, in our 20s we all do stupid stuff, make crazy decisions and jump to conclusions that, as our characters discover, are all wrong. That being said, and if you believe in fate, then we are destined to do those things to find our way around life. No one gets it right and W. Davis and W. Davis are proof of that.

It is a charming film with moments of good punch lines, good sucker punches and sweet seconds when these characters let down their guard. Ryan and Duchovny make it work and even give it a little rain stick magic as they carry the film on their own with no outside help (pun intended). Turn on the fireplace, cozy up with a soft blanket and a glass of whatever and enjoy their journey together, or is it trip? You decide.

In the end – they missed their connection!