Author Archives: Keith Garlington

New on Home Video: “The Nun II” on 4K Ultra HD + Digital

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“The Nun II”, the latest supernatural horror installment in the The Conjuring universe, is coming to home video courtesy of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. This sequel to 2018’s “The Nun” continues the story of Sister Irene (played by a returning Taissa Farmiga) who once again comes face-to-face with the terrifying demon nun named Valak (Bonnie Aarons). Though light on special features, the movie is presented in high quality 4K UHD and includes a digital copy of the film. It’s a nice addition to any horror fan’s collection. Read my full review of “The Nun II” HERE.

This 4K UHD plus Digital Copy edition of “The Nun II” releases November 14th. See below for a full synopsis and release information.

About the Film:

Year: 2023

Runtime: 110 Minutes

Director: Michael Chaves

Screenwriter: Ian Golding, Richard Naing and Akela Cooper

Story By: Akela Cooper

Cast: Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Bonnie Aarons, Storm Reid, and Anna Popplewell

Rating: R for Action/Violence, Some Bloody Images, Language and Brief Suggestive Material

Synopsis:

1956 – France. A priest is murdered. An evil is spreading. The sequel to the worldwide smash hit follows Sister Irene as she once again comes face-to-face with Valak, the demon nun.

Taissa Farmiga (“The Nun,” “The Gilded Age”) returns as Sister Irene, joined by Jonas Bloquet (“Tirailleurs,” “The Nun”), Storm Reid (“The Last of Us,” “The Suicide Squad”), Anna Popplewell (“Fairytale,” “The Chronicles of Narnia” trilogy) and Bonnie Aarons (reprising her role from “The Nun”), surrounded by an ensemble cast of international talent.

Michael Chaves (“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It”) directs, from a screenplay by Ian Goldberg & Richard Naing (“Eli,” “The Autopsy of Jane Doe”) and Akela Cooper (“M3GAN,” “Malignant”), with a story by Cooper, based on characters created by James Wan & Gary Dauberman.

Special Features:

4K UHD, Blu-ray, and Digital copies contain the following special features:

  • Demons in Paradise – featurette (5:35)
  • Handcrafter Nightmares – featurette (7:28)

REVIEW: “Hands that Bind” (2023)

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A hard-working but struggling hired hand has his hopes of taking over his employer’s farm dashed when his boss’s wayward son returns, staking a claim on his inheritance. That’s the gist of “Hands that Bind”, a minimalist slow-burning rural drama written, directed, and produced by Kyle Armstrong. It’s a movie with a quiet and low-key exterior but with a simmering bone-deep dark side that becomes more evident as its story unfolds.

Set in 1981 on the stark remote prairies of Alberta, Canada, “Hands that Bind” follows a dedicated farmhand named Andy Hollace (played with remarkable restraint by Paul Sparks). He works hard tending to things for his boss Mac (Nicholas Campbell). In addition to a paycheck, Mac lets Andy, his wife Susan (Susan Kent), and their two young kids live in an extra guesthouse on his property. It’s far from lavish living, but it enables Andy to provide for his family.

Image Courtesy of Dark Sky Films

But things take a turn after Mac learns that his son Dirk (Landon Liboiron) is coming home after losing his job in the oil fields. He informs Andy that he can stay on for another month, but then he’ll have to let him go. Even worse, Dirk along with his wife and newborn, will be needing the guesthouse. So Andy and his family are forced to move into a beat up old trailer home until he can find somewhere else to go.

It’s a gut-punch for Andy who had his eyes set on one day taking over Mac’s place. But Dirk’s unceremonious reappearance and apparent claim to his birthright changes everything. It doesn’t help that he’s lazy, hot-tempered, and knows nothing when it comes to farming. Andy immediately takes a disliking to him and understandably so. The tension between them is obvious to us. But Andy keeps his growing animus hidden and at bay, at least until he can’t anymore.

While that’s the main story in a nutshell, Armstrong throws in several unexpected curveballs that steers “Hands that Bind” (and more specifically Andy himself) in some uneasy directions. First there is the handful of wicked dream sequences that grow more and more twisted as the story progresses. Then you have cows turning up dead, mutilated with pinpoint precision. And strange lights in the distance sky – aliens? That all may sound strangely out of place and even far-fetched. But Armstrong has more on his mind and is going for something much different than how it may sound.

Image Courtesy of Dark Sky Films

Strong compelling leads are essential in character-driven dramas like this and Paul Sparks delivers. He gives a richly organic and understated performance that is perfectly in step with what his character needs. His Andy is tough to read. He’s grounded yet enigmatic – a mysterious blank canvas in many ways. One that slowly comes more into focus as things tighten around him. Kent brings much-needed heart and pathos while Liboiron is adequately detestable. We even get the great Bruce Dern as Mac’s sad crusty neighbor, Hank.

I can see the last 15 minutes being pretty divisive as Armstrong doesn’t offer much in terms of answers. Its ambiguous finish and loose ends will likely be seen as artfully challenging by some and frustratingly unfinished by others. But Armstrong isn’t interested in spelling things out. There’s so much more going on underneath the slow-cooking narrative and beyond the spellbinding cinematography (DP Mike McLaughlin should be on every Oscar shortlist). And it’s those unexpected creative strokes that ultimately give the movie its kick. “Hands that Bind” is out now in select theaters and on VOD.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “The Marsh King’s Daughter” (2023)

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Daisy Ridley gets a meaty non-Star Wars role in “The Marsh King’s Daughter”, the new film from director Neil Burger. His latest is based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Karen Dionne that tells the story of a young woman haunted by unthinkable events from her childhood. It’s a good character for Ridley who gets some solid material to work with. At least until the last act which is where the story slips off track and squanders some otherwise exciting potential.

The movie begins with a beguiling prologue set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. There, deep in the wilderness near a long winding marsh, a 10-year-old girl named Helena (played by Brooklynn Prince) lives off the grid with her quietly reserved mother Beth (Caren Pistorius) and her backwoodsman father Jacob (Ben Mendelsohn). Helena is a daddy’s girl and is constantly by his side as he teaches her how to live off the land. But her understanding of a normal life is shattered by the discovery that her dad is a psychopath (something you might have guessed by just by seeing Mendelsohn’s named attached).

Image Courtesy of Lionsgate

We learn that Jacob abducted Beth twelve years earlier and has held her captive since. The two had Helena who Beth has tried to protect. I won’t spoil how it plays out, but Beth manages to escape with a confused Helena and a pursuing Jacob is arrested. Altogether it’s a well-shot, well-written, and well-executed opening that sets the movie on an intriguing trajectory.

From there the story (penned by Elle and Mark L. Smith) jumps ahead twenty years. Helena (now played by Ridley) is married to the well-meaning but in-the-dark Stephen (Garrett Hedlund) and she has a daughter of her own named Marigold (Joey Carson). She’s kept her true identity hidden from everyone except her step-father Sheriff Clark (Gil Birmingham). But when Jacob (since dubbed “The Marsh King”) manages to escape during a prisoner transfer, her deep dark secret is forced into the light.

Image Courtesy of Lionsgate

From there the movie had the opportunity to go in several different directions. It could have dug into the relationship with her now estranged mother. It could have went deeper into the effects of attempting to bury such intense trauma especially on her marriage. It could have added depth to her thinly sketched relationship with her father-in-law. It could have defied expectations and done something more psychological and suspenseful.

But rather than keeping us guessing or catching us by surprise, the movie goes the more conventional route, leading to an ending that’s as far-fetched as it is predictable. It ends up being a letdown considering the many more interesting avenues it could have traveled. Meanwhile a really good Daisy Ridley performance gets lost in a movie that may have a hard time finding an audience. Why? Because “The Marsh King’s Daughter” doesn’t stand out. It could have, but the unfortunate decision to play it safe holds it back. “The Marsh King’s Daughter” is in theaters now.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

New on Home Video: “Black Hawk Down” and “The Guns of Navarone” Limited Edition 4K UHD Steelbooks

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Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is releasing two all-time classic war movies in stunning limited edition 4K Ultra HD steelbooks. Ridley Scott’s intense and gripping “Black Hawk Down” and J. Lee Thompson’s Best Picture nominated “The Guns of Navarone” will be individually available in their own must-have editions. Each are loaded with commentaries, featurettes, and much more and will make handsome additions to any collection.

These limited edition 4K Ultra HD steelbooks which includes both Blu-ray and Digital copies of “Black Hawk Down” and “The Guns of Navarone” release Today, November 7th. See below for a full synopsis and release information.

“Black Hawk Down”

Year: 2001

Runtime: 144 minutes / 152 minutes

Director: Ridley Scott

Screenwriter: Ken Nolan

Cast: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana, William Fichtner, Ewen Bremner, Sam Shepard, Jason Isaacs, Tom Hardy, Orlando Bloom, Gabriel Casseus, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Jeremy Piven, Glenn Morshower, Ty Burrell, Kim Coates, Ron Eldard

Rating: R for Intense, Realistic, Graphic War Violence, and for Language

From acclaimed director Ridley Scott (The Martian) and renowned producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pearl Harbor) comes the gripping true story about bravery, camaraderie and the complex reality of war. 
“Black Hawk Down” stars an exceptional cast including Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor and Eric Bana. In 1993, an elite group of American Rangers and Delta Force soldiers are sent to Somalia on a critical mission to capture a violent warlord whose corrupt regime has led to the starvation of hundreds of thousands of Somalis. When the mission goes quickly and terribly wrong, the men find themselves outnumbered and literally fighting for their lives.

Special Features:

“Black Hawk Down” 4K Ultra HD Disc

  • Both Theatrical and Extended Versions of the film presented in 4K resolution from the original camera negative, both with Dolby Vision
  • Dolby Atmos and 5.1 audio on both versions

“Black Hawk Down” Feature & Special Feature Blu-ray Discs

  • Theatrical Version of the film presented in high definition
  • Audio Commentary by Director / Producer Ridley Scott & Producer Jerry Bruckheimer
  • Audio Commentary by Author Mark Bowden & Screenwriter Ken Nolan
  • Audio Commentary by Task Force Ranger Veterans
  • “The Essence of Combat: Making Black Hawk Down” Documentary
  • The History Channel® Presents: “The True Story of Black Hawk Down”
  • PBS Presents: “Frontline: Ambush in Mogadishu”
  • 8 Deleted & Alternate Scenes with Optional Commentary
  • “Designing Mogadishu” Featurette
  • Production Design Archive
  • Storyboards with Optional Commentary
  • Ridleygrams with Optional Commentary
  • Target Building Insertion: Multi-Angle Sequence with Optional Commentary
  • Q&A Forums: BAFTA. Motion Picture Editor’s Guild & American Cinematheque
  • Jerry Bruckheimer’s BHD Photo Album
  • Title Design Explorations with Optional Commentary
  • “Gortoz A Ran – J’Attends” Music Video performed by Denez Prigent & Lisa Gerrard
  • Photo Galleries
  • Theatrical Poster Concepts
  • Trailer & TV Spots
  • 4K UHD Feature Picture: 2160p Ultra High Definition, 2.40:1
  • 4K UHD Feature Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible) | English 5.1 DTS-HD MA

“The Guns of Navarone”

Year: 1961

Runtime: 156 Minutes

Director: J. Lee Thompson

Screenwriter: Carl Foreman

Cast: Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Stanley Baker, Anthony Quale, Irene Papas, Gia Scala, James Darren, James Robinson Justice, Richard Harris, Albert Lieven, Bryan Forbes

Academy Award-winners Gregory Peck (1962, Best Actor, To Kill A Mockingbird), David Niven (1958, Best Actor, Separate Tables), and Anthony Quinn (1952, Best Supporting Actor, Viva Zapata!; 1956, Lust For Life) star as a team of Allied military specialists recruited for a dangerous but imperative mission: to infiltrate a Nazi-occupied fortress and disable two long-range field guns so that 2,000 trapped British soldiers may be rescued. Faced with an unforgiving sea voyage, hazardous terrain, and the possibility of a traitor among them, the team must overcome the impossible without losing their own lives. Adapted by screenwriter Carl Foreman from Alistair MacLean’s best-selling novel, “The Guns of Navarone” was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture, and won for Best Special Effects (1961).

Special Features:

“The Guns of Navarone” 4K Ultra HD Disc

  • Presented in 4K resolution from the original camera negative, with Dolby Vision
    • Playback available with and without Original Roadshow Intermission Card
  • Dolby Atmos audio + 5.1 audio + 4.0 audio
  • Main Title Progression Reel
  • Theatrical Trailer

“The Guns of Navarone” Blu-ray Disc

  • Feature presented in high definition, sourced from the 4K master
  • 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
  • Great Guns
  • No Visitors
  • Honeymoon on Rhodes
  • Two Girls on the Town
  • Narration-Free Prologue
  • Message from Carl Foreman
  • 4K UHD Feature Picture: 2160p Ultra High Definition, 2.35:1
  • 4K UHD Feature Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible) | English 5.1 DTS-HD MA | English 4.0 DTS-HD MA

New on Home Video: “Gran Turismo” on Blu-ray + Digital

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Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is bringing “Gran Turismo” to home video in this feature-filled Blu-ray edition that also includes a digital copy of the film. Based on a popular PlayStation Studios video game and inspired by an incredible true story, “Gran Turismo” is the latest film from director Neill Blomkamp (“District 9”, “Elysium”). Fans of biographical sports dramas and feel-good crowdpleasers will want to add this one to their collections.

This Blu-ray plus Digital Copy edition of “Gran Turismo” releases November 7th. See below for a full synopsis and release information.

About the Film:

Year: 2023

Runtime: 134 Minutes

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Screenwriter: Jason Hall and Zach Baylin

Story By: Jason Hall and Alex Tse

Based on: The PlayStation Studios Video Game

Cast: David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe, Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell Horner, Djimon Hounsou

Rating: PG-13 for Intense Action and Some Strong Language

Synopsis:

Gran Turismo is based on the unbelievable true story of a team of unlikely underdogs – a struggling working-class gamer (Archie Madekwe), a failed former racecar driver (David Harbour), and an idealistic motorsport executive (Orlando Bloom). Together, they risk it all to take on the most elite sport in the world. Gran Turismo is an inspiring, thrilling, and action-packed story that proves that nothing is impossible when you’re fueled from within.

Special Features:

4K UHD, BLU-RAY™ AND DIGITAL EXTRAS

  • Special Features:
    • Deleted & Extended Scenes
    • The Engine: Driving the Visuals
    • The Pit Crew: Action and Stunts
    • The Garage: The Amazing Automobiles
    • The Plan: The True Story of Jann Mardenborough
    • The Wheels: The Fast-Acting Cast

Blu-ray: 1080p High Definition / 1.90:1 • Audio: English & French (Doublé au Québec) 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish, English & French (Doublé au Québec) – Audio Description Tracks 5.1 Dolby Digital • Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish • Mastered in High Definition • Color

REVIEW: “Pain Hustlers” (2023)

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Taking on America’s devastating opioid crisis is a noble task for any filmmaker. The epidemic began in the late 1990s when the prescription of opioids for pain management began to spike. Since then opioid-involved addictions have been on the rise, leading to an astonishing number of deaths by overdose (it went from 47,600 deaths in 2017 to 80,411 in 2021). So any movie that seeks to bring attention to the crisis should be commended.

Such is the case with “Pain Hustlers”, a new film from Netflix based on a 2018 New York Times Magazine article of the same name by Evan Hughes and his subsequent book “The Hard Sell”. The film is directed by David Yates (the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films) who works from a script by Wells Tower. The movie takes its aim at the people who fueled the epidemic, namely those in the pharmaceutical world. That includes greedy drug companies, devious middlemen. and crooked doctors – all driven by the seemingly endless flow of wealth at the expense of the sick and suffering.

Unfortunately “Pain Hustlers” isn’t the movie to recommend to those interested in the subject. It opens a number of revealing boxes and shines a pretty candid light on the vile and appalling practices of unscrupulous drug companies and complicit doctors whose rackets made them rich while killing an enormous amount of people in the process. But some misguided choices and a desire to be both clever and funny hinders its ability to tell an otherwise meaningful story. Even its impressive star wattage can’t save it from itself.

Image Courtesy of Netflix

The always great Emily Blunt stars in a role that she makes more compelling than it has any right to be. She plays Liza Drake, a down on her luck single mother working as an exotic dancer just to take care of her teenage daughter Phoebe (Chloe Coleman). Things only get worse after Liza loses her job, her car, and her place to stay. In desperation she calls Pete Brenner (a wildly uneven Chris Evans), a shady pharmaceutical executive she met in her club who once offered her a job making $100,000 per year.

It turns out that Pete works for a nearly bankrupt drug company called Zanna Therapeutics. It’s headed by Doctor Jack Neel (Andy Garcia), the creator of a cancer pain drug called Lonafen. Zanna needs Lonafen on the market but they don’t have the capital to compete with bigger companies who have a stranglehold on their region. So they hire Liza, fully expecting her to fail. But with the company about to go under, who cares?

Liza is given one week to convince one doctor to prescribe Lonafen. And wouldn’t you know it, not only does she succeed, she kickstarts the dying company. With Pete by her side, the two work the corrupt system and after one quarter they go from 0 to 86% market share in the southeast. But you know how stories like this go. It’s only a matter of time before their greed gets the better of them and they push things too far.

Image Courtesy of Netflix

To the film’s credit it does uncover quite a bit about how the scandalous system works. It shows drug company reps frequenting hospitals and pain management clinics, enticing physicians to get onboard with their product. It shows how grifts such as speaker programs whisk doctors away for lavish weekends in exchange for prescribing their drug. And it shows how quickly some doctors will toss aside their ethics once the checks start coming in.

Unfortunately all of that is undermined by the film’s numerous flaws starting with its seismic tonal shifts. It’s clunky desire to be both a slick edgy comedy and a smart eye-opening drama is best encapsulated in Chris Evans’ character and performance. One minute he tries to be serious-minded only to act like he’s doing an amped up scene from “The Wolf of Wall Street” shortly after. The movie sobers up in the last act but by then it’s a little too late.

Adding to its problems, “Pain Hustlers” is overlong and at times frustratingly dull. But perhaps its biggest offense lies in its focus. The movie is so honed in on its disgustingly wealthy profiteers that the true victims (the people who actually died) barely have a voice. In fairness, the movie takes a swing at acknowledging them. But they mostly feel like an afterthought. Altogether those are issues too big to overcome. Blunt deserves credit for carrying the load and making it watchable. But she can only do so much in a film that at times informs, but is too messy to truly spread awareness. “Pain Hustlers” is now streaming on Netflix.

VERDICT – 2 STARS