Starring: Judy Greer, Pete Holmes and Molly Belle Wright
Directed by: Dallas Jenkins
Rated: PG
Running Time: 99 minutes
Lionsgate

Film Score: 3 out of 5 Stars
Blu-Ray Score: 4 out of 5 Stars

Surface level. Cheesy. Goofy. Just a few things I’ve said about bad films in the past. But during Christmas, it’s different. Christmas is the time of year when people willingly watch movies that would be unwatchable any other time of year. You don’t bust out the hot cocoa on a muggy July day. You do it when it’s cold. You do it when there’s snow in the forecast. You do it when your home has the twinkle of holiday lights. Enter “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”

Based on a book I never read or had read to me, the film follows Beth Bradley (Molly Belle Wright as the young version, Lauren Graham as the older narrator) as she reflects on a chaotic Christmas in the 1970s. Her mother Grace (Judy Greer) gets roped into directing the town’s 75th Christmas pageant for the first time ever. Also, for the first time ever,  the Herdmans get in the Christmas spirit. 

The Herdmans are a ragtag group of six siblings with a runaway dad, an absent mom, and reputations as the town’s most feared juvenile delinquents. They bully, steal, punch people in the face, and force their way into the pageant. Residents are getting ready to clutch their pearls, but the Herdmans may not be giving them a lump of coal. If you’ve ever seen a Christmas movie, you know exactly where this is headed.

I watched this in October while my wife was already decking the halls and wrapping presents. So, sure, maybe I was adjacent to the Christmas spirit. Maybe that’s why I didn’t outright reject the movie, even as it made me roll my eyes. I may have even wanted cocoa while watching.

There’s charm here. Greer is always great, and the child actors fully embrace their roles as miniature chaos agents on a redemption arc. That arc, along with the film’s overt Christian themes, walks a fine line between sweet and Sunday school sermon. At times, it feels like you’re being bludgeoned by a moral lesson about how the Bible fixes everything, but at least it’s core message is a decent one: the idea of welcoming outsiders, no matter how rough around the edges, because that’s what Christ would’ve done.

“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is fine if you grew up with the book or want a little more Jesus in your Christmas lineup. If not, there’s probably more comfort (and less preachiness) in your average Hallmark rom-com. The movie has its heart in the right place, but it just doesn’t quite know what to say without mixing in a sermon.

Blu-Ray Features

Audio Commentary with Director Dallas Jenkins and Producer Kevin Downes

Herding the Kids: This feature shows what it’s like to try and wrangle multiple children on set.

Director’s Diary: This is a good complimentary feature to the commentary.

All About the Pageantry: Creating the Look: A mild look at creating the film’s background and set.

Legacy of the Christmas Pageant: Cast and crew talk about their own Christmas pageants.

The Least of These: Another complimentary director feature in which Jenkins talks about how he learned about the story.

Bloopers

Deleted Scenes

Theatrical Trailer

Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, John Ortiz
Directed by: Timo Tjahjanto
Rated: R
Running Time: 89 minutes
Universal Pictures

Movie Score: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
4K Score: 2 out of 5 Stars

Where was there to go after 2021’s “Nobody,” the suburban-dad-as-assassin sleeper hit? You’d expect Derek Kolstad, the creator of “John Wick,” to expand the world of Hutch (Bob Odenkirk). You’d expect him to introduce new allies, explore past enemies, and deepen the mythology of Hutch. Instead, “Nobody 2” takes a hard roundhouse kick left: it’s time for Hutch to take the family on a nostalgic summer road trip.

This time around, Hutch (Bob Odenkirk) is struggling to keep up. He’s rarely home, bouncing between violent freelance gigs to pay off the debt he racked up in the first film. His wife drinks alone at the dinner table and his kids barely see him outside of breakfast small talk. We even get the sense that divorce and alienation is around the corner. To save his marriage and reconnect with his family, Hutch piles everyone into a van and heads to Plummerville, a water park he visited as a kid. Trouble, of course, is waiting for him.

The chaos includes a corrupt amusement park owner (a grounded John Ortiz), a small-town sheriff oozing smug entitlement (Colin Hanks, doing what he does best in a jerk role), and a Russian gang leader played by Sharon Stone, who tears through scenes like a villainous vulture gnawing on a carcass. The plot may be thin, but the characters liven it up. Once again, Odenkirk grounds the mayhem with his unique blend of exasperated dad and quietly lethal badass.

The film’s biggest asset is its tight 89-minute runtime, about 20 minutes leaner than most action flicks. Whether by necessity or design, it understands that time is precious and that a quick jolt of adrenaline can be just as satisfying as a full-course meal. That said, there are still a few slow spots, and even Odenkirk’s charisma can’t mask every lull. “Nobody 2” may not be as fresh or impactful as the first, but it offers a tiki drink of an experience. It’s light, fast, and playfully violent. It’s a late-summer treat, perfect for when you need one last splash of cinematic fun before the season ends.

4K Review

Deleted Scenes: There are 8 deleted/extended scenes on this feature. As I say most times, you can see why these were left on the cutting room floor.

Nobody 2: The Fight Continues: This feature talks with the cast and crew about what they were looking to add and bring back for this sequel.

Nobody Does Stunts Like Us: This feature, which I wish was longer, talks with Odenkirk and the stunt team about designing the film’s fight sequences.

Starring: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw and Ivanna Sakhno
Directed by: Gerard Johnstone
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 120 minutes
Universal Pictures

Film Score: 2 out of 5 Stars
4K Score: 3 out of 5 Stars

In a year packed with excellent horror, it’s easy to forget about “M3GAN 2.0.” That’s partly because it had some stiff competition like “Weapons” and “Sinners,” and partly because the sequel abandons horror almost entirely, trading killer doll vibes for… a techno-spy thriller? It feels like the goal was to do what “Terminator 2” did, which was to evolve the threat into something more complex and maybe even heroic. But instead of building on what made 2022’s “M3GAN” effective, this follow-up takes a wild genre swerve and lands in messy, half-baked territory.

Two years after the events of the first film, Gemma (Allison Williams) has become an advocate for responsible AI. That’s not what everyone wants to hear though. Gemma’s immense tech background brings her face-to-face with military officials on the hunt for AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), a rogue AI android who’s gone off the leash. Enter M3GAN, who turns out she’s not quite dead and has an offer: Give her a body, and she’ll help take down AMELIA.

That pitch could’ve worked. But watching the original just days before seeing “M3GAN 2.0” really highlighted the disconnect. We go from a cold-blooded AI willing to kill anyone to protect a child (Cady, played again by Violet McGraw), to a convoluted international plot involving assassinations, G20 meetings, and a shadowy tech macguffin. The tonal whiplash is real. Going from slasherbot to spy queen isn’t so subtle.

M3GAN’s transition from horror icon to a feminist James Bond happens so fast you either buy in completely or check out. I found myself somewhere in the middle. M3GAN still has the sarcastic one-liners and chaotic energy, but now she’s positioned as a full-on hero. The morally gray, unpredictable edge that made her interesting is stripped away. What’s left feels like what Disney might do if it bought the IP and wanted to sell plush dolls at Target.

It’s not that the ideas behind “M3GAN 2.0” are bad. They’re actually kind of fun. But the execution doesn’t match the ambition. At two hours, the silliness wears thin. Once the novelty of watching M3GAN quip and kill again wears off, you’re left with a plot that feels like it was written in committee the night before shooting started. That said, the unrated version offers a bit more of what some fans like me wanted: blood, mayhem, and sharper edges. “M3GAN 2.0” is best enjoyed with very little brain computing power, but once you start turning the gears of thought, you’re going to be disappointed. 

4K Review

Total Upgrade: Making M3GAN 2.0: Get a behind the scenes look from the cast and crew about the sequel.

Droid DNA: Having attended a panel at SDCC this past year about the costumes in “M3GAN 2.0,” I’m slightly surprised that it isn’t included with this look at the film’s droids.

The Art of Slaying: A look at how the special effects team brought the film’s action sequences to bloody life.

Scene Breakdown: Embrace AI Convention: This feature goes over the film’s best sequence, a dance battle that turns into…well…a regular battle.

With live-action remakes of classic animated films all the rage, it shouldn’t be surprising that other studios would follow the House of Mouse (Disney) for some of that familiar IP exploitation box office gold. What is surprising is that a live-action remake could not only be good, but actually be almost as good as the original without hardly changing a thing. Original animated film co-director Dean DeBlois returns to the mythical land of Berk for a retelling of How to Train Your Dragon with real sets, real locations, a live human cast, and photorealistic CGI dragons (because, sadly, dragons aren’t real).

Did you see 2010’s How to Train Your Dragon? Then, in an interesting way, you’ve already seen this 2025 update. One of the key complaints about a number of the live-action remakes of animated classics that have come down the blockbuster pipeline has been the ill-advised changes. Whether completely changing a character or adding nonsensical plot beats, additional stupid songs to sell a new soundtrack, or just plain being flat, boring and uninspired. These films may have made huge bucks at the box office, but they just don’t hold a candle to their original animated counterparts.

Along comes 2025’s How to Train Your Dragon, which, weirdly enough, works because very little was changed. So little was changed that the film often comes across as a shot-for-shot remake of the 2010 film in a different medium.

Some of the casting obviously changed; our hero Hiccup is now played very well by Mason Thames, and Nico Parker steps in for Astrid, with Nick Frost turning in a funny run as Gobber. Gerard Butler gets another shot as the grizzled Stoick. Toothless is still CGI, but now comes in the photorealistic variety. There’s a little shakeup with the societal makings of Berk and its clan of warriors, but that’s it. Everything plays out almost exactly the same. So why does this work so well?

I honestly think it’s precisely because they didn’t make radical changes to the story, characters, or the plot beats that this live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon worked so well. The original film already hit so many wonderful emotional highs; the only thing they had to do was let a real live cast sell that experience. And it worked beautifully. There was something grand about a live Gerard Butler saying similar (if not exactly the same) lines as his animated counterpart. Hiccup’s first big flight with Toothless is just as arresting in live-action as it was animated. The big finale dragon battle is just as exhilarating and dramatic. The changes made are so slim that they don’t become irritating or distracting. I feel that so many of the issues with Disney’s changes for their live-action editions stem from those changes and updates that distract more than pull you into the story.

VIDEO

In 2160p Dolby Vision, How to Train Your Dragon makes a big splash with an often striking 2.39:1/1.90:1 shifting aspect ratio transfer. I got to see this in 4K on an OLED monitor and it was a true splendor when the world of Berk opened up for those big action sequences and glory shots in 1.90:1. Every intricate detail in the numerous beards, the armored fur-adorned costumes of the villagers, the homes, boats, and dragons is crystal clear. Even Toothless moves away from being the glossy dragon in the animated features with full details in the scales and lighting variations in textures, while still looking like a big black cat with leathery wings. Colors are generally vibrant, primaries see plenty of attention, but it’s the green rolling hills of Berk and the assorted appearances of the dragons that get the most color pop. Skin tones are natural and human. Black levels are deep and inky with excellent shadow separation, giving those bigger moments a true sense of depth and dimension. I still hope to see a 3D Blu-ray of this someday, but until then, this 4K Dolby Vision experience is excellent.

SOUND 

Matching the video point for point is the Dolby Atmos track. From swooping fire-breathing dragons to Toothless’ screech to the screams of the men and women of Berk. Similar to the 2010 original, it opens up to all the chaos of living on an island that is routinely ravaged by dragons, treating us to everything that’s to come. The Powell score is just as rich as ever, even though it’s a slight reorchestration of his original motifs. The distribution of the village offers strong, heavy impact on the LFE rumble. The dragons flying overhead and the fireballs raining down deliver a fully active height channel experience. Dialog via Hiccup’s narration and the ensuing chaos is clear without issue. Side, surround, and rear channels remain fully active for the big events. And the rest of the film carries on like that. Even in the quieter moments, the film finds smart uses to keep the various channels working for a fully immersive soundscape.

EXTRAS 

Completing the home video package is a rather healthy assortment of interesting bonus features. Director Dean DeBlois provides a terrific audio commentary, diving deep into how they brought the animated feature to life, casting, location scouting, building the real-life sets, and offering tidbits about how they adapted the story all over again. After that, the next meaty bit is a 45-minute making-of that is a nicely dedicated look at the making of the film. Following that are some nicely focused featurettes looking at the set design, costumes, and the making of a few key sequences. All around, a great set of extras we don’t often see for modern releases.

LASTLY 

In 2010, we were gifted with a rip-roaring dragon-riding adventure that spawned two sequels and TV series spin-offs. In 2025, we’re again gifted a rip-roaring dragon-riding adventure – and we’ve yet to see if there will be any sequels or TV series spin-offs. Granted, the world probably didn’t need a near shot-for-shot live-action take on How to Train Your Dragon, but we got one, and it’s, amazingly enough, actually good! It’s a sign that a good story told well can transcend medium. Animated or Live-Action, the story of a boy and his dragon hits those emotional notes. I may still prefer the 2010 original over this one, but unlike other recent remakes from a rival studio, I can actually see myself pulling this 2025 remake of How to Train Your Dragon off the shelf many more times. It’s well made and great fun! With an excellent A/V presentation and some genuinely interesting, well-produced extra features. Highly Recommended!

Starring: Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon and Walton Goggins
Rated: TV-MA
Running Time: 514 minutes
HBO

TV Show Score: 3 out of 5 Stars
DVD Score: 4 out of 5 Stars

If you haven’t heard of “The White Lotus,” you might be missing out on HBO’s most bizarre, sexually charged, and darkly comical series. Each season drops us into the lives of the wildly privileged—wannabe elites, crumbling rich families, emotionally wrecked resort staff, and characters drowning in their own flaws and contradictions.
Season 3 trades Sicily for Thailand and introduces a trio of longtime girlfriends: one more successful than the rest, one trying to balance motherhood, and one a high-powered attorney who’s quietly falling apart. Along for the ride is a mysterious older man and his too-young trophy girlfriend, whose presence unspools much of this season’s mystery. Then there’s the Ratliff family, each member on a personal quest that has nothing to do with togetherness and everything to do with selfishness.

As someone who lives in the lower-to-average-middle-class tax bracket, part of “The White Lotus’” charm is watching these rich folks stew in their own dysfunction. It’s almost cathartic. You root for the underpaid hotel workers. You laugh at the cluelessness of the elite. And you brace for the inevitable disaster.

Season 3 spices things up by introducing Eastern religion and cultural taboos, especially in how Western characters bump up against a society with very different ideas about sex, spirituality, and self-control. It’s a bold thematic shift, and for the most part, it works.

What doesn’t work as well is the landing. While prior seasons stuck the finale, this one stumbles. Thematically, it’s all there—class struggle, spiritual unraveling, absurdist satire—but the final note just doesn’t ring as loudly or as cleverly. And that’s a shame, because the setup is stellar.

Still, there’s plenty to enjoy: the sharp performances (Parker Posey, Walton Goggins, Sam Rockwell, and Natasha Rothwell all shine), the biting dialogue, and Mike White’s knack for satire. But White may want to rethink how he closes out Season 4 because Season 3 fizzles more than it should.

DVD Features

Unpacking the Episodes

Invitation to Set: Welcome to Thailand

Get to Know

Thai Tea

Closet Tour

Starring: Scarlett Johannson, Mahersha Ali and Jonathan Bailey
Directed by: Gareth Edwards
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 133 minutes
Universal Pictures

Film Score: 1 out of 5 Stars
4K Score: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

We had a 14-year break between “Jurassic Park III” and “Jurassic World.” Time away from the constantly calamitous dinosaur park made us appreciate it again when the doors swung back open. I’m not saying we need another 14-year dry spell, but after watching “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” I’m beginning to think the creative team and writers need one. 

17 years after a candy bar wrapper (not making this up) left a trail of devastation and chaos at a secret island lab, Earth’s environment is now too hostile for most of the dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures once resurrected. In a hail mary pharma-fueled effort to save humanity, a shady biotech firm assembles a ragtag crew to return to the long-abandoned, off-limits island of Ile Saint-Hubert. Led by Scarlett Johannson (don’t remember the names, or else you’ll get attached when they become dino snacks) and extract genetic material from the world’s last prehistoric specimens.

I’m not saying the premise is dumb. It’s a dinosaur movie. The narrative and ideas it posits gets in the way of perfectly fine escapism. The opening sequence makes sure to hammer in two asinine facts: No one cares dinosaurs are escaping zoos and dying in downtown Manhattan and dinosaurs aren’t cool anymore. As someone who has worked in news, if any animal escapes from the zoo, even a capybara, it makes national news. And what the hell do you mean dinosaurs aren’t cool? They hammer the latter point more by recruiting a paleontologist, played by Jonathan Bailey, from a natural history museum that’s shuttering. He bemoans several times about how no one cares to see dinosaurs anymore. Have any of these writers visited a zoo lately?

The obnoxiousness doesn’t end there as characters spit out dialogue that sounds like it was written by ChatGPT after a few drinks. “A car bomb killed my dad. It came out of nowhere.” Car bombs don’t come out of nowhere. They’re planted. Also, for a film about dinosaurs wreaking havoc, we expect some fantastic kills, but they’re so quick and off-screen that they make death boring. Not even the T-Rex gets a kill. So, maybe give the people what they want next time, if you catch my drift.

Worst of all, it’s boring. The action sequences are flat and lifeless. Once it’s clear who lives (almost everyone) and who dies (mostly nobodies), the chase scenes lose all tension. At the very least, you gotta kill one secondary character that’s had more than two lines of dialogue. Then, there’s too much downtime with characters you’d rather see eaten, and even the callbacks to prior films feel forced and hollow. There’s no awe, no wonder, no…anything. Just another joyless cash grab from a franchise that forgot why people showed up in the first place.

I didn’t walk in expecting to hate it. Quite the opposite. The trailer gave me hope that it might tap into that silly joy of watching dumb humans try to outwit dumber, bigger, toothier animals. I was wrong. The audience at my screening seemed to enjoy it, but it was the end of June with nothing going. Also, maybe I’m just bitter. But if you’re picking “Jurassic World: Rebirth” over fireworks this weekend, prepare to be disappointed.

4K Features

Alternate Opening: Interesting to see the slight difference from the theatrical.

Deleted Scenes: Only a handful of deleted scenes, which I’m kind of surprised they removed because it does add a bit of tension and action to a movie that could have used a lot more.

Jurassic World Rebirth: Hatching a New Era: This is a multi-part behind-the-scenes feature that looks at the case and crew, the special effects, a few of the action sequences, and some more peeks behind the proverbial curtain. It’s actually a pretty decent behind-the-scenes feature that dives deep into the film.

Gag Reel: Self-explanatory.

Meet Dolores: I personally didn’t find this feature interesting, mainly because I find the addition of a “cute” tiny dinosaur for clear merchandising reasons wasn’t cute.

Munched: Becoming Dino Food: It takes a look at what it’s like to be eaten by a dinosaur. The title of the feature is probably more interesting than the feature itself.

A Day at Skywalker Sound: A moderately interesting feature about the sound in the film.

Hunting for Easter Eggs: This feature attempts to encourage multiple rewatches to look for little winks and nods to the franchise. No thanks.

Feature Commentary with Director Gareth Edwards, Production Designer James Clyne and First Assistant Director Jack Ravenscroft

Feature Commentary with Director Gareth Edwards, Editor Jabez Olssen and Visual Effects Supervisor David Vickery

Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Mia, Michael Cera
Directed by: Wes Anderson
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 105 minutes
Focus Features

Film Score: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
4K Score: 1.5 out of 5 Stars

Since The Grand Budapest Hotel in 2014, Wes Anderson fans have been chasing that perfectly symmetrical high—the kind of quirky, charming brilliance that only Anderson seems capable of. But we may have to admit: that was the peak. It’s been a decade, and while he’s delivered solid work since, nothing has quite reached the heights of Budapest. That said, The Phoenician Scheme is still a strong entry in his catalog. It hits all the Anderson notes, even if it doesn’t sing quite as sweetly.

Imagine if The Royal Tenenbaums had a baby with Beirut, and you’d get something close to The Phoenician Scheme. It plays like a living political cartoon—satirizing war-driven infrastructure plans, economic collapse, and family dysfunction with pastel flair. Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio Del Toro) is an aging industrialist trying to glue together the financing for his overreaching global project, while grooming his daughter, Sister Liesl (Mia Threapleton), to inherit the chaos. Along for the ride are assassination attempts, underworld syndicates, failed rail lines, a basketball game with geopolitical stakes, and Bjørn (Michael Cera), a bewildered Norwegian entomologist turned assistant.

For die-hard Anderson fans, this might sound like a dream. But it’s worth tempering expectations. While I enjoyed The Phoenician Scheme quite a bit, it never quite rises to the level of Anderson’s best. It flirts with emotional depth but can’t seem to commit. Zsa-Zsa feels more like a mustachioed “Three Stooges” character than the kind of tragic antihero Anderson has pulled off in the past.

As a pure comedy, though, the film is a delight. It’s a whirlwind of dry wit, elaborate sets, and eccentric characters firing on all cylinders. Just don’t expect the emotional gut punch of Budapest or Tenenbaums. The Phoenician Scheme is Anderson comfort food—odd, satisfying, and occasionally unforgettable. Maybe that’s enough.

4K Features

Behind THE PHOENECIAN SCHEME: This is the only feature on the 4K and it’s broken into four small parts, making you wonder if there was even an attempt at special features for this movie. While the 4K video and audio is pristine, that’s really the only reason to buy it because you won’t get a real feel for the making of the film in this feature.

Starring: Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten and Walton Goggins
Rated: TV-MA
Runtime: 475 minutes
Amazon

TV Show Score: 4 out of 5 Stars
4K Score: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Imagine an alternate reality where humanity doubled down on nuclear, where the Atomic Age never left us. Cars, appliances, helper robots and everything in life was powered by nuclear energy. Now imagine that the bombs did fall. Not only is that the world of “Fallout,” but “Fallout” takes place hundreds of years after thermonuclear war. The remnants of society live in an absolute wasteland, permeated with grotesque creatures, factions of humanity, and a chance of death at every twist and turn. But underneath all that are the Vaults.

The TV show “Fallout” not only takes the skeleton of the game’s lore, but takes us on a journey with Lucy Maclean (Ella Purnell), a vault dweller. These vault dwellers believe that one day they will go to the surface to help repopulate and make society in their Democratic, utopian vision. Only problem, the stink, corruption and evil of the wasteland above can’t stay outside those vault doors forever. The first episode of the Amazon TV show has a group of Raiders not only come in and nearly commit genocide on the tiny Vault enclave, but they take Lucy’s dad alive, leaving a mystery for her to solve in the world above as she seeks to rescue.

Parallel along this journey is Norm Maclean (Moises Arias), Lucy’s brother. He’s left to pick up the pieces of a devastated vault, but must uncover an even worse secret that the attack has exposed. Then there’s Maximus (Aaron Moten), a grunt in the Brotherhood of Steel, a paramilitary organization that is trying to rule and control the wasteland through violence. There’s also the Ghoul, played by Walton Goggins. This irradiated creature used to be human, but now roams the wasteland as a bounty hunter.

Each episode reveals another layer and set piece to this world gone mad. Every character is interesting in their own right, which makes their time apart just as interesting as when their storylines collide. If there is one complaint I have about the first season of this Amazon show, is that it spends a bit too much time setting everything up and teasing its end of the season reveal. In a lot of ways, it plays more like a prologue than an opening shot in a war torn world.

It has the issue that the first season of “Twisted Metal” had; it’s a fine adaptation, but it makes you yearn for more and finally flirts with you about that yearning in it’s waning moments. With the second season just months away at the time of this writing (December 2025), now is a good time to catch up on this dense, yet fun, wild, darkly comedic world.

4K Features

Commentary: For those looking to get some in-depth analysis of the show, or simply some fun banter, the commentary is up your alley.

Animated Content: Vault-Tec executive Bud Askins, a character in the show, gives you a step-by-step walkthrough on what really matters to the corporate overlords at Vault-Tec.

Becoming the Ghoul: Easily my favorite feature because we get hear from Goggins himself. He breaks down his performance.

Console to Camera: If you were curious about what went behind adapting the highly popular video game, this feature is for you.

Creating the Wasteland: The VFX team shows the digital and practical ways they brought the Fallout world to life.

Inside Season One: This is a bit of a generic behind-the-scenes making of the tV show’s first season.

Meet the Filmmaker (and fanatic) Jonathan Nolan: I wish this feature was a little bit longer, but I enjoyed what little I got from Nolan.

Prosthetics & Makeup Gone Nuclear: This is easily a feature that could have gone hand-in-hand with Goggins, but we get a look at more than just the Ghoul when it comes to the creatures, blood and guts in this show.

Safe and Proud: The music of the show didn’t necessarily stick out to me as much as the video game soundtrack, so I wasn’t as interested in this feature.

Set Your Sets on 2296: This is another feature that could have gone with another feature, such as the VFX or Nolan’s, but I suppose Amazon needed to pad things out a bit.

The Costumes of Fallout: Costumes aren’t necessarily interesting to me, but for those who are curious, this is an adequate feature.

Welcome to the World of Fallout: The third (but who’s counting) feature on this 4K release that could have been lumped in with another or even absorbed another.

Writing for the Wasteland: I really wish this feature was longer, but I do enjoy hearing about the creative process behind “Fallout.”

In 2012, a team of three saturation divers set to perform repairs on a manifold 300 feet below sea level, suffered an accident. One of them, Chris Lemons (Finn Cole), is separated from the rest of his team and must not only climb to the top of the manifold, using limited sources of light to find his way, but survive with limited oxygen reserves. The action cuts away between Chris’s struggle, running low on air, his two teammates Duncan and David (Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu) and their determination to get him back alive, and the support from the large vessel above sea level who coordinate the rescue effort.

Last Breath is a tense, fact-based thriller that harkens back to a kind of film we don’t see much anymore, embracing practical effects for the sake of realism. Before the incident, as the team of divers acclimate themselves to the depths through a pressurized chamber, we too ready ourselves with them in a series of sets that look real and inhabited. Last Breath wisely avoids flashy camerawork and overt stylistic choices in order to ground itself. We don’t need to suspend our disbelief, because what we’re seeing is a true-to-life reenactment.

For all technical aspects, Last Breath is an expertly made picture. The acting from everyone, particularly the three leads, is excellent. And the filmmaking itself needs to be shouted from the rooftops how incredible it is. Eschewing modern green-screening and CGI effects, the filmmakers instead opted for realism by filming the underwater sequences in large saltwater tanks, which makes a tremendous difference for the viewing audience to physically see the dangers of the depths of the ocean.

If I have a problem with Last Breath, however, and I do, it’s that the documentary-like dedication to capturing the facts of the incident and ensuing rescue comes across as cold and clinical. A documentary about this incident already exists (director Alex Parkinson co-directed the documentary), and a film like this can really only go so far as our involvement with the characters will allow us to go. While all three leads bring their A-game to the film, we never get to know any of them beyond superficial characterization. Last Breath isn’t quite the deep-sea equivalent of Apollo 13 but it is well-made, thrilling and has a few earned moments of pathos when the music swells to a triumphant crescendo.

Last Breath is far from a bad movie. It’s a very good movie. It just falls short of greatness, which is a shame, because it has so much working in its favor: A great story, excellent casting and a dedicated filmmaking technique that allows us, the viewer, to go underwater with them. At the end of the day, the movie is likely going to entertain the hell out of you, it’s just not the classic that it deserves to be.

VIDEO

Last Breath is presented in 1080p high-definition video for this release. While a 4K release with HDR grading would have been nice, I’m not sure the film needs it. It looks great without it. Last Breath has a rough-around-the-edges look to it that I think works well in its favor, which is not to say it looks bad, it simply has an unpolished look that helps enhance its documentary-like realism. There are two directors of photography listed, with Ian Seabrook appropriately responsible for underwater sequences and Nick Remy Matthews responsible for everything else. The underwater sequences are incredible, particularly a scene with Chris lighting his way to the top of a manifold using only an underwater flare to light his way, casting a monochromatic red like the depths of hell.

AUDIO

The 5.1 Dolby TrueHD surround mix on Last Breathdoes an incredible job simulating the claustrophobia of being 300 ft. underwater. Rear speaker activity is constant, yet subtle, with the muffled bubbling of water all around the listener. LFEs are at a near-constant level as the action shifts to the larger vessel above sea level, as waves crash against its hull or through the dull roar of its engine. In one of the film’s best sequences, the sound design shifts suddenly from active noise to total, deafened silence and cuts to black, simulating the isolation and fear that Chris must have felt when he was severed from the rest of his team.

Supplemental features are a little limited, but honestly for a movie that didn’t do great box office, and a brand-new release on disc, you can’t ask for much more. There’s an informative audio commentary from the filmmakers, a making-of featurette and even a gag reel, which is kind of funny considering how tense and serious the film is.

Even if Last Breath falls short of greatness, the skill and craft that went into its production, along with its dedication to realism and excellent performances from its cast, make it a must-see movie at least once. With awesome A/V stats and some fun supplements that dive into its production, even if it’s not something you need to own, I recommend this.

MOVIE ⭐️⭐️⭐️, PICTURE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, SOUND ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, EXTRAS ⭐️⭐️⭐️

When best friends and roommates Dreux and Alyssa discover Alyssa’s boyfriend has blown their rent money, the duo finds themselves going to extremes in a race against the clock to avoid eviction and keep their friendship intact. It’s a downright shame how few comedies get a theatrical release these days. We’re far from the days of the Hughes or even Apatow era in terms of frequency, and it seems that when we do get them, they’re straight to streaming. Rising marketing costs have made it so studios only seem to want to take a gamble on low-budget horror or big-budget tentpole films based on a popular IP. So it’s nice to see an original comedy release in theaters as there’s nothing quite like laughing in a crowded auditorium. And if there’s one thing you’ll definitely get out of One of Them Days: it’s plenty of laughs. One of Them Days follows roommates Dreux and Alyssa as they struggle to come up with rent money after getting screwed over. Not wanting to be put out on the streets, they look to get enough money, all while their day gets more and more out of control. Hijinx ensue. Keke Palmer is much more subdued here than I’m used to and it really works. She’s the more level-headed of the pairing, but still eccentric enough to get plenty of laughs. You’d never know that this was SZA‘s first lead role as she’s a natural. She’s able to nail the comedic beats while never feeling out of place. Keke and SZA are far from being an odd couple, as they’re two peas in a pod, but they’re just different enough to be an interesting dynamic. A common pitfall for these comedies is to add more and more ludicrous stakes as the film goes along, getting to the point of absurdity. One of Them Days rides that line nicely, that just when you think it’s going to jump the shark, they manage to keep things relatively grounded. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still plenty of broad humor and unrealistic situations but the film manages to never get out of control. They steadily ramp up the stakes, introduce fun new characters, and never get too convoluted. And I lost track of the number of satisfying payoffs to even smaller moments; a mark of a great film. Writer Syreeta Singleton sure did her homework. Like any good comedy, One of Them Days has a fantastic supporting cast. Katt Williams, Lil Rel Howery, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, and Janelle Jamesall have standout moments. James and Meija, in particular, feel destined to break out as nearly every line they say gets a massive laugh. Maude Apatow also feels properly utilized as the white girl moving into the primarily black apartment complex. Her cluelessness may be a caricature to some, but I found it fitting for the type of hipster she’s meant to portray. I tend to be a tough sell when it comes to comedy and One of Them Days managed to really tickle my funny bone (also my fiancé). The laughs per minute were high, with several subtle jokes that are easy to miss. I’m excited for this to be on digital (included with the Blu Ray) to be able to see some of the gags I may have missed. It does what any great comedy does: blend comedy with emotional stakes for a fun time. Comedies are hard to review, as humor is so subjective, but I feel this manages to be satisfying even if you’re not a laugher. Like any good onscreen partnership, Keke and SZA are a blast to watch and make the running time fly by.

Picture was very pleasing. Blacks were deep and the colors (which were abundant) seem to leap off the screen. And this ain’t even 4K! Sound was impressive as this movie’s got much music! Bass lows were exceptionally low! Making the room shake. Not a whole lot of extras but enough to have an extra good time. There’s a gag reel with outtakes and bloopers. And a short that explores the music.

“One of Them Days” was a great time had by me and my fiancé. We both laughed a lot, which is all you need to expect from a comedy.

MOVIE ⭐️⭐️⭐️

PICTURE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SOUND ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

EXTRAS ⭐️⭐️

 I love classic horror monsters. Universal Studios set the benchmark for the Classic Monsters that haunt our dreams with their string of creatures like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, and The Invisible Man. My personal all-time favorite was Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf-Man. It was one of the few classic Universal Monster features that genuinely scared me as a child. The mood, the foggy atmosphere, and the idea that you could lose yourself mentally and physically to a curse always terrified me. Flash forward to today, it’s the perfect setup for the industry’s new-found love for Body Horror films.

After the thrilling exploits of The Invisible Man, Leigh Whannell seemed like the perfect choice for a new take on the classic. Our film opens with an overbearing survivalist father, Grady, taking his young boy Blake out hunting in the rural wilds of Oregon. There they’re attacked by an unseen creature that dismembers deer at will. After that tantalizing opener, we’re slingshot into the modern-day big city where we have grown-up Blake (Christopher Abbott) trying to imbue his daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) with the same sense of self preservation only without the damaging abusive intensity of his father. But life isn’t great with his busy journalist wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) as they struggle to figure out how to best keep the family intact. But the opportunity to get away from it all arrives when Blake gets word Oregon is officially listing his long-missing father as “deceased.” Together they travel west to clean out the old man’s secluded farmhouse, but a deadly creature looms in the dark, shadowy forest.

I’ll give credit to Leigh Whannell and his co-screenwriter wife Corbett Tuck for digging up a number of interesting themes and ideas for their Wolf Man reinterpretation. You’ve got ideas of generational familial abuse and trauma. You’ve got ideas for marital and parental dynamics between fathers and mothers and breaking those societal norms. You’ve got ideas for true Cronenbergian body horror with an infectious disease taking over your bodily functions. There are a lot of good ideas here, sadly none of them really land within the confines of this ill-paced fur-less film. Also, where the heck are the actual wolves? The only setup we’re given is an odd tacked in “legend” text card thinly setting the stakes for this new take… but no wolves. But nonetheless I appreciate the effort because it was very atmospheric. At an hour and forty minutes, the film can feel excruciatingly sluggish, leaving you desperate for things to happen. With most of the action situated inside a secluded farmhouse, a lot of the plot feels aped from George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. “How do these people escape the inescapable location” and all that yada-yada. Instead of the suspense of a growing hoard of undead ghouls, our family trio is harassed by a virtually unseen lycanthrope as the father succumbs to his inevitable transformation. And when we do finally see our titular monster, it’s less of a wolf and more of an odd-looking hairless feral pig. Now feral pigs are f’ing terrifying if you’ve ever come across one in real life, but this isn’t Pig Man, it’s Wolf Man. This Wolf Man transformation is clearly going for Cronenberg’s Brundlefly vibe, but it’s far less harrowing and the brief timeframe for change loses that sense of tragedy. Christopher Abbott is no slouch when it comes to body horror and “losing oneself.” Having already delivered a terrific performance for Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor, he perfectly conveys a man losing control of himself. Matilda Firth is a solid little performer as Ginger, terrorized by the creature but more scared of losing her father. Julia Garner sadly is just miscast. She’s often appearing like she’d rather be anywhere else than in this film and when she delivers a second act soliloquy being anxious about stepping into a traditional motherly role, it feels like she’s just reading the cards than exuding an emotionally-driven moment.

As the film played out, I questioned why Garner was even there? If the main theme is about not passing trauma and grief onto your children, I can’t help but wonder how much better the film would have been if it was just the father/daughter dynamic without the mother. What if it was Blake rushing to show his daughter the survival skills he learned as a child, but with the focus of actually keeping her safe from the real terrors of the forest before he lost complete control of himself? Charlotte and by extension Garner, were just weak elements in an already pretty contrived wolf-less reimaging of the classic creature feature. All this essentially states that I was very disappointed by Wolf Man. I loved what Whannell brought to the screen with 2020’s The Invisible Man. That was a fresh, exciting, and sometimes terrifying take on the old material. Hell, even Upgrade was a suitable action-infused take on Body Horror themes. But something wiffed with this Wolf Man. I’m sure if this needed more time to cook at the script level or not, but it’s another in a string of poorly performing Blumhouse horror features. As for the video performance, I guess the best way to say this is when you can actually see it, Wolf Man enjoys an excellent 2.39:1 HDR10 transfer. “Seeing” is the optimal word there as often the image is bathed in virtually no lighting source with extreme shadows and black as pitch dark spaces. I missed this film in theaters, but I heard from many friends who did see it that this was an issue on the big screen as well and it haunts the 2160p and 1080p discs. A scene in a barn without any direct light source is a key example. Now you’re not supposed to specifically see certain aspects of what’s going on, the “wolf-o-vision” effect is supposed to bridge that gap in human and lycan senses, but it’s a visual trick that’s often more frustrating in the moment than it is effective. When you can see the film, the transfer delivers strong details and decent colors. Again, most of the film takes place in that semi-dark farm house without a lot of lighting so there really isn’t a whole lot to “see” – especially when they’re trying to hide the titular beast until the very end. That said, while I might not love the design, I enjoyed the use of practical make-up and gore effects. I initially started watching this during daylight hours, I don’t often get to pick when I watch a disc, but I found a lighted room a tough experience. Later at night I came back to it and felt that in a deep dark room, the visuals picked up a little more life. In the end, I’m left believing a lot of this impenetrable darkness is by choice and not necessarily a disc-transfer specific issue. As for the audio, there’s good news! Where this film and this disc excel is the phenomenal Dolby Atmos audio mix. Holy hell is this a fun mix! Where Wolf Man often eschews visual terror for audio-induced tension, the sound dynamics thunder away beautifully. When you can’t see the beast, you can hear it coming with impressive pin-point specific object placement throughout the soundscape. Sometimes it’s coming from the side, sometimes above; the track lets these channels mark its movements giving you plenty of immersive jump scares. As Blake slowly loses himself to the infection and his senses become more accute, a scene of a spider walking up a wall is dynamite audio! The LFE is rattling the subs with every eight-legged impact. The snarling beastly effects and the squishy bits for the body horror elements all enjoy a prioritized presence. The film itself might not be amazing, but the sound design and by extension, this Atmos track is fantastic!

On the bonus features side, this set doesn’t come with a whole lot of big bites. The meatiest piece certainly is the audio commentary with Leigh Whannell. He offers a lot of production notes and materials about the making of the film, when things were practical, when they were CG, etc. Even solo it’s an informative, engaging commentary. The rest of the production featurettes glean some interesting bits, but a lot of it feels very anemic.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Wolf Man is one of those outings that I really wanted to like. I avoided trailers. I avoided the reviews. I even avoided a lot of opinions of friends whose opinions I normally trust. I wanted to see it for myself and go in as cold as possible. Sadly, I didn’t like it. I liked and appreciated a lot of the ideas and themes that Leigh Whannell and his co-writer wife Corbett Tuck went for, but something just missed the mark. You could get in the argument of too much of this, not enough of that, but at the end of the day, this new refresh of Wolf Man didn’t make me howl the way I’d hoped it would. On 4K UHD the film scores a solid HDR10 transfer that is held back only by the occasionally extremely dark cinematography. On the other hand, the Atmos mix is a real banger (literally) delivering an excellent wall-to-wall immersive sonic experience. The bonus features a tad thin, but the audio commentary is a good listen. At the end of the day, Wolf Man is another frustrating new take on a classic Universal Monster. I hoped I’d like it, I didn’t. It’s a curiosity and Worth A Look, but I wouldn’t recommend a blind buy unless you find it on a super sale.

MOVIE ⭐️⭐️⭐️

VIDEO ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SOUND ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

EXTRAS ⭐️⭐️

In the openng moments of Kraven the Hunter, the titular Kraven (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) comments on his character’s existence in light of the myths told about him throughout the years. “There’s an ounce of truth in every myth,” he says as he stabs a crime lord in the neck with a large tiger’s tooth. Here he’s talking about himself being a very real entity chasing down evil-doers, but the same can be said of the film itself. The inclusion of the famous Spider-Man villain has been in the works since the canceled fourth Sam Raimi film, and every iteration of the superhero franchise has tried to find a way to fit him in at some point. After nearly two decades of discussions and more than two years of delays on this particular film, many thought the film itself was just a myth and might never be released. The first footage was shown at CinemaCon in April 2022, and we are finally getting the full motion picture. Sony has announced that the Spider-Man Universe (SSU) will come to a close with Kraven the Hunter being the last installment. Save for the box office success of some of the Venom films these expanded stories from the world of Spider-Man have been critical and commercial failures at the Box Office. However this film may work better as a digital and disc release. This film boasts an amazing cast featuring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Academy Award winners Ariana DeBose and Russell Crowe, Alessandro Nivola, and Fred Hechinger, who is having one hell of a year in front of the camera. This is his fifth film to be released in 2024. Unfortunately, it feels like these actors are in completely different movies. There’s no chemistry or even tone symmetry to suggest they read the same script or got the same direction from J.C. Chandor. To the film’s credit, it does deliver on some of its promises. Its gore and swearing content are much higher than your average superhero outing, and these aren’t used for laughs or self-aware gags like many other Marvel films (like Deadpool). This is simply a part of the film and enhances the action significantly. If your main character is going to have super speed and strength and have his DNA infused with a lion’s, you’d imagine he might inflict more devastation on his enemies from sheer brute force. Another bright spot of Kraven is its relatively insular story. The characters span the globe in a cat-and-mouse game but are only after each other. It’s refreshing for the stakes to be lowered from world-ending destruction, with no mystical MacGuffin to keep out of the wrong hands. It’s Kraven against his enemies, culminating in a climax proportional to the stakes. Kraven’s biggest issue is that it does nothing to make its main character interesting enough to care about. Is he materially that different from Jared Leto’s Morbius? They appear to come into similar powers, involving the fusion of their blood with that of an animal. A common failure exists in the characters of Kraven, Morbius, and even Madame Web: the absence of their comic book counterpart, Spider-Man. It’s very difficult for any of these characters to stand alone without him, yet Kraven the Hunter should be the most viable. He’s by far the more widely known of the three, yet he comes away from this film somehow being the least interesting. Yet as for the film itself, I was thoroughly entertained. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is upstaged by the always brilliant Christopher Abbott as “The Foreigner,” a man who has been chasing The Hunter for years after an altercation with his family. Every time he appears on screen the film finds some sense of footing that it lacks when he is absent, and forces audiences to ask the question if he would have been better off being the main villain instead of Alessandro Nivola’s Rhino. Abbott brings a level of mystery and enigmatic power that is intoxicating, and it’s a shame we won’t get more of this character going forward. The death of the SSU comes with a whimper, with minuscule successes that can’t overcome major technical and writing issues. It does feel like Kraven the Hunter was dumped at the latest date they could muster and is being hung out to dry by the studio as they look to return to the well with a mainline Spider-Man picture in the coming years. After years of planning, delays, and reshoots, it’s hard to find much positive to take away from this movie and it’s unfortunate to see Aaron Taylor-Johnson be let down by Marvel yet again after his short-lived time in the MCU a decade ago. 

Kraven The Hunter comes to Blu-Ray in its original 2.39:1 with a fetching transfer that is no slouch even knowing that there is a 4K version on the market. While certainly not as flawless as the 4K UHD likely is (it was not made available to me for review), there is a stellar amount of depth and clarity to the picture with discrete details coming through clearly. There is some inventive production design featured in the film along with loads of special effects which you can really take in with this transfer. There are numerous landscapes presented here with each location providing something exciting to explore. 

This Blu-Ray release boasts a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that kicks into gear when it needs to. This disc brings these thrilling moments to life with a depth and clarity of sound that is just perfect. As the action ramps up, the sounds of crashing through objects and other raw effects flow out of your side and rear speakers. Each sound is precisely placed with perfect spatial awareness. The track engages all of the active channels with panning effects and sounds of chaos that really makes you feel like you are in the thick of the action.

Kraven the Hunter largely suffers the same fate as most of the other Sony universe Spider-Man spinoffs. Kraven has such potential on film, yet there seems to be very little passion or vision behind the camera to make it all amount to something. The ridiculous amount of bad ADR is enough to know how little most cared to get this right for fans. Movies are made in the editing room, but you cannot completely manufacture a movie out of nothing but alternate dialogue. That being said, the level of hate for this one is slightly outsized. It is not good, but there are cool things we can appreciate amongst the mediocrity. Most of the ensemble is very talented and free from blame. Hopefully this character can get justice in the future. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray featuring an excellent A/V presentation and a fine selection of special features. If you are a fan of the film and are capable, you might want to spring for the 4K UHD Blu-Ray but this Blu-Ray is rock solid. 

MOVIE ⭐️⭐️⭐️

SOUND ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

PICTURE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

EXTRAS ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve always viewed director/writer Robert Eggers as an “anti-Wes Anderson.” Whereas Anderson’s movies are often light and playful, Eggers’ films are black-and-gray edifices that feel like they’re sitting on my chest as I watch them. That’s not a negative thing, of course. There are a wide variety of movies out there, and I appreciate all kinds of genres. I suppose a good way to look at Eggers and Anderson is salt versus sweet, and how sometimes those things can actually go together well. Anyone up for a double-feature of Nosferatu and The Royal Tenenbaums?

Okay, with that out of the way, yes, Eggers’ latest movie is another tour de force, a remake of the 1922 silent film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, which was, of course, loosely adapted from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. That book is now in the public domain, but I appreciate Eggers’ desire to craft a horror movie not beholden to most moviegoers’ idea of who Dracula is. Set in 1838, Nosferatu follows the trials and tribulations of Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) and Thomas Hunter (Nicholas Hoult), who are recently married and live in Wisburg, Germany. Determined to curry favor with his employer, Herr Knock (Simon McBurney), he accepts an assignment to travel to Transylvania and complete the sale of an old mansion in Wisburg to a man known as Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård). Orlok is, of course, a creepy, shadowy presence who has a supernatural effect on Thomas. The young man manages to escape and Orlok sets out for Wisburg in his coffin, which is aboard a ship whose crew is also unknowingly bringing plague rats with them. Meanwhile, Ellen is suffering from seizures and somnambulism, thanks to a psychic pact she unwittingly made with Orlok when she was younger. Her doctor, unable to figure out a cure for what ails her, decides to ask for the advice of his old mentor, Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz (Willem Dafoe), who is well-versed in the mythology surrounding Nosferatu. As the plague infects Wisburg and Orlok infects the mind of Herr Knock, Thomas and his friend Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) work with von Franz to devise a plan for getting rid of the vampire once and for all.

Nosferatu is certainly worthy of all the accolades it has received, which include four Academy Award nominations, albeit of the technical variety. It’s a worthy update to F.W. Murnau’s Expressionist classic. This Blu-ray edition of the movie comes with a code for a digital copy and a nice batch of extras, including an extended cut of the film that adds four minutes to the runtime. That extra footage is also available in the form of three deleted scenes. The bonus features kick off with a commentary track with Eggers that does a good job of digging into the making of the film. I always appreciate highly skilled filmmakers who have a very specific sense of style and enjoy talking about their work, like Eggers. Universal has also provided a making-of split into six parts that run about 38 minutes total. The big takeaway from them is the fact that Eggers, unsurprisingly, tries to capture as much as he can in-camera, but, of course, digital effects were still required to fill out many scenes (Just as Francis Coppola did with his Bram Stoker’s Dracula). The Blu Ray picture and sound are quite outstanding! Which showcases the cinematography of Jaron Blaschke. I’d be very interested to see what Eggers comes up with next.

Movie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Picture ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sound ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Extras ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️