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Starman Highlights Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Vol. 4, Coming in Feb.

Starman Highlights Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Vol. 4, Coming in Feb.

CULVER CITY, Calif. (November 17, 2023) – Continuing the fan-favorite and award-winning series—and as part of the upcoming 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures—Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is proud to debut six more beloved films from its library on 4K Ultra HD disc for the first time ever, exclusively within the COLUMBIA CLASSICS 4K ULTRA HD COLLECTION VOLUME 4, available February 13. This must-own set includes films with which audiences around the world have fallen in love: HIS GIRL FRIDAY, Guess Who’s COMING TO DINNER, KRAMER VS. KRAMER, STARMAN, SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE and PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE. Each film is presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision High Dynamic Range, and five of the films have all-new Dolby Atmos mixes.
 
The six films in the COLUMBIA CLASSICS 4K ULTRA HD COLLECTION VOLUME 4 are only available on 4K Ultra HD disc within this special limited edition collector’s set. The collection includes a gorgeous hardbound 80-page book, featuring in-depth sections about the making of each film within the set via six all-new incisive essays from renowned writers and journalists, plus rare photos from deep within the Columbia Pictures archives. The set also includes hours of special features across the films, including newly created behind-the-scenes featurettes, commentaries, and never-before-seen archival materials, plus the entirety of the 1986 Starman TV series, exclusively debuting in high definition!
 
All six films will also be available for purchase at digital retailers in 4K with HDR, and the physical set includes Movies Anywhere redemption codes for each film. With redemption of the Movies Anywhere codes, the movies are available in your digital collection across your linked and participating digital accounts to enjoy at home or on the go.

HIS GIRL FRIDAY
Synopsis:
A classic screwball comedy in which Rosalind Russell plays reporter Hildy Johnson, who, on the eve of her remarriage, is talked into one more assignment by her editor and ex-husband, played by Cary Grant. While interviewing a condemned man, Hildy realizes that his hanging is planned as a vote-getting measure.
 
HIS GIRL FRIDAY Disc Breakdown

  • 4K Ultra HD Includes:
    • Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision, restored from the original camera negative
    • Mono DTS-HD Master Audio
  • Blu-ray Includes:
    • Feature presented in high definition, sourced from the 4K master
    • Mono DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Special Features:
  • Audio Commentary Featuring Film Critic and Author Todd McCarthy
  • NEW: Screwball Style: The Iconic Costumes of Robert Kalloch Featurette
  • NEW: Breaking the Speed Barrier: The Dialogue of His Girl Friday Featurette
  • Lighting Up with Hildy Johnson Featurette
  • Ben Hecht Featurette
  • On Assignment: His Girl Friday Featurette
  • Cary Grant: Making Headlines Featurette
  • Rosalind Russell: The Inside Scoop Featurette
  • Howard Hawks: Reporter’s Notebook Featurette
  • The Funny Pages Featurette
  • Vintage Advertising
  • Theatrical Trailers

 
HIS GIRL FRIDAY has a run time of approximately 92 minutes and is not rated.
 
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER
Synopsis:
Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn (who won the Academy Award® for Best Actress for her performance) are unforgettable as perplexed parents in this landmark 1967 movie about mixed marriage. Joanna (Katharine Houghton), the beautiful daughter of crusading publisher Matthew Drayton (Tracy) and his patrician wife Christina (Hepburn), returns home with her new fiancé John Prentice (Sidney Poitier), a distinguished Black doctor. Christina accepts her daughter’s decision to marry John, but Matthew is shocked by this interracial union; the doctor’s parents are equally dismayed. Both families must sit down face to face and examine each other’s level of intolerance. In GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER, director Stanley Kramer has created a masterful study of society’s prejudices. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
 
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER Disc Breakdown

  • 4K Ultra HD Includes:
    • Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision, restored from the original camera negative
    • Dolby Atmos English audio
    • 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Mono DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Special Features:
  • Audio Commentary Featuring Eddy Friedfeld, Lee Pfeiffer and Paul Scrabo
  • Theatrical Teaser
  • Feature Blu-ray Includes:
    • Feature presented in high-definition
    • 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • 3.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Special Features:
  • Introductions
    • Karen Kramer
    • Steven Spielberg
    • Tom Brokaw
    • Quincy Jones
  • A Love Story for Today Featurette
  • A Special Kind of Love Featurette
  • Stanley Kramer: A Man’s Search for Truth Featurette
  • Stanley Kramer Accepts the Irving Thalberg Award
  • 2007 Producers Guild Stanley Kramer Award Presentation to An Inconvenient Truth
  • Photo Gallery
  • Theatrical Trailer

 
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER has a run time of approximately 108 minutes and is not rated.
 
KRAMER VS. KRAMER
Synopsis:
Winner of 5 Academy Awards® including Best Picture, KRAMER VS. KRAMER is a groundbreaking drama about the heartbreak of divorce and the struggle between work and family. Young husband and father Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) loves his family – and his job, which is where he spends most of his time. When he returns home late one evening from work, his wife Joanna (Meryl Streep) confronts him and then leaves him, forcing Ted to become the sole caregiver to their six-year-old son. Now, Ted must learn to be a father while balancing the demands of his high-pressure career. But just as Ted adapts to his new role and begins to feel like a fulfilled parent, Joanna returns. And now she wants her son back. Celebrating its 45th anniversary.
 
KRAMER VS. KRAMER Disc Breakdown

  • 4K Ultra HD Includes:
    • Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision, restored from the original camera negative
    • Dolby Atmos English audio
    • 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Mono DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Special Features:
  • NEW: Audio Commentary with Film Professor Jennine Lanouette
  • NEW: 5 Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes
  • 4 Featurettes
  • Robert Benton on Directing
  • Justin Henry on Acting
  • Mothers and Daughters
  • Points of Pride
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Blu-ray Includes:
    • Feature presented in high-definition
    • 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
    • Special Feature:
      • Finding the Truth – The Making of Kramer vs. Kramer

 
KRAMER VS. KRAMER has a run time of approximately 105 minutes and is rated PG.
 
STARMAN
Synopsis:
Director John Carpenter presents a romantic science fiction odyssey starring Jeff Bridges in his Oscar®-nominated role as an innocent alien from a distant planet who learns what it means to be a man in love. When his spacecraft is shot down over Wisconsin, Starman (Bridges) arrives at the remote cabin of a distraught young widow, Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen), and clones the form of her dead husband. The alien convinces Jenny to drive him to Arizona, explaining that if his mothership doesn’t pick him up in three days, he’ll die. Hot on their trail are government agents, intent on capturing the alien, dead or alive. En route, Starman demonstrates the power of universal love while Jenny rediscovers her human feelings for passion. Celebrating its 40th anniversary.
 
STARMAN Disc Breakdown

  • 4K Ultra HD Includes:
    • Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision, restored from the original camera negative
    • Dolby Atmos English audio
    • 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • 2-Channel Surround DTS-HD Master Audio
  • Blu-ray Includes:
    • Feature presented in high definition, from the 4K master
    • 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • 2-Channel Surround DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Special Features:
  • Audio Commentary with Director John Carpenter and Actor Jeff Bridges
  • NEW: Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes
  • NEW: Behind-the-Scenes Time Lapses
  • They Came from Hollywood: Revisiting Starman Featurette
  • Making-Of Featurette
  • Music Video
  • Still Gallery
  • Theatrical Trailer

 
STARMAN has a run time of approximately 115 minutes and is rated PG.
 
SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE
Synopsis:
Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan star in Nora Ephron’s wonderfully romantic comedy about two people drawn together by destiny. Hanks stars as Sam Baldwin, a widowed father who, thanks to the wiles of his worried son, becomes a reluctant guest on a radio call-in show. He’s an instant hit with thousands of female listeners who deluge his Seattle home with letters of comfort. Meanwhile, inspired in equal parts by Sam’s story and by classic Hollywood romance, writer Annie Reed (Ryan) becomes convinced that it’s her destiny to meet Sam. There are just two problems: Annie’s engaged to someone else and Sam doesn’t know yet that they’re made for each other. Co-starring Rosie O’Donnell, Rita Wilson and Rob Reiner.
 
SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE Disc Breakdown

  • 4K Ultra HD Includes:
    • Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision, restored from the original camera negative
    • Dolby Atmos English audio
    • 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • 2-Channel Surround DTS-HD Master Audio
  • Feature Blu-ray Includes:
    • Feature presented in high definition, sourced from the 4K master
    • 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • 2-Channel Surround DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Special Features:
  • NEW: 30th Anniversary Critic Commentary with Karen Han & David Sims
  • NEW: A Conversation on Sleepless in Seattle with Gary Foster and Meg Ryan
  • Audio Commentary Featuring Nora and Delia Ephron
  • 4 Deleted Scenes
  • Love in the Movies Featurette
  • “When I Fall in Love” Music Video
  • Theatrical Trailer

 
SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE has a run time of approximately 105 minutes and is rated PG for some language.
 
PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE
Synopsis:
Winner of the Best Director Prize at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, this misfit love story of disconnected people trying to find one another in an antagonistic world is a comedy of discomfort and rage that turns unexpectedly sweet and pure. Adam Sandler gives an amazing and unusual performance as Barry Egan, a socially impaired owner of a small novelty business who is dominated by seven sisters and is unlikely to find love unless it finds him. When a mysterious woman comes into his life, his emotions go haywire, fluctuating between uncontrollable rage, lust, and self-doubt. From the writer/director of Boogie Nights and Magnolia, PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE is a dark, lovely, and unique film experience.
 
PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE Disc Breakdown

  • 4K Ultra HD Includes:
    • Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision, approved by director Paul Thomas Anderson
    • Dolby Atmos English audio, approved by director Paul Thomas Anderson
    • 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
  • Feature Blu-ray Includes:
    • Feature presented in high definition, sourced from the 4K master
    • 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Special Features:
  • 2 Deleted Scenes
  • Mattress Man Commercial
  • Blossoms and Blood
  • 12 Scopitones
  • Jon Brion Featurette
  • Recording Session
  • Theatrical Trailers

    PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE has a run time of approximately 95 minutes and is rated R for strong language, including a scene of sexual dialogue.
  • EXCLUSIVE BONUS DISCS INCLUDE:
  • STARMAN the complete 1986-1987 22-episode follow-up series based on the feature film—exclusively presented in high definition! HD episodes are included on 4K UHD discs for maximum space.

Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The Creator, Timely Take on AI, COmes to Disc Dec. 12

The Creator, Timely Take on AI, COmes to Disc Dec. 12

BURBANK, CA (November 6, 2023) – From Gareth Edwards, the director of Rogue One, comes an action-packed and visually stunning science-fiction epic that has impressed critics and delighted fans worldwide.
 
From 20th Century Studios, New Regency and Entertainment One comes The Creator. Set 15 years after a nuclear detonation in Los Angeles and a war against artificial intelligence, the film stars John David Washington as an ex-special forces agent recruited to hunt down and kill the mysterious “Creator” and features a bold ensemble cast that includes Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Allison Janney, and Madeleine Yuna Voyles.
 
The Creator has been described as “breathtaking” (Forbes), “extraordinarily original” (USA Today), and “the best film of the year” (Comicbook.com), and fans can add it to their digital collection on November 14 when The Creator becomes available at all major digital retailers including Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango/Vudu with exclusive behind-the-scenes bonus content. The film will also be released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on December 12. The 4K release includes Dolby Atmos audio, which showcases the heartfelt and moving motion picture score by acclaimed composer Hans Zimmer.

Film Synopsis
Amidst a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence, Joshua (John David Washington), a hardened ex-special forces agent grieving the disappearance of his wife (Gemma Chan), is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war — and humankind. Joshua and his team of elite operatives journey across enemy lines into the dark heart of AI-occupied territory, only to discover the world-ending weapon he’s been instructed to destroy is an AI in the form of a young child, in this epic sci-fi action thriller directed by Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) from a screenplay by Edwards and Chris Weitz.
 
Bonus Feature*
 
True Love: Making The Creator (55 Mins)
Join director Gareth Edwards and crew for nearly an hour look behind the scenes. Hear from actors about the filming experience, and learn about the production’s documentary-style approach, the innovative camera and lighting work, and much more.
 
*Bonus features vary by retailer and are exclusive to the Blu-ray
 
Cast
John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Allison Janney
 
Directed by
Gareth Edwards
 
Written by
Gareth Edwards, Chris Weitz
 
Produced by
Gareth Edwards, p.g.a.
Kiri Hart
Jim Spencer, p.g.a.
Arnon Milchan

Music by
Hans Zimmer
 
Product Specifications
Digital: November 14
Physical: December 12
 
Product SKUs
Digital: 4K UHD, HD, SD
Physical: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital Code), Blu-ray (Blu-ray + Digital Code) & DVD
 
Feature Run Time
Approx. 133 minutes
 
Rating
U.S. Rated PG-13
**For violence, some bloody images and strong language
 
Aspect Ratio
Digital:  2.76:1
Physical: 2.76:1
 
Disc Size
4K UHD: 66GB
Blu-ray: 50GB
DVD: 8.5GB
 
U.S. Audio
4K Ultra HD: English Dolby Atmos and 2.0 Dolby Digital Descriptive Audio, Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, French 5.1 Dolby Digital
Blu-ray: English 7.1 DTS-HDMA and 2.0 Dolby Digital Descriptive Audio, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby Digital
DVD: English, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital Descriptive Audio
Digital: English Dolby Atmos (UHD only, some platforms), English 7.1, 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital, Spanish 7.1, 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 7.1, 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital, English Descriptive Audio 2.0 Dolby Digital (some platforms)
 
U.S. Subtitles
4K Ultra HD: English SDH, Spanish, French
Blu-ray: English SDH, Spanish, French
DVD: English SDH, Spanish, French
Digital: English SDH, French, Spanish (some platforms)
Join director Gareth Edwards and crew for nearly an hour look behind the scenes. Hear from actors about the filming experience, and learn about the production’s documentary-style approach, the innovative camera and lighting work, and much more.
 
*Bonus features vary by retailer and are exclusive to the Blu-ray
 
Cast
John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Allison Janney
 
Directed by
Gareth Edwards
 
Written by
Gareth Edwards, Chris Weitz
 
Produced by
Gareth Edwards, p.g.a.
Kiri Hart
Jim Spencer, p.g.a.
Arnon Milchan
 
Music by
Hans Zimmer
 
Product Specifications
Digital: November 14
Physical: December 12
 
Product SKUs
Digital: 4K UHD, HD, SD
Physical: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital Code), Blu-ray (Blu-ray + Digital Code) & DVD
 
Feature Run Time
Approx. 133 minutes
 
Rating
U.S. Rated PG-13
**For violence, some bloody images and strong language
 
Aspect Ratio
Digital:  2.76:1
Physical: 2.76:1
 
Disc Size
4K UHD: 66GB
Blu-ray: 50GB
DVD: 8.5GB
 
U.S. Audio
4K Ultra HD: English Dolby Atmos and 2.0 Dolby Digital Descriptive Audio, Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, French 5.1 Dolby Digital
Blu-ray: English 7.1 DTS-HDMA and 2.0 Dolby Digital Descriptive Audio, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby Digital
DVD: English, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital Descriptive Audio
Digital: English Dolby Atmos (UHD only, some platforms), English 7.1, 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital, Spanish 7.1, 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 7.1, 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital, English Descriptive Audio 2.0 Dolby Digital (some platforms)
 
U.S. Subtitles
4K Ultra HD: English SDH, Spanish, French
Blu-ray: English SDH, Spanish, French
DVD: English SDH, Spanish, French
Digital: English SDH, French, Spanish (some platforms)

The Last Days of Black Hammer by Jeff Lemire and Stefano Simeone

The Last Days of Black Hammer by Jeff Lemire and Stefano Simeone

A cynical reader, such as me, could look at that title and think “oh, good, they’re finally ending this repetitive superhero waffling that never actually goes anywhere.” But that reader would be wrong.

This is not “last” in the sense of anything actually ending. This is a superhero “last,” meaning it’s about something in the past, and retelling a story already at least half-told multiple times before – but now telling it in greater detail. Even more so, what we have here pretends to be the actual issues of the 1986-era comic in which the original Black Hammer snuffed it, with covers that have fake high numbers and everything.

So The Last Days of Black Hammer  is actually a prequel to nearly all of the Black Hammer stories we’ve already seen. (Black Hammer ’45  takes place almost entirely before this, as does Barbalien: Red Planet , but I think those are the only ones – OK, maybe Doctor Andromeda , too.)

The whole premise of the entire vast Black Hammer-i-verse was that there was a big superhero fight (cough Crisis! cough) against the “Anti-God,” who looks nothing like Darkseid, in the sky over Spiral City, which apparently also turned the skies of the rest of the world red, because that’s the thing comics geeks still latch onto from Crisis even thirty years later, and that the Greatest Hero of All Time, Black Hammer, whacked said Anti-God with his big, um, Black Hammer, and that made the Anti-God go all “ouchie!” and run away forever and forever but also alas! killed Black Hammer in the same way that every superhero dies at least once.

For the dull ones in back: Black Hammer is the Silver Age Flash. He died so worlds can live. Got it? (Character-wise, he’s actually more like the Black Racer crossed with Thor, but that’s a different kind of derivative-ness.)

This pretends to be the 1986-era issues 234-237 issues of the Black Hammer comic book, including both a “hero no more!” and an “all-new! all-different!” cover, plus the double-sized epic conclusion. There’s also a coda or epilogue at the end, outside that “old comics” schema, to show how Sad it all was, how Important was The Sacrifice of Black Hammer To Save Us All, and that His Daughter had to Grow Up Without a Father, Alas! 

Otherwise, though, this is exactly what we already know and what we expect. Black Hammer is conflicted, and wants to give up hitting things with a big hammer to Spend More Time With His Family Before It Is Too Late. But, alas! He Is Needed, because The Bad Guys Will Destroy The World And Only Black Hammer Can Stop Them. The superhero group that still doesn’t have a name – the Spiral City Sluggers? the Saviors? the Bad Guy Whompers? the Fabulous Dudes? – more or less breaks up after the events of the first “issue” here, having stopped what was believed to be Their Greatest Threat, and several of them need to be brought back out of retirement – quickly, perfunctorily – for the big ending.

Reader, there is nothing here you will not predict, nothing that gives a true moment of surprise or wonder, nothing that isn’t entirely derivative and utterly pre-determined. This is a piece of product, an engineered jigsaw puzzle piece that slots in exactly in the middle of all of the other pieces to make a bland picture of people punching each other.

I usually praise creator Jeff Lemire’s writing when I talk about these books, though I know it feels like faint praise. (He can, and does, do a lot better than this. But the Black Hammer books are professional, and the characters are as dimensional as anything in generic superhero-dom can be.) This time, the art is from Stefano Simone, who has a looser, sketchier line that might not quite say “1986 Big Event Comics” to me, but it’s energetic and fun and doesn’t look like fifty years of superhero comics, so I count that as a plus.

But, as always, I question the whole point of the exercise. We know everything here already. Last Days adds nothing.

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

REVIEW: The Boys Season 3

REVIEW: The Boys Season 3

With every passing season, Amazon Prime’s adaptation of Garth Ennis and Darrick Robertson’s The Boys seems to be playing “can you top this?” in terms of going where no other heroic series has not dared to go.

The third season, out on disc just months before the fourth season drops, mainly focuses on the increasingly callous Homelander (Antony Star) fighting Starlight (Erin Moriarty) for the heart and soul of The Seven. When Vought named her co-leader, he was far from thrilled and let everyone know. The group of underground heroes – led by Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) trying to take down Homelander and expose their sponsor’s corruption almost seems sidelined this season.

There were interesting twists and turns across the eight episodes, such as Butcher’s protégé Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid) working with Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) at the FBSA (Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs).  His romance with Starlight remains rocky, especially as he gets jealous of her ex, Supersonic (Miles Gaston Villanueva).

The season’s new wrinkle is the discovery of Compound V24, which can give someone temporary Supe powers that last 24 hours, and Butcher uses it to go toe-to-toe with Homelander, hoping to rescue Ryan (Cameron Crovetti), Homelander’s son, from his evil influence.

The plotting and scripting is tight, although it has recently been eclipsed by the first season of the Gen V spinoff. Eric Kripke and company are doing a fine job juggling multiple threads and making sure everyone gets their moment or two to shine.

Sony Home Entertainment has released the series on only Blu-ray, which looks fine in fantastic AVC encoded 1080p transfer in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. However, the Ultra HD broadcast on streaming is a tad sharper. The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio audio track is up to the challenge and delivers just fine.

Just a few Special Features are included: The Making Of A Giant Urethra (1:58) and Gag Reel #1 (2:37), Gag Reel #2 (3:00); and Deleted & Extended Scenes (seven totaling eight minutes).

REVIEW: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

REVIEW: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

With all the talk of super-hero fatigue, it’s interesting to note that we never talk about espionage fatigue despite the steady stream of spies from a variety of franchises. One of the oldest and long-running series is, of course, Mission: Impossible. Once a lauded television series, it transitioned to film in 1996 and somehow, 27 years later, it’s still chugging along, in some ways invigorated with new life.

Led by the once-ageless Tom Cruise, he remains the fittest sixty-something actor in the world, continuing to do his own stunts and working with his personal guru Christopher McQuarrie, who returned for the newest offering, Dead-Reckoning Part One, out now from Paramount Home Entertainment.

The filming was originally intended to shoot back-to-back with the film’s released a year apart. Then came Covid-19 and now the SGA strike so those plans got scuttled. That said, their threat, Artificial Intelligence, has proven increasingly timely with every passing month. As you may be aware, even President Biden found himself somewhat influenced by the movie as he prepared his recently-released executive order on AI.

The IMF team continues to shrink and remain stagnant, with no real lip service given to the program since the third installment. So, when the shit hits the fan this time, in the form of a key to the world’s most powerful AI, dubbed Entity, Ethan Hunt (Cruise), Benji (Simon Pegg), and Luther (Ving Rhames) are all that’s left to save the world. Matters begin with tracking Gabriel (Esai Morales), the Entity’s human avatar, who has a personal vendetta against Hunt. Along the way, they cross paths with the pickpocket Grace (Hayley Atwell) and we’re off.

It is good to see Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) and Alanna Mitsopolis (Vanessa Kirby) back, but Atwell gives the franchise a fresh spark as does Gabriel’s aide Paris (Pom Klentieff), a poorly chosen character name given its M:I connotations. Interesting all the energy comes from the women. Which is not to say Cruise is slacking since he continues to run with recklessness and his showstopping motorcycle/parachute scene is incredible.

The movie brings back other familiar faces so the absence of Julia Meade (Michelle Monaghan), who doesn’t even get name-checked, feels wrong.

Its wonderful adventure and sumptuously shot. The ending is satisfying enough with still a threat to resolve in Part Two currently scheduled for May 23, 2025.

Paramount Home Entertainment has released the film in the usual assorted formats including the 4K Ultra HD,/Blu-ray/Digital Code combo. The 4K 2160p transfer is extremely crisp with strong visuals and plays wonderfully at home. As usual, the Dolby Atmos soundtrack is excellent as it needs to be, given the sound effects and score from Lorne Balfe.

The Audio Commentary: Director Christopher McQuarrie and Editor Eddie Hamilton is found on the 4K disc as is the Isolated Score Track presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.

The Blu-ray offers the usual assortment of Special Features Abu Dhabi (3:55); Rome (4:12); Venice (4:12); Freefall (9:05); Speed Flying (4:17); and Train (5:32).

Tin Man by Justin Madison

Tin Man by Justin Madison

First up, I have to answer the question I had when I picked up this book: yes, that tin man. Well, one of those tin men, to be clearer.

Justin Madison’s debut graphic novel Tin Man  is set in a version of L. Frank Baum’s Oz, and his tin man, Campbell, has the familiar shape and form Americans expect from their tin men since 1939. But that’s not particularly clear at the beginning of the story, and it’s never important. It’s something bigger than an Easter egg, I guess, since there are plenty of references to Baum here, but it’s all background.

We’re in a recognizably modern world: suburbia, TV news, two-paycheck families, junkyards, high school students who play video games and hang out to do mischief. The land is called Oz, which is mentioned but not emphasized. It looks mostly like our world, with a few tweaks.

There’s a major space industry, and people can build space-capable ships in their backyards, in best Tom Swift fashion. Kids can aspire to get out of their dead-end towns by getting into the very selective VASTE Institute, something like a STEM magnet high school with much more emphasis on spaceships and big wrenches.

But they’re still kids, and that’s what Tin Man is about. Three young people who each want something – though they don’t all exactly know what they want, when the book begins – who meet, and who each find something like what they want (or need) by the end.

One of them is Campbell, the tin man. He grew up with his people, in the forest, chopping down trees. But he heard of a wizard, in a far-off city, who makes mechanical hearts for tin men that allows them to feel, and Campbell wanted that for himself. His father didn’t understand why; they fought; Campbell ran away. There’s a bit more to the story, but that comes out in the course of the book.

Campbell meets Fenn in a junkyard. Campbell is there: living or hanging out or just existing. Fenn is a local kid, maybe ten or so. He’s obsessed with space; his hero is Jed Astro, a famous explorer. And Fenn is picking through junkyards as he tries to build a spaceship himself – he finds a mechanical heart, he befriends Campbell, he’s the glue that pulls this story together.

The third character is Fenn’s older sister, Solar. She used to be an academic whiz, head of the class at her high school, recruited for VASTE. But she’s hanging with the stoners and bullies now, dating the worst of them: slacking off, skipping school, avoiding work and responsibility, looking to get a job at a local garage and give up on all expectations.

Fenn wants his old sister back: the one who cared about space and science and the future. The one that worked with him and was good at the same things he cares about.

Solar wants… Well, she used to want to go to VASTE, to go to space, to get out of this town and make something of herself. Now, she doesn’t seem to want anything.

Campbell wants that mechanical heart, we think – but we learn that he’d already gotten it, and how that went.

Meanwhile, Terrible Twisters are running through Oz, getting closer. And Solar’s new friends – especially her boyfriend, Merrick, their leader – are mean and destructive and getting worse. And we learn why Solar changed, what happened in her life (and Fenn’s) recently that soured her on life.

And they all get what they want, or maybe need, at the end, as the twisters hit and Merrick continues to be a horrible human being and Fenn’s homemade spaceship turns out to be unexpectedly useful.

Madison has a somewhat indy-comics style, a little grungy, with dot eyes: it reminds me a little of Jeff Lemire, though not that grungy. His places are real, his people expressive, his colors crisp and bright. And he’s just sneaky enough, with his Oz references and unobtrusive storytelling, for a reader like me who eats that stuff up. Tin Man is another one of the flood of recent graphic stories aimed at teens, but, like the best of that flood, it’s not limited to them.

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

CLERKS Premium Box Set Out Today

CLERKS Premium Box Set Out Today

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Return to the Quick Stop for this hilarity-filled collection of Kevin Smith’s beloved Clerks movies. This specially designed Premium Box Collection includes a set of Clerks-themed clings that fans can use to customize their set. Clerks will be available for the suggested retail price of $129.99.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS

They are the overworked, underpaid, and hardly working…they are clerks! For the first time ever, all three of Kevin Smith’s Clerks films are included on Blu-rayTM + Digital in one limited-edition Premium Box Set, available exclusively on Amazon. This one-of-a-kind package is a slacker’s dream come true, featuring a 3D miniature of the iconic Quick Stop and RST Video storefronts and a working VHS slot, for safe storage of the discs without running up pesky late fees. Also, be sure to vandalize the rental-return “wall” with the cling stickers included in the box, featuring in-world business logos and jokes from the franchise. Finally, a certificate of authenticity will give diehard fans full bragging rights. Let Randal, Dante, Jay, and Silent Bob take you back to those glorious days when rooftop hockey was all the rage, customer service was a four-letter word, and slackers ruled the world with the Amazon-exclusive Clerks Premium Box Set!

CAST

Brian O’ Halloran: Clerks, Mallrats

Jeff Anderson: Clerks, Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Kevin Smith: Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma

Jason Mewes: Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Dogma

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Year of Production: 2023

Title Copyright: 

CLERKS © 2023 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved. 

CLERKS II © 2006 The Weinstein Company. All Rights Reserved.

CLERKS III © 2022 Redo Askew LLC. All Rights Reserved. Artwork & Supplementary Materials ®, ™ & © 2022 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Type: Catalog Re-Release

Rating: R 

Genre: Comedy

Closed-Captioned: N/A

Feature Run Time: 289

Blu-ray Audio: 

CLERKS Audio: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio

CLERKS II Audio: DOLBY DIGITAL 5.1

CLERKS III Audio: DOLBY ATMOS

Blu-Ray Subtitles: Various

Blu-ray Format: Various

REVIEW: Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two

REVIEW: Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two

The Justice League and the Huntsmen are back in Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two, to conclude the underwhelming story from April’s part one. Other than commercial considerations, there is no real reason for the two teams to be paired together; no real character and dramatic opportunities are present, which may be why the story doesn’t really work.

We force the JL heroes to be transformed into teen versions of themselves and brought to the Huntsmen’s world, working across Remnant’s four kingdoms of Vale, Mistral, Atlas, and Vacuo to fight the good fight. Superman, Wonder Woman (Laura Bailey), Batman (Troy Barker), and The Flash (David Dastmalchian) are teamed with Ruby (Lindsay Jones), Weiss (Kara Eberle), Blake (Arryn Zech), and Yang (Barbara Dunkelman) to fight the Grimms and save the world. As part two opens, we continue with the cliffhanger, the revelation that Flash foe Kilg%re (Tru Valentino) trapped the heroes in a computer simulation. Now, the adult and more familiar Justice Leaguers are working with the altered Huntsmen, complete with freshened uniforms.

There’s plenty of action to amuse the core audience, but it comes at the expense of letting the revised RWBY heroes explore their new forms. Characterization is always sacrificed for action; storytelling be damned. The overall conclusion works, but overall, you are left wondering why did they bother with this.

Warner Home Entertainment has released this in all the usual formats, including the 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray/Digital Code combo pack. Rooster Teeth’s attempt to animate their 3D look works for the most part and the 2160p and 1080p high-definition transfers work for the most part, maintaining a smooth look. The colors are well-preserved and the action is clear. The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track is actually somewhat better, and an improvement over Part One.

The Special Features are fine with a perfunctory feel to them. These include I’ve Got Your Back: The Bond Between Justice League and RWBY (6:45) and You Look… Different: RWBY on Earth (7:12).

Overall, if you are a RWBY fan, this is must-see viewing, while JL fans can use this to pass the time until 2024’s more substantial offerings.

In Waves by A.J. Dungo

In Waves by A.J. Dungo

A.J. Dungo obscures the central theme of his first graphic novel for a long time. The cover copy only hints at it. I have to assume that’s all on purpose. And, to be a fair reviewer, I feel like I should do the same.

But know that In Waves  is a true story, that it’s about something major and important in Dungo’s life – I hate to say “that happened to him,” for reasons that would only be clear to people who’ve read the book – and that is related to but very distinct from what In Waves says it is about. I might say a little more, at the very end here, if I can do it without spoiling.

In Waves says it’s about surfing. And it is: it’s a four-hundred page graphic novel that largely traces the history of the sport, from pre-contact Hawaii through the greats of the early twentieth century.  It’s informed and interesting, a cultural history rather than the story of a sport’s winners and rules and contests. But that’s just one-half of the book; as the minimal back-cover copy puts it, the other half of In Waves consists of Dungo’s “personal narrative of love, loss, and the solace of surfing.”

Dungo came late to surfing, personally, despite – as far as I can see – growing up in Sothern California, somewhere near the beach. His girlfriend, Kristen, loved to surf, as did many other members of her family, so that’s how Dungo got into it. That half of the book is the personal part, the part I’m going to avoid talking in detail about. It is a narrative of loss, in the end – Dungo constructs the story so the loss happens about mid-way through the book, but it’s clear from early on that this will not be an entirely happy story.

Dungo tells those two stories on crisp light pages – the present-day storyline in a green-blue, a couple of shades lighter than the cover, and the past in a similarly light amber. He gives them both lots of pages, plenty of room to tell the story, to have small moments in both timeframes. The modern story is more personal, more immediate than the historical one, as of course it has to be. The historical story is mostly background or explanation: what this all means, the deeper history or significance, and maybe what Dungo researched and learned about to process that loss. But the core of In Waves is his story, as it should be.

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

54-disc Star Trek: The Picard Legacy Collection is now Available

54-disc Star Trek: The Picard Legacy Collection is now Available

Star Trek: The Picard Legacy Collection is now available from Paramount Home Entertainment!
The limited edition individually numbered 54-disc
Blu-ray collection features one-of-a-kind packaging that houses every series and film featuring Jean-Luc Picard. Along with over 35 hours of special features, films and series include “Star Trek: The Next Generation – Seasons 1-7,” “Star Trek: Picard – Seasons 1-3,” Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Nemesis, and Star Trek: Insurrection.  This limited set also includes an exclusive edition of The Wisdom of Picard featuring brand new artwork and quotes, a one-of-a-kind deck of playing cards, a magnet sheet featuring all of Captain Picard’s badges, and four custom Chateau Picard drink coasters.

Check out behind-the-scenes clips, gag reel, and deleted scenes below from the latest season of “Star Trek: Picard!”