The
Forger (2013/Lionsgate
Blu-ray)/The Road Within
(2014/Well Go USA Blu-ray)/State
Of Grace
(1990/Orion/MGM/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)/Timbuktu
(2014/Cohen Media Blu-ray)
Picture:
B-/B-/B+/B- Sound: B-/B-/B/B- Extras: C-/C+/B-/C+ Films:
C+/C+/A-/B-
PLEASE
NOTE:
The State
Of Grace
Blu-ray is now only available from our friends at Twilight Time, is
limited to only 3,000 copies and can be ordered while supplies last
at the link below.
Here
are some new dramas for you to know about...
Philip
Martin's The
Forger
(2013) has
John Travolta back in the crime genre as the title character, a man
who is in jail for being able to duplicate paintings, et al, but he
is suddenly out and thanks in part to and old criminal friend who
needs him to do that 'one last job' while he just wants to get back
to his son (Tye Sheridan, who actually looks the part) who is
actually sick with a possible terminal illness and his father
(Christopher Plummer) who he has a tenuous relationship with.
Set
in Boston, the visuals at least gets us outside more often than not,
making viewing better, yet it does not have the impact it needs
because the script is too predictable despite some chemistry going on
with the cast. That includes some unknowns who are not bad here and
we'll likely see again. I wanted this to work and see Travolta get
back on track, but this does not work, though a close call is better
than failure. Fans might want to see this one, but others will
likely be a bit disappointed.
Extras
include Digital HD Ultraviolet Copy for PC, PC portable and iTunes
capable devices, while the Blu-ray adds a Making Of featurette.
Gren
Wells' The
Road Within
(2014) is
a road trip movie with a profound title as three sick persons with
anorexia (Zoe Kravitz, handling her well in how she underplays her
role), germ phobias (Dev Pavel of Slumdog
Millionaire
and the great HBO TV show The
Newsroom)
and Tourette's Syndrome (up and coming Robert Sheenan of the BBC
series Misfits)
offers fine casting, real chemistry, liable actors and they are all
convincing in their roles, but it all becomes too showy by default
since the script is unable to be the deep character study the tile
implies an is not too good a road trip film either.
Kyra
Sedgwick and Robert Patrick are a plus and this does have some good
moments, but if they had just cut out a little bit of the Pavel and
Sheenan work (particularly dialogue) and added more depth, this cold
have been the next Rain Man and something else. As a result,
I was disappointed and more so since they were on track to this
becoming a real surprise, but at least it tries and too few films do
these days.
Extras
include a Music Video, Original Theatrical Trailer, Deleted Scenes
and four interviews with the 3 leads & director.
Phil
Joanou's State
Of Grace
(1990) is one of my favorite films of the last 25+ years and I have
been raving about it and strongly supporting it, it is more than just
a truly great gangster/crime film and I have talked about it often
since, including in this review of a DVD edition we covered years ago
at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/261/State+Of+Grace+(MGM,+1990
I
am thrilled to say the film is finally
getting a following, is among the best work of all involved and
despite Orion Pictures poor release of the film where it barely made
it to any theaters, it has always had positive word of mouth, is
ever-underrated and even the great Tom Hardy recently noted how much
he loved the film. Now, we are getting a Limited
Edition Blu-ray edition from Twilight Time with extras and a transfer
that can really show off how well this film was made. It remains as
intense, dark (visually and thematically) and suspenseful as it ever
did.
Joanou
has never made a better film (as well as many other in the last
quarter century, in his defense) and you know it is a classic when
you keep seeing new nuances and details you may have missed or find
new ways to think of it. Penn, Wright, Oldman, Reilly, Turturro and
Harris have had great careers and yet, this still remains some of
their best purely powerful acting work ever, melding into an exercise
in pure cinema we rarely see anymore. Also, it is a pre-9/11 New
York captured in a profound, priceless way that no other film ever
made offers. It is for these and so many more reasons you need to
see (or rewatch) State Of Grace again because it is a classic!
We
finally
gets extras worthy of this film including a fine illustrated booklet
on the film including informative text and essay by the
ever-informative Julie Kirgo, while the Blu-ray adds a smart, fun,
brand new feature
length audio commentary track with Director Joanou & film scholar
Nick Redman, Isolated Music Score of Morricone's amazing work here
and Original Theatrical Trailer.
Abderrahmane
Sissako's Timbuktu
(2014) joins
films like Osama
(reviewed elsewhere on this site) as sad, ugly tales of terror in the
Middle East by Islamic extremists against other Muslims and Arab
citizens in their own countries. Mauritania is a country and this is
its first-ever Best Foreign Film submission. We have seen a little
too much of what we see in this film, but it has to be there because
the horror and terror have only become worse since 9/11 worldwide and
this film tells us this as a warning and matter of highly
under-recorded record.
The
locales look good, are often authentic and actors effective, plus
this is well shot, edited, has a solid use of color and some of the
camera shots are purely cinematic in ways we see too little of these
days. This might not be the easiest film to sit through, but it is
challenging in a mature, challenging way and we don't see this enough
out of any country. Therefore, this one is definitely worth a look
and one to remember.
Extras
include an illustrated booklet on the film including some informative
text, while the Blu-ray adds an on stage interview with Director
Sissako lasting just over a half-hour.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on Forger
and Timbuktu,
plus 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Road
have good, consistent looks, yet they also have more than a few
flawed shots. They are all digital shoots and even the savvy John
Bailey. A.S.C. (Mishima,
American
Gigolo,
Silverado,
Pope
Of Greenwich Village,
Boulevard
Nights,
Ordinary
People,
Cat
People
(1982), Extreme
Measures)
delivers some of his best work in years on Forger
and nearly succeeds in making Boston a character in the film, but the
script, plotting and writing is against him.
Most
impressive is the 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image
transfer on Grace,
finally delivering the exceptional work of the legendary Director of
Photography Jordan Cronenweth, A.S.C. (Ridley Scott's Blade
Runner
(1982) among others, see my review link) which remains amazing in its
darkness now more than ever. Except for minor Video black limits in
a few spots (even 1080p cannot handle the whole film!), this is
finally a presentation that not only makes all previous video
releases obsolete, but has demo shots and is worth of the mint
condition 35mm film print I was lucky to see when the film barely
opened 25 years ago.
All
four Blu-rays offer DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes, but
they all have moments where the dialogue tends to make the soundfield
collapse and/or dissipate a few times and disappoint, except Grace,
which can show its age but is actually the most consistent with Ennio
Morricone's score standing out beautifully and the original Dolby SR
(Spectral Recording) advanced analog recording having its audio
properly upgraded without sounding choppy (like so many SR-to-5.1
upgrades have been), so it just manages to be the sonic champ here as
well.
To
order the State
Of Grace
limited edition Blu-ray, buy it and many other great exclusives while
supplies last at this link:
www.screenarchives.com
-
Nicholas Sheffo