Alita:
Battle Angel (2019/Fox 4K
Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray 2D)/Enigma
(1982*)/Gorilla Man
(1943/Warner Archive DVD)/Lords
Of Chaos
(2019/w/DVD*)/Mortuary
(2005/*all Blu-ray/MVD)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A 3D Picture: B Picture: B+/B+/B-/B+ &
B-/B Sound: A/B/B-/B+ & B-/B- Extras: B/C/D/C+/B
Films: B+/C+/C/B/D
PLEASE
NOTE:
The
Gorilla Man
DVD is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner
Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.
The
following genre films includes Fox's last big budget production on
their own and some other wild excursions in narrative...
Director
Robert Rodriguez (Sin
City,
The Desperado
Trilogy) and visionary director James Cameron (Avatar,
Terminator,
Aliens,
Titanic)
bring you a cutting edge adaptation of a popular Japanese manga of
the same name, Alita:
Battle Angel
(2019). Presumably a franchise starter and surprisingly dark in some
places, Alita is a sci-fi action romp that utilizes motion capture
technology to new heights and is a pure popcorn munching spectacle
from frame one. While it didn't break any major records in the box
office this year, the film performed a bit better than expected (it
made over $400 million worldwide) and has finally landed on disc in
this excellent new triple combo pack that includes the 4K UHD disc,
Blu-ray 3D, and regular 1080p Blu-ray editions of the film. There's
also a wealth of extras as per usual for Robert Rodriguez
productions.
The
film stars Rosa Salazar (Bird
Box)
as Alita and Christoph Waltz (Django
Unchained),
Jennifer Connelly (Labyrinth),
Mahershala Ali (who was excellent in Green
Book
and was just casted as Blade in the Marvel Cinematic Universe), Ed
Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen),
and Keenan Johnson. The film is produced by Jon Landau, whose
Cameron's right hand man and one of the biggest names in the
business.
Set
hundreds of year in the future, the world is divided between the rich
and the poor after The Fall, a catastrophic event that reshaped
mankind in this world where we co-exist with robots and robotically
enhanced people in a place called Iron City. A scientist (Waltz)
discovers the discarded upper body of Alita (Salazar) in a junkyard
and rebuilds her, only to find out that she is 300 years old and
quite a unique specimen... a kind hearted fighter/warrior who is a
lethal and advanced fighting machine. As Alita struggles to remember
her past, she also falls in love with a teenage boy and ends up
becoming a champion in the game of motor ball, an extreme futuristic
sport. However, when Alita dips into the bounty hunting underworld
in an effort to protect a loved one, she soon finds that she has many
enemies including one who knows of her troubled past.
There
are many films that Alita
is reminiscent of including Rollerball
(for the Motorball sequence, especially in the far superior 1975
original film), Spielberg's A.I.,
Cameron's own Terminator
film, and The
Matrix Trilogy,
but it still manages to create its own unique world with its own
unique characteristics. I must admit that this is some of the best
visual effects work I've seen this year, even besting some of
Hollywood's bigger budgeted features. It helps when the filmmakers
know how to use the technology to its full potential unlike others
who are more after the eyecandy. I'm sure there will always be a new
detail to catch in this film, even after repeat viewings.
I
saw this film in IMAX and Dolby Vision when it was released in
theaters and while it's certainly not as big as it was then, the home
video presentation has translated very well. Presented in 2160p
HEVC/H.265, Dolby Vision/HDR (10+; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra
High Definition image on 4K Ultra HD disc with a widescreen aspect
ratio of 2.39 X 1 and a 1080p Blu-ray version of the film with the
same widescreen and audio specs as well.
The
3D Blu-ray in 1080p MVC-encoded 3-D - Full Resolution digital High
Definition image can look good and work, even covering up limits in
the 2D presentations, but it does not always work well all the way
despite James Cameron being such a huge 3D fan. Otherwise, its not
bad and the most promoted 3D title in the U.S. in a long time. The
format has had more success overseas.
Audio
mixes are the disc are spot on as well with tracks in English Dolby
Atmos 11.1, English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 lossless, and
English Descriptive Audio 5.1. Foreign language tracks are also on
the disc in lossy Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 and French DTS 5.1
respectively. For a film like this with such detailed sound work,
you'll definitely want to see it with a proper home surround system
to get maximum enjoyment. From the violent fight scenes to the
riveting score, this disc could likely be demo worthy for the right
person with a nice 4K setup.
Special
Features include (per the press release):
Alita's
World
- get a deeper look into the world of Alita: Battle Angel with these
dynamic motion comics.
The
Fall
- a look back at the terrible war that almost destroyed two planets
and set the stage for the cyborg warrior Alita's return 300 years
later.
Iron
City
- Hugo gives a guided tour of the Iron City he knows, showing off its
dark corners and broken-down neighborhoods.
What
it Means to be a Cyborg
- hunter-warrior Zapan tracks his mark across Iron City while musing
about what it means to be a cyborg.
Rules
of the Game
- A high-octane "crash course" in Motorball, introducing
the rules, game-play, and the top-ranked players and their arsenal of
weapons.
From
Manga to Screen
- a behind-the-scenes look into the origins of Yukito Kishiro's
beloved manga, "Gunnm," and the long road to bring it to
life on the big screen.
Evolution
of Alita
- how Alita was brought to life, from the casting of Rosa Salazar, to
performance capture, and final VFX by WETA Digital.
Motorball
- go inside Iron City's favorite pastime, from the origins and
evolution of the sport, to rules on how the game is played.
James
Cameron, Robert Rodriguez and cast Q&A moderated by Jon Landau.
Robert
Rodriguez's 10 Minute Cooking School: Chocolate
- a cooking lesson on how to make delicious chocolate like that seen
in the movie.
2005
Art Compilation (2019) - James Cameron's original compilation of
concept art for the then-titled "Battle Angel: Alita,"
presented with new voiceover and music.
Scene
Deconstruction
- view three different stages of the production - the original
live-action performance capture, the animation stage, and the final
Weta VFX from four different scenes
I
Don't Even Know My Own Name
Just
an Insignificant Girl
I'm
a Warrior Aren't I?
and
Kansas Bar
There's
also an exclusive (limited) Best Buy Steelbook and a Target exclusive
for collectors.
Alita:
Battle Angel
is a huge accomplishment for Robert Rodriguez, a director who started
out as indie as it gets, and worked his way up. On par with other
recent James Cameron productions in terms of its production value,
this long in development film is one of the more underrated genre
pictures of the year and certainly one worth checking out. It won't
just appeal to genre fans either, as there is plenty of eye candy and
an interesting world that just about anyone can enjoy.
A
political thriller that reminded me a little of Coppola's The
Conversation,
Enigma
(1982) has an all star cast in Martin Sheen, Sam Neill, and Bridgette
Fossey and centers around Alex Holbeck (Sheen) is a double agent that
tries to stop five pending murders from occurring by locating a
Russian coded micro-processor that holds the key to the case. Along
the way, he confronts his former mistress Karen Reinhardt (Fossey),
who becomes torn between her love for Alex and Dimitri Vasilikov
(Neill), a Russian KGB officer, amidst the chaos.
Enigma
is presented on 1080p high definition Blu-ray disc with a widescreen
aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and an audio mix in lossy Dolby Digital 2.0
Stereo that's pretty standard. The film is shot well and has strong
production value that's true to the subject. MVD has done a nice job
in restoring it here with what they had to work with.
The
only Special Features are an Theatrical Trailer and a Photo Gallery.
One
look at the cover of The
Gorilla Man
(1943) and you expect it to be a creature feature. With a title like
that, a young woman looking quite spooked, and a monster-type hand
reaching towards her. Unfortunately, the movie is far from that and
isn't anything too special outside of nostalgia.
The
film stars John Loder, Ruth Ford, Marian Hall, Richard Fraser, and
Paul Cavanagh. It's directed by D. Ross Lederman. The
Gorilla Man
centers around Nazi spies that pose as doctors to frame a
shellshocked British commando (John Loder) for murder. Of course
things don't go as planned when he becomes known as The Gorilla Man,
for his exceptional climbing abilities.
The
black and white film is presented standard definition DVD with a
1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio and a 2.0 English stereo track. For
being an older film, it has been restored very nicely and would
benefit from an upgrade on a higher format.
No
extras, but at least the film is now in print.
If
you're a fan of Norwegian black metal and/or hardcore metal music,
then the story of the bands MAYHEM and Euronymous shouldn't be too
new to you. Lords
of Chaos
(2019) is very well done with some strong performances (including
rising star Rory Culkin in the lead), but there are a few things that
it gets wrong and that differ from the book from which the film (and
real life story) is based. For one, the accents of the characters
are all wrong and sound too American for their own good, and two some
events have been altered that may differ some hardcore fans of the
material. Though hateful and dark in spirit and ultimately pretty
depressing, Lords
of Chaos
paints a unique picture of a band of misfit musicians that struggle
to stand out in Oslo in the late 1980s, and make their mark whilst
misbehaving badly simultaneously.
Seventeen-year-old
Euronymous (Culkin) is determined to escape his idyllic Scandinavian
hometown of Oslo in the late 1980s and create a new sensation in
"true Norwegian black metal" with his indie band, MAYHEM.
He's joined by equally fanatical youths - Dead (Jack Kilmer) and Varg
(Emory Cohen). Believing that they're on the brink of a musical
revolution, the group gets even darker, driven by the black metal
dogma to spread evil. Soon, they start burning churches, doing
drugs, and being as bad as they can possibly be whilst having a music
store as a front. It doesn't take long for karma to catch up with
them though, and soon the band goes through many changes - both good
and bad.
The
film is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with a
widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and a lossy English Dolby Digital
2.0 Stereo mix. The look of the film is dark and gritty and there
seem to be several mixed formats at play here. The hectic editing
complements the hardcore music at the time and creates a sense of
discomfort in many scenes that aim for that effect. The unrated and
rated versions are both presented here in this combo pack. No
digital though.
Special
Features include:
Director's
Teasers:
Pelle
Dead
This is Gonna End Bad
Attila
Coffin
Dirty
Harry
Graveyard
Hold
Door
The
Bass
Time
to Leave
Dark
Throne
and
a Theatrical Trailer
Finally.
if you want to witness a beloved filmmaker on complete auto pilot
then Tobe Hooper's joyless film Mortuary
(2005) will be a good lesson in pain. The story is a kind of folk
horror that's about a family that moves to a small town in California
and work at a funeral business. They discover a local legend about
the Fowler Boy, whose deformed, and has supernatural abilities. Of
course it doesn't take long for the hapless victims to come across
him... and all hell breaks loose.
Mortuary
stars Dan Byrd, Denise Crosby, Rocky Marquette, Stephanie Patton,
Price Carson, and Greg Travis.
The
Blu-ray presentation isn't terrible but pretty standard with a 1080p
picture and a widescreen aspect of 1.78:1 and audio mixes in lossy
English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo. The film isn't shot
terribly, and is cleaner looking than most indie horror flicks.
Special
Features include:
Audio
Commentary with Director Tobe Hooper
Inside
the Graveyard
Behind
the Scenes Featurette with Tobe Hooper
and
an Original Trailer
Mortuary
was critically panned and for good reason, however, if you're a
hardcore Tobe Hooper fan you might want to check it out.
Presentation and extras wise this release is fine.
To
order The
Gorilla Man
Warner Archive DVD, go to this link for it and many more great
web-exclusive releases at:
http://www.wbshop.com/
-
James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/