Rated PG-13, 149 minutes.
Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Cast: Chris Pratt, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Zoe Saldana, Tom Holland, Scarlett Johansson, Karen Gillan, Elizabeth Olsen, Josh Brolin, Carrie Coon, Chris Evans, Pom Klementieff, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston
Available Tuesday (8/14) on Blu-ray, DVD and 4K Ultra HD. It’s available on Digital HD today.
I think we all suffered a big gut punch at the end of AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR. While it left us with so many questions about the fate of our heroes, you can now watch the film on repeat to develop some new theories and be thrilled all over again.
In so many ways, INFINITY WAR has the look and feel of everything in the Marvel movie universe. But it also breaks away from the superhero norm to question what it means to exist. I wasn’t expecting a big purple villain named Thanos (Josh Brolin) to bring so much humanity to such a bloodthirsty character, but his objective is fully realized: He wants these six all-powerful infinity stones to eliminate half of the universe’s life in order to preserve it.
To make every superhero this bountiful would be impossible. Sometimes you have to sideline characters and lean on past movies to build the backstory. It’s unfortunate that many of those sidelined characters are female, but that’s always been a flaw in the Marvel movies.
The biggest takeaways are the role of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). Marvel finally figured out how to handle Thor with last year’s RAGNAROK. Cumberbatch may be the MVP of the film, however. His powers are used in such fashion that just may put you on your feet. The way he interacts with characters like Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Spider-Man (a very good Tom Holland) and the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo, who is mostly Bruce Banner in the film) proves to be more than satisfactory.
INFINITY WAR is fun and does a nice job of mixing all the tones from these characters’ other films, principally GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. But in a film with “war” in its title, you can’t expect all to go well for everyone. Big things happen. I’m just excited to see where things go from here, because this is peak superhero entertainment.
[Grade: A-]
(Also, read Courtney Howard’s theatrical review here.)
Extras: The Blu-ray packaging of INFINITY WAR makes for some nice shelf jewelry. However, the bonus content is nothing to scream about. Aside from a solid audio commentary with the filmmakers and a 30-minute directors’ roundtable (digital only), all the other behind-the-scene featurettes are too polished. The talent will talk about how “awesome” an experience it was, but they don’t get into the details of what made those scenes awesome or much about how they were pulled off. It’s all a bunch of promotional pieces that you would see at Comic-Con. I don’t think they realize they don’t need to sell us further on the movie, because — hello! — if you are watching the special features, you own the movie.
Digital exclusive extra:
Rated R, 89 minutes.
Director: Ken Wiederhorn
Cast: James Karen, Thom Mathews, Michael Kenworthy, Suzanne Snyder and Dana Ashbrook
Available Tuesday on Blu-ray through Scream Factory.
This 1988 sequel to the 1985 cult classic is an entertaining follow up. It may be a complete rehash of the original film, in which a contained zombie virus falls out of the hands of the military and into the public’s, but the great energy and visual/special effects return to make this next Living Dead just as special and fun.
Even the two main cast members from the original RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, Thom Mathews and James Karen, return, but not as the same characters. It’s more like an AMERICAN HORROR STORY type of scenario that has familiar faces playing different roles. Although, there’s a hint of a possible connection between the characters in the first and second film during one key scene.
Scream Factory, which also assembled a spectacular restoration of the original on Blu-ray, keeps the consistency alive with the next chapter. They shine the light on a lesser-appreciated sequel and pack up supplemental material good enough to eat.
[Grade: B]
Extras: Available through shoutfactory.com/shop, PART II includes two new audio commentary tracks (actress Suzanne Snyder, and author Gary Smart and filmmaker Christopher Griffiths), a new (and my personal favorite) featurette on the visual effects, new interviews with the filmmakers and talent, a slew of archival content, trailers and TV spots, still galleries and to-die-for reversible cover art.
Not rated, 96 minutes.
Director: Ryan Prows
Cast: Nicki Micheaux, Ricardo Adam Zarate, Jon Oswald, Santana Dempsey and Mark Burnham
Available Tuesday on Blu-ray through Scream Factory.
Here’s a film that almost fell under the radar, but then I saw the cover art for LOWLIFE and its high-praise from filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. Some critics have even made comparisons to Tarantino’s PULP FICTION, because it’s a violent, unorthodox narrative with multiple storylines that collide. Those comparisons are valid, except Lowlife has less likable characters and not as sharp dialogue. Still, it’s a powerhouse of intrigue and shocking imagery.
The part-black comedy and part-crime melodrama centers on a luchador, an addict, an ex-con and some thugs who all have ties to merciless crime boss Teddy “Bear” Haynes (Mark Burnham).
Teddy is a dude who’s involved in all sorts of unshakable games, from sex trafficking to organ trafficking. Even the opening credits lay Teddy’s abhorrent nature on thick, as we see him dissecting someone he just murdered to harvest their organs.
The best element of the film is easily the luchador, who’s simply known as El Monstruo (a terrific Ricardo Adam Zarate). He’s the most complex of the bunch, because he’s fascinatingly prone to blackout rages like the Incredible Hulk. One sequence when he crushes a guy’s face with a propane tank will leave you stunned with disbelief. (Watch the clip below for that scene – though it’s more violent in the actual film.)
Although not everything jells together, LOWLIFE never loses its confidence in its ability to show you some of the most out-there things. It’s unpredictable, well-acted and aesthetically pleasing — a nice little gem.
[Grade: B]
Extras: Available today through shoutfactory.com/shop, LOWLIFE includes two different audio commentaries with the filmmakers and talent, a making-of featurette, short films and reversible cover art.
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