A Complete Unknown
What an exciting line-up of titles this week! We’ve got four theatrical releases hitting stores, including an Oscar powerhouse, an action thriller, a kids blockbuster, and a future cult classic in the making. Oh yeah, and one of the biggest television phenomenons of the past decade returns to home video. Whoo hoo! Read on!
In This Week’s Column:
- A Complete Unknown (Blu-ray + Digital)
- Mufasa (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
- Companion (4K Ultra HD + Digital)
- Flight Risk (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)
- The Last of Us: The Complete First Season (4K Ultra HD Steelbook)
- Abbott Elementary: The Complete Third Season (DVD)
- Summer Wars (Blu-ray)
A Complete Unknown (Blu-ray + Digital)
The Movie:
It is 38 minutes into A Complete Unknown before we see Timothee Chalamet (as Bob Dylan) smile.
I say this because, for as much of a musical legend as Bob Dylan is, he was not — at least as a young man — an overly charismatic person. And full credit to Timothee Chalamet, whose performance is absolutely outstanding here, for never trying to make him more warm and fuzzy than he really was.
Now, I’m not a Bob Dylan fan. I’ve never really cared for his music, or at least his singing; I do think he’s a talented songwriter. But I love me some pop culture history and I love a good biopic. And A Complete Unknown is an outstanding biopic. Directed by James Mangold, one of the best directors working in Hollywood today, the film follows Dylan from 1961 through 1965, from his arrival on the scene to his famous (or infamous) set at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival when he controversially went full electric and caused a negative reaction among the crowd — and made music history at the same time.
The film also delves into his tumultuous relationships with fellow singer Joan Baez as well as early muse Sylvie Russo, as well as his friendships with fellow musicians Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, and Johnny Cash. The supporting cast, including Ed Norton and Monica Barbaro (who were both nominated for Academy Awards), Elle Fanning, and Boyd Holbrook are all terrific, yet Chalamet carries the film. And while his Dylan may not be likable, it’s one of those performances where you forget you’re watching an actor and instead feel like you’re just watching Bob Dylan on screen.
The Bonus Features:
There are a handful featurettes that run a little over 20 minutes total and an audio commentary. Here are the details:
- Audio Commentary by director/co-writer James Mangold
- The Making of ‘A Complete Unknown:
- The Story
- Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan
- The Supporting Cast
- The Design
Digital Copy Included: Yes
The Wrap-Up:
For as little interest as I have in Bob Dylan in terms of listening to his music, and for as prickly of a person as I find him to be, A Complete Unknown is a compelling, well-made, finely acted, and extremely enjoyable movie to watch. There’s a reason it got so many awards nominations, and frankly I think it deserved more wins.
Mufasa: The Lion King (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital)
The Movie:
I can’t say that Mufasa: The Lion King totally proves my point that nobody wants prequels, seeing as how it grossed almost $250 million at the US box office and over $700 million worldwide. But I also can’t say that it disproves my point, because ultimately it’s a kids’ movie, and I feel like kids’ movies are a completely different animal (no pun intended) outside the realm of proving or disproving my theories.
Regardless of whether audiences want prequels or not, we got one in Mufasa, which tells the story of a young Mufasa and how he became the leader that we saw in The Lion King. That includes a traumatic childhood separation from his family, dangerous new enemies, and his courtship with Sarabi, also known as Simba’s mother. It does also serve as a sequel in some ways, as the framing device the movie uses is Rafiki, Timon and Pumbaa (from the 2019 Lion King remake) babysitting Simba’s young daughter Kiara and Rafiki telling Mufasa’s story.
The film is… perfectly good. I don’t want to damn it with faint praise, but it kind of falls into that realm. I can’t say I didn’t enjoy watching it at all, but I cant say that I was riveted by it. Some of the story elements seem like retreads of things we saw in The Lion King, and ultimately, you know how a lot of things are going to work out because of the nature of prequels. (Will Mufasa and Sarabi end up together?? Hmmm… I wonder.) That said, younger audiences will enjoy it, and the animation is outstanding; visually it’s a terrific effort.
The Bonus Features:
- Finding Milele: The Making of Mufasa (14 minutes)
- Songs of the Savanna (9 minutes)
- Ostrich Eggs with Timon & Pumbaa (4 minutes)
- Outtakes (2 minutes)
- Deleted Scenes (5 minutes)
- Protect the Pride (2 minutes)
Digital Copy Included: Yes
The Wrap-Up:
It’s not hard to understand why Disney wants to keep The Lion King franchise alive, seeing as how the original is one of the most successful animated films in history, and the 2019 version was no box office slouch either. I’m not sure this is the direction I would have gone in, but ultimately more people will like it than not and hopefully we’ll get something a little more memorable with the next entry.
Companion (4K Ultra HD + Digital)
The Movie:
I’m going to keep things a little bit vague here, because I truly think the best way to go into Companion is to know as little about it as possible. I had one major plot point spoiled for me before I saw the film, and frankly, I wish I hadn’t even known that much before I watched the movie, even though it’s one of the core concepts of the film.
But if you’ve seen the trailer for the movie, you’ll know it purposefully keeps things vague as well, and I respect that so much in a day and age where trailers will literally spoil the ending of a movie without even blinking. Here’s what I will tell you: the film sees a group of friends at a vacation home for a weekend together. Iris (Sophie Thatcher from Yellowjackets and Heretic) is feeling a bit self conscious among her boyfriend Josh (an excellent Jack Quaid) and his friends Kat, Eli, Patrick, and Sergey. Suffice it to say, things go wrong fairly quickly, and Iris finds herself caught up in circumstances she wasn’t prepared to deal with.
I know that’s not a lot to go on, but let me say this: I absolutely loved Companion. It takes a well-known story trope and subverts it a bit, so you’re not quite sure who to root for early on, even though it becomes clearer and clearer as the movie progresses. It is at times thrilling, intense, funny, stylish, and scary, and I had a really good time with it. I also appreciate that it barely runs over an hour and half; too many movies these days try to be more than they are and it’s not necessary. Companion has a story to tell that isn’t overly complex, so it gets in, gets out, and wraps up with a minimum of fuss.
The 4K Video/Audio:
Companion isn’t a movie that places a lot of emphasis on visuals. What I mean by that is that — while the cinematography is excellent — this isn’t a film with a lot of special effects or crazy locations. That said, it comes to home video on 4K Ultra HD (with other options also available), and the studio has done a terrific job with the A/V quality. We get strong color saturation and crystal clear imagery, and the darker scenes also retain sharp visual acuity thanks to excellent shadow delineation. Likewise, the visual soundfield isn’t overly complex, so more than anything a focus on atmosphere is required. This mix focuses largely on dialogue and music, but it pipes in sound from the surround channels when needed to bring the film to life accurately and moodily. A very strong effort overall.
The Bonus Features:
There are three featurettes on the Companion 4K release that run about 15 minutes total. They’re enjoyable looks at the making of the film, but the title of one of them is a bit of a spoiler, so I’m not going to list them individually here.
Digital Copy Included: Yes
The Wrap-Up:
Maybe you already know what Companion is about and even if you don’t, you will probably be able to figure out where it’s going relatively quickly into the film. That said, it’s still a super enjoyable movie and the more you can be surprised by it, the better. Definitely check it out, though.
Flight Risk (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)
The Movie:
When the commercials for Flight Risk hit the airwaves, my wife was fixated on the fact that Mark Wahlberg — who plays a psychotic assassin in the film — has been made up to look like he’s mostly bald. She found it so incredibly distracting that every time a commercial for the film would come on, she would have the same reaction: “Why did they have to make him look like that?”
Maybe it’s because he’s too good looking in real life to play as nasty of a character as he does in the film, but there’s no denying he looks a little goofy. Luckily, that doesn’t take away from his enjoyable performance and the the fun that Flight Risk brings to the screen.
The story is fairly simple: mob accountant Winston is being returned to the mainland states by US Marshal Madolyn (who’s been riding a desk for two years because of Big Secret Past Events). The pilot of their small charter plane in Alaska turns out to be a killer for the mob who wants to make sure Winston doesn’t testify, but he also happens to be a nutjob who wants to torment his victims first. The film then becomes a battle for survival with a prisoner, a marshal, and a psycho in a very tight enclosed space. In one of the bonus features, Topher Grace (who plays Winston) references the Alfred Hitchcock movie Lifeboat, and while this movie isn’t of that quality, the comparison is apt, as almost the entire movie takes place in this tiny space.
I love a good action thriller, so I enjoyed Flight Risk. I wish the script had occasionally been stronger, but Mark Wahlberg is having a blast chewing up the scenery, Topher Grace does his Topher Grace thing (which I’m always here for), and Michelle Dockery of Downton Abbey fame holds her own as an action heroine. I was more than a little surprised to see Mel Gibson’s name as the director when the credits rolled, more because I didn’t catch on to that when the film was being marketed than because he isn’t a capable director.
The 4K Video/Audio:
Flight Risk comes to home video on 4K Ultra HD (as well as other formats) and the audio and video deliver what you would expect. Picture quality is crisp and clear, and it especially shines during the outer shots of the plane where you can see it flying against the beautiful backdrop of Alaskan mountain ranges. Colors are natural and vibrant, and the overall look of the film is very pleasing to the eye. The surround soundtrack does a good job of keeping the surround channels active with background noise like the plane engine and wind always subtly present but never overpowering the dialogue. It’s a very good 4K delivery.
The Bonus Features:
- Risk Management: Making Flight Risk (8 minutes)
Digital Copy Included: Yes
The Wrap-Up:
Flight Risk isn’t going to blow anyone away, and it’s not unpredictable or all that memorable, but it’s a fun enough ride in one of my favorite genres, the action thriller. It’s worth a watch, just know what you’re getting before you get into it and you should be perfectly satisfied.
The Last of Us: The Complete First Season (4K Ultra HD Steelbook)
The Show:
It’s been a while since there was a tried and true television phenomenon, but The Last of Us wanted to show the world that great television can still be a driving force in pop culture. And boy did it succeed.
Based on a popular series of video games, the show takes place in a post-pandemic world in which people are overtaken by a fungus and become mushroom-headed zombies. Early on we meet Joel, a gruff man whose daughter died early on in the epidemic, and Ellie, a teenage girl who is immune to the plague. They team up on a cross-country journey to bring Ellie to people who may be able to craft a cure from her blood, and along the way, a relationship begins to form.
Now, I’ll be honest, I loved the show, but if I’m being 100% honest, I do also feel like it got maybe just a tad bit over-hyped. Like, it’s incredibly well written, the performances are all top-notch, and I watched every episode the minute it dropped on HBO Max; I’m definitely a fan. But some people make The Last of Us out to be The Greatest Show Ever, and I feel like it’s not quite that. To be honest, some of the beats that make the show great are reminiscent of things that The Walking Dead did a decade before. I’m NOT saying that The Last of Us is a rip-off of The Walking Dead, just that it’s hard not to see some of the things they did on the show and think, “Well, The Walking Dead did that already.”
That said, I really did love The Last of Us, and there are a couple of episodes – especially the Bill and Frank episode and the one with Henry and his deaf brother – that were truly beautiful moments of television.
The Last of Us: The Complete First Season came out on 4K Ultra HD (as well as other formats) shortly after the show concluded its run. With Season Two just a few weeks away, Warner Bros. Has now re-released the first season on 4K Ultra HD in the uber-popular Steelbook packaging. Instant collector’s item!
The 4K Video/Audio:
While The Last of Us: The Complete First Season has collectively been released on 4K Ultra HD as well as Blu-ray and DVD, this new Steelbook release is 4K exclusive. The show has a substantial budget and every episode looks like a movie; that quality comes through in 4K. Image resolution is impeccable and colors are deeply saturated. Even though the show sometimes feels a little monochromatic, there are bursts of color that seem to pop off the screen. The surround soundtrack really brings the world of TLOU to life, using all of the channels regularly to either create atmosphere or bring pounding action scenes to life. It’s a terrific A/V presentation of each episode.
The Bonus Features:
There are over two hours of bonus features included, most notably three making-of featurettes that weren’t been seen before the home video release. Here’s the full list:
- Controllers Down: Adapting The Last of Us (12 minutes)
- From Levels to Live Action (12 minutes)
- The Last of Us: Stranger Than Fiction (24 minutes)
- 17 featurettes (approximately 90 minutes total) – These are the short making-of features that aired on HBO and online when the show was first airing.
Digital Copy Included: No
The Wrap-Up:
The Last of Us may not be The Greatest Show Ever, but it’s a pretty damn great series with excellent writing, performances, and production values. I highly recommend watching it, just in time to be ready for the highly anticipated Season 2.
Abbott Elementary: The Complete Third Season (DVD)
The Show:
Sometimes, when something becomes really popular, I will make an effort to get in on the zeitgeist. And sometimes, even when I try to be in the know, I also have to accept that some things are just not my favorite. You just can’t love everything.
Abbott Elementary has been a big hit for ABC, but if I’m being honest, I have to say that it’s just not quite my thing. It’s a workplace comedy in the vein of The Office (which, admittedly, I am not a fan of either), and really it feels like the showrunners just copied the formula of The Office verbatim and simply set it in an elementary school instead.
And here’s the thing: It’s not like the show is terrible or even bad. It’s well-acted, and I can see why people like it. I just personally don’t find it all that funny. Yes, I chuckle a couple of times in some of the episodes, but most of the time I just kind of sit there waiting for things to get funnier. The cast is fine, made up of a mix of semi-recognizable faces and newcomers, but at he end of the day it just doesn’t tickle my funny bone.
For those of you who are fans, though, this week sees the DVD release of Abbott Elementary: The Complete Third Season, which collects all 14 episodes from the third season. It’s a slightly shorter season than usual due to the Writers’ Strike which held up production.
The Bonus Features:
There are no bonus features on this release, sadly.
Digital Copy Included: No
The Wrap-Up:
Even though I don’t love Abbott Elementary, I do think it’s at least a well-made show, and at least it’s not just another spin-off of an existing series. I like things that keep the sitcom genre moving forward, and even if Abbott Elementary doesn’t feel completely fresh, it doesn’t feel like it’s moving things in the wrong direction either, and I’ll take that any day.
Summer Wars (Blu-ray)
The Movie:
I’m not the biggest anime consumer in the world, but when I saw that Summer Wars was directed by Mamoru Hosoda, who also directed Belle, I definitely wanted to check it out. Belle was a slightly flawed but rather fascinating anime movie I reviewed a few years ago that really impressed me, so I knew Summer Wars was coming from a good pedigree. And true to form, when it was released in 2009, the film went on to win of several international awards for Best Animated Feature.
Summer Wars takes place in a world where OZ is a virtual world that people spend a lot of their time in. When unassuming young Kenji is recruited by outgoing and popular Natsuki to pose as her boyfriend in the virtual world, a rogue AI steals Kenji’s identity and the world of OZ is thrown into chaos, which Kenji takes the blame for.
While there is a Ready Player One style virtual universe in the story, the heart of the film is the relationships and friendships at play. So while we start off with some crazy impressive visuals, the movie shifts focus into the real world fairly quickly and the environment becomes much more mundane. So Summer Wars is not the visual feast that Belle was, but it does have a good story and dynamic characters who you will care about.
The Bonus Features:
- Interviews with the Original Cast
- Interview with Mamoru Hosoda
- Teasers & Trailers
Digital Copy Included: No
The Wrap-Up:
I enjoyed Summer Wars and I’m not necessarily the biggest anime fan. Idk you like anime that its more character-driven and less about crazy visuals or fantasy elements, then Summer Wars will probably be right up your alley.
