Every week we dive into the cream of the crop when it comes to home releases, including Blu-ray and DVDs, as well as recommended deals of the week. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best (or most interesting) films one can take home. Note that if you’re looking to support the site, every purchase you make through the links below helps us and is greatly appreciated.
A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang)
One of the most-requested Criterion releases finally arrives today. Edward Yang‘s four-hour coming-of-age/crime drama A Brighter Summer Day is now beautifully restored in 4K for one of the most essential Blu-rays of the year. Having recently had the chance to see it in a theatrical setting (for the first time), I was enthralled by the experience, as if genuinely getting wrapped up in a great novel, peppered with countless details...
A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang)
One of the most-requested Criterion releases finally arrives today. Edward Yang‘s four-hour coming-of-age/crime drama A Brighter Summer Day is now beautifully restored in 4K for one of the most essential Blu-rays of the year. Having recently had the chance to see it in a theatrical setting (for the first time), I was enthralled by the experience, as if genuinely getting wrapped up in a great novel, peppered with countless details...
- 3/22/2016
- by TFS Staff
- The Film Stage
On the Road movie reedited for Toronto screening Based on Jack Kerouac's '50s novel, Walter Salles' Otr adaptation starring Garrett Hedlund, Sam Riley, and Kristen Stewart (above photo) will be screened at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival. We all knew that. What we didn't know is that Tiff 2012 will unveil a new cut of the film (via indieWIRE), which premiered last spring at the Cannes Film Festival to mixed reviews. The 2hr20m drama has been downsized to approximately 125 minutes. That's an interesting development, as Otr has already been screened in several countries, with varying degrees of box-office success. [Check out the On the Road trailer. Check out Kristen Stewart On the Road poster; Garrett Hedlund On the Road poster.] Otr movie reedit hardly unique On the other hand, different cuts shown in different countries is hardly something new. Whether as a result of poor critical/box-office reception, (perceived) local sensibilities, and/or censorship, the movie you watch in, say, Canada isn't necessarily the exact same movie watched by someone in Singapore,...
- 8/28/2012
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
Chicago – The cinema of Terrence Malick has been a process of discovery, for its director and his devoted audience. His work is fueled by spontaneous miracles, typified by the moment when an illuminated cloud formation creates an image of astounding, temporary beauty. His films aren’t just breathtakingly brilliant and hauntingly provocative. They’re also curiously soul-cleansing.
Malick’s fluid gaze and restless imagination requires an adventurous cinematographer to assist him in fully exploring the world of his movie during production. Nature itself becomes a major character on his canvas. The filmmaker makes no secret about his love for the trunks of towering trees, the movement of the wind through tall grass, the look of bodies underwater. His childlike reverence for earthly creations is utterly intoxicating, and has routinely reawakened my own awe of existence. Yet beauty also takes on an ominous quality, providing an ideal hiding place for menace.
Malick’s fluid gaze and restless imagination requires an adventurous cinematographer to assist him in fully exploring the world of his movie during production. Nature itself becomes a major character on his canvas. The filmmaker makes no secret about his love for the trunks of towering trees, the movement of the wind through tall grass, the look of bodies underwater. His childlike reverence for earthly creations is utterly intoxicating, and has routinely reawakened my own awe of existence. Yet beauty also takes on an ominous quality, providing an ideal hiding place for menace.
- 4/21/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
We have received a number of emails from fans asking about the BAFTA (http://www.bafta.org/) Best Actor awards. Bell won that trophy for his astounding performance in Billy Elliot. I know many of you watched that fantastic movie and some of you might have watched his latest movie, Hallam Foe, but I think that you might not be aware of his other awesome movie, Undertow (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0360130/). Here are some scenes featuring Bell and Kristen Stewart: - - - - - - The movie was made by David Gordon Green, the same filmmaker who gave us Pineapple Express (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0910936/), George Washington (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0262432/) and Snow Angels (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0453548/), among others. Undertow tells the story of the Munn family, and how Bell and his younger brother (played by Devon Alan) escape...
- 10/3/2008
- The Movie Fanatic
TORONTO -- In his first two films, George Washington and All the Real Girls, David Gordon Green emerged as a Southern filmmaker who could ably portray the natural rhythms of life and language of the rural South without resorting to cliches. In his third film, Undertow, those cliches, rather startlingly, are everywhere. In trying to make what he characterizes as "a balls-to-the-wall, get-him-by-the-gut-and-slit-his-throat kind of movie," Green loosens his grip on character. This time he populates his film with sorry white-trash characters possessing room temperature IQs even in the most minor roles.
Undertow is the kind of mistake a young and adventurous director will make. It should not deter him from making many more films that will enjoy acclaim for their subtlety and sensibilities. Even so, Green's rep as a key indie filmmaker might bring this UA release a modest success in adult specialty venues.
Talented English actor Jamie Bell conquers the Southern accent to play Chris, the malcontent son of farmer and taxidermist John (Dermot Mulroney). After his mom died, his dad moved with him and his brother deep into the woods to escape memories. Chris knows there must be more to life than farm chores but is unable to prove it by his current existence. So he spends his free time getting into trouble.
Wanting to attract the attention of a neighbor girl, he throws a huge rock through her window and winds up being chased by an enraged father and dog. Running in his bare feet, he leaps off a rooftop and impales a foot on a nail sticking out of a board. Yet, by God, he continues to run with that board stuck to his foot.
His younger brother, Tim (Devon Alan), is no brighter. He tries to eat things such as paint and mud, perhaps in the belief this will somehow help his ulcer. His idea of a good project is "organizing my books by the way they smell."
Then Dad's prodigal brother Deel (Josh Lucas) turns up. Just out of the pen and casting sly glances at everyone, you know this guy means trouble the minute he strolls onscreen. Only John can't see it. He offers Deel room and board to "help out" with the two boys. The minute Deel asks about their father's gold Mexican coins, you know what shape that trouble will take.
Once Deel has located the coins and killed his brother, the two boys are on the run from their homicidal uncle. Logic might dictate that Chris Call the police, but he dismisses this by mumbling, The cops'll think I did it. Why? you wonder. Who has the prison record here?
The chase is more a random ramble through the woods, where the boys encounter a well-intentioned black couple, who gives them food for work. Then, making their way to a small seaport, they fall in with a bunch of runaway kids about their age. Here Chris develops a crush on the pretty, abused Violet (Shiri Appleby), but before he can act on his impulses his uncle shows up, apparently willing to kill the two boys in broad daylight in front of whoever is willing to witness the murder.
The naturalistic style of the film is completely at odds with the hokey melodrama. The actors do an acceptable job at those long pauses and dialogue deliveries under the breath, but you can't help noticing the effort to play "rural Southern." Green, working from a script he wrote with Joe Conway, might have had the makings of a decent family drama here had the demands of a "balls-to-the-wall" thriller not diverted his attention.
UNDERTOW
MGM
United Artists and ContentFilm presenta Sunflower production
Credits:
Director: David Gordon Green
Screenwriters: Joe Conway, David Gordon Green
Story by: Lingard Jervey
Producers: Lisa Muskat, Terrence Malick, Edward R. Pressman
Executive producers: John Schmidt, Alessandro Camon
Director of photography: Tim Orr
Production designer: Richard A. Wright
Music: Philip Glass
Additional music: Michael Linnen, David Wingo
Costume designer: Jill Newell
Editors: Zene Baker, Steven Gonzoles
Cast:
Chris: Jamie Bell
Deel: John Lucas
Tim: Devon Alan
John: Dermot Mulroney
Violet: Shiri Appleby
MPAA rating: R
Running time: 107 minutes...
Undertow is the kind of mistake a young and adventurous director will make. It should not deter him from making many more films that will enjoy acclaim for their subtlety and sensibilities. Even so, Green's rep as a key indie filmmaker might bring this UA release a modest success in adult specialty venues.
Talented English actor Jamie Bell conquers the Southern accent to play Chris, the malcontent son of farmer and taxidermist John (Dermot Mulroney). After his mom died, his dad moved with him and his brother deep into the woods to escape memories. Chris knows there must be more to life than farm chores but is unable to prove it by his current existence. So he spends his free time getting into trouble.
Wanting to attract the attention of a neighbor girl, he throws a huge rock through her window and winds up being chased by an enraged father and dog. Running in his bare feet, he leaps off a rooftop and impales a foot on a nail sticking out of a board. Yet, by God, he continues to run with that board stuck to his foot.
His younger brother, Tim (Devon Alan), is no brighter. He tries to eat things such as paint and mud, perhaps in the belief this will somehow help his ulcer. His idea of a good project is "organizing my books by the way they smell."
Then Dad's prodigal brother Deel (Josh Lucas) turns up. Just out of the pen and casting sly glances at everyone, you know this guy means trouble the minute he strolls onscreen. Only John can't see it. He offers Deel room and board to "help out" with the two boys. The minute Deel asks about their father's gold Mexican coins, you know what shape that trouble will take.
Once Deel has located the coins and killed his brother, the two boys are on the run from their homicidal uncle. Logic might dictate that Chris Call the police, but he dismisses this by mumbling, The cops'll think I did it. Why? you wonder. Who has the prison record here?
The chase is more a random ramble through the woods, where the boys encounter a well-intentioned black couple, who gives them food for work. Then, making their way to a small seaport, they fall in with a bunch of runaway kids about their age. Here Chris develops a crush on the pretty, abused Violet (Shiri Appleby), but before he can act on his impulses his uncle shows up, apparently willing to kill the two boys in broad daylight in front of whoever is willing to witness the murder.
The naturalistic style of the film is completely at odds with the hokey melodrama. The actors do an acceptable job at those long pauses and dialogue deliveries under the breath, but you can't help noticing the effort to play "rural Southern." Green, working from a script he wrote with Joe Conway, might have had the makings of a decent family drama here had the demands of a "balls-to-the-wall" thriller not diverted his attention.
UNDERTOW
MGM
United Artists and ContentFilm presenta Sunflower production
Credits:
Director: David Gordon Green
Screenwriters: Joe Conway, David Gordon Green
Story by: Lingard Jervey
Producers: Lisa Muskat, Terrence Malick, Edward R. Pressman
Executive producers: John Schmidt, Alessandro Camon
Director of photography: Tim Orr
Production designer: Richard A. Wright
Music: Philip Glass
Additional music: Michael Linnen, David Wingo
Costume designer: Jill Newell
Editors: Zene Baker, Steven Gonzoles
Cast:
Chris: Jamie Bell
Deel: John Lucas
Tim: Devon Alan
John: Dermot Mulroney
Violet: Shiri Appleby
MPAA rating: R
Running time: 107 minutes...
- 10/25/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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