THE DISH & THE SPOON (Music Box Selects)

The Dish & the Spoon (2011)
Music Box Selects / Vinegar Syndrome

by "Doc" Hunter Bush, MovieJawn podcast director, host of the HWGW Podcast

The Dish & the Spoon comes to Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome partner label Music Box Selects. Written and directed by Allison Bagnall, this film is an honest and chaotic look at a woman in the middle of great distress. Anchored by quietly dynamite performances from Greta Gerwig and Olly Alexander. Music Box Selects' release offers some slight additional materials, but the movie is the real prize here.

The Movie Itself: 4 stars

Rose (Greta Gerwig) is in, as they say, a bad state. When the film opens, she's crying and driving; never the best situation to be in. Turns out her husband has had an affair with a local dancer / yoga instructor and Rose found out and took off in a flurry of hurt and anger. She's obviously at a low point: she doesn't quite have enough money for all six donuts and all six beers from the convenience store, so she leaves one bottle on the counter amidst fistfuls of loose change, the clerk takes pity on her and lets her go. Her next stop, a lighthouse overlooking the sea (as they generally do), is where she finds her counterpart for this picture, the spoon to her dish: Olly Alexander as an unnamed boy.

The Dish & the Spoon is an almost hypnotic doomed-romance story with a decided New England flavor to it. As the emotionally lost Rose drinks away her feelings, occasionally attempting to incite violence against the other woman, she finds the Boy to be, maybe not so much a kindred spirit as a safe harbor. He, for his part, is affable and nearly as lost as she is, but for entirely different reasons.

Writer/director Allison Bagnall allows a certain improvisational looseness to the film that only enhances the barely contained chaos of this whirlwind not-quite romance. Amidst a nearly continuously storming Northeastern coastal town, Rose interrogates who she is and what she wants by playing dress-up--sometimes literally--with a gracious, quiet, increasingly lovestruck young man whose name we never learn.

Almost from minute one, I was left quietly reeling. Both Gerwig and Alexander deliver muted performances that are devastating in their raw vulnerability. Every emotion is on display without ever announcing themselves. The film is simultaneously a whirlwind of activity and emotions--the whole thing takes place over just a few days--and a slow burn romance that there's no clean and easy resolution to. The Dish and the Spoon is by no means a flashy film, but it's a subtly stunning one.

The Video: 3 stars

Being set in a seaside beach town in the cold, wet off-season, everything in the film has that northeastern United States cold, wet, washed out cast to it. Outside are bright grey skies over muted golden beaches, the skeletal black branches of nearly bare trees and carpets of brown fallen leaves. The interiors are warm, but occasionally dark, as Rose and the boy navigate her parents' summer house by kerosene lanterns as there is no electricity or heat in the off-season. 

The transfer is fabulous, but like the movie itself, not flashy. The exteriors are never washed out, the interiors, no matter how dramatically lit, are never too obscured to see what's happening. Facial expressions are always readable, no matter how subtle. The whole visual aesthetic projects intimacy in a way that reinforces the film's subject matter perfectly.

The Audio: 3 stars

As with everything thus far, the audio mix isn't showy, but it's well-balanced for how dynamic it is. There's roughly as much screaming as there is whispered dialogue in the beginning of the film and my three-channel soundbar handled it all very well without me having to adjust the volume levels at all. As Rose and the boy develop their little faux domestic routine, and begin to have fun, there is singing, piano music, and non-diegetic songs on the soundtrack that are all handled equally well.

The mixing also makes use of the environments of any given scene to add a real world dynamism to the events. When Rose drives to the other woman's home and stands out in the driveway, shouting, you can hear the distance and the space of the outdoors versus when she and the boy spend an evening asking each other about their lives. The first third of the film, it always seems to be storming outside, and when they're in the summer house, the whistling wind and the rhythm of the rain is occasionally present but never overwhelming. It ends up reinforcing the coziness of the scenes as much as it underlines their friendship as a calm in the eye of Rose's emotional storm.

The Supplements: 3 stars

The additional features aren't amazing, but they were very enlightening. The 2011 South By Southwest interview by Ann Thompson with Gerwig and Alexander underlines the looseness on-set and what they describe as the sense of play they felt in being able to build their characters. This is reinforced by the deleted scenes which aside from being largely aimless silliness--Rose and the boy spitting beer at each other, or spending an afternoon in the woods playing with branches and other natural detritus--it really highlights Allison Bagnall's non-restrictive approach.

Interestingly, Bagnall clearly had some of the movie locked in mentally before production began. The Location Scouting feature is composed of footage filmed during these scouting sessions contrasted with how they appear in the finished film and it's remarkably similar. I feel that her having some firm ideas for how she wanted the film to look, yet being able to allow for improvisation and creativity at the same time to be a really fascinating and admirable quality in a filmmaker.

• Deleted Scene and Outtakes (7:00) (HD)
• SXSW Interview from Ann Thompson, 2011 (20:06) (SD)
• Location Scouting featurette (4:08) (SD/HD)
• "The Whale" performed by Olly Alexander (2:25) (audio only)

There's also a slipcover that I believe is still available, featuring collage-style minimalist art designed by Beth Morris, featuring imagery from the film:

Final Thoughts: Highly Recommended

The Dish and the Spoon comes highly recommended if you're looking for a melancholy time. It's bittersweet, but both the bitter and the sweet are wonderfully realized and performed. This is an independent film in all the ways that I grew up loving: small (both in budget and scale), intimate, honest and never simple. Being a person is hard, complicated work, especially when you add emotions into the mix. With The Dish and the Spoon, Allison Bagnall (as well as Greta Gerwig and Olly Alexander) share something that makes it feel okay to acknowledge that things can be messy, and temporary, but still worthwhile.

MOTHER, COUCH (Film Movement)

Mother, Couch
Film Movement

The Stats
Video: 1080p High Definition
Audio: LCPM 2.0 (5.1 surround available in menu)
Subtitles: SDH

Buy it HERE from Diabolik and HERE from Vinegar Syndrome

by "Doc" Hunter Bush, Staff Writer and Podcast Director

Mother, Couch comes to Blu-ray via Film Movement. Writer/director Niclas Larsson's debut feature, after a healthy career in shorter form directing, tackles very real familial concerns with the occasionally insightful, occasionally frustrating language of dreams. The bonus features and additional booklet included combine to elucidate the process of making a film like this, leading to a very satisfying overall package.

The Movie: 4.5 star

Writer / director Niclas Larsson, in his debut feature, adapts the novel Mamma i soffa by Jerker Virdborg with an all-star cast including Ewan McGregor, Taylor Russell, Rhys Ifans, Lara Flynn Boyle, F. Murray Abraham, and Ellen Burstyn in the surreal tale of a disconnected family who unite when their mother (Burstyn) refuses to leave the couch of a very uncanny furniture warehouse. McGregor, Ifans, and Boyle play siblings with different fathers who have never been especially close, but all find themselves drawn into the orbit of their manipulative and withholding mother.

Mother, Couch starts and is almost immediately disorienting. According to the commentary track, this was a deliberate choice to put the audience in the right headspace for what is to come. Ultimately, the film isn't exactly subtle, but watching it all build from these first moments, with their feeling of subtle oddness, is really quite satisfying. But none of it would work without the support of the cast. Ewan McGregor is incredible as David; desperately scrabbling for control over the events in his life and suppressing his feelings in an attempt to prove he's in control. But to whom?

Lara Flynn Boyle as older sister Linda is great, though neither she nor Rhys Ifans (as Gruffudd) have a ton to do. Their characters float in and out of David's sphere while he's trying to decipher just why exactly his mother is refusing to leave the Oakbed Furniture warehouse. They're not actively hindering David's efforts, but neither are they what you'd call helpful. David meanwhile is trying to navigate a tense situation with his wife (Lake Bell) and fulfill promises to their kids, all as his mother and siblings slowly make themselves more and more comfortable, leaving David to straighten everything out.

While McGregor gives maybe the most emotionally volatile performance of his career (?), and absolutely deserves recognition for it, my favorite character and performance is Taylor Russell as Bella. Her father owns the Oakbed Furniture warehouse, which has recently gone out of business, but still seems to be in operation. Russell radiates comfort and support as Bella, and she acts as the calm center of David's emotional storm.

I'm sure this film will earn itself comparisons to Ari Aster's Beau is Afraid (also released in 2023), but for my money, Mother, Couch is a much tighter and more focused affair while still maintaining its sense of heightened unreality. Like that film, Mother, Couch deals with parents, grief, aging, generational trauma, and the difficulties of maintaining relationships with family. Unlike Beau is Afraid however, this film is much more uplifting and hopeful; almost encouraging.

The Packaging: 4 star

The packaging here is nothing fancy. There was a slipcover with the first pressing of the disc featuring a collage-style assortment of moments from the film on the front, and a pattern of chainsaws, clouds, and keys on the back, but it has since sold out. The standard cover features an image of David's head, exposing the interior, where his mother rides the couch on a stormy sea. The release also includes a handsome booklet with an essay from film critic, author, and historian Jason Bailey.

The Video: 5 stars

The film itself looks amazing; soaked in light even in the looming, shadowy warehouse. The colors here, amber lamplight, pale green wallpaper, and stately charcoal shadows, are all thematically important as the parts of David's life begin to collapse on top of each other. Details of the furniture that surrounds them in the warehouse become important in a textual way as well once David is given a key and the vague description of the desk whose drawer it unlocks. All of which is beautifully supported with this release, which does a proper job of transferring the film to a disc fit for your home library.

The Audio: 5 stars

I checked out both the 2.0 and 5.1 sound options on my three-channel sound bar, and thought that overall, both worked perfectly well for me. The 2.0 mix was a slight bit quieter I think, but neither mix seemed to need much finesse. Once I settled on a volume level, I could just leave it be for the duration and enjoy the film.

Composer Christopher Bear shows up for the last 15-20 minutes of the commentary track and he and writer/director Niclas Larsson give some fantastic insights into how they conceptualized the score and why they chose what they chose at certain key moments.

The Special Features: 4 stars

My biggest takeaway from the special features present here is that I'm very excited for whatever writer/director Niclas Larsson does next. He is the constant on the commentary track, with four other members of the crew coming in and out in a manner very similar to the people in David's life now that I think about it. The commentary track combined with the BTS feature give great insight into the process of making this film and harnessing its very unique tone and energy. As I mentioned above, this release comes with a booklet, which I think bears mentioning alongside the disc's special features, as it similarly gives insights into the film in a foundational way that made for a very satisfying read.

• Audio commentary with writer / director Niclas Larsson, producer Sara Murphy, production designer Mikael Varhelyi, editor Carla Luffe, and composer Christopher Bear
• Between the Cushions and Behind the Scenes featurette
• Trailer
• 16 page booklet with an essay from film critic, author, and historian Jason Bailey

In Summary: 4.5 stars

The dreamlike nature of Mother, Couch might not be to everyone's tastes. Things ebb and flow in the manner of dream logic; something might be incredibly important one moment, then barely worth a second thought the next, and while David tries to sort it out, he realizes he was meant to be somewhere else, also extremely important, at the same time. Meanwhile people seem to come and go with barely any to-do.

If you're the kind of person who finds themselves thinking "Why don't they just A, B, or C?" about characters in a movie, you might not have the easiest time with Mother, Couch, which rewards introspection and quiet consideration as it defies conventional logic. It's best, at times, just to let it wash over you. Logic takes a backseat in the long run, allowing emotions to resonate in a quietly beautiful way.

AS ABOVE SO BELOW (Via Vision)

As Above So Below
Via Vision

The Stats
Video: 1080p High Definition
Audio: DTS-HD 7.1 (LPCM 2.0 available in menu)
Subtitles: SDH

Buy it HERE from Diabolik or HERE from Via Vision (AUD)

by "Doc" Hunter Bush

As Above So Below comes to Blu-ray from Via Vision. Director John Erick Dowdle (and his co-writer brother Drew Dowdle) capitalize on their Found Footage cache (The Poughkeepsie Tapes) to make As Above So Below, this first production to legally film in the Paris catacombs! This Via Vision release features fun packaging and enlightening commentaries and interviews, adding insight to what is a very enjoyable Found Footage outlier. 

The Movie: 4 star

I am not a Found Footage guy by nature. For some folks, that's their jam, and while I can rattle off a handful of FF movies that I think absolutely own bones, I usually go into watching one with a bit of skepticism. So when I tell you that As Above So Below is one of my favorite examples within the genre, know that it didn't end up near the top of the heap on a whim. Saying that this is one of my favorite examples of Found Footage will potentially rankle some more hardcore FF enjoyers because, admittedly, As Above So Below does everything it can to differentiate itself from the rest of the pack. It has a reasonable budget for starters, access to unique locations, and frequently dips its toe into other genres like Raiders of the Lost Ark-style adventure, and The Da Vinci Code-style puzzle-solving thriller. These are things I inherently enjoy, having grown up idolizing Indiana Jones, and I appreciate the ways these choices expand the boundaries of what a Found Footage film can be!

Scarlett (Perdita Weeks) is, for lack of a better term, a tomb raider looking to carry on the research obsession of her late father: finding the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary key to Alchemy. Following clues found in Iran in the kind of thrilling, high-energy opening sequence you don't often get in Found Footage, Scarlett finds herself headed to the catacombs under Paris with a small crew in tow. Among them, a documentary filmmaker named Benji (Edwin Hodge), fellow adventurer George (Ben Feldman) with whom she has some kind of past, and local urban explorers Papillon (François Civil), Souxie (Marion Lambert), and Zed (Ali Marhyar). While most of the cast are vague archetypes, the relationship between Scarlett and George does just enough to widen the scope of the world that, when the film ends, I find myself wanting to know more about them.

The nature of Found Footage makes it a really tempting genre for inexperienced filmmakers because, in general, it doesn't have to look what we in the industry call "super good". Similar budgetary constraints mean most FF films reuse the same locations: the wilderness, some abandoned buildings, etc.; rinse and repeat. None of these are negatives necessarily, but it can get monotonous. Being able to film in not just Paris, but the actual catacombs (!) is a come-up on a grand scale.

Story and performance-wise, As Above So Below skirts a very fine line. Some of the turns, and the performances around them, can be corny at times, but when balanced with the grittiness, tension, and genuine claustrophobia of the rest of the film, they feel like someone turned the pressure-release valve. Some of the effects or scares may feel a little chintzy, but the overall ambition of the rest of the piece more than makes up for them.

The Packaging: 4 stars

The Limited Edition from Australian label Via Vision is rad! The box cover is a lenticular version of the cover image--a concentric design of skulls leading down to an inverted Eiffel Tower--that's just very fun. Inside is the Blu-ray in a discrete case and an envelope with six photo-cards from the film. The sturdy outer box is always a plus. Nobody wants their packaging to fall apart from normal wear-and-tear.

The Video: 3.5 stars

Since this is a Found Footage film which uses some digital bodycam style footage, with occasional stylistic digital distortion, there's some built-in visual hiccups. It's also only like a decade old, but still: this looks great. The amount of variety that director and co-writer John Erick Dowdle and cinematographer Léo Hinstin manage to wring out of these catacomb locations is impressive, and even on a blu-ray, the details pop: subterranean dust picked up in a headlamp, or the occasional pops of color on ancient hieroglyphics.

I think the fact that this is Found Footage actually works to trick the audience somewhat. I kept being pleasantly surprised by certain moments and scenes, visually. The script, co-written by brothers John Erick and Drew Dowdle, is extremely well-paced, with long stretches of cavern or tunnel traversal broken up by puzzle or trap rooms, which are seen in greater detail, for longer, and generally lensed with a bit more control and care. These moments are where As Above So Below really separates itself from the majority of other, similar in concept Found Footage films.

The Audio: 3 stars

I use a three-channel soundbar, simply to keep my tv from vibrating itself apart. To that end, the 7.1 audio wasn't going to be where I staked my claim on this one, though I did check it out during a few key scenes. Overall, both settings had the same problem, though it was much less pronounced in the 2.0 mix. That problem is: volume. Though As Above So Below doesn't feature a standard score, it does occasionally use sound to scare you. Which means, every so often, things get loud in a very rumbly, or droning, sounds-of-the-damned sort of way.

On both audio settings, my soundbar buzzed quite a bit in these sequences, though significantly less-so on the 2.0. In addition to that, much of the dialogue is pretty quiet when contrasted with the louder moments, which is one of my pet peeves. I like to find a volume level and then never have to grab the remote again. It breaks the immersion for me. But that aside, this sounds great. I mentioned that the film is light on traditional score, though they did get composer Keefus Ciancia to create sort of soundscapes that wouldn't sound out of place in the catacombs, which, once I started listening for them, I found really creative and well-utilized.

The Special Features: 4 stars

I was previously familiar with As Above So Below, so when I threw this disc in for the first time, I jumped straight to Alexandra Heller-Nicholas's extremely well-researched commentary track and bonus features, and they really gave me a new appreciation for the film. Heller-Nicholas recites a number of very informative quotes gathered from various interviews with the filmmakers and cast, as well as pointing out several filmmaking techniques used throughout, and when I later went back to watch the film, I really enjoyed looking out for them.

Heads up that the Inside 'As Above So Below' featurette is from a previous Universal / Legendary release, but the other special features are specific to this disc.

• Audio commentary from film critic and author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
• To Hell and Back - video essay by filmmaker and Dread Central editor-in-chief Mary Beth McAndrews
• Beyond the Catacombs - interview with actor Ben Feldman
• Shooting Underground - interview with director of photography Léo Hinstin
  
• Inside 'As Above / So Below' - archival featurette
• Theatrical trailer

• Limited Edition packaging also includes six photo cards

In Summary: 4 stars

Everyone wants different things from a horror movie, and that's great, but it does make recommending a horror film occasionally feel a bit daunting. Even more so when that film falls into a subgenre with a passionate fanbase. Still, I honestly feel like As Above So Below is a pretty high-quality film and a very fun example of what horror can be: conceptually diverse.

This also means that (* Robert Stack, Unsolved Mysteries voice *) if you or someone you know is looking for a way into the Found Footage genre, and especially if you enjoy the more adventure film style aspects present here, As Above So Below is a solid recommendation. This release specifically also has the added bonus, for aspiring filmmakers, of offering plenty of insight into the filmmaking process on a project of this type through the included special features.