THE SMASHING MACHINE (2025) - A24

The Smashing Machine
A24

Original Release Date Oct. 3rd, 2025
Written by Benny Safdie
Directed by Benny Safdie
Starring Rock "The Dwayne" Johnson, Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader
Language English (Descriptive Audio available) (English and Spanish subtitles available)

Get your copy HERE from Diabolik

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

The Smashing Machine comes to Blu-ray from A24. Benny Safdie's solo directorial debut, The Smashing Machine offers insight into the life of real world MMA legend Mark Kerr. A24's release of The Smashing Machine features excellent audio and visual fidelity with a respectable crop of bonus features.

The Movie Itself: Good

The Smashing Machine is an interesting beast. Benny Safdie adapts John Hyams' 2002 documentary of the same name into a biopic of mixed martial artist Mark Kerr starring Rock "The Dwayne" Johnson in  what I think is his first serious and dramatic role. If not, it is at least a dramatic (no pun intended) change of pace from his recent cinematic output. What's more is, he's quite good and the film itself is very winning and engaging overall.

If The Rock is looking for a career beyond being "Franchise Viagra", The Smashing Machine is perhaps the best venue for his first big steps in that direction, all due to the environment that the story is set in. If Rock were to try his hand in a role like Howard Ratner (played by Adam Sandler in the Safdie Bros.' 2019 film Uncut Gems), a jeweler in NYC, his physique would stand out and be a distraction. By placing The Rock in a world where he will be surrounded by also very large, muscular folks, it essentially erases his muscles, or rather it normalizes them (nothing could erase those Bad Larrys). This allows for his performance to really stand out.

Personally, I think he should have gotten a nomination from the Academy. Not because it was an especially great performance, and certainly not because I think it had a shot of winning but because, for The Rock, who makes his public persona as much about the business as the craft (he is, after all. the person who introduced me to the concept of "verticals" which I still only vaguely understand) I wonder if he'll ever take a risk like this again without that recognition to fuel him. As someone who loves when actors avoid being pigeonholed, and even more so when they can surprise me, I think the landscape of film would be much more interesting if everyone got to try new things.

Of course, Rock aside, the film is very well made. The look (shot on 16mm by cinematographer Maceo Bishop), the jazzy score (Nala Sinephro), the dramatic arc of Mark Kerr's career and personal struggles, and many of the performances surrounding Kerr (notably Emily Blunt as Kerr's volatile girlfriend Dawn, Ryan Bader as one of Kerr's best friends and fellow fighter Mark Coleman, and MMA veteran / all-around lunatic Bas Rutten as himself, acting as a trainer for Kerr) all contribute to a wonderfully unique sports drama. As Emily Blunt points out in one of the bonus features, while many sports stories are about chasing victory, The Smashing Machine is more focused on picking up the pieces of the life around that chase.

The Packaging: Good

This is the first A24 physical release I've encountered and the presentation is very unique, as you might expect from A24. A card stock sleeve, which for some reason opens on the left whereas most similar packaging opens on the right, reveals an also card stock folding sleeve inside with the disc (in a plastic tray) and some photo cards. The photo cards are a mix of behind-the-scenes photos and photographs taken within the movie, as Mark Kerr (and etc.) are frequently being photographed by fans and reporters. It's a clever addition to the package, beyond just including reproductions of stills which is a lot more common.

The packaging itself is quite handsome with a lot of those film stills reproduced in really lovely color and with an overall very colorful, cleanly laid out look to all the titles and text. But seriously, I am always thrown by the inner sleeve sliding out to the left.

The Video: Excellent

I love the look of this film. I love the look of film, period, and cinematographer Maceo Bishop said a really interesting thing that instantly put him on my Filmmakers To Watch list: "Digital is a conversation with perfection, 16mm is a conversation with failure". I find that outlook absolutely fascinating and, without knowing his entire deal, I think I understand where he's coming from. When so much can be recreated "perfectly", there are no happy accidents, but by shooting on film, you have all sorts of things that are manageable rather than omnipotently controllable.

The Smashing Machine has light leak, and moments of the stadium lights shining directly into the lens which creates some of, hands down, my favorite images of the entire film. Even in its visually darkest moments, the look of the film feels like a jewel box, with deep colors and a real tactile feeling to all the textures of the movie: worn out gym mats, sweat-soaked clothing, a bowl that has been replaced using Kintsugi, the Japanese repair art where gold is used to mend cracks in pottery; it's all so sensual.

The Audio: Good

Much of this film is kind of quiet, in general. There are crowd sporting event scenes, there are arguments, but the balance was impeccably maintained. The only issues I had where some minor buzzing in my 3-channel soundbar as a result of some of the tones of the score. Also, my roommate's cats, who watched the film with me (read: slept nearby) did NOT like some of the sustained notes, but that's a them problem, I will not be docking the film at all for that.

The score, though, is tremendous. Nala Sinephro, who composed the film's music with the improvisational nature of MMA in mind, and also appears in the film playing the harp, delivers piece after piece of emotionally resonant and engrossing music. It all seems to be harp and drums, or at least I believe that was what I noticed most, and it's really fantastic.

Beyond that, environmental details in the mix were also extremely well utilized. Mark Kerr's story is a very public one, involving a lot of travel, so things like songs on a car radio, passengers on a train, street sounds, other folks sharing the gym; it all adds to the documentary-like immersion of the film.

The Supplements: Average

The bonus features here are solid. My one caveat is that a lot of the most interesting stuff presented in the supplements is repeated in the commentary from Benny Safdie, so whichever one you partake in first will likely take some of the punch out of the other. That's not to say that there aren't plenty of things to chew on, however. The one thing I was fascinated by was the realization that the prosthetics The Rock wore to better resemble Mark Kerr had to withstand a LOT of wear and tear: sweat, impact, etc. Prosthetic designer Kazu Hiro also had to sculpt different appliances depending on how swollen Mark is supposed to be at any given time.

• Commentary with writer/director Benny Safdie
• "What it Means to be a Fighter: Making The Smashing Machine" Featurette (25:09) (HD)
• 16mm Camera Test (9:09) (HD)
• Deleted Scenes:
• Bob's Burgers (2:39) (HD)
• Buddhist Temple (4:01) (HD)

Final Thoughts: Buy it on sale

The Smashing Machine isn't my favorite sports drama, it's not my favorite film from either Safdie brother, and it's not my favorite Rock "The Dwayne" Johnson film, but it is almost impeccably well made and I genuinely think The Rock should have gotten some real recognition for the effort he put forth here. Beyond just sitting for hours for prosthetics applications, or the changes in his speech and physicality that he is absolutely demonstrating here, he also put himself through a ton of physical abuse, agreeing to not only get into that kind of shape, but to perform as much of the sport fighting as was possible in the sake of realness.

I also haven't given enough flowers to Emily Blunt but she's doing exactly what I think The Rock (and so many others) wants to: stretch. Dawn is a BIG character and to describe her as "volatile" (which I did above) is a massive understatement. But underneath that, Blunt finds Dawn's vulnerability, the brokenness in the character (who is based on a real person, remember) that makes not only Dawn, but Mark as well, that much more human. 

MARTY SUPREME (2025) - A24

Marty Supreme
A24

Original Release Date Dec. 25th, 2025
Written by Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie
Directed by Josh Safdie
Starring Timothée Chalamet, Odessa A'zion, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tyler the Creator, Kevin O'Leary
Language English (Descriptive Audio available) (English and Spanish subtitles available)

Buy your HERE from Diabolik

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

Marty Supreme comes to Blu-ray from A24. Directed and co-written by Josh Safdie who, in his directorial debut, delivers a film that is similarly tense and of-a-kind with previous Safdie Bros. offerings. A24's release of Marty Supreme looks and sounds wonderful with an informative audio commentary track to beef up the slim bonus features.

The Movie Itself: Good

I can acknowledge that Marty Supreme is an incredibly well-made and detail-oriented film while also admitting that it's not really for me. In the other films from Josh Safdie (then working with brother Benny) which I've seen, Good Time (2017) and Uncut Gems (2019), there is a "there but for the grace of God" element to the main characters' unlikeability. Watching Robert Pattinson or Adam Sandler dig themselves even deeper graves in those films feels like we are sympathizing with men in difficult circumstances, while Marty Supreme (the film) seems to worship Marty (the character) and his awful, narcissistic behavior.

Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) is a table tennis pro living in New York in the 1950s, and he's very good. If you ask him, and even if you don't, he'll tell you he's the best. Now he just needs to prove it. The focus of the film ultimately becomes Marty's desire to win at an international table tennis championship being held in Japan, which would be difficult enough without Marty constantly shooting himself in the foot. He burns bridges, double crosses and manipulates anyone who wanders into his orbit, and isn't afraid to drag others into the messes he makes.

If you've enjoyed watching previous Safdie films, there's a lot of similar tonal stuff to enjoy here, whether or not you feel like I do regarding Marty. But as a film, Marty Supreme is impeccably made. Apparently, Josh Safdie is a stickler for historical details which leads to an incredibly immersive world being constructed. The making of featurette and the commentary track each highlight numerous historical details that, while you might not notice them, especially on a first viewing, with everything going on, absolutely add to your immersion into this world.

However you feel about Marty Mauser, or table tennis, or hustle culture in general, Marty Supreme is just a fantastically made film. Chalamet disappears into this character to a degree you don't often see from such marquee stars. He's supported by a fantastic cast of characters and actors including fellow table tennis players (Tyler the Creator and Géza Röhrig are standouts), family (Fran Drescher as his mother), a love interest (Odessa A'zion as childhood friend Rachel) or two (Gwyneth Paltrow as faded actress Kay Stone), and some very dangerous and powerful antagonists (Abel Ferrara and Kevin O'Leary), one of whom might be an actual, actual, actual vampire.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate this film by any stretch. I just feel an odd tone coming from the film itself that seems to almost revere Marty, no matter how awful and toxic a person he is, just because he has a dream and the drive to pursue it. While those are important qualities to have, I believe the way in which you live your life should matter as much if not more than what you accomplish in it. Regardless, I find Marty Supreme to be almost hypnotically watchable.

The Packaging: Good

This and The Smashing Machine are my first exposures to A24's physical media packaging, and overall, I like it. It's mostly card stock, with an exterior sleeve (that for some reason opens on the left side, as opposed to the right, which is more common) containing a card stock folded sleeve with the discs (in a plastic double tray) and a half dozen photo cards. These cards are presented almost like the photo spread in a high fashion magazine, with two images from the production on each card. It's all very stylish.

The cover to the exterior sleeve reproduces one of the posters for the film, that is primarily black with the title in huge silver letters and Marty standing, hands on hips, in front of the 'A'. It's a very handsome, eye-catching package, with some bright orange accents on the sleeve's spine and back. But my favorite detail is that the discs (one is the standard Blu-ray, one is the Ultra HD) look like Marty Supreme branded ping pong balls.

The Video: Excellent

This film looks incredible. There is a lot of darkness in Marty Supreme; a lot of sequences at night, or in darkened buildings. Even the table tennis competitions are in cavernous spaces with deep, dark shadows lurking behind everything. As you probably know, if you're perusing this section, low light levels can occasionally lead to visual noise. Obviously, this is less of a concern with modern films, as there is less overall degradation to the source materials, but it's still something to watch out for. Every one of the darker scenes in Marty Supreme looks like a jewel box, with what- or whoever is at the center shining and on display.

There is some film grain, but it's intentional and not in any way a distraction. If anything, it adds to the of-its-time immersion as much as the clothing and set details I mentioned. Grain adds a touch of gravitas and the weight of history to a film, and even subtextually or subconsciously, those things work with the film and its themes.

The Audio: Good

As with the visual section, I have no real complaints. I loved the score (from frequent Safdie collaborator Daniel Lopatin) and the 1980s pop songs that fill the soundtrack. Marty Supreme isn't an especially loud film overall, though there are noted exceptions and as such, I did have to turn the volume down at one point, which I'm not the biggest fan of. But it was just the once, which is infinitely preferable to having to ride the volume button, constantly seesawing from scene to scene.

Marty Supreme is a film that's full of life, with plenty of background noise, voices, and chaos that could lead to muddy sound quality. I've got a three-channel sound bar, primarily to give the built-in TV speakers a break and keep the thing from vibrating itself apart. I had no real issues with the mix, no problems with dialogue clarity, none of the pitfalls that actually effect the performance of the film.

The Supplements: Average

The supplements here are fine, if a little bit slight. The making of featurette is decent, and gave me a lot of finer points to pay attention to on subsequent rewatches. The camera test is interesting from an acting perspective, as Safdie decided to have Chalamet essentially crash Gwyneth Paltrow's camera test in character to feel the chemistry between them, and to watch her wordlessly determine what was happening and respond in kind was fascinating.

The stand out feature however, is the feature length commentary track from Josh Safdie. It's full of insight into his filmmaking process, his casting process, and a ton of history.

• Commentary track with Josh Safdie
• "Dream Big: The Making of Marty Supreme" Featurette (19:59) (HD)
• Camera Test with commentary by Josh Safdie (4:07) (HD)

Final Thoughts: Buy it on sale

In addition to reviewing this release of Marty Supreme, I also recently rewatched Josh's brother Benny Safdie's 2025 offering The Smashing Machine, and while I enjoy the filmmaking in both of the films, I feel like they're each finding their footing and experiencing the same, or similar hurdles. Marty Supreme is the stronger film, even though I think Smashing Machine has the more interesting lead performance.

Speaking of: Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin O'Leary, and especially Odessa A'zion give incredible performances that really give Timothée Chalamet something to bounce off of, and when Tyler the Creator shows up, you almost want the film to become about these two guys somehow making ends meet hustling games of table tennis at local sports bars, like The Hustler or The Color of Money. Surrounding someone as myopically driven as Marty can be with such interesting and textured characters is an incredibly smart decision and makes the film very watchable, while the behind the scenes work and attention to detail make it incredibly engrossing.

M3GAN 2.0 (2025) - Universal Pictures

M3GAN 2.0
Universal Pictures

Original Release Date: June 27th, 2025
Written by Gerard Johnstone (screenplay & story), Akela Cooper (story & characters), James Wan (characters)
Directed by Gerard Johnstone
Starring Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Amie Donald, Jenna Davis, Ivanna Sakhno, 
Language English (with subtitles available in English, Spanish, and French)

Buy it HERE from Orbit

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

M3GAN 2.0 comes to 4K HD & Blu-ray from Universal Pictures. Franchise director Gerard Johnstone, who also contributed to the story here, helps to upgrade M3GAN from villain to anti-hero in this ambitious sequel. The Universal Pictures release looks and sounds great, but the bonus features, while enjoyable, left me wanting more.

The Movie Itself: 4 stars

When the first M3GAN (2022) came out, I heard a LOT of buzz about it. People were hyped. When I saw it a while after release, I was somewhat surprised: it was solid and very enjoyable, but not the kind of thing that I would get into such a tizzy about. Conversely, when the sequel dropped last year, I heard a much more modest response, even though I thought M3GAN 2.0 took some real chances and actually deserved more buzz. I love a Big Swing, and turning your killer robot doll horror franchise into a Terminator 2: Judgement Day homage is a pretty big one. Not to mention that it's done well.

But I'll back up. In the first film, we're introduced to Gemma (Allison Williams) and her recently-orphaned niece Cady (Violet McGraw). Gemma works in tech, designing robotics operating systems and artificial intelligence, and she is woefully unprepared to care for a child, let alone a grieving one. To that end, she introduces Cady to M3GAN (Amie Donald & Jenna Davis), her Model 3 Generative Android prototype, and things follow the Child's Play type of villain progression over the course of the film, with M3GAN becoming murderously obsessive about her friendship with Cady before eventually barely being defeated by Gemma and some of her other robotics projects.

In M3GAN 2.0, the franchise transitions M3GAN from Chucky to Terminator-style anithero. A government kill-bot (based on Gemma's works) goes rogue and eventually M3GAN is resurrected to help prevent it from achieving its ultimate goals which, without spoilers, will be bad for everybody. This rogue kill-bot, AMELIA (Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics and Infiltration Android) (Ivanna Sakhno), is just as powerful, crafty, dangerous, and insane as M3GAN but has the additional feature of: knowledge gleaned from hacking military databases. The plot ties in a pair of tech gurus (Jemaine Clement and Aristotle Athari, both approaching tech-bro douchebag performances from different angles and both doing a great job) and a shocking checklist of robotics & A.I. archetypes.

That aspect is one of my favorite things about the film: it functions almost like those multiverse / team-up films that are oh, so popular these days, but does so in a much more smooth and, ironically, organic fashion. Across the film's run-time, these battling A.I. robots cross swords (only occasionally metaphorically) with exo suits, futuristic eye-phones, neural chips, smart homes and home assistants, smart cars, BattleBots-style animatronics, and even a cameo appearance from Microsoft Office Assistant mascot Clippy! In addition to the robotics role call I've just mentioned, the choreography is pretty fantastic. It approaches the brutality of something "serious" like Timo Tjahtjanto's The Night Comes for Us, (2018) but keeps things poppy and accessible, like Timo Tjahtjanto's Nobody 2 (2025).

M3GAN, as a franchise, is focused on fun, and seems to approach that vague concept from a ''what's good for the goose is good for the gander'' perspective, changing things to take on grander ambitions, and keeping the cast and crew on their toes in the hopes that if they're all enjoying making the film, we will enjoy watching it. While M3GAN 2.0 didn't make as big a splash as the original, it's an infinitely more unexpected turn that deserves to be experienced. I hope they still make more of these films, and I hope I never know what genre they're going to explore next.

The Packaging: 3 stars

There's nothing to rave about in regards to the packaging here, but we shouldn't become so desensitized to reliable quality that we don't appreciate it. The Universal release comes in a black HD Blu-ray snapcase with a sleeve depicting M3GAN in bisexual lighting. The sleeve has a slight foil, reflective quality to it, which adds to the presentation. 

The Video: 4 stars

The film looks fantastic. Colorful, well-balanced, and appropriately saturated, the look of M3GAN 2.0 is dark the way a carnival at night is. Lots of neon lighting (the tech convention sequence especially), sleek, and shining design porn (the cars, the various buildings, etc.) abounds, but never at the expense of warmth or clarity.

The visual clarity works for and against the film at times. The production of M3GAN 2.0 utilized a mixture of animatronics and CGI face-replacement (in correlation to body doubles) to bring the characters of M3GAN and AMELIA to life and at times, you can tell. The super-clean visuals leave little room for even the briefest trip to the Uncanny Valley. On the other end of things: M3GAN and AMELIA are both supposed to feel uncanny, so those moments never broke my immersion, but some of the visuals are just smoother than others. In a film working with the constraints that this is (it's not ''low-budget'' by any means, but for its budget it's extremely ambitious), I think some rough edges are more than fair.

The Audio: 4 stars

The sound mix on this Universal release is pretty tops by my reckoning. This will sound like a very silly sentence, but there are a lot of sounds in this film, by which I mean: a lot is done with sound here. Setting aside your garden variety horror / action sonic choices--gunshots, yelling, combat, car engines, explosions, etc.--the M3GAN operating system hops between host systems a few different times, and sometimes these are audibly depicted via changes to her voice (notably, one feels like a direct homage to GLaDOS from the Portal games!) She also sings a version of Kate Bush's This Woman's Work in one hilariously bizarre moment, and there is a noted change in the sonorous quality of M3GAN's voice, which I think is a choice, made in world by M3GAN herself and not a mistake in the mixing.

My three-channel soundbar handled all of this very well, thanks to the Dolby Atmos mix. All dialogue was clear, and even the most sonically complicated sequences always felt balanced in a way that highlighted the appropriate aspects and allowed the story to continue on smoothly.

The Supplements: 3.5 stars

With supplemental material, I'm always looking for things that add context to my filmgoing experience: stories about the making-of process, behind-the-scenes anecdotes and/or footage, explanations of the effects work and the other crafts that went into bringing this film (whatever it may be) to life. There's definitely some of that here, but in my opinion, not enough. For instance, I would have loved a lot more info on the BattleBots-style animatronic (mentioned above) that was constructed by prop master Nick Komornicki!

According to the Droid DNA featurette, that thing needed, at time, seven puppeteers to operate it! I would happily have watched an hour on that process. I love practical effects, especially when they are to be utilized in conjunction with (and not as a rough draft to be replaced by) computer generated effects! I think that process is intellectually fascinating.

My blue-skying aside, I did enjoy the bonus features that are actually included. The action breakdown featurette (The Art of Slaying) was a lot of fun and I'd happily have watched an hour of that as well.

• Total Upgrade: Making M3GAN 2.0 (11:19) (HD)
• Droid DNA (7:39) (HD)
• The Art of Slaying (8:06) (HD)
• Scene breakdown: The Embrace A.I. Convention (5:05) (HD)

Final Thoughts: Highly Recommended

As someone who saw Terminator 2 approximately 50 times before I finally saw the original, I will forgo my usual "...but make sure to watch the first film beforehand" caveat. I think M3GAN 2.0, as a movie, whips ass while still holding its own. In a cinematic field increasingly overcrowded with tired concepts and threadbare franchise installments, it's genuinely refreshing to see one that embraces a fluidity and freedom to change. I could wax on about how that is representative of some of the themes, but that's not why you're here.

If M3GAN 2.0 is your introduction to the franchise, you'll have a great time. But you would be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't eventually go back and watch the first one, if only to appreciate how brave a stylistic change this film is. But either way, I strongly recommend M3GAN 2.0 and hope for future installments.

Universal Confluence Jones

I was watching Super Mario Bros. (1993) for the first time in a l-o-n-g time and I noticed something that is, in reality certainly just a production oversight, but if has fascinating implications if you think WAY too much about it, as it is occasionally fun to do:

That is a random extra in a location on a parallel world, wearing a denim vest with an image of Taz, the Tasmanian Devil from the Looney Tunes, on the back. In the '90s, the Looney Tunes were EVERYwhere and, if you know anything about the chaotic production of this movie, I'm sure somebody just figured "Nobody will ever notice this dude". Little did they anticipate that the future would bring us a Blu-ray release of this film, from Umbrella Entertainment, that looks incredible and actually made it possible to catch a truly inconsequential background detail.

That's the obvious answer, but if you think too much about things (which is sometimes quite fun to do, unless you start believing all your made-up b.s. and then you're Alex Jones and his ilk) you can extrapolate that maybe the denizens of the former Mushroom Kingdom are traveling to-and-fro between our world and theirs often enough that they're just buying Looney Tunes denim from the local K-Mart and wearing it around home as a flex.

There could also just be a few brave souls crossing the universal border to smuggle goods back in and sell them to certain customers of a more discerning taste.

OR. Maybe Taz is a universal construct. Maybe Taz exists across all realities, much like how various cultures and religions in the real world share stories that echo the Christ myth (and in multiple cases, pre-date it). Maybe the idea of Taz, a whirling dervish of appetite and chaos, is an avatar of something that exists in the collective unconscious of all beings across all worlds. Maybe "he" is out there in the primordial ether, waiting; hungry, salivating and spinning.

I apologize for the quality of the image, I just paused and snagged a photo with my phone. But I will not apologize for my crazy over-thinking and over-analyzing of totally meaningless background details in movies; it's too fun.

Also, the title of this post is a wrestling joke, iykyk.

LOS GOLFOS (1960) - Radiance Films

Los Golfos
(The Delinquents)
Radiance Films

Original Release Date May, 1960
Written by Mario Camus, Carlos Saura, Daniel Sueiro
Directed by Carlos Saura
Starring Manuel Zarzo, Luis Marín, Óscar Cruz, Juanjo Losada, Ramón Rubio, Rafael Vargas
Language Spanish (English subtitles available)

Get your copy from MVD Entertainment HERE

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

The Movie Itself: Good

Los Golfos (The Delinquents) is a solidly made film, and just in a general way, as a supporter of the cause of film preservation, I'm glad it has been restored and made available, but as sometimes happens with older films, the conditions of its creation is almost more important than the film itself. The story of Los Golfos is as fascinating and inspiring as the story in Los Golfos.

Made in Spain during the regime of Francisco Franco (which began in 1939 and continued until his death in '75), Los Golfos' creation was viewed as a dissident act, not only for portraying life under a fascist dictator as anything other than a paradise, but also for what was shown. Once completed, the censorship board required that four cuts be made before the film was allowed to premier at Cannes. Director / co-writer Carlos Saura refused and, as punishment, after returning from Cannes, the censorship board number of demanded cuts had risen to ten before they would allow it to be shown in Spain. A further cut was made before before it could be shown on television there as well.

So what was so inflammatory? Los Golfos follows a group (debatably, they could be considered a 'gang') of young people living in a poverty that the government ignored both publicly and privately. The film opens with, I believe (*), Rámon (Luis Marín) robbing a blind woman's newsstand and running off with whatever money he managed to grab. Being shown that these young men may not be good people gives way to seeing how they live otherwise. Some can occasionally find work, but not all of them, and when push comes to shove, they will resort to some unsavory acts. But there is one bright spot of hope for them: Juan (Óscar Cruz) who dreams of becoming a bullfighter, one of the only ways to escape their situation. If Juan can get a sanctioned bullfight, and become a local personality, he'll be able to travel, and bring all of his friends along with him. 

(*) I'll be honest, I had a tough time figuring out who was who in this rather large group of guys. Characters wouldn't always be addressed by name in scenes where they appeared, so I was constantly taking notes on their actions & characteristics and trying to pair them to names that cropped up later. There's Rámon and Juan, but also Manolo, Julian, Paco, and Antonio. There's also a Chato which means "flat-nose", but I wasn't sure if that was a nickname applied to a perviously-named character, or a permanent nickname for one person, like having a friend everyone calls "Slim". Of course, there's also Visi, the lone female semi-regular member of the group, but she was a little easier to keep mental tabs on as the only gal.

It turns out it isn't exactly complicated to get a bullfight organized: you just need to pay a lot of money (20,000 pesetas, which was the currency in Spain until 2002) to a guy to get the permits and secure the bull, then you have to get out there a distribute flyers and spread the word. Of course, to get this money the fellas (and Visi) lie, cheat, and steal which inevitably leads to bigger and bigger trouble.

The Packaging: Excellent

I love the look of Radiance Films releases. They use a slightly more heavy-duty clear snapcase than your average Blu-ray, which is always nice, and the reversible cover is fantastic. On one side is a pair of black-and-white images from the film: the front shows five of the boys walking together with a bridge in the background, out of focus, while the back in a mirror image of that, with the focus instead on the bridge rather than the boys. After watching the film, it became obvious that what I initially thought was an interesting stylistic choice is actually a commentary on Los Golfos being as much a story about the place (and time) as it is about the characters.

The reverse features a vintage-looking illustrated image of three of the young men deep in conversation, depicted against a red background in stark black lines with pale yellow highlights. It's very striking.

There's also a handsome booklet with an essay from Dr. Mar Diestro-Dópido offering even more insight on Carlos Saura's career during and around the making of Los Golfos, reproductions of reports on the script for the film, and an essay from Javier Rellán and Patricia Uceda on the film's restoration process.

The Video: Excellent

I loved the look of Los Golfos. Direction aside, the black-and-white cinematography is gorgeous and the restoration really does justice to it. I was very aware at all times of the textures of everything: corduroy pants, scarred walls, faded wooden doors, painted bricks, frayed denim, the chrome accents on the hood of a truck; all of them were just so incredibly tangible and tactile.

There's some grain present, but it feels natural and doesn't detract at all. The night scenes have more visual noise, but there was a disclaimer at the beginning that made it sound like this film had seen some rough times, which, combined with lower light level issues in general, makes any distraction feel if nothing else, well-earned.

I would be remiss if I did not mention Carlos Saura's direction, which honestly cannot be ignored. Saura was a photographer before moving on to directing film, which gives him an incredibly strong sense of visual composition. The shot choices in Los Golfos are then incredibly beautiful and impactful and convey a lot of emotion.

The Audio: Good

I didn't truthfully have any great problems with this release, but if you're a serious audiophile, the at times very obvious ADR might bother you, I guess. For those unaware, ADR (automatic dialogue replacement) is when lines of dialogue are recorded later and placed into scenes, usually because the dialogue recorded during shooting, if there even was any, isn't of a clear enough quality. While the ADR in Los Golfos can be glaring here and there, I must have gotten used to it because I forgot all about it pretty quickly.

Otherwise, the audio mix was lovely. There's a lot of casual Spanish guitar that plays throughout a lot of the film, especially early on, that just sort of meanders along in the background without ever really drawing much attention to itself. There's a few scenes in crowded bars or dancehalls that made good use of my three-channel soundbar to make the rooms they were in sound realistically large and inhabited. I didn't encounter any volume or clarity issues at all.

The Supplements: Excellent

I always say that what I personally look for in supplemental / bonus material is context, and the features on Radiance's Los Golfos release are a treasure trove of context. Two in-depth interviews, both original to this release, provided a great deal of backstory (much of which I've briefly touched upon above), and there is a whole feature showcasing the cuts demanded by the censorship board. If you're someone who also just loves freebies, there are two of Carlos Saura's short films included as well.

• Interview with author Esteve Riambau (22:17)
• Interview with curator Ehsan KhoshBakht (17:11)
• Censored scenes (12:57)
• La Llamada (The Call) (1955) (7:04)
• La Tarde Del Domingo (Sunday Afternoon) (1957) (33:42)

Final Thoughts: Snag it at a Yard Sale

Los Golfos is a fun watch at times, even if the characters are being forced into less than admirable acts, but you'll never shake the feeling that capital 'T' Trouble is out there, waiting for them. You're right of course, and when it finds them, it's bad and only gets worse. The performances feel very grounded and the societal tensions are all too real. This could easily be compared to any more recent examination of troubled young manhood (even something like Saturday Night Fever mirrors aspects found here) or gritty, street-level crime drama (the story here could easily sustain one season of an award-winning HBO drama) even without any understanding of the era's politics.

One last caveat I'll offer to potential disc-purchasers is that the film ends with footage of an actual bullfight, up to and including the death of the poor animal. Bullfighting is an important part of Spain's cultural identity, and I mean no disrespect in any way when I say I would rather not have to see that myself. The disc begins with a disclaimer about the restoration. I just wish I would have gotten a heads-up about the actual on-screen animal death.

Again, no judgment. I respect this aspect of Spain's culture and know that it wouldn't be done this way now, and additionally, I respect the statement that this death makes; the pall it casts over the events we've just watched. But it did ruin my night. All I'm saying is: while Los Golfos is a tremendously engaging and evocative film, and one that deserves to be seen and understood, be prepared for that finale.

FLAMING BROTHERS (1987) - Eureka Entertainment

Flaming Brothers
Eureka Entertainment

July 30th, 1987 (Hong Kong)
Written by Wong Kar-Wai, Jeffrey Lau
Directed by Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung
Starring Chow Yun-Fat, Alan Tang, Patricia Ha, Jenny Tseng, Yin Tse
Language Cantonese w/English subtitles

Buy it HERE from MVD

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

The Movie: Good

As a film, Flaming Brothers is perfectly serviceable and extremely well-made, even if on paper it seems unremarkable. Orphans Chan Wai-lun (Alan Tang) and Cheung Ho-tin (Chow Yun-Fat) came up together from hustling on the streets as children to running their own Triad-adjacent hostess club, but now local boss Kao (Yin Tse) wants them to start taking on more dangerous duties. When they refuse, they find themselves marked for death and end up teaming with other gangsters on Kao’s hit list in an attempt to take control of the territory. The whole thing begins and ends with incredibly violent confrontations. It’s what happens in between that truly sets Flaming Brothers apart.

Whereas previously the operatic and supernatural Wuxia genre had ruled the cinematic roost, then-recent political and social changes in China had led to an interest in crime films. The genre would eventually become known as Heroic Bloodshed, and have its style largely solidified by John Woo through films like A Better Tomorrow 1 (1986) & 2 (1987), The Killer (1989), and Hard Boiled (1992), and Ringo Lam through his City on Fire (1987), Prison on Fire (1987), and School on Fire (1988) films. But while it was still finding its footing, many films emerged attempting to capitalize on the crime craze.

Flaming Brothers is most certainly one of those films, but with the benefit of hindsight, it’s a unique specimen. The middle section of Flaming Brothers sees Ho-tin reconnect with Ka-Hsi (Patricia Ha), an acquaintance from childhood, and they fall in love. When it becomes apparent that things are serious, Wai-lun encourages them to leave the city and start new lives together while he enters into a tumultuous relationship with Jenny (Jenny Tseng), a singer with whom he has previously been involved. 

This focus on the emotional cores of its two leads makes Flaming Brothers noteworthy at the very least. My biggest complaint with the film is that it’s right on the edge of being Too Much Movie. The crime storyline is complex enough, and the romance has enough points of dramatic tension to each have been their own film. This leaves Flaming Brothers charging breathlessly from important moment to important moment. On the plus side, you’re never bored. On the other hand, it feels like very few things apart from the indulgent violence have time to land. Ho-tin and Ka-Hsi feel like they get married on their third date for instance. This is the danger of making what is effectively a crime epic, and bringing it in at comfortably under two hours.

Co-written by Jeffrey Lam and future Criterion Collection auteur Wong Kar-Wai, Flaming Brothers' attempt to split its focus between two fully loaded storylines leads to a somewhat uneven viewing experience: A tragic melodrama sandwiched between two thick-cut slices of gleeful, bloody violence. But by taking these chances, it solidifies its place as an outlier in a somewhat overcrowded subgenre.

The Packaging: Excellent

This release includes a booklet with an essay from filmmaker, writer, and film historian Camille Zaurin that does an excellent job at giving this a cultural context. He lays out the hallmarks of the Heroic Bloodshed genre, its evolution from earlier Wuxia films, and Flaming Brothers' place within that larger tapestry quite well.

As is typical of Eureka Entertainment's Blu-rays, this comes in one of the sturdier, wider cases, which is always nice. In addition to that, the cover art is a recreation of the original poster art, depicting Ho-tin holding a gun and screaming with a dramatic pillar of fire in the background. There's also a slipcover featuring art from Time Tomorrow showcasing both brothers preparing for violence. It all makes for a very handsome addition to your collection.

The Audio + Video: Good

Flaming Brothers falls right into the sweet spot for me where both the audio and video have been, I believe, very lovingly restored, but they haven't been sterilized. There are still sonic and visual hallmarks of the era this movie comes to us from: minor film grain adds texture, not distraction, and the audio just plain sounds different. There is a roundness to the dialogue recordings, and even though they're effectively cleaned up, you can still get a sense of the noise in the original audio tracks, mostly present on some harsh 's' sounds.

Special Features: Average

What I look for in my special features, for the most part, is context. I like to learn about the environment the film grew from, and what its cultural footprint may be. To that end, the interview with director Joe Cheung was the most impactful for me. I've been a fan of Wong Kar-Wai (In the Mood For Love (2000), Chungking Express (1994), others) for years and finding out that he came up working for Cheung is fascinating. As were, honestly all of Cheung's insights into the filmmaking process.

Beyond that, the locations feature and the alternate credits were fine. The trailer, unsurprisingly, showcases a lot of the action and, as a bonus, since it has not been restored, it showcases the extent to which the video and audio have been cleaned up.

• CFK on Flaming Brothers' locations (31:36)
• The Ambassador: an interview with Joe Cheung (45:04)
• Alternate Credits (3:13)
• Trailer (2:18)

In Summary: Buy it on sale

Flaming Brothers is a fascinating outlier to the more well-known aspects of the wave of crime cinema coming out of Hong Kong through the '80s. Elements of comedy, and obviously romance, as well as a very profound bromance, are all eclipsed by the sheer madness of the shootouts. Blood and bullets fly, friends and foes alike die by the dozens, and in the end, no one truly wins. It's borderline nihilistic. As such, it might not be for everyone, even for fans of Asian genre cinema, but I think it definitely has more working for it than against it.

THE .44 SPECIALIST (1976) - Kino Lorber / Kino Raro

The .44 Specialist (a.k.a. Mark Strikes Back)
Kino Lorber / Kino Raro

Original Release Date Oct. 26th, 1976 (Italy)
Written by Dardano Sacchetti story by Lucio De Caro
Directed by Stelvio Massi
Starring Franco Gasparri, John Steiner, Marcella Michelangeli, John Saxon
Language Italian (English subtitles available)

Buy it HERE from Kino Lorber, or HERE from Diabolik

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

The Movie: Average

I am by no means an expert in Italy's Poliziotteschi crime subgenre. I really only discovered it on a previous Disc Dispatch (1976's Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man) and I was cautiously optimistic. I mention this only to say that The .44 Specialist didn't really blow me away like that previous film did, and to couch this in: maybe there's something about it that is intrinsically Poliziotteschi that I'm just not getting.

We're introduced to undercover cop Mark (Franco Gasparri) hanging around a cafe, acting as bait to infiltrate the criminal underworld. He provokes a fake arrest in order to come in for a debriefing without blowing his cover. Luckily, this false arrest brings him to the attention of just the people he was debriefed about: terrorists Paul (John Steiner) and Olga (Marcella Michelangeli). In the film's opening scene, we witness them, along with sniper Hans (Claudio Zucchet), execute some dignitary while riding in his car, despite a police escort. They managed to escape, though Hans was gravely injured.

This is where Mark comes in. Initially brought on by Paul and Olga to care for the obviously dying Hans while they conduct other illicit business around the city, before long Mark is hired as Hans' replacement, a decision underlined by Paul unceremoniously executing Hans (which itself leads to an hilarious bit of Weekend at Bernie's-esque shenanigans a full 13 years before Bernie's hit theaters!). Then we're off on an international terror spree.

My issues are manifold: first, and maybe it's just that I missed something, but I had NO IDEA this was the third film in what is known as the Mark the Narc Trilogy (after Mark the Policeman a.k.a. Blood, Sweat, and Fear and Mark the Policeman Shoots First, both from 1975). This technically doesn't matter, as the story is stand-alone, but I never felt like I had any idea who Mark was as a character. Perhaps there is more to him established in the first two films or perhaps not, but importantly: I just can't know.

Relatedly, stuff just seems to happen to/for Mark that doesn't have anything to do with his police prowess or any notable skills. In one instance, he's picked up by hot lady stranger Isa (Malisa Longo) while trying to hail a cab and taken back to her apartment for casual sex. This delay means he is not in his hotel and thus avoids being killed in some vague ambush bloodbath. Similarly, he sees his car being towed just before he enters a clandestine meeting, and again narrowly avoids being murdered along with everyone else, both times purely through chance.

None of this is any fault of Gasparri's. He's incredibly naturally charismatic in the role, but the character is a cipher, and a phenomenally lucky cipher at that. Now, if that was a trait of Mark's that was previously established in the two earlier films, then so be it. I might still be somewhat annoyed by it, but maybe it would have grown on me. Here, it just means I have no real reason to care about what's happening because Mark will be fine and without even engaging with the danger in any meaningful way. Like a virile, laid-back Mr. Magoo.

The Packaging: Average

This is a bare-bones Blu-ray through-and-through. It's the usual slim, blue case, includes no booklet or anything, and features a single-sided cover. The illustration features Mark with his era-appropriately large hair and larger bell-bottoms, falling backwards firing his gun on the tarmac of an airport (a moment that, unless I missed it, does not happen).

It's fine, but not especially attention-grabbing.

The Audio + Video: Good

On a technical quality level, The .44 Specialist is more than adequate. Though it's obviously a product of its era, with regards to film grain and sonic fidelity, I always find that those minor "imperfections" add to a film's charm unless they're so egregious that they distract from the finished product. That's not the case here at all. Aside from arguably looking a little overcast visually sometimes, I had no issues with the look.

From an audio standpoint, my only complaint is that the film's main bit of score largely doesn't work. It sounds very reminiscent of the theme from TV's Taxi (1978-1983) and works perfectly well for when Mark arrives in a new location and we're treated to some casual sightseeing. It does not, and in fact could not, also work when Mark goes for a meeting with his handler Altman (the great John Saxon) whom Mark thinks might be setting him up. The tones of these two scenes are just too different for one piece of music to work equally well in both. Composer Stelvio Cipriani (Piranha II: The Spawning [1982]) is incredibly prolific, and he did a fine job on this piece of music, but it should not be used in all of the places that it is.

Special Features: Bad

The only special features aside from the commentary track from film historian Rachael Nisbet are two movie trailers, one of which is for this very movie, and neither of which is for any other films in the trilogy. While Rachael Nisbet delivers a very informative commentary track, as she normally does, I was pretty underwhelmed with these features.

• Trailers
• The .44 Specialist (3:22)
• Body Puzzle (1:12)

In Summary: Snag it at a yard sale

As a film The .44 Specialist is fine but not especially memorable. As a disc, it feels incomplete. This should really have been packaged and released with the other two Mark the Narc films, had a couple of special features exploring the franchise, its crew and its cast (Franco Gasparri's story for instance, is akin to a Poliziotteschi Behind the Music) and really just given the fans or any curious parties their money's worth. The film may stand on its own without any direct ties to the previous two, but the disc most definitely does not.