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.

THE WIZ (Criterion)

The Wiz
Criterion

The Stats
Video: 1080p High Definition on Blu-ray (2160p Dolby Vision HDR on 4K disc)
Audio: Dolby TrueHD on Blu-ray (Dolby Atmos on 4k disc)
Subtitles: SDH

Buy it HERE from Criterion or HERE from Diabolik

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

The Wiz comes to 4K and Blu-ray from Criterion. Veteran director Sidney Lumet, music legend Quincy Jones, and a cross-generational cast of icons come together to update L. Frank Baum's classic story for a then-modern audience. This Criterion release offers The Wiz in perhaps the best aural and visual fidelity ever made available, and a respectable amount of bonus features round out the package nicely.

The Movie: Excellent / 4.5 stars

I'm a sucker for musicals, and I've always enjoyed the spectacle of The Wizard of Oz, so I was bound to be a fan of The Wiz. I had the soundtrack on vinyl, and had a performance of the stage show that had aired on some channel or another duped onto a VHS. Growing up, I had no idea that it was such a divisive film. While I don't think it's flawless, it is--and this is a technical term so stay with me--Very Damn Good and Thoroughly Entertaining. Sorry for all the industry jargon.

A retelling of L.Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz but recontextualized to speak to the then contemporary African American experience of the early 1970s, The Wiz is both bold and very sweet. It takes a larger-than-life portal fantasy and combines it with enormous social issues, and gives these things scale through characters whose archetypes we're most likely quite familiar with. A detail of the original children's novel that gets lost on more modern audiences is how filled it is with allusions to America's monetary policy at the time; the yellow brick road being the gold standard of exchange, Dorothy's silver slippers representing the then-default silver standard. Here, that subtext is swapped for a look at the lives of Black Americans, with a slight focus on those in New York at the time.

Obviously, a lot of this went well over the head of the younger me, and even now there are dimensions to the choices made in this adaptation that I'm not fully cognizant of. The inclusion of the song You Can't Win, which was excised from the stage show but revived here, highlights the oppression of having to exist within a rigged system. I know that now, but young me just thought it was a bop, though we didn't use that term quite yet.

All of which highlights one of the most enduring aspects of The Wiz: it's more than just a remake of The Wizard of Oz. The layers of symbolism to the production decisions, from the types of songs and performances, to the casting choices, all enhance your viewing experiences once you've been hipped to why they were made. If your only cultural impression of The Wiz is as being a musical adaptation that bombed before finding its audience over time, there are the greater depths available to distinguish it, if you're inclined to look. 

Beyond that, the performances are amazing. Though controversial at the time, enough so that original director John Badham stepped down, Diana Ross gives a magnetic performance as a Dorothy who is afraid to take her first real steps into adulthood. Ross is so full of life and enthusiasm, which when you think about the exhausting nature of filming scenes with so much dancing is truly amazing. Michael Jackson’s wet noodle physicality as the Scarecrow, Nipsey Russell’s sourpuss Tinman, Ted Ross’ boisterous Lion, and Richard Pryor’s livewire paranoia as The Wizard all captured and held my attention at all times. Truly a joy to watch.

The Packaging: Excellent / 5 stars

This is your standard Criterion release: sturdy snap case, gorgeous cover artwork, and an interior cover Yellow Brick Road maze that I found incredibly whimsical; like the placemat you'd find at some diner in Oz. The detail of the "EASE" graffiti on the discs also really appeals to me as someone who grew up through the CD revolution and vividly remember the feeling of my mind being blown by the first disc I saw that had actual art reproduced on it, Beck's Odelay.

That aforementioned cover image, by artist Komi Olafimihan is just absolutely tremendous, accurately capturing the details of the costumes and the spirits of the characters. With very few exceptions, Criterion have figured out what works, from a packaging and design POV, and they stick to it.

The Video: Excellent / 5 stars

Even on the Blu-ray, this looks tremendous. I had actually watched The Wiz a few months ago on a whim, and it was a DVD transfer on whichever streaming service, at best. Compared to that, this is a revelation! The costumes and sets are so well-crafted and FULL of detail, finally being able to truly appreciate them feels incredibly satisfying. The lack of visual noise, and the sharpening of the colors goes a long way towards returning the magical feeling this must have conjured when it first hit the screen.

Importantly, the colors are well balanced. Evillene (Mabel King) for instance, is a very brightly-colored character but actually being able to make out the details of her costume and makeup without them getting swallowed in a blob of color-bleed is especially rewarding. There wasn't much by way of noticeable film grain until the Everybody Rejoice/A Brand New Day number near the end, which I think was exacerbated by how red everything is during that number. Other than that however, this was an incredibly clean viewing experience.

I've seen people knock the direction by Sidney Lumet for keeping the camera too far back during some of the dance numbers and missing detail, but I don't know if I'd even have agreed with that back in the day. Certainly not now. Even while zoomed way out, taking in the entire location and all the assembled dancers, this transfer never lacks for detail and enhances the organic feeling of the choreography--something discussed with more expertise than I can offer on the commentary track.

The Audio: Excellent / 5 stars

Even Criterion knows that you can't talk about The Wiz without talking about Quincy Jones. One of the special features is director Sidney Lumet discussing their film collaborations. Jones' legacy within music will be felt for a long, long time, and while his contributions to The Wiz may pale somewhat in comparison, they're no less special and in no way lack for quality. Luckily the audio transfer is wonderful! I have a three-channel soundbar, nothing fancy, just enough to enhance my viewing experience somewhat. The audio, remastered from original materials kept in the Universal Pictures vault, really gives Quincy, and the soundtrack he oversaw, its due.

The instrumentation shines, the vocals are clear and well-mixed and everything is extremely well-balanced. In that Lumet interview, he discusses how he dislikes most movie music, seeing it as muzak. Something he and Quincy saw eye-to-eye on was that a film's score should never just be reiterating what was happening on screen. They wanted it to enhance the experience for the audience, and I think watching The Wiz with that in mind and with this quality of audio, really gave me a greater appreciation for the craft of scoring a film.

The Special Features: Excellent / 5 stars

I was honestly a little surprised at how few features there were, but they were very enlightening and I had a blast watching them. The Diana Ross interview is hilarious. She's very poised, but the man interviewing her is such a bitchy asshole. It's actually pretty funny how little she reacts to his bait. The interview with Lumet was a great bit of insight into the legendary Quincy Jones, but most of the discussion focused on their first collaboration, 1964's The Pawnbroker. I especially enjoyed the commentary from Michael B. Gillespie and Alfred L. Martin. It was extremely informative, well considered, and their overall camaraderie and tone was extremely friendly and inviting. I especially liked the dives into Luther Vandross, who composed the song Everybody Rejoice/A Brand New Day, and where Richard Pryor was in his career at this time.

• Archival interview with Diana Ross
• originally aired in October 1978 for the film's theatrical premier
• Archival interview with Sidney Lumet
• originally appeared as part of the American Masters episode Quincy Jones: In the Pocket
• Theatrical trailer
• Commentary track from scholars Michael B. Gillespie and Alfred L. Martin

• Booklet includes an essay from author and film critic Aisha Harris

In Summary: Must own! / 5 stars 

About the only thing I'd ding this release on is that I feel like there's a lot to be said, and to be unpacked, culturally, about The Wiz. It's touched on here and there, as in Aisha Harris' essay where she mentions the film's weak box office showing being seen as the end of audience's interest in films with all black casts. Speaking purely for myself, I'd have been happy to sit through a lengthy dive into these areas. But I can't really fault this release for trusting me to chase those particular leads down on my own.

On whatever level you approach this release from, it won't disappoint. If you already love The Wiz, it looks and sounds better than it has in decades at least. If you just enjoy musicals and/or musical theater, the songs and costumes will speak, and sing, for themselves. If you're a nerd about one of the numerous areas of Hollywood history that The Wiz exists within, the special features are a great place to start your own personal deep dive.

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.

THE LIFE OF CHUCK (2025)

The Life of Chuck
Directed by Mike Flanagan
Written by Mike Flanagan, based on a novella by Stephen King
Starring Tom Hiddleston, Benjamin Pajak, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mia Sara, Mark Hamill
Running time 1 hour and 50 minutes
Rated R for language by the MPA

In theaters June 13

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

I didn't want to come to this screening. I mean, I did; I've been a Stephen King fan, a Constant Reader, for a long time. Comparatively I've only been a fan of writer/director Mike Flanagan for the blink of an eye, but my appreciation for his works, both with and without the input of Sai King, is no less great. Still. I didn't want to come to this. It had been 80°+ in my apartment for 2 days, and not much cooler outside. On top of that, either I was misinformed or the location of the screening changed, meaning I could no longer just walk there but instead had to take public transportation which is a crap-shoot on the best of days, and obviously a more volatile situation when the mercury rises. I'm sure you can understand why I might have been less than thrilled to venture out. None of these things are big deals, there are much bigger problems to have, but still they were threatening to drown my enthusiasm. So I did not want to come to see The Life of Chuck, but I'm so very glad I did.

The Life of Chuck is a disorienting narrative, by design. Its three acts bounce incrementally backwards in time within the life of the very unassuming, outwardly average titular Chuck. Chuck is an accountant, and he enjoys it just fine. He's happily married and steadfastly faithful. He's happy, though at one time, Chuck wanted to grow up to be a dancer. In a way, that's what The Life of Chuck is about: a person whose life has taken some turns, and why even such a seemingly average, unremarkable life is anything but.

It's also about grief, great and small, and about not allowing obstacles and discouragements, even the inevitability of death, to stop you from enjoying yourself. Seize your moment when you find it, however small. That's what a life is. Chuck knows he will die, in both textual and metatextual ways, but ultimately he chooses not to let that knowledge stop him. Watching and later thoughtfully considering The Life of Chuck, I couldn't help but address the elephant in the room: mortality. My own of course, and that of those I love, but also how the fleeting nature of human existence makes even the briefest interactions into things of common beauty. I also though a lot about Stephen King.

The Life of Chuck, as a story, feels like Stephen King reckoning with his own mortality. As an author he is famously and profitably familiar with death and infamously in 1999 was almost killed in a hit and run. But now it's different. Now he's just ...older. On September 21st of this year, he will turn 78 and it feels clear to me that he really knows it. In the past decade, he's released thirteen novels and three short story collections--including If It Bleeds which contains The Life of Chuck--which is actually pretty on par for King. Look at any ten-year period of his writing career and you'll find similar numbers. It's just admirable how little he is resting on his laurels in his later years. He could coast and sip lemonade by a lake in Maine, but he has so many stories within him that he still wants to tell, so many characters deserving of being shared with us. It's incredibly generous.

I've wanted to be a writer since I was young, like Chuck wanted to dance, and like Chuck I've made choices and concessions that lead me away from that dream. But it's still there inside me, and I hope to share it with more people more often than I do now. The feeling I left the theater with after seeing The Life of Chuck was that it was okay. A thematic through-line of the film is the Walt Whitman line "I am large, I contain multitudes". It's something that's stuck with Chuck for most of his life; that inside each of us is every memory, every moment we've experienced, as well as the ones we've imagined. It's all there and it's all as important as we let it be. By applying it to someone as ostensibly average as Chuck--and avoiding the cliché of making him a writer--the film makes a statement about potential, and about dreams.

I've avoided too many details in this discussion because I think The Life of Chuck benefits and deserves an audience to go in without expectation, to let it unfold before them and to really consider what you're seeing, what it means, and how it makes you feel. But it would be a disservice to the film to not mention a few stand-out performances. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Karen Gillan anchor the opening of the film, giving it a beating heart while faced with circumstances that seem less far-fetched now than they might have just a few years ago. Matt Lillard and Carl Lumbly both brought tears to my eyes at different points of the film. Mia Sara and Mark Hamill give fabulously warm performances as Chuck's grandparents in the third act. There are appearances from Heather Langenkamp and David Dastmalchian that are fantastic and deployed with surgical tonal precision.

Which brings us to the Chucks. Obviously, Tom Hiddleston is the marquee Chuck, the Chuck on the billboards, but at different ages, Chuck is played by Jacob Tremblay, Cody Flanagan, and notably Benjamin Pajak, who gives a remarkably warm and open performance from such a young actor. He's also a fantastic dancer. All of these disparate elements are brought together with the deft and delicate emotional touch that writer/director Mike Flanagan deployed in The Haunting of Hill House. 

Maybe it's because I've lost some friends and some family. Maybe it's because I'm in my forties and I wonder if I'll ever amount to anything. Maybe it's because Mike Flanagan, Stephen King, and this amazing cast have come together to collectively lay a hand on our shoulder and gently remind us that we all matter in spite of how small we are. Whatever it is, I left the theater teary-eyed but feeling better about the state of the world and of my own world than I have in a long while. There will be things great and small that will affect your life and you can't avoid them, but you don't have to stop living until you stop living. Things feel hard because they are hard, but whatever comes next, nobody has to go through it alone.

The Life of Chuck will be in Theaters June 13th, 2025.

CRACK IN THE WORLD (Kino Lorber)

Crack in the World
Kino Lorber

The Stats
Video: 1080p High Definition
Audio: DTS-HD
Subtitles: English SDH

Buy it HERE from Diabolik or HERE from Kino Lorber

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

Crack in the World comes to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. Featuring b-movie science fiction mainstays Dana Andrews, Janette Scott, and Kieron Moore in the lead roles, the film combines grand-scale disaster with small-scale drama. The Kino release, though light on special features, acts as an excellent showcase for the incredible and varied practical effects throughout.

The Movie: Excellent

I quite enjoyed Crack in the World! The film itself could absolutely be Mystery Science Theater 3000 fodder, but the restoration goes a long way towards making you take it more seriously despite the ludicrous premise and outdated science. There are a lot of varied effects shots--matte paintings, composite shots using models or stock footage, etc.--and the vast majority of them look amazing! That, along with the dramatic love triangle between Dr. Stephen Sorenson (Dana Andrews), his wife Dr. Maggie Sorenson (Janette Scott), and Dr. Ted Rampion (Kieron Moore) gave me other things to pay attention to aside from just the plot.

Project Inner Space, lead by Dr. Mr. Sorenson, plans to harness the unlimited energy potential within the Earth's core by drawing magma to the surface using a 10 megaton bomb--which is the explosive equivalent of somewhere between ten and twenty typical nuclear bombs, as far as I can tell--and while he thinks this will go smoothly, his professional and romantic rival, Dr. Rampion disagrees. They demonstrate their competing theoretical outcomes in an amazing sequence where one pane of glass is smashed with a hammer, (representing what Rampion thinks the bomb will do to the mantle) while another is pierced smoothly with a heated iron (which is how Dr. Mr. Sorenson believes things will go). Seeing as the film is called Crack in the World, I imagine you may guess who is more correct.

From there, this is, in broad strokes, your standard disaster movie: the scientists realize they may have doomed the planet, then scramble with plan after plan attempting to put right what they've done wrong. And then! On top of all that, Dr. Mr. Sorenson is secretly dying and hasn't told Dr. Mrs. Sorenson! But since this was the 1960s, instead of discussing the things that are weighing upon him, he obtusely ends their relationship, forcing his wife to leave confused, bewildered, and hurt. But I guess he thinks that's better than having to endure any sympathy?

This emotional fissure, mirroring the global one, fuels the love triangle that lends the film some extra dimensionality and an additional point of interest. I won't pretend that these character arcs are unique, fascinating, or even particularly well-developed, but they really help guide the pacing of the action. Some aspect of the story is always moving forward--sometimes more than one in a given scene!--so I was constantly engaged.

I love a good science-run-amok movie--probably from growing up watching so many of them be skewered on the aforementioned MTS3k--but they're usually hamstrung by lackluster or ill-conceived effects. That is most certainly not the case with Crack in the World. The effects here are extremely ambitious, well thought-out, and generally well-realized. Beyond that, I'm just a sucker for the slight imperfections you get with practical effects. Story-wise, the whole thing builds to one of the single coldest lines in science fiction: "No one has ever observed the birth of a moon, Masefield..." and an appropriately apocalyptic (though not hopeless!) finale that left me grinning.

The Packaging: Good

I love the cover art for this, which I believe is by Adelchi Serafini--who I was not familiar with, but I am now a fan of (see below)--is an amazing, painted depiction of a globe splitting in half, surrounded by various smaller illustrations detailing a number of disasters: crumbing or burning cities, vehicles falling off the face of the Earth, people screaming. It's just tremendous. The more you look at it, the more details you notice. Absolute eye candy, but of true bone-chilling horror.

The Kino Lorber release features a reversible cover with essentially two different versions of the imagery described above. One is slightly off-set to the right, allowing for the cast to be listed in black text against the stark white background, and the tagline, above in red: "Thank God It's Only a Motion Picture!" This is also the image on the cardboard sleeve included with the first printing. The reverse image is a somewhat remixed version of that globe image: A bit sharper and darker, with some details swapped--like an ocean liner sinking into a vortex as opposed to burning oil fields--with some color and motion implied in the negative space around the globe. Both images absolutely rule in my humble opinion.

The Video: Excellent

The extremely high quality transfer from Kino Lorber occasionally shines a spotlight on the seams of the visual effects of Crack in the World. There are a handful of composite shots--where two images filmed separately are combined to seem like one--where you can obviously tell that you're looking at a miniature, or stock footage. But importantly, not all of them. Some are so well done that you may not even realize it at first glance.

Effects aside, the colors are fantastic, which greatly enhances numerous scenes including the incredible finale, and the images are overall very crisp with real depth of shadow. It really makes the miniatures even more admirable for having to match these details.

The Audio: Good

First off, a heads-up: while this film starts off at what one might call "a reasonable level"--meaning I had to bump up the volume a bit, as it's largely scientists speaking in conversational tones--by the third act, when the score is all booming brass, the rumbling of a damaged planet, falling debris, and shouting, I was forced to turn it down a bit. In that regard, maybe things could have been balanced with a bit more control, but I'm not sure what limitations the audio restoration team were presented with.

Beyond that, this sounded excellent. No buzzing on the low end, even towards the back of the film, clear dialogue (for the era), and a dynamic score. And while I'm on the subject, not to second guess composer Johnny Douglas (who ended up as the composer for tons of 1980s cartoons like G.I. Joe, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Transformers, etc.), but I personally don't feel like a clarinet is the right instrumental choice to convey implicit danger. Like, "it's getting so hot that metal is melting and I'm about to pass out" should not be accompanied by a whimsical little 'toodle-oop' musical sting. That's just silly.

The Special Features: Average

These are your standard assemblage of commentaries and trailers. As an aside, I'm surprised there wasn't a low res version of the trailer for Crack in the World included, as that kind of thing just makes the visual improvement that much more evident, but I digress. The two Sidebars are fine, with Tim Lucas and Stephen R. Bissette discussing their memories of the film. The commentary track from Gary Gerani was informative, but he's obviously reading from a script, which I enjoy less than the more conversational variety. But, as I said, it's still very informative and it pointed me to other films through various cast and crew member connections.

• Audio commentary by film historian / screenwriter Gary Gerani
• Sidebar with Tim Lucas and Stephen R. Bissette: Part 1
• Sidebar with Tim Lucas and Stephen R. Bissette: Part 2
• Trailers
• The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)
• The Last Man on Earth (1964)

In Summary: Must own!

If you're at all into this era and style of science fiction--cautionary tales born of humanity's hubris--or disaster movies in general, I cannot recommend this film, and this release, enough. I know I've harped on the special effects a lot here, but it's because they're just so impressive. This level of visual upgrade would draw perhaps too much attention to the effects of other similar b-movies, allowing you to see too many seams and zippers, but not here. They're glorious and deserve to be appreciated--there's a volcanic island that, according to the commentary track was an 8-foot tall model that belched smoke & debris and it looks fantastic! So: sorry, not sorry about geeking out about them.

But this is more than an effects showcase. It would all drag if it weren't for the performances of our three leads, who add just the right amount of pathos to their stories. As a bonus, for Rocky Horror Picture Show fans, both Janette Scott and Dana Andrews are mentioned in the lyrics to Science Fiction Double Feature (though not for this film). I'm also a sucker for simple, tangible demonstrations in sci-fi--like the folded paper "wormhole" explanation from Event Horizon--and the glass panel demo I mentioned above is up there among the best. I could go on listing my favorite details from Crack in the World, but why not get a copy and find some for yourself? 

THE AMOROUS ADVENTURES OF MOLL FLANDERS (Kino Lorber)

The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders
Kino Lorber

The Stats
Video: 1080p High Definition
Audio: DTS-HD
Subtitles: English SDH

Buy it HERE from Diabolik or HERE from Kino Lorber

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

The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders comes to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. Bond alum Terence Young directs the always alluring Kim Novak in this literary adaptation that may be a touch too plodding to achieve its intended lighthearted tone. The quality of this Kino Lorber release however, might actually make up for any slight failings of the film itself.

The Movie: Average

Based on the 1722 novel dubiously credited to Daniel Defoe (Robinson Crusoe) after his death, though it is written in the style of an autobiography of the conwoman Moll Flanders. This adaptation sands some of the rough edges off of the character of Moll (played here by Kim Novak), making her earnest but burdened by sex appeal, while in the novel, she's at least a bit more romantically cutthroat. It also streamlines the narrative--the novel hops over to America early to set up the finale, then back to England--and removes some of the more questionable elements like the numerous abandoned children and the accidental incest (look it up).

According to the commentary track--which I loved, but more on that later--The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders only truly exists to capitalize on the success of Tom Jones (1963), which depicted similar subject matter with a playful tone but a visually more realistic portrayal of 18th-century England. Moll Flanders scrubs the visuals of their grit, presenting as a more studio-pleasing romcom full of elaborate costumes and locations, trying to give Moll's numerous titular amorous adventures a light touch for general audiences.

I do not think this endeavor is successful. Director Terence Young--known for Bond films like Dr. No (1962) and From Russia with Love (1963)--attempts to make this feel like a "romp", but the script is too unbalanced for him to find much consistent tone. Literally half of the 2 hour, 11 minute film goes by before a hook emerges--Moll is romanced by highwayman Jemmy (Richard Johnson) with both of them pretending to have wealth and land to ensnare the other--which means the first half flounders and feels like aimless scenes only related by their concept: "the almost insufferably beautiful Kim Novak is harassed by men".

However, with Jemmy comes Squint (Leo McKern), the highlight of the film for me. Squint is Jemmy's right-hand man, a bumbling, nearly blind goofball and essentially a cartoon character. He changes personas multiple times to help fool Moll, and others, through the use of such crafty disguises as *checks notes* an eye-patch, or a different hat. He also continually screws up even the simplest tasks in amusing ways, sometimes doing himself some form of bodily harm and almost always acting as an avatar of coitus interruptus for Jemmy and Moll. It's silly, recalling for me some of the physical comedy and broad character performances from something like It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963).

With more focus and the addition of some clear tonal indicators, I enjoyed the back half of The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders more than the first, but it takes an hour plus of high-production value Benny Hill sketches to get there, all to drive home the concept "Kim Novak is good looking". Reader, I may not be the sharpest of knives, but it doesn't take me an hour for me to let that concept sink in. All told, while I really wanted to enjoy this, or to find it titillating or risqué, it comes across as too long, formless, and bland.

The Packaging: Average

This Kino release features a reversible cover: one side is an illustration of Moll Flanders front and center, posed semi-heroically (and showing some thigh) with Jemmy in the background and a smaller image of the local constabulary chasing Jemmy and Squint on horseback. The other is a slightly more impressionistic painted collage of images mostly featuring Moll being uninterested in kissing various suitors (and Jemmy with his sword drawn for good measure). Perfectly serviceable.

The Video: Excellent

My issues with the film aside, The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders looks incredible! There is no film grain that I saw, whether shooting on set or outside. There is one scene early on--when the Banker (George Sanders) falls ill--where I noticed one very slim, very pale scratch visible for about one minute. But that aside, there is not a mark on this release! Which is good because it allows you to really drink in the costumes, which next to Kim Novak of course, were the most eye-catching part of the film.

I'm being cheeky, but honestly, in almost every scene someone is wearing an amazing frock coat--the Count (Vittorio De Sica)'s pink and black outfit for instance--or gown--any of his wife, Lady Blystone (Angela Lansbury)'s costumes also come to mind--that were absolutely breathtaking. I was genuinely happy to be able to appreciate Ye Olde Drippe and Rizze.

The Audio: Excellent

I had absolutely no issues with The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders from a sonic standpoint. The score, by John Addison--who had previously scored the aforementioned Tom Jones--is bouncy and lively and never distracted from the action or the dialogue. Everything sounded clear and fresh throughout.

Addison's score features the whole orchestral kit and caboodle; twinkling chimes, a bravura brass section, booming drums, and playful strings and woodwinds, and all of them sound equally present and real in the mix, generously sharing space with the dialogue and sound effects. The balance really allows the score, with it's simple melodic leitmotif, to become almost a full player in the piece, guiding the tone of scenes as much as the direction or performances at times.

The Special Features: Average

A film's commentary track can make or break a release, especially when it's the only film-specific content included, but The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders lucks out: film historians David Del Valle and Daniel Kremer are the perfect trifecta. They're extremely knowledgeable, have an easy, conversational rapport, and they aren't afraid to talk shit. Don't misunderstand me, they're not spilling any top secret tea, but they don't shy away from talking honestly about this film and others that come up in the conversation. I loved it and would have listened to these two talk for several times the length of the film, happily.

One point of warning however: early on, Del Valle and Kremer briefly mention the tragic story of Claire Ufland who plays young Moll, and even in brief, it could be very upsetting.

• Audio commentary by film historians David Del Valle and Daniel Kremer
• Trailers
• The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders (Low-res)
• Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)
• Irma La Douce (1963)
• Man's Favorite Sport? (1964)
• For Love or Money (1963)
• The Mirror Crack'd (1980)

In Summary: Snag a used copy

The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders doesn't work for me as a film really, especially at the length it is, but the high quality of the transfer, and the genuinely elucidating and entertaining commentary track might be enough for me to recommend you track down a copy. If you're a looking for a gently bawdy way to kill a few hours, and especially if you're interested in a cheesecake-y performance from Kim Novak, this disc might be just what you're after.

There are highlights here: Novak and Johnson are genuinely charismatic, as is Lansbury. The costumes are magnificent, and once it finds a center--the Moll / Jemmy relationship--things coalesce quite nicely. There are plenty of moments where you get glimpses of what this could have been: sillier, sexier, rowdier, slapstick-ier; but as is, you might want to wait a while before adding this to your shelf.

VICE SQUAD (Kino Lorber)

Vice Squad
Kino Lorber

The Stats
Video: 1080p High Definition (blu-ray packaged with 4k disc as well)
Audio: Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English SDH

Buy it HERE from Diabolik or HERE from Kino Lorber

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

Vice Squad comes to Blu-ray and 4k from Kino Lorber. Directed by Gary Sherman (Dead & Buried (1981) and Lisa (1990) which is tragically under-seen), Vice Squad is a bombastic yet realistic bit of exploitation with terrific lead performances. With a wealth of bonus material, this Kino Lorber release allows you to fully experience the west coast Neon Slime aesthetic like never before!

The Movie: Excellent

Vice Squad captures a specific era that has moved on in some ways, though not all. Much like the dangerous, family-unfriendly New York of filmmakers like Abel Ferrara, there is a peculiar flavor of West Coast sleaze present here that is palpable from the jump. The sound, the visuals, the colors, and the textures all contribute to a sweaty, desperate feeling that's pervasive throughout the entire film. Vice Squad, for me, has also given that particular feeling a name: Neon Slime.

Vice Squad opens with footage from the Sunset strip accompanying actor Wings Hauser performing the song Neon Slime in an Alice Cooper-adjacent, raw-throated croon, and it perfectly sets the mood for the film to come. When sex worker Ginger (Nina Blackwood) is murdered by her pimp Ramrod (Hauser), vice squad sergeant Walsh (Gary Swanson) enlists Ginger's friend and fellow prostitute Princess (Season Hubley) into a sting operation to capture the pimp. But when Ramrod escapes capture, he sets out on a single-minded mission of violent retribution against a completely unaware Princess.

Vice Squad pulls no punches, but it also never dwells in the vileness of its brutality. Perhaps my favorite moment from the film is after Ginger is beaten, when we cut to the police station to find Walsh bringing in some perps. The scene is chaotic: cops and undercover officers bringing in people, shouting instructions to desk sergeants and the like; barely enough room to move, and then a huge cop emerges from his office in the back screaming about other cops taking his paperclips! It's honestly hilarious--I'm surely not doing it justice--and then Walsh finds out Ginger is in the hospital and we cut to that scene, which ends with Ginger's death. The juxtaposition of realistic comedy and tragedy is part of what makes Vice Squad feel so vital and alive even 40+ years on. It feels heightened, maybe, but real.

Director Gary Sherman (Dead & Buried (1981) and Lisa (1990) which is tragically under-seen) intended Vice Squad to be the first major movie to accurately depict police tactics and, though it might not be the first--apparently Fort Apache the Bronx (1981) does this as well and beat Vice Squad to theaters by a year--the operational sequences on display are riveting. The third act is entirely a chase back and forth across L.A. with the police always precariously on the edge of losing Ramrod's trail as he closes in on the oblivious Princess, going from John to John--which delivers more levity via their various kinks--and fleshes out the world beyond the bounds of the narrative.

Season Hubley is captivating here as Princess. Being introduced to her in her former identity as a businesswoman only for her to change into her sex worker clothes in a bus station bathroom subtly mirrors the vice squad's undercover strategies and the events to come. Apparently she was in the process of divorcing Kurt Russell at the time of filming and Gary Sherman advised her, as is the classic Hollywood punchline, to "use it". That she is not instrumental in Ramrod's inevitable downfall is my one real criticism of Vice Squad as a whole. But while on the subject, I would be seriously remiss to end this review without heaping due praise on Wings Hauser's sleazy, wild-eyed performance as Ramrod. From the moment he sweet-talks his way into Ginger's motel room, he radiates a feral menace. His third-act scramble for revenge--choosing this rather than fleeing the city--are the actions of a man with no thoughts of self-preservation, which Hauser portrays with a creeping inevitability, like watching a predator hunting prey.

The Packaging: Good

There's nothing to complain about, or caution against here. The cover image is a stark black and white, high contrast image of Walsh staring out from behind the wheel of his undercover car, with a smaller, backlit image of a woman standing in an alley, and the tagline: "On the street the real trick is staying alive." The blood-red logo features a neat detail: the middle stroke of the E--which is called a bar, btw-- has been made into a pistol.

Kino's jet-black 4k case combined with the largely also black cover makes the entire package look sleek and menacing. The first printing of the Kino Lorber release also includes a cardboard sleeve of the same graphics.

The Video: Excellent

The blu-ray transfer here is largely incredible. There is one notable sequence at Ramrod's apartment where--whether a product of my television, or some combination of colors and patterns--the grain seemed to almost vibrate and this moiré was initially kind of distracting. There are other grain-heavy sequences, but none of them produced this effect, and in general the grain was a pleasant additional texture in any given scene.

There's even one sequence in a strip club--The Balled Eagle, btw--where the prevalence of film grain, presumably due to the low light and cigarette smoke in the air, actually added to the environment. Princess has agreed to be a honeypot for Ramrod, and as she stalks into his normal hangout, the heavy presence of the grain makes the atmosphere feel thick with intangible jeopardy as well as the smoke.

The colors in Vice Squad, which takes place over one night, are tremendous. From the reds, golds, and moonlight blues of the main drag, to the sickly yellow motel lobbies, and even a sequence lit entirely by candlelight--an inside-joke between director Gary Sherman and cinematographer John Alcott, who had previously worked on Barry Lyndon (1975), amongst other Stanley Kubrick films--it's all so tactile. On the blu-ray, the visual quality is high enough that you can make out the cartoon penis of the flasher graffitied in a bathroom stall, but not quite clear enough to read Walsh's button which, according to one of the commentary tracks, reads "We are all prostitutes". The overall is so good that I am giving this release the highest rating despite my minor, aforementioned quibble.

The Audio: Excellent

This was a very well-balanced audio experience for me. As I mentioned, the film opens with Neon Slime--which also plays over the menu--but once the dialogue proper began and I found the correct audio level, I never had to tweak it again. I'm sure anyone reading this is familiar with the problem of having to adjust volume up or down from time to time when viewing some films; quiet dialogue followed by booming gunfire, roaring car engines, or their ilk. Vice Squad was excellently balanced.

There were shootouts, car crashes, arguments, screaming, and even organ music at one point, and it was all perfectly mixed. The police shouting into their radios, coordinating assorted vehicles in pursuit of Ramrod--a genuinely riveting sequence--lacked for none of the clarity of any scenes that came before or after. As they say: perfect. No notes.

The Special Features: Excellent

This release really cooks for me. Both the commentary tracks on the main disc were fascinating--fair warning that the track with Gary Sherman and Brian Frankish has a little more downtime where the two are just engrossed in the film--and each filled with interesting making-of tidbits. If that was it, plus the trailers, radio and TV spots, this would still be a satisfying experience. But there's an additional disc of supplemental bonus material! It all seems to have been produced for the Shout Factory blu-ray release from 2019--so heads up if you already have that--but for the rest of us, that's about 6 hours of interviews! Between all the interviews and commentary tracks, there are a few repeat stories, but I won't hold that against this release.

• Audio commentary by Steve Mitchell, writer/director of Wings Hauser: Working Class Actor
• Audio commentary by director Gary Sherman and producer Brain Frankish
• Radio spots
• TV spots
• Trailers
• Vice Squad (1982)
• Stick (1985)
• The Hunter (1980)
• To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
• Wanted: Dead of Alive (1986)
• Code of Silence (1985)
• Murphy's Law (1986)

• Disc of Bonus Materials:
• Tracking the Beast: Interview with actor Gary Swanson
• Of Poltergeists and Neon Lights: Interview with director Gary Sherman
• Hollywood Magic: Interview with producer Brian Frankish
• The Roots of Reality: Interview with actress Beverly Todd
• Catching a Killer: Interview with actor Pepe Serna
• Princess Driver: Interview with actor Michael Ensign
• Hollywood Streetwalking: Vice Squad filming locations

In Summary: Must own!

Vice Squad will not suit everyone's palate, nor should it, but if you enjoy a fictional walk on a realistic wild-side, it may just be for you. Allegedly, Martin Scorsese once got into an argument in a restaurant with future Columbia Pictures head Dawn Steel over whether or not the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would have the gumption to nominate Vice Squad for the Best Picture Oscar, as he felt it was the film of the year.

I may not know everything, but I know better than to argue with one of the foremost living appreciators of fine and not-so-fine cinema. This is a truly incredible example of crime filmmaking, and would be a glorious addition to almost any film library. Vice Squad is Neon Slime in all the best ways. My one caveat is that there are examples of language that has either grown outdated, or was deliberately intolerant to begin with which, combined with the subject matter, might not be enjoyable for all viewers.