Blu Tuesday: True Detective, Non-Stop and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray releases and let you know whether they're worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art to purchase the Blu-ray from Amazon, and be sure to share each week's column on Facebook and Twitter with your friends.
"True Detective: The Complete First Season"
WHAT: In 1995, Louisiana detectives Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Marty Hart (Woody Harrelson) track down the disturbed murderer of a young woman while dealing with personal issues that threaten to interfere with the case. 17 years later, a similar murder brings the two cops back together when their original case is reopened for investigation.
WHY: Few shows have had such a spellbinding effect on its audience like HBO's "True Detective," the gritty crime drama that feels more like an eight-hour movie than a limited TV series. That's because everything about the show is incredibly cinematic, from the smart writing by creator Nic Pizzolatto, to the brilliant direction by Cary Fukunaga, to Adam Arkapaw's gorgeous cinematography. This is the kind of show that requires absolute patience and trust in the storytellers, opting for a slow-burning pace that allows the characters to evolve naturally over the course of its time-jumping narrative. Unlike most crime dramas, the mystery surrounding the killer's identity is never as important as Rust and Marty's respective arcs, and that's what makes it such rich and gripping television. Well, that and two knockout performances by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, who deliver some of the best work of their careers as the strikingly different partners. They elevate "True Detective" from a damn good drama to one that will be remembered as one of the greatest shows of its time, and while that kind of praise only heaps even more pressure on Pizzolatto for Season Two, if the first season is anything to go by, he's definitely up for the challenge.
EXTRAS: In addition to a pair of audio commentaries with creator Nic Pizzolatto, composer T Bone Burnett and executive producer Scott Stephens, there's a making-of featurette, interviews with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, deleted scenes and more.
FINAL VERDICT: BUY
WHAT: While on a transatlantic flight from New York to London, air marshal Bill Marks (Liam Neeson) receives a series of text messages threatening to kill a passenger every 20 minutes unless $150 million is transferred into an off-shore account. But when it's made to look like Marks is the one hijacking the plane, he must find the real culprit before it's too late.
WHY: Liam Neeson has certainly made a go of this whole action star phase over the last few years, but even he must be growing tired of playing what's essentially the same character over and over again. Granted, "Non-Stop" doesn't have nearly as much action as its trailers would lead you to believe, but just like "Unknown," Jaume Collet-Serra's previous collaboration with Neeson, it's a disappointing attempt to cash in on the success of the "Taken" franchise. For as ridiculous as the premise may be (and it becomes even more so as the story progresses), "Non-Stop" does a good job of building suspension by throwing an almost endless barrage of red herrings at the audience. The bad guy could pretty much be anyone on the plane – from Julianne Moore's chatty passenger, to Michelle Dockery's meek stewardess, to Corey Stoll's no-nonsense NYPD cop – and Collet-Serra makes the most of that paranoia. Where "Non-Stop" fails, however, is in its last-ditch effort to suddenly become an action movie in the final act, letting out all the mounting tension like air from a balloon.
EXTRAS: There's a pair of short featurettes covering various aspects of production, but sadly, that's the extent of the bonus material.
"Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit"
WHAT: When CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Chris Pine) uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack, he's sent into the field for his very first mission. But after his fiancée (Kiera Knightley) arrives in Moscow unannounced, Jack must keep her out of harm's way as he attempts to defuse the threat against the country he swore to protect.
WHY: Unlike James Bond or Batman, it's hard to imagine that a Jack Ryan reboot (especially one packaged as an origin story) was in very high demand, but that didn't stop Paramount from making it anyway. After all, franchises are a hot commodity these days, and the studio apparently has so much faith in Chris Pine that they've entrusted him with yet another iconic character despite already playing Captain Kirk in the new "Star Trek" films. It's not that the actor is necessarily bad for the role – he can be extremely charming at times and has proven himself adept at action – but the casting is uninspired to say the least. However, Kevin Costner (as Ryan's mentor) and Kenneth Branagh (pulling double duty as the film's villain) are both enjoyable in supporting roles, while Keira Knightley does the best she can with an underwritten character. The only reason the actress likely even bothered with such a rote action thriller was the chance to work with Branagh, and although the director isn't exactly in top form here, he makes "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" a lot more entertaining than it deserved to be.
EXTRAS: The Blu-ray release includes an audio commentary with director Kenneth Branagh and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, six deleted scenes, a retrospective on the Jack Ryan franchise, a profile on Branagh and more.
Posted in: Entertainment, Movies, Television
Tags: Blu Tuesday, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, new Blu-rays, Non-Stop, True Detective: Season One
Movie Review: "Non-Stop"
Posted by David Medsker (02/27/2014 @ 7:00 pm)
Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Michelle Dockery, Corey Stoll, Scoot McNairy, Anson Mount, Lupita Nyong'o
Because of Liam Neeson's presence, some have described "Non-Stop" as "'Taken on a Plane," but a more apt description would be "Speed on a Red Eye," as in the underrated 2005 Wes Craven thriller "Red Eye." There is a ticking clock that (conveniently) resets several times, a villain hiding in plain sight, and post-9/11 paranoia by the truckload. The beats and twists may be familiar, but it's well executed, and director Jaume Collet-Serra wisely resists the urge to go turbo, as it were, resulting in a film that is not the action-packed thriller that its trailers suggest, and all the better because of it.
Bill Marks (Liam Neeson) is an air marshal boarding a plane leaving New York for London. A few hours into the flight, Bill receives a text on his secure server notifying him that a passenger on the plane intends to kill someone every 20 minutes until his demands are met (read: a wheelbarrow full of cash). Bill enlists flight attendant Nancy (Michelle Dockery) and seatmate Jen (Julianne Moore) to help him isolate potential suspects, but quickly has reasons to suspect that either of them might be in on the plot. While this is playing out on the plane, the media on the ground is running with the story that Bill is in fact the hijacker, and once the world hears of Bill's flaws (divorced, temper issues, drinking problem), he not only loses the trust of the public and gives the news networks a sexy (if completely backwards) narrative, he also loses the trust of people on the plane, the pilots, and the co-workers on the ground assigned to assist him. Worse, he still doesn't know who is taunting him or what their end game is.
Tags: Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, Michelle Dockery, Non-Stop, Non-Stop review
Coming Soon: A Moviegoer's Guide to February
Posted by Jason Zingale (02/03/2014 @ 6:56 pm)
If February is known for anything, it's the barrage of romantic films released in conjunction with Valentine's Day. And in keeping with tradition, there are several to choose from this year. But while past Februarys haven't been very promising from a guy's point of view, there's plenty to look forward to in the 2014 edition, with no less than four action movies (including a remake of an '80s cult classic) and the latest from George Clooney and an animated film that's just as much for adults as it is for kids.
Who: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett and Morgan Freeman
What: An ordinary LEGO minifigure, mistakenly thought to be the MasterBuilder, is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil LEGO tyrant from gluing the universe together.
When: February 7th
Why: It's not very often that I get excited about an animated film, but as a closeted LEGO fanatic, "The LEGO Movie" is one of my most anticipated releases of the year. The fact that it's taken this long to make a film based on the hugely popular toy brand is shocking, not only because it's a dream project from a marketing standpoint, but because the very nature of LEGOs provides an almost endless supply of creative possibilities. This could have easily been ruined in the hands of someone else, but based on the materials released so far, it appears that directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller ("Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs," "21 Jump Street") have struck the perfect chord in making a kid-friendly movie that adults can enjoy as well.
Who: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman and Bill Murray
What: An unlikely World War II platoon is tasked with rescuing art masterpieces from Nazi thieves and returning them to their owners.
Why: On paper, "The Monuments Men" has Oscar bait written all over it. In addition to being based on a true story (set during World War II, no less), the film features some of the best acting talent in the business and was also co-written and directed by star George Clooney. So why the decision to push the movie back from its original holiday release to this February? No one knows for sure, but considering the competition that it would have been up against, it was probably the right move. After all, while "The Monuments Men" certainly has the makings of a crowd-pleaser (the two-second sales pitch is "'Ocean's Eleven' meets 'Inglourious Basterds'"), it doesn't really seem like awards material. Still, with that cast, you never know. It could be great or it could be another "The Good German."
Who: Zoey Deutch, Lucy Fry, Danila Kozlovsky, Sarah Hyland and Olga Kurylenko
What: 17-year-old half-human/vampire Rose Hathaway is dragged back to her boarding school to protect a race of peaceful vampires from the bloodthirsty Strigoi.
Why: If "Vampire Academy" comes across as just another young adult book series turned into a film, it's because it is – a sort of supernatural mashup of "Twilight," "The Hunger Games" and "Divergent." But while the Richelle Mead novel on which it's based sounds about as fun as a trip to the dentist's office, the movie version looks a lot more enjoyable thanks to the involvement of sibling duo Mark and Daniel Waters. The former directed the hilarious 2004 comedy "Mean Girls," while the latter wrote the screenplay for the precursor to that film, "Heathers." And if the trailer is anything to go by, "Vampire Academy" strikes a very similar tone, albeit with the added benefit of some action. For every successful YA book adaptation, however, there are five failures, so history certainly isn't on its side.
Tags: 3 Days to Kill, Non-Stop, Pompeii, RoboCop, The LEGO Movie, The Monuments Men, Vampire Academy, Winter's Tale