FILM FRENZY

Scarlett Johansson in Asteroid City (Photo: Universal & Focus)

By Matt Brunson

(View From The Couch is a weekly column that reviews what’s new on Blu-ray, 4K and DVD. Ratings are on a four-star scale.)

AKIRA KUROSAWA’S DREAMS (1990). One of Akira Kurosawa’s first loves was painting, and his affinity for art has never been more apparent than in this late-career entry he helmed at the age of 80. He uses the screen as a giant canvas, filling it with an array of colors and images. The film is split up into eight segments: “Sunshine Through the Rain” and “The Peach Orchard” concern childhood encounters with, respectively, human foxes and human dolls; “The Blizzard” and “The Tunnel” deal with ghostly apparitions; “Crows” offers a meeting with Vincent Van Gogh (entertainingly played by Martin Scorsese); “Mount Fuji in Red” and “The Weeping Demon” provide nightmarish visions of the future; and the final episode, “Village of the Watermills,” is a nostalgic piece that serves as the calm after the storm. Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams certainly comes nowhere near to matching his earlier accomplishments, masterpieces like Rashomon and Ran, and that’s largely because his abilities as a storyteller are placed on the back burner here, with the filmmaker content to offer a series of fractured musings. Still, despite an occasional aloofness, it’s an enchanting piece, from its visual splendor to its thoughtful embrace of the natural world.

Extras in the 4K UHD + Blu-ray edition consist of film scholar audio commentary; a 150-minute making-of documentary from 1990; 2011’s Kurosawa’s Way, in which filmmakers (including Scorsese, Eastwood, and Miyazaki) discuss his influence; interviews with assistant director Takashi Koizumi and production manager Teruyo Nogami; and the theatrical trailer.

Movie: ★★★

ASTEROID CITY (2023). The latest exercise in quirk from Wes Anderson finds the writer-director in a typically playful mood. The time is 1955, and the plot is twofold: It’s about the creation of a teleplay, and it’s about the events that take place within and around the teleplay. Meta to the max, it finds a TV host (Bryan Cranston) explaining how the latest from playwright Conrad Earp (Edward Norton) is set in a desert town where brainy kids and their parents gather for a Junior Stargazers convention. Personal dramas initially command center stage, such as when a photojournalist (Jason Schwartzman) despised by his father-in-law (Tom Hanks) has to explain to his kids how their mother (Margot Robbie) died three weeks earlier, while a talented actress (Scarlett Johansson) must contend with an overriding sense of ennui. But everything turns wacky once an alien (a combo of CGI and Jeff Goldblum, here tackling an otherworldly entity far different from the one he essayed in Earth Girls Are Easy) briefly drops down for a visit, inspiring military intervention and mass quarantines. As someone who generally enjoys Wes Anderson films — heck, I even dug The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, a movie despised by many — Asteroid City unfortunately qualifies as a disappointment, with too many actors wasted in bland supporting roles and too much leaning on the whimsy (which is saying something for an Anderson flick). Still, it earns a modest recommendation on the strength of the dazzling color palettes employed by Anderson as well as superlative turns by Schwartzman (probably his best work) and especially Johansson.

Blu-ray extras consist of four brief making-of featurettes.

Movie: ★★½

ENTER THE DRAGON (1973). While Bruce Lee was already well-known around the world, it was the blockbuster status of Enter the Dragon that made him an enduring legend stateside. This excellent actioner finds him playing a character also named Lee, who’s asked by the British government to travel to the island fortress of Han (Kien Shih), a Dr. No-like figure suspected of dealing in drugs and prostitution. Han regularly holds a martial arts competition on his island, which is how Lee is allowed entrance; while there, he meets Roper (John Saxon) and Williams (Jim Kelly), two ex-army buddies who also surmise that something’s not quite right about Han’s operation. Martial arts experts Angela Mao (as Lee’s ill-fated sister) and Bolo Yeung (as the muscular, murderous Bolo) are allowed to deftly show off their moves; ditto Saxon and Kelly, who are also given a few opportunities to develop their characters. Yet there’s never any doubt who’s the marquee attraction. Lee, who also choreographed the fight sequences, exudes charm and intensity in equal measure, relying on the former during the more sedate sequences and the latter during the action scenes. And what action! Lee’s astonishing to behold, and the climactic battle set inside a room full of mirrors caps a series of exemplary fights. (For a note-perfect parody of Enter the Dragon, check out the “A Fistful of Yen” segment in 1977’s Kentucky Fried Movie.)

The 4K UHD release contains the theatrical version and the special edition containing slightly more footage. Extras consist of audio commentary by producer Paul Heller and scripter Michael Allin, and an introduction by Lee’s widow, Linda Lee Cadwell.

Movie: ★★★½

FAST X (2023). Just as surely as the Earth circles the sun, there are some certainties to be found in the Fast & Furious franchise as it hits #10 in the series. 1) Pretty much every character who appeared in a past installment will eventually turn up in a later entry, be it Scott Eastwood’s Little Nobody, Bow Wow’s Twinkie, or the third mechanic from the left in the second race featured in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. 2) With even greater frequency than a George Romero zombie, pretty much every dead character who appeared in a past installment will eventually turn up alive in a later entry, be it Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty Ortiz, Sung Kang’s Han Lue, or … well, no fair telling, since it provides the “shocking” ending of Fast X (with yet another character brought back during the mid-credits sequence). 3) Villains (or at least antagonists) in past entries will eventually come to the aid of Vin Diesel’s Dominic “Dom” Toretto. That probably won’t be the case with the new baddie, Jason Momoa’s psychotic Dante Reyes, but it did turn out to be the case with Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw, John Cena’s Jakob Toretto, and now a heinous villain who inexplicably adopts an “enemy of my enemy” stance. 4) To paraphrase a line from my The Fate of the Furious review, Dom will continue to yammer about “family” with even more frequency than any given Walton, Ingalls or Ewing. 5) Even the dipsticks and crankshafts will give better performances than Tyrese Gibson as tiresome Roman.

Extras in the 4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital Code edition include audio commentary by director Louis Leterrier; a making-of featurette; scene breakdowns; a pair of music videos; and a gag reel.

Movie: ★★

FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF (1986). Over the years, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off has arguably sprinted to the top of the list as the most championed of John Hughes flicks. Beloved by conservatives for its unapologetic embrace of the Reagan-ruled “Me-First Decade” (no surprise to learn that Hughes was a Republican) and presumably adored by liberals for its flouting of societal rules, it seemingly hits the sweet spot for everyone. Well, almost everyone. Matthew Broderick plays Ferris, who feigns illness in order to skip school and hang around Chicago with his girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara) and his best buddy Cameron (Alan Ruck). The only two people who see through his ruse are his sister Jeanie (Jennifer Grey), who resents how he gets away with everything, and Vice Principal Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), who’s incensed that he has already missed nine days due to various manufactured sicknesses. Bueller’s smugness and superiority would be insufferable in the hands of another actor, but Broderick makes him charming and thus bearable. But Sara’s Sloane is a colorless character, while Ruck’s Cameron is a poorly written mass of tics whose ultimate transformation isn’t believable for one nanosecond. Some individual scenes shine, a few Ferris monologues connect, and I enjoyed the turns by Grey, Jones (a great foil), and even Charlie Sheen in his brief appearance. But the picture is ultimately too surface-skimming and scattershot to have such delusions of greatness thrust upon it.

Extras in the 4K UHD steelbook edition include audio commentary by Hughes; a making-of featurette; interviews with cast members; and a piece examining the title character.

Movie: ★★½

INVALUABLE: THE TRUE STORY OF AN EPIC ARTIST (2018). He may not be as well-known as fellow makeup and effects artists Ray Harryhausen, Dick Smith, and Rick Baker, but Tom Sullivan will always maintain his own corner in horror film history for his contributions to the 1981 classic The Evil Dead and its sequels, 1987’s Evil Dead II and 1992’s Army of Darkness. Invaluable is basically a love letter to Sullivan, with director Ryan Meade bypassing the larger names connected with the franchise, director Sam Raimi and star Bruce Campbell, to focus on a less publicized MVP. While the documentary does touch upon the tragedies in Sullivan’s life (the death of his wife as well as his own car accident), it’s mostly a celebration of the man and his art. Although Sam Raimi is MIA from the newer interviews, most of the other principal players are on hand, including Campbell, Ted Raimi, and The Evil Dead actresses Betsy Baker, Ellen Sandweiss, and Theresa Tilly, the latter three describing Sullivan as their gallant protector. It’s always nice to see a shout-out to Famous Monsters of Filmland (Sullivan grew up on the magazine), and this interesting doc even contains footage of the 8MM stop-motion films he made as a boy.

Blu-ray extras include a 1989 interview with Sullivan; an interview with The Evil Dead cinematographer Tim Philo; Other Men’s Lives, a bonus documentary about filmmaker and Raimi friend Josh Becker, featuring appearances by Campbell, Sullivan, and actress Lucy Lawless (Becker had written and/or directed a few Xena: Warrior Princess episodes); and two short films from Meade, 2011’s Cosmos Locos and 2013’s Bong Fly.

Movie: ★★★

ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953). A star was born with Roman Holiday, as the unknown Audrey Hepburn became a household name with the release of this utterly disarming romantic comedy. She’s cast as Princess Ann, who, bored with her lot in life, escapes during a goodwill tour to Rome and takes in the sights of the city. She’s accompanied in her escapades by an American reporter (Gregory Peck) who feigns ignorance as to her true identity in the hopes of landing a great story. Naturally, the pair fall in love. The chemistry between Peck and Hepburn is palpable (they remained lifelong friends), and there’s a riotous supporting turn by Eddie Albert as the newspaper photographer who aids Peck’s journo in his covert assignment. The “Mouth of Truth” scene is a genuine classic, but the film is packed with equally delightful interludes. Although Dalton Trumbo was the film’s principal writer, the heinous Hollywood blacklist meant that his name was nowhere to be found in the credits; it wasn’t until 40 years later that his contribution was officially acknowledged (and even longer before his name was added to the on-screen credits). Nominated for 10 Academy Awards (including Best Picture, Best Director for William Wyler, and Best Supporting Actor for Albert), this earned three statues: Best Actress for Hepburn, Best Motion Picture Story for Trumbo (whose widow accepted the award on his behalf in 1993), and Best Black-and-White Costume Design for the legendary Edith Head.

Extras in the 4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital Code edition include a conversation about the film with critic Leonard Maltin; pieces on Hepburn and Trumbo; and a featurette on the costumes.

Movie: ★★★★

STOOGE O-RAMA: THE MEN BEHIND THE MAYHEM – AND EVEN MORE MAYHEM! (2023). To quote that eminent philosopher Curly Howard, “I’m trying to think but nothing happens!” — or, more specifically in my case, “I’m trying to think of something to write but nothing happens!” Frankly, the overall excellence of this three-disc Blu-ray set left me momentarily speechless. Aimed at knuckleheads into nyuk nyuk nyuks, this is a collection of specials, shorts, and other goodies relating to The Three Stooges: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, and all the others who were ever slapped, rapped, or whapped as part of the outfit. The “feature attraction” (so to speak) would be the hour-long, 1994 A&E Biography episode “Stooges: The Men Behind the Mayhem.” Also included are outtakes from home movies and newsreels, movie trailers, archival interviews, TV commercials (including the boys plugging Instant Simoniz car spray in 1960 and Larry promoting his autobiography Stroke of Luck in 1973), and more. As a lifelong fan of entertainment artifacts from earlier eras, my favorite inclusion was the photo gallery of Stooge memorabilia, including board games, comic books, and a toy movie projector — there’s also a previously lost theatrical featurette, 1937’s Surprise, Surprise, in which the trio tell kids how they can get that projector (equipped with Stooge shorts, of course). Indeed, the only reason this doesn’t receive a perfect score is because of the inclusion of some wince-inducing modern-day material involving Stooge descendants and other comedians (who the heck are Shwartzy and Panaga?).

Bonus features include extended interviews.

Collection: ★★★½

FROM SCREEN TO STREAM

ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (1976). Film fans argue all day over whether certain remakes/sequels/updates/etc. are opportunistic rip-offs or sincere homages, but to my knowledge, no one has ever saddled John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13 with a derogatory copycat label. This film is pure tribute, a fond salute to Howard Hawks’ 1959 Western masterpiece Rio Bravo (reviewed in this column last week) with the structure of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead thrown in for good measure. The setting is the mean streets of Los Angeles, and the members of the gang Street Thunder are on the prowl, killing citizens as they see fit. After one particular slaying — still to this day one of the most shocking murders ever put on film — the guilty party is himself gunned down, inciting the rest of the mob to exact their revenge. This leads them to an L.A. police station that has officially closed down and is now populated by only a handful of people, including one cop (Austin Stoker), two secretaries (Laurie Zimmer and Nancy Loomis), and a pair of convicted killers (Darwin Joston and Tony Burton). Perhaps Carpenter’s best film next to The Thing, this is a model of low-budget filmmaking, with a tight script, appropriately tight-lipped actors, and atmospheric location shooting. In addition to writing and directing duties, Carpenter also composed the excellent score (one of his best, up there with Halloween and Escape from New York) and served as film editor under the pseudonym John T. Chance (John Wayne’s character name in Rio Bravo). Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne starred in a lame 2005 remake that was nothing more than an attempted cash-grab.

Movie: ★★★½