FILM FRENZY

The Exorcist (Photo: Warner)

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.)

AIR (2023). Air has earned comparisons to Moneyball, but the movie it brought to mind for me was 1959’s reverential Ben-Hur. In that picture, we never see the face of the actor playing Jesus Christ, only shown from behind or from the side. Air likewise adopts this same strategy, as the actor portraying basketball superstar Michael Jordan is never seen from the front and has barely more lines than the Son of God in the earlier picture (who had none, if I recall correctly). Yes, Michael Jordan IS Jesus Christ! (Actually, that’s a true statement in North Carolina and Illinois.) Yet Air isn’t a movie about Michael Jordan, not really. Instead of an ode to athleticism or to excellence, it’s a tribute to capitalism, detailing how a bunch of well-to-do men became fabulously rich. It’s a tale sure to warm the hearts of low-income Spam eaters everywhere. The protagonist is Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), a basketball talent scout toiling at Nike in 1984 (cue the ab-fab soundtrack). Despite the doubts of Nike head Phil Knight (Ben Affleck, who also directed) and Sonny’s colleague Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman), Sonny wants to move ahead with his radical idea of giving the company’s entire basketball budget to one rookie player — Michael Jordan — in exchange for the college star having a new brand of shoes built around him. It succeeds beyond anyone’s expectations: As some text helpfully informs, Nike expected to make $3 million during its first year of selling Air Jordans but instead made over $160 million. The performances are excellent (the cast also includes Viola Davis, Chris Tucker, and yet another Skarsgård, Gustaf), Affleck’s direction is breezy, and scripter Alex Convery’s dialogue floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee, and sounds like Aaron Sorkin Lite. But even putting aside my disdain for Phil “Sweatshop King” Knight (and — blasphemy! — MJ as well), it’s hard to get emotional over a movie that is too often more focused on the art of the deal than on the heart of any of its characters.

There are no Blu-ray extras.

Movie: ★★½

COCAINE BEAR (2023). In 1985, a black bear ate some cocaine and fatally overdosed. That’s hardly enough of a story to pack ‘em in, so writer Jimmy Warden embellished (to put it mildly) this true-life incident by adding lots of diverse characters and lots of gruesome deaths. The result is Cocaine Bear, a deliberately campy outing that provides some moments of mirth but can’t sustain itself for the entirety of its 95 minutes. Set in a Georgia state park, it centers on the various folks who come into contact with a bear that has ingested sizable amounts of misplaced coke. Drug lord Syd White (the late Ray Liotta) wants his drugs back, so he sends an underling (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) and his own son (Alden Ehrenreich) to fetch it — others who converge on the forest that’s housing the homicidal and drug-crazed bear include a mom (Keri Russell) looking for her young daughter (The Florida Project’s Brooklynn Prince), a surly park ranger (Margo Martindale), and a detective (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) out to nail Syd. A movie called Cocaine Bear should not go easy on the outrageousness, but after a promising start, the film settles into a comfortable and safe groove, steering away from the wild antics of its leading mammal and toward banal developments among its human players. With a critter on the rampage, do we really want to spend time with a plucky mom trying to save her kid, or a cop engaging in a gun battle with some Tarantino-lite crooks?

Extras in the 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Code edition include audio commentary by director-producer Elizabeth Banks and producer Max Handelman; a making-of featurette; deleted scenes; an alternate ending; a gag reel; and a look at some of the coked-up kill scenes.

Movie: ★★½

DESPERATE SOULS, DARK CITY AND THE LEGEND OF MIDNIGHT COWBOY (2023). Back in those decades when various publications would ask me to contribute my list of the 10 greatest movies ever made for their own critical compilations, Midnight Cowboy would always make the cut. It’s been a long time since I’ve compiled such a list, so I’m not sure of this classic’s exact standing today — it would definitely remain in the top 25, perhaps even the top 15. Directed by John Schlesinger and scripted by Waldo Salt (adapting James Leo Herlihy’s novel), it stars Jon Voight (never better) as Joe Buck, a Texas hustler who heads to NYC intent on becoming a wealthy stud. Instead, he finds himself barely surviving, with only a greasy derelict named Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman) to keep him company. Hoffman’s knockout performance is one for the history books, and the film is mesmerizing on several levels. This documentary looks at not only the making of the movie — famously, the only X-rated film to win the Best Picture Academy Award (over time, that rating was softened to an R) — but it also examines the cultural shifts occurring throughout this country over the course of the sixties. As several talking heads explain (among them Voight, Brian De Palma, and J. Hoberman), this groundbreaking work helped spearhead a new age in American cinema, one defined by true grit. And speaking of True Grit, it’s discussed how old-school conservative John Wayne won his Oscar for that Western in the same year that the traditional cowboy was being co-opted as a gay icon thanks to Midnight Cowboy. Writer-director Nancy Buirski (who passed away last month at 78) packs her movie with all manner of interesting information, making this a must-see for cineasts.

DVD extras consist of extended interviews with cinematographer Adam Holdener and the theatrical trailer.

Movie: ★★★½

THE EXORCIST (1973). In its day, this adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s gargantuan bestseller was a true phenomenon: a critical favorite; a commercial smash (at the time, it was second only to The Godfather as the all-time top moneymaker); the first horror film nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award; and, most importantly, a movie that became something of a pop culture conversation piece, sparking a renewed interest in the supernatural, triggering heated debates within the religious community, and generating countless op-ed columns and gossip items (including a notorious bit about how the film caused one pregnant patron to suffer a miscarriage out of fright). Today, it’s a bona fide classic, a finely crafted thriller that benefits immensely from William Friedkin’s controlled direction, Blatty’s thematically fruitful script, Owen Roizman’s imaginative camerawork, and Dick Smith’s startling makeup designs. As everyone knows, the movie tells the horrific story of a little girl (Linda Blair) who gets possessed by the devil, but Blatty deepens the emotional pool by also making it about a mother’s (Ellen Burstyn) love for her daughter and about a young priest’s (an excellent Jason Miller) struggle with his faith. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director, Actress (Burstyn), Supporting Actor (Miller), and Supporting Actress (Blair), this won for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound.

The 4K Ultra HD + Digital Code edition, released on the film’s 50th anniversary, contains both the original theatrical version (122 minutes) and the extended director’s cut (132 minutes) that debuted in 2000. Extras consist of audio commentaries by Friedkin on both cuts; audio commentary by Blatty on just the theatrical version; and an introduction by Friedkin.

Movie: ★★★★

THE EXPENDABLES (2010) / THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2012) / THE EXPENDABLES 3 (2014). With Expend4bles opening today in theaters, the first three pictures in this AARP-endorsed franchise have been reissued on 4K in steelbook editions. My favorite thing about this series isn’t anything actually taking place on the screen; it was the avalanche of amusing e-mails I received when I dared give the pictures less-than-stellar reviews upon their respective theatrical releases. A dizzying amount of MRAs, dude-bros, macho macho men, and other obviously insecure sorts (not a single woman, natch) all wrote to basically tell me that I was a disgrace to my gender and I needed to man up. My personal faves were the guy who cussed me out and then ended with, “You must have voted for Obama” (guilty!) and the one who called me a “dick-chomping homo” (as my friend Norm hilariously stated upon seeing that one, “Now there’s a term we somehow managed to never use in debate class”). Anyway…

The Truth In Advertising award for 2010 went to The Expendables, which employs (however unintentionally) its own title to push the fact that this is a disposable action film that will dissipate from discerning memories almost immediately. Its primary — make that only — selling point is its large cast of manly action stars, but the truth only goes as far as the marquee. As the leader of a group of mercenaries hired to take down a South American dictator, Sylvester Stallone is almost always front and center, and those expecting him to share significant screen time with fellow Big Boys Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger will be disappointed that the other two are only in one scene. And, really, is it that big a deal to have a cast that includes Steve Austin, Randy Couture, and Terry Crews? These guys would line up for a straight-to-DVD American Pie sequel if asked. Nobody watches this type of movie for the acting, but given the lack of excitement in most of the action scenes (more mano-a-mano skirmishes would have better served the film rather than the ceaseless gunfire and explosions), there’s little else to discuss. Faring best are Jason Statham as Stallone’s right-hand man — the actor’s natural charisma counts for a lot in the midst of all these stone faces — and Mickey Rourke in a nicely understated turn as a former member of Stallone’s squad. Delivering the worst performance is Dolph Lundgren, who apparently hadn’t learned a single thing after decades in the business.

The highlight in The Expendables 2 involves Chuck Norris. I don’t mean his performance — he’s as awful as ever, showing less range than a mattress pad — but rather that his character manages to work in one of those popular “Chuck Norris Internet facts” that led to his renewed popularity (e.g. “Chuck Norris drinks napalm to quell his heartburn”; “Chuck Norris counted to infinity … twice”). I won’t ruin the Norris “fact” used in the film, but it provides one of the few genuine laughs, and it’s certainly better than the forced wisecracks from Stallone, Willis, and Schwarzenegger. A marginal improvement over the first Expendables romp, this sequel offers expanded roles for Willis and Schwarzenegger, casts another ’80s action star as the villain (Jean-Claude Van Damme as … groan … Jean Vilain), and, perhaps in a dubious attempt to expand the audience beyond action-crazed young males, adds group newcomers in the form of a pinup heartthrob (Liam Hemsworth) and a kick-ass woman (Nan Yu). The team’s mission is twofold: Stop Vilain from using his plutonium supply to conquer the world and exact their revenge on said vilain — excuse me, villain —for murdering one of their own. Stallone and Statham awkwardly exchange male-bonding barbs. One of the franchise stars appears only at the beginning, leaving audiences to wonder if he was downed by pneumonia for the rest of the shoot. Schwarzenegger lamely tries on Willis’ signature “yippee-ki-yay” and finds it to be an ill fit (Willis fares better with Arnie’s “I’ll be back”). And so it goes. The movie is, at best, average as a straight-up action flick and subpar as an action spoof.

Say this for The Expendables 3: It’s arguably a fraction better than Part II, which was arguably a fraction better than Part I. Then again, I’d hate to live on the difference. As noted above, the series has always been promoted as an all-star action romp in which all these muscular marquee fillers have equal billing, but really, it’s been a Stallone vanity project all along. That’s never more apparent than in this entry, which finds Stallone’s Barney Ross deciding that his fellow mercenaries (among them Statham, Lundgren, and newest old kid on the block, Wesley Snipes) are, in the vernacular of Lethal Weapon‘s Roger Murtaugh, too old for this shit. Of course, Barney doesn’t apply this line of logic to himself, so he axes the other oldies and surrounds himself with four young’uns (including Twilight player Kellan Lutz and Olympic and MMA star Ronda Rousey in her film debut) as he goes after Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), a former colleague who has journeyed over to the dark side. As usual, Stallone (who also co-scripted) hogs the spotlight, although Snipes at least gets some quality time at the start and Antonio Banderas, as a motor-mouthed assassin who wants to join the team, steals second-half scenes whenever he can. Gibson is, perhaps not surprisingly, an effective villain, while Harrison Ford, likely the lone liberal in this Limbaugh-loving logjam, has the only laugh-out-loud line (involving Statham’s British accent) as he essays the role of a snarling CIA suit. Otherwise, this is disposable Kleenex entertainment, again providing action scenes that largely fail to snap, crackle, and pop.

Various extras spread across the discs include making-of featurettes; deleted scenes; and gag reels.

The Expendables: ★★

The Expendables 2: ★★

The Expendables 3: ★★

KISS THE GIRLS (1997). Based on James Patterson’s bestselling novel, this hit-and-miss thriller clearly wants to shock audiences with the identity of the killer in its closing moments. But because the filmmakers decided to cast someone who at the time was making a career out of portraying villains, seasoned film fans should have no trouble picking him out within the opening half-hour. (In fact, I recall one other person besides myself who, even before seeing the movie back during its theatrical bow, singled out the miscreant based on the cast list alone!) Yet even casual viewers should be able to spot the creep, simply by considering the shopworn moviemaking techniques that make everyone but the culpable party look guilty, whether through misleading plot developments, cryptic snatches of dialogue or a sinister-looking closeup. And the pat manner in which the mystery is solved is simple-minded even by Hardy Boys standards. Still, given the lack of mystery in what is supposed to be a mystery, Kiss the Girls partially succeeds simply because of the two central performances. Morgan Freeman plays Alex Cross, a DC detective and forensic psychologist who heads to Durham, NC, when he learns that his niece is the latest kidnapping victim of a mysterious figure who calls himself Casanova. And Ashley Judd co-stars as Kate McTiernan, a medical intern who gets nabbed by Casanova but later escapes with vital information that helps Cross in his investigation. The gravitas that Freeman and Judd bring to the project cannot be understated, and their work remains crisp and compelling throughout. Freeman returned as Alex Cross for a mediocre sequel, 2001’s Along Came a Spider, and Tyler Perry took over the role for 2012’s terrible Alex Cross.

The 4K UHD + Digital Code edition includes no extras.

Movie: ★★½

LA BAMBA (1987). Back in 2014, the now-sadly-defunct label Twilight Time debuted both 1979’s The Buddy Holly Story and 1987’s La Bamba on Blu-ray, thus offering biopics about two of the three rock legends tragically killed in the same airplane crash in 1959. (To date, no one has made a major motion picture about the third star on that flight: J.P. Richardson, aka The Big Bopper.) That Twilight Time La Bamba has long been out of print, but Criterion now presents its own Blu-ray edition honoring the man, the music, and the movie. Lou Diamond Phillips would quickly reveal himself to be a limited actor, but in his first significant film appearance, he’s just right as the teenage Ritchie Valens (real name Richard Valenzuela), who in less than a year became a star and produced such hits as “La Bamba,” “Donna,” and “Come On, Let’s Go” before perishing in that crash at the age of 17. Made with the blessing of the Valenzuela family, the movie paints a respectful portrait of the clean-cut kid while providing much of the dramatic conflict through the character of his hot-headed brother Bob (top-billed Esai Morales), who simultaneously respects and resents his younger sibling. Rosana De Soto delivers a strong turn as the family matriarch, Connie Valenzuela (the real Connie would pass away shortly after the movie’s debut in 1987), while the chart-topping soundtrack features Los Lobos performing all of Ritchie’s songs (and the group’s David Hidalgo providing Phillips’ singing voice).

Blu-ray extras include archival audio commentary by writer-director Luis Valdez, Phillips, Morales, and executive producer Stuart Benjamin; archival audio commentary by producers Taylor Hackford and Daniel Valdez; a making-of featurette; a new interview with Luis Valdez; and audition footage.

Movie: ★★★

RICK AND MORTY: THE COMPLETE SEASONS 1-6 (2013-2022). I’m not engaging in mere hyperbole when I state that this animated series is one of the most perplexing shows I’ve ever seen. It’s the dichotomy that rattles me. On one hand, it’s easy to see why this show is a favorite of dude-bros, fanboys, and mall-dwelling mouth breathers, given its fixation on the sort of scatological humor best enjoyed by guys who think that making armpit noises is an art form. On the other hand, it’s also easy to see why this is a critical darling, an adult favorite, and an Emmy Award winner (two victories for Outstanding Animated Program), given its ofttimes brilliant scripting and wonderful roster of characters. Ultimately — and the reason I’m breaking high on my overall rating — the inclusion of too many flatulence gags and a character named Mr. Poopybutthole can’t negate the show’s inventive use of the multiverse (it makes the MCU look as constricted as Mr. Roger’s neighborhood by comparison), its lovely attention to detail in defining the five core characters, and its wide-ranging pop culture references (the floating head from Zardoz?). Justin Roiland (co-creator with Dan Harmon) voices both the cracked scientist Rick Sanchez and his wimpy grandson Morty, with the series finding the pair dividing their time between spaced-out adventures and familial disputes with Rick’s daughter Beth (Sarah Chalke), son-in-law Jerry (Chris Parnell), and teenage granddaughter Summer (Spencer Grammer). The tendency to go for broke — to build and build on a bizarre comic situation until anything-goes levels are penetrated — is exemplified in two of my favorite episodes, “Total Rickall” and the Emmy-winning “The Vat of Acid Episode,” but the family dysfunction showcased throughout is just as amusing. Susan Sarandon, Werner Herzog, Taika Waititi, Danny Trejo, and Stephen Colbert are among the many, many, many name guest stars.

Blu-ray extras include audio commentaries by the show’s creators; making-of featurettes; episode breakdowns; and deleted scenes.

Series: ★★★½

FROM SCREEN TO STREAM

ONE-EYED JACKS (1961). Stanley Kubrick, Sam Peckinpah, and The Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling were all involved in the making of this offbeat Western, but you won’t find their names anywhere in the credits: Serling and Peckinpah both penned early drafts of the script, while Kubrick was signed as director before eventually being fired by the studio. Kubrick’s replacement was Marlon Brando, the film’s star, and it proved to be the only time the actor would occupy the director’s chair. It’s an impressive job on his part, even if his inexperience combined with his attention to detail resulted in a film that was plagued by shooting delays and an expanding budget. Brando plays Rio, a bank robber who spends five years in a Mexican prison after his partner and mentor, Dad Longworth (Karl Malden), runs out on him following a heist. Successfully escaping from jail alongside his loyal friend Modesto (Larry Duran), he begins his hunt for Dad, eventually learning that the former outlaw has gone clean and now serves as sheriff of a small town. The duplicity of Malden’s character foreshadows the similarly sadistic lawman played by Gene Hackman in 1992’s Unforgiven, while Brando brings Method moodiness to the standard Western protagonist (also, it’s nice to see Brando and Malden reunited after their ’50s classics A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront). The ending could be stronger, but everything else works just fine, and Charles Lang deservedly earned an Oscar nomination for his gorgeous color cinematography.

Movie: ★★★½