FILM FRENZY

Vin Diesel in The Fast and the Furious (Photo: Universal)

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.)

CAPTAIN HORATIO HORNBLOWER (1951). It’s hardly surprising that Warner Bros. acquired the rights to C.S. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower novels for Errol Flynn, but in-house troubles with the swashbuckling star led to Gregory Peck nabbing the role instead. The lower grossing of Peck’s two box office hits in 1951 (David and Bathsheba was #3 for the year, this one was #14), this casts him as the titular (and fictional) British naval officer who enjoyed many victories during the Napoleonic Wars. Tough-minded but fair, Hornblower is admired by the officers under him but must work hard to earn the respect of the burly and surly sailors. That he does, particularly after he scores resounding victories against Spain, against France, and against a petty, sadistic South American dictator (Alec Mango) seeking to make narcissism great again (he calls himself “El Supremo / The Supreme One”). During the ocean voyage, Hornblower’s ship HMS Lydia picks up an unlikely passenger in Lady Barbara Wellesley (Virginia Mayo), the sister of the Duke of Wellington (like Hornblower, she’s a fictional character); naturally, she and the dashing captain fall for one another. Director Raoul Walsh had been making movies since the silent era (amusingly, the 63-year-old helmer would call the 34-year-old Peck “kid” throughout filming) and had plenty of experience staging large-scale action scenes (other credits included seven earlier pictures with Flynn, including the WWII gem Objective, Burma!) — that’s beneficial to this picture, given the impressiveness of the robust battle sequences. That’s Christopher Lee in one of his earlest roles as the Spanish captain who crosses swords with Hornblower.

Blu-ray extras include the 1954 Bugs Bunny cartoon Captain Hareblower; the 1950 Oscar-nominated live-action short My Country ‘Tis of Thee; and the 1952 radio broadcast of Captain Horatio Hornblower, with Peck and Mayo reprising their roles.

Movie: ★★★

CRIME WAVE (1954). Andre De Toth, who had directed House of Wax the previous year, switches out horror atmospherics for film noir ambience with this drama that opens with some San Quentin escapees killing a cop. Two of them, the savvy Doc Penny (Ted de Corsia) and the sadistic Ben Hastings (Charles Bronson, still being billed as Charles Buchinsky), decide to hide out at the home of a former fellow inmate, Steve Lacey (Gene Nelson). But Steve has gone straight — he has a secure job as an airplane mechanic and a loving wife in Ellen (Phyllis Kirk, who, like Bronson, was brought along by De Toth from House of Wax) — and he wants nothing to do with these criminals. Of course, he doesn’t have much choice, and his unease grows when he learns that not only has his home become their hideout but that he’s expected to take part in their scheme to rob a bank in daylight. Sterling Hayden, in between his two noir masterpieces (John Huston’s 1950 The Asphalt Jungle and Stanley Kubrick’s 1956 The Killing), is all snarling intensity as the detective on the case — in fact, the character is so ill-natured that it renders the ending unlikely and unconvincing. Before this disappointing denouement, however, the movie is prime crime material, with plenty of nocturnal shooting (courtesy of Stagecoach and House of Wax cinematographer Bert Glennon) and an intriguing roster of supporting crooks, including ones played by Jay Novello and a typically bonkers Timothy Carey.

Blu-ray extras consist of audio commentary by Film Noir Foundation founder Eddie Muller and author James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential); a making-of piece; the 1955 Oscar-nominated live-action short Gadgets Galore; the 1954 Bugs Bunny cartoon Baby Buggy Bunny; and the theatrical trailer.

Movie: ★★★

DISCLOSURE DAY (2026). In Steven Spielberg’s 1977 Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the overriding theme was “Watch the skies.” In Disclosure Day, the overriding theme is “Watch your iPhones.” If that sounds like a depressing downturn, the filmmaker’s point still remains the same: We are not alone. A movie about truth, justice, and the extra-terrestrial way, this chooses as its antagonist a shadowy government branch filled with folks who for decades have kept secret the fact that aliens have landed on our planet. For various reasons, the footage detailing these encounters is never meant to see the light of day — some whistleblowers (including ones played by Josh O’Connor and Colman Domingo) don’t agree with that decision, and they steal the intel with plans to release it on a global scale. First, though, they need to get in touch with a TV meteorologist (Emily Blunt) who unknowingly holds the key to the whole shebang. As a science fiction flick, Disclosure Day is fairly effective, tapping into philosophical questions that have existed ever since the first caveman noticed all those twinkly stars above his head. As a conspiracy yarn, it generates genuine tension, often playing like an episode of The X-Files or a distant cousin to those paranoia thrillers from the 1970s. And as a popcorn pic, it delivers the thrills as one would expect from Spielberg. But it’s obvious the director (co-scripting with David Koepp) is interested in his film being seen as a source of optimism, a font of understanding, a vessel of empathy, and perhaps even an agent of change. These are lovely sentiments, even if they ofttimes feel hopelessly naïve. But if his outlook seems a tad idealistic and thus unrealistic… well, there are worse ways to view the world — and the skies.

Blu-ray extras consist of a making-of featurette; a look at the 52-year collaboration between Spielberg and composer John Williams (30 pictures together!); and trailers.

Movie: ★★★

THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (2001). The Fast and the Furious sounds like the sort of film that Roger Corman would have produced for American International Pictures back in the fifties — in fact, AIP and Corman did make a racing flick with that title back in 1954. Yet although fast cars figure in the plotlines of both movies — and although producer Neal H. Moritz negotiated with Corman for use of the moniker — the 2001 sleeper smash and franchise starter bears no relation to the older picture, instead taking its inspiration from a 1998 Vibe magazine article and maybe even the 1991 actioner Point Break. Instead of Keanu Reeves as an undercover cop who infiltrates a gang of surfboarding criminals led by Patrick Swayze’s chill mastermind, this one offers Paul Walker as an undercover cop who infiltrates a gang of hot-rodding criminals led by Vin Diesel’s chill mastermind. It’s set in the world of illegal street racing, and car engines are constantly competing with a hardcore rock ‘n’ rap soundtrack for eardrum attention. On its own bubblegum terms, this accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do, which is to serve up plenty of exciting vehicular maneuverings and mayhem. It’s just a shame little effort was made to support the superbly executed auto segments with anything resembling a compelling story. Walker’s Brian O’Conner makes for a lightweight hero — when he states, “I’m a cop,” he’s scarcely more believable than your 8-year-old nephew saying the same thing — but Diesel’s dominant portrayal of Dominic Toretto resulted in genuine stardom. The Fast and the Furious led to nine direct sequels (with a final one set for 2028 release), one spin-off feature, an animated television series, and a handful of theme park attractions.

Extras in the 4K + Blu-ray + Digital Code edition include audio commentary by director Rob Cohen; a new retrospective piece; a making-of featurette; and deleted scenes.

Movie: ★★½

LIONHEART (1990) / DEATH WARRANT (1990). With few exceptions (JCVD, The Expendables 2), Jean-Claude Van Damme has spent the 21st century known more for his eyebrow-raising off-screen behavior (e.g. believing the Illuminati would prevent his hero Trump from ever becoming President; supporting Russian human-rights abusers; fighting allegations of being involved in sex trafficking) than for his countless straight-to-DVD action yarns. But in the final dozen-odd years of the 20th century, he made his mark as one of the many buff action stars to clog movie marquees during the period. His charm and screen presence are of the low-simmer variety, but at least that beats the no-simmer standing of, say, Chuck Norris and Dolph Lundgren. Among his oh-so-modest box office hits were these two actioners that both hit theaters in 1990, one year after his profile had been considerably raised by the twofer of Cyborg and Kickboxer.

Lionheart is repeatedly cited as the film that proved Van Damme was more than just a karate kid and could actually act. I wouldn’t go that far (although some acting chops were finally revealed in JCVD, reviewed in From Screen To Stream below), but the movie does showcase a more mellow side away from his ass-kicking antics. “The Muscles From Brussels” plays Lyon Gaultier, a French legionnaire who winds up in the U.S. and becomes involved in underground fights in order to financially support his late brother’s wife (Lisa Pelikan) and daughter (Ashley Johnson). The character dynamics remain interesting, the brutal brawls are exciting, and Harrison Page delivers a strong turn as Joshua, a street hustler who becomes Lyon’s manager and only friend. The first rule of fight club is you do not talk about fight club, but here’s a fight-club flick that should enter any conversation about worthy Van Damme vehicles.

Death Warrant qualifies as more standard fare, although as far as prison yarns go, it’s certainly watchable. Here, the martial arts star inflicts maximum Van Damage as Louis Burke, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer asked to pose as a criminal in order to gain entrance into a California prison — there, he must figure out why select prisoners have been getting murdered. The answer isn’t as interesting as one might have hoped, and the rest of the story involves the usual prison bingo-card items like solitary confinement, an especially sadistic guard (Art LaFleur), the wizened black inmate (Robert Guillaume), a cafeteria brawl, a climactic riot, and loving close-ups of cockroaches. It’s also revealed that one of the good guys on the outside is the mastermind behind the whole operation, and anybody who can’t peg him from his first appearance should probably touch up their sleuthing skills by going back to solving Encyclopedia Brown mysteries.

Both movies are being issued in separate 4K + Blu-ray editions. Lionheart contains both the theatrical version and an extended “A.W.O.L. Cut.” Extras include new audio commentary by director Sheldon Lettich; archival audio commentary by Lettich and Page; a couple of making-of featurettes; a look at the action set-pieces; and a behind-the-scenes photo gallery. Extras on Death Warrant include audio commentary by director Deran Sarafian; interviews with supporting players Cynthia Gibb, Patrick Kilpatrick, and LaFleur; and a Van Damme trailer gallery. Each release also comes with a mini-poster.

Lionheart: ★★★

Death Warrant: ★★

PRACTICAL MAGIC (1998). This adaptation of Alice Hoffman’s novel casts Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, descendants in a long line of witches. The centuries-old curse that hangs over their heads — any man who falls in love with an Owens woman will meet an untimely end — informs their approaches to relationships, with Sally shutting down after she’s personally affected by the curse and Gillian enjoying a more shallow and hedonistic lifestyle. Gillian gets a wakeup call once she hooks up with Jimmy (Goran Visnjic), a controlling sort who, as she explains, is into the “whole Dracula-cowboy thing.” But even death can’t remove Jimmy from the sisters’ lives, and matters grow more complicated when Sally finds herself attracted to a detective (Aidan Quinn) who shows up looking for the abusive ne’er-do-well. The notion of modern-day witches having to contend with an ancient curse is an interesting one, and the film is well-cast down the line (Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing add some zest as the sisters’ busybody aunts). But the direction by Griffin Dunne (better known as an actor in such works as After Hours and An American Werewolf in London) is clumsy, even intrusive, and while three writers took a crack at this, they each get so wrapped up in the drab aspects of the story that they fail to find the mystery, the eroticism or (dare I type it?) the magic in such a promising storyline. Instead of holding viewers spellbound, Practical Magic inadvertently gives them the warts-and-all. Despite being a box office flop ($75 million budget, $46M domestic gross, $68M worldwide), the film has apparently picked up enough fans over the ensuing quarter-century to lead to a sequel that’s being released in two weeks.

Extras in the 4K + Digital Code edition consist of audio commentary by Bullock, Dunne, producer Denise Di Novi, and composer Alan Silvestri, and a pair of vintage making-of featurettes.

Movie: ★★

THE SWAN PRINCESS (1994). Like Hook, Hocus Pocus, and a few other family-friendly flicks from the 1990s, The Swan Princess was so beloved by its target audience back in the day that nostalgia has convinced these now-grown-up fans that the movie is actually excellent. Certainly, this animated effort is better than the aforementioned pair, even if it ultimately falls short of being particularly distinguished. Based on the classic Swan Lake, the story finds the beautiful Princess Odette (voiced by Michelle Nicastro) placed under a spell by the evil Lord Rothbart (Jack Palance), much to the displeasure of Prince Derek (Howard McGillin). The curse causes Princess Odette to turn into a swan, but she hopes to break the spell with the help of not only Prince Derek but also her newfound animal friends: the frog Jean-Bob (John Cleese), the turtle Speed (Steven Wright), and the puffin Puffin (Steve Vinovich). Released theatrically by New Line Cinema, The Swan Princess looked especially puny when it arrived in the midst of the Disney toon renaissance, yet distance from those classics reveals that it possesses some minor charms. The songs aren’t memorable but they’re also not awful, and while the animation is flat, the story being told contains a few rousing sequences and a smattering of amusing bits (best of all is Rothbart doing a one-armed pushup, just as Palance had done on the Oscar stage when collecting his Best Supporting Actor award for 1991’s City Slickers). Although it was a box office dud, The Swan Princess has led to (so far) 11 straight-to-video sequels, with the earliest (The Swan Princess: Escape From Castle Mountain) appearing in 1997 and the most recent (The Swan Princess: Far Longer Than Forever) debuting in 2023.

Blu-ray extras consist of a retrospective piece; a vintage making-of featurette; and five sing-alongs.

Movie: ★★½

FILM CLIPS

ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (1974). Martin Scorsese adds some interesting touches to what’s essentially a melodrama about a widow (Ellen Burstyn) who tries to start anew with her spoiled son (Alfred Lutter) in tow. Burstyn’s excellent performance is the film’s primary strength; less successful is Robert Getchell’s script, which in its attempt to fashion a new brand of feminist heroine ends up shortchanging most of the other characters. The most interesting element of the movie, the scenes set at the diner where Alice works under owner and cook Mel Sharples (Vic Tayback), became the basis for the hit TV sitcom Alice (1976-1985), starring Linda Lavin as Alice and Tayback reprising his role as Mel. Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Diane Ladd as Flo) and Best Original Screenplay, this won Best Actress for Burstyn.

Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by Scorsese, Burstyn, Ladd, Lutter, and co-stars Kris Kristofferson and Jodie Foster; a making-of piece; and an interview with Burstyn.

Movie: ★★★

BONNIE SCOTLAND (1935). This Laurel and Hardy feature finds the pair arriving in Scotland so Stan can claim an inheritance from a wealthy relative; alas, all he receives are bagpipes and a snuff box. After living in squalor for a short period at a local boarding house, the boys accidentally enlist in the army and are shipped off to India, where more mayhem ensues. The first half is the stronger section, with no shortage of hilarious bits (particularly the bridge scene and the sequence in which they attempt to cook a fish); the second half, after Stan and Ollie land in India, gets bogged down with its focus on dull secondary characters and a storyline involving palace intrigue that fails to intrigue. Still, even this stretch finds the duo mining laughs when possible, particularly during a litter-picking assignment.

Blu-ray extras consist of audio commentary by film historians and L&H aficionados Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann; excerpts of scenes featuring Laurel and Hardy from two all-star romps, 1934’s Hollywood Party and 1937’s Pick a Star; and the theatrical trailer.

Movie: ★★★

DEEP WATER (2026). Director Renny Harlin already showcased a shark in 1999’s Deep Blue Sea, but here he returns to focus on a number of those toothy terrors. Deep Water is an efficient thriller in which an airplane zooming from Los Angeles to Shanghai ends up crashing in the ocean, and it’s all the fault of the token schlub. The rude and crude Dan (Angus Sampson) improperly stores a battery pack in his luggage; once it’s in the cargo hold, it causes a fire that results in the plane’s plunge. The survivors are spread out amidst the flotsam, standing on anything that floats — their dire predicament becomes, well, even more dire once sharks line up as if at a buffet. Aaron Eckhart stars as the co-pilot taking control of the situation, with Ben Kingsley appearing as the flight captain. The film showcases some harrowing situations and offers a measure of emotional investment when it comes to the fates of several characters — naturally, the sharks are the heavies, although all will cheer when they finally decide to make Dan their din-din.

There are no Blu-ray extras.

Movie: ★★★

FROM SCREEN TO STREAM

THE BIG TRAIL (1930). After several years of bit parts, John Wayne landed the lead in The Big Trail, and while the film led to a string of top-billed roles in forgettable Westerns, it wasn’t until John Ford’s 1939 Stagecoach that The Duke became a bona fide movie star. In this early talkie, Wayne is noticeably awkward with his line readings, but he already displays a commanding screen presence and easy rapport with the camera. The story — about the members of a wagon train battling Native Americans, criminals, and the elements as they make their way westward –— is merely perfunctory, but director Raoul Walsh (Captain Horatio Hornblower) films the outdoors in all its majestic splendor, and the film was simultaneously shot for U.S. audiences in a standard 35mm print as well as in an expensive 70mm widescreen process known as Grandeur (both versions are readily available). In addition, the movie was also filmed at the same time with different actors in German, Spanish, and French!

Movie: ★★★

THE GIRL CAN’T HELP IT (1956) / WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER? (1957) / THE SHERIFF OF FRACTURED JAW (1958). The popularity of Jayne Mansfield — the blonde bombshell who occupied the level below Marilyn Monroe but far above Mamie Van Doren — is pretty much based on her appearance in only two motion pictures. Yet she made at least one other film that qualifies as quality entertainment (as opposed to disreputable entertainment like The Loves of Hercules and The Las Vegas Hillbillys), arriving soon after the two films that established her legend.

The Girl Can’t Help It (1956) was instantly popular in its day, but over the decades it’s developed a reputation more as a cult classic than a commercial hit. That’s largely due to three reasons: the iconolatry of Mansfield; the risqué visual gags by director Frank Tashlin, a former cartoon animator-director; and the jaw-dropping collection of rock & rollers all gathered in one place. The plot is the least interesting aspect of the film: A former mob boss (Edmond O’Brien) hires a press agent (Tom Ewell) to turn his girlfriend (Mansfield) into a celebrity. What endures are the barrage of jokes built around Mansfield’s formidable form — this includes the notorious scene in which a milk bottle blows its lid as Jayne walks by, gushing white liquid all over the place — and sizzling musical numbers by Little Richard, Fats Domino, the Platters, and many others.

Tashlin and Mansfield teamed again the following year for Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957), and while the film lacks the musical revolution encapsulated by its predecessor, it makes up for it with a funnier storyline. Tony Randall, a better comedian than Girl’s Tom Ewell, plays a TV commercial writer who’s mistakenly pegged as the latest boy-toy of pampered movie star Rita Marlowe (Mansfield); the ruse ends up working wonders for his career on Madison Avenue, a plot development that leads to a number of hilarious digs at both television and the executive lifestyle. Henry Jones (also in Girl) steals scenes as Randall’s coworker at the agency, while the film’s final minutes include a wonderful cameo by a surprise guest star.

Mansfield’s stay at the top was brief — the period between Girl/Success and her 1967 death in an automobile accident (at the age of 34) consisted mainly of being mishandled by Fox, dealing with family issues, and hitting the bottle — oh, yes, and turning down the role of Ginger in Gilligan’s Island. Yet for all its anonymity as one of her subsequent pictures, The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958) is actually a charming comedy with plenty of choice moments. As a saloon owner who has no problem taking care of herself, Mansfield plays second banana to British actor Kenneth More, cast as a prim Englishman who journeys to the American West and gets mistaken for a cold-blooded gunslinger.

The Girl Can’t Help It: ★★★

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?: ★★★½

The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw: ★★★

JCVD (2008). Like an unexpected kick to the head comes JCVD, which finds long-past-his-prime Jean-Claude Van Damme headlining a movie that was promoted as, uh, an art-house film? Indeed, JCVD has more in common with Charlie Kaufman than with Universal Soldier or Street Fighter, as the “Muscles from Brussels” plays himself as a wary Hollywood has-been ravaged by two decades of hard living. While in his Belgium homeland, he stops at a bank and finds himself embroiled in the middle of a robbery during which the three crooks have taken hostages. A mishap leads the outside world to believe that it’s Van Damme himself who’s robbing the bank, and as the police try to figure out how to best handle the situation, Jean-Claude does his best to protect the other hostages while simultaneously hoping to get the upper hand on the criminals. It all makes for a razor-sharp satire on the price of celebrity, and whether or not Van Damme’s lengthy monologue is sincere, it’s an impressive bit of emoting from a movie star who had always let his feet do his acting for him.

Movie: ★★★

THE LAKE HOUSE (2006). The Lake House finds Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock reuniting on screen after 12 years, but the end result clearly isn’t up to Speed. Two strangers who become pen pals come to the startling realization that they’re actually corresponding over the years — she’s writing and receiving his letters in 2006, he’s doing likewise in 2004 — and that the mailbox at the title property serves as the magic portal through which they’re able to communicate. The Lake House certainly has its heart in the right place, but the end result doesn’t even begin to inspire the requisite level of swoony romance. Director Alejandro Agresti is more interested in the film’s look than its substance, while David Auburn’s script is arid and uninvolving. As for the leads, Reeves acquits himself well enough by taking advantage of his scruffy appeal, but Bullock once again plays against her natural charisma by offering a dour, dull characterization. After about 20 minutes, you just wish somebody would tickle her.

Movie: ★½