AI

‘Companion’ Movie and 4K Review

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent, Tony Farinella.

Hollywood is famous for reflecting what is happening in our world, especially when it comes to current events.  Everywhere we turn these days, we hear about artificial intelligence.  As someone who owns Apple products, I can have my emails and text messages summarized and changed in order to sound friendly, professional, or concise. My incoming emails can also be summarized for me. While I think certain aspects of artificial intelligence can be useful or interesting, it is like most things in life: too much of a good thing can quickly turn into a bad thing.  “Companion,” directed by Drew Hancock, is the latest artificial intelligence film from Hollywood.

“Companion” opens up by introducing us to Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and Josh (Jack Quaid) who have a meet-cute in a grocery store where he knocks over oranges.  At first, they seem like your normal, everyday couple who meet, hit it off, and fall in love.  Iris informs the audience of two pivotal moments in her life: the day she met Josh and the day she killed him. Iris and Josh meet up with Josh’s friends, Patrick (Lukas Gage), Eli (Harvey Guillén), Kat (Megan Suri), and Sergey (Rupert Friend). Sergey has a beautiful home with an even better view, so they look forward to a weekend of friendship, booze, and good times.  However, it doesn’t take long for things to take a turn for the worse when Iris ends up killing Sergey.

After this unfolds, all hell breaks loose for the remaining five characters. Speaking of the characters, they are unlikable and one-note. “Companion” was a low-budget film, as it was made for $10 million and takes place in essentially one setting.  However, a low budget film isn’t an excuse for lazy writing or poor character development.  These are not interesting people to spend time with, unfortunately. Josh is an insecure manchild who plays the victim card. Kat is an ice queen. Eli and Patrick are a one-note gay couple. Sergey is just a boring pervert. There isn’t a lot of meat on the bones with these characters.

The film doesn’t offer a lot of new insights or opinions on the issue of artificial intelligence, control, or how we view and treat each other or robots. It is clear Josh is abusing his relationship with his robot Iris, but we have seen films in the past where the robots look for revenge on their human counterparts because the humans treat them in an inhumane fashion. The discussion about abuse of power has been done to death in films, and this film falls flat after a promising start. Maybe I’ve become jaded to these films, but what else can really be said about the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence?

When I think of a great film on the subject of artificial intelligence, I think of 2014’s “Ex Machina.” I also think of the 2019 remake of “Child’s Play” and 2022’s “M3GAN.” The groundwork has been laid for these films in the past, and I know we have seen robots and humans in the “Terminator” franchise. I could go back even further, but you get the picture. “Companion” feels like a gimmick, and when a movie is a gimmick without a proper story or well-written characters, it feels like we have been there, done that. Plus, the market is so oversaturated with these films at the moment.  If you can count on Hollywood for anything, it is to take a popular idea and run it into the ground.  I think they need to let this genre breathe for a while and return with a new take on the genre.

Even though I’m aware this review sounds incredibly negative, there are certain aspects of the film I did like. I thought it was beautifully shot and had a tremendous soundtrack filled with banger after banger. The performance from Sophie Thatcher was fantastic, as she appears very fragile and vulnerable but also bad-ass and tough. It runs a brisk 97 minutes and is not bad to watch, but it doesn’t break any new ground.  It’s an average movie that is inoffensive and forgettable but well made. You won’t hate yourself for having watched it, but you won’t remember much about it after it’s over.

* * out of * * * *

4K Info: “Companion” is released on a single 4K disc from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment.  It has a running time of 97 minutes and is rated R for strong violence, sexual content, and language throughout. There is a digital copy of the film included inside the 4K packaging.

4K Video Info: On 4K HDR, the film lends itself perfectly to the format with a striking and vibrant transfer.  A 2025 film like “Companion” stands out on 4K, as the picture quality is stunning.

4K Audio Info:  The Dolby Atmos track was top-notch throughout the course of the film, as I only had to adjust the volume twice when it was a little top heavy during a party scene. Subtitles are included in English, Spanish, and French.

Special Features:

I Feel, Therefore I Am

Love, Eli

AI Horror

Should You Buy It?

“Companion” is a film that doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to the subject of artificial intelligence in cinema, and it left me feeling underwhelmed and disappointed. When a film is low-budget, it needs to be high on ideas, but this one doesn’t have anything new to say about this subject matter.  The cast is full of likable actors, but their characters are one-dimensional and bland.  The kills are run-of-the-mill and ordinary.  There was clearly a lot of skill behind the camera, but this film needed a sharper screenplay to really set itself apart and allow it to stand out. The 4K with a slipcover offers a remarkable visual and audio experience, so if you did enjoy “Companion,” you will be happy with the presentation. You will also be pleased with the special features included here. For everyone else, I think you need to rent or stream the film first before you decide to add it to your collection. While the film has a high score on Rotten Tomatoes, it didn’t work for me.

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free.  The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.

‘The Terminator’ Movie and 4K Review

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent, Tony Farinella.

“The Terminator,” directed by James Cameron, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Because of this, Warner Brothers released the film on 4K for the very first time.  This has been one of the most anticipated 4K releases in years.  James Cameron released a number of his movies this year on 4K, including “Aliens,” “True Lies” and “The Abyss.”  Many YouTubers and physical media collectors have expressed mixed opinions on the transfers of these releases, and it has caused a lot of debate in the physical media community. Cameron himself has come out and expressed his frustration with their criticism and even suggested they move out of their parent’s basements.

As far as the film itself, “The Terminator” opens up by introducing the audience to a cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who has been sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to eliminate Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). To the untrained eye, he looks like a regular human being with his flesh, his ability to talk, and his ability to enter a room without really drawing a lot of attention to himself. Standing in the Terminator’s way is a soldier by the name of Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn).  He’s also from the future, and he has one job and one job only, which is to protect Sarah.  The Terminator’s job is to stop at nothing to eliminate Sarah because her unborn son, John Connor, is going to be the one to attempt to stop the machines from taking over after a war in the future begins.

The battle between humans and machines is one we are still battling in today’s world, especially with the introduction of artificial intelligence.  Will machines become so powerful that humans will be rendered useless and unnecessary? Cameron was way ahead of himself with 1984’s “The Terminator.”  This is a movie with big ideas and big characters.  Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator is fantastic with his movements, his screen presence, and his aura.  Whenever he is on screen, you are completely captivated by him as an audience member to where you can’t keep your eyes off him.  Linda Hamilton is terrific at walking that tightrope to where she’s seen as tough but also a little vulnerable.  Michael Biehn also turns in a stellar performance as Kyle Reese.  It’s a hard role to pull off, as Kyle needs to talk about the future in a way that will not only convince Sarah he’s telling the truth but also win over the audience.

I might be in the minority on this one, but my one issue with “The Terminator” is the love story between Sarah and Kyle.  It is why I can’t give the film a perfect rating, even though I absolutely love it.  The love story feels unnecessary when all of this is going on in Sarah’s world.  In a film where I was able to suspend my disbelief for almost its entire running time, the romance came completely out of left field for me.  Besides that, there is a lot to like about this film.  It has a ton of great supporting work from actors such as Lance Henriksen, Paul Winfield, Dick Miller, and Earl Boen. Los Angeles is a character in this film, especially late at night. In many ways, “The Terminator” felt like Michael Mann directed a sci-fi thriller.  It’s a moody and dark film with an underbelly of seediness and gloom and doom.

I also felt as though “The Terminator” had a sense of humor about itself without being too jokey.  When the Terminator himself encounters some street punks while he’s naked, it allows Cameron to have a little fun with his premise.  He is wise to not make the film too silly or goofy, however, as then it would be a completely different film altogether.  The comedic moments come more from the way people react to the Terminator and how he reacts to them.  Because he is so laser focused on killing Sarah Connor, he doesn’t have time for pleasantries.  He is a man on a mission and will eliminate anyone and anything in his way.  This film is able to feel like a big budget Hollywood blockbuster and a gritty, down and dirty independent film at the same time.  It was made for $6.4 million, but it looks top-notch and has a sense of danger to it as well.  “The Terminator” is an almost perfect film.

* * * ½ out of * * * *

4K Info: “The Terminator” is released on a single-disc 4K from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment.  It comes with a digital copy of the film as well. The film has a running time of 107 minutes and is rated R for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence throughout, some sexuality/nudity, and strong language. You can get this film either with a 4K slipcover or a 4K steelbook.

4K Video Info:  Warner Brothers released this film on Dolby Vision HDR. It is a clean-looking transfer that doesn’t take any chances and doesn’t really need to when you consider its original source material. I thought the majority of the film looked impressive and it had a very cinematic feel to it. I don’t think there are too many things you can find wrong with this 4K video transfer.

4K Audio Info: The Dolby Atmos track is really good here.  This is a film filled with a lot of action, explosions and big moments.  Those scenes sound impressive and make for a good at-home theater experience. It wasn’t too loud or boisterous, but it made its presence known. Subtitles are included in English, Spanish and French.

Special Features:

Deleted Scenes with Optional James Cameron Commentary

Creating the Terminator: Visual Effects & Music

The Terminator: Closer to the Real Thing

Unstoppable Force: The Legacy of the Terminator

Should You Buy It?

This is one of the greatest sci-fi/action films of all time, despite my issues with the love story between Sarah and Kyle.  It comes with a stand-out 4K transfer which includes Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.  This is the best “The Terminator” has looked, and it looks much better than the failed “Terminator 2” 4K release from Lionsgate a few years back.  It seems like they have found a happy medium when it comes to James Cameron and his 4K transfers.  They know how to make the most out of the 4K format without changing it too much to where you don’t recognize the film you love. Much like the prior Blu-ray release, the special features are lacking, which is a disappointment. Overall, though, if you love movies, you have to have “The Terminator” on 4K in your collection.  It is a must-own, whether you get the 4K slipcover or the 4K steelbook.   It’s a revolutionary film that holds up incredibly well on repeat viewings.  This one comes highly recommended.

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free.  The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.