Movie Review

‘Pale Rider’ Movie and 4K Review

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

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

Clint Eastwood is synonymous with the Hollywood western in American cinema. For my money, the westerns of Eastwood are far superior than those of John Wayne. There is a subtlety and nuance to his films and his performances. While not all of them are Hollywood classics, they are a great example of old-school craftsmanship, especially when he’s behind the camera.  He is behind the camera for “Pale Rider,” which is celebrating its 40th anniversary with this 4K release.  It is a film I have not seen before, but after watching it for the first time, I fell in love with it immediately.

Our film is set in LaHood, California in Carbon Canyon, which is being run by an malevolent banker and a crooked marshal. The banker is named Coy LaHood, played by Richard Dysart. Since he doesn’t have the legal rights to kick the miners out of their homes, he uses violence and intimidation in an attempt to gain complete control of the land. This doesn’t sit right with Hull Barret, played by Michael Moriarty, as he’s trying to take care of his fiancée Sarah (Carrie Snodgress) and her daughter Megan (Sydney Penny). However, he’s finding little to no support in his battle against LaHood.

Megan’s prayers for peace are answered by a man known as the Preacher, played by Eastwood. He’s a mysterious and shadowy figure who shows up to save Hull after he’s attacked by four of LaHood’s men. Megan was having a hard time seeing the silver lining in much of anything after her father left, her grandfather passed away, and her dog was killed.  LaHood has brought nothing but mayhem and destruction to Carbon Canyon.  The Preacher, however, is not only giving Megan hope, but he’s also giving hope and faith to everyone in Carbon Canyon. They are not going to be kicked out of their homes, and they will not be bought off.

Westerns are often hit or miss with me as a film critic. When they are done with interesting characters, beautiful cinematography and focus on the quiet introspective moments, they connect with me and I’m completely absorbed.  One of my favorite Westerns of all time is “Unforgiven,” which was also directed by Eastwood. It deals with the aftermath of the violence and the effect it has on those who have inflicted it on others. “Pale Rider” is about the people of Carbon Canyon and how they are trying to exist, survive, and live while under the thumb of LaHood.   Eastwood, in many ways, is a supporting character in his own film.  I imagine this was by design. When he does appear on screen, everything he does is thoughtful and understated. He has a terrific scene with Sydney Penny where he describes why they can’t be together romantically. It’s delicate and, in the hands of any other filmmaker, it would have been awkward and out of place.

It all leads to the big shootout between the Preacher and LaHood’s men along with Stockburn, the Marshal, played by John Russell.  The shootout scene is impactful because Eastwood is a patient director and he takes his time in building up to the grand finale.  At the end of the day, movies are simple—introduce us to characters we are invested in, set the stage, let the actors do their work, and get out of the way. Eastwood is one of the best in the business at doing that as a director, which is one of many reasons why he’s a Hollywood legend.

I’d also like to mention the work of Chris Penn in the film as LaHood’s son, Josh. Even though Sean Penn is more well-known and established as an actor, his brother Chris was a terrific character actor who really knew how to play a slimy and underhanded villain. I’ve always been a big fan of his work.  Michael Moriarty plays a good man who is trying to do the right thing while simultaneously trying to maintain his manhood at the same time.  In many ways, even though Eastwood receives top billing, he’s the lead in the film when it comes to screen time. Carrie Snodgress and Sydney Penny bring vulnerability, strength, and warmth to their performances. This is a terrific cast.

From start to finish, I was utterly engrossed in “Pale Rider,” and I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. There is a sense of mystery surrounding the Preacher character, and it is what keeps the story moving in a unique and captivating way.  I like to be kept on my toes. Overall, this is the kind of movie I love as a moviegoer.  The acting, from top-to-bottom, is phenomenal, the scenery is gorgeous, and the story is simple yet powerful. This is another in a long line of classic films from the great Clint Eastwood. The great thing about his filmography is there are still films of his I haven’t seen. He’s the gift that keeps on giving.

* * * ½ out of * * * *

4K Info: “Pale Rider” is being released on a single disc 4K from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. The release comes with a beautiful slipcover and a digital copy as well.  There is a steelbook version of the film available for purchase if you are interested in steelbooks over slipcovers. I prefer slipcovers myself. The film has a running time of 116 minutes and is rated R.

4K Video Info: “Pale Rider” comes with a jaw-dropping 4K HDR transfer. The film looks magnificent. Westerns, in particular, are always a welcome addition to 4K.  The landscapes are enthralling to look at and the colors are lively and vivid.

4K Audio Info: The Dolby Atmos track is out of this world as it is peaceful during the quieter moments in the film but it comes to life during the action sequences. Subtitles are included in English, Spanish and French.

Special Features:

The Diary of Sydney Penny: Lessons from the Set – NEW

Painting the Preacher: Bruce Surtees and Pale Rider – NEW

Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy – Reinventing Westerns

Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story

The Eastwood Factor

Should You Buy It?

HELL YES! “Pale Rider” is a great film.  It was almost a perfect film, and I was very close to giving it four stars. In the end, I decided to give it three and a half stars, but when it comes to owning the 4K, it’s a no brainer.  There are also new special features on this disc! So many physical media collectors often complain about the lack of new special features, but there are two new special features on this 4K disc. In total, there are over three hours of special features here! Clint Eastwood and Warner Brothers have a special relationship, and this is one of their finest films.  The audio and visual aspects of the 4K are magnificent.  This is one of my favorite 4K releases of 2025 so far, and I can’t wait to watch “Dirty Harry” and “The Outlaw Josey Wales” on 4K from Warner Brothers. They hit a home run with this release, and you owe it to yourself to add this film to your collection. 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.

‘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.

Spike Jonze’s ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ Deserves Another Look

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

Back when I saw it in 2009, Spike Jonze’s take on Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are” proved to be one of the few movies which I felt really dealt with real kids instead of the cliched ones which inhabit far too many motion pictures. Here, we get a young boy who has quite a vivid imagination which he retreats to when the real world becomes too scary to deal with, and who comes from a broken family where the father is not present. It was nice to see kids, one in particular, treated as intelligent and capable of learning more than they knew, and it combines them with things which are real, imaginary and, of course, wild.

The kid here is Max, and he is played by Max Records in one of the best performances I have seen from a child actor. Seeing him build an igloo out of a snow pile or making a spaceship in his bedroom with his stuffed animals as willing passengers brought back great memories from when I was a kid. But reality rears its ugly head when other kids thoughtlessly destroy his igloo, not thinking of what it meant to him. Then we see him in elementary school as his teacher explains how the sun will die one day. This is one of the funnier moments as the teacher just can’t stop talking about all the different ways our planet will die. Granted, this won’t happen for another billion years, but when you’re a kid, this can feel like it is just around the corner.

Everything comes to a head as Max becomes very resentful of his mother (the always terrific Catherine Keener) when she brings home a new boyfriend (played by Mark Ruffalo). The bond Max shares with his mother is very strong, but when he is no longer the center of her attention, he rebels and ends up biting her on the shoulder. Horrified at what he did, Max runs away from home and sails to a distant island where he does indeed come across the Wild Things of the title, and this is where the rumpus truly begins…

The Wild Things are a combination of puppetry and CGI effects, and it makes them all the more real as a result. The visual effects are used to give them facial expressions which vividly captures their happiness and sadness. As a result, it never ever felt like I was just watching a whole bunch of special effects. It really felt like I was watching creatures I could actually interact with.

Of all the monsters, the one with the most recognizable voice is the late great James Gandolfini who plays the most prominent Wild Thing, Carol. We first see Carol destroying some dwellings he had just built. For Max, breaking things has a wonderment to it, and Carol links on to this with the upmost enthusiasm. Gandolfini is wonderful, and at times truly heartbreaking as he takes Carol from utterly enthusiastic highs to downright angry lows. This is not him doing Tony Soprano as if he was all covered with fur. Also, Carol’s last scene is one which really choked me up, and Gandolfini sells it for all it is worth.

Among the other voices are Catherine O’Hara’s, and she plays Judith, the one monster who is very mistrusting of Max. Paul Dano plays the ever so sensitive Alexander, and he captures the painfully shy nature of this monster in a very truthful way. Forest Whitaker portrays Ira, and I barely recognized his voice here which is pretty impressive. Lauren Ambrose voices KW, and the moments she shares with Max form some of the movie’s best moments.

You know the saying of how we have met the monster, and the monster is us? Well, that is very much the case here. The Wild Things clearly represent the different parts of Max’s personality, and he soon comes to see himself in all of them. As a result, Max manages to see things a little more clearly in relation to his own family, and especially his mother. By becoming the monsters’ king, he realizes he has become much like his mother.

I really mean it when I say Records gives one of the best child actor performances I have ever seen. The whole movie really rests on his shoulders, and that is a lot to put an 11-year-old through. Jonze really lucked out getting him to play this part as the young actor makes his character’s transition from being just a kid to someone who is more mature and understanding very believable, and this really shows in the movie’s last half.

Jonze shot a good portion of the action with handheld cameras to give the proceedings more of an immediacy, and he thankfully does not overdo it. Some filmmakers fail to reign this camerawork in a lot of times to where it is hard not to feel sea sick. This was only his third movie as a director, following the creative triumphs of “Being John Malkovich” and “Adaptation,” and his directorial vision remains a very original one.

“Where The Wild Things Are” was originally supposed to be released in 2008, but Warner Brothers had considered reshooting the whole thing. It turned out Jonze’s vision was a lot darker than they expected it to be for something they thought would be an average family movie. The fact that Jonze’s take on this classic children’s book did make it to the silver screen and was not buried in a deep dark dungeon like “Batgirl” feels like a miracle. While it was not the box office hit the studio hoped it would be, it continues to have a long shelf life.

It also has a wonderful soundtrack done by Karen O and the Kids. It’s one of those soundtracks which has really great songs which are never easily forgotten, and it adds vividly to the strong emotions generated throughout.

Is this movie appropriate for kids? Well, it depends. If they are 6 years or younger, you may want to see it before they do. I was sitting near a boy and his mother, and the boy did get a little freaked out at times. Still, it is nowhere as traumatic as “Watership Down” or “The Neverending Story” was. If your kid can handle “Bambi,” they can handle this one as well.

One of my favorite scenes comes when Max and the monsters are jumping all over the forest, and Carol was creating big dust clouds when he landed. This all leads to a wonderfully heartwarming moment where the wild things pile on top of each other and fall asleep. Seeing Max befriend the somewhat alienated KW is especially great because their individual differences just evaporate at that point. These are two who can relate and sympathize with one another as they both come from worlds where they feel like outcasts.

If there is one weakness to be found here, it is that the plot does not always hold together. There are some moments which drag, and it takes a bit for the pace to recover. Then again, this movie is based upon a book that is only ten sentences long. The fact Jonze and co-writer Dave Eggers were able to craft a story for a feature length movie out of it is pretty amazing. But when you read or re-read the book, I think you will find that there is more to it than its simplicity of story might imply.

There was a bookstore next to the theater I saw the film at, and I dashed in there to read the book. I can’t even remember the last time I read this Caldecott award winner, and there is a lot of different ways you can look at it. You can see it as a story of how kids do not easily separate from their parents, and of how the further away from home they get, the more they realize the importance of a home. Or maybe you will see it as a story of the one person who becomes king and gets what he wants, but then finds it deeply unfulfilling and bereft of love and family which we largely thrive upon.

I think Jonze saw “Where the Wild Things Are” as a story which clearly take in a child’s point of view. Just about everything in this movie made me feel like I a child again, and of how we become shaped by the things which make us happy and sad. It is not meant to break down the imaginary worlds we create for ourselves, but of how they can make us understand the world around us and the people who figure most prominently in our lives better. Max comes to see why his mother treated him the way he did, and he grows up a lot quicker than most others his age do in the process.

For me, this film was something of a godsend when I first watched it. We see kids treated like real kids, and there is a wealth of genuine imagination and emotions throughout. While it doesn’t always hold together, it is a much more accomplished film than many others which get passed off as “family entertainment.” Too many movies then and now are dumbed down for audiences, and they often don’t treat children like the intelligent creatures they can be,

Indeed, no one could have brought this classic book to the silver screen the way Jonze did. And after all these years, it is definitely worth another look.

* * * ½ out of * * * *

‘Blazing Saddles’ Movie and 4K Review

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

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

When it comes to comedy, it’s all a matter of opinion. Comedy, even more than film criticism, is subjective.  For example, I’m not an Adam Sandler fan and I find his films terribly unfunny, but there is a reason why his films keep getting released by studios. There is really no right or wrong when it comes to comedy.  With “Blazing Saddles,” I heard all of the praise surrounding it and how some critics considered it one of the funniest films of all time.  While watching the film for the first time, I understood what they were going for and what they were looking to achieve.  It wasn’t as though the film went over my head or I didn’t understand the style of comedy they were putting on screen.  I just never laughed.

My first issue with “Blazing Saddles” was its lack of plot.  It seems this is mostly a movie filled with random gags and one-liners that are intended to make the audience laugh.  They throw everything but the kitchen sink at us. It must be said the film is filled with the N-word along with other racial and homophobic slurs.  I understand this film was made in 1974, which was fifty years ago, but it’s still uncomfortable to watch.  The film is not funny and the jokes don’t land.  There is a way to be offensive and also be funny, but this movie did not accomplish that goal.  With comedy, you can go almost anywhere if you know what you’re doing.  We have seen films that pushed the comedic envelope in the past, but they have been done in a smart and clever way.  This is just flat-out lazy.

The plot involves a railroad being built through the town of Rock Ridge, a railroad that will make a corrupt politician a lot of money if he is able to force the residents out of their town. One way he is hoping to do this is by having a black sheriff named Bart (Cleavon Little) come in and make some of the local residents uncomfortable. The sheriff is called Black Bart.  Subtlety is not this film’s strong suit.  Bart’s deputy is played by Gene Wilder. Even though they are hoping to get the locals out of Rock Ridge, they end up staying and fighting for their town. Bart must also deal with Lili Von Shtüpp, played by Madeline Kahn, who is looking to find a way to sink her teeth into him.

“Blazing Saddles” features performances from Mel Brooks, Alex Karras and Richard Collier, to name a few.  However, no one can save this movie from its awful screenplay and bad jokes.  It is unwatchable from start-to-finish.  It took every ounce of strength in my body to not only watch this movie, but to finish watching it.  I absolutely hated it in a way I haven’t hated a movie in a very long time. I understand they were trying to make a film that would be a satire on Westerns and how certain demographics view African Americans. It shows how they are exploiting African Americans because the money men are only focused on the bottom line. I know what the message was and what they were trying to do in this film. I just didn’t find it funny.

In the end, “Blazing Saddles” is considered a comedy classic and one of the funniest films of all-time.  I wouldn’t be doing this film any justice if I didn’t acknowledge its reputation and its three Oscar nominations.  It has clearly reasoned with a lot of people.  With this being its 50th anniversary, I know a lot of people are very excited about this 4K release. One of the worst things you can do as a critic is to say a movie should not be watched by anyone, and if anyone likes this movie, they are a moron.  I would never dream of doing that.  I acknowledge the reputation of “Blazing Saddles,” but I simply shrug my shoulders and say, “This was not, at all, my kind of comedy.”  As stated previously, comedy is subjective. If you love the film, you will love the 4K.

ZERO out of * * * *

4K Info: “Blazing Saddles” is released on a single 4K disc from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. It also comes with a digital copy of the film.  It has a running time of 93 minutes and is rated R. You can purchase either the 4K slipcover or the 4K steelbook.

4K Video: The 4K HDR transfer from Warner Brothers is fantastic and looks terrific.  Westerns, when done right, can look great on 4K. This is a visual feast for the eyes, and I imagine fans of the film will be quite pleased with this 4K transfer.

4K Audio: The Dolby Atmos track is also right on cue, as it’s a strong audio mix throughout the film that hits all the right notes.

Special Features:

Inappropriate Inspiration: The Blazing Saddles Effect

Scene-Specific Commentary by Mel Brooks

Blaze of Glory: Mel Brooks’ Wild, Wild West

Back in the Saddle

Additional Scenes

Should You Buy It?

I imagine some readers might call me too sensitive or say the film went over my head. I’m a huge fan of standup comedy, and I believe just about anything in the world is fodder for comedy when it’s done right. I understood exactly what Mel Brooks was going for in this movie, and I know that one of its writers was Richard Pryor.  It is my job to give my honest assessment of this film, and I thought it was painfully unfunny and wanted to turn it off after twenty minutes.  Because I was reviewing it, I felt obligated to watch the entire film. If this style of comedy is not for you, you won’t find a whole lot to laugh about in “Blazing Saddles.” If you enjoy the film and it fits into your comedic sensibilities, you will be very happy with it.  This is another top-notch 4K release from Warner Brothers.  They are doing a great job with releasing 4K’s from their massive library.  Overall, if you loved this film, buy it. If you haven’t seen it before, I’d recommend watching it and seeing how you respond to it.

**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.

‘Unhinged’ is Not Unhinged Enough

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

“Unhinged” was one of the first movies to be released in theaters near the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. This may very well be its biggest claim to fame as what results is an action thriller which is never boring, but hints at a motion picture which could have been so much better than it is. As much as I want to look at a movie for what it is as opposed to what I want it to be, this one has me inescapably thinking of what could have been improved with the material. Seriously, this could have been an epic thriller which stood proudly alongside Steven Spielberg’s “Duel” and “The Hitcher” (the original, not the terrible Platinum Dunes remake), but no such luck.

We are introduced to Tom Cooper (Russell Crowe) who, as “Unhinged” begins, breaks into his ex-wife’s house, murders her and her boyfriend who has the bad luck of sleeping at her place on this particular evening. These actions are preceded by Tom holding a lit match in his fingers and letting it burn right down to the tip of his skin. I kept waiting for him to flinch, but he never does. Clearly, he has already reached his D-FEN’s “Falling Down” moment, and it is all downhill for him from there.

We then meet Rachel Flynn (Caren Pistorius), a recent divorcee who, like me, sleeps in a lot later than they should. This particular morning, she is supposed to be meeting with a client, driving her son Kyle (Gabriel Bateman) to school, and figuring out what to do with her brother Fred (Austin P. McKenzie) and his girlfriend Mary (Juliene Joyner) who have taken up residence in her house due to their unfortunate financial circumstances. On top of all of this, one of Rachel’s clients coldly fires her while she drives her son to school. Clearly, she is already having a very bad day and is understandably pissed.

Then Rachel ends up behind Tom in his truck, and she becomes irate when he is not quick to step on the gas before the light turns red. She ends up passing him, more or less flips him off, and when he asks her for an apology in an effort to smooth things out, she is dismissive as she sees his problems as being no more or less important than anyone else’s. From there, Tom becomes determined to show her what it is to have a very bad day. This reminded me of when Robert De Niro told Nick Nolte that he would teach him the meaning of commitment in Martin Scorsese’s remake of “Cape Fear,” and we all came to see how vicious De Niro’s intentions were.

The first thing I should point out about “Unhinged” is Russell Crowe’s performance as Tom Cooper. The material might seem beneath him as this is the same actor who gave such epic performances in “Gladiator,” “A Beautiful Mind” and “Cinderella Man,” but he helps to give Tom a little more dimension than the screenplay might imply. Crowe helps to make Tom’s psychotic behavior all the more frightening than it might be if it were another actor taking on this role. It also helps that Crowe is playing a man who is prepared to commit suicide by cop as he has nothing left to lose, and this makes him all the more frightening as a result.

Playing Tom Cooper’s unfortunate victim is Caren Pistorius. I am not familiar with her work, but she made a breakthrough with her performance in “Slow West” in which she co-starred with Michael Fassbender and Kodi Smith-McPhee, and she appeared in Derek Cianfrance’s “Light Between Oceans.” She was also born in South Africa and raised in New Zealand, and this makes her American accent all the more impressive.

Pistorius makes Rachel Flynn into the type of protagonist you quickly come to care for. Rachel is not perfect (who is by the way?), but we root for her because the actress makes her into an everyone we have to recognize in our own lives. Like her, we would flip off any driver who would never be quick to step on the gas once the light turns green to where it is like an automatic impulse, but we don’t expect said drivers to come after us with a murderous vengeance. Watching Rachel deal with Tom’s murderous advances makes the furious emotions on display all the more brutal.

Having said all of this, “Unhinged” still has a lot of problems. Among them is that there are many plot holes throughout. Whether or not I could quickly identify these holes is not important. What is important is that I could tell they existed as much as the great white shark’s unrealistic roar of pain came about in “Jaws: The Revenge.” I mean, seriously, how does Tom get to learn about Rachel’s life through her cell phone ever so quickly?

Plus, there are many things which are telegraphed throughout like a cell phone being left in an individual’s car which you know will get stolen, and a pair of scissors which figure prominently in the climactic battle to where you wonder where in Tom’s body they will end up. Just when I thought “Unhinged” would subvert the cliches a movie like this is expected to have, it falls victim to them in ways which just kill the tension and the plausibility.

I recently came across an article on The Guardian website regarding Robert Harmon’s “The Hitcher” in which Rutger Hauer, who played the murderous psychopath John Ryder, stated that he didn’t play bad guys. This made Hauer’s performance in that film all the more fascinating to me, and it also made me want to believe Crowe had the same intentions when it came to him portraying Tom Cooper. But in the end, “Unhinged” blows a lot of opportunities to make it stand out from so many thrillers like it, and it will not last long in the memory after you have watched it.

* * out of * * * *

‘Ocean’s Trilogy’ Review and 4K Review

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

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

When you think of the “Ocean’s Trilogy,” you think of big movie stars, high stakes, and witty banter. These are individuals known for being con-artists and having a certain set of skills, but they bring an element of fun to the proceedings. They are interesting, layered, and unique.  These are not your bargain basement crooks and thieves. These films are also aided by the direction of the stellar Steven Soderbergh. He makes everything pop and sizzle on screen. He knows how to add just the right amount of style to these films without taking away from his ensemble cast.  The beauty of a Soderbergh film is the fact he can dabble in a number of genres and make a film successful both commercially and financially. He’s not just pigeonholing himself into one type of film.  He can do an independent film that gets people talking or he can do blockbuster films like the “Ocean’s Trilogy.”

Let’s start with “Ocean’s Eleven,” which is, of course, a remake of the 1960 film starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. I don’t think it is fair to compare these two films as they are forty years apart, but I will say that both are entertaining and sleek in their own ways. Remakes in general tend to get a bad rap, but when they are done with the right people involved and the right mindset, they can really deliver the goods.  It’s about taking an idea and making it your own without copying from the original source material.  This is not always easy to accomplish, but they did that with “Ocean’s Eleven” in 2001.

The charming George Clooney stars as Danny Ocean, a professional thief who has recently been released from prison. Even though he served time, he’s on the lookout for his next big caper.  Once he gets involved with the thrill of the chase and the risk and reward that comes with it, it’s hard to turn it down or live a normal lifestyle after that. He meets up with an old partner named Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), and they are looking to hit up Las Vegas for their next big heist. When it comes to a heist like this, money is important. They end up securing the money from Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), and their plan is to rob three casinos in Las Vegas, which are owned by Tishkoff’s rival. The stakes are high, at $160 million, so they need to make sure they are on their A-game.

In order for Danny and Rusty to pull this off, they will need to assemble the right team. They enlist the help of Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle), Livingston Dell (Eddie Jemison), Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon), Frank Catton (Bernie Mac), and Virgil and Turk Malloy (Casey Affleck and Scott Caan). Every one of them brings something unique and special to the table. Julia Roberts also shows up as the Danny Ocean’s ex-wife, Tess, and she has a bone to pick with Danny. Andy Garcia is in the film as well as Terry Benedict, the owner of the three casinos they are trying to rip off in the film.

“Ocean’s Eleven” Cast Bernie Mac, Casey Affleck, Li Dian Feng, Scott Caan, George Clooney ,Brad Pitt ,Matt Damon, Elliott Gould, Don Cheadle, Edward Jemison and Carl Reiner © 2001 Warner Bros. Photo by Sid Avery

For my money, “Ocean’s Eleven” is the best of the three films.  The pacing is terrific, and there is never a dull moment in the film.  Even though there are a lot of moving pieces, it never feels like the movie is overstuffed, boring or too long as it moves at a brisk pace.  Also, when you have top-notch actors and actresses together, you know you are going to get some great performances.  A big part of the fun of these films is seeing these Hollywood legends go toe-to-toe with one another.

Moving onto “Ocean’s Twelve,” which came out in 2004, I don’t want to go into too much detail on this film just in case you are watching this trilogy in order for the first time.  I will say I found it to be a little bit more of a slog to sit through and a bit of a letdown after “Ocean’s Eleven.” It was merely an OK film.  It was successful at the box office, but I didn’t find the story as engaging this time around.  Of course, the characters are still entertaining and fun to spend time with, but since there isn’t a great story or plot to drive them, they quickly run out of steam here.  It ends up being one of those films where the cast had a lot more fun making it than we had watching it.

 In 2007, they came back with “Ocean’s Thirteen” which introduced Al Pacino to the proceedings and was once again directed by Soderbergh. Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones are missing here, which makes this film feel a bit off in regards to the female-male ratio.  Roberts, especially, was such a big part of the first film, and Zeta-Jones was also very charming and lit up the screen in “Ocean’s Twelve.”

“Ocean’s Thirteen,” however, is a nice return to form after the lackluster and underwhelming “Ocean’s Twelve.” It’s almost as if Soderbergh sat down and realized what was missing from the last film and made sure to make up for those mistakes this time around.  The addition of Al Pacino to the mix is also a juicy twist as well.  What I enjoyed most about “Ocean’s Thirteen” is how it brought back the fun factor from the first film. “Ocean’s Twelve” was an entertaining film at times, but it was also a lazy one as well.  This time, they work on making sure the fun is included along with a story that can hold its own in the process. 

When these films work best in this franchise, it is when they realize we are just as interested in the story as we are in the characters.  They go hand-in-hand. They play off each other in a sense.  We love to see the characters in action and find out all of the twists and turns along the way.  It was clear they put time, effort and brains into the first and third films. They lost their way a little in “Ocean’s Twelve,” which feels like a sequel they didn’t put a ton of thought into.

“Ocean’s Eleven” – * * * ½ out of * * * *

“Ocean’s Twelve” – * * out of * * * *

“Ocean’s Thirteen” – * * * out of * * * *

4K Info:  The “Ocean’s Trilogy” is released on a three-disc 4K set from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment.  This set only includes the 4K discs, so if you are looking for Blu-rays and 4Ks together, you will not find them here. According to the press release, the 4K remasters of “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Ocean’s Twelve” and “Ocean’s Thirteen” were completed at Warner Brothers Discovery’s Motion Picture Imaging (MPI) with the participation of Soderbergh. All of the films are rated PG-13, and their respective running times are 116 minutes, 125 minutes and 122 minutes.  There is also a digital copy for each film which allows you to own all three copies of the trilogy.  Subtitles are included in English, Spanish, and French.

Video Info:  I really like the look of these movies on 4K.  Having previously seen “Contagion” on 4K, also from Soderbergh, I’m happy to report this is another fantastic looking 4K set.  Its color is vivid, bright and filled with a lot of life.  It’s also dark and mysterious when things turn up a notch. All three of the films look great on 4K.

 Audio Info: There is a lot of talking in these films as they are going over plans and information, and the dialogue comes in crystal clear on all three films.  The soundtrack is just right in covering the dialogue, music and background noise without being too distracting. It captures the essence of each film.

Special Features:

“Ocean’s Eleven”

• Commentary by Steven Soderbergh and Ted Griffin

• Commentary by Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Andy Garcia

• Are You In or Out? The Making of Ocean’s Eleven

• Pros & Cons: Inside Ocean’s Outfit

• The Style of Steal

• The Look of the Con

• Original Ocean’s, Original Cool

“Ocean’s Twelve”

• Commentary by Steven Soderbergh and George Nolfi

• Ready, Jet Set, Go: The Making of Ocean’s Twelve

• HBO First Look: Twelve Is the New Eleven: The Making of Ocean’s Twelve

• Deleted Scenes

“Ocean’s Thirteen”

• Commentary by Steven Soderbergh, Brian Koppelman and David Levien

• Third’s a Charm: The Making of Ocean’s Thirteen

• Ahab with a Piggyback: The Means & Machines of Ocean’s

• Jerry Weintraub Walk and Talk

• Masters of the Heist

• Deleted Scenes

Should You Buy It?

I’m seeing this set go for about $55 right now online, which is a really good price. That’s a little less than $20 for each 4K.  If you enjoy a good movie collection, this one is definitely recommended.  You get all of the old special features included here along with updated 4K transfers on these films as well.  These are 4K transfers where it is clear they put a lot of care and effort into them. They didn’t just throw them together.  If you enjoy heist movies with great casts, you really can’t go wrong with this trilogy.  I’d recommend you go out and buy this set right now at its current price. You can make a weekend out of watching all three films and really enjoy yourself.

**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.

‘American Sniper’ Movie and 4K Review

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

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

Out of all the films I watched in 2014, “American Sniper” was the one which hit me the hardest.  I had never seen a film like it before, and I was surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did, considering I’m not a huge fan of war films. This is much more than a war film, though.  It’s a personal story, and this part of the film resonated with me much more than any shootings. Although there is one particular shooting that made me wince, Chris Kyle was only doing what he was trained to do as a Navy Seal.

Bradley Cooper stars as Chris Kyle in one of the best performances of his career.  Not only did he put on the weight to play Kyle, but he completely became him.  On the special features, they talked about how they would have moments on set that would cause goosebumps because his performance was so true to life.  It’s always a thing of beauty when you see an actor completely devote themselves to a role and a film.  It helps that the film was directed by the legendary Clint Eastwood.  There’s also a quality screenplay by Jason Hall, adapted from Kyle’s book of the same name.

Kyle believes strongly in America and goes through some intense training that would make most men run for the hills, but he eventually becomes a sniper for the Navy Seals. Before he even attempts to do this, someone informs him that most men quit.  Kyle says he is no quitter.  Meanwhile, he meets his wife, Taya, played by Sienna Miller, and they eventually have a child together, adding even more pressure to Kyle’s life.  He ends up taking part in four tours, which puts a strain on their relationship and his well-being.  He knows he is doing a service to his country and protecting his fellow men, but that doesn’t make things any easier.

Bradley Cooper gained 40 pounds of muscle to play Navy SEAL Chris Kyle in the film American Sniper. “It wasn’t at all like a costume,” he said. “It was like … this sort of transformative experience to me because there was no going home from it.”

One of the things I admired the most about this film was the patience in which it was filmed.  Kyle ends up doing four tours, and we get to see the tours along with him spending time with his family.  For me, the “at home” scenes were far more effective than his time as a sniper.  This is not to take anything away from his time on tour and how it’s filmed.  The scenes are jarring and extremely well shot.  I’m just always more engrossed in the human side of the story, and that truly adds more to what’s happening during his time becoming “The Legend”, a nickname he seems proud of at times, but also a little uneasy about as well.  He is known as the U.S.’s deadliest sniper.

A lot of attention and praise was put on Cooper upon the film’s release, but credit also goes out to Miller as she has an extremely tough role to portray as well as Taya.  She has to be supportive of her husband while also looking out for the best interests of her family.  One thing is certain: her love for Kyle never waivers.  She just worries about feeling disconnected from him.  It’s clear he’s not the same when everything is over.  How can he be?  As he tells his psychiatrist, he thinks more about the men he couldn’t save as opposed to the ones he did.  However, Taya wants her husband back, and she wants the man she married.  The ability to disconnect from the war is a hard one, and that is explored in great detail in this magnificent film.

“American Sniper” made my list of the top ten films of 2014, and it is also one of the best films Eastwood has ever directed.  Everyone watches movies for various reasons. I watch movies to be moved and engrossed by great stories and fascinating people.  On my third viewing, I’m happy to report “American Sniper” holds up incredibly well.  It’s also enhanced by the 4K transfer Warner Brothers has added to the film as well.  It was released a few years before 4K discs became a reality, and with this being the ten-year anniversary of the film, it’s a great time to add it to your collection and upgrade the Blu-ray if you already own it.

* * * * out of * * * *

4K Info: “American Sniper” is released on a single 4K disc from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. It also comes with a digital copy of the film as well. The film runs at 132 minutes and is rated R for strong and disturbing war violence, and language throughout including some sexual references.

Video Info: “American Sniper” on 4K really takes you into the heat of battle.  I did mention that the war scenes didn’t hit me as emotionally as the sequences between Chris and Taya, but they still had their impact nonetheless.  You would have to be a rock to not be moved and affected by what’s happening on screen.  All of it is shot with just the right number of colors and texture.  It’s sort of a dreary looking film, but that is to be expected with war.

Audio Info: The Dolby Atmos soundtrack is also an improvement over the inconsistent audio on the previously released Blu-ray of the film, which was a bit too loud at times.  This time, it’s right on cue throughout the entire film. It was also fairly consistent during the quieter moments as well.

Special Features:

One Soldier’s Story: The Journey of American Sniper

Chris Kyle: The Man Behind the Legend

Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy – The Heart of a Hero

Navy SEALs: In War and Peace

Bringing the War Home: The Cost of Heroism

The Making of American Sniper

Guardian

Should You Buy It?

“American Sniper” is finally on 4K, and it was well worth the wait.  The technical aspects are amazing, as they usually are with a Clint Eastwood film, especially on 4K.  Bradley Cooper turns in an astounding performance and one which really hit me like a ton of bricks. Sienna Miller also turns in an underrated and potent performance as well.  This is a film firing on all cylinders, and it will make a great addition to your physical media collection.  This is top-notch filmmaking and a film that comes from a labor of love from everyone involved.  When you have films like this one, the audience is the ultimate winner.  The special features are also ported over the Blu-ray release as well, and they add a lot of context and information on the making of the film and Chris Kyle’s backstory.  This is a day-one purchase, especially with the impressive slipcover which is included with this release.

**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.

Underseen Movie: ‘Thanks for Sharing’

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

WRITER’S NOTE: This review was written back in 2012, and I was reminded of this film when I recently interviewed the writer/director and stars of the 2024 film “Sweet Dreams.”

There are many who see support groups (or 12-step groups if you want to call them that). The truth, however, is that those who attend them are not any different from the rest of us, and they can at times be very funny. At the very least, these people deserve credit and applause for taking the time to get the help they need because asking for help is usually one of the hardest things to do.

“Thanks for Sharing” is one of the few movies I have seen which deals with these groups and the people who attend them. While it does take the subject of addiction seriously, it also finds a good balance between drama and comedy to where we find ourselves laughing with these characters and never at them.

This movie focuses on three men who attend the same Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting: Adam (Mark Ruffalo), Mike (Tim Robbins) and Neil (Josh Gad). Adam is an over-achieving environmental consultant who is celebrating his fifth year of sobriety. Mike is a happily married man who is kind of the elder statesman of the support group these men attend. And then there’s Neil, an emergency room doctor who is in serious denial over his addictions to where he gets in serious trouble with the law. I like how we are given characters who are at different stages of dealing with this addiction to where it gives you a good idea of why people come to these groups in the first place.

Adam is at a good place as he has really cleaned up his act and is coping with life really well. He takes great pains to keep himself on the right track by taking such measures as removing television sets from his hotel rooms so he won’t find himself watching anything pornographic. But then he meets the irresistibly beautiful Phoebe (Gwyneth Paltrow) while at a party where people are eating bugs (don’t ask), and the two are instantly attracted to one another. While Adam is eager to be in a relationship with her, he is not altogether sure he is ready to fall in love again after all he has accomplished. He is trying to keep his demons at bay, but it becomes much harder for him to do so.

Mike has been in recovery the longest, and he appears to have a great relationship with his wife, Katie (Joely Richardson). Things between them, however, change very quickly when his son Danny (Patrick Fugit) turns out to have some serious addiction problems of his own. Katie is thrilled to see Danny, but Mike is not sure he can trust him after all they have been through. In the process, we come to see that Mike, despite his well-earned sobriety, still has some major control issues he has yet to make peace with.

As for Neil, he has gotten himself into a painful situation when he stands uncomfortably close to a very attractive woman while riding on the subway. From there, things come to a head for him when he loses his job under embarrassing circumstances, and this finally makes him realize he needs help. Neil eventually finds solace through another recovering addict, Dede (Alecia Moore, better known as Pink), who is just starting to deal with her personal demons as well.

I am always yearning for movies which have down to earth characters, and “Thanks for Sharing” is definitely one of them. All of what everyone goes through feels very real, and nothing ever felt contrived to me. Granted, the storyline involving Robbins’ character is one we have seen many times before, but the acting between him, Fugit and Richardson are so good to where we can forgive the filmmakers for venturing into familiar territory. It really is a shame how most Hollywood movies do not dare give us more characters we can relate to on a human level. If they did, it would make most movies far more enjoyable and invigorating as a result.

“Thanks for Sharing” was directed and co-written by Stuart Blumberg, one of the writers of “The Kids Are All Right.” Finding a balance between comedy and drama can be very hard to pull off, but Blumberg is successful in doing so for the most part. He also shows a lot of love for each character here, and not just the ones who in recovery.

Mark Ruffalo remains one of the best and most naturalistic actors working today. As Adam, I never caught him acting once, and his chemistry with Paltrow is very strong. Ruffalo makes Adam a very likable guy as he struggles to not fall back into his old habits, and he makes you see how much of a challenge this is for him.

As for Paltrow, this is the most relaxed she has been onscreen in some time. While she was a blast to watch in “Iron Man 3,” she seems more in her element here as she portrays a character who is not an addict, but one who needs to face up to the issues slowly eating away at her. Watching her in “Thanks for Sharing” reminded me of just how wonderful she can be when she is given the right role.

Robbins remains as terrific an actor as ever, and I am always enthralled when I watch him in anything he does. His character of Mike seems like the typical father who has lost trust with those he should be the closest to, but he imbues this character with a lot of humanity to where he never seems like a simple caricature. His scenes with Fugit, who we have not seen enough of since “Almost Famous,” feel emotionally true, and their relationship feels authentic when it could have come across as ridiculously manipulative.

At this point, I am not familiar with Gad’s work other than him appearing in the acclaimed musical “The Book of Mormon.” Gad has the trickiest role here as he is this movie’s comic relief, but he never plays Neil for simple laughs. We are watching Neil as he is at the start of his recovery, and it isa rough start to say the least. Gad makes you root for Neil even as he does some of the dumbest and most reckless things anyone would ever have the nerve to do.

But there is no forgetting Alecia Moore, a.k.a. Pink, who gives an impressive performance as an addict who was pushed into this particular support group by a friend. Her character of Dede ends up forming a strong rapport with Neil, and they find in each other the strength they need to move past what is destroying their lives to where they can see the light at the end of the tunnel. From start to finish, she really understands this character very well, and I could see it in her eyes. Like Ruffalo, you never catch her acting here as she grounds her character in a reality which is not all removed from our own.

I liked how “Thanks for Sharing” showed how these support groups can become another addiction as its members begin to spend more time with others instead of their own families. While these characters have made great strides in conquering their demons, they still struggle with their urges every single day. Truth be told, it takes a lot of courage to face up to the things which are tearing your life apart, and long before this movie is over, you realize these addicts are not weak but strong.

The one thing I would have liked to see more of is how the family members deal with their loved ones’ addictions. My understanding is that they can only be so involved in what an addict goes through as they can never fully comprehend how dangerous their addictions can be unless they have experienced the same thing themselves. There is a scene between Paltrow and Richardson which addresses this divide, but I would have liked to see this movie go a little bit deeper in this area.

But when all is said and done, “Thanks for Sharing” fulfilled my need to see a motion picture with characters which we can recognize in our own lives. With all these superhero movies coming at us endlessly, it is important to remember we will never be perfect and cannot be everybody’s everything. It would be nice to be a superhero though, wouldn’t it? Lord knows we could use a couple of them right now. Anyway, I think this movie is definitely worth checking out.

* * * ½ out of * * * *

‘Contagion’ Movie and 4K Review

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

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

Some of my favorite films are the ones which stick in my brain long after the credits have rolled. They make me uncomfortable, get under my skin, and make me anxious.  You might wonder why someone would want out of such a moviegoing experience, but I believe the best films really challenge and require something out of the viewer. I have seen “Contagion” three times now. I saw it during its theatrical run in 2011, re-watched it on Blu-ray during the height of the pandemic in 2020, and I watched it again recently on 4K. Every single time I’ve watched it, I’ve been utterly engrossed in it, even though I know all of the beats and how it’s going to play out. If anything, I gain something extra from this film because of how much it ended up being pretty damn accurate.

“Contagion” opens by introducing us to Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow), an executive returning home to her husband and son after a trip to Hong Kong. Upon returning home, she has a seizure and dies in the hospital, which leaves her husband, Mitch (Matt Damon), with plenty of questions but no answers.  It becomes even more agonizing for Mitch when his stepson passes away shortly after his wife.  He is wondering what she came down with, how it was transmitted, and if he is at-risk for it along with his daughter. His whole world has been turned upside down, and he’s constantly on edge, angry, and making sure he’s doing his due diligence to stay safe.

The story then shows us Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne), who works for the CDC, and he’s looking to trace the root of this problem.  Is it something people should be concerned about or is it an isolated incident? He brings in Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) from the Epidemic Intelligence Service, to talk to anyone and everyone who was in contact with Beth.  She is going to look anywhere and everywhere for a connection to what might have happened to Beth. She also wants to find out if anyone else is in danger of catching what Beth had as well.

It doesn’t take long for panic and hysteria to take over when the death toll is increasing every day.  It’s becoming a dog-eat-dog world out there, and people are willing to do whatever it takes to not only survive, but to protect their loved ones as well.  They are not afraid to take extreme measures if they need to, as they don’t want to be another victim of this deadly virus which, in the film, is called the MEV-1. Dr. Ally Hextall (Jennifer Ehle), meanwhile, is working around the clock to come up with a vaccine to treat this disease.

There is also a conspiracy theorist named Alan Krumwiede with a very popular blog, and he’s played by Jude Law. Alan is brainwashing his website visitors to try Forsythia, which he believes will cure this disease.  This creates two problems: one, people begin to look at Forsythia as a miracle cure and when the pharmacies run out of it, people start to loot and destroy them. The second problem is that people are now hesitant to take the vaccine, which will actually save lives and help stop the spread of MEV-1.  He’s looking out for his own personal gain and profit, but during times of panic, people will believe anything they read on the Internet.

There is also a storyline involving Dr. Leonora Orantes, a WHO epidemiologist, played by Marion Cotillard, who is looking through countless footage of Beth in order to determine the sequence of events in which she contracted the illness and whom she might have inflicted as well. Leonora is in Hong Kong doing this, and because they are worried about how their village will survive, they kidnap her in order to make sure they have access to the vaccine when it’s released.  They don’t want to hurt Leonora, and she is not scared for her life, as she just wants to help them. As stated previously, desperate times call for desperate measures. When it’s a matter of life and death, you never know what you are capable of doing as a human being.

The only issue I had with “Contagion” and why I couldn’t give it the full four stars is the fact that some stories are more interesting than others and, at times, the plot can be a little bloated.  There are some tremendous performances in the film, especially from Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard. Director Steven Soderbergh gives his actors plenty of space and freedom to show off their considerable acting chops. When the film is firing on all cylinders, it’s truly engrossing and engaging. It’s pretty easy to follow as well, even when they are using scientific terms which might not be as common or familiar to someone like myself.

“Contagion” an ambitious film, and for 80% of its running time, it’s a great movie.  The other 20% is a bit of a slog and can be a little over-stuffed plot-wise. Overall, though, it is a really, really good movie which features some of the biggest names in Hollywood on screen together.  It’s a dark, moody, and tense film that is relentless when the pressure is turned up. I will say this: every single time I’ve watched “Contagion,” I’ve enjoyed it even more and gained something new from it and an even greater appreciation for what it achieved on camera. This is a powerful piece of cinema, and it is a film that will always leave an impact because of what happened to the world in 2020.

I’ll end my review by saying this: I’m not an expert on Covid-19 and the pandemic, but this film foreshadowed a lot of what happened in 2020; from social distancing, handwashing, conspiracy theorists, vaccines and the ability to access to them, and what human beings are capable of doing when they are pushed to the brink of life or death.  For a lot of people, they probably want to put 2020 in the rearview mirror and not watch a movie which focuses on things that were difficult or challenging for the world.  I, on the other hand, find it therapeutic and cathartic to watch a movie like this, as it’s a way for me to deal with what happened in my own way. 

* * * ½ out of * * * *

4K Info: “Contagion” is released on a single disc 4K from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. It has a running-time of 106 minutes and is rated PG-13 for disturbing content and some language.  It also comes with a digital copy of the film.

Video Info: The minute I popped this movie into my 4K player, I was instantly transfixed by the picture quality.  It was a huge upgrade from the Blu-ray which I previously owned. The film has a dark and brooding look to it with green and blue hues. According to the press release, this was sourced from the original camera negative and the remastering was overseen by Soderbergh. This is exactly what you are looking for when you buy a 4K. You want it to come from the original camera negative and have it looked over by the director.  This is a beautiful 4K and the HDR is incredibly crisp and clear.

Audio Info:  There is also a Dolby Atmos soundtrack here, so this is a win-win for film collectors out there.  The music was composed by Cliff Martinez, who has worked on some of my favorite film scores, such as “Spring Breakers,” “Pump Up the Volume” and “Drive.”  He’s collaborated quite a bit in his career with Soderbergh. This movie does not work as effectively without this mesmerizing score.

 Special Features:

The Reality of Contagion – Featurette

The Contagion Detectives – Featurette

Contagion – How a Virus Changes the World –Featurette

Should You Buy It?

I was so happy to be able to review “Contagion” on 4K and check it out. I recently reviewed “Wonka,” which I thought was an incredible 4K, but this one is even better, considering the improvements they made on the transfer. It still has the same gritty and dirty look to it while also providing an improved picture quality at the same time. The film itself is very close to being a masterpiece. I was very close to giving it four stars, but I had to deduct half a star because of a few issues, which I mentioned in my review. Still, with that being said, “Contagion” comes highly recommended. As physical media shifts to mostly online retailers, it is our duty to support 4K releases of films like “Contagion.”  Why? Because it encourages Warner Brothers and other studios to go into their archives and upgrade other great movies as well.  At the end of the day, they will do their part if we show them there is a legitimate market for physical discs.

**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.

An Ultimate Rabbit Video Review: ‘Thanksgiving’

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

So here I am with another video review of a recent movie release. This time it is for Eli Roth’s “Thanksgiving,” a movie which was promised to us ever since Roth made his fake “Thanksgiving” trailer for 2007’s “Grindhouse.” But while that trailer came across as a send-up and satire of the many slasher films we grew up with over the years, this one is more of a reboot of what came before. It also comes with quite the cast of actors which includes Patrick Dempsey (recently crowned People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive), Rick Hoffman, Gina Gershon, Nell Verlaque, Addison Rae and Milo Manheim to name a few. Furthermore, it proves to be far more well-produced and directed than the average slasher flick to where it becomes clear this one has a much higher budget what filmmakers would usually expect on a shoot like this.

What results here is a horror movie which is not about to redefine the genre in any way, shape or form, but instead one which acts as a love letter to those Roth and company grew up on like “Halloween,” “Silent Night Deadly Night,” “New Year’s Evil” and “April Fool’s Day” to name a few. I found “Thanksgiving” to be a complete blast as it featured a number of truly suspenseful and scary moments, and I found myself laughing harder here than at any other movie released in 2023. While Eli Roth’s output as a director has been mixed at best, this film reminds you he is a better filmmaker than we tend to give him credit for. From start to finish, I could say everyone in front of and behind the camera put a lot of love into this project, and they must have had the time of their lives making it.

Please check out my video review below, and you can also check out both the real trailer for “Thanksgiving” and the fake one Roth created for “Grindhouse.”