You're Next, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Furiosa and Bill & Ted's Excellent New 4Ks - Viva Physical Media
Plus, two Albert Brooks classics get new Criterion releases.
It’s a particularly great group of movies this week for Viva Physical Media, starting with two strong new entries in long-running franchises – Planet of the Apes and Mad Max – getting 4K releases. Then there’s a very snazzy new 4K for Adam Wingard’s effortlessly cool You’re Next, and all three Bill & Ted movies finally united in one box set.
On top of that, I had a great time diving into new Criterion discs for two Albert Brooks classics - one of which I’m mad at myself for never having seen before.
Okay, there’s also a rather lesser horror sequel in the form of Poltergeist II, but even that is a well done presentation for a movie that left much to be desired.
Let’s dive in though with some primate power…
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 4K UHD + Blu-ray
Available August 27
A strong new entry in one of the best – yet somehow continually underrated – franchises going, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes showed the series could continue even without the riveting Caesar at its center. Moving the action hundreds of years later was a wise decision, letting those earlier movies still very much matter, yet not trying them too closely to the new narrative, with director Wes Ball delivering a stirring and involving adventure film focused on young Noa (Owen Teague) and his first encounters with a human named Mae (Freya Allan).
I’ve actually come to appreciate Kingdom and what it accomplishes even more on repeat viewings. No, it doesn’t reach the heights of Matt Reeves’ fantastic Dawn of the Planet of the Apes or War for the Planet of the Apes, but it is still a damn good installment in its own right that deftly sets the stage for more to come.
The film looks and sounds great on 4K, with the Australian locations and the ever-astounding, digitally created ape characters blending seamlessly. And in fact, this disc deserves a ton of credit for the spotlight it puts on the technical process of making a film like Planet of the Apes and just how it’s pulled off. Which brings us to…
IS THERE A COMMENTARY?
There is, and it goes hand in hand with a bonus feature understandably getting a lot of attention. While the actual 4K presentation of the movie has no commentary, the second disc, with the Blu-ray version, also includes the absolutely fascinating “Inside the Lens: The Raw Cut” version of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which presents the entire movie in a split screen - with the upper half showing the final shots and the lower half showing the cast filming in their mo-cap suits. The optional audio commentary for the Raw cut, featuring Wes Ball, editor Dan Zimmerman, and VFX supervisor Erik Winquist is a terrific accompaniment, as they describe a ton of specifics about the production and how and why they used real locations, sets, blue screen, fully digital environments and more depending on what they needed to accomplish.
That commentary, combined with a decent 23-minute featurette, and a half hour of deleted scenes (which also have optional commentary from Ball) provide a very good look at the making of a very complex production. If you’re a fan of these films, the 4K UHD and Blu-ray combo is a big recommendation. I was sent a review copy of the Steelbook edition, but a standard version is available as well.
You’re Next 4K UHD + Blu-ray
Available Now
On the special features for the new You’re Next 4K UHD, director Adam Wingard, writer Simon Barrett, and others involved in the production mention more than once the long and frustrating delay between the indie production being purchased by Liongate in 2011 after a well received film festival screening and the movie finally opening in theaters in 2013 - caused by Lionsgate merging with Summit and suddenly having a lot more titles to juggle release dates for.
It was during this long wait that I first saw You’re Next, when Lionsgate invited a few horror-friendly entertainment journalists to their offices to screen the film and hear what we thought. And my reaction was pretty much: “That was absolutely awesome and I can’t wait to see it again.” Though not Wingard and Barrett’s first project, it was the one that truly put them on the map and how could it not? A home invasion film, in which a wealthy family’s reunion takes a turn for the deadly thanks to masked intruders, You’re Next continues to be a blast.
Barrett and Wingard set out to make a much more fun and witty variation on a typical home invasion film; one that doesn’t wallow in misery or the threat of sexual violence. Instead, the movie ends up feeling like a horror-fueled variation on Die Hard, as these home invaders learn the hard way that among the family’s significant others, there was one thing they didn’t count on - Erin (a fantastic Sharni Vinson), whose upbringing has made her uniquely prepared to deal with these guys.
A UK import from Second Sight, the new 4K, overseen by Wingard, is long overdue. The new transfer allows many scenes to pop more than ever, with Wingard pointing out on the disc how he was able to upgrade some of the colors and shadings in a way he’s long hoped to.
DOES IT HAVE A COMMENTARY?
An archival commentary from 2013 featuring Wingard, Barrett, Vinson and the legendary Barbara Crampton (who made a much-appreciated return to acting and horror films with You’re Next) is included, alongside a brand new commentary from Wingard and Barrett. The duo, who can always be counted on for informative and entertaining commentaries, deliver here again, despite joking at the top that they don’t know what else they have left to say about You’re Next.
On top of that, there is a separate, hour-long conversation between Wingard and Barrett talking about making the film, and it’s impressive how little doubling up there is when it comes to repeated facts from the duo. But that’s just the beginning, thanks to separate interviews with three different cast members (AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, and Amy Seimetz), Producers Keith Calder and Jess Wu Calder, and Production Designer Tom Hammock, all of whom have great stories about making You’re Next. Plus, there’s an audio essay by Tim Coleman and even a decent, more traditional 20 minute making-of featurette, culled from archival interviews done when the film was released. And if you spring for Second Sight’s Limited Edition version, you also get a 120-page (!) book of essays about You’re Next, plus six collector’s cards. Basically, this is everything a You’re Next superfan like me could ever want for this film.
Okay, I will complain that it would have been nice to also include, for posterity’s sake, the other Wingard and Barrett-only commentary the duo did for the film’s original Blu-ray, which they reference on the new one (while wondering if they’re repeating stories from it). But it feels like a minor grievance given how much is included here for a movie that very much deserves its flowers.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga 4K UHD
Available Now
Ah, poor, beautiful, glorious, box office dud, Furiosa. It really is a shame so few went to see George Miller’s fifth – and now, perhaps, final – installment in the Mad Max series. There’s a lot of reasons Furiosa likely struggled, given it was a prequel that took nine years to come out since the last installment and then did so without the same lead actors. And on top of that, as beloved as Mad Mad: Fury Road is by many, it wasn’t actually a monster hit itself, especially compared to its budget.
Ultimately, I don’t think Furiosa quite matches Fury Road’s majesty, but that is only because few film’s can deliver that sort of epically overwhelming experience. But in and of itself, Furiosa is awesome. Anya Taylor-Joy gives a terrific, primal performance as the title character who, in Mad Max lead character tradition, says little, while conveying so much with her expressions and actions. And Chris Hemsworth is wonderfully unhinged as the film’s villain, Dementus, clearly having a ball behind that prosthetic nose.
Setting itself apart from the other Mad Max films with its storytelling approach, told over the course of many years and living up to that “Saga” subtitle, Furiosa again proves that Miller is one of the most talented visual storytellers imaginable - especially when you put that man behind the camera for a car chase. As with Fury Road, this is a film packed with incredible images that pop off the screen on the 4K disc.
…though yeesh, that is some ugly cover art. Come on, this movie deserves better!
IS THERE A COMMENTARY?
There is not, which is a shame, since Miller going through the film scene by scene would be much appreciated. But to Warner Bros.’ credit, they didn’t skimp on extras either, offering up a centerpiece bonus feature, Highway to Valhalla: In Pursuit of Furiosa, that is a nearly hour-long documentary digging into the film’s production. That’s supplemented by four other featurette’s running 10-15 minutes each, focused on Furiosa, Dementus, the film’s vehicles and – very thankfully – one on the absolutely fantastic “Stowaway” action set piece that is the film’s standout sequence. As usual for a George Miller / Mad Max film, it’s astounding to see how much time and how many people it took to pull all of this off.
All together, this is an excellent look at the making of Furiosa and the commitment of all those involved. As mentioned above, the film’s box office likely means Miller won’t be getting the greenlight for more Mad Max, but if this is his last work in this world, it’s certainly one he can be proud of.
Bill & Ted’s Most Triumphant Trilogy 4K UHD + Blu-ray
Available Now
I absolutely adore the Bill & Ted films and was very happy to get to dig into them earlier this year thanks to Bill & Ted co-creator Ed Solomon chatting with me about the original film’s 35th anniversary. And it is, well, excellent to finally have a box set collecting all three films together. On top of that, Shout Studios’ new release provides 4K upgrades to Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey and Bill & Ted Face the Music (the two sequels also have new 4K/Blu-ray releases available on their own).
Though the first Bill & Ted will always stand on its own as an 80s classic – and the film that introduced its lovable, perfectly cast central duo – all three of the movies deliver in their own way. Bogus Journey is an admirably weird and wacky sequel, taking Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter’s San Dimas dudes to heaven and hell and introducing robots and aliens into the mix - not to mention Death himself (played by an inspired William Sadler).
And Face the Music is, happily, a great example of a decades-later sequel done right, as Bill & Ted finally have to truly deal with their intimidating destiny to create the song to unite humanity - while also facing life as middle-aged dads to Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine’s very endearing chips off the old block, Thea and Billie. (I still lament that Bill & Ted 3, released early in the pandemic in the summer of 2020, never got the true wide theatrical release it deserved - and that i’ve never been able to see it in a theater!)
Viewed together, these films continue to offer big laughs, a lot of heart, and two wonderfully committed performances from Reeves and Winter, who have proved to be a phenomenal pairing for decades now.
Shout had already put the first film out on 4K on its own, while the much more recent Face the Music certainly looks better than its previous Blu-ray release, though it’s not a huge image upgrade. Most improved here though is Bogus Journey, whose audacious (and bodacious) visuals have long been in need of a new transfer and finally looks the best one could imagine it looking at home.
IS THERE A COMMENTARY?
Both Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey have the same two separate commentary tracks – Alex Winter and producer Scott Kroopf on one, Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson on the other – Shout first released on their set of the first two films several years ago. And beyond that, the numerous other bonus features from that set, including interviews with Winter and Keanu Reeves together, are included.
Shout did plenty for those first two films, so it’s understandable to keep them as-is, but it’s a shame nothing new was produced for Face the Music. Because while the bonus features from its previous MGM-produced Blu-ray are ported over, those are all super quick, flimsy EPK-style featurettes, with the only substance provided by the Kevin Smith-hosted Comic-Con@Home panel done prior to the film’s release. It feels like a real missed opportunity to not have anyone either do a new interview or a commentary track to talk about the film in more depth, especially now that we’re a few years removed from it.
It feels inevitable that the Bill & Ted films will get revisited down the line for another home release – and my fingers remain crossed the potential fourth film Solomon spoke to me about can happen one day – but while I would have liked to have had more bonus material for the third movie, this is still a pretty great collection for a truly non-non-non-non-non heinous trio of movies.
Real Life / Mother 4K UHD + Blu-ray
Available August 27
First off, I just need to stress - these are separate releases. However, Criterion has released these two Albert Books films on 4K simultaneously and I watched them back-to-back, so I’m writing about them together, dang it!
I’ve long been a fan of Brooks, a filmmaker and actor who has such a distinct comedic voice - both literally, via his speaking voice, and through the films he’s written and directed, which all have a wonderfully pointed tone and sense of humor. And yet, I’m ashamed to say that somehow I’d never seen Real Life. Brooks’ 1979 feature debut, made after he’d released several comedy shorts (some via the early days of Saturday Night Live), had a very specific inspiration - the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, which is often credited (or blamed) for laying the groundwork for modern reality TV.
The very funny Real Life has Brooks playing himself, in what has to be one of the most hysterically vicious examples ever of someone playing themselves, given the Albert Brooks character is destructively narcissistic and clueless - setting out to make a documentary about a real American family without any understanding or caring either about how false his supposed “reality” is once he begins filming the family or the psychological damage his crew’s presence might do to these people in the long run.
The late, great Charles Grodin and perennial 1980s movie mom Frances Lee McCain (Gremlins, Back to the Future, Footless) are operating at just the right wavelength as the married couple who come to deeply regret bringing Brooks into their home. The movie stands out both for how pointedly relevant it still is, in an era where reality TV is now omnipresent, and also for being ahead of the curve when it comes to the now widespread comedic approach that is the mockumentary.
Brooks has made two feature films since 1997’s Mother – The Muse and Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World – but, to be honest, they aren’t nearly as strong as the five he made in the stretch from Real Life and Mother, so perhaps it’s fitting that those are the two coming out together this month. I hadn’t seen Mother in years, but was very happy to find it’s as funny and poignant as ever.
Brooks’ John Henderson, on the heels of his second failed marriage, insists on moving back in with his mother, Beatrice (Debbie Reynolds), sure this will help him finally figure out the root of his relationship issues. What follows is one memorable scene after another, with Brooks and Reynolds expertly bantering back and forth, driving each other crazy and pushing each other’s buttons in increasingly relatable and often hilarious ways.
Cinematically speaking, Brooks has never been a visually driven director, and Real Life, not shockingly, looks like a low budget movie shot in the 1970s, with a well done transfer that still feels era-appropriate — hazy, grainy visuals included — while the (relatively) more modern Mother looks very good in 4K.
IS THERE A COMMENTARY?
Neither film has a commentary, unfortunately, with both pretty much mirroring their bonus features on the Blu-ray discs. Both films have a main interview, running about a half hour, with Brooks (culled from the same longer conversation) in which he discusses the film in question, how it came to be, and memorable stories from making it. At 77, Brooks clearly has a lot of fond memories of making these great films and, if you’re a fan, it’s hard not to smile seeing him looking so happy reminiscing about them.
Both discs also have a shorter new interview with one of the respective film’s costars – Frances Lee McCain for Real Life and Rob Morrow for Mother – with both talking about their experiences working with Brooks and beloved colleagues that are no longer with us, such as Charles Grodin and Debbie Reynolds.
These are nice inclusions, though it does feel like a bit more could have been done with both films, even as it feels safe to presume Brooks was probably offered the chance to provide commentaries for the films and declined. Still, these new releases are well worth picking up, reinforcing what a wonderful filmmaker Brooks is and how lucky we are to have his films available to us.
…That being said, the “winner” when it comes to the slim bonus features is Real Life, simply for including the sublimely funny trailer Brooks shot for that film, which contains no footage from the movie, but is in 3D! Well, sort of.
Poltergeist II: The Other Side 4K UHD + Blu-ray
Available August 27
Though I harbored no illusions about it being anywhere near as good as the original film, I had wondered how Poltergeist II might hold up, given how much I liked it, and how creepy I found it, as a kid. But viewed for the first time in decades, the answer is… ehhh.
Look, it has its moments, and I can see why kid me would be so disturbed by some of it, including Craig T. Nelson’s Steve Freeling swallowing that worm that possesses him and that he eventually pukes up, now transformed into a huge monstrosity. And Julian Beck (who passed away before the film opened) is super creepy and intense as Reverend Henry Kane, giving us a tangible antagonist in the series for the first time.
By and large though, Poltergeist II feels pretty silly. Director Brian Gibson made several strong dramas but doesn’t feel home at all in the horror domain, failing to recapture the intense yet relatable vibe Tobe Hooper did on the original. I do admire Poltergeist II for resisting copying the first film – Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke) doesn’t go missing again – but in its place is some rather eye-rolling “chosen one”-adjacent material revealing Carol Anne and her mother, Diane (JoBeth Williams) come from a line of psychics. Still, the affection for these characters from the first movie, the likable cast, and the occasional moments of inspiration make the movie watchable, even as it feels lacking.
On the technical side, Scream Factory’s new 4K certainly looks impressive, giving Poltergeist II a better visual presentation than I would have thought possible.
DOES IT HAVE A COMMENTARY?
There are two, in fact, which, like all the other bonus features, are repurposed from Scream Factory’s 2017 Blu-ray. One commentary is by Writer/Producer Michael Grais, the other from Poltergeist fan site webmaster David Furtney, which combine to offer plenty of info on the film. There are also a bevy of other featurettes and interviews, focusing on the likes of cast member Oliver Robins, Special Effects Designers Richard Edlund, Steve Johnson, and Screaming Mad George, and the iconic H.R. Giger, who designed creatures for the film. And that’s on top of several other offerings.
There’s no way to fault Scream Factory for not making any new bonus content for the 4K, because frankly, it’s amazing to have this much material in the first place for a film at the quality level of Poltergeist II: The Other Side. If only the original movie had a disc with this level of content!
One day, perhaps…