Blu-Ray Review: THE MUMMY (2017)

Starring Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Russell Crowe, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance. Directed by Alex Kurtzman. (2017, 110 min).

UNIVERSAL

There occasions when I watch a movie that seems to be almost universally despised (by critics and audiences) and wonder if I'm stupid for actually liking it. While Tom Cruise's The Mummy - his name really should be part of the title - didn't quite get Universal's Dark Universe off to the roaring start they were hoping for, I enjoyed the film for what it was.

It sure as hell isn't one of the worst films of the year, like many list-loving critics have smugly declared, a few of whom I suspect had their spears sharpened before they even set foot in the goddamn theater.

There were the negative comparisons to the 1999 blockbuster with Brendan Fraser, along with quips that it's only been nine years since the last film in that franchise. Sure, we've been getting reboots before the corpses of the old movies are cold, but comparatively speaking, aside from the basic premise, this film is completely different in look and tone, achieving a dark vibe that The Mummy (1999) - which was not-so-much a remake of the 1932 classic as an Indiana Jones-type comic/fantasy-adventure - never really attempted. The reboot  film isn't particularly scary, but taking the concept more-or-less seriously was a wise creative choice. We don't need yet-another gag-filled romp through the same material.

Tom flies coach.

Then there were the accusatory complaints of The Mummy being turned into just another Tom Cruise vehicle. To that I say, where have you been lately? For at-least the last decade, all his movies are Tom Cruise vehicles. He's long since he's given-up all pretenses of being anything other than TOM CRUISE, who runs like it hurts, comes equipped with Intens-O-Vision & has no business being in better physical shape than most 20-year-olds. He's really his own little genre and I've grown to appreciate that, which is why most of his recent films a lot of undemanding fun. In fact, they could just as accurately be titled Tom Cruise Battles Aliens, Tom Cruise Dangles from a Plane, Tom Cruise Hunts Hitler, Tom Cruise Rides a Bus to Help Strangers, etc.

At this point, he's simply too Tom Cruisey to be accepted as anything else. Hence, Tom Cruise vs. The Mummy should surprise nobody. If you're unable to accept that, well, there's always the Brendan Fraser movies. Here, Cruise is at his Cruisiest as Tom Cruise Nick Morton, an unscrupulous military man (and too cool to wear an actual uniform) who steals ancient treasures as a side gig. He inadvertently awakens a mummified Egyptian princess (Sofia Boutella), who curses him in order to resurrect an ancient evil God. Also on-board the Tom train are Jake Johnson as his comic relief, Chris (a shameless rip-off of Griffin Dunne's character in An American Werewolf in London), and Jenny (Annabelle Wallis), whose purpose is reacting to Tom doing Tom stuff.

Tom Cruise vs. a big-ass gopher.

Finally, there's a considerable amount of screen time dedicated to establishing Universal's so-called Dark Universe. Yeah, I'll concede that was a bad idea. Throwing in Dr. Jekyll (Russell Crowe) and brief allusions to other legendary Universal monsters are annoying distractions that smack of a blatant attempt to jump on the Marvel bandwagon with their own ready-made cinematic universe. Worst yet, these elements do absolutely nothing to advance the plot.

 Deleted scene from The Mummy

All that being said, The Mummy is exactly the movie I suspected it would be. And maybe that's why I sort-of enjoyed it. The visual effects are decent and there's a lot of violent action (the plane crash sequence during the first act is the best scene in a Tom Cruise movie since the last Mission: Impossible). There's even a decent jump-scare or two for those unaccustomed to them. And even though it pointlessly drops hints of more-to-come in the Dark Universe, the film wisely makes certain this particular Mummy story is wrapped up (no pun intended).

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES: "Cruise & Kurtzman: A Conversation"; "Rooted in Reality"; "Life in Zero-G: Creating the Plane Crash"; "Meet Ahmanet"; "Cruise in Action"; "Becoming Jekyll and Hyde"; "Choreographed Chaos"; "Nick Morton: In Search of a Soul"

ANIMATED GRAPHIC NOVEL: Ahmanet Reborn

DELETED/EXTENDED SCENES

AUDIO COMMENTARY: By director Alex Kurtzman, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson

DVD & DIGITAL COPIES

KITTY CONSENSUS

NOT BAD...LIKE CAT CHOW

Blu-Ray Review: RONIN

Starring Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgard, Sean Bean, Skipp Sudduth, Michael Lonsdale, Jonathan Pryce, Jan Triska, Katarina Witt. Directed by John Frankenheimer. (1998, 122 min).

ARROW FILMS

Ronin was the best action film of the 90s, and as the genre becomes increasingly dependent on shaky-cam, hyper-active editing and - ugh! - CGI, I appreciate it more with each passing year. To coin an oft-used cliche, they don't make 'em like this anymore.

Actually, they didn't really make 'em like this in the 90s, either. Ronin was an anomaly, a throwback to the aesthetics of the 1970s, when elaborate chases were artistically choreographed and performed for a director who knew that what makes a chase thrilling has nothing to do with quick editing and massive destruction. It's convincing the viewer that the chase is real, we're in the middle of it and his actors are actually behind the wheel. The high-tech freeway chase in The Matrix Reloaded may be a visual wonder, but can anyone honestly say it's more harrowing and suspenseful than Gene Hackman trailing an L-train in The French Connection?

During his heyday, few directors were as skilled at capturing the thrill of the chase as John Frankenheimer. In many ways, Ronin was a glorious return-to-form for a director who had wallowed in mediocrity for a couple of decades. While his keen eye renders the action scenes as thrilling as anything else he's done in his long career, what also makes Ronin memorable is its intriguingly mysterious characters and narrative purity.

Road rage...some guys have it all figured out.

Sure, there are major characters who hatch intricate and complicated plans to steal a case before it's sold to nefarious buyers. There are also surprising double-crosses as these characters regularly screw each other over. Yet the case is just a MacGuffin. We never learn what's inside, nor the intentions of any of the buyers. Not only that, it's never made quite clear if our mercenary protagonists are working for people who are any better than those they're stealing the case from. In fact, aside from some vague conversations that are never elaborated upon, we don't know much about the main characters, either. We learn just enough to like, hate or - in one case - pity each and every one of them.

But to mistake the overall lack of exposition for ambiguity is missing the point. Ronin simply jettisons every element that isn't absolutely necessary. By stripping the story down to its bare essentials, all we concern ourselves with is who's chasing who, who's got the case and who we should be rooting for. Action cinema doesn't get much more pure than that.

"No, Robert, you can't play with them."

In modern terms, Ronin can sort-of be seen as the cinematic equivalent of Grand Theft Auto, without the hookers. There are missions you must complete before reaching your ultimate goal, by any means necessary, regardless of the collateral damage. All you really need to worry about are the folks you’re chasing (or running from). But unlike my frustration with my dubious video-gaming skills, these folks never say "Aw, fuck it" and start wiping-out everybody within eyeshot.

"Siri...where the hell are we?"

There are vivid gunfights and two extended (very destructive) car chases. Frankenheimer, who helmed some of the best racing footage ever in Grand Prix, hadn’t lost a single step. The thrilling seven minute chase through the streets of Paris rivals the likes of The French Connection and doesn't rely much on special effects. We don't get many classic car chases like these anymore, where we're totally convinced it's really Robert De Niro chasing down Natascha McElhone down the wrong way of a busy expressway.

On a side note, another thing which makes Ronin interesting is Frankenheimer's decision to show the consequences of the mayhem caused by these characters. Innocent people get caught crossfire during gunfights or barbecued in their vehicles because they chose the wrong road on which to commute that day. However, Frankenheimer is careful not to show the film’s “heroes” directly causing any of these deaths. It’s also clearly apparent that if you want to go on a killing spree, do it in France. Despite all the carnage inflicted in public streets, there’s almost never a cop to be found, kind-of like Grand Theft Auto when you activate a cheat code which erases your wanted level.

"This is how many f**ks I give."

Still, it's almost criminal that hyperactive junk like Bad Boys defines 90's-era action for so many viewers, while Ronin remains relatively underappreciated. I would think the virtuosity displayed in the chase scenes alone would have people ranking it right up there with Bullitt, The French Connection and Mad Max. The movie definitely has a similar 70's vibe - an era when action didn't always go hand-in-hand with spectacle. Had it been made back then, perhaps it would be hailed today as one of the great action classics.

This Blu-Ray from Arrow Films throws in a few new-to-Blu-Ray extras in addition to the supplemental material that was included on the original DVD release. However, the terrific 4K restoration is what makes this disc preferable to previous Blu-Ray editions.

EXTRA KIBBLES

NEW - INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR OR PHOTOGRAPHY ROBERT FRAISSE

"YOU TALKIN' TO ME?" - Quentin Tarantino discusses Robert De Niro, with an emphasis on the actor's 70s work (made in 1994).

ARCHIVAL FEATURES (all of which are from the original DVD release): "Ronin: Filming in the Fast Lane"; "Through the Lens" (with cinematographer Robert Fraisse"; "The Driving of Ronin"; "Natascha McElhone: An Actor's Process"; "Composing the Ronin Score"; "In the Cutting Room" (with editor Tony Gibbs); "Venice Film Festival Interviews"

AUDIO COMMENTARY - by John Frankenheimer

ALTERNATE ENDING (which is a bit bleaker)

GALLERY

TRAILER

REVERSABLE SLEEVE WITH NEW AND ORIGINAL ART (not available for review)

COLLECTOR'S BOOKLET (not available for review)

KITTY CONSENSUS:

MEE-OW! LIKE BEING TURNED LOOSE IN A BIRD SANCTUARY

DVD Review: PHANTASM: 5 MOVIE DVD COLLECTION

Starring Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm, A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, James LeGros. Directed by Don Coscarelli (Phantasm: Ravager directed by David Hartman). (1979-2016, 454 min).

WELL GO USA

ENTER OUR GIVEAWAY HERE TO WIN A COPY OF THIS COLLECTION!

For those lamenting Well Go USA's initial decision to release their impressive Phantasm Collection only on Blu-Ray, a more budget-friendly edition is now available on DVD. With different but no-less-attractive packaging, the 5 Movie DVD Collection offers the same films, including the 4K-remastered edition of the original. It doesn't include the Blu-Ray set's geektastic sixth disc (and its treasure trove of supplemental material), but each film is still accompanied by the same extras (outlined below).

The original Phantasm - the one nearest and dearest to most fans' hearts - has never looked or sounded this good on home video, which helps compensate for the surprisingly underwhelming batch of bonus features. What's here is interesting, but there are previously released DVD editions with more comprehensive extras.

The Tall Man knows who stole the cookies from the cookie jar.

I'm probably in the extreme minority on this, but I still consider Phantasm II to be the best film in the entire series. It may lack the original's creative, dreamlike surrealism, but thanks to an obviously bigger budget, the film is a significant improvement in every other aspect...better direction, production values and special effects, to say nothing of the overall performances. The smartest thing writer/director Don Coscarelli did for the franchise was turn Reggie (Reggie Bannister, who has the most actual talent) into a lead character. This disc is the exact same as Scream Factory's 2013 release, along with the generous amount of bonus features that came along with it.

Reggie Bannister Jackson

The less said about Phantasm III & Phantasm IV, the better. Working with reduced budgets, these two direct-to-video films feel like they went into production before Coscarelli was even sure what to do next. Purists may have been happy over the return of Michael Baldwin & Bill Thornbury (both conspicuously absent from II), but really, neither of them are what anyone would consider great thespians (say what you want about James LeGros' casting as Michael in II, at least the guy could act). But even the return of two fan favorites can't compensate for the dumpster fire that is Phantasm IV, a convoluted hodge-podge of tenuously related scenes padded out by unused footage from the original.These two discs are also the lightest on extras, but I doubt many will care.

"Hey! Watch where your puttin' that nightstick!"

However, Phantasm: Ravager, while still hampered by its budget, is a ton of goofy fun and arguably closest in overall tone to the original, and if you aren't already a fan of the series, utterly incomprehensible. The story, such as it is, serves only to throw all the beloved Phantasm elements together one last time, but it's obvious a lot of love went into this picture. In fact, despite all the violence, death and apocalyptic implications, Phantasm: Ravager ultimately becomes a charming feel-good film for those who grew up on the series. Despite concluding just as ambiguously open-ended as the others, Ravager leaves little question that this film will be the last, and now it's time to bid a fond farewell.

For hardcore fans of the franchise, The Phantasm Collection Blu-Ray set is still the way to go. But this lower-priced DVD set is certainly worth picking up for curious newcomers or those content just to have all the movies in their collection.

EXTRA KIBBLES

PHANTASM:

AUDIO COMMENTARY (with writer/director Don Coscarelli, Michael Baldwin, Angus Scrimm & Bill Thornbury).

"GRAVEYARD CARZ” EPISODE

1979 INTERVIEW (featuring Coscarelli & Scrimm...looks like a local cable access program).

DELETED SCENES

TRAILERS (Original and Remastered)

DVD COPY

PHANTASM II:

AUDIO COMMENTARY (with writer/director Don Coscarelli, Angus Scrimm & Reggie Bannister)

"THE BALL IS BACK: The Making of Phantasm II" (Another exemplary Scream Factory documentary produced exclusively for their Blu-Ray release)

"THE GORY DAYS" (A decent featurette focusing on make-up artist Greg Nicotero)

AN OBSCURE SHORT FEATURING RORY GUY (aka "Angus Scrimm")

DELETED/WORKPRINT SCENES

TV SPOTS & TRAILERS

STILL GALLERIES

PHANTASM III: LORD OF THE DEAD:

AUDIO COMMENTARY (with writer/director Don Coscarelli and editor Norman Buckley)

FEATURETTE: "Balls of Steel: Bob Ivey's Stunt for the Ages"

TRAILER

PHANTASM IV: OBLIVION:

(with writer/director Don Coscarelli, Angus Scrimm & Reggie Bannister)

BEHIND THE SCENES FEATURETTE

TRAILER

PHANTASM: RAVAGER:

AUDIO COMMENTARY (with director/co-writer David Hartman & producer/co-writer Don Coscarelli).

BEHIND THE SCENES FEATURETTE

BLOOPER REEL

DELETED SCENES

TRAILER

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS

Blu-Ray News: WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES on Digital 10/10 & 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray 10/24

Bring Home the Final Chapter in the APES Trilogy on Digital October 10th and on 4K Ultra HD, 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD on October 24

The Planet of the Apes Trilogy Set Featuring RISE, DAWN and WAR Also Debuts October 24  

Special Features Include Six Documentary Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Audio Commentary with the Director and Much More

 

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment presents WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES. Certified Fresh on RottenTomatoes.com and “one of the very best films of the year” (Kristopher Tapley, Variety) arrives on Digital October 10 and on Blu-ray™, 4K Ultra HD™ and DVD October 24. Andy Serkis returns as Caesar in the thrilling and climatic chapter of the PLANET OF THE APES saga as Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel (Woody Harrelson). After suffering unimaginable losses, Caesar resolves to avenge his kind, pitting him against the Colonel for a final showdown that will determine the future of the planet!

Special features include exclusive deleted scenes with optional audio commentary by director Matt Reeves, behind-the-scenes featurettes, including “All About Caesar,” which focuses on Andy Serkis and his incredible performances through the three films as Caesar, bringing his character and his journey to life. Additionally, the digital version of the film includes 10 Scene Comparisons, showing a side-by-side exploration of the actors’ performance captures above the final scenes in the film. 

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES is directed by Matt Reeves with Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver serving as producers.

In addition to the WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES standalone edition, the PLANET OF THE APES TRILOGY will also be available on October 24. From green-eyed infant ape to hardened warrior to leader of his kingdom, re-live the the spectacular sci-fi adventure that begins when a failed experiment gives a baby chimpanzee human-like intelligence, but also creates a virus that nearly destroys mankind. When Caesar’s ape community is discovered by a small band of humans, both species must battle to survive. Ultimately, after suffering unimaginable losses, Caesar resolves to avenge his kind, pitting him against a human army in an epic showdown that will determine the future of the planet. Packed with thrilling action and mind-blowing visual effects, this must-own series is hailed as “one of the greatest trilogies in movie history!” (Scott Mantz, Access Hollywood)

Blu-Ray Review: NIGHT MOVES (1975)

Starring Gene Hackman, Susan Clark, Jennifer Warren, Edward Binns, Harris Yulin, Janet Ward, Anthony Costello, James Woods, Melanie Griffith, Kenneth Mars. Directed by Arthur Penn. (1975, 100 min).

WARNER ARCHIVE

Night Moves is another film that, despite its director and star, never found an audience during its initial release. Is it a lost classic? Not quite, but it does showcase another great performance by Gene Hackman.

Then again, when hasn't Hackman been great? Even the bad ones he's appeared in are never really his fault. That's not to say Night Moves is a bad movie. Far from it. Maybe initial audiences were expecting more of a standard thriller than an atmospheric character study. Despite a murder mystery thrown into the mix relatively late in the story, this is mostly about Harry Moseby (Hackman), an ex-football player, now a private detective who's been hired by a has-been starlet to locate her wayward, free-spirited daughter, Delly (Melanie Griffith, in her debut).

"Goddammit, someone took the last YooHoo!"

Harry meets a variety of eccentric folks along the way, some who are in the movie business, others eking out a living on the Florida coast. But all of them have some sort of connection to Delly. Harry's also trying to come to terms with his cheating wife (Susan Clark) and her lover (Harris Yulin), which forces him to re-examine his own life. If it sounds like film noir from the 40s, that was undoubtedly director Arthur Penn's intention.

Best...fondue...ever.

As such, it's a leisurely-but-enjoyable ride peppered with interesting characters, including a quirky early performance by James Woods (he hasn't changed much since). The movie belongs to Hackman, though. I don't know if the role was created for him, but he embodies Harry's world-weary cynicism perfectly.

Night Moves has grown in stature over the years, though it's hardly a cinema milestone compared to Hackman & Penn's previous collaboration, Bonnie and Clyde. Still, Hackman is compulsively watchable, as usual, and as a solid mid-70s' spin on classic noir, it's an interesting curiosity worth rediscovery. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTE: "The Day of the Director" (Vintage behind-the-scenes promo documentary)

TRAILER

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS

Blu-Ray News: Lost German Classic, 1943's TITANIC Coming to Blu-Ray 10/17

From KINO CLASSICS (Blu-Ray & DVD)

1943 / Action-Drama / 85 min / NR / B&W / German with English subtitles

Launched in the midst of World War II, this epic production was intended as a Grand Hotel on the Atlantic, filled with romance and intrigue, laced with strong anti-British and -American sentiment, and climaxing with a spectacular recreation of humankind's most notorious maritime disaster. But the Tobis production was almost as doomed as the ocean liner itself, with the arrest and subsequent "suicide" of director Herbert Selpin (replaced by an uncredited Werner Klingler). For years, Titanic was withheld from release (largely because its scenes of panic might be demoralizing to wartime audiences), though some of the effects footage did appear, uncredited, in the 1958 British film A Night to Remember. Restored in 2004 by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, Titanic can now take its place among the most important disaster films of the 20th Century.

Bonus Features: Audio commentary by Gaylyn Studlar, co-editor of Titanic: Anatomy of a Blockbuster | Original 1912 Newsreel | White Star Line promotional film, offering a tour of the Olympic, Titanic's sister ship | Theatrical Trailer

Blu-Ray News: SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING on Digital 9/26 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD 10/17

Loaded with Over 60-Minutes of Bonus Material, Including Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel, a Pop-up Factoid Track & Seven Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes!

One of the most beloved and iconic super heroes of all time is back with a fresh, new take on the character for SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, debuting on digital September 26 and on 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD October 17 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Tom Holland (Captain America: Civil War) stars as Peter Parker, who, with the help of his mentor Tony Stark (two-time Academy Award nominee Robert Downey, Jr., Best Actor, Chaplin, 1992; Best Supporting Actor, Tropic Thunder, 2008), tries to balance his life as an ordinary high school student in New York City while fighting crime as his superhero alter ego Spider-Man.
  
The SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING Blu-ray comes loaded with over 60 minutes of bonus material, including deleted scenes, a gag reel and The Spidey Study Guide, an entertaining pop-up factoid track with facts on the movie in relation to the comics that Spidey fans will love.  Also included are four unseen alternate Captain America PSAs featuring Chris Evans, seven behind-the-scenes featurettes and a photo gallery.  In the featurette “A Tangled Web,” Kevin Feige details how Homecoming came to be and its integration in the constantly evolving Marvel Cinematic Universe.  “Searching for Spider-Man” explores the casting process and what makes Tom the perfect Peter Parker as witnessed from his audition tape.  Meet Homecoming’s adrenaline-craving stunt specialists in “Spidey Stunts,” as they crawl, swing and leap from great heights, and discover why Tom Holland rarely needed a stunt double. “Aftermath” features Kevin Feige and the producers filling in the blanks between the Battle of New York and where Homecoming begins. Explore Michael Keaton’s villainous turn in “The Vulture Takes Flight” and learn why he demands Peter Parker’s fear and respect. In “Jon Watts: Head of the Class,” fans catch up with the visionary director on the set, while he manages colossal set pieces, a massive crew and the daunting task of reintroducing one of Marvel’s most beloved characters.  Tom Holland and Jacob Batalon (Ned) discuss the humorous realities of life with superpowers in “Pros and Cons of Spider-Man.”

DVD Giveaway: PHANTASM: 5 MOVIE DVD COLLECTION

FREE KITTENS MOVIE GUIDE and WELL GO USA are giving away copies of the PHANTASM: 5 MOVIE DVD COLLECTION

Well Go USA Entertainment brings all five films in Don Coscarelli’s iconic horror franchise to DVD for the first time in one box set when PHANTASM: 5 MOVIE DVD COLLECTION debuts on September 19.  The collection includes PHANTASM: REMASTERED (1979), PHANTASM II (1988), PHANTASM III: LORD OF THE DEAD (1994), PHANTASM IV: OBLIVION (1998) and the most recent installment PHANTASM: RAVAGER (2016). Each film finds Mike (Michael Baldwin) facing off against a mysterious grave robber known only as the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) and his lethal arsenal of terrible weapons.

TO ENTER: 

Leave us a message in the KITTY CONTACT form in our sidebar. Your email will not be shared or used for any other purpose. Giveaway ends September 15.

www.wellgousa.com

Blu-Ray Review: BORN IN CHINA

Narrated by John Krasinski. Directed by Lu Chuan. (2017, 79 min).

WALT DISNEY

Born in China is the latest film in the DisneyNature series, sort-of the 21st Century version of all those True-Life Adventures they used to make.

Some of you might remember those: Most of them were theatrical short subjects which occasionally showed up on ABC‘s Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights. They were cheerful - sometimes humorous - looks at various critters and their environments, accompanied by cornball narration from Winston Hibler. These movies were always fun, but not always documentaries in the truest sense. As we grew older and wiser, it was obvious many scenes were staged and scripted for the sake of entertainment.

The big difference is the DisneyNature films are big, sprawling and gorgeously shot. And while they attempt to turn their subjects into "characters," none of the animals are manipulated into performing. They usually round up an actor to provide narration - John Krasinski this time - which is created to manipulate the audience instead.

Not amused.

In my household - with two daughters - two animals rule the Cutieverse: Cats and pandas, especially baby cats and pandas. Born in China has both, meaning every time they happened to be in the room when the trailer showed up on TV last spring, I saw this:

Predictably, there's more cute in Born in China than the Surgeon General recommends, and not just panda and snow leopard cubs. We also follow a family of golden snub-nosed monkeys and a migrating herd of chiru, both with their own fair share of doe-eyed darlings. Watching this disc with my daughters, they patiently waited through those segments, which have their cute moments, but what they really wanted were more pandas, more kitties. So whenever the narrative returned to them...well...

But cute isn't all Born in China has to offer. It's the best looking DisneyNature film to-date and these "stories" are more interesting. One is even surprisingly poignant, which usually never happens in these movies (though the narrative does try to sugarcoat tragedy by rambling about the circle of life). Without giving anything away, when one of my daughters remarked how sad one animal's story was turning. I reassured her, "Don't worry, this is Disney. These things always end happy." However, once it was over, she turned to me and quipped, "Thanks a lot, Dad."

While the film does have its unexpectedly heart-tugging moments, it's also quite funny at times. The male chiru's courting dance had us laughing until it hurt, as did a lot of the unused footage that plays during the end credits, especially when the snow leopard cubs engage in the nature film version of breaking the fourth wall.

Born in China is another impeccably-crafted entry in the DisneyNature series, and the most engaging one since 2014's Bears. It's charmingly narrated, filled with beautiful imagery and, of course, dishes up an abundance of cute.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES: "Panda Suits & Bamboo Shoots"; "Walking with Monkeys"; "Masters of Camouflage"; "Wading Through Wetlands" (All four are behind-the-scenes shorts about the painstaking efforts by the crew to capture these animals on film).

MUSIC VIDEO: "Everything Everything" by American Authors

PROMO VIDEO: "DisneyNature: Get Inspired, Get Involved"

DVD & DIGITAL COPIES

KITTY CONSENSUS:

 PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS

Blu-Ray Review: FREEBIE AND THE BEAN

Starring Alan Arkin, James Caan, Jack Kruschen, Valerie Harper, Loretta Swit, Alex Rocco, Mike Kellin, Paul Koslo, Linda Marsh, Christopher Morley. Directed by Richard Rush. (1974, 113 min).

WARNER ARCHIVE

Before Lethal Weapon or Bad Boys, there was Freebie and the Bean, a relatively forgotten 1974 action comedy that preceded the popularity of the "buddy cop" film by a decade. 

 

I remember seeing this with my folks at the local Southgate Quad when it was the bottom half of a double bill (remember those?). I don't recall the main feature at all, and even forgot Freebie and the Bean's plot by the time we got home. But it had destructive car chases, two cops swearing & fighting like an old married couple and - be-hold! - a sexy young woman's naked butt! 

When you're 11 years old, that stuff is glorious. 

Despite being a big hit and inspiring a short-lived TV series, Freebie and the Bean is mostly forgotten today, seldom cited among 70s' enduring action classics. I never gave the film much thought over the years, either, at least until it was mentioned in a recent website article and triggered old memories: "Hey! I remember that one!"

Watching the film forty years later, I was reminded of a few things:

Car chases were a virtual art-form in the 70s. Everything was done in-camera without seizure-inducing editing or CGI. Expertly-choreographed ballets of speed and destruction, they somehow looked & felt more real. Freebie and the Bean has, not one, but three elaborate chase scenes, one which is as slick and exciting as those in The French Connection or The Seven-Ups, and another with enough gratuitous destruction to rival The Blues Brothers.

At the worst possible moment, a bee flies into the car.

James Caan (Freebie) and Alan Arkin (the Bean) made a great team and it's a shame they didn't do more films together. Arkin has always been amusing, but considering Caan's tough guy reputation and dramatic intensity, this film is a great reminder of how genuinely funny he could be.

There's a good reason I never recalled the plot when I was a kid: It's nearly non-existent. Freebie and Bean are one witness away from nailing a local racketeer, Red Meyers, then learn there's a contract out on Red's life. Now they are forced to protect Red from hired hitmen until their witness turns up. The film spends about as much time on the actual plot as I did to write that summary. And it doesn't matter anyway because the movie's always been about the cantankerous friendship between Freebie and Bean.

Though definitely a product of its time - including a considerable amount of decidedly un-PC dialogue - Freebie and the Bean is still pretty damned entertaining, mainly because of the emphasis on character over action. With hindsight, its easy to see the film's belated influence on the action-comedy genre. Aside from a trailer, this disc from Warner Archive is sadly bereft of any bonus material, though still a wonderful stroll down memory lane.

EXTRA KIBBLES

TRAILER

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS