Streaming might be the future, but physical media is still the present -- for movie lovers, anyway. It's also awesome, depending on the title, the label, and the release, so join us as we take a look at the new 4K UHDs, Blu-rays, and DVDs heading your way. Now keep reading as we explore... Companion and more of this week's new release roundup!
They say there are only like six or seven plots in the entirety of fiction, and if that feels low it's because those "plots" are fairly broad in nature. Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth are just a few of them, for example. The point being that it's okay, and even expected, for stories and movies to seem familiar up to a point -- it's what the writers and directors do with that setup that matters. I say all that to say this... Companion just might feel very familiar to you at first, but give it room to run, and this story about a robot's self-awareness will surprise, thrill, and entertain you all the way to the end.
Iris and her boyfriend, Josh, are invited to a weekend getaway at a wealthy man's remote estate, but things quickly take a turn when Iris' hand is forced towards an act of violence. As if the blood on her dress wasn't bad enough, it also forces her to face a surprising truth about herself -- she's not human and is instead a companion robot.
Writer/director Drew Hancock crafts a violent tale of discovery and death with Companion, but he does so with real laughs, smart writing, and some emotionally satisfying story turns. Sophie Thatcher is fantastic as Iris, a young woman whose entire life is shattered by the weekend's events and revelations, and you can't help but immediately root for her against some hefty odds. Cinematographer Eli Born elevates things even further with attractive visuals that give the film colorful, creative pops.
Companion is available on 4K UHD and Blu-ray, and it only includes three very slight featurettes.
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From an adult's special friend to man's best friend, Dog Man is a new animated feature from DreamWorks, adapted from Dav Pilkey's popular children's book series. A cop and his loyal dog are blown up by an evil cat leaving the officer's head and the mutt's body destroyed. So the doctor sews the dog's head on the cop's body, obviously. It only gets weirder from there.
Dog Man is a very good boy, indeed, and a terrifically fun watch for kids and adults alike. The body horror opening grows to touch on loss, relationships, and more leading up to a mechanical kaiju battle that levels the city. Plenty of laughs and more than a little sweetness fill the cracks here making for an entertaining and very weird ride.
The disc comes with plenty of extras starting with a commentary from writer/director Peter Hastings exploring his appreciation for the character and world of Dog Man. Also included are four featurettes and eight deleted scenes.
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If you told someone watching Apocalypto back in 2006 that its director would soon find himself blacklisted by Hollywood, return in 2016 with the Academy Award-winning Hacksaw Ridge, eventually chase it with 2025's low budget thriller romp starring a bald Mark Wahlberg, and then be named by President Donald Trump as his Ambassador to Hollywood, well, they'd understandably think you nucking futs. But here we are, so let's talk Mel Gibson's Flight Risk
A U.S. marshal transporting a fugitive turned state's witness is forced to take a small plane over rural Alaska heading towards Anchorage. It's just the two of them plus the pilot, an apparent hick with a motor mouth, but she's about to discover that appearances can be deceiving.
Wahlberg plays the pilot, a killer tasked with taking out both the marshal and the witness, and he's entirely on Gibson's wavelength. He's playing the role with a showy, over the top energy that can't help but entertain. The same can't quite be said for Topher Grace as the witness and Michelle Dockery as the marshal, and it's enough to hurt the overall film. You want this to be a lot more energetic, dark, and weird -- the kind of movie Gibson should be a natural fit for -- and instead, it's a slight thriller that's just enough fun to be forgettable.
I would have loved a director's commentary here, but sadly, the release -- available on both 4K UHD and Blu-ray -- only includes a generic making-of featurette.
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The final new release being covered here seems like an easy win... on paper, at least. An action/comedy starring Ke Huy Quan and action-choreographed by the folks at 87North sounds like a blast, but Love Hurts is far more of a fizzle.
Quan plays a real estate agent whose past comes back to haunt him when old co-workers re-enter his life. He was once a killer who left the game when he let a target go because he loved her, but now she's back alongside a handful of assassins who have him in their crosshairs.
The highlights of Love Hurts are limited to two things: Quan's simple charms, and some fun enough fight scenes. The action is all heightened and somewhat ridiculous, but it's the kind of sharp, creative set-pieces we've come to expect from the 87North team. The script, though, or at least what made it to the screen, is messy and unconvincing as story elements and character relationships fail to gel in any meaningful way. Excessive voiceover serves only to distract, and worse, the first character killed here feels completely at odds with the film's extremely light tone. Maybe I'm just growing soft in my old age, but the sequence is an off-putting tonal misfire.
Love Hurts comes to 4K UHD and Blu-ray with deleted scenes and three featurettes.
Other genre releases of note this week include the South Korean wartime adventure Harbin, the shark attack thriller Into the Deep, the sci-fi romance Love Me, the box-set collection Mabuse Lives!, and the Japanese classic Ugetsu on 4K UHD from Criterion.