Movies
New On Blu-ray: Oscar Winner ‘Moonlight’, ‘Doctor Strange’, ‘Allied’
MOONLIGHT
How is this for timing. Just two days after being announced Best Picture at the 89th Academy Awards, Moonlight makes its way to Blu-ray. Barry Jenkins’ follow up to Medicine for Melancholy is an emotional triumph about the story of Chiron (Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes), and African-American struggling with his sexuality and identity. While I’ll admit that La La Land was my favorite film of 2016, Moonlight was justly deserving of its Best Picture win. From its opening tracking shot of Juan (Oscar winner Mahershala Ali) to its seamless editing as Chiron grows from child to adult, Jenkins’ film is a delicate journey that explores what it means to be a homosexual black man. But the themes explored are universal so it goes beyond the color of one’s skin. In my full review, I acknowledged that Moonlight “is as powerful as it is timeless.” I stand by those words.
Because of the quick release by A24 and Lionsgate Home Entertainment, the Blu-ray contains only a few extras. The longest is Barry Jenkins supplying an audio commentary. Also to be found is three featurettes of the EPK variety (“Ensemble of Emotion: Making Moonlight,” “Poetry Through Collaboration: The Music of Moonlight,” and “Cruel Beauty: Filming in Miami”).
DOCTOR STRANGE
The same week Hugh Jackman brandishes his claws one last time as Wolverine in Logan, Marvel Studios drops Doctor Strange on home video. Benedict Cumberbatch joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe after an unsuccessful outing as Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness. The change of scenery is good. The talented British thespian has a tendency to make acting look easy, so it is befitting to see him play a character where he is at first limited in what he can accomplish.
When a nasty car accident strips Stephen Strange of his surgical gifts and sets him on a path of self-destruction, he finds purpose and redemption when he travels to Tibet. He also discovers a power greater than that of handling a scalpel or medical instrument. A narcissist much like Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, it will be interesting to see how the new Dr. Strange handles himself in shared company with Iron Man down the road. The film gives us a little tease with him and Thor and I suspect that Cumberbatch will have a key moment in the forthcoming Thor: Ragnarok
Scott Derickson, who had previously done such films as The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Sinister, joins the MCU directing brigade and does an admirable job with a bountiful of riches. Namely, Cumberbatch and supporting cast that includes Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Mads Mikkelsen. The biggest drawback is the ease and amount of time it takes Strange to turn full “jedi” by unlocking the magical powers that help bend time and space. This quibble, and the familiarity when it comes to origin stories, aside, and Doctor Strange is another fine addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Getting several home video releases as exclusive packaging at brick-and-mortar stores Target and Best Buy, Doctor Strange will please those wanting to know more about the supporting characters, costumes and production design, and fight choreography. Beyond these featurettes, we get a discussion from the amazing composer Michael Giacchino and what he brought to the film; an exclusive seven-minute look at what lies in store for MCU’s Phase 3 films; five deleted scenes; a gag reel, and more.
THE BEFORE TRILOGY
Richard Linklater is a filmmaker of much respect among his peers but he doesn’t the carry the weight of say a Spielberg or Scorsese. But he without a doubt has the distinction of crafting the greatest trilogy of films. His Before Trilogy is brilliant if understated. No current filmmaker has captured the human experience quite like Linklater. As far back as his debut Slacker, which I personally found to be a struggle to get through in a single sitting because of its shifting narrative perspective, Linklater never strains when telling stories where human interaction is paramount to the story (see also Dazed and Confused and Oscar-winning Boyhood).
Linklater never intended for there to be a Before Trilogy. After all, there is a nine year gap between sequels and an eighteen year time frame between the release of Before Sunrise (1995) and the release of final installment, Before Midnight (2013). The story of Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) shows the maturation of a relationship from when they first made glances in Vienna. This meet-cute on a train abroad to the tumultuous strain of marriage nearly twenty years later. With each installment, Jesse and Celine go from self-discovery stalwarts to a union that is near a tipping point. There is a lot of truth with Before Midnight, so much so that friends I know couldn’t handle its authenticity when it comes to squabbling (the hotel scene is the apex of the entire trilogy).
While this is called The Before Trilogy, I have a sneaking suspicion we may see Jesse and Celine one more time. Until then, this Criterion Collection is a MUST for those who are fans of Richard Linklater and this great trilogy. The key extras worth your time is a 44-minute filmed conversation about Before Sunrise; the American Masters documentary “Richard Linklater: Dream is Destiny” (90 minutes); a video essay on Linklater’s treatment of time; and After Before, a documentary shot during the production of Before Midnight.
ALLIED
The last new featured release and one that turned into an Oscar pretender is Robert Zemeckis’ Allied. The romantic thriller set during WWII stars Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard. I saw it once in theaters last fall and I have difficulty in recalling moments. The one moment that sticks out (like a sore thumb) is Pitt and Cotillard’s sex scene inside a car while a sandstorm swirls around. The reason I can recall it is because there is hardly any damage to the car, the paint barely blemished.
With the triple threat of Zemeckis, Pitt, and Cotillard and Steven Knight (Locke, FX’s “Taboo”) handling the script, you’d expect something exemplary, not forgettable. For starters, the core conflict – whether or not Cotillard’s character (a former French Resistance fighter) might be a German sleeper agent – begins late into the film. Such a development should at least start a quarter of the way through a two-hour feature. Its placement derails performances and momentum. Allied aspires to be Casablanca in terms of setting and period, but Bogart and Bergman will always have Paris. Allied, not so much.
For those that want to get more in-depth coverage on the making of the film, both the Blu-ray and 4K UHD releases of Allied come with 10 featurettes that add up to close to one hour’s worth of behind-the-scenes footage. Viewers will get background on the story, production design and costumes, actors Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, plus weapons, vehicles, and film score.