New Blu-ray/DVD Roundup
Watching Chloé Zhao’s feature directorial debut, Songs My Brothers Taught Me, it’s mind-boggling to think that a filmmaker with such modest, humanistic leanings would go on to direct one of the MCU’s most ambitious works a mere six years later. Though her promising first film has little in common with Eternals, it’s basically a companion piece to her best work thus far, The Rider, and, in some regards, Nomadland, with non-traditional actors playing slightly fictionalized versions of themselves, often with their names intact.
The story of disillusioned teen Johnny (John Reddy) taking desperate measures to escape his dead-end reservation existence provides an authentic, intimate look at modern Native American life, elevated by gorgeous natural landscapes lensed by the director’s go-to cinematographer, Joshua James Richards. While the pervading sense of hopelessness and a clear notion of Zhao still finding her footing as a filmmaker discourage as powerful a connection to the overall experience as her two subsequent efforts would inspire, there’s enough artistic promise on display to sustain viewer attention.
Grade: B-plus. Not rated, but with adult themes and language. Available on Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD.
Paramount Pictures
Back in the mid/late 1990s, moviegoers could count on straightforward action/thrillers like Breakdown hitting theaters almost every summer weekend, and sometimes beyond. Now, they’re so rare that revisiting the best films of that era feels like spending precious time with an ancient artifact. Co-writer/director Jonathan Mostow’s audition tape for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines features similar hard-nosed action filmmaking in the service of a simple tale of abduction that grows more tense by the minute, thanks to compelling performances by Kurt Russell and, in one of his final turns, J.T. Walsh. The excitement is continually doled out in one sharply enacted set piece after another, building to an unforgettable climax that will leave you wondering why Mostow didn’t become the go-to action filmmaker of the past 25 years.
Grade: A-minus. Rated R. Available on Blu-ray
(Photo: Paramount Pictures)
Music Box Films
French writer/director Justine Triet’s expertly crafted erotic thriller Sibyl derives its power from crisp visuals and an active pace, hopping between the past and its eponymous protagonist’s fast-moving present. Played with steady confidence by Virginie Efira (Benedetta), the recovering alcoholic therapist and mother of two decides to quit her practice and return to writing fiction — but holds on to a few clients just in case they provide her with some juicy fodder.
That wish comes true when actress Margot (Adèle Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Color) opens up about drama with co-star Igor (Gaspard Ulliel, A Very Long Engagement), which Sibyl mines nearly word-for-word, including some fairly harrowing twists and turns. Though an intelligent commentary on the creative process and plenty suspenseful, the well-rounded film also weaves in a good amount of situational comedy, especially when the action shifts to the movie-within-the-movie’s set on the symbolically rich active volcano Stromboli. There, the lines between reality and the book taking shape on Sibyl’s laptop become almost too indiscernible, resulting in the film’s mosts captivating scenes.
Grade: B-plus. Not rated, but with adult language, themes, nudity, and sexual content. Available on DVD and VOD
(Photo: Kino Lorber)
