I’m trying to figure out ways to make this site more interesting now that the music has gone away. Right now I’m mostly thinking about getting back to some basic things I used to do. Like the Pick of the Week. I’ve continued writing about it for Cinema Sentries, but only every other week (another guy does the off weeks for me) but I’ve gotten remiss about posting those here. I want to get better at that and I want to keep writing my picks here on those off weeks.
And here we go.
I remember watching Mad Max: Fury Road in the theater. I know I’d previously watched Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome when I was a kid. I might have seen the other two back then but I had no memory of it. Point being the Mad Max series wasn’t something I was particularly interested in. But I took my wife to see Fury Road because it was getting mad reviews and it looked fun.
Somewhere in the middle of it, probably about the time that dude strapped to the front of a truck playing a guitar that breathed fire, I turned to my wife and said something like “You have to embrace the ridiculousness.”
And you do. These films aren’t something you intellectually dissect. They are utterly ridiculous films, but they are so much fun, they are so brilliantly, and technically filmed, the silly bits don’t matter.
Fury Road has become one of my favorite films.
I meant to see Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga in the theater, but as these things happen, I never made it. It is a film designed to be seen on the biggest screen. But I guess a 4K UHD disk on my large television will have to suffice.
Like all major releases these days Furiosa comes in a variety of packages with a variety of special features. So choose wisely.
Also out this week that looks interesting:
Bob Le Flambeur: Jean Pierre-Melville’s classic film involves an aging gangster going after one last score.
Demons & Demons 2: Lamberto Bava’s nuts-o horror films are getting a nice 4K release. You can read my full review here.
Dick Tracy RKO Collection: The classic comic strip character was adapted in the 1940s by RKO. Four of those films fill out this nice-looking boxed set.
Top Line (AKA Alien Terminator): Franco Nero stars in this goofy-sounding film about a man who discovers a UFO in the Columbian jungle and when he tells people about it, he gets hunted by the FBI, the KGB, the Mob, Nazis, and everybody else.
The Last Emperor: Criterion is giving Bernardo Bertolucci’s epic drama the 4K treatment. It follows the life of Emperor Pu Yi, the last emperor of China whose life followed the country during some dramatic changes.
The Bikeriders: Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, and Michael Shannon star in this film about a biker gang and its changing loyalties.
If: Animated film about a young girl who can see everybody’s imaginary friends after they grow up and get real friends.
When Titans Ruled the Earth: Arrow Video has boxed up Clash of the Titans and Wrath of the Titans into a nice-looking package.
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