Blinded by the Light: Bruce Springsteen Approved

Can music offer inspiration?

Blinded by the Light arrived November 19. It’s on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital. The Digital format appeared early on October 22

THE BOSS

Blinded by the Light’s noteworthy selling point is a large chunk of the story features Bruce Springsteen music and lyrics. (The Bruce cassette starts to play around 25 minutes into the 118-minute movie.) Springsteen, himself, approved from the very beginning, the use of his music. Which, apparently, is something he rarely does for a lot of projects.

The Rotten Tomatoes number jumped high with 89%. The figure makes Blinded by the Light a ‘Certified Fresh’ production. On the downside, the movie flew under-the-radar for its summer 2019 release. The film only ticked slightly over $17 million worldwide.

One theory for the low box office result was, perhaps, it's release came mere weeks after Yesterday, a film which featured The Beatles music, and fared out with around $145 million worldwide. Maybe audiences felt tired of the ‘jukebox musical’ style. Maybe. (I had to Google ‘jukebox musical.’)    

Blinded by the Light is inspired by the true story, and based on Sarfraz Manzoor’s memoir, ‘Greeting from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock N’ Roll.’ Manzoor wrote the screenplay with Gurinder Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges. Chadha was behind the camera as the director.

The cast included Viveik Kalra, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Ganatra, Nell Williams, Aaron Phagura, Hayley Atwell and Dean-Charles Chapen.

TAKE

Would I buy this film? Yes. Although…I probably wouldn’t rush to get it.

But, it was much more entertaining to watch than The Kitchen, from the previous post.

I can’t say I’m an expert on Bruce Springsteen and his music. I do like a handful of songs, for sure. But for anybody who is a bigger fan of his music, it is worthy of a viewing.

‘Baby, we were born to run’ became stuck in my mind for the rest of the night.

The story is about Javed (Viveik Kalra), a British-Pakistani-Muslim teen living in the town of Luton, England, in 1987. With racial divides and economic issues, like massive unemployment at the time, it doesn’t always mean there are friendly people around.

Javed writes poetry, songs and essays as an outlet, while he dreams of more. Javed also tries to deal with his strict, traditional father, who refuses to bend his views on just about anything. Be it parties, school, travel, etc.   

I suppose the coming-of-age PG-13 story will feel familiar. You may have an idea of how it will all end before you make it to the ending, too. It also feels a bit different with the focus on a British-Pakistani-Muslim family. And Bruce Springsteen’s music highlighted throughout is, of course, a rarity. Overall, it still makes an impression. 

Some of Bruce’s lyrics show up on the screen, to feature how Javed is feeling and connecting to them, which is an interesting directing technique. When Javed is introduced to the music of The Boss in the movie, he becomes obsessed. And slowly, his life and attitude towards life begin to change.

The Bruce Springsteen music may be the big draw for some. The story has more going on, too.

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

The DVD only has the Memoir to Movie selection.

Memoir to Movie (6 minutes, 10 seconds)

- Director and writer Gurinder Chadra and author Sarfraz Manzoor discuss the book and there are changes from Manzoor’s life to add a bit more drama, but also not make it so personal. (Parent’s names are different, as it the main character of Javed.)

The Most Crazy Thing (6 minutes, 55 seconds)

- Gurinder and Sarfraz talk about Bruce Springsteen and how they managed to get his full blessing on the movie. (Springsteen even liked Sarfraz’s book. Which Sarfraz couldn’t believe.) It’s probably the most intriguing of the features.

Deleted Scenes and Extended Scenes (9 minutes, 48 seconds.)

- Mostly extension of scenes that are already in the movie. Maybe adds extra depth to characters, but also didn’t add much more to the final story. I thought, anyway.

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment

The Kitchen: Messy

Welcome to The Kitchen.

The Kitchen arrives on November 5. It’s on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.

The Digital format appeared early on October 22.

EXPECTATIONS

The Kitchen may have had higher expectations for the summer 2019 release.

Melissa McCarthy was riding the wave of her first-ever lead Oscar nomination from Can You Ever Forgive Me? But she also won a Razzie. For the worst performance in The Happytime Murders and Life of the Party.

(The stats show McCarthy has been hit and miss, the last few years. I didn’t mind Life of the Party. But one viewing felt like enough. The Happytime Murders I haven’t watched.)

The Kitchen cast is rounded it out with many familiar faces. Tiffany Haddish and Elisabeth Moss are the other two female leads.

Domhail Gleeson, James Badge Dale, Brian d’Arcy James, Margo Martindale, Common (an Oscar winner), Bill Camp, Jeremy Bobb, E.J. Bonilla, Wayne Duvall and Annabella Sciorra, are in the rest of the ensemble.

Yet.

Not only did the movie struggle - but it bombed by many box office standards. It made just $15 million worldwide. The Rotten Tomatoes rating came in at a measly 22%.

The DC Vertigo comic book series created by Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle is the inspiration for the movie. The screenplay was by Andrea Berloff, who was also the first-time director.

TAKE

Would I buy this film? No.

The curiosity factor may be the only worthwhile point of checking out the movie. I do not know the DC Vertigo comic book series, so I cannot make any proper comparison.

It’s 1978 in Hell’s Kitchen. Three men are sent to prison by the FBI. Of course, there are connections to the mob. So, three housewives enter the uncharted territory to fend for themselves. They decide to take the business into their own hands. They hope to make the community better with the mob duties, instead of only taking the money and disappearing. They can set their own way until their husbands return.

The film gets points for the 1970s feel and the soundtrack. The music was cool. Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain and Carry on my Wayward Son by Kansas, as an example.

It’s an R-rated film, so it is violent and dark at times, and plenty of colourful language. 

Overall though, it doesn’t work for me. At 102-minutes it actually ended up feeling way too long. The pacing of the story came across jumbled for a crime film, that honestly, it was boring at times to watch.

I do like McCarthy, Haddish and Moss in general as actresses. They do well with the dramatic stuff. But, I never really cared much for them in this story.

For wives who were never involved in their husbands’ shady work. Yet, the three quickly challenge their mob competition, take to getting protection money, conduct negotiations, and are involved in murders and violence, and it all seems like surprising ease for them. The number of funerals becomes almost laughable, too, if it wasn’t meant to be a serious movie.       

It’s an impressive cast. The Kitchen felt like it could have been so much better, though.

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

Running Hell’s Kitchen (9 minutes, 1 second.)

- Discussion of the filming, the graphic novel/comic book, and how much women were involved in the production.

Taking Over the Neighbourhood (5 minutes, 22 seconds.)

- Some history on Hell’s Kitchen, how they made the movie feel 1970’s New York with the clothes, store signs and even the garbage on the street.

Deleted scene (1 minute, 25 seconds.)

- The quick scene is between Tiffany Haddish and James Badge Dale - her husband in the film. Like four lines of dialogue. I can see why it was cut out.

Warner Brothers Entertainment

Annabelle Comes Home: A Haunting Night

Annabelle returns.

Annabelle Comes Home - can be in your home - since October 8.

It’s on Blu-Ray Combo Pack and DVD. The Digital format appeared early on September 17.

CONJURING

Annabelle Comes Home is the third installment for the sinister doll. This is, of course, part of the expanding Conjuring Universe with New Line Cinema. Home follows Annabelle (2014) and Annabelle: Creation (2017.)

Annabelle was first introduced in The Conjuring (2013). When Ed and Lorraine Warren crossed paths with the doll. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise the two Warrens here.

The timeline gets a little fuzzy. It seems like Annabelle Comes Home takes place between Conjuring 1 and 2. Essentially, bringing the Annabelle movies full circle, back to the home of the Warren’s.

The Warrens were real people, there is a real Annabelle doll. But the story for this particular movie is just for the thrills. (The Conjuring movies are more grounded in true/recorded events.)

Annabelle Comes Home grossed over $226 million at the worldwide box office. This is the weakest result of the three Annabelle movies. Although it was the second-best rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 65%. (The first Annabelle for comparison was just 29%)

The rest of the small cast includes Mckenna Grace, Madison Iseman and Katie Sarife.

Gary Dauberman is the screenwriter for the Annabelle films, IT and The Nun. Annabelle Comes Home is his directorial debut. He wrote the screenplay. It is a story he hatched with the Conjuring Universe creator, James Wan.

TAKE

Would I buy this film? With Halloween on the horizon, I would say yes.

I think it’s a bit more effective if you have seen The Conjuring or at least one of the Annabelle movies.

The opening sequence of Comes Home is like an extension of The Conjuring. The Warrens drive home with the doll and figure out how to contain Annabelle.

Although it is cool that the Warrens are a part of the movie, they are not the driving force of this story. Out of the 106 minutes, they might appear in, maybe, 20 minutes of the run time.

But.

The story is simple - basically, a house becomes haunted. It may not be so difficult for a newbie to follow along. The Warrens have a locked room of artifacts they collected from cases to contain the evil. Including Annabelle.

Mary Ellen is ready to babysit the daughter of the Warrens, Judy (Judy is still around in real life, too.) A recent article about Ed and Lorraine draws mostly negative attention for Judy. But piques the interest of Mary Ellen’s friend, Daniela. She is determined to see inside the house.

Daniela soon makes the eye-rolling decision to unlock the artifact room. (Her motive is driven by emotion.) Mayhem and chaos soon descend on the house. The three girls must find a way to make it through the night.

Like past Conjuring Universe movies, Annabelle Comes Home is quite good with the creepy atmosphere. Quite a few scenes have no dialogue at all. And the movie plays with ‘scare’ expectations a handful of times. A jump scare coming? Some are obvious. A few are not.

The buckets of blood levels are always low too, which I don’t mind. Haha.

Does Annabelle Comes Home get me to want to see more? I’ll most likely be watching The Conjuring 3 in 2020!

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

The special features are minimum compared to some movies. These last almost 30 minutes.

Deleted Scenes (11 minutes, 28 seconds.)

The most interesting one is the alternate ending. A sequence is slightly different from the movie. It’s intriguing the little changes that are featured. And the changed for the final reel.

The Artifact Room and The Occult (5 minutes, 7 seconds)

This is a closer look at some of the artifacts that are featured or hidden in the room. A few that may be used as stories for potential movies.

The Light and the Love (4 minutes, 26 seconds)

A discussion of Ed and Lorraine Warren. How The Conjuring/Annabelle can be just as much as a horror story, as it is a love story.

Behind the Scenes

The Ferryman/Demon (5 minutes, 18 seconds.)

The Bloody Bride (2 minutes, 57 seconds.)

The Werewolf (3 minutes, 7 seconds.)

A closer look at some of the supernatural in the movie. The make-up, backstories, acting, that went into it. A lot of it is practical effects over special effects.

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment 

Shaft 2019: Not Shaft 2000. Not Shaft 1971.

Shaft has been around since 1970.

Shaft returns to film with the Blu-Ray Combo Pack and DVD. It arrived on September 24. The Digital format appeared early on September 10.

DETECTIVE

John Shaft’s beginnings started in novel form. The book was published in 1970 by Ernest Tidyman and inspired the 1970s trilogy of films with Richard Roundtree in the lead role. He has appeared in every film.

Samuel L. Jackson became Shaft in 2000. This new 2019 chapter for Shaft makes the fifth in the series. They make a reference to the 1970s and 2000 Shaft in this new movie as to why there are three Shafts.

Shaft 2019 didn’t make a big impression for the summer movie release. It made just over $21 million at the domestic box office. It received an international release on Netflix. On that Tomatometer, it earned just a 32%

This New Line Cinema’s action-comedy was directed by Tim Story. Kenya Barris and Alex Barnow were the writers of the screenplay

Samuel L. Jackson and Richard Roundtree both return. The cast is rounded out with Jessie T. Usher, Regina Hall, Alexandra Shipp, Matt Lauria, Titus Welliver and Cliff ‘Method Man’ Smith.

TAKE

Would I buy this film? No.

I am someone who has never seen anything of Shaft before. It would never have been a movie I would rush out and see.

Also, I may not know what I am talking about. And if you are a fan of Samuel L. Jackson, it may be worthwhile just for him.

Was it a great movie? Not really. It has an ok mystery, that made it watchable for me for the 111 minutes.

Jessie T. Usher is JJ - aka John Shaft Jr. works for the FBI. When his best friend seems to die under mysterious circumstances, JJ decides he needs the help of a man, he hardly knows. His dad - John Shaft.

As the investigation unfolds, the senior Shaft may have an agenda of his own for helping his son.

It’s not a movie for everyone. It’s R-rated after all. There’s plenty of Samuel L. Jackson’s colourful language. Some violence and sometimes the movie tries too hard to be funny, and some people may just find it offensive.

(Rogerebert.com was so unimpressed it was 0.5 out of 4 stars as one example.)

It's also hard to deny, for nearly 50 years that Shaft has been around. There's certainly some appeal. 

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

Can Ya Dig It? The Making of Shaft (10 minutes, 36 seconds)
- The behind-the-scenes-reel for the making of the movie. Talk of shooting locations, trying to stay true to Shaft, but adding into the man's point-of-view of today. 

A Complicated Man: The Shaft Legacy - Part One: A Bad Mother Born (15 minutes, 41 seconds.)

A Complicated Man: The Shaft Legacy - Part Two: No Questions Asked (14 minutes, 34 seconds.)

A Complicated Man: The Shaft Legacy - Part Three: A Legend of His Time (13 minutes, 57 seconds.)

- Surprisingly in-depth of the character of Shaft. Discussions include the novel and how the character of Shaft came to be. The trilogy of movies of Shaft with Richard Roundtree and making a movie in the 1970s. The director Gordon Parks. The knockoffs that tried to replicate Shaft with the blaxploitation genre of film. Why the genre of the movie seemed to have stopped. The music of Shaft, and these new Shafts with Samuel L. Jackson. 

Deleted Scenes (2 minutes, 54 seconds)
- Most scenes don't last longer than a few seconds. Don't really add a whole lot if they were included in the movie.

Gag Reel (4 minutes, 53 seconds.)
- Gag reel silliness. Maybe funny, I didn't find it all that funny

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment

Godzilla: King of the Monsters - Monster Mash

The MonsterVerse continues.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters arrives August 27. It’s on 4K UHD Combo-Pack, Blu-Ray Combo Pack and DVD. The Digital format appeared early on August 6.

UNIVERSE

Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures rebooted Godzilla back in 2014. This starts the MonsterVerse. Kong: Skull Island, another reboot for King Kong, followed in 2017.

Many called King of the Monsters a disappointment within the Summer 2019 slate of films. While the Godzilla 2014 version had a strong buzz, King of the Monsters appears to have stumbled.

It only garnered a 46% on Rotten Tomatoes and over $385 million worldwide. The result is the lowest of the MonsterVerse.

But plans are already in the works for more. Godzilla and King Kong are to meet in Godzilla vs. Kong in 2020. (Which gets teased during this credits sequence.)

Godzilla may get the title but there are humans as well. Like Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown, in her feature film debut. (Millie, of course, is familiar with tv in Stranger Things. )

The cast is rounded out with Bradley Whitford. Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Oscar nominee David Strathairn, Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe and Golden Globe nominee Ziyi Zhang.

The film is directed by Michael Dougherty. He wrote the script with Zach Shields with the story by Max Borenstein and Shields. Based on the characters of Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan, owned and created by Toho Co, Ltd.

TAKE

Would I buy this film? Make it a rainy day selection.

This is a sequel. So, if you’ve never seen Godzilla or Skull Island, well, King of the Monsters may be an odd choice to start. But if you like Godzilla or monster movies in general, I would say it is worth a look.

(I’m not one to say I am a Godzilla expert as the history stretches back in 1954. Bigger fans may just love this.)

Do you have to be familiar with those other MonsterVerse movies? Not really. The only connective thread is a few supporting characters from the 2014 Godzilla. And the organization called Monarch.

Godzilla haunts the family of Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown.

Godzilla has disappeared for five years. But Monarch has been on the search and studying these other creatures known as Titans. If there is one like Godzilla - there must be more to find, right?

The movie opens with trying to keep one of these Titans contained named Mothra. A group of eco-terrorists attack though. Mothra escapes but Farmiga’s and Bobby Brown’s characters are captured.

As these monsters rise from Rodan and the three-headed Ghidorah. Humanity’s very existence is hanging in the balance. As it always tends to be for humanity.

It is a monster movie. So, it’s over-the-top. There is plenty of action/destruction, too. The last 25-30 minutes of the film is focused around a Godzilla fight.

You may shake your head at some of what the humans do when monsters are around, too.

The visual effects are quite impressive.

Was it a great film? Not really.

Was it terrible? Not really.

It’s passable entertainment. Good for a rainy day.

Will I be watching Godzilla vs. Kong? Most likely.

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

How much there was to find here was surprising.

Monsters 101 (5 minutes, 43 seconds.)

Godzilla: Nature’s Fearsome Guardian

Mothra: Queen of the Monsters

King Ghidorah: The Living Extinction Machine

Rodan: Airborne God of Fire

- A closer look at the monsters in the film, sizes, special powers etc. But nothing earth-shattering.

Evolution of Titans (27 minutes, 24 seconds.)

Godzilla 2.0

Making Morthra

Creating Ghidorah

Reimagining Rodan

A deeper look at the monsters. Topics include the slight physical changes to Godzilla. There's talk how Ghindorah used motion-capture performance to create the three heads. And how vultures and even crane sounds are used for Rodan. Some of it’s interesting for how much thought goes into the design of the monster.

Monarch in Action (32 minutes, 56 seconds.)

The Yunnan Temple

Castle Bravo

The Antarctic base

The Isla de Mara Volcano

The Undersea Lair

More about the organization of Monarch. This section is more sets and locations that are used within the film.

Millie Bobby Brown: Force of Nature (4 minutes, 7 seconds.)

- What a lot of the cast thought of Millie Bobby Brown. I never saw Stranger Things, so there might be more of an appeal for that fanbase. She’s only 13 when she filmed the movie.

Monster Tech: Monarch Joins the Fight (8 minutes, 34 seconds.)

- There’s a different kind of technology featured in the movie because of Monarch. They discuss it here.

Monsters are Real (14 minutes, 10 seconds.)

- I found this more interesting. It shifts more away from the movie aspects and the real-life aspects. What is it about monsters? Some may say it’s humans. What about dragons? They are featured in basically every culture. Komodo dragons?

Those Kraken legends have some truth, too.

Welcome to the Monsterverse (3 minutes, 42 seconds.)

- Doesn’t offer up anything new. But clips from Godzilla and Kong to highlight what’s to come. And teases the question - who might be the king after all?

Deleted Scenes (5 minutes, 1 second.)

- One deleted scene and one alternative scene.

I always find the alternative scene interesting. It shows what changes were made and tweaked to what shows up in the completed film.

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment

The Curse of La Llorona: She Weeps

It's a real legend.

The Curse of La Llorona arrived August 6. It’s on Blu-Ray Combo Pack and DVD. The Digital format appeared early on July 16.

UNIVERSE

From New Line Cinema and James Wan, The Conjuring Universe continues to expand. There are now two Conjurings, three Annabelles and The Nun.

The Curse of La Llorona shows the Conjuring formula may not always draw a crowd. It’s the lowest box office draw of the Universe at $122 million worldwide. And only fared out with a 30% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes. It did fare slightly better than The Nun on the critic front, which ended up with 26%.   

The Curse of La Llorona is the feature directorial debut of Michael Chaves. It was written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis. 

The film stars Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz and Patricia Velasquez. Supporting cast is Marisol Ramirez, Sean Patrick Thomas, Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen and newcomer Roman Christou.

TAKE

Would I buy this film? A rainy day selection.

If you are a horror fan or like The Conjuring movies, it’s probably worth the look.

If you are hoping for a major Conjuring connection though, you might be disappointed. There is an appearance of Father Perez (Tony Amendola.) He only pops up in a couple of scenes. But, Conjuring viewers may recall his encounter with a mysterious doll named Annabelle.

One thing the Conjuring universe seems to manage is a good creepy atmosphere and a few decent suspenseful scenes. I think, anyway. This continues here for the R-rated movie.    

It’s a 1973 setting. Linda Cardellini is solid. She is Anna Tate-Garcia, a social worker, recently widowed, struggling to raise her two children. Played by Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen and Roman Christou. I couldn’t help but shake my head at some of their actions and also root for them. Anna’s intervention on the child welfare of the sons of Patricia Alvarez (Patricia Velasquez.) This will soon unleash La Lorona. - ‘The Weeping Woman’ - on Anna’s family and home.

With the encounter from Rafael Olvera (Raymond Cruz), a curandero - a traditional healer - Anna and her kids have some help in the battle with the supernatural.

It was interesting the La Llorona curse is a real legend/myth as the special features reveal. La Llorona is played by a real lady Marisol Ramirez - obviously, with some special effects help.

Thinking back on the 93 minutes - the La Llorona scares do get repetitive. She tends to do a lot of screams. But still makes her creepy.

James Wan was so impressed with Michael Chaves, the director. Chaves will be taking over directing duties for The Conjuring 3. Which is officially scheduled for 2020. (Wan directed the first two Conjurings and will remain a producer. And more recently, directed Aquaman.) 

The Conjuring Universe seems to be mixing up their formula for The Conjuring 3, too. A shift from the creepy-things-going-on-in-houses. (Annabelle Comes Home is the third Annabelle and a summer theatre release.)

Reports say the story is based on a real court case with the defendant using possessions as the defence.      

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

The Myth of La Llorona (2 minutes, 29 seconds.)

- Some of the actors discuss being familiar with the tale of La Llorona. But mostly just rehash the story that was already told in the movie.

Behind the Curse (9 minutes, 43 seconds.)

- The talk of legend, the Conjuring connection and the director talks working with James Wan.

The Making of a Movie Monster (5 minutes, 53 seconds.)

- Marisol Ramirez talks about the process of becoming La Llorona. It’s about three hours for the makeup to be put on.

Deleted Scenes (11 minutes, 10 seconds.)

- Most are extensions of existing scenes. But there are a couple of alternate versions, which I always find more interesting.

Storyboards (17 minutes, 32 seconds.)

- Rewatch sequences from the movie and what compare to how they are storyboard. 

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment