Two heists, two Queens, one Royale - no cheese
One of last year’s most novel, original and compelling movies utterly subverts expectations as it chronicles, with extraordinary inventiveness and suspense, the attempted theft of $12 million in rare books from a university library by four of its students.
Funny, tense and profound, it’s as cinematic as it is thought provoking, tapping into fears of living a mediocre existence while exposing the fraudulence of heist movies.
The distributor deserves kudos for releasing American Animals on Blu-ray given it bypassed cinemas. But the extras come up woefully short and exclude the Region A director and cast commentary that would have afforded fascinating context.
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The widows of three criminals plan an audacious heist to pay off their husbands’ underworld debts in an ambitious and richly realised take on the 1983 UK TV drama series.
Widows benefits immensely from its 4K-UHD presentation and is one of the first discs to offer the new HDR10+ colour format option if you have a compatible TV and player. Inexplicably, the NZ 4K-UHD disc isn’t being bundled with a Bluray copy, which means there aren’t any extras. If you want to see the three-part making-of hour, you’ll have to opt for the Blu-ray. It’s a bizarre way to encourage uptake of a new format: charge 4K-UHD buyers more but give them less. ❏❏❏
Critics may not have championed it but audiences rightfully rhapsodised over this biography of Queen’s Freddie Mercury and the filmmakers were rewarded with four Academy Awards. Yes, it tends towards the trite and sentimental, and it softens the harsher aspects of Mercury’s life. But the casting is rock-solid, especially Mr Robot’s Rami Malek’s Oscar-winning transformation as the immigrant’s son who became a global phenomenon, and the storytelling is poignant, funny and rousing.
Once again, 4K-UHD buyers are rewarded with sublime audio and video but miss out on most of the Blu-ray extras – unless they source JB Hi-Fi’s exclusive two-disc steelbook edition.
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Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm and Chris Hemsworth star in this dazzling jigsaw of a film noir, about seven strangers with something to hide in a dilapidated hotel that straddles the California-Nevada state line. Think Hateful Eight meets Pulp Fiction without the excesses of either.
The Tarantino-esque influences are obvious but Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods) directs with more restraint and atmosphere, moderating the violence while maximising the tension and intrigue.
The 4K-UHD boasts a five-star transfer but is another single-disc release without the extras of a bundled Blu-ray, most notably a superior making-of half-hour.
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The latest in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo franchise casts Claire Foy (The Queen) as the punk computer hacker Lisbeth Salander. She convinces more than a conspiracy plot that is stuffed with so many absurdities and contrivances that you’d stop watching if not for the riveting execution (Don’t Breathe’s Fede Alvarez directs with breathtaking bravura).
The Blu-ray and 4K transfers supremely showcase the locations and cinematography, and for a box office flop the movie has been impressively packaged. Extras include a filmmakers’ commentary, deleted scenes and insights into the production, stunts and Foy’s transformation from regal to radical.
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Season two of this futuristic theme park thriller expands on the original’s themes and set-ups, with the focus more on Westworld’s guests than hosts. The storytelling’s even more tortuous but there’s enough mega-action to offset the metaphysical. And while the extras aren’t as substantial as season one’s, they provide useful background and context for each of the 10 episodes.
The 4K-UHD set doesn’t include Blu-ray copies but offers the series in both HDR10 and Dolby Vision with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, so improves immeasurably on Sky’s broadcast.