Blu Tuesday is a weekly column where we review the newest Blu-ray and 4K releases, along with a brief rundown of the included bonus material, to determine whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping.
Pick of the Week: “Dune: Part Two”
“Dune: Part Two” is a frustrating movie, if only because much of the plot feels more like setup for a future installment than the conclusion it was meant to be. Clocking in at nearly three hours, the film is entirely too long and suffers from many of the same issues as its predecessor. That movie at least had an excuse, as it was only one half of a much larger story, but “Part Two” feels equally anticlimactic, partially due to the abrupt nature of its ending. Many of the film’s issues are a reflection of the novel on which it’s based, though credit to director/co-writer Denis Villeneuve for adapting Frank Herbert’s messy story in a more digestible way. While the movie has some pretty big flaws on the narrative side, “Dune: Part Two” is an incredible visual and aural experience that also contains strong performances from its cast. Though it’s not quite the masterpiece that some have suggested, it’s a solid (if slightly unsatisfying) conclusion that, at the very least, should keep Villeneuve tied to the franchise for a few more years.
Extras include a collection of behind-the-scenes featurettes that explore the making of the film, from the production and costume design to shooting on location to the excellent sound design and more. FINAL VERDICT: RENT
Also Out This Week:
“Once Upon a Time in the West” (4K) — Sergio Leone’s follow-up to “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” may be an inferior movie, but it’s still a relatively enjoyable Western that boasts a pair of strong performances from Henry Fonda and Jason Robards, as well as another great score by Ennio Morricone. It also contains some fantastic moments, particularly the lengthy opening sequence, which features Leone at his suspenseful best. The problem is that a lot of the film feels excessively drawn out for no reason, resulting in pockets of boredom that the barebones plot simply can’t fill. “Once Upon a Time in the West” does just enough to keep you engaged (even with the uncompelling Charles Bronson in the lead role), but for a film with such a great reputation, there are much better Westerns out there. Extras include a pair of audio commentaries (one by the hosts of the “Spaghetti Western Podcast,” and another with contributions from directors John Carpenter, John Milius and Alex Cox, film historians Sir Christopher Frayling and Dr. Sheldon Hall, co-writer Bernardo Bertolucci and actress Claudia Cardinale), as well as a trio of documentaries, a retrospective hosted by Leonard Maltin and more. FINAL VERDICT: RENT
Disclosure: Bullz-Eye was provided a copy of the above titles for review purposes.
