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: “A Minecraft Movie”
It’s been a decade since director Jared Hess’ last feature film, not counting the (largely overlooked) Netflix animated movie “Thelma the Unicorn,” so it’s a little surprising that Warner Bros. would entrust the filmmaker to such a huge IP like “Minecraft.” But as it turns out, Hess may have been the perfect person to helm the film, as his absurdist style plays into the sheer ridiculousness of the premise. It’s also hard to imagine a more fitting star than Jack Black (reteaming with Hess after 2006’s “Nacho Libre”), who taps into the movie’s chaotic energy with the self-aware campiness that it requires. The first act has major “Napoleon Dynamite” vibes, and that’s where most of the film’s biggest laughs lie, but for a movie based on an ultra-popular video game with no actual story, “A Minecraft Movie” is much better than one would expect. Fans of the game will undoubtedly find a lot more to enjoy than your average moviegoer, but ultimately, that’s who this film was made for, and “Minecraft” understands its audience better than most in the subgenre.
Extras include a behind-the-scenes look at making the movie. FINAL VERDICT: RENT
Also Out This Week:
“Novocaine” — The action genre is filled with seemingly invincible heroes pushing through their broken bones and bloody wounds to save the day, but what if the hero couldn’t feel any pain? That’s the basic premise behind this action-comedy about an unlikely hero who discovers that his biggest weakness — a rare condition that prevents him from feeling pain — might be the one thing that can help him save the woman he loves. It’s certainly a fun idea for an action film, but while there are some entertaining set pieces littered throughout, “Novocaine” never quite reaches the over-the-top insanity that it promises. Jack Quaid’s nerdy Everyman schtick works well, and Ray Nicholson makes for an amusing villain, but the central gimmick wears thin after a while, especially when the movie offers little else to prop it up. Extras include a trio of production featurettes, covering everything from casting and production design to cinematography, makeup effects and stunts. FINAL VERDICT: RENT
“The Monkey” — At the rate that Hollywood cranks out Stephen King adaptations, it’s amazing that the author still has material that remains untouched. Case in point: “The Monkey,” the 1985 short story that appeared in King’s “Skeleton Crew” collection. On paper, a murderous toy monkey doesn’t sound like a very terrifying premise, which is why the decision to abandon the story’s more serious tone in favor of a darkly comical approach makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately, while the cartoonish levels of violence make for some hilarious moments, the film as a whole feels unbalanced, eventually going off the rails in the final act as it stumbles toward its illogical (and unsatisfactory) ending. Though “The Monkey” has some incredible highs, they’re matched by some terrible lows that are difficult to ignore. Extras include a series of behind-the-scenes featurettes. FINAL VERDICT: RENT
“Snow White” — Disney’s live-action remakes have generally been pretty bad, but “Snow White” is easily among the worst ones yet, which is a shame because the original animated film has plenty of room for improvement. There are so many things that this movie gets wrong on a story/script level that would be damning enough on their own without even mentioning Gal Gadot’s Razzie-worthy performance as the Evil Queen. Additionally, the new original songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (“The Greatest Showman,” “La La Land”) are fine if not particularly memorable, while the weird-looking CGI dwarfs stick out like a sore thumb. In fact, the only redeeming thing about the film is Rachel Zegler, who does a commendable job as the title character but not enough to rescue the movie from its many failings. “Snow White” was supposed to be director Marc Webb’s grand return to tentpole filmmaking, but instead, it might just be his last. Extras include a making-of featurette, two additional featurettes on costume design and the new songs, some deleted scenes, a blooper reel and a sing-along version of the movie. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP
Disclosure: Bullz-Eye was provided a copy of the above titles for review purposes.
