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: “Speed Racer”
The Wachowskis probably had the pick of the litter when it came to choosing their next project post-“Matrix,” so it came as quite a surprise when it was announced they would be mounting a big-screen adaptation of the late-‘60s anime, “Speed Racer.” Though it’s hardly what fans expected from the sibling duo, “Speed Racer” is in many ways the perfect adaptation, capturing the hyper-kinetic style and campy tone of the TV series so well that it feels like a real-life cartoon. The visuals are mesmerizing, and the race sequences are fantastically assembled, but it’s ultimately all style and no substance. While that may be tough criticism for a film that seems designed primarily as cinematic eye candy, “Speed Racer” is lacking in so many other areas that it plays better as a tech demo than an actual movie.
Extras include a collection of behind-the-scenes featurettes, as well as a new retrospective with the Wachowskis. FINAL VERDICT: RENT
Also Out This Week:
“The Bride!” — Hot on the heels of Guillermo del Toro’s classic take on Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” comes this unconventional reimagining of the Frankenstein myth inspired by James Whale’s 1935 film, “The Bride of Frankenstein.” But much like Emerald Fennell’s recently released “Wuthering Heights,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s sophomore directorial effort isn’t so much an adaptation as a misguided interpretation of its source material that fails to make good on its intriguing premise. Gyllenhaal tries to cram so many ideas into her Bonnie-and-Clyde gangster film that her message gets muddled as a result. One part feminist manifesto, one part punk-rock romance, “The Bride!” benefits from a pair of committed performances from stars Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, but just like the reanimated monsters at the center of the story, it’s a stitched-together mess that always feels in danger of falling apart at the seams. Extras include a behind-the-scenes look at making the film. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP
Disclosure: Bullz-Eye was provided a copy of the above titles for review purposes.
