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: “Kinds of Kindness”
Filmed during post-production on his Oscar-winning movie “Poor Things,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness” marks a return to the director’s more nihilistic storytelling. An anthology film comprised of three vignettes featuring the same actors in different roles, “Kinds of Kindness” is fundamentally about the things we do in the pursuit of acceptance/love. It’s an interesting concept for Lanthimos’ unique perspective, but it’s one that would have worked better as a miniseries, as watching all three stories back-to-back lessens each experience, especially when the whole thing clocks in at nearly three hours. Despite the long runtime, each story feels undercooked, and in classic Lanthimos fashion, there’s little reason why certain things happen other than because it’s “weird.” Fortunately, all the actors are at the top of their game — particularly Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons — which makes “Kinds of Kindness” much better than it probably should be. Though your enjoyment of the film will largely depend on how you feel about Lanthimos’ previous work, there’s enough to like about the movie (including some darkly funny moments) to keep you engaged all the way through.
Extras include a making-of featurette and a pair of deleted scenes. FINAL VERDICT: RENT
Also Out This Week:
“MaXXXine” — As the final film in writer/director Ti West’s X trilogy, “MaXXXine” is hands down the worst of the bunch. Though the first two entries (2023’s “X” and “Pearl”) had their respective issues, there was enough to like about both movies to at least hold my interest. “MaXXXine,” on the other hand, is a terribly dull film that fails to take advantage of its promising setup, relying too much on its ‘80s pastiche to carry it through. Star Mia Goth has delivered some of her best work under West’s direction, but save for a couple of moments here (including the opening audition sequence), she isn’t given a whole lot to sink her teeth into, and the same goes for the supporting cast of familiar faces. While “MaXXXine” isn’t a complete disappointment, for a movie that had so much goodwill leading up to its release, it ends West’s horror trilogy with a whimper instead of a bang. Extras include a trio of behind-the-scenes featurettes and a Q&A with West. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP
“Exhuma” — Many people have compared Jang Jae-hyun’s Korean thriller “Exhuma” to 2016’s “The Wailing,” and while it’s easy to see the similarities, the latter is such a superior film that it hardly belongs in the same conversation. “Exhuma” is a solid genre flick, but it’s also unnecessarily long, due to the fact that it’s basically two movies in one. The first half is a really gripping investigative thriller, while the second half is a somewhat silly occult horror film that almost makes the preceding hour seem meaningless in the way that it so quickly sweeps that storyline under the rug. Fortunately, Jang creates an excellent atmosphere throughout, building tension as the danger mounts, while the main cast (including Korean veteran Choi Min-sik) deliver great performances. Though its conclusion isn’t as thrilling as its first hour, “Exhuma” is yet another engaging piece of Korean cinema that will make for some ideal Halloween viewing. Extras include a making-of featurette. FINAL VERDICT: RENT
Disclosure: Bullz-Eye was provided a copy of the above titles for review purposes.
