One of the hardest things to do with Wes Anderson films is waiting for the eventual Criterion release. Every film of his up to The Grand Budapest Hotel has gotten one (and Anderson has promised it will get a Criterion release eventually). Too impatient to wait on that one, I already have a Blu-ray copy sitting on my shelf. This will no doubt get replaced once the Criterion comes out.
There has been no announcement that Anderson’s latest film, Isle of Dogs will get a Criterion release, but safe money is that it will. Eventually. The difficulty will be waiting on it. Before Criterion messes with it, the film is getting a couple of different releases. There is the standard Blu-ray issue, a 4K upgrade for those with fancy TVs, and a cool-looking box that comes with several figurines. That one has caught my eye but its $100 price point certainly gives me pause (and will surely earn the wife’s evil eye pointed directly at me if I buy it). One could argue you are really buying the collectible figures, which are limited edition, but it’s still a lot of money to lay down. Especially because when it finally comes out, I’m still gonna want the Criterion.
But the film, oh yes, I am supposed to talk about the film, is a delight. It’s a stop-motion animated film about a Japanese city that has banished all dogs to a little trash island due to a severe bout of dog flu. It has Anderson’s usual flights of fancy, quirky humor, and attention to the tiniest detail. I’m looking forward to watching it again just to catch all the little things I missed the first go ‘round.
Whether that will be with this release or sometime later when Criterion finally releases, it has yet to be seen.
Also out this week that looks interesting:
Rampage: Dwayne Johnson stars in this action flick that was based upon a game in which giant monsters smashed buildings. The movie plot doesn’t seem much deeper than that, but if that sounds like fun to you, then I suspect you’ll get a lot of it.
The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail: Arrow Video delivers a fantastic, newly restored release of this Sergio Martino giallo. It is a textbook example of the genre, which makes it good, but not great. You can read my full review.
Doom Asylum: Ridiculously low budget, poorly scripted/acted/directed slasher is actually kind of charming. Arrow has given it a better release than it deserves. Read my full review.
Truth or Dare: If action movies based on old video games aren’t your thing, then perhaps horror movies based on silly games teenagers play is more to your liking.
Disobedience: Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams star in this drama from Sebastian Lelio. It’s about a photographer who returns to a strict Orthodox Jewish community for her father’s funeral and finds forbidden love with another woman.
I Feel Pretty: Amy Schumer comedy about a woman whose head injury gives her extraordinary confidence and the belief that she’s drop-dead gorgeous.
You Were Never Really Here: Joaquin Phoenix stars in this Taken-esque drama where he must rescue a missing teenage girl.
The Expanse: Season Three: I keep meaning to watch this science-fiction thriller set two hundred years in the future where a detective and a rogue space ship’s captain try to solve a crime and wind up exposing a huge conspiracy thriller.
Super Troopers 2: More silliness by the people who brought us Super Troopers.
