This November Roundup consists of a few films hitting physical media this week and also a couple that came out earlier in November that I received after their release dates. Up first is Skincare starring Elizabeth Banks. At first I was expecting a film similar to The Substance, but it’s not quite that. It’s more a dark comedy than horror flick that goes off the rails. Banks plays a woman who owns a business focusing on skincare. She has a line of products coming out and everything seems to be going her way until a competitor moves into the same plaza as her and her local news segment is replaced with her competitor. Her accounts get hacked and she starts losing clients and asks for help from a man (Lewis Pullman) she just met. As they struggle to find out who’s causing her problems, she spirals out of control. Banks is good in the role and I thought the ending had a lot to say about overnight fame and people becoming celebrities for the weirdest reasons. If you’re looking for a dark comedy with more drama than horror you should like it. Fans of Banks will also enjoy it. It’s not quite what I expected, but it’s a solid watch.
Second we have a new 4K release of A Simple Plan. From Sam Raimi and starring Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton, for some reason the film isn’t as revered as Fargo and similar movies from the same time period. I think it’s just as good and the ending should be talked about more often. If you aren’t familiar with the movie, it’s about 2 brothers (Paxton, Thornton) and a friend who discover a crashed plane in the woods. It contains a dead body and over $4 million in cash. They take the money, but make a plan to hold onto it until spring time to see if anyone finds the plane and comes looking for the money. Of course with that type of money the three men all want to break the plan and then the authorities get involved. The three leads all serve their purpose extremely well as does Bridget Fonda. Raimi’s direction is tight and that twist ending should be one that everyone brings up when talking about endings. I hadn’t seen it in a while so it felt new again. The performances are very good and the film is one of the best of the 1990s. The film looks great on 4K and includes two brand new audio commentaries, a new visual essay, new interviews with cast and crew, vintage on-the-set interviews with the stars and crew, trailer and an Illustrated collector’s booklet with essays. If you are a fan of the movie then definitely pick up this new 4K release. If you haven’t seen it, but enjoy Fargo I recommend it as well.
Next we have Tomie which I have to admit I didn’t understand in the slightest. At first I was sort of following along, a girl named Tomie is killed and a detective is investigating her death. He realizes her classmates have committed suicide or have gone insane. He soon discovers there have been other girls named Tomie who have died under suspicious circumstances throughout the years. One student who survived doesn’t remember her time with Tomie at all. I sort of get that, but the ending completely lost me. It’s based off a hit manga series so I’m assuming it will make sense to those who know that. There’s a neighbor growing a child and a bag with a head and other characters that somehow tie in to the story, but I must have missed something. This one just did not add up to me. It’s from late 1990s I believe and I was not familiar with it, but if you are you might like this new release.
The next three titles came out earlier this month from Mill Creek Entertainment. First is Someone Like You which might be the most baffling film I’ve seen in a long time. It’s a Christian Faith-Based film which is fine, I watch plenty of those to review, but the twists and turns in this movie are crazy. If you don’t want to know about the movie quit reading because I have to explain this movie it’s so ridiculous. It opens with a good looking white guy named Dawson who is madly in love with his best friend named London. London is going to donate a kidney to her sick mother, but dies in a car crash. Instead of harvesting the kidneys they go to waste. But wait, there’s more. Turns out London had been born in a lab and might have a biological brother or sister out there. Dawson who isn’t related to anyone decides to look into it and discovers London has a sister named Andi whose life he’s about to ruin because she thinks her parents are her biological parents. Her life is thrown for a loop and meets her biological parents and Dawson who she soon falls for. Of course being blood she can donate a kidney and save the mom she just met. It is insane and sounds like a horror movie not a faith-based flick. One actress plays London and then Andi and none of it is believable. It’s based on a best selling book which is dumbfounding to me. I can’t stop talking about it though it’s that ridiculous.
Next is A Bluegrass Christmas. Now these movies are clearly not for me, but I watch them to see if my mom would like them because she watches this stuff daily this time of year. My mom would love this. It’s the perfect film for its target audience. A woman is trying to save a horse charity, but the man who keeps it afloat isn’t donating this year. His son wants to help her and they decide to put on a concert to raise money. The woman’s grandfather was a famous musician who hasn’t played in 20 years since his wife died, but he got a big time singer to perform. She then can’t so his old band is going to play with the granddaughter and of course you can tell what will happen and the horses will be saved. All the people are just attractive enough to fall in love with each other. It’s a small rural area with quaint places and trees and good natured people. These films do nothing for me, but my mom eats them and she would genuinely love this.
Last is The King of Queens: The Complete Series. I believe the series has been available before in a Blu-ray set, but this is a great collection of all 9 seasons on 20 discs. It’s the show that made Kevin James a household name and it’s one I watched in syndication and with home video releases and will find myself binging again throughout the years thanks to box sets like this. It’s TV 101 with an overweight everyman with an out-of-his-league wife, wacky friends and family members put in normal situations that go sideways. Doug is a delivery guy, a regular type job that supplies regular everyday characters with everyday type situations that cause issues because it’s TV. His wife is way hotter than him and his father-in-law is the chink in his armor. Some of the guest appearances include Lou Ferrigno, Ricki Lake, Rachel Dratch, Bryan Cranston, Ray Romano, Allen Covert, Chris Elliot, Adam Ferrara and recurring characters by Kevin’s real life brother Gary Valentine, Patton Oswalt, Victor Williams and more. It wasn’t a groundbreaking show, but it lasted so long because it used a tried and true formula. James would go on to do movies and return to TV with Kevin Can Wait, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this got a revival or he returned to TV once again. If you are a fan of the show and don’t already own the complete series, this is a nice, smaller sized package that is friendlier on your wallet.
The Nerds Templar 