With it being the holiday season a lot of shipments are late so while I wait for 2-3 titles heading my way here are the four releases I did receive for this week. First is The Last Video Store which will probably gain a cult following if it doesn’t have one already. I liked it, but I wish I liked it more. It had potential to be an instant cult classic, but it just doesn’t get there for me. The concept is great, but the acting is a bit suspect. A young woman returns some video tapes to a run down video store. Her father had just passed and she gets a note to return the tapes, but she also has one that looks different. The video store clerk (a Bill Moseley/Richard Brake ripoff) immediately recognizes it as a cursed tape and plays it. Characters from the returned movies come to life and the pair must survive. There is a Jason Voorhees clone, an action movie karate guy and more. The special effects are solid for a film of this budget and I think some of the Astron-6 guys were involved, but I’m not sure of that. The biggest issue is the acting. The lead actress isn’t good and seems to take the role way more seriously than it should have been. The store clerk is a bit sleezy and the typical film nerd, but you expect that in that role. I never really rooted for either and that’s an issue. I definitely wanted her killed quickly or something bad to happen to her and you shouldn’t want that in a lead. I do see myself referencing the film and telling others about it though so I do recommend people watching it, but man did I want more from it. A lot of potential, but with different actors it would have been great. The bonus features include the original short it’s based on so that was neat seeing the difference from a decade old short to feature film.
Second we have a 4K release of The Addiction. This black & white vampire flick has always been a head scratcher to me. There is so much talent involved, it stars Lili Taylor, Christopher Walken, Annabella Sciorra, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, Kathryn Erbe and comes from Abel Ferrara yet it’s so confusing and no one ever really talks about it. Taylor plays a college student in 1990s New York who doesn’t realize she gets turned into a vampire until she heads out looking for blood. It’s very 1990s and New York with music from Cypress Hill and Russell Simmons was an executive producer. Walken is solid as usual, but the film has never resonated with me. Fans of The Driller Killer will enjoy it, but it’s something I never got into. The 4K release bonus features include director Abel Ferrara’s audio commentary, a documentary with Ferrara getting in touch with Lili Taylor and Christopher Walken, video interviews with Abel Ferrara and Brad Stevens, archival video of the post-production, image gallery and the original trailer so if you are a fan you’ll enjoy this new 4K.
Afloat is a drama out of Turkey about a writer father who is being prosecuted by the government for telling the truth who gets his ex-wife, younger daughter and older daughter along with her American husband together for a sailing trip before he’s sent to jail. The older daughter is on meds for depression, but also comes across as a bit bi-polar. The younger daughter is more aloof having not spent much time with her father growing up. The American husband loses his passport and the mother just wants everyone to get along for once. The backdrop is beautiful and the acting is solid. The actress playing the older daughter is very good and I liked how it didn’t end the way you expect it to. I could see it being nominated for awards and being Turkey’s Oscar contender. It’s timely, but doesn’t beat you over the head with what’s right or wrong. The performances and setting will hold your attention and I’m glad the ending isn’t what you expect from what we get with Hollywood films.
Last we have the documentary Everything Will Be Alright. It’s about 3 generations of women living in the Russian-speaking community of Purvciems, a suburb outside Riga in Latvia. The oldest is a 90+ woman who is a veteran from World War II. Her story is the most fascinating to me with all the memorials and parades they show during the film. Then there is her daughter and granddaughter. The daughter/mother comes across the worst to me. She treats her husband terribly and the way she talks to him is awful. I don’t know how he put up with it. I get that it’s rough for her taking care of a 90 plus year old woman, trying to live her own life and helping her own daughter, but she comes across as miserable and mean. The youngest woman seems forgotten at times and is the typical girl of her generation. It takes place over years during the Covid pandemic and some events get cancelled because of it. It’s not something I’d watch again, but I did like the oldest woman’s story more than anything else. If you like documentaries showing every day life then you’ll enjoy it.
The Nerds Templar 