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4k releases, Capsule Reviews, Film reviews, the criterion collection

All of Us Strangers on the Criterion Collection Collection

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All of Us Strangers, A Closer Look

From the Criterion Collection, All of Us Strangersin its 4K UHD format provides a welcome reminder  that there is always someone that cares. As one who  found  inspiration and love for Andrew Haigh’s film in 2023, the restored 4K cut adds a great deal for those who thrive on art and creativity. The life of a British screenwriter named Adam anchors the tragically romantic film. Adam is an isolated character, played by Andrew Scott (Ripley and Oslo), who finds himself in love with a man named Harry, played by Paul Mescal (Normal People, Gladiator II). Despite loneliness and fear, Adam’s connection deepens as his desire to feel love grows. The cinematography and lighting creates the solo factors to feel realistic and touching. There are also many featurettes that deliver multiple opportunities to go deeper into the characterizations and setup of the film.

Criterion Features

With loneliness and separation weaving back and forth poetically, these emotions are evident in the packaging of the film. With an essay by film critic Guy Lodge, audiences can read how to get a better understanding of how the personalities of Adam and Harry experience their individual moments of  lightness and darkness. What is also included is an interview with the director Andrew Haigh and author and critic, Michael Koresky. So much to dive into in terms of finding the light with empathy of All of Us Strangers. Ultimately, the biggest component is the interview with cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay. That is because the cinematography throughout the film flows in patterns of mesmerizing grandeur. Audiences can grasp the idea of the new world they are taken into with All of Us Strangers from the Criterion Collection.

Purchase or Pass?

Haigh’s film is touching and mesmerizing, and reminds its viewers that there is happiness in  unlikely places. It is worth it for its format and its special features. That is because viewers will be able to keep looking back at moments of the film that seem deeper than other moments. It is an artistically vibrant film that will bring much cinematic value to its consumers.

Review is also available MovieArcher at the link below:

https://www.moviearcher.com/movie-archer/classic-targets-in-4k/all-of-us-strangers-2023

Film reviews, the criterion collection

Godzilla (1954) on The Criterion Collection

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Godzilla, the Early Era

From the Criterion collection, Godzilla (also known as Gojira) is available on the Criterion Collection in 4K UHD. As one who is a fan of the franchise, I always felt this first installment thrived on authenticity to make monsters feel real. With the limited technologies surrounding the making of Godzilla, the restored 4K cut brightens it up for it to feel more horrific and authentically captivating. Not only because of the fact that it’s a giant monster, but the hidden layers that the making of the film was tied in with politics in an era many decades ago. The vision of director Ishiro Honda created a cult, and the Criterion 4K UHD loops in many facts and important, yet brilliant information. Much of this is intended to help audiences grasp the true realistic moments from the works of the 4K edition.

Criterion Features

Consumers who adore Godzilla will feel like Godzilla rises right from their hands. As the movie box is opened, a carving of the head of the monster unfolds from the box. Inside the case, there are two discs and an essay. Consumers receive both editions of the film. One is on 4K and the other is Blu-ray. There is also audio commentary by film historian David Kalat. However, the most comprehensive aspect of this feature is the featurette with the interview of the score composer Akira Ifukube. That is because what is discussed in that segment is the photographic effects to heighten the fascination of Godzilla. Finally, the essay by film critic J. Hoberman. It is lengthy and detailed talking about how Godzilla was a development going many ages back, and how it was written and rewritten. The roar of Godzilla enraptured many before it was able to rise to the biggest cult following it has today. Godzilla on Criterion 4K UHD is a keepsake that truly feels like an appreciation that is an art form of cinema to always remember.

Purchase or Pass?

For those who love and adore Godzilla, this is a purchase that is worth it. However, what should be considered is all the materials in the box itself. It is one to be treated like a bible. That is because what is written in the essay contains information that is enticing and that many audiences do not think about much today when they watch anything related to the franchise. Godzilla on Criterion 4K UHD is one of the most prized possessions of importance. The thriving aspects of cinematography, writing, and the process of making Godzilla rise all thrive immensely.

Review is also available on MovieArcher at the link below!

https://www.moviearcher.com/movie-archer/classic-targets-in-4k/godzilla-1954

Film essays, Film reviews, the criterion collection

Lynch/Oz on The Criterion Collection: A Deep Portrait of David Lynch’s fascination by the Wizard of Oz

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“There is not a day that goes by where I don’t think of Wizard of Oz.”

-David Lynch

Written and directed by Alexandre O’Philippe, Lynch/Oz is now available on The Criterion Collection. I am a huge fan of the many films of David Lynch, as is Philippe. This surreal documentary opens with a vast introduction that opens with a fancy chandelier, a green curtain, a retro-microphone, and a stage. Philippe himself opens the film presenting himself as a Lynch-type character. With Philippe having tons of invigorations from Lynch, he has stated that he had watched Lynch’s Lost Highway so many times in a cinema. Philippe’s love for Lynch is portrayed truly by going deep into the cinema world of what makes the films of Lynch so enticing…it is Lynch’s love for the 1939 sensation The Wizard of Oz. A vast and in-depth rollercoaster ride of ambience that made me love and appreciate the films of Lynch so much more.

The film goes into chapters. In the chapters many in the industry are interviewed on their takes and their cinematic vibes from the perspective of Lynch. They all link back to The Wizard of Oz. The film dives deep into talking about how The Wizard of Ozwas a film of patterns—a film that only played on special opportunities before the era of advanced technologies that are around today. The correlation of The Wizard of Oz plays deeply into the films of Lynch…more than audiences think they know.

The masterpiece of art being defined in Lynch/Oz links back to the films of Lynch and The Wizard of Oz. The element and spoken word “transcendence” is one that is to have in mind throughout the entirety of the documentary. That is the key to the factors of the atmospheric dimensions with Lynch and his love for The Wizard of Oz. With the interview of Amy Nicholson, she goes deeply into elaborating of how wind is one of the elements where Lynch’s talent is heroic. I have seen this in the works of Lynch. Especially in Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks:Fire walk with Me—the levels of depths and foreshadowing in the aspects of cinematics feel the senses of art movement connected to The Wizard of Oz. Nicholson says, “Never be content to just take things at surface level,” and from my experience with Lynch/Oz, I realized the works of mind of Lynch are a much more thorough and an artistic language that is one of much more enriching value. When there is a curtain in a film by Lynch, it is an indicator for an entrance to a new world.

With the talks and all, the heights of surrealism and inspiring value only find more appreciation in Lynch/Oz. The different worlds of good and evil are what speaks to Lynch. When it comes to the evil witch in The Wizard of Oz, the real-world and nightmare world discussion is the vastest analysis of the film. The film has a chapter called Membranes and with Lynch that clearly means thinking or shifting of minds is one essential element of getting use to. From the perspective of Rodney Ascher, the good time of Blue Velvet is in tune with the happy times of The Wizard of Oz, and so does the bad times—the echoes of harsh occurrences prove accuracy of making dreams a reality in Lynch/Oz. What I love about the value of Lynch/Oz is its persistence. It does not only have its audience think of Lynch’s art…it also makes us think of the many films that expand horizons among reality. The two terms of importance of movie elements are “stimulation theory” and “layers of reality.” First, this is a theory where its audience is curious about which world is real. Second are influences shifting between worlds. Lynch is one who uses multiple realities—through having The Wizard of Oz in his head all the time.

The concept of dinging another world is where Lynch/Oz dives of faithful honesty in the films of Lynch. Brains of reality and fantasy prove a point of empathy in Lynch/Oz. The film also links back to many classics as connections. Films ranging from E.T., Where the Wild Things Are, and After Hours are connected to the discussions in Lynch/Oz. Lynch remains the central focus, but the inspiration also reminds society that fairytales and happy endings in movies transport audiences to moments to cherish within their hearts. Just like how Lynch admires The Wizard of Oz. Lynch/Oz leaves a dynamic of appreciation that is moving and alive. Four out of four stars for Lynch/Oz.