THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES

BLU-RAY REVIEW: THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: PETER JACKSON / SCREENPLAY: FRAN WALSH, PHILIPPA BOYENS, PETER JACKSON, GUILLERMO DEL TORO / STARRING: MARTIN FREEMAN, IAN McKELLEN, RICHARD ARMITAGE, JAMES NESBITT / RELEASE DATE: APRIL 20TH

Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth movies have been quite the journey thus far, so it’s rather rewarding that the series ends with an enormous fight. The Battle of the Five Armies is essentially an action movie, with dragons, elves and dwarves. With Billy Connolly on the back of a giant battle pig for good measure.

Put simply, The Battle of the Five Armies is ridiculous but in a rather splendid way. It follows directly on from The Desolation of Smaug, and we mean directly. The dragon that is unleashed at the end of that feature is on the wing and ready to burn down everything in sight. Cue a thrilling rooftop battle, some over acting from Stephen Fry and some utterly stunning special effects.

It’s clear from the way the story has been presented that Jackson has been keen to milk out every possible bit of lore from the franchise. The rights only covered The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings; Jackson is clearly conscious that this is his last chance to bring Tolkien’s complex world to the screen. With this is mind, it does seem odd that the finer details of the ending are lost. We learn nothing about what happened to the people Lake Town or what happens to the rest of the treasure, though all of this may be well added in the now customary extended edition. Still, it seems strange to leave these highly relevant plot threads hanging.

The DVD release lacks anything in the way of real special features – mostly we get an advert for New Zealand, which looks very pretty and I’m sure everyone would love to go some day.

The cast is incredible and every single performer gives it their all; Martin Freeman embodies Bilbo Baggins by being the very spirit of English manners and sneakiness, Richard Armitage is mesmerising as a would be king who has become overwhelmed by  power and Sir Ian McKellen’s performance as Gandalf is truly magical. The effects are incredible, the setting is superb and yet the entire affair somehow fails to sell the viewer on the ancient world of Middle Earth. Maybe it’s the aforementioned Billy Connolly riding a war boar or the overly long war scenes. Maybe we’ve just had too many hobbits for now. It’s a fabulous send-off, but it’s just not as amazing as it could be.

Extras: Various featurettes / documenaries / trailer for the Extended Version / music video.
 

FREQUENCIES

DVD REVIEW: FREQUENCIES / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: DARREN PAUL FISHER / SCREENPLAY: DARREN PAUL FISHER / STARRING: DANIEL FRASER, ELEANOR WYLD, OWEN PUGH, DAVID BROUGHTON-DAVIES / RELEASE DATE: APRIL 20TH

If you’ve ever been the bright kid in the class whom the prettiest girl didn’t even know existed, you’ll understand exactly where Frequencies is coming from. Darren Paul Fisher’s film is a teen romance that couldn’t be more different if it tried. Essentially a cross between Gattaca and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, evoking themes from each and with a tone that is exactly at the midpoint between the two, Frequencies is an unassuming and yet thoroughly involving film that might well surprise people into inclusion on their All-Time Favourites lists. It is charming and unpredictable – and yet thoroughly consistently plotted – but not for all tastes.

Set in a universe that evokes Philip K. Dick by way of Charlie Kaufman, Zak is a “low frequency” who is entertaining a Brigadoon-esque romance with his “high frequency” classmate Marie, meeting up for just one minute a year – and Frequencies is the story, told first from her perspective and then from his, of how the two manage to overcome the limitations nature has placed upon their burgeoning relationship, and of how science can be used to conquer otherwise insurmountable obstacles. That this is just the initial premise and the journey that Frequencies takes the viewer on thereafter is best left unremarked upon, suffice it to say that Fisher’s script is both deft and imaginative; the manner by which the two first encounter is as delicate and apposite as everything that follows.

The performances are all first-rate, from a cast made up largely of juvenile and junior actors, with the adults playing at a slightly arch level as if seen from the younger characters’ perspective, which distinguishes the filmmaking as intelligent and measured. Indeed, this is an approach that permeates the whole film, which doesn’t make a single misstep in its entire running time. Fisher has taken his premise and worked it through in a rational fashion that nevertheless allows for some genuine emotive beats, mirroring his subject matter precisely. The resolution to the question that the second half of Frequencies sets up is both logical and yet affecting and unforeseen, and is one of the film’s more delightful moments – and allows for a coda that wraps things up in an even more surprising way, with an audacious nod to Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia as it does.

If there is one criticism that can be levelled at Fisher’s film, it is perhaps that it doesn’t engage the heart quite as efficiently as it engages the mind, but that’s a small price to pay for something so wonderfully odd and yet so compelling. If you like your cinema psychologically fulfilling yet emotionally persuasive, this thoughtful and quietly brave minor masterpiece is an absolute essential.
 

HEMLOCK GROVE SEASON TWO

DVD REVIEW: HEMLOCK GROVE SEASON TWO / DIRECTOR: VARIOUS / SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: FAMKE JANSSEN, BILL SKARSGÅRD, LANDON LIBOIRON / RELEASE DATE: APRIL 20TH

When Hemlock Grove made its debut on Netflix in 2013, it certainly raised the bar for on-demand cult series, with its story of horror, the supernatural, and the downright weird, leaving us with many unanswered questions that series two attempts to put to rest in truly horrific style.

Based on Brian McGreevy’s horror novel of the same name, Hemlock Grove certainly made its mark on Netflix, in part thanks to executive producer Eli Roth, with a plot that drew in classic horror with a thoroughly modern twist. With werewolves, psychic manipulation, and one of the most eyebrow-raising teen pregnancies that you’ve ever seen, playing a major part in the first series, you almost wonder how on earth they’re going to top that with this second season.

Picking up from where we left off in the blood-soaked finale of the first season, the second sees the cast continue to struggle with not just their ever-growing list of enemies, but their own personal demons too, as we see Peter (Liboiron) and Roman (Skarsgård) come to terms with the monsters that they have become, and with Famke Janssen returning as Roman’s bloodthirsty mother, Olivia Godfrey, it’s certainly one hell of a horrific return.

It is however, a bit of a slow start to begin with, as we see Roman struggling to deal with not just his new-found Upir roots, but the unexpected return of his mother also, following ‘that’ bloody season finale, alongside Peters much unwanted return to Hemlock Grove, as the series slowly builds up to its gory conclusion. Compared to the horrific plot of the first series, it’s much more about the characters struggle to deal with their (literal) inner monsters, more than the hidden mysteries of the town and a wash of blood and gore, although viewers that loved the horror of the first season won’t be disappointed, as there’s plenty of bloodshed throughout.

Whilst at times Hemlock Grove has it’s cringe worthy moments alongside all the weird and the wonderful, making it so bad that it’s good, there are plenty of redeeming moments in Season 2, in part thanks to the return of Peter’s cousin, Destiny as a major character this series, taking on some tense moments between the two characters.

It’s certainly a much more welcome and matured series to the first, one that we can only hope they continue in Season 3. But for those fond of the series darker roots, there’s still plenty of gore and ‘WTAF’ moments throughout, that made the first series so hypnotic. With a season finale that will leave you scratching your head even more than before, and wondering just how on earth they’re going to start off its third and final season later this year when it returns to Netflix.
 

FELLINI – SATYRICON (1970)

BLU-RAY REVIEW: FELLINI – SATYRICON (1970) / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: FEDERICO FELLINI / SCREENPLAY: FEDERICO FELLINI, BERNARDIO ZAPPONI / STARRING: MARTIN POTTER, HIRAM KELLER, MAX BORN, SALVO RANDONE / RELEASE DATE: APRIL 27TH

Written and directed by Federico Fellini, and very loosely based on the novel of the same name by Petronius, Satyricon is a satirical epic in the guise of ancient Roman excess. It’s a disjointed narrative that blends the fantastical with a send up of Roman culture and its mythology. Whatever you think of Fellini’s thematically dense and often overblown productions, you can’t deny his rightful claim to Eureka’s Masters of Cinema collection.

Even from the opening with Encolpio’s (Potter) operatic soliloquy to camera, you know you’re in a pantomime world, one of pure cinematic construction. It’s a staggering production, filled with opulent sets, both evocative and at other times unsettling.

Like the rich myth and art of ancient Rome, Satyricon is homoerotic to the umpteenth degree, and for much of the film it sees its two main characters competing for the love of the young boy Gitone. When asked why he didn’t cast Italian actors for the lead roles (instead opting for the English Potter and American Hiram Keller), Fellini infamously replied that there are no Italian homosexuals.

Director of photography Giuseppe Rotunno masterfully uses shadow and constructs awing images. It’s a very textual film, with deep layered shots and plenty going on at the sides and background. Perhaps most arresting, though, is the impressive effects and detailed backdrops. It’s easy to forget it was made in 1969.

There’s an option for the dreadful English language dub track, if you’re so inclined, though, the original Italian dub is clunky and out of synch. But co-screenwriter Bernardino Zapponi has claimed that Fellini deliberately used dubbing that was out of synch to perpetuate the estrangement he had always envisioned at the heart of the film.

In terms of narrative, Satyricon remains an enigma, one not to be taken literally or thought of linearly. But taken purely as cinema, it’s one of the most visually playful, inventive and striking films, and certainly a highpoint of visual wizardry Fellini never quite topped again.

Extras: Optional English soundtrack / 48-page booklet.
 

THE REMAINING

DVD REVIEW: THE REMAINING / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: CASEY LA SCALA / SCREENPLAY: CASEY LA SCALA, CHRIS DOWLING / STARRING: JOHNNY PACAR, SHAUN SIPOS, BRYAN DECHART, ALEXA PENAVEGA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Religion or faith is one of the world’s most enduring subjects of debate. The idea of god and furthermore the belief in stories and events from a holy book filled with his teachings, is one that is mocked by some but embraced by others as a way of life…the way of life. It is likely we will all be outlived by this debate but whatever your belief may be, we can all agree on one thing: the texts of the holy books tell some of the grandest and most enthralling stories ever told. These stories have predated fantasy and in many ways come to influences the greatest stories we know and love. Cinema is awash throughout history in films that have adapted such stories and it is undeniable that when done right, these films benefit both because of the power of these tales and the grand presentation of them. One such tale is that of the rapture, an event that is to spell the end of the world, with the souls of the believers being saved. Director Casey La Scala’s film The Remaining however, tells the story of those who are left behind.

Opening in somewhat unexpected style, The Remaining from the offset takes great influence from the found footage genre. In fact the opening moments, before disaster strikes, are very similar to those of J. J. Abrams’ Cloverfield. The scenes of the film’s opening wedding celebrations soon turn hellacious as the rapture begins and sadly it is from this point on the film slips in quality until the disappointing climax. Running at only 84 minutes, the film had the potential to tell a pacey story of modern man reacting to the end of the world. Additionally, The Remaining had a wealth of meaty themes available to it: the nature of belief, modern perceptions of religion and what makes one deserve salvation. Yet the film’s most fundamentally disappointing flaw is that it never really goes anywhere with it’s onscreen rapture or any themes.

The tagline on the DVD reads “After the Rapture, There are fates worse than death” and admittedly the film shows glimpses of such dark forces but the story is little more than a tale of admitting you should have believed. It is somewhat of a let down that a Horror film with such potential settles to be a simple (and rather poorly executed) disaster movie. The effects are well produced and some of the cast give good performances (Italia Ricci in particular) but the characters are often thinly sketched and the script has jarring moments of leaden dialogue “is that a bible?”, “Where are they going”, etc. The Remaining is a film that could have done something engaging with its concept and yet it ends up as a forgettable and somewhat preachy offering. Not to mention the fact it cannot make up its mind between being a found footage film and narrative film.

Many will likely find a better look at the rapture, albeit in far different tone, in Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen’s flawed Comedy This is the End. That said, The Remaining does have some tense moments (a rush to the car to pick up medication, the opening moments of the apocalypse) but it never seems to summarise its story with an interesting angle. In many ways, the film could have ended with the words “told ya so” and it would have basically had the same overall effect. So if you are looking for a modern horror film tackling religion interestingly seek out last year’s The Borderlands or if you are wanting a film that more adeptly tackles humanity faced with the possible end of the earth seek out the ridiculously underrated The Mist because sadly The Remaining has a good set up but little to no capitalisation on it. Thou deserves better.

DVD Extras: Making Of and Deleted Scene

 

BLACK SEA

DVD REVIEW: BLACK SEA / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: KEVIN MACDONALD / SCREENPLAY: DENNIS KELLY / STARRING: JUDE LAW, JODIE WHITTAKER, BEN MENDELSOHN, SCOOT MCNAIRY / RELEASE DATE: APRIL 13TH

Black Sea starts out promising in the first act, but becomes a predictable, clichéd amalgamation of submarine movies we’ve all seen before during the second and third.

Captain Robinson (Law) is fired from his submarine pilot position with a major deep-sea salvage and recovery company. With job prospects nil for his skills of thirty years and facing a life of flipping burgers, he meets up with a mate in a local pub who tells him of a sunken, World War II German U-boat located in the Black Sea carrying two tons of gold.

After meeting with a shady investor who will finance the salvage for 40% of the take, Robinson hires a motley mix of British and Russians who are experts in their jobs and purchases a beat-up, rusted-out, mothballed Russian sub for the mission.

Avoiding the Russian navy during their search, tensions build between the Brits and Russians creating chaos aboard the ship. To make matters worse, a careless act causes an explosion crippling the sub leaving it on an underwater reef.

Director Macdonald keeps a good pace with a weak story. A ping pong, flip-flop of illogical to logical events during the course of the film gives it an uneven feeling. One moment that comes to mind is when they enter the German sub and there is air, but can’t take their masks off due to the poisonous, chlorine gas from the sub’s defunct batteries that has permeated the interior. Makes sense. In the same scene, they find several of the skeletal crew that had resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. Surely they’d have run out of air before that would have happened. Plus the sub wasn’t that far down so they could have used the sub’s escape system.

The set interiors are well created and have a claustrophobic feeling to them. The visual effects are good. But overall, you’d be better off watching the rare, German 1933 film, Morgenrot, Sam Fuller’s Hell and High Water or for adventure fans, read the Mercenary Sea comic book series.

Avoid this dive.
 

DISCOPATH

DVD REVIEW: DISCOPATH / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: RENAUD GAUTHIER / SCREENPLAY: RENAUD GAUTHIER / STARRING: JEREMIE EARP-LAVERGNE, SANDRINE BISSON, IVAN FREUD, INGRID FALAISE, FRANCOIS AUBIN / RELEASE DATE: MAY 4TH

Here’s a gloriously gory, cheesy and sensational homage to the glory days of 1970s exploitation slasher flicks with a generous helping of Italian giallo thrown in for good measure. Renaud Gauthier’s first full-length feature (hailing from 2013) takes us back to the sizzling summer of 1976 and the rise of bass-heavy disco music. Everyone’s carrying unfeasibly-huge beatboxes and wearing tiny shorts or ludicrous flared loons. But meek burger joint chef Duane Lewis (Earp-Lavergne) doesn’t move to the groove; an unfortunate disco music-related electrocution accident sizzled his father and now just the sound of a bassline or a hi-hat sends Duane into a psychopathic frenzy and turns him into an enraged killer obsessed with decapitation and mutilation – often with the aid of seven-inch singles. Poptastic.

Against all the odds, Discopath is gloriously entertaining stuff. It effortlessly evokes the spirit of the movies it’s merrily homaging from its pleasingly over-the-top plot to its fiercely inventive death sequences. Duane’s first victim is butchered beneath the unsuspecting feet of disco dancers gyrating on a glass dance floor, another is throttled under strobe lighting. Fleeing to Montreal in the wake of his first murder in New York (much of the film is subtitled to reflect its French-speaking Canadian location), Duane masquerades as a deaf handyman in a preparatory school of nubile teenage girls. All is well until four years later when a bout of dormitory disco music sets him off again and he soon notches up his bloodiest kills yet, decapitating and slicing and dicing two young victims. Parallels with the 1976 New York disco killing send Manhattan ’tec Paul Stevens (Freud) to Montreal, where he teams up with local Police to track down Duane before he can kill again. But Duane has already set his sights on a flirty teacher and history repeats itself as he electrocutes the school’s repressed headmistress.

Discopath is clumsily stylish, occasionally in wonderfully bad taste, and generally hilariously over-the-top. The performances are all deliciously ripe (although there’s the sneaking suspicion that Earp-Lavergne’s demented, disturbingly-crazed Duane belongs in a less fanciful movie) and the handful of licensed ‘70s disco tunes (especially Walter Murphy’s disco riff on ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’, sometimes better-remembered as the theme to the campy 1960s superhero series The Green Hornet) set the tone and the scene as deftly as Bruce Cameron’s wobbly synth score. Lovers of old school, blood-drenched slashers will find Discopath irresistible and, at just over seventy minutes (not much longer than the average 1970s extended disco 12-incher) it won’t test the patience of an audience just looking for a well-made, dumb-but-fun killer thriller.

Special features: None
 

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NETWORK (1976)


BLU-RAY REVIEW: NETWORK (1976) / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: SIDNEY LUMET / SCREENPLAY: PADDY CHAYEFSKY / STARRING: FAYE DUNAWAY, PETER FINCH, WILLIAM HOLDEN, ROBERT DUVALL / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW


The pleasure for the newbie, and perhaps the greatest reason to recommend Network, is looking at it and seeing how very relevant it still is. Though the film is and always will be very much a period piece (being made in the mid-70s, naturally everybody in it looks like they belong in The Professionals; frankly that’s a look we’re glad fashion left behind), the recent release of the film on Blu-ray serves as a timely reminder just how close the news media constantly is to giving into its worst excesses (such as fetishisation of graphic violence and overwhelming focus on celebrity ‘scandals’). In an age where the tabloidisation of the news is a real and growing concern, it’s nice to look back and see someone crying out, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore” without worrying about what Ofcom will think.


Though Sidney Lumet’s direction is excellent and gets the very best performances out of his stars, underneath it all there is an utterly superb script, filled to the brim with memorable lines (“I simply ran out of bullshit.”) and clever scene construction (in particular, the scene where the activists and network officials are divvying up rights to the ‘Mao Tse-tung Hour’ is sublime). The screenplay was so good, in fact, that it won Paddy Chayevsky an Oscar. It did seem a bit odd that they would let Finch’s character stay on the air after the stuff he said, mind.


If you’ve never seen Network (and this writer counted himself in that category until last week), now is definitely the time and this is definitely the version to pick up. Arrow Films have given it the HD treatment and all the garish colours are there in their full glory. Of course, we’ve taken off two points because the film heavily features the ‘70s. Other than that, it’s a near-perfect film; enjoyable on its own terms and relevant now more than ever.


Extras: The Directors: Sidney Lumet – documentary (made in 1999) with interviews with numerous stars / Tune in Next Tuesday – visual essay from Dave Itzkoff / collector’s booklet.


THE BLOB

BLU-RAY REVIEW: THE BLOB (1958) / DIRECTOR: IRWIN S. YEAWORTH JR. / SCREENPLAY: KAY LINAKER, THEODORE SIMONSON / STARRING: STEVE MCQUEEN, ANETA CORSAUT, EARL ROWE, OLIN HOWLAND, STEPHEN CHASE, JAMES BONNET / RELEASED: APRIL 20TH

By the mid-‘50s the Cold War had intensified to such an extent that America had become obsessed with communism and its perceived threat to their internal security. Such fears led to McCarthyism and that, in turn, led to inward-looking concerns that perhaps this was itself an even greater threat to the American way. It’s not entirely coincidental that sci-fi movies were enjoying something of a golden age at this time and it was inevitable that they addressed these issues. So it was that… Oh wait.

Sorry, we’re not reviewing Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) are we? We’re doing The Blob. Yeah right, it’s red and it’s taking over small town America so it must be about communism. Except that, no matter how many books anyone would like to write on the subject, it clearly isn’t. It’s a low-budget B-movie (that managed to come in under budget) with an icky-monster, teenagers, nice cars and a camp theme song. This is the quintessential drive-in flick and any resemblance to a “red menace” is purely coincidental (and at least one of the production team has said as much).

A young couple (McQueen and Corsaut) are doing whatever young couples did in their cars back then when they see a meteorite crash. Investigating, they find an old man (Howland) with something nasty stuck to his hand. It gets bigger and then old man disappears. As does the nurse who was treating him and then the doctor and then a car mechanic, etc, etc. All the while the “mass” (as they call it) gets bigger and bigger. Oh, you get the idea. This is pretty basic ‘50s B-movie stuff. As it can’t be shot (‘cause it’s like jelly, man) and fire, electricity and trichloroacetic acid (which we think you use on genital warts) all fail to have an effect, how will they destroy it? Well, we won’t tell you but it’s pretty cool .

Ultimately, The Blob is just great fun; it manages to be sort-of-horrifying while bringing a smile to your face at the same time. The cast are all a bit ropey but Steve McQueen (who at 27 looked nothing like the teenager he was supposed to be portraying – the scenes with his “dad” are a hoot) saves the day with his natural onscreen charisma. You can tell he was going to be a star. Unusually, The Blob is in colour and if we’ve got a very minor criticism, Blu-ray doesn’t do the otherwise-adequate special effects any favours. It really is obvious that’s a drawing of the diner with a Blob on it at the climax.

If you have the slightest affection for ‘50s sci-fi then you really need this one and, if you don’t, it might just get you hooked. Then you can watch all the proper allegorical-hardcore-stuff. Go on, you know you want to.

Incidentally, if you like The Blob, you probably need to read ICE (available here).

Extras: Trailer, stills gallery
 

THE OFFENCE

BLU-RAY REVIEW: THE OFFENCE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: SIDNEY LUMET / SCREENPLAY: JOHN HOPKINS / STARRING: SEAN CONNERY, TREVOR HOWARD, VIVIEN MERCHANT, IAN BANNEN, PETER BOWLES / RELEASED: APRIL 20TH

Now here’s a curio from the history of British cinema. By the end of the ‘60s, Sean Connery had long-tired of Bond, but when George Lazenby quit the franchise after only one outing United Artists were prepared to offer Connery anything to return for Diamonds are Forever (1971). So apart from the inevitable truckload of money, they sweetened the deal by promising Connery that they would make any two films he wanted (provided they weren’t too pricey) and that he could play absolutely any part. Well one of the two never quite came off, but The Offence did and it couldn’t have been anything less like a Bond. Naturally enough, it bombed.

Connery plays DS “Johnny” Johnson, a middle-aged copper who’s been investigating all sorts of nasty brutal crime for twenty years. The film opens with Johnson beating a suspected child rapist (Bannen) to death, and the story of how we got to this rather unpleasant state of affairs is told in flashback. This is very dark stuff and we really wouldn’t recommend it as viewing to anyone who’s on a bit of a downer. We see Johnson’s memories in fleeting and repeated images of cold horror but, even bearing this baggage in mind, Johnson isn’t exactly a sympathetic character. In fact, to those who saw the film at the time (both of them), Connery’s performance must have been a revelation. He’s sans toupée with a huge moustache, unmistakably middle-aged and his miserable childless home life couldn’t be less glamorous. In fact, in his hat and sheepskin, Connery comes across like a more brutal proto-Jack Frost.

While it certainly isn’t for the fainthearted, with Sidney Lumet directing, you won’t be surprised that this is a quality movie. It’s at its best in the early part of the film where we see the crime investigated against the bleak, bleak backdrop of ‘70s British suburbia and, perhaps surprisingly, this is so much more effective on Blu-ray. There’s a real coldness to the landscape and we seem to recall that the ‘70s really did look that miserable. In fact, it could be argued that the hideous contemporary architecture is a supporting star of the film (and we’re pleased to note that the most offending examples have since been pulled down). But the film is less effective in the series of intense one-to-one scenes between Johnson and his wife (Merchant), a superior officer (Howard) and arguably even with the suspect himself (whose guilt or innocence is left entirely up to you). The problem with lengthy scenes like this is that they do rather give the game away that the source material was a stage-play. While that’s fine in itself, it’s nice if you can do rather better with your chosen medium than that. Mind you, the last of those confrontations does rather save it on that front as Ian Bannen is (as ever) brilliant.

Highly recommended even if it is utterly joy-free.

Special Features: Four interviews / Theatrical trailer / 36-page booklet
 

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