THE EPITAPH VOL. 72

 THE EPTAPH VOL. 72 

SHORT CIRCUIT 2 (1988) - THE NUN II (2023) - BLUE BEETLE (2023) - THE FUGITIVE (1991) - BACKDRAFT (1991) 

SHORT CIRCUIT 2 (1988)

Blu-ray 

Label: SPHE

Region Code: Region-Free 

Rating: PG 

Duration: 110 Minutes 36 Seconds 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles 

Director: Kenneth Johnson

Cast: Fisher Stevens, Michael McKean, Cynthia Gibb, Jack Weston, Tim Blaney

Synopsis; High-voltage, fast-paced comedy for the entire family. Number Five, A.K.A. Johnny Five, that incredible lovable robot, is back and taking the big city by storm. More "human" than ever, upbeat Johnny's out for some "urban input", but some street hoods see his innocence as their high-tech ticket to easy street.

This was previously issued on a barebones Blu-ray a couple of years ago, so it;s great to see Sony give it a special edition released stacked with extras, that look like the same extras that Ballyhoo Motion Pictures produced for the UK release from 88 Films. The flick looks absolutely solid in HD and the uncompressed audio delivers the '80s soundtrack quite nicely. Of course in true '80s style we have Fisher Stevens (My Science Project) playing Indian character Benjamin Jahrvi, as he did in the first film, which is problematic but not malicious at least, there we're a lot fo problematic things about the 80's folks. We catch up to him selling little version of Johnny 5 on the streets of NYC, which catches the attention of toy store buyer named Sandy Banatoni (Cynthia Gibb, Jack's Back) looking for the hot new toy for the Christmas season, so she orders 1000 units, which he has no hope of fiulfilling, until a street hustler Fred Ritter (Michael McKean, Spinal Tap) looking to make a quick buck teams-up with him after borrowing capital from a loan shark - bad idea. Eventually the real Johnny 5 shows up and helps out on the assembly line and much 80's sequel hijinks ensues.  I thought this was quite charming, I thought I had watched this as a kid but it was evident just a few minutes in that I had not, or I had erased it from my memory banks - I just think I would have remembered Michael McKean was in it, and he's a huge part of what I loved about it. 

Special Features: 

- Audio commentary with Director Kenneth Johnson

- Here's Johnny Five: The Making of Short Circuit 2 (16:14) 

- Nuts & Bolts: Writing Short Circuit 2 (12:37)

- Storyboard Sequences with Director Commentary (10:36) 

- Rehearsal Videos (27:10) 

- Actor Profile: Fisher Stevens (3:10) 

- Behind-the-Scenes Still Gallery  (14:51) 

THE NUN II (2023) 

4K Ultra HD + Digital

 

Label: WBHE

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: R

Duration: 110 Minutes 
Audio: Dolby Atmos True HD with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen 

Director: Michael Chavez 

Cast: Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Storm Reid, Anna Popplewell

 

Synopsis: 1956 – France.  A priest is murdered. An evil is spreading. The sequel to the worldwide smash hit follows Sister Irene as she once again comes face-to-face with Valak, the demon nun.

Set four years after the first film Sister Irene (Tessa Farmiga) now serves at a Italian convent in Italy, but after having horrific vision of her friend Maurice (Jonas Bloquet) she is dispatched to a boarding school in France to investigate a spate of mysterious deaths that are believed to be connected to the demon Valak aka The Nun from the first film - which is where Maurice now works as a groundskeeper. There we meet  Sister Debra (Storm Reid), Sophie (Katelyn Rose Downey) and her mother, Kate (Anna Popplewell), and the investigation gets underway and demonic bad things transpire. Like the first film I thought this was a solid slice of franchise horror, if you liked the first film you will more than likely dig this. The scene at the top of the film of a priest encountering Valek before being raised into the air on being set on fire is a great opener, and while the flick didn;t exactly set my world on fire it was decent watch, and the 4K UHD presentation is top-notch. 

Special Features: 

- “The Nun II” Premium Digital Ownership, 4K UHD and Blu-ray contain the following special features:  

- Demons in Paradise – featurette (5:35)

- Handcrafter Nightmares – featurette (7:28)

- Digital Copy 

- Slipcover 

 

BLUE BEETLE (2023) 

4K Ultra HD + Digital 

Label: WBHE

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: PG-13 

Duration: 127 Minutes 

Audio: Dolby Atmos True HD with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160 UHD Widescreen 

Director: Ángel Manuel Soto

Cast: Xolo Maridueña, Adriana Barraza, Damían Alcázar, Elpidia Carrillo, Bruna Marquezine, Raoul Max Trujillo, Susan Sarandon, George Lopez,  Belissa Escobedo, Harvey Guillén

 

Synopsis: Recent college grad Jaime Reyes returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab. When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armor capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the Super Hero Blue Beetle.

I was never a Blue Beetle comic reader but I was pretty excited when this was announced, I was thinking back when they announced Guardians of the Galaxy at Marvel, another comic franchise I didn;t really read a bunch of, but what James Gunn did with it was amazing. While this was originally intended to air on MAX it ended up getting a theatrical run, and I am glad it did, it's a fun slice of escapist entertainment. This reminded me a bit of Spider-Man meets Iron Man in it's execution of the superhero stuff, but oddly enough it was not the superhero action that made this so fun, it was the family dynamic of college graduate turned superhero Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña), they're a close-knit but argumentative family and their chemistry drew me right in, I even like George Lopez as his lunatic uncle! The look of the Blue Beetle suit is excellent, as he explored his powers in a training/origin montage of sorts it's fun stuff, but the least interesting stuff here is the super-powered baddie and his 

evil boss (Susan Sarandon), pretty rote and one-dimensional. That said, overall I thought this was a fun as heck comic book flick and the UHD with it's Dolby Vision and Atmos enhanced A/V is quite visually appealing and bombastic. 

Special Features:  

- “Generations: Blue Beetle” – 4-part documentary (47 min) 

- Nana Knows Best – featurette (4:31) 

- Scarab Vision – 2-part featurette (14 min) 

- Digital Copy 

- Slipcover 

THE FUGITIVE (1993) 

4K Ultra HD + Digital 

Label: WBHE

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: PG-13 

Duration: 130 Minutes 

Audio: English Dolby Atmos, True HD, DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: HDR10 2160 Ultra HD Widescreen 

Director: Andrew Davis 

Cast: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward, Joe Pantoliano, Andreas Katsulas, Jeroen Krabbé

Based the television series “The Fugitive” (1963 to 1967) this is what I would consider one of the definitive 90's thrillers starring Harrison Ford as a Chicago surgeon wrongly convicted of murdering his wife  (Sela Ward) and and Tommy Lee Jones as the determined Deputy US Marshal Sam Gerard tasked with bring Kimble back to prison after the prison bus that was transferring him to death row crashes after some of prisoners revolt against the guards, sending the bus careening down a ravine and onto the train tracks. This flick has been beautifully restored for it's UHD debut and it looks marvelous, the depth, clarity and HDR10 color-grading is tremendous and the Atmos remix is thunderous - that train plowing into the bus scene was rattling the walls of my house. If you're a fan of 90's thrillers this 4K UHD is a must-own. 

Special Features:

- Introduction by Andrew Davis and Harrison Ford (1:47) 

- Commentary by Andrew Davis and Tommy Lee Jones

- "The Fugitive: Thrill of the Chase" (28:19)

- "On the Run with the Fugitive" (23:04) 

- "Derailed: Anatomy of a Train Wreck" (8:52) 

- Theatrical Trailer (1:58) 

 

BACKDRAFT (1991) 

Remastered Edition Blu-ray 

Label: UPHE

Region Code: Region-Free 

Rating: R

Duration: 137 Minutes

Audio: English DTS X, Dolby Digital 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1) 

Director: Ron Howard 

Cast: Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rebecca DeMorna, Donald Sutherland, Robert De Niro

 

Ron Howard's Backdraft (1991) is a well-executed action-thriller about two Chicago firefighters Stephen (Kurt Russell) and Brian (William Baldwin). When a puzzling series of arson attacks is reported, they are forced to set aside their differences to solve the mystery surrounding these explosive crimes. We also get Rebecca DeMornay as Stephen's long-suffering wife, Robert De Niro as the fire- investigator, and JT Walsh as a corrupt Alderman.The overly melodramatic script, which is typical for a Ron Howard production, does the core story no favors, but the saving grace here is the action-packed fire-fighting and arson sequences are absolutely phenomenal - not done with CGI but real fire stunts, and it adds a ton to the thrill-ride experience of it all. This remastered Blu-ray with uncompressed audio looks and sounds terrific, plus it's stacked with oodles of extras. The flick is also available on UHD, if you're a fan of the film that's probably the way to go here. 

Special Features: 

- Ron Howard Introduction (2:52) 

- Deleted Scenes (43:10)

- Igniting the Story (15:00) 

- Bringing Together the Team (19:09) 

- The Explosive Stunts (14:42) 

- Creating the Villain: The Fire (12:51) 

- Real-Life Firemen, Real-Life Stories (8:57)