New on Blu: I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (1978 & 2010), IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY, ONG BAK 3, and more
This week's Blu-ray releases aren’t necessarily the most contemporary of films, but fans of the genre specific area should be more than pleased with week with the wide variety of flavors offered for your home viewing pleasure this week.
Horror fans can get some good ol’ fashioned on-screen depravity with not one, but two films from Anchor Bay Entertainment in the original and the remake of I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. Tony Jaa fans can finish out his signature franchise with ONG BAK 3. For the lady in your life, since Valentine’s Day is coming up, there’s IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY. Not necessarily a love story, but women claim to think Zach Galifianakis (and his beard) are cute, so that might make her happy.
I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (1978 & 2010)
Both the 1978 original, and the 2010 remake of I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE have the same plot and characters. Jennifer Hills is a writer working on her next novel. Looking for peace and quiet, she rents a riverside cabin in upstate New York to work on a book and attracts the attention of some unsavory locals. She is attacked by said locals in very brutal ways and is left for dead; only she survives the ordeal and is now driven by revenge on the men who attacked her.
Bothfilms are not for the faint of heart or the easily nauseated. There are things done to human beings in both films that shouldn’t be seen by people if they can’t handle it. The quote on the cover of the 2010 Blu-ray is appropriate, if you can handle it, it may be worth a watch.
The Blu-ray sets have an affinity for the nostalgic. The 1978 I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE set’s main feature is an interview with the director retelling what it was like to direct such a film in the 1970’s. In the 2010 Blu-ray set, there is a feature focusing on the character of Jennifer Hills and what it was like to remake a cult icon. Horror junkies will be hard pressed to ignore the brutality of both of these films if that’s what you’re into, but the overall quality of both of these films does leave little to be desired.
Based on a novel by Ned Vizzini, IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY is the coming of age story of 16 year old Craig Gilner (Keir Gilchrist). After contemplating jumping off of the Brooklyn Bridge, he decides to check himself into a hospital’s psychiatric ward. It turns out not to be quite what he expected, but he is forced to stay there for a few days.
While there, he meets Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), an adult patient who claims to be there on vacation. Throughout his stay at the hospital, Craig begins to realize that maybe life isn’t so bad and actually is worth living.
It’s a very heartwarming movie, and will no doubt speak to more than a few people, especially anyone having issues with choices they’ve made in their life as far as what career they may have, want to study in school, etc. Unfortunately for cinephiles, there aren’t a lot of extras on the Blu-ray. It includes deleted scenes, some outtakes (which are actually quite funny) A Look Inside IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY, and a featurette featuring video from the New York premiere. The decision to get this set rests solely on how much you enjoyed the film, but the film’s got some great moments and good performances. If you’re interested in seeing Zach Galifianakis in a role where he’s still funny, but a little more serious, it's definitely worth checking out.
Thai martial arts legend Tony Jaa writes, directs, produces, and stars in the third and final installment (and supposedly his last film) of the action packed series ONG BAK. ONG BAK 3 elevates the supernatural elements of the previous film and picks up right from where the cliffhanger ending left off. In this film, Tien (Tony Jaa) must face a fierce warrior named “Demon Crow” played by another martial arts sensation, Dan Chupong (Dynamite Warrior). This is one of the more eagerly anticipated match-ups on film that martial arts aficionados have been salivating to see.
The story in the actual movie is fairly weak, but the fights are absolutely great. These films are great at pulling off the sort of theatrics in on-screen fighting that simply can’t be done in America. There are fights on top of live elephants and slow motion shots that seem to indicate that there are some real impacts that these actors are going through. The film will not disappoint fight movie fans, and the Blu-ray set has a pretty good amount of extras that will keep the technical filmmaking fans satisfied.
The interviews with the cast and crew are the highlight of the set, where Tony Jaa expounds a little bit more about the character of Tien. This is helpful since a lot of the character development in the film is lost among the shuffle of the fight scenes that most American viewers are there to see. Overall a good set, a definite must buy, especially if you’re a completest and are looking to close out this franchise.
Also Available:
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 (Unrated Director's Cut) (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)
LIFE AS WE KNOW IT (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)
YOU AGAIN (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)
FOR COLORED GIRLS (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)
THELMA & LOUISE (20th Anniversary) [Blu-ray]
AMARCORD (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
STILL WALKING (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
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