Cinemas & Home Entertainment this week…
GRIM PICKINGS this week includes key dates to dismember with the cynical b-side to A STAR IS BORN opening in cinemas while the Netflix dumpster fire that was THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX hits home entertainment!
IN CINEMAS
Thursday February 21st
VOX LOX
Natalie Portman turns in a compelling performance as pop-star in this ambitious and at times grim b-side to A STAR IS BORN. Two teenage sisters Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) and Eleanor (Stacy Martin) compose and perform a song about their experience of surviving a seismic, violent tragedy. While making something lovely and cathartic out of catastrophe — it catapults Celeste to stardom. By 2017, the now 31-year-old Celeste (Portman) is mother to a teenage daughter of her own and struggling to navigate a career fraught with scandals when another act of terrifying violence demands her attention.
HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Wednesday February 20th
THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX
If the latest instalment of both a popular and successful theatrical franchise debuts on Netflix, you know something’s amiss. Such as is the case with THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX, the third and potentially final film of this mysterious saga (due to the highly secretive nature of each film’s production). Never has the phrase ‘jumping the shark’ been more accurate to describe an entry in an established series than it is here. THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX is a cliche-riddled, exposition-laden and suspense-less exercise in the sci-fi/thriller universe that comes with only one of two recommendations, revisit the first two instalments again or watch EVENT HORIZON instead. Set in the near future, centres on a team of astronauts on a space station making a terrifying discovery that challenges all they know about the fabric of reality, as they desperately fight for their survival. Paramount’s Blu-ray & DVD releases contain two featurettes, ‘Things Are Not As They Appear: The Making of THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX’ and ‘Shepard Team: The Cast’, running roughly at fourteen minutes each.
SCHINDLER’S LIST
Arriving on home entertainment for its 25th Anniversary is Steven Spielberg’s seven-time Academy award-winner SCHINDLER’S LIST, restored in 4K and complete with newly crafted Special Features celebrating the legacy of this cinematic masterpiece. The indelible true story of the enigmatic Oskar Schindler, a member of the Nazi party, womaniser and war profiteer who saved the lives of more than 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust. It is the triumph of one man who made a difference, and the drama of those who survived one of the darkest chapters in human history. Universal Pictures’ 4K Ultra-HD release features both a Dolby Vision presentation of the film accompanied by a newly created Dolby Atmos track along with two new featurettes including ‘SCHINDLER’S LIST: 25 Years Later’ and archival features from the previous home entertainment releases.
Z NATION: SEASON 5
As ratings for THE WALKING DEAD continue to decline, it’s puzzling that SyFy produced series is still running. The final episode of Season 4 left our heroes contemplating their deaths. But we’ve got newZ for you: Warren has survived and the team are facing a whole new frenZy of flesh-eating challenges! The Black Rain has created a totally unexpected side effect: Zombies that can talk and apart from dishing out some serious attitude, they can also pass as real humans. Get ready for Z-apocalypse 2.0 as our heroes face an enemy that won’t shut up and a crayZ-ass mission that can’t possibly end well.
Grim Pickings is written weekly by Jarret Gahan.