A Sassy Tearjerker Arrives in 4K as Our Pick of the Week

Pick of the Week

Steel Magnolias [4K UHD]

What is it? A group of women rally together in the face of tragedy.

Why see it? Sometimes the movies that hit hardest on the emotional front, the ones that really make you cry, are also loaded with personality and laughs. Terms of Endearment is a great example, and Steel Magnolias is another. Sally Field plays a woman whose grown daughter has just started a family of her own, but that choice comes with a health risk, and soon Field finds herself carrying an unexpected weight. The joy of the film comes in the friendships she shares with a group of women (Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis) who help her through the tough times. They’re a fun and funny bunch, as lively as you could hope, and they give the film a heartbeat. It’s a celebration of life, legacy, and laughter, and we really can’t get enough of those.

[Extras: Commentary, featurette, deleted scenes, TV pilot]

The Best

Monolith

What is it? A podcast leads a woman down a dangerous path.

Why see it? Movies with a single character can be a tough sell as they often feel too confined by design, but this little gem feels anything but. Lily Sullivan plays a disgraced journalist who’s resorted to starting a podcast about unsolved mysteries. She finds listener success with an ongoing investigation into some mysterious items, but the deeper she digs, the closer she gets to some very uncomfortable truths. This is a beautifully shot film, and the dialogue/reveals draw you in with questions, answers, and the fascinating spaces in between. Sullivan does great work with a character who earns our empathy alongside our curiosity. Good stuff.

[Extras: Commentary]

Nostalghia [4K UHD]

What is it? I don’t know.

Why see it? Look, I won’t pretend to understand (or even care about) what’s happening here or what the film is trying to say, but Andrei Tarkovsky’s film is an insanely gorgeous watch. Beautiful compositions, controlled camera movements that pull you effortlessly along, sepia-toned sequences that suggest dreams, memories, and/or fantasies. It’s a visually stunning feature allowing multiple points of beauty in nearly every frame. Kino’s new restoration is a work of art in its own right, and the disc also includes extras offering insight and enlightenment for viewers like myself who aren’t picking up what Tarkovsky’s putting down. Questions are asked, observations are made, but I’m not sure if answers are given. Happily, it turns out they’re not always needed after all.

[Extras: New 4K restoration, commentary, interview, documentary]

Rolling Thunder [4K UHD, Shout Select]

What is it? Bad guys pay the price for crossing a recently returned POW.

Why see it? This late 70s flick has a reputation as a badass revenge thriller, and it is that, but the film is also far more of a character drama than newcomers are probably expecting. William Devane is a Vietnam veteran recently arrived back home after time spent as a POW, and while his fellow prisoner (Tommy Lee Jones) understands the mental state he’s in, no one else does. So when some pricks kill his wife and son and leave him for dead, the pair team up to exact some vengeance. There are some compelling and intense beats here leading up to an explosive finale, so action fiends will get their fix there. But be prepared for the drama too, brough to life by good actors doing good work. Shout’s new 4K UHD is a solid release, looking great and loaded with extras.

[Extras: New 4K transfer, commentaries, interviews]

The Rest

Drive-Away Dolls

What is it? Two young women get caught up with criminals.

Why see it? The Coen brothers may be on a hiatus as far as their collaborations go, but they’re still doing some standalone work. Ethan Coen directs and co-writes this little road-trip comedy, and it’s every bit a mixed bag. The highlight is arguably Margaret Qualley who fully immerses herself into the film’s goofy tone as one of two lesbians delivering a car to Florida, unaware of what’s sitting in the trunk. The film’s script and style choices just can’t keep pace with her, though, as beats feel forced and false in equal measure. It’s short, so that’s a plus, and well worth watching for Qualley.

[Extras: Featurettes]

Graphic Sexual Horror [Synapse]

What is it? A documentary on an internet site you’re probably (hopefully) never visited.

Why see it? As the title suggests, the website at the heart of this documentary is one focused on the suffering of scantily clad/nude women. It’s staged, not snuff, but as the interviews with those involved and those that subscribed reveal, its success came from just how convincing it was. We see imagery and videos from the site, and we hear various people talk about their time with it and the effects it had on them. It’s arguably interesting seeing this demographic reveal their kinks, but for most of us, the topic itself is something of a turn off.

[Extras: Deleted scenes, interviews]

Household Saints

What is it? Three generations face family, faith, and dinner.

Why see it? Nancy Savoca directs this oddly comic slice of magical realism and weirdness, and while some beats work like gangbusters others fall flatter than a New York style pizza. It’s quirky and odd, sometimes too much so as it drowns out the parts that do work. To that point, it’s the cast that shines brightest here with great turns by Vincent D’Onofrio, Tracy Ullman, Lili Taylor, and Michael Imperioli. They’re all good fun even as the film around them stumbles through some admittedly atypical turns and story beats. Italian American viewers may find more to love here, though, as it very much feels like a love letter directly to that experience.

[Extras: Short films, documentary, interview]

The Road to Ruin

What is it? A cautionary tale about teens acting out!

Why see it? You might find this hard to believe, but we used to be a prudish nation. (I kid, we’re still pretty damn restrained and puritanical.) The movies were often used as cautionary tales to warn parents and their kids what awaits those who stray from the straight and narrow. This film, both the silent original and the talkie that arrived the following decade, shows wildin’ teens racing toward the tragedy their bad behavior earns. It’s not a fun film, but it remains an interesting glimpse into the mindset of our culture one hundred years ago.

[Extras: Both the 1928 and 1934 versions, commentaries]

Also out this week:

The Beekeeper, Black Mask, The Departed [4K UHD], Goodbye Uncle Tom [4K UHD, Blue Underground], Hansel and Gretel, I Am Cuba [4K UHD, Criterion], The Kingdom Trilogy