Digital Week – Septemeber 23

In early 1930s Oregon, Murphy (Ethan Hawke), who made a wrong move against undercover policemen, finds himself on a brutal work gang and separated from his beloved young daughter—but the warden, Clancy (Russell Crowe), takes a shine to him and says he can get him an early release if he takes on a dangerous mission to smuggle gold through forbidding wilderness. This no-nonsense drama has its share of suspenseful moments, but the potentially intriguing relationship between a desperate Murphy and the shady Clancy never becomes momentous, despite both actors at their grim best. Director Padraic McKinley and writers Matthew Booi and Shelby Gaines don’t make any of the characters (including Anna, an Indigenous woman played strikingly by Julia Jones) authentic enough to root for, so the story’s power somewhat dissipates.

Angelina Jolie certainly began her directorial career auspiciously with the intense historical dramas “In the Land of Milk and Honey” and “Unbroken,” but since then she’s floundered—this exploration of the closeness of grief, memory and vengeance was made in 2024 but sat on the shelf until now. It’s not hard to see why: this 85-minute film barely has enough time to sketch out its protagonists and their horrific histories, and even with committed performances by Salma Hayek and Demián Bichir, Jolie is unable to provide anything more than earnest and clichéd platitudes.

In 1972, a Toronto production of the musical “Godspell” was populated by several future comedy legends: Gilda Radner, Paul Shaffer, Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Dave Thomas, Andrea Martin, Victor Garber, etc., and director Nick Davis brings many of them back for an often hilarious (and equally touching) reminiscence. Also on hand are Godspell composer Steven Schwartz and fans like Mike Myers and Lin-Manuel Miranda, who expound on the singular talents of these performers, many of whom would go onto fame on “SCTV” and “SNL.” This terrific trip down memory lane climaxes when the surviving group gets together in a NYC apartment and sings songs from the show like “Day by Day.”  

Director Charles Burnett’s sophomore feature was this compassionate 1980 drama that centers around Pierce, who lives in a South Central L.A. neighborhood that remains a close-knit community despite the often miserable reality of everyday existence. This authentic slice-of-life culminates when Pierce must decide whether to attend the wedding of his brother Wendell or the funeral of his good friend Soldier. Although the film has its share of amateurish performances, Burnett’s script and direction have a clarity that makes this a still meaningful glimpse into ordinary Black lives. 

Anne Rice’s 1976 novel was an anomaly in its time: an intelligent gothic romance about New Orleans vampires that paved the way (or is that can be blamed) for the later undead craze. In Neil Jordan’s atmospheric 1994 adaptation, the master Phillipe Rousselot’s glistening photography and Dante Ferretti’s gorgeous set design are the real stars, even with memorable performances by Brad Pitt, Stephen Rea and a young Kirsten Dunst. Too bad the film is saddled by Tom Cruise’s unmenacing Lestat along with an unrelieved seriousness that doesn’t seem aware of the campiness of the material. The film looks exquisite in 4K; extras include a Jordan commentary as well as new and vintage featurettes with interviews with the cast, Rousselot, Ferretti, Jordan and Rice.

In the latest superhero reboot, Kara Zor-el—female cousin of Superman from the planet Krypton—gets her own origin story as she travels across the galaxy to make sure the villain who hurt her dog Krypto gets his comeuppance. Unfortunately, director Craig Gillespie’s adventure is as simple and pedestrian as it sounds, as Supergirl meets an assortment of bizarre characters that seem to have emerged from a Mad Max sequel. Milly Alcock is a winning performer, but she ends up battling a mediocre script and pedestrian direction to differentiate this from other comic-book flicks. Unfortunately, she fails. It all looks great on UHD; extras are several featurettes and deleted scenes.