Folks, it’s the Star Wars week, and I must inform you that the Star Wars is good. I don’t care much about the originals outside of every beat of them being instilled in me through pop culture, but I’m quite enjoying the sequel series. The Last Jedi takes the charm of The Force Awakens and adds in some willingness to experiment (both in the script and in the filmmaking; the early series of match-cuts between Kylo Ren and Leia blew me away in the theater), resulting in a movie that I figured would get a “PLAY ENJOYED BY ALL”-esque response, which of course ended up not being in the cards. Ah well, it can sit proudly next to Iron Man 3 in the annals of “good movies that made a small subset of loud morons angry”.
Elsewhere, Criterion rules the day with the long-awaited American Blu-Ray release of Ken Russell’s Women in Love, as well as the not quite as awaited American Blu-Ray release of King of Jazz, a filmed 1930 revue which offers just the level of white-breadness you’d expect from something that claims that someone named “Paul Whiteman” is the king of jazz. There’s also Scream Factory’s bells-and-whistles release of the horror mockumentary Behind the Mask, Kino’s release of the Ingrid Bergman Joan of Arc, Arrow’s remastering of Killer Klowns from Outer Space. But, loathe as I am to say it, there is some pretty prominent TV out this week. I suppose the most high-profile one of the bunch is Legion, which was reported to have scooped Twin Peaks in the “weird TV” department before Twin Peaks started, and, okay, Jesus, uh, yeah. There’s also the third season of the once uber-zeitgeisty Mr. Robot, but best of all, a release of the first season of The Outer Limits on Blu-Ray from Kino.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (Shout Factory)
Joan of Arc (Kino)
Killer Klowns from Outer Space (Arrow)
King of Jazz (Criterion)
Last Men in Aleppo (Grasshopper)
The Last Movie Star (Lionsgate)
Legion: The Complete Season One (Fox)
Mr. Robot: Season 3.0 (Universal)
The Outer Limits: Season One (Kino)
Sacha Guitry: Four Films 1936-1938 (Arrow)
Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (Disney)
Women in Love (Criterion)