New to Home Video 6/21/22
Check out our reviews of what’s new to home video 6/21/22:
My parents were pretty strict when it came to R-rated movies so fourteen year old me didn’t get to see Con Air in a theater. I felt the pangs of that great disappointment in my life again when Tom Gormican’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent opens with a scene from that film, with Nicolas Cage’s long hair blowing in the wind on the giant screen and his overcooked Southern accent rumbling in the speakers the way I never got to experience back in 1997. It turns out we’ve dropped in on two characters who have nothing to do with Cage; they’re just watching one of his seminal performances. Soon enough, though, Cage will show up as himself in the lead role of this mostly fun, occasionally too self-satisfied ode to the actor’s indelible power and high voltage appeal… Review
It should come as no surprise that any serious-minded film about the pornography industry is also going to be a good Los Angeles movie. Most of the time, when a filmmaker sets out to depict a city, they understandably focus on streets and public transit, the liminal latticework that connects citizens to one another across their shared territory. But Ninja Thyberg’s Pleasure understands how, much of the time, existing in Los Angeles means inhabiting a series of disembodied rooms in a way that feels random when surveyed at large. Sometimes, these rooms are in tacky mansions in the hills. Usually, they’re in strip malls or industrial parks… Review
Kogonada’s lovely feature debut, Columbus, was far more tender and messy than its imagery would suggest when presented out of context. Blending Midwestern modesty with imposing structures of modernist architecture, publicity stills made it look like something approaching science fiction. Now Kogonada has, if you like, fulfilled that promise. After Yang takes place an unspecified number of years from now (the implication is that it’s more distant than near). But still, for all his futuristic mise-en-scène, the director’s outlook remains poignantly human, psychological but not overly cerebral… Review
Also new to home video 6/21/22: The Bad Guys, Gold, Cinderella, Hit the Road
Battleship Pretension is a movie discussion podcast started in 2007 by Tyler Smith and David Bax. Since then, we’ve done live comedy shows, written reviews, commentaries and more.
Battleship Pretension is a film discussion show and a film review website founded by Tyler Smith and David Bax. Beginning in March 2007, Battleship Pretension the show (known to fans simply as “BP”) embodies the type of laidback, free-flowing conversations had by lovers of film around the world. Battleship Pretension the website is dedicated to being a destination for those seeking worthwhile opinions on current releases, be they foreign, independent, studio pictures, theatrical, home video releases, etc. From its meager beginnings in Los Angeles, Battleship Pretension has amassed a worldwide audience and readership. From Germany to Korea to Australia, people have tuned in to share in Tyler and David’s love of film. As Battleship Pretension’s following continues to grow, the purpose remains the same: Reach out to the international cinephile community, invite them to join in the discussion and perhaps even start one of their own.
