Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Hot on Home Video: 'Back to Black,' 'Fall Guy,' 'Rocky I-VI Collection'

BACK TO BLACK


Marisa Abela of HBO's "Industry" sizzles in a breakout role as Amy Winehouse in this insightful biopic, which tracks the star's meteoric rise to fame as she battled addiction. Abela's performance, bolstered by a dead-on singing impression of Winehouse, powers the film. Eddie Marsan and Lesley Manville fill out the lead cast, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. The film delves into the influences and inspirations that fed into Winehouse's creative process.

Extras include a look into Abela's transformation into Winehouse, a look at the artist's music and filmmaker commentary.

THE FALL GUY

A crowd-pleasing, critical darling that oddly didn't rake in tons of cash at the box office, this overlooked action flick gets a second chance at finding a mass audience on home video. Ryan Goslking and Emily Blunt star in a remake of the 1980s TV series. The story follows the path of a veteran stuntman who recovers from a devastating injury when a movie star goes missing.

Bonus features include an extended cut of the film that adds 20 minutes of footage, a gag reel, alternate takes, a breakdown of the film's stunts, a slew of making-if featurettes and a look inside the making of "Metalstorm," the film within a film.

ROCKY I-VI COLLECTION

There have been several collections of "Rocky" films -- I'm still waiting for the "Rocky"/"Creed" series combo -- but several have been incomplete to various degrees. This collection rounds up the six mainline "Rocky" films, ranging from the original, 1976 Best Picture Oscar winner to the well-liked 2006 "Rocky Balboa." 

Extras include such trifles as the "Rocky Balboa" director's cut, which includes 14 minutes of previously unreleased footage, as well as Sylvester Stallone's recut version of "Rocky IV," dubbed "Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago."

Studios provided screeners for review.

No comments: