CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
Blu-ray Review: Guillermo Del Toro Provides Explosive Fun in ‘Pacific Rim’
CHICAGO – Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pacific Rim,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, has so much of what the other 2013 Summer blockbusters were missing. There was a disturbing sense of familiarity this year. Even the decent ones like the “Iron Man” and “Star Trek” sequels felt like things we had seen before. “Pacific Rim” returned wonder and spectacle to the world of the blockbuster and the result was Del Toro’s best English-language film. It’s a blast.
Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
TV stars Charlie Hunnam and Idris Elba bring the right gravity to their roles without stealing focus from what really matters here: Giant monsters vs. giant robots. In the future, Godzilla-esque creatures emerge from the ocean floors and can only be defeated by man-operated, massive, metal machines. Del Toro brings his amazing knowledge of film and fantasy history to develop a film that’s much smarter than its detractors led me to believe. This is dumb fun but it’s hard to make dumb action this fun. Just ask the other 2013 blockbuster directors.
The Blu-ray comes with an entire second disc of special features, organized in notebook form, and accompanied by deleted scenes that hint that there could be a director’s cut of “Rim” down the road. I’d welcome it. I’d love that rumored sequel too.
Pacific Rim was released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 15, 2013
Photo credit: Warner Bros.
Synopsis:
When legions of monstrous alien creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a deadly war began. To combat them, humans devised massive robots called Jaegers as weapons. Controlled simultaneously by two pilots, even the Jaegers proved nearly defenseless against the Kaiju. Now on the verge of defeat, mankind must turn to a washed-up former pilot and an untested trainee teamed in a seemingly obsolete Jaeger, as the last hope against a mounting apocalypse.
Special Features:
o 14 Featurettes Provide In-Depth Looks At Kaijus, Jaegers, Sets, Stunts, Sounds, Effects, And The Mythology And Making Of The Film
o The Director’s Notebook
o The Digital Artistry Of Pacific Rim
By BRIAN TALLERICO |