Welcome back to my Home Movies! This week, we have one of the more exciting Criterion Collection releases in some time as Martin Scorsese‘s Killers of the Flower Moon hits shelves. Today also brings a handful of other interesting titles, though it’s hard to beat Scorsese’s latest for its sheer must have quality. What else is actually coming out, you say? Read on to find out…
Joey’s Top Pick
Killers of the Flower Moon (Criterion)
Martin Scorsese’s most recent film was another brilliant work of art. Killers of the Flower Moon is an epic crime story from the master, only with a unique focus. Lily Gladstone is excellent, while Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro add very different turns to their history with Scorsese. It’s such a full meal of a film, to the point where it still hasn’t been examined like his great works usually are. So, a bit of a rediscovery for this flick is in order now. My rave review here on the site began like so:
Epic crime stories from Martin Scorsese are nothing new. He’s made his career on depicting criminals, whether it was Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Casino, The Departed, or The Irishman. Now, Scorsese is doing it again with Killers of the Flower Moon, only this time, he’s not just following his bad guys, but the victims as well. That epic canvas that the master filmmaker is painting on is fueling him, to say the least. Yes, this movie runs nearly three and a half hours long, but it earns that investment. The film is one of 2023’s crowning achievements and another feather in Scorsese’s well-adorned hat.
Killers of the Flower Moon finds unique footing due to its bifurcated focus. While there’s plenty of time spent with the idiots and mastermind of the atrocities being committed throughout, there’s also ample time spent with the natives who are being systematically picked off. Scorsese has you sit with that, over and over again, to the point where you wish someone, literally anyone, would so something. When the law finally does get involved towards the end, it’s a relief, sure, but also enraging that it took that long. By trimming a lot of the procedural aspects of the story, he’s come upon a haunting work that hits as hard as anything he’s done before.
From The Criterion Collection: “An epic elegy of greed, betrayal, and murder, Martin Scorsese’s masterly adaptation of David Grann’s true-crime best seller unfolds in 1920s Oklahoma, where the discovery of oil brings extraordinary wealth to the Osage people. Into their world comes ne’er-do-well army veteran Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), who joins his duplicitous uncle (Robert De Niro) in a horrifying scheme to rob the Osage of their money and land. Lily Gladstone charges the film with her transcendent performance as Burkhart’s Osage wife, Mollie Kyle, gradually awakening to the evil that surrounds her. With Killers of the Flower Moon, Scorsese brings a dark chapter of American history to the screen with gripping narrative power and a profound feeling for the weight of systemic injustice.”
Also Available This Week
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
Beethoven (Blu-ray)
BlackBerry (Blu-ray) (Interview with Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton here)
The Good Shepherd (Blu-ray)
Hail, Caesar! (4K)
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: The Complete Limited Series (TV)
*Once again, Killers of the Flower Moon is out on Criterion today and is this week’s Top Pick*
Stay tuned for more next week…
