The ‘Baby Assassins’ Are Back and They’re Our Pick of the Week

Pick of the Week

Baby Assassins 2

What is it? Another action/slacker banger from Japan!

Why see it? Baby Assassins remains one of 2021’s action highlights despite being light on the action — there’s only a few fights, but they rock — and two years later we’ve gotten a sequel that delivers the same pairing of fun, slacker comedy and slick, quick action. Akari Takaishi and Saori Izawa are dynamite as two young women who happen to be professional killers bored by life between jobs. They’re very funny, and the laughs lead into some stellar action beats involving both gun play and Izawa’s fantastic martial arts skills. Action choreographer Kensuke Sonomura returns too ensuring the fights are just exquisite. My full review is here, and of course the movie made the cut for 2023’s Best Action. The disc is free of extras, but the film is worth the pickup all on its own.

[Extras: None]

The Best

Deep in the Heart aka Handgun [Fun City Editions]

What is it? An unjustly forgotten rape/revenge drama.

Why see it? Note the distinction there as this is more of a drama than a thriller, but that doesn’t make it any less fascinating. The film offers a matter of fact look at America’s embrace of gun culture courtesy of a British filmmaker tackling a uniquely American issue by following the people who see guns as a daily norm. No easy answers here, and the ending will likely leave many viewers unsatisfied, but it works for me as a symbolic catharsis that pinpoints the false bravado behind our love for these weapons. The assault itself is harrowing despite being mostly offscreen, but it’s what comes immediately before and after that truly haunts as the assailant, a “nice guy,” simply fails to understand what he’s doing is truly and disturbingly wrong. Kudos to Fun City Editions for giving this one new life.

[Extras: New 4K restoration, commentary, interview]

Four Daughters

What is it? An intriguing look at artifice in place of grief and understanding.

Why see it? Documentaries use truth — subjective truths at times to be sure, but still the truth — to tell their stories, but sometimes creative nonfiction becomes the better, more accurate moniker. This doc looks at a family in Tunisia, specifically a woman and mother of four daughters who’s forced to reckon with the disappearance of her two older children. The film employs actors to play those missing women and then has the real family interact with them to recreate their times together. It’s an interesting and cathartic effort that still feels at times oddly creepy, and it’s unlike anything we’ve seen before.

[Extras: Interview]

The Rest

Cutthroat Island [4K UHD, steelbook]

What is it? A pirate epic!

Why see it? Renny Harlin’s journey through the 90s featured more ups and downs than a porno film, and depending on who you ask, this is definitely one or the other. After hitting it big with Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger, he went for broke with this pirate adventure — and actually helped bankrupt the studio behind it. So is it a bad movie? Not necessarily, but a miscast lead (sorry Geena Davis, you were much better in Long Kiss Goodnight), script issues, and a lack of epic set pieces leaves it fairly middle of the road. There are some fun beats here, to be sure, but not enough to carry a two hour movie.

[Extras: Documentary, featurettes, short film, commentary, interview]

Red 2-Film Collection [4K UHD, steelbook]

What is it? Old people kicking ass.

Why see it? The premise behind these two films is pretty solid with its old agents being put out to pasture via assassination, and the cast is a fun one too. Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Ernest Borgnine, Brian Cox, James Remar, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, Richard Dreyfuss, Anthony Hopkins, Lee Byung-hun, Catherine Zeta-Jones, David Thewlis, and more familiar faces bring smiles as the films deliver mild laughs and mild action. Both have been released in 4K before, but this Walmart exclusive is in steelbook form.

[Extras: Commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, gag reel]

Also out this week:

All Ladies Do It [4K UHD], La Haine [4K UHD, Criterion], Major League [4K UHD], Skin Deep