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UNIVERSAL

MOVIE INFO

Director:
Conrad Vernon, Greg Tiernan
Cast:
Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz
Writing Credits:
Matt Lieberman

Synopsis:
The eccentrically macabre family moves to a bland suburb where Wednesday Addams' friendship with the daughter of a hostile and conformist local reality show host exacerbates conflict between the families.

Box Office:
Budget:
$24 Million.
Opening Weekend
$30,300,007 on 4007 Screens.
Domestic Gross
$97,185,807.

MPAA:
Rated PG.

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA 7.1
Spanish Dolby 7.1
French Dolby 5.1
English DVS
Subtitles:
English
Spanish
French
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
English
Spanish
French

Runtime: 87 min.
Price: $34.98
Release Date: 1/21/2020

Bonus:
• Deleted/Extended Scenes
• “Charades with Thing” Game
• “Life of a Scene” Featurette
• “Welcome to the Family” Featurette
• “Throwback” Featurette
• 2 Lyric Videos
• Previews
• DVD Copy


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

EQUIPMENT
-LG OLED65C6P 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart OLED TV
-Marantz SR7010 9.2 Channel Full 4K Ultra HD AV Surround Receiver
-Panasonic DMP-BD60K Blu-Ray Player
-Chane A2.4 Speakers
-SVS SB12-NSD 12" 400-watt Sealed Box Subwoofer


RELATED REVIEWS


The Addams Family [Blu-Ray] (2019)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (January 19, 2020)

Although the characters originated as cartoons, we’ve mostly seen Charles Addams’ “Addams Family” adapted into a live-action format. The 1960s TV series probably remains the most famous, though two early 1990s movies also did well.

Animated TV adaptations arrived in 1973, 1992 and 1998, but none of them lasted long. That makes 2019’s big-screen animated Addams Family the most significant non-live-action take on the property.

When Gomez Addams (voiced by Oscar Isaac) weds Morticia (Charlize Theron), they find themselves threatened by locals who feel hostile toward their unconventional and macabre ways. As they flee, they locate a decrepit old asylum in New Jersey, and they adapt this to become their home.

13 years later, Gomez and Morticia continue to enjoy life in this abode, and they reside with children Wednesday (Chloë Grace Moretz) and Pugsley (Finn Wolfhard). However, when real estate developer Margaux Needler (Allison Janney) creates a prefab community nearby, she objects to the scenic blight brought by the gloomy Addams mansion.

While Gomez and Morticia deal with the threat from Margaux, the kids go through their own issues. Kept home her whole life, Wednesday wants to explore the rest of the world, and when she goes to regular school, she befriends Margaux’s daughter Parker (Elsie Fisher).

In addition, Pugsley needs to go through a rite of Addams passage called the “Mazurka”, a fancy ceremony at which he must perform. He seems unready for this, and tension results.

That seems like a lot of plot threads for one 87-minute movie, but Family actually handles them pretty well. It gives enough time to each story point to ensure they receive reasonable development, but it doesn’t belabor any of them.

Not that one should expect much depth, as a lot of these narrative notes feel like they exist more to prod visual gags than anything else. Wednesday’s move to the “real world” allows us to get anachronistic images of her in pink clothing and the like, and Pugsley’s antics come with all sorts of silly gags.

Despite all these story beats, one can’t really call Family a particularly plot-heavy film – or a particularly good film, either, though it manages to hold its own.

Actually, Family starts pretty slowly, and it pursues fairly trite themes and jokes. Granted, it can be tough to generate novel laughs from the clan, as we can see so many of the gags in advance.

The basic Addams shtick stems from the way they view the horrible as delightful and vice versa. There’s plenty of humor to be mined from those concepts, but too often, Family selects easy options.

Still, as the plot threads proceed, the movie becomes more interesting, and the macabre jokes feel more natural. They start to exist as an organic part of the story and not just an excuse for cheap laughs.

The actors seem to settle in as matters progress as well. For the most part, they appear to base their performances off the 90s movies and not the 60s TV show.

That means that Isaac’s Gomez offers a pretty blatant Raul Julia imitation, but Isaac still manages to add spark to the proceedings. Theron’s version of Anjelica Huston’s Morticia seems less successful, though some of that relates to the nature of the character.

Morticia offers a deadpan role, and the movie gives her relatively little to do. Theron doesn’t harm the part, but she can’t bring a lot of presence.

Moretz’s Wednesday semi-reflects Christina Ricci’s terrific performance from the 1990s, but she overplays the role too much. She makes Wednesday too expressive, especially when compared to the perfectly dry delivery we got from Ricci.

Wolfhard tops Jimmy Workman, but that seems like less of a challenge, as the boy didn’t offer very good work in the 1990s movies. Nick Kroll’s Uncle Fester differs from Christopher Lloyd’s and actually works better, as he brings comedic zest to his scenes.

We get terrific performers in smaller parts as well. Bette Midler offers a fun take on Grandmama, and in a too-short bit, Catherine O’Hara and Martin Short delight as Morticia’s parents.

(SCTV fans seem likely to recognize O’Hara’s work as a riff on her Katharine Hepburn. Short also provides a clear reprise of his “Irving Cohen” character, though alas, Morticia’s daddy never asks for a bouncy “C”!)

Honestly, I can’t find a lot to love about the 2019 Addams Family, but I can’t come up with many reasons to dislike it either. Though nothing special, it brings a reasonable amount of entertainment across its brief running time.


The Disc Grades: Picture A/ Audio B+/ Bonus C-

The Addams Family appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. I expected a strong visual experience from the CG animated film, and the Blu-ray delivered the goods.

Sharpness remained positive at all times. Virtually no softness materialized, so the movie offered tight, concise imagery.

Jaggies and moiré effects failed to exist, and no edge enhancement appeared. The transfer came completely free from source flaws, which meant this was a perfectly clean presentation.

Family opted for a teal/gray feel in the Addams domain, with some orange/amber as well. Other hues emerged in Assimilation as well, and the tones seemed well-depicted and rich.

Blacks were deep and firm, while shadows appeared clean and concise. I felt pleased with this appealing presentation.

I also felt the DTS-HD MA 7.1 audio of Family seemed strong. Given its story, the movie didn’t offer constant action, but it boasted more than enough good sequences to make it engaging.

The track offered plenty of creepy material to create a broad, involving setting. These components allowed it to open up the tale.

In addition, audio quality was strong. Speech seemed natural and distinctive, and music offered nice range and vivacity.

Effects came across as accurate and dynamic. They boasted fine punch and appeared concise and full. Although the audio didn’t always dazzle, it did enough to earn a “B+“.

A few extras fill out the disc, and we find some featurettes that start with Life of a Scene. It runs three minutes, 22 seconds and offers a view of an animated film’s stages of completion.

We see one specific scene as it goes from storyboards to layout to animation to lighting. It becomes a short but satisfying summary.

Welcome to the Family spans six minutes, three seconds and brings notes from co-directors Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan, producers Alex Schwartz and Alison O’Brien, and actors Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Allison Janney and Nick Kroll.

The show looks at story and characters. “Welcome” delivers little more than promotional material.

With Addams Family Throwback, we get a one-minute, five-second reel with Vernon and Isaac. It offers some views of the original Charles Addams cartoons but it mainly just advertises the movie.

Two Lyric Videos follow “Haunted Heart” (2:50) and “My Family” (1:05). Both show movie shots accompanied by text, though “Heart” also brings brief shots of singer Christina Aguilera in the studio. Neither seems interesting.

Charades with Thing fills three minutes, 32 seconds and offers an animated game. It’s cute but not especially entertaining, and it comes with no replay value.

Four Deleted/Extended Scenes take up a total of six minutes, 14 seconds. Only “Truant Officer” brings real story information, but the final flick went with an alternate way to get Wednesday into school.

“Assimilate” adds to the ending and seems cute but unnecessary. “Joan of Arc” and “Pugsley Bee Beard” present amusing but inessential material.

Note that “Bee Beard” seems incorrectly credited. It allows Gomez and Fester to demonstrate sword moves, so the “Bee Beard” title makes no sense.

The disc opens with ads for Abominable, Fighting With My Family and Downton Abbey. No trailer for Addams Family appears here.

A second disc presents a DVD copy of Addams Family. It includes the same extras as the Blu-ray.

Thanks to an overqualified cast, The Addams Family offers reasonable charm. Nothing about it truly excels, but it manages to become a moderately entertaining affair. The Blu-ray boasts excellent picture and positive audio but bonus materials seem mediocre. While not a great flick, the animated Addams mostly charms.

Viewer Film Ratings: 3 Stars Number of Votes: 2
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