Junction Blu Ray Review (VMI)

Junction is a 2024 drama written, produced, and directed by actor Bryan Greenberg (The Sopranos, Third Watch, Nobel Son, Prime, and The Perfect Score). It was produced by The Verdi Family (Silence, Bleed for This, Chosen Family, Wander, Vault, Self Storage, Army of the Damned, Almost Mercy, Out of Death, Fortress franchise, Savage Salvation, and War Pigs). It follows the opioid crisis all told in one day through three perspectives. The CEO of a pharmaceutical company Lawrence (played by: Griffin Dunne from An American Werewolf in London, After Hours, Dallas Buyers Club, My Girl, This Is Us, and Caught Stealing) that’s battling his morals, a struggling doctor Mary (played by: Ashley Madekwe from Salem, The Umbrella Academy, County Lines, Dr. Death, Tell Me a Story, and Revenge) that desperately needs more money, and an addict Michael (played by: Bryan Greenberg from Suits LA, Bride Wars, One Tree Hill, Friends with Benefits, How to Make It in America, and The Kitchen) that can’t get his life back on track. Junction examines the everyday microcosmic compromises we make that can lead to a dangerous global crisis!!!!! Junction is basically the opioid version of Crash. This drama interacts several characters together in the same day while telling their own separate stories. I always thought Bryan Greenberg was a solid actor but this is a very impressive writing and directing debut for the known performer. I’m really looking forward to his project because Junction really surprised me. Speaking of Bryan Greenberg, he gives a tragic and heartbreaking performance as the junkie Michael. He had back surgery and he’s never been the same since it happened. He no longer has anything to do with his family besides his ex-wife and son. They can’t be silent anymore about his behavior. He wants to get better but he doesn’t seem to have the patience for it. The legendary Griffin Dunne is the reason that I wanted to check this out. He’s top notch as the conflicted Lawrence. He’s powerful and very rich because his drug company but it’s causing all kinds of problems for his customers. He has a secret that’s killing him inside and he can relate to his victims more than they’ll ever know. Television veteran Ashley Madekwe really shines as the doctor without that many options. Mary runs her own clinic but it’s not doing as good as before because her top business deals with healing pain and the drug company can’t push that current product because of legal issues. Her daughter gets accepted into a prestigious college but that means she needs the cash to make that happen which makes her cross the line when it comes to her ethics. I’m sure the quality script helped but it looks like actor Bryan Greenberg called in some favors to put together this cast that’s loaded with familiar faces. The supporting talent for Junction includes Sophia Bush (The Hitcher), Jamie Chung (Sorority Row), Josh Peck (How I Met Your Father), Eddie Kaye Thomas (American Pie franchise), Dash Mihok (Ray Donovan), Hill Harper (CSI: NY), Michaela Conlin (Bones), Ryan Eggold (The Blacklist), Yara Martinez (True Detective), Dascha Polanco (Orange Is the New Black), Eric Lutes (Caroline in the City), Hannah Dunne (Mozart in the Jungle), Tom DeNucci (Bleed for This), Ava Gaudet (Ugly Betty), Wesley Holloway (Stream), Nichelle Hines (A Good Person), and Chris Whitcomb (Burial Ground Massacre). It’s an interesting mix of people who suffer and people who profit from the same exact thing. There’s all kinds of questionable people in this but most of them do have valid reasons for what they are doing in this awful situation. This is just a bad day day for every major character involved in Junction. This drama has some nice surprises and twists towards the end for it’s already compelling story. The audience is rooting for everyone to survive their current nightmare but it just keeps getting worse for each lead as it goes on. It shows the darker side when it all hits rock bottom, Junction is really good but it’s rather depressing when it’s all said and done. It’s a painful reminder of what can happen at any time to anyone. It’s a harsh reality but it’s completely relatable to a good amount of the pubic. I’m shocked that I haven’t seen much about Junction before this home video release, it kinda came out of nowhere. It’s well written with quality acting all over the place, it’s worth checking out. Just be warned, it’s a downer but it’s deserves more attention. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from Vantage Media! This 2080p (2.39:1) transfer looks excellent for it’s home video debut on Blu Ray. Everything looks bigger than it’s actual budget for Junction. It has a variety of sharp locations and it’s behind the scenes crew is skilled so it helps elevate this lower budget production. It has English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on the disc. It’s not an action or explosive feature so the audio mainly shines when it comes to it’s gripping score. All of the dialogue is crisp, the chaotic drama is elevated, and the music has a huge boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It’s a professionally made on demand BD-R. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!! Buy it here!!!!