Welcome to the latest look at highlights arriving on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD. This is a relatively quiet edition, but one that does feature a couple of well-regarded independent pictures and some impressive upgrades of classic titles. So, if you can’t make it out to the movies this week or need to stay indoors for a few days, be sure to give one of these titles a try!
BIG NEW RELEASES!
BABES – Two women who have been best friends since childhood find themselves at different stages in life. One is married and has started a family, while the other still enjoys partying and doing recreational drugs. When the wild one learns that she is pregnant, no one, including her bestie, is certain that she is ready to be a mother. The expectant mother decides to go ahead anyway and become a single parent. This independent comedy was well-received by the press. A very small contingent called the characters grating and thought the broad humor fell flat. However, the majority complimented the writing and the performances. They enjoyed the interplay between the two and described it as a funny and truthful pregnancy story. It stars Ilana Glazer, Michelle Buteau, Hasan Minhaj, John Carroll Lynch, Oliver Platt, Sandra Bernhard and Stephan James.
BANEL & ADAMA – This foreign-language drama from Senegal is about a couple deeply in love. In fact, the story states that they have been together since childhood. As adults still living in their village, one is still passionate about important causes. She is a female rights activist, while he tends to follow the usual customs. When there is a heat wave and locals suggest that prayer might be the answer to everyone’s troubles, the couple examine their relationship and whether their different views can coexist. Critics spoke very highly of this feature. One or two commented that while beautiful to look at, the story didn’t quite come together or make its point clearly. Everyone else called it a gorgeously shot, tragic love story that has a few interesting things to say about social norms and refusing to compromise. The cast includes Khady Mane, Mamadou Diallo and Binta Racine Sy.
HARD MILES – Inspired by a true story about the Ridgeview Academy cycling team, this tale follows prison social worker Greg Townsend. While working with teenage convicts, he and his bosses come up with a plan to earn themselves funding and help the kids rebuild their lives. It involves a long but transformative 760-plus-mile ride across three states and through the Grand Canyon. Write-ups for this inspiration drama were quite strong. A few stated that the film itself felt like a long haul and was loaded with cliches. Still, the majority thought the performances were strong, the photography was picturesque and that it was a nice, well-intentioned story about making a fresh start. For the time being, this is a DVD only release. It features Matthew Modine, Sean Astin, Cynthia Kaye McWilliams, Leslie David Baker, Jahking Guillory and Jackson Kelly.
JOHNNY PUFF: SECRET MISSION – A guitar-playing, retired rock-stat puffin called Johnny Puff lives with his best bird friends with other animals in a snow-covered village. Deep under the ice, a nasty walrus living in a submarine tries to invade town and do horrible things to the residents. Led by Johnny, the creatures must go on a secret mission and use all of their special abilities to help fend off the invader. This is a Spanish, Italian and American independent co-production that appears to be debuting exclusively on DND. As a result, very little is known about it, but online trailers for the movie don’t look promising. Families may want to wait for a few reviews to roll in and get a better sense of the quality of the film before picking it up. Johnny Depp provides the voice for the lead character.
NUDE TUESDAY – A married, suburban, middle-aged couple going through a serious slump in their relationship consider divorce. But before they separate, they decide to leave the kids behind and visit a new-age retreat. The guru in charge of the place is an oddball and the two are asked to take part in humiliating and hilarious activities in order to reconnect. This includes literally speaking to one another in gibberish. In the process, the leads actually begin to rediscover each other. This comedy/drama is an Australian/New Zealand co-production and reviews were very upbeat. A small group couldn’t appreciate its deadpan humor and found the film cute but unmemorable. Still, all others thought it was funny and unique. They enjoyed the nonsensical gibberish being spoken and thought it offered plenty of memorably strange moments. Jackie van Beek, Damon Herriman and Jemaine Clement headline the picture.
PICTURES OF GHOSTS – The city of Recife, Brazil is the setting for this unique documentary. The filmmaker, who is from the city, returns home to see what happened to the old cinemas that he once attended as a child. Most are now gone, and so he uses his own personal footage and other images of the theaters themselves to show the evolution of the area and the part that movies played in the history of the region. This picture did very well at film festivals and was nominated for several awards. It also fared well with critics, earning unanimous praise. Everyone wrote that the archival material used was incredible and that it presented a fascinating picture of the old city. They thought it showed the power of cinema as a way of immortalizing different times and places.
BLASTS FROM THE PAST!
If you appreciate older films, you can also pick up some notable titles. Fun City Editions is releasing a Blu-ray of the well-regarded period western, Bad Company (1972). It stars Barry Brown and Jeff Bridges as Civil War deserters who try to find their fortune in the west. The movie is noted for its attempts to demythologize old westerns, presenting a gritty and nasty life for its characters.
This “Standard Edition” contains a 4K picture restoration from the original camera negative. The disc includes a film historian commentary, radio spots, an image gallery and a trailer for the film.
Paramount Pictures is delivering a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Steelbook of the popular thriller, Collateral (2004). Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise star in this story of an LA cab driver who picks up a fare. He soon discovers that his passenger is a contract killer who forces the man to take him to five different locations in the city as the villain carries out hits. Michael Mann (The Last of the Mohicans, Heat) directs this exciting thriller. It looks like the packaging is the only difference here from the previous 4K Ultra HD release of the movie,
Shout! Factory is proud to present the 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray box set Bill & Ted’s Most Triumphant Trilogy containing the Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter comedies Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989), Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991) and Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020) with the sharpest possible picture quality. Bill and Ted are well-meaning youngsters with thick California accents who are destined to save the planet with music. The first movie involves the pair trying to pass a history presentation by traveling through time. The second picture, my personal favorite, finds an evil figure from the future murdering them so that they can’t fulfill their destiny. They have to break out of Hell in order to win a battle of the bands contest. The most recent chapter sees the middle-aged dads still searching for musical greatness with their daughters and traveling to alternate realities in order to find the answer.
The first movie arrives with a commentary track featuring the writers and a second track with co-star Winter and the film’s producer. You’ll also get a look back at the film featuring cast and crew interviews (including Reeves) and much more. Bonuses on the second look pretty similar, with a few extra making-of featurettes and an air guitar tutorial. Extras on the third movie include the stars and filmmaker’s panel at Comic-Con, behind-the-scenes material and more.
The last two titles in the series will also be available separately in 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray.
The distributor is also putting out a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Steelbook of the Dennis Quaid fantasy film Dragonheart (1996). Extras should be exactly the same as the previous Shout! edition. The same goes for the 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray of the techno-thriller Hackers (1995), starring Angelina Jolie and Jonny Lee Miller.
YOU KNOW, FOR KIDS!
Looks like the aforementioned animated feature about Puffins is the sole choice for families this week.
Johnny Puff: Secret Mission (WowNow) DND
ON THE TUBE!
It’s a very quiet week on the tube, with no releases, but it looks like next week will be much busier.