Welcome to another look at highlights arriving on Blu-ray and DVD. There’s some really interesting stuff arriving at shops, including lots of family entertainment, independent features and critical hits. So, if you can’t make it out to the movies this week, be sure to give one of these titles a try!
Big New Releases!
2 Graves in the Desert – In this thriller, a man wakes up to discover himself trapped in a trunk along with a young woman. After determining that they have been kidnapped, the two do their best to figure out who has done this to them and for what reason. The pair soon realize that their captors have their own bizarre and dangerous agenda and so their victims plot an escape. This title is headed directly to DVD shelves, so there aren’t any reviews for it as of yet. Viewers will have to go in with as little information as the protagonists in the story and simply hope that the results are entertaining. The cast includes William Baldwin, Michael Madsen, Ivan Gonzalez and Cassie Howarth.
Ana – Set in Puerto Rico, this comedy/drama follows a broke used car dealer who discovers a 9-year-old girl sleeping in the back of one of his vehicles. Learning that her mother has just been arrested, the salesman decides to help her locate her long-lost father. Of course, his kind-hearted choice may also have something to do with avoiding dangerous persons whom he owes money to. This odd-couple head across the island and end up helping each other in their pursuits. Once again, this flick hasn’t received any write-ups yet, so curious parties will have to take a chance on it. It features Andy Garcia, Dafne Keen, Luna Lauren Velez, Ramon Franco and Jeanne Tripplehorn.
By Light of Desert Night – Based on many movies made over the past decade or so, bachelor and bachelorette parties lead to nothing but trouble. In this example, it’s a trip involving women celebrating the upcoming marriage of one of their members. They decide to go on a desert camping trip to party, but soon learn that one of them has betrayed the others in a shocking and disturbing way. Like the earlier titles listed here, this independent thriller appears to be making its premiere on disc. There aren’t any notices for the picture out there, so once again, this effort will be something of a wild card for anyone interested. Alexandra Bokova, Lara Pictet and Meghan Carrasquillo headline the feature.
Dark Waters – Based on a true story, this legal drama follows a corporate defense attorney who is asked by a family member to investigate the claims of a neighboring farmer whose cattle has died. After trying to avoid the task, he eventually takes a look at their case. The lead soon uncovers a shocking conspiracy involving a major corporation who also happen to be a potential client. Horrified by his findings, he spends the next several years filing an environmental lawsuit and bringing the company to justice. The press gave high marks to this film from Todd Haynes (Wonderstruck, Carol, Far from Heaven). One or two thought it was too reserved in its approach, but almost everyone else called the performances powerful and the story something that would stay in viewer’s minds long after the credits roll. It stars Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Camp and Victor Garber.
Go Back to China – A wealthy and spoiled young woman living in the US spends her way through her entire trust fund. Furious, her father insists that she go to work and learn some financial responsibility at the family’s toy company in China. Initially annoyed by the prospect, the experience soon changes the protagonist as she comes into contact with employees and finds that she has a talent for designing toys. Apparently, this comedy is semi-autobiographical and it earned a positive response from critics. While a couple of write-ups complained about the formulaic story, the consensus was that the lead was entertaining to watch and the film itself charming and enjoyable. The cast includes Anna Akana, Richard Ng, Lynn Chen and Kelly Hu.
I Am Fear – This chiller involves an extremely conservative celebrity journalist in Los Angeles who gets kidnapped by a terrorist sleeper cell. She discovers that the soldiers plan on beheading her on the 4th of July and streaming her live assassination to the public. Things get even stranger when her captors come into contact with a supernatural force that threatens the sanity of everyone involved. This small, independent horror picture hasn’t received many reviews yet. One that did appear online suggested that it was flawed but did attempt to draw attention to the fractured state of the world today. Other online write-ups have stated that it is clumsily put together and ineffective. It features William Forsythe, Kristina Klebe, Eoin Macken, Bill Moseley and Faran Tahir.
Impossible Monsters – A psychology professor creates a thesis on nightmares, dreams and sleep paralysis. He sets up a sleep study, hoping that the data will earn him more grants and accolades for his research. However, when one of the participants die and the line between reality and dream becomes blurred, the group mentality descends into chaos. This low-budget thriller received divided reactions from genre film critics. Half thought it was a fun concept but suggested that the execution was lacking and the events, at times, were downright preposterous. Just as many complimented the movie as an effective and atmospheric enough to keep viewers engaged. It stars Santino Fontana, Natalie Knepp, Devike Bhise and Dennis Boutsikaris.
Ne Zha – In this animated adventure film from China, a young boy is born with incredible powers and gifts. This leaves him an outcast in his community as he is bullied by others. Destined by prophecy to bring destruction to the world, the child must make a choice to either fulfill his destiny or ignore his calling and using his gifts to benefit those who once treated him poorly. Notices were very good for this feature. A small percentage complained that the story and characters didn’t translate all that well to this part of the world. However, far more called it an eye-popping spectacle that got stronger and stronger as it progressed and ended up being as impressive as a Disney or Pixar effort. The movie is arriving on disc with both a Mandarin-language track with English subtitles and an English-language version.
Playmobile: The Movie – Inspired by the toy brand, this family flick involves a young boy who is accidentally transported into the world of Playmobile. After his disappearance, his concerned sister decides to rescue him. She finds a way to enter the fantasy kingdom and discovers talents she never knew she possessed. This title didn’t do well at the box office last year and is being released exclusively on DVD. The press didn’t care for it either. A few thought the movie was appropriate for very young family members, but the overwhelming majority described it as an extended commercial that was bland and offered little that would appeal to the entire family. The voice cast includes Anya Taylor-Joy, Gabriel Bateman, Daniel Radcliffe, Adam Lambert, Jim Gaffigan, Kenan Thompson and Meghan Trainor.
Queen & Slim – A black man and a black woman on a terrible first date become fugitives on the run after they accidentally take down a racist police officer who has pulled them over. The strangers attempt to avoid capture and try to overcome their own personal differences on the road. In the meantime, they become underground heroes, representing the trauma and pain of many across the country. Critics gave the feature high marks. There was an odd voice or two who found the story episodic and thought that large sections didn’t work. Almost everyone else called it an engaging and punchy film with charismatic leads that was reminiscent of 70s cinema. They also wrote that it sought to do more than simply deliver action buddy movie clichés. It stars Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Chloë Sevigny and Flea.
The Sonata – This independent thriller follows a young violinist who receives word that her estranged composer father as passed away and left her his large estate. Naturally, it includes a big, ornate and creepy mansion. She finds one of her dad’s compositions within and tries to decode a series of symbols on it. The lead soon learns that her father’s actions were all part of a strange and sinister plan. Reaction was split towards this title. About half of reviewers thought the style and mood on display couldn’t hide the fact that there wasn’t much new or exciting going on. Still, just as many commented that it was a reasonably gripping Gothic thriller with great work from one of the supporting cast members. It features Freya Tingley, Simon Abkarian, James Faulkner and Rutger Hauer.
The Warrant – A Civil War hero and father returns home from battle to take up the mantle of sheriff and reunites with his son in the process. Together, they are tasked with tracking down a vicious criminal who was once a personal friend of the protagonist and served with him in the Union Army. The family members try to stop him before his actions cause more conflict and strife in the region. This title appears to be making its debut on disc, which means that there isn’t a review to be found for it. It also looks like for the time being it is only coming out on DVD, so western fans will only be able to see the film on this format. The cast includes Neal McDonough, Steven R. MqQueen, Casper Van Dien and Annabeth Gish.
Blasts from the Past!
There are some really quirky older titles receiving high definition upgrades this week. Arrow Academy have a Special Edition Blu-ray of Kansas City (1996), the period crime flick about a kidnapping from writer/director Robert Altman (MASH, McCabe and Mrs. Miller). This film came a little after his 1992 critical hit The Player, right when the moviemaker was experiencing a resurgence of interest and popularity. It was nominated for the Palm d’Or at Cannes and stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Dermot Mulroney and Steve Buscemi. Besides the high definition presentation, the disc includes an archived audio commentary with Altman, a new film critic appreciation, a 2007 visual essay on the feature by a French critic, a 1996 promotional featurette containing interviews with the cast and crew, the electronic press kit, 4 theatrical trailers, TV spots and an image gallery. If you’re a fan, this sounds like a great release that has more extras than one could possibly hope for.
Kino have plenty of Blu-rays arriving as well and the first one features actor Alec Guinness. It’s a Double-Feature disc of the two comedies, The Captain’s Paradise (1953) and Barnacle Bill (1957) aka All at Sea. The first is about a ferry steamer who falls for two different women in different ports and tries to juggle relationships with both of them. The second tells the story of a Naval captain who suffers from seasickness and tries to hide his condition from those around. Both movies were nominated for various awards. Each have been given 4K restorations and the disc also comes with trailers.
On a completely different note, you can also pick up a Blu-ray of Kinetta (2005), one of the first films of Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Favourite). It’s follows a trio of unusual characters who begin staging re-enactments of brutal murders committed by a local serial killer. Things turn decidedly creepier as they become more obsessed with their hobby. The disc comes with a film historian commentary track and a trailer.
They also have Pray for the Wildcats (1974), a flick about ad executives who decide to ride their motorbikes through Baja, Mexico in order to plan a new promotional campaign and series of commercials. Things go south pretty quickly as danger and personal issues quickly rise to the surface. The movie is perhaps most notable for its cast of businessmen bikers, which include William Shatner, Andy Griffith, Robert Reed (from The Brady Bunch) and Marjoe Gortner. While the movie was originally made for TV, it’s fun to watch just to see some of the cast members play against type (Griffith is particularly nasty in his role). This flick has been given a 2K restoration and arrives with a film historian commentary track that hopefully explains how this crazy title all came together.
If you’re a fan of Spaghetti Westerns, then you might be interested in the new Kino Blu-ray box set, Sergio Leone Westerns. It contains five of his most famous titles, including A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For A Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), my personal favorite, Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), as well as A Fistful of Dynamite (1971). You’ll get multiple audio commentaries on select titles from film critics and filmmakers too, including Alex Cox, Bernardo Bertolucci, John Carpenter and John Milius. That alone makes the set worth picking up, but it has other extras that include documentaries, featurettes, location comparisons, interviews, all types of publicity materials, and much more. Sounds like an awful lot of fun.
In addition to the Wildcats TV-movie, Kino are also distributing a Blu-ray of the all-star disaster TV-movie, Superdome (1978). It’s about an assassin plotting to end the lives of players, staff and attendees at the Superbowl and the efforts of police detectives to stop him before he causes complete chaos. It stars David Janssen, Tom Selleck, Donna Mills and many other familiar faces. The disc comes with a commentary from director and disaster movie veteran Jerry Jameson (Hurricane, Terror on the 40th Floor, Airport ’77, A Fire in the Sky, Raise the Titanic, Starflight: The Plane That Couldn’t Land and Fire and Rain among many others) and trailers.
They also have a Double Feature Blu-ray of the gritty, John Thaw UK crime flicks, Sweeney! (1977) and Sweeney 2 (1978). They’re actually spin-offs from a popular British TV series and are well-regarded by cop movie enthusiasts. Both titles come with film historian commentary tracks and trailers.
Scorpion are putting out the teen comedy, Bad Manners (1984) aka Growing Pains. It follows a group of reckless teens from an orphanage who decide to break free from their warden-like guardians. They do so in order to trash the home of a fellow orphan who has been adopted by a rich family and free him as well. This wild comedy features Martin Mull and Karen Black in supporting roles. It has been given a new HD master. I’ve never seen it and I imagine it’s in incredibly bad taste (just like the poster art for the picture claims), but it might be worth a look for those who can appreciate and enjoy wacky 80s comedies.
Finally, Disney are giving a 4K upgrade to several of their animated titles from Pixar, so those with big TVs can now enjoy these flicks with crystal clear picture quality. One assume that all of the previously released extras will also be included in these sets along with the upgraded image. The Blu-rays coming your way this week are A Bug’s Life (1998), Monsters Inc (2001), Monsters University (2013), Up (2009) and Wall-E (2008).
You Know, For Kids!
There’s plenty of kid-friendly entertainment hitting store shelves this week. Here are the highlights.
Floogals: Investigation Station
Jim Henson’s Doozers: We Dig Spring!
Ne Zha
PAW Patrol: Mighty Pups: Super PAWs (Nickelodeon)
PJ Masks: Power of Mystery Mountain
Playmobile: The Movie
Teen Titans Go!: Season 5, Part 2
On the Tube!
And here are all of the TV-themed releases.
Easter Under Wraps (Hallmark TV-movie)
Over the Moon in Love (Hallmark TV-movie)
PAW Patrol: Mighty Pups: Super PAWs (Nickelodeon)
Teen Titans Go!: Season 5, Part 2
Titans: Season 2
Vienna Blood (PBS)
When Calls the Heart: Finding Home
Women of Impact: Changing the World (National Geographic)