Hello and welcome to another look at highlights arriving on Blu-ray and DVD. There’s plenty to choose from in this edition, and those wanting to know more can also click on any links they see to read more information. 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!
Becoming Astrid – Astrid Lindgren, the creator of children’s book character, Pippi Longstocking, is the subject of this foreign-language biopic. The story picks up with a teenage Astrid struggling to break from her conservative upbringing in a remote part of Sweden. It follows her as she leaves her family behind to embark on a career in journalism. After finding herself pregnant and struggling to care for the child, she creates the character in order to find some way to connect with her offspring. The movie received raves from the press. They called it a fascinating, moving and authentic portrait of a woman using writing to overcome great trials in her life. It features Alba August, Trine Dyrholm and Maria Bonnevie.
Big Kill – This western follows an accountant who heads across the country to start a new life following the passing of his wife. In his travels, he encounters two criminals on the run, along with an eccentric, gun-toting preacher. Together, they all try to make their fortune in a desolate and violent silver-mining town. Critics weren’t overly enamored with the production. A couple did state that it was a kooky and entertaining little B-movie. However, far more critiqued it for being a meandering effort that runs far too long, has an ineffective score, and generally feels like a knock-off western. The cast includes Christoph Snaders, Jason Patric, Lou Diamond Phillips and Elizabeth McLaughlin.
The Final Wish – Horror fans may find this film to be of interest. It involves a young man who heads home to comfort his grief-stricken mother after the passing of his father. He unexpectedly finds a mysterious urn in his pop’s belongings that appears to make wishes come true. However, he soon realizes that there is a deadly side price for making one’s dreams come true. Reception towards this independent terror flick was reasonably strong. A small percentage did complain that the movie was too slow in developing and didn’t do enough at the end to make up for its pacing issues. Still, the vast majority admired the attempt to deliver psychological chills and thought it was a better-than-average horror effort. It stars Lin Shaye, Michael Welch, Melissa Bolona and Tony Todd.
Holiday – A young and attractive woman beings dating a drug lord and finds herself addicted to their wealthy and lavish lifestyle. When she is invited by her boyfriend to meet his literal crime family, the lead begins to understand just how brutal and nasty the world that they exist in really is. The woman is forced into considering whether or not she’s making the right choice. This foreign-language from Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden earned good reviews. There were some who thought that the characters were awful and that there wasn’t much of a point to the exercise except to torture the protagonist. Still, the overall impression was that the feature was effectively disturbing and unsettling. Victoria Carmen Sonne headlines the film.
Impulso – This Spanish-language documentary chronicles the flamenco dance. The filmmakers give a brief bit of history and then move forward, presenting the preparations of a new work by famous dancer and choreographer, Rocío Molina; viewers learn that the endeavor is set to premiere at the Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris. Naturally, this film shows all of the conversations, disagreements and struggles needed to bring a new flamenco show to the stage. So far, not a lot have seen it and they appear to be split on the results. About half stated that the subject matter is interesting, but that there wasn’t enough material to sustain a feature. Just as many asserted that Rocío Molina was an incredible dancer and that any effort to show her work was well worth checking out.
The Last Resort – Here’s another documentary with a fascinating and unique focus. It’s about photographers Andy Sweet and Gary Monroe, and their work taking incredible pictures of a colorful and eccentric community of Jewish retirees who were living in Miami beach during the 70s. Reviewers seemed to get a real kick out the proceedings. One or two did comment that the narrative didn’t do enough to show what life was really like in the neighborhood during the period. But almost everyone else thought that the movie presented a series of incredibly eye-popping and well-composed images of a fascinating, long gone era and never outstayed its welcome.
Mary Poppins Returns – This sequel to the 1964 Disney classic finds the children of the original film grown up and one widower member of the clan still living in the family home with his kids. When the bank claims ownership of the house and tries to kick them out, Mary Poppins arrives to help take care of everyone… and help them stop the sale. Critics were positive towards this follow-up. Admittedly, most stated that the movie wasn’t as grand as the original, and a small group groused that it didn’t really need to exist. Yet most found that large sections of the film were successfully mounted and believed it would entertain both children and nostalgic adults. It stars Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters and Colin Firth. To read this site’s review, click here.
On Her Shoulders – Nadia Murad, a 23-year-old Yazidi, is the subject of this harrowing documentary. In it, she tells her personal story to the world, which involves surviving genocide and sexual slavery as instituted by members of ISIS in her country. The film described the ways that she managed to struggle through the ordeal, and how she became an international voice for those unable to speak for themselves. The movie received a great deal of praise from reviewers. They said that it was a remarkable feature that manages to balance the woman’s heroic story with the loneliness she experiences as a noted spokesperson frequently surrounded by crowds, the media, and government officials.
Pokemon the Movie: The Power of Us – While most are aware of a live-action film based on these characters coming to cinemas in a couple of months, these creatures have been appearing in animated films from Japan for quite some time. The latest (and 21st movie in the series) is about five people, who, along with the help of their pocket monsters, try to rescue their home town from a series of threats endangering the community during a Wind Festival. The movie garnered a mixed-positive response from the press. Some saw it as more of the same and little else but a commercial for the product and franchise line. Still, slightly more found it well-intentioned, zippy and suggested that kids would enjoy the bright and pretty colors on display.
The Quake – While Hollywood is noted for its disaster movies, they get produced in all corners of the globe. This foreign-language effort from Norway is a sequel to the 2015 feature The Wave, and keeps up with the heroic geologist from the original. This time, the lead is visiting his kids in Oslo when he notes activity suggesting a massive earthquake about to hit the metropolis. Once again, the family are forced to survive the ordeal. Reaction towards the feature was quite good. There were some minor qualms that the movie simply repeated the formula established in the first movie and didn’t offer any new surprises. Still, several liked the emphasis on characters, and thought it still presented viewers with plenty of thrilling special effects. It stars Kristoffer Joner and Ane Dahl Torp.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – The newest take on the famous Marvel comic book character was a massive hit over the holiday season and managed to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. It’s about a young man who stumbles into a confrontation between Spider-Man and an arch nemesis as they open portals to other worlds. In this setting, the boy is tasked with taking over the superhero mantle, corralling other alternate-world Spider-Mans in order to save the world. As you might have assumed, the movie got exemplary notices. Almost all thought that it managed to do something completely new and original with the familiar character and presented plenty of comedic moments. The voice cast includes Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Lily Tomlin and many others. To read this site’s review, click here.
Blasts from the Past!
There are also tons of classic and obscure little cult films from the past making their Blu-ray debuts. Arrow Video have a Special Edition Blu-ray of the violent giallo thriller, Strip Nude For Your Killer (1975). It’s about a psychopath whose various acts of murder may be tied to a failed abortion many years earlier. This version includes a brand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative, a new audio commentary by horrorpedia.com’s Adrian J. Smith and David Flint, a video essay on the movie, two version of the film’s opening scene, an interview with cast members Nino Castelnuovo and Erna Schurer, as well as talks with assistant director Daniele Sangiorgi and actor/production manager Tino Polenghi.
Shout! Factory have plenty to choose from this week as well. They include a Collector’s Edition Blu-ray of the Cheech Marin comedy, Born in East L.A. (1987). It involves a man mistakenly identified as an illegal immigrant who is deported to Mexico (despite not being able to speak Spanish), and ultimately has to smuggle himself back home. The release includes a commentary with Marin as well as an interview with him, other discussion with co-stars Kamala Lopez and Paul Rodriguez, an extended TV cut of the film with additional scenes and publicity materials.
You can now also pick up a high definition version of the giant monster movie, The Deadly Mantis (1957). In case you’re wondering, it was delayed slightly from its original Blu-ray release date. This flick, about a massive insect attacking various cities in North America, features a 2K scan of the original elements, a new film historian audio commentary, a complete Mystery Science Theatre episode focused on the movie, a theatrical trailer and still gallery. All monster movie fans out there should get a kick out of this disc.
Additionally, the distributor has a Blu-ray of the Australian outlaw picture, Ned Kelly (2003). The feature stars Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Naomi Watts and Geoffrey Rush. The movie was popular in its homeland and arrives with a featurette on the real Kelly, as well as trailers, stills and TV spots. And they also have a Blu-ray of the British horror picture, The Witches (1966), about a school teacher who uncovers something sinister about her new position. The release contains a new filmmaker/historian audio commentary, a featurette on the production, a still gallery and some trailers.
Kino have a stack of Blu-rays coming too. They include the well-regarded Julianne Moore drama, Far From Heaven (2002). It’s a Special Edition that features a director audio commentary, a making-of, an anatomy of a scene featurette, and a discussion with the star and filmmakers. The company are also putting out the… less well-regarded teen sex comedy, Losin’ It (1983). That picture is probably most notable for its familiar cast, played by Tom Cruise, Shelley Long, Jackie Earle Haley and John Stockwell.
Additionally, you can now pick up a Blu-ray of the comedy, Lovers and Other Strangers (1970). This disc also includes a film historian audio commentary. If B-movie action is more to your liking, you can watch Dolph Lundgren kick some supernatural butt in The Minion (1998). This Blu-ray comes with a director commentary and trailer. Kino are also releasing the star-studded, Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? (1970) with a new HD master from a 4K scan of the original camera negative. It also arrives with a film expert commentary.
Criterion have some incredible stuff as well. Their first Blu-ray of the week is the classic film noir, Detour (1945), about a broke piano player on the road who gets hooked up with a particularly sinister femme fatale. The film was recently restored by the Academy Film Archive and Film Foundation, so this Blu-ray arrives with a new 4K digital upgrade of the picture, a thorough 2004 documentary of the movie’s production, interviews with scholars on the film, and a new program about how it was all restored. Sounds like a great disc.
Additionally, they have Wanda (1970) on Blu-ray. This distinguished independent film arrives with a new 2K digital restoration by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. You’ll also get an hour-long documentary by Katja Raganelli featuring an interview with director Barbara Loden filmed in 1980, an audio recording of Loden speaking to students at the American Film Institute in 1971, a segment from a 1971 episode of The Dick Cavett Show featuring Loden and a short educational film from 1975 about a pioneer woman’s struggle to survive, directed by and starring Loden.
Warner Archive are bringing some cult movie action to Blu-ray in the form of Cleopatra Jones (1973). This fun one involves the titular, stylish special agent, who makes it her mission to take down a female drug lord who is waging a violent war on the heroine and her team.
If you can pick them up before they sell out, Twilight Time are releasing limited edition Blu-ray of several different titles. This week, the releases include the Richard Dreyfuss comedy/mystery, The Big Fix (1978), the British suspense picture, The Quiller Memorandum (1966), the Mexico-set thriller, The River’s Edge (1957), and the John Ford crime/comedy, The Whole Town’s Talking (1935).
Finally, Scorpion are putting out a Blu-ray of Eagle’s Wing (1979). This western stars Martin Sheen and Harvey Keitel and the disc carries a new remaster of the film along with an interview featuring co-star Caroline Langrishe.
You Know, For Kids!
Here’s a listing of all of the week’s kid-friendly movies (although the Spider-Man feature may be more appropriate for older children).
Mary Poppins Returns
Pokemon the Movie: The Power of Us
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
S
On the Tube!
It’s a quiet edition for TV-shows, but you can pick up some classic Doctor Who episodes if you are so inclined.
Doctor Who: Tom Baker: Complete Season 7