Hello, it’s time for another edition of highlights coming your way on Blu-ray and DVD. As always, be sure to click on any links to read more detailed reviews. Seems like a great week with plenty of interesting releases. So if you can’t make it out to the movies this week, be sure and give one of these titles a try!
Big New Releases!
Captain Harlock – Japanese Animation fans looking for a nostalgia trip should be pleased about this updated version of the 70s cartoon character. In this feature, the space pirate helps humanity return to Earth after their planet has been taken by an alien force. The film was popular in its homeland, with many praising the impressive visuals, saying they made up for an overly complicated and confusing back story.
The Imitation Game – This Best Picture nominee stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing, a WWII code-breaker who was forced to not only endure the stress of his job, but also hide his personal life for fear of legal repercussions. While a few found the lead character cold and hard to relate to, reviews were generally strong for this drama. Many wrote that it was a solid biography with an important message further bolstered by very strong performances. It also stars Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Charles Dance and Mark Strong.
Interstellar – Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Inception) is one of the biggest directors working today. His latest odyssey is this futuristic tale – the Earth is devastated by famine and a man is recruited to travel into space in an attempt to save humanity. The movie received mostly positive reviews, although many in both camps had strong reactions. While all agreed that it was jaw-dropping on a technical level, some didn’t care for the trippy final act. Now viewers can decide for themselves. It stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chatain, John Lithgow and Michael Caine. Read the site’s full length review here.
Island of Lemurs: Madagascar – This forty-minute Warner Bros. IMAX 3D documentary (from the makers of the Disney Born to Be Wild 3D elephant/orangutan doc) captures the lives of lemurs in their natural environment. It received strong notices – reviewers found the photography incredible and were charmed by the environmental message. Morgan Freeman narrates.
Outcast – B-movie fans will definitely want to check out this oddity. It’s a multinational production that can be best described as a period/action/sword-fighting film. Set in China, it follows an heir to the throne who evades an assassination attempt and teams with a crusader to vanquish the sneaky enemy. It stars Nicholas Cage and Haden Christensen in the lead roles. The press haven’t been kind to this effort, calling it absurd and silly beyond words (although these reviews are having the reverse effect and actually selling me on checking it out). Sounds like a great scenery-chewing Saturday night flick.
The Rewrite – This small independent comedy involves a once successful screenwriter now desperate for cash. When he is offered a position as a film school professor, he reluctantly agrees. Unexpectedly, he soon finds himself enjoying the new job and taking an interest in his students. Critics gave the movie positive notices, saying that while the story was slight, the charismatic performers made it entertaining to watch. The impressive cast includes Hugh Grant, Marisa Tomei, Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons and Chris Elliott.
Wild – Reese Witherspoon earned herself an Academy Award nomination for her performance in this story of a woman on a journey of self-discovery. Specifically, this character attempts to trek the entirety of the equally dangerous and beautiful Pacific Crest Trail… and she attempts to do it all on her own. Overall, reviews were very strong for this effort. Besides praising star Witherspoon as the lone, determined backpacker, they also complimented the gorgeous wilderness cinematography. The movie also features Thomas Sadowski and Gabi Hoffman.
Wild Card – When a close friend is brutally attacked, a tough guy enforcer takes matters into his own hands and goes after the mobster responsible. If the plot sounds familiar, that’s because this is a remake of the 1987 Burt Reynolds flick, Heat. Yep, they’re even remaking old Burt Reynolds movies now. This time out Jason Statham takes on the lead role. The movie played theatrically in Europe but only received a limited release in North America. Perhaps that’s because the press weren’t exactly taken by the film – while a few enjoyed the action, most felt that it fell flat between the fisticuffs. At least it features a great cast, including Michael Angarano, Milo Ventimiglia, Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci, Jason Alexander, Sofia Vergara and Anne Heche,
Blasts From the Past!
Once again, there’s an incredible number of titles making their debuts.
Olive Films have almost too many releases to keep track of, but we’ll try to cover it all… alphabetically. To start, there’s Alice’s Restaurant (1969), a comedic interpretation of the Arlo Guthrie song. The release marks its first time ever on Blu-ray. Remember Cannon Films and their slate of action pictures in the 80s? Also making its Blu debut this week is the cheese-ball action/adventure flick Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1987), starring Richard Chamberlain, Sharon Stone and James Earl Jones.
Marking its first release on both Blu-ray and DVD is the crime thriller The Beat Generation (1959) as well as the more recent action flick Behind Enemy Lines (1997). The latter effort is a Rambo-style flick set in Viet Nam that stars Thomas Ian Griffith and Chris Mulkey.
There are also a couple of action-packed TV movies arriving together, in the form of The Dirty Dozen Double Feature – The Deadly Mission/The Fatal Mission (1987/88). Telly Savalas and Ernest Borgnine appear in both. Also debuting on Blu-ray is the Oscar-winning Bob Hope/Lucille Ball comedy The Facts of Life (1960), as well as the Susan Saint James, Jane Curtin, Jessica Lange heist caper How to Beat the High Cost of Living (1980).
But that’s not all. Night Game (1989) is a Texas-set thriller starring Roy Scheider that has never been released on either Blu-ray or DVD. You can read all about it in detail right here. Other titles getting the same treatment as Night Game are the Lee Van Cleef western The Quiet Gun (1957), the classic action-thriller The Shanghai Story (1954), the well regarded film-noir The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945), and the low-budget action western, Stranger at My Door (1956).
Also arriving on Blu-ray for the first time is a comedy from director Blake Edwards (The Pink Panther) called What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966). Finally (and perhaps the biggest highlight of the Olive Films group), is the Michael Caine/Ben Kingsley collaboration Without A Clue (1988). It puts a decidedly humorous spin on Sherlock Holmes. To read a full review of the new Blu-ray, click here.
Moving on, Criterion have a couple of interesting titles as well. They include the Swedish Ingmar Bergan effort, Cries and Whispers (1972). This drama that won numerous awards during its original release. This Blu-ray edition features a new restoration, interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and other notable extras. Arriving just in time for the NCAA Final Four playoffs is Hoop Dreams (1994), an excellent documentary about two basketball-playing teenagers attempting to navigate the road to a college and professional sports career. Besides the new 4K transfer, this Blu-ray includes a director commentary, extra scenes and a new documentary catching up with the film’s subjects.
Scorpion Releasing are delivering the Oscar-nominated David and Lisa (1962), an odd drama starring Keir Dullea as a teenaged patient in a mental institute who befriends a young woman with Multiple Personality Disorder.
Finally, horror fans will be happy to see Blue Underground releasing two Blu-ray packages that feature three films from Italian directors Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci. The Dario Argento Collection contains Cat O’ Nine Tails (1971), Deep Red (1975) and Inferno (1980). They’re all striking and at times surreal terror films, although many should be warned – Argento often places more emphasis on visuals than story logic. Still, Deep Red (pictured here) is a visual wonder that also ranks among the director’s greatest and most coherent works.
The Lucio Fulci Collection consists of City of the Living Dead (1980), The House By the Cemetery (1981) and The New York Ripper (1982). Fulci’s efforts were made on smaller budgets and are suggested for serious gore-hound fans of Italian B-movie fright flicks.
You Know, For Kids!
Wow, it’s a quiet week for children. The only release is a French import of an animated adventure film featuring two of the country’s most famous cartoon characters, Asterix and Obelix. One should check the product details online to make sure it contains English subtitles (unless of course, you just want to immerse yourself in the language).
Asterix and the Vikings aka Asterix Et Les Vikings (French Import)
On the Tube!
It’s a quieter week for TV shows as well. Among the releases, the new series Silicon Valley has been garnering a lot of positive buzz. Additionally, I highly recommend checking out Veep, a hilarious program starring Julia-Louis Dreyfus as the Vice President of the United States. The story follows her daily struggles and the absurdity that follows is often hysterical. To provide a bit of a background about the show, below is the trailer for the first season.
Further down is the opening to Lovejoy, a British series about a sleuth with an impeccable knowledge of antiquities. Imagine Antiques Roadshow with a murder mystery plot. The show ran from 1986-1994 and starred Ian McShane as the title character.
Frontline: Putin’s Way (PBS)
Hacking the System (National Geographic)
Lovejoy: Season 5
Miss Marple: Volume 2
Mortal Combat – Conquest: Season 1
Nature: Owl Power (PBS)
Nova: Building Wonders (PBS)
Silicon Valley: Season 1
Veep: Season 3