It’s time to once again look at new release highlights arriving on Blu-ray and DVD. This is a surprisingly busy edition featuring a great many high-profile big studio flicks as well as some great independent fare. 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!
Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn – The latest DC comic book character to get her own spin-off movie is Batman foe Harley Quinn. Set immediately after the events of Suicide Squad, the plot finds the character in an abusive relationship with a violent mobster. When a diamond is stolen from the crime family by a young pickpocket, the protagonist decides to protect the girl and squares off against the crooks. Reactions was upbeat towards the latest entry in the franchise. A group of reviewers thought the story had issues and called the film a messy, unmemorable hodgepodge with hit-and-miss gags that didn’t make a lasting impact. Still, more called it fun and appreciated the work of the film’s leads. It stars Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ella Jay Basco and Ewan McGregor. To read this site’s review, click here.
The Call of the Wild – Jack London’s famous novel about life in the wilderness during the Klondike Gold Rush receives a new adaptation. Told from the point of view of a dog named Buck, the story follows the pooch as he is kidnapped from his California home and sold into service in the Yukon. Buck does his best to survive bad treatment and the harsh elements before befriending a quirky old prospector. This version of the story received slightly more positive notices than negative ones. Those who disliked the picture didn’t think it was a faithful retelling and suggested it relied too much on phony-looking CGI effects and sappy sentiment. Regardless, a slightly larger percentage enjoyed that it was attempting to revive a classic tale and liked it enough to give the feature a passing grade. The cast includes Harrison Ford, Dan Stevens, Omar Sy, Karen Gillan and Bradley Whitford. To read a full review of the feature, click here.
Fantasy Island – For those unfamiliar with the property, Fantasy Island was a popular TV series in which guests would arrive at a magical tropical resort and live out their deepest wishes, only to learn a lesson about the pitfalls of being granted everything they desire. This feature-length remake takes more of a horror slant, as the new arrivals discover when their fantasies suddenly turn into unpleasant nightmares. Sounds like money not-so-well-spent for the visitors. Critics also thought their time was being wasted at the locale. A few claimed that the movie was an exploitative but amusingly trashy genre picture that would provide a gruesome laugh or two. All others panned the flick, stating that it was a train wreck that wasn’t tense enough to be classified as horror, nor funny enough to make it an engaging dark comedy. It features Michael Peña, Maggie Q, Lucy Hale, Austin Stowell, Jimmy O. Yang and Michael Rooker.
Lazy Susan – This independent comedy follows a young woman who is the black sheep of her family. One day, she realizes that her extremely selfish ways have left her without a job or boyfriend and estranged from her own relatives. The middle-aged woman sets out to change her life and turn things around, but finds the job difficult after decades of lazing about and using other people. The press was not particularly taken by this effort. There was a reviewer or two who thought that the movie actually liked its characters and appreciated the story avoiding opportunities to mock them in overt ways. Regardless, the majority were frustrated by the actions of the protagonist and found that even the talented cast couldn’t rescue the story. Sean Hayes, Carrie Aizley, Matthew Broderick and Rob Riddle headline the feature.
Lost Transmissions – This independent drama tells the story of a shy musician who discovers that one of her associates, a record producer, is in trouble after going off of his medication for schizophrenia. Calling on the help of her friends, she and her compatriots attempt to find the missing figure and convince him to check in to a psychiatric facility. Reaction towards this little film was more favorable than downbeat. There was a contingent who found the characters difficult to relate to and didn’t care for the shaky, handheld camerawork. Still, the majority commented that it was a heartfelt and interesting examination of mental illness, and credited the work of the cast as helping to show the need for more care and consideration in dealing with the issue. It stars Simon Pegg, Juno Temple, Alexandra Daddario and Tao Okamoto.
The Photograph – Here’s another drama for indie film fans. The plot involves a young woman who learns that her estranged mother has died. After going through her parent’s belongings, the lead discovers a photograph tucked away in a safety deposit box. It sets the protagonist off on a journey to learn who the person in the photo was and ends up revealing all sorts of previously unknown history about her mother. Write-ups were mostly positive about the film. A percentage of them did comment that the movie lost momentum as it progressed and it became too easy to figure out where the story was headed. Still, more suggested that the leads were excellent and shared plenty of onscreen chemistry, which helped the picture overcome its more routine elements. The cast includes Issa Rae, LaKeith Stanfield, Lil Rel Howery, Rob Morgan and Courtney B. Vance.
Shoelaces – Also known in some territories as Laces, this foreign-language drama from Israel details the relationship between a widower father and his adult special-needs son. Their history is quite complicated, as the dad abandoned his child decades earlier before returning to help care for him. When the 60-year-old senior’s kidneys begin to fail, the son decides to donate one of his own to save his father’s life. However, their unique situation results in questions and objections about the procedure from professionals. There haven’t been a great many reviews yet in this part of the world for this drama, but the ones that have appeared have all been positive and the movie itself has won numerous awards. According to sources, the performances are excellent and the movie is very powerful, making a strong emotional impact on viewers. Nevo Kimchi and Doval’e Glickman play the leads.
The Traitor – Set in the 1980s, this Italian crime biography tells the story of the man who took down the Cosa Nostra. The story begins with an all-out war between two Sicilian families what are fighting over the heroin trade. With his own life and family in danger, a fully initiated member of one of the groups decides to turn on both parties and work as an informant for the police. It was nominated for the Palm d’Or at Cannes and won many awards at the Italian equivalent of the Oscars. Naturally, critics in general were very impressed with this foreign-language title. One or two complained that they didn’t really learn enough about the protagonist and thought the movie should have focused more on his inner demons. However, almost everyone else called the movie well-acted, compelling and powerful Mafia biopic that stands alongside titles like The Irishman. It features Pierfrancesco Favino, Luigi Lo Cascio and Fausto Russo Alesi.
Vivarium – A couple ready to start a family decide to find their perfect home and enlist the services of a real estate agent. He takes them to a mysterious suburban tract of identical homes. They are not impressed by what they see. Even worse, the pair soon realize they can’t find their way out of the labyrinth streets. The leads wonder if they will ever find their way out as they continue to search for an exit. Overall, the press seemed to like this independent sci-fi/thriller hybrid. A small group suggested that while it started out great, it made its point early on and didn’t offer much else for the remainder of the running time. Still, the consensus was that the film presents an effectively nightmarish scenario with plenty to analyze and noted that the movie was bolstered by the work of an exemplary cast. Imogen Poots, Jesse Eisenberg, Molly McCann and Danielle Ryan headline the feature.
Whatever May Come – Those who’d like to get out again may experience a vicarious thrill from this documentary about a German motorcycle enthusiast. He heads out alone with a camera on an incredible journey, biking for almost a full year on a trip spanning 50,000 kilometers around the world. His ride takes him across the US, Canada, Russia, China, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, Nepal and Iran. Apparently, he cut the final product down from over 400 hours of footage, and chronicles note only his journey, but the varied and incredible people he met along the way. This feature is debuting on disc, so there aren’t any reviews of it currently available. Still, one imagines that it may be of interest to anyone who enjoys getting a look at remote areas around the world, all from the seat of a motorbike.
What the Waters Left Behind – This foreign-language horror picture from Argentina is known as Los Olvidados in its homeland. The plot follows a group of students filming a documentary about Villa Epecuén, a now-underwater tourist spot that was flooded in the 80s after a dam break. They find an abandoned village nearby and soon come to the conclusion that they may not be alone. One assumes they very quickly realize that horrific killers and/or monsters are plotting to take them out one by one. This title was produced a couple of years ago and is only making its North American debut on disc now. There aren’t many write-ups, but the word online from a few horror enthusiasts is that this a predictable and ineffective Texas Chainsaw Massacre knock-off. Agustín Pardella, Damián Dreizik and Victoria Maurette play a few of the victims.
Blasts from the Past!
Wow, there were plenty of notable new releases arriving and there just as many classic flicks are receiving a Blu-ray upgrade. Shout! Factory certainly have some titles of note. Over the years, the company has released plenty of Japanese animated films from Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki. This week, they’re putting two of his releases out in special Steelbook packages. The movies getting the treatment are Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) and Ponyo (2008). Both are visually stunning, beloved by fans and come in new, fancy packaging with all of the previously releases extras.
They also have a Collector’s Edition of the cult horror/comedy, Idle Hands (1999). Many years ago, a major studio was developing an entire series of movies all based around each of the seven deadly sins. Oddly enough, the only one of them that was written and completed was this horror/comedy, loosely based around the concept of “sloth”. In the feature, a lazy teen’s hand is possessed by a demonic force and causes a lot of trouble. It wasn’t a hit at the time of release, but the movie featured plenty of stoner humor, a recognizable cast (including Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Jessica Alba, Vivica A. Fox, Jack Noseworthy, Fred Willard and The Offspring) and plenty of bizarre humor that has slowly gained it a cult following.
This release included a previously released commentary from the director and cast, deleted scenes with optional commentary, storyboard comparisons, a vintage making-of featurette, and all of the movie’s press and publicity material. And there are plenty of new bonus additions with this release, including a second recently recorded cast commentary, as well as interviews with the director and several cast members as well as the writer. If you enjoyed the movie, you’ll certainly get a kick out of this disc.
VCI are putting out a Blu-ray/DVD combo of the martial arts flick, Dynamo (1978). This one stars Bruce Lee lookalike Bruce Li as a Hong Kong taxi driver. He meets a producer struck by the resemblance and is told that he can make into a star. The protagonist enjoys the celebrity life, but is suddenly forced to complete in a martial arts tournament. This disc includes two 2K scans of different cuts of the movie and comes with a 15-minute feature on Li’s career, a film historian audio track and other bonuses. They also have a Blu-ray of the western serial, Gordon of Ghost City (1933) coming your way, restored in 2K from the original film masters.
Kino are offering a couple of impressive Blu-ray box sets for classic movie fans. The Barbara Stanwyck Collection includes three titles featuring the Hollywood star, including Internes Can’t Take Money (1937), The Great Man’s Lady (1942) and The Bride Wore Boots (1946). Two of the three films also include movie expert commentaries.
Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema – Volume 2 contains a Blu-ray trio of thrillers as well. You’ll get Thunder on the Hill (1951), The Price of Fear (1956) and The Female Animal (1958). All the flicks come with trailers, and the final title on the list also includes a historian commentary track.
Dark Force continue to locate and release obscure and unusual little genre titles. This week, Teenage Hitchhikers (1974) is hitting Blu-ray. It’s about a pair of hitchhikers using their feminine wiles to make their way across the country by tricking amorous male drivers. Like other flicks from the distributor, it comes with plenty of extras including a commentary and an interview with the director/writer/producer.
Scorpion have a Blu-ray of the supernatural thriller, Shadow Play (1986), staring Dee Wallace-Stone and Cloris Leachman. Wallace-Stone plays a woman staying on a remote island with her mother-in-law – that sounds uncomfortable enough, but when the ghost of her fiancé appears, things get even stranger. The movie arrives with a new 2K master, interview with Stone, still gallery and trailer.
Mill Creek have been releasing Andy Sidaris action B-movies regularly over the past few months. The trend continues this week with the arrival of The Dallas Connection (1994) on Blu-ray. This one is about a secret team of shapely agents tasked with saving scientists who are being assassinated at a Dallas conference. The movie arrives in widescreen for the first time ever with a new 4K transfer, as well as an introduction with Andy Sidaris and star Julie Strain, behind-the-scenes featurettes, trailers and a director Commentary. Errmm, looks like a movie chock-full of… scientists. And there’s even more for B-movie fans! You can also pick up a Blu-ray of Enemy Gold (1994) another of the filmmaker’s titles that was originally released the very same year. This one is about a team who find Civil War gold while trying to take down a drug cartel. The title includes essentially the same set of extras as you’ll find on the other disc.
The distributor is also making a couple of Double Feature Blu-rays available for purchase. The first one contains Hollywood Story (1951) and New Orleans Uncensored (1955), two film noirs from famous producer/director William Castle (The Tingler, 13 Ghosts, House on Haunted Hill), who is more known for his work with horror pictures.
They are also putting out a western double-bill containing The Man from the Alamo (1953) and They Came to Cordura (1959). As with other Mill Creek Blu-rays, these are priced inexpensively, making it easy to take a chance on their products. Glenn Ford stars in the first feature and Gary Cooper takes on the lead role in the second.
And they are giving fans of Japanese monster movies and TV shows the program, Ultraman Ace: Season 1 (1972 – 1973). This contains several episodes featuring the character taking on beasts from other worlds.
Criterion are delivering an all-time classic this week on Blu-ray in the form of The Great Escape (1963). Set during World War II, this epic follows a group of inmates at a POW camp who strive to make life difficult for their German captors. Steve McQueen plays a heroic motorcycle-racing daredevil, alongside Charles Bronson, James Coburn, James Garner and Donald Pleasence. Those who pick up the disc will receive a new, restored 4K digital transfer of the feature, two audio commentaries (one from 1991, featuring director John Sturges and composer Elmer Bernstein; the other, from 2003, featuring actors James Coburn, James Garner, and Donald Pleasence). And that’s not all. You’ll also get a critic interview discussing the film, a lengthy 4-part 2001 documentary on those whom the film was based on. In addition, it comes with a feature on the man who inspired McQueen’s heroic character and 1993 series of interviews with the cast about their experiences making the movie.
Going back to B-movies, Mondo Macabro have a couple of Blu-rays with the Italian giallo thriller, An Ideal Place to Kill (1971). This one stars Ornella Muti and comes with a 2K transfer and a giant helping of extras. The same is true for the Mexican chiller, Satanico Pandemonium (1975), which involves demonic possession at a convent full of nuns. This one features a 4K image from the original negative and too many bonuses to mention here.
Finally, Warner Archive are delivering some impressive catalog titles as made-to-order Blu-rays. The first is the Oscar-nominee Inside Daisy Clover (1965), a romance set against the backdrop of Hollywood starring Natalie Wood, Christopher Plummer and Robert Redford. The second title is the horror classic, Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) with Fay Wray. According to the studio press release, the movie was shot in the early Two-Color Technicolor process and was considered a lost film for decades. That is, until a well-worn print was discovered nearly 50 years ago. They say that a meticulous new restoration allows the film to be experienced as intended.
You Know, For Kids!
This edition contains plenty of selections new and old that may appeal to the young… and young at heart.
The Call of the Wild (2020)
Howl’s Moving Castle
Ponyo
Ultraman Ace: Season 1 (1972 – 1973)
On the Tube!
And here are the week’s TV-themed releases.
Lucifer: Season 4