Welcome back to yet another round of highlights arriving on Blu-ray and DVD. There are some very quirky and well-received independent efforts hitting shelves, as well as a massive number of classic flicks getting high definition upgrades. So, since you likely can’t or shouldn’t head out to the movies this week, be sure to give one of these titles a try!
Big New Releases
Becky – A teenage girl decides to try and repair her relationship with her father by taking a trip with him to a remote lake house. If you’ve ever seen a horror movie before, you’ll know that nothing good can come from a plan like that. Without warning, a group of convicts looking for a place to hide suddenly burst into the pair’s abode and take them hostage. Despite the familiar plot, this independent horror picture received decent marks from critics. Those who disliked the feature said that, aside from some eccentric casting, the movie didn’t offer any chills or surprises. However, the majority complimented this violent picture, saying the performers were good and expressing some enjoyment in how the young lead takes down the nasty villains. It features Lulu Wilson, Kevin James, Joel McHale, Amanda Brugel and Robert Maillet.
Creem: America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine – It has been just over 50 years since the music magazine Creem made its print debut. This monthly publication based out of Detroit quickly became the stuff of legend and has been noted for influencing an entire generation of music enthusiasts (some claim it as the first publication to coin the term “punk rock”). Viewers of the documentary follow the magazine’s beginnings and rise to prominence, as well as its collapse after the passing of both the publisher and its most noted writer, Lester Bangs. Musicians from the era as well as those who were influenced by Creem make appearances. Reaction was very positive towards the doc. They called it an enlightening piece that perfectly captured the crazy and chaotic story of an iconic magazine. Alice Cooper, Cameron Crowe, Joan Jett, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Michael Stipe and others share their thoughts on the magazine. This title is arriving exclusively on DVD.
Driveways – This independent drama actually received a DVD release several months back, but is now reappearing on Blu-ray and DVD as a Special Edition. The plot follows an 8-year-old boy who is taken by his mother to help clean out his deceased aunt’s home over the summer. He has difficulty making pals in his new and unfamiliar surroundings. However, that all changes after he encounters his aunt’s grouchy octogenarian neighbor. The two strike up an unlikely friendship as time passes. The press raved about this little feature. In fact, as of right now it ‘s difficult to find anyone who didn’t enjoy it. Their write-ups all describe it as a low-key, sweet and powerful film that features remarkable performances from the entire cast. According to them, the movie helps to show viewers the importance of staying connected with each other. It stars Hong Chau, Lucas Jaye, Brian Dennehy, Christine Ebersole and Jerry Adler.
DTF – Dating is complicated in the modern world. In this documentary, a filmmaker sets out and follows his best friend, a widower airline pilot, who is attempting to make new connections via the worldwide passport dating app, Tinder. For 18 months, we see a well-intentioned man’s quest for love turn into a controversial and cautionary tale of one man’s addictive and outlandish behavior in a bubble of vice (eventually, his strange activities even put his job at risk). There aren’t a lot of reviews available for the film yet, but the ones that have popped up have been positive. Some have described the film as a little unfocused and noted that the subject’s behavior will definitely turn some viewers off. Still, most have called it a raw and disturbing tale displaying the uncomfortable depths even a normal person can sink to using the app.
Easy Does It – Two pals in deep debt come across details about a stash of hidden loot in California. They decide to drive out and locate it. Of course, the pair are broke, which means that getting there necessitates plenty of petty crimes along the way, including an unexpected kidnapping. Word of their adventure soon reaches the leader of a mob outfit whom them owe money to. She sends her assassin daughter out to kill them and collect any money they might find. Reaction hasn’t been particularly upbeat towards this indie feature. A couple of reviews suggested that it takes some time to get on the movie’s odd wavelength, but that it delivers some amusing moments as it progresses. However, most called it repetitive and stated that they quickly tired of the heroes. The cast includes Linda Hamilton, Bryan Batt, Ben Matheny and Dwight Henry. This title is currently only available on DVD.
Edge of Extinction – Released in its home country as The Brink, this UK feature is set 15 years after WWIII. Civilization as we know it is gone and the human species is near extinct. A loner stays alive on a farm by keeping out of the way of roving scavengers. However, this all changes when a group wanders by and discovers him. When an even greater threat arrives, the lead and the new arrivals must fight off the newest invaders. This independent feature hasn’t received a whole lot of notices yet and the ones that have appeared seem to be split. A few have written that this is a well-mounted production with a few thrills that’ll provide decent entertainment to post-apocalyptic movie enthusiasts. Yet just as many suggest the film is slow, muddled and could have benefitted from some serious reediting. Luke Hobson, Georgie Smibert and Chris Kaye headline the feature.
Evil Takes Root: The Curse of the Batibat – Watch out for the Batibat… whatever that might be! This film tells the story of a paranormal investigator who is drawn back to his hometown in the Midwest after he hears that his ex-lover has died a mysterious death there. After arriving, he discovers that the cause may be a supernatural creature that followed her back home from a trip she had taken to the Philippines. Now, the protagonist, the victim’s daughter and the entire community must fend off attacks from the monster. This recently completed picture was set to play at some genre film festivals earlier in the year, but naturally they were all canceled so the movie is making its debut on disc (it’s a DVD exclusive right now). That means that there are no write-ups available for the flick just yet. It features Nicholas Gonzalez, Sean Carrigan, Stevie Lynn Jones and Adetokumboh M’Cormack.
Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway – This independent, European, English-language science-fiction/fantasy/comedy is set in the future and involves a CIA agent readying to retire from his dangerous job. However, when a cyber virus attacks the organization, he’s forced to take on one last assignment and square off against the threat in a bizarre, pop-culture infused cyberspace environment. It soon becomes clear that this virus could end the world if it isn’t stopped, and that getting out of the computer realm might be a more difficult than initially though. Response towards this eccentric effort was very positive. One or two became frustrated by the movie’s anything-goes approach to storytelling, but the remainder called it enjoyably crazy and commented that they had no idea where this outrageous flick would take them next. Daniel Tadesse, Agustín Mateo and Guillermo Llansó headline the picture.
No Safe Spaces – In this documentary, conservative comedian Adam Carolla and commentator Dennis Pager head out across the country to talk to students and lecturers at universities about free speech and the First Amendment. The synopsis states that their goal is to try to understand what is happening in America today and what free speech in America should look like. The picture received mixed reviews, with more negative ones than positives. A percentage of write-ups suggested that there were some interesting points and agreed it was important for people to be exposed to ideas they don’t agree with. However, more suggested that the basic idea behind the film was deeply flawed and contradictory in its approach. They also noted that the hosts behaved in a smug manner and that the movie did very little to actually bring together those with different viewpoints.
One Hour Outcall – The plot of this indie drama involves a college-aged call girl who meets up with her newest client, a middle-aged and introverted divorcee. While their initial encounters are initially tense, as their weekly meetings continue the relationship slowly begins to evolves and change. In fact, during these rendezvous, the pair start to reveal more and more details about their lives. This low-budget indie drama suggests that the two must come to terms with their own lives, their inner demons as they listen to each other. The movie appears to be making its debut on some streaming platforms like ITunes, as well as on disc. As a result, there are currently no reviews available for the feature and interested parties will have to simply take a chance on it. The cast includes Natalia Ochoa, William Norrett and Kristin Carey.
Tommaso – Writer/director Abel Ferrara has made some wild movies over the years, including titles like King of New York, Bad Lieutenant and The Addiction (among many others). His latest is a drama that is shot documentary-style with improvised dialogue. It is said to be something of a semi-autobiographical experiment, telling the story of an American artist living in Rome with his young European wife and their 3-year-old daughter (who are actually played by Ferrara’s real-life wife and child). The press generally enjoyed what they saw. Some did call it overlong and thought the movie was made with a self-aggrandizing streak. Still, while the majority admitted that it was self-indulgent, they described the lead performance charismatic and thought that it was a fascinating look at an artist trying to reinvent himself (both in the fictional story as well as in real life). It stars Willem Dafoe, Anna Ferrara and Christina Chiriac.
Weathering with You – Those who enjoy Japanese animated films may be interested in this effort. It follows a young man who leaves his village and heads to Tokyo in the hopes of finding a purpose in life. Unfortunately, he finds the city too expensive and takes shelter from the stormy weather in isolation. Things pick up after the protagonist finds a position writing for a mysterious occult magazine and later meets a charming young lady who appears able to make the rainy skies clear up. Critics gave this feature high marks. A small cluster says that while nicely animated, the story didn’t reel them in the way they hoped that it would. Still, the vast majority stated that it was a sensitive and effective coming-of-age movie that also dealt effectively with ecological issues and problems like homelessness. The release includes a Japanese language track with subtitles and an English dub.
Blasts from the Past!
This is one of the busiest weeks in some time for new Blu-rays of catalog titles, so it should be impossible for movie fans not to find something of note here. Arrow Video are releasing a Special Edition Blu-ray of Ivans xtc. (2000). This is a satire of the Hollywood film industry starring Danny Huston and Peter Weller that is loosely based on Leo Tolstoy’s 1886 novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich. The technical specs include a Q&A with director Bernard Rose (Candyman, Immortal Beloved, Samurai Marathon), actress/producer/co-writer Lisa Enos, and the main cast Danny Huston, Peter Weller and Adam Krentzman from a 2018 screening in Hollywood.
We all have to start somewhere. For Hollywood star Jeremy Renner, one of those early roles was the lead in the low-budget biopic, Dahmer (2002). MVD are putting out a Collector’s Edition Blu-ray of the film, which actually got some reasonable reviews in its depiction of the title character, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. The movie has been given a 4K master from the original camera negative. Purchasers will also receive bonuses that include an audio commentary by director David Jacobson and actors Jeremy Renner and Artel Kayaru, a making-of, a photo gallery, storyboards and trailers.
Shout! Factory have a new Blu-ray of the well-received but little seen satire, The TV Set (2006). It’s about the making of a TV pilot and the horrors faced by the cast and crew as executives force some unusual ideas into the program. The cast includes David Duchovny and Sigourney Weaver and it was written and directed by Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle). This disc comes with two audio commentaries. One features Kasdan with Judd Apatow and the other has the filmmaker alongside David Duchovny and co-star Lindsay Sloane. Deleted scenes and a making-of round out the extras.
If you’re into cult films, then you’re probably already familiar with the work of Alejandro Jodorowsky. The distributor Adkco have been spending several years creating new 4K transfers of some of his most famous works and they’re finally releasing a Blu-ray box set on September 18th. It’s called Alejandro Jodorowsky: 4K Restoration Collection and it includes Fando y Lis (1968), El Topo (1970), The Holy Mountain (1973) and the recent film, Psychomagic, A Healing Art (2019). Apparently, this marks the first time El Topo has been properly formatted and presented on disc. Among the numerous bonuses, you’ll get director commentaries, a 2019 interview with the moviemaker, interviews with a personal assistant and others involved in the productions and intros from a university professor on the importance of the films. Sounds like an amazing set.
Some years back, LionsGate started up their Vestron Video Blu-ray line, which presented some great genre picture from the 80s and 90s. After a little break, they’ve starting the line up again and are making two new discs available to the public. The first is the strange and surreal creature-filled comedy, Little Monsters (1989), starring Fred Savage and Howie Mandel. You’ll get the movie in sharp high-definition with all the features present on previous DVD release, like vintage interviews, make-up featurettes and publicity materials. And If that isn’t enough, it also comes with brand new material like a film expert audio commentary, the isolated score and an interview with composer David Newman, discussions with the make-up team, the producer, and Howie Mandel himself.
They are also delivering a Blu-ray of the early David Cronenberg (The Brood, Videodrome, The Dead Zone, The Fly, eXistenZ, A History of Violence) chiller known as Shivers (1975). The plot involves parasites invading an apartment complex that cause strange and disturbing behavior on the part of the tenants. Once again, the image has been dramatically cleaned up and you’ll find all the bonuses from previous DVD releases, alongside a new commentary featuring Cronenberg and the producer. You’ll also get individual interviews with the director, the producer, cast members and the make-up team. Fans of Cronenberg should be thrilled by the Blu-ray. Now please, would someone get around to releasing a Blu-ray the years-ahead-of-its-time 1999 feature, eXistenZ?
Kino have some classics coming your way on Blu-ray as well. Two of them feature Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard dealing with supernatural occurrences, while the other two titles star Dorothy Lamour. Hope and Goddard bring the spooky laughs with in The Cat and the Canary (1939) and the zombie-comedy, The Ghost Breakers (1940) – the latter has been given a new 2K transfer. Both discs arrive with critic commentary tracks and trailers. And then Lamour appears in the drama Disputed Passage (1939) and the Alaska-set romantic comedy, Spawn of the North (1938). Both of these titles also include film historian commentary tracks as extras.
Paramount have stepped up to release a mountainous pile of new Blu-rays. First off, Barefoot in the Park (1967) is making its Blu-ray debut. Based on the Neil Simon play, this romantic comedy features Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. They also have a Blu-ray reissue of The Phantom (1996), which has been out-of-print for some time. It’s a tongue-in-cheek adventure flick and update of the old comic character that stars Billy Zane, Catherine Zeta-Jones and a very entertaining Treat Williams as the villain. And for the first time ever, you can pick up a Blu-ray of the comedy/biopic Private Parts (1997), which details the early career of radio shock jock Howard Stern. The flicks don’t include many extras, but they are affordably priced.
The Paramount Presents line is releasing the ninth title in their series (which includes the likes of Airplane!, King Creole, Ghost and many others). These discs include new 4K Blu-ray restorations of studio classics. This time out, they have rom-com Roman Holiday (1953), the William Wyler (Ben-Hur, The Big Country) featuring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. In addition to a sharpened picture, you’ll also get a featurette with Leonard Maltin on the movie, a look at the costumes, a segment on Hepburn’s time working for Paramount, another on screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and other bonuses.
Western fans can also purchase a Blu-ray of The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), which is the first time it has been available in high definition. This well-regarded flick stars John Wayne and Dean Martin.
If horror is more to your liking, Paramount have you covered there as well. They are releasing the Stephen King 5-Movie Collection Blu-ray set, which includes The Dead Zone (1983), Pet Sematary (1989), Pet Sematary (2019), Silver Bullet (1985) and the TV-miniseries of The Stand (1994).The real stand-out here is The Dead Zone, which has never before been available on Blu-ray. It’s one of the best King adaptations, following a teacher who awakens from a car accident with a strange gift of being able to see into the future. The power actually turns out to be a troubling ability, especially when he has visions of the next President ending the world. David Cronenberg (Videodrome, The Fly, A History of Violence) directs Christopher Walker in this excellent feature. It’s hard to say if Paramount spent any time on the transfers, but at least fans can finally pick up an out-of-circulation title on disc.
They also have a Blu-ray of the time-travel adventure, Timeline (2003). And if you’re a movie series completist, you can now pick up The Two Jakes (1990) on disc. This is Jack Nicholson’s own sequel to the masterpiece, Chinatown (1974). The star returns and directs this follow-up which details the further adventures of the private eye from the original classic. Additionally, Paramount are releasing the Gene Hackman Vietnam war action pic, Uncommon Valor (1983) and the Eddie Murphy comedy, Vampire in Brooklyn (1995). Three or the four titles in this paragraph are all appearing on Blu-ray for the very first time.
Plenty of other studios are also giving their back catalog a 4K upgrade with improved picture quality. With the fall having arrived, Disney is giving a beloved Halloween feature Hocus Pocus (1993) the 4K treatment. Fox are delivering a 4K disc of the holiday smash Home Alone (1990) as well as releasing a Steelbook of the cult classic, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). This tinned edition of the famous musical is being released exclusively at Best Buy.
If you’re a fan of the recent buddy-cop comedies 21 Jump Street (2012) and 22 Jump Street (2014), you’ll be happy to learn that Sony are prepping 4K Blu-rays of both pictures that you can either pick up as a double-feature or purchase separately. One assumes the discs will also include previously released bonuses.
If you have a hankering for some B-movie action, Scorpion have a couple of options. Def-Con 4 (1985) is a post-apocalyptic action flick about a trio of astronauts who return to the Earth and find the planet in significantly more problematic shape than before they left. The disc includes a new HD master of the movie, an interview with the film’s composer and a trailer.
One of my favorite cheesy action movies is Death Wish 3 (1985). It marks the exact point in the dark Charles Bronson series where the films officially entered some truly over-the-top, schlocky territory. Bronson returns as a vigilante who heads out to visit an old friend in New York. When he discovers that the seniors and locals have been targeted by sinister young punks, he decides to take brutal revenge on all of them and “save” the city. It’s important for viewers watching for the first time to note how New York looks at the beginning of the movie, and the state of the city at the close. While one supposes that the “hero” has wiped out all the bad guys (with a steady stream of gunfire and even a couple of bazooka blasts), the neighborhood literally ends up in flames. This film is hilarious from start to finish and stands tall in this writer’s opinion as a bad movie classic. The band new 35th Anniversary Blu-ray includes a new 2K scan of the film, interviews with selected cast members, a fan commentary from a Bronson expert, and more!
Blue Underground have a Blu-ray of Eugenie (1970), an R-rated erotic thriller from European genre filmmaker Jess Franco that also features horror film veteran Christopher Lee in a small role. This disc includes a 4K scan of the flick from the original camera negative, interviews with the director and producer, a discussion with an expert of Franco and publicity materials.
It you like superheroes in the vein of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, you can now pick up the box set Ultraman Ginga / Ginga S + Ultra Fight Victory – Series & Movie courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment. This is a recent 2013 update of the famous Japanese character. The release contains two compete series, the theatrical feature based on the property and an additional miniseries featuring the character.
And of course, Warner Brothers and Warner Archive have some new Blu-rays as well. They are releasing a 4K edition of the Martin Scorsese mobster masterpiece, Goodfellas (1990). Additionally, they have licensed another Steelbook edition of one of their properties to Best Buy in the form of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). If you like the tin can packaging, you can pick up the horror classic online or at the store.
Finally, Warner’s made-to-order outlet are presenting the John Wayne WWII flick, Flying Leathernecks (1951) on Blu-ray. And they are making a great 4-Film Collection: Film Noir set available as well. You’ll get Gun Crazy (1950), Murder, My Sweet (1944), Out of the Past (1947) and The Set-Up (1949) all in one impressive package. Those interested in ordering these discs should go to the Warner Archive website.
You Know, For Kids!
If you’re looking to entertain the kids this week, here are your best best.
Ultraman Ginga / Ginga S + Ultra Fight Victory – Series & Movie
The Wiggles – Fun and Games
On the Tube!
And here are all of the TV-themed releases coming your way.
A House Divided: Season 2
In Search Of: Season 1 (History Channel)
In Search Of: Season 2 (History Channel)
Killing Eve: Season 3
Mom: Season 7 (Warner Archive)
Outlander: Season 5
The Outpost: Season 2 (DVD only)
Red Dwarf: The Promised Land (Season 13)
Ultraman Ginga / Ginga S + Ultra Fight Victory – Series & Movie