{"id":18253,"date":"2019-05-06T16:19:29","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T23:19:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=18253"},"modified":"2019-05-06T16:19:29","modified_gmt":"2019-05-06T23:19:29","slug":"dvd-blu-ray-roundup-for-may-7th-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=18253","title":{"rendered":"DVD\/Blu-ray Roundup for May 7th, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hello and welcome to another look at highlights arriving on\nBlu-ray and DVD. Once again, it’s a busy\nweek with a variety of big Hollywood features and\nindependent fare to choose from (and as always, click on any links you see to\nread detailed reviews). So if you can’t make it out to the movies this week, be\nsure to give one of these titles a try!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big New Releases!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Blaze<\/em> – Texas\nsongwriter and musician Blaze Foley is the subject of this biopic. The film\nintercuts three different periods in the man’s life, in the process displaying\nhis personal relationship with significant other Sybil Rosen, his creative\nprocess and temperament, as well as the powerful effect his songs had on the\npublic. The film marks the directorial debut of Ethan Hawke, and reviews were\nextremely positive. One or two write-ups didn’t like the personality of Foley\nhimself and couldn’t get into the story. Everyone else called it an authentic\nand honest biography that features great performances and impressive tunes. It\nstars Ben Dickey, Alia Shawkat, Josh Hamilton and Charlie Sexton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Everybody Knows<\/em> – A woman decides to travel from Argentina\nto Spain for\nher sister’s wedding with her family. After the ceremony, things take a\nterrible turn when the lead’s children are abducted. Desperate to get them\nback, she tries to get to the bottom of the kidnapping and discovers hidden\nsecrets about the town and community. This foreign-language feature earned\ngenerally strong notices from the press. There was a small contingent that\ncomplained that director Asghar Farhadi (A Separation<\/em>) allowed the story\nto veer into melodrama and mentioned that it wasn’t as sharp as some of his\nother features. However, over three-quarters thought the movie was unusual, artfully\nmade and absorbing. The cast includes Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem and Ricardo\nDarin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Head Hunter<\/em> – This minimalist, independent\nfantasy film with horror elements follows a hardened Viking who keeps a collection\nof heads on his mantle. But the cranium he’s most desperate to take is of the\nmonster that killed his daughter. He heads on a mission, traveling the\ncountryside in the hopes of facing off against and vanquishing the beast. Reaction\ntowards this effort at festivals has been reasonable. Apparently, despite its modest\nbudget, reviewers commented that the movie impressed them with its gritty look\nand production design. They thought that it would provide the B-movie goods for\nto those willing to give it a chance. It features Christopher Rygh as the\nViking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Help, I Shrunk My Parents<\/em> – Believe it or not, this\nGerman family film is actually a sequel to the 2015 flick, Help, I Shrunk My\nTeacher<\/em>. The original involved kids shrinking their nasty principal,\nrealizing the error of their ways, and finding a way to return her to normal\nproportions. In the follow-up, it seems like parents are the victims of\nexperiments and the leads are tasked once again with saving them. The movie is\nmaking its debut in this part of the world on disc, so there are no reviews out\nthere. And truthfully, I have absolutely no idea what to make of this. This particular\nrelease looks like it has been dubbed into English, but it doesn’t say whether\nor not the original language track is available. For those curious, Oskar\nKeymer, Lina H\u00fcesker, Axel Stein and Julia Hartmann headline the movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Her Smell<\/em> – Oddly enough, this independent drama hit\ncinemas only a couple of weeks ago. The story follows an aging ex-rock star who\nused to fill arenas. Still making music and touring smaller club venues, she\nexperiences difficulty grappling with motherhood and younger bands stealing the\nspotlight. Overall, critics admired the movie. There were a few who thought\nthat the feature focused on the worst aspects of its protagonist, failing to\ninvest viewers in her personal journey. However, more were so impressed with\nthe lead performance that they found the character fascinating. The movie stars\nElizabeth Moss, Cara Delevingne and Dan Stevens. Its release on disc is very\nunusual. The movie will be made available on Blu-ray May 11th as a\nmade-on-demand title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part<\/em> – In this sequel to the hit animated film, the various residents of Bricksburg find their world under attack by alien creations from another land. After several of his friends are kidnapped, protagonist Emmet Brickowski decides to venture out from home and embark on an adventure to find and rescue them from this mysterious force. Notices were still positive for the latest Lego-based feature. A percentage did find that the movie repeated itself and that excitement was lacking in comparison with the original. Most gave it a pass, admitting that it wasn’t as good as the original but asserting that it was still well-animated and funny. The voice cast includes Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Tiffany Hadish, Stephanie Beatriz and Alison Brie, along with numerous celebrity cameos. To read this site’s review, click here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Prodigy<\/em> – Plenty of kids give off a mischievous\nvibe, but the child in this story takes the cake. In fact, after his mother\nstarts to witness some pretty darn sinister behavior, she begins to wonder if\nhe hasn’t been possessed by an evil force. Once the truth is revealed, the\nparent has to keep her motherly instincts in check and try to stop her kin from\ncausing tragedy. This horror\/thriller garnered a mixed reception from the\npress. Almost half thought the movie did a reasonable job of creating a creepy\natmosphere and appreciated the nasty events as they unfolded. Slightly more\ncritiqued the film for not delivering the goods quickly enough and complained\nthat it all became preposterous by the close. It features Taylor Schilling,\nJackson Robert Scott, Peter Mooney and Colm Feore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sobibor<\/em> – This foreign-language historical drama is\nset during World War II and depicts the only successful uprising of prisoners\nin a Nazi death camp. After to being sent to Sobibor in Poland,\nRussian Alexander Pechersky secretly attempts to unite the inmates, come up\nwith a plot and overthrow the officers in charge. The movie earned solid\nreviews. There were some complaints that the production spend too much time delivering\nchills and thrills, and could have delved more deeply into the psychological\nstates of the characters. Still, most found it to be tense, harrowing and\nappreciated a story about the war told from a different perspective. Konstantin\nKhabenskiy, Christopher Lambert, Mariya Kozhevnikova, Michalina Olszanska and\nPhilippe Reinhardt headline the feature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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St. Agatha<\/em> – Set in the 1950s, this horror picture\nfollows a pregnant con woman looking for a place to give birth and avoid the\nauthorities. She finds a convent and takes refuge there. However, it isn’t long\nbefore the protagonist discovers something sinister about the institute, not to\nmention its nuns and officials. Soon, she and her baby’s life are at risk.\nCritics didn’t mind this “nunsploitation” effort and it ended up\nearning more positive notices than negative ones. A smaller group did complain\nthat the feature was very slow-paced and ineffective at building suspense.\nStill, a larger portion complimented the flick for its performances and\ninteresting visuals, calling it a fun ride once it got moving. The cast\nincludes Sabrina Kern, Carolyn Hennesy, Courtney Halverson and Seth Michaels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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They Shall Not Grow Old<\/em> – This remarkable documentary from writer\/director Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings<\/em> and The Hobbit<\/em> series) uses modern technology to compile, restore and colorize never-before-seen film taken of British soldiers in the barracks and on the front lines of Belgium during the First World War. The footage is shown as participants in the conflict narrate their thoughts and memories of going to war. This title has earned perfect reviews from the press. All of them marveled at the skill used in salvaging and restoring old film, as well as the fascinating stories relayed over the course of the running time. They remarked that the feature helped give a new perspective on what occurred and what it must have been like to be there. To read this site’s review, click here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To Dust<\/em> – A synagogue cantor has difficulty dealing\nwith the death of his wife in this dark comedy\/drama. After her passing, he\nfinds the timeline of events difficult to manage, eventually causing him to\nquestion his own beliefs. They’re further challenged when he becomes concerned\nabout his spouse’s soul and begins to have visions of this wife’s decomposing\nbody. Critics were quite positive about this effort as well. A small contingent\ndidn’t think the unusual approach to dealing with loss earned many yuks or worked\nparticularly well. However, far more complimented the movie, calling it a\ncompletely original (and at times unsettling) comedy that deftly explores the\nprocess of grief. It features G\u00e9za R\u00f6hrig, Matthew Broderick and Sammy Volt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What Men Want<\/em> – This spin on the hit 2000 comedy What\nWomen Want<\/em> follows a female sports agent who suddenly gains the ability to\nhear the thoughts of all of the men around her. This newfound power allows the\nprotagonist to advance in her field and use the unspoken thoughts of her\ncompetitors to her advantage. Reviewers were fairly mixed on the end results.\nWhile almost half of them liked the star’s comedic performance and thought the\nmovie provided enough laughs to earn it a recommendation, a larger group stated\nthat the picture was too long, the screenplay ultimately resorted to obvious\ngags, and it all became too sentimental by the close. It stars Taraji P.\nHenson, Aldis Hodge, Richard Roundtree, Wendi McLendron-Covey and Tracy Morgan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blasts from the Past!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lots of great older titles are hitting Blu-ray as well. Arrow Video are releasing a Special Edition Blu-ray of the Lee Van Cleef flick, The Grand Duel<\/em> (1972) aka The Big Showdown<\/em>. It is described as a spaghetti western about a fugitive framed for murder and out for revenge. Apparently, it features plenty of shoot-outs and impressive stunts. The movie has been given a new 2K restoration from the original camera negative and comes with the English and Italian soundtracks (with new English subtitles), a film historian commentary, a recent interview with the director, another with the screenwriter, additional talks with the producer, assistant director and some of the cast. Also included is a video appreciation of the film, a comparison between the original cut and the German version, a sci-fi short featuring cast member Marc Mazza and a feature on the performer as well, along with all sorts of publicity materials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criterion are releasing The Heiress<\/em> (1949) on\nBlu-ray. This drama from William Wyler (Ben-Hur<\/em>, The Big Country<\/em>,\nRoman Holiday<\/em>) is about a shy aristocrat who falls for a young man and\nattempts to determine if his intentions are honorable. Besides giving the film\na new, restored 4K transfer, the disc comes with a recently recorded\nconversation between the screenwriter and a film critic, a feature on the\ncostumes designed by Edith Head, a 1950 short about Head, an interview with\nstar Olivia de Havilland, a tribute to director Wyler that aired on the Merv\nGriffin Show, and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It appears that Kino are bringing the widest variety of\nmovies to Blu-ray this week. The first feature is Jim Jarmusch’s low-key Bill\nMurray comedy, Broken Flowers<\/em> (2005). Murray\nplays an aging Don Juan trying to make amends with past lovers. This one\narrives as a Special Edition and includes an extended scene, outtakes, a\nfeaturette on the production and a trailer. Additionally, the distributor are putting\nout the Katherine Hepburn drama, A Delicate Balance<\/em> (1973). This release\nincludes some extras as well, including interviews with the director of\nphotography, screenwriter, producer and a promotional film made for the\nAmerican Film Theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For those who like creepier entertainment, they are also releasing a Special Edition Blu-ray of the cult thriller, The Man Who Haunted Himself<\/em> (1970). Roger Moore stars as a man whose life is turned upside down by a doppelganger that keeps appearing in places he’s never been and causing trouble. The disc includes an old commentary with Moore about the film, a trailer and interviews with directors and fans of the movie, Joe Dante (Gremlins<\/em>) and Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator<\/em>).  If memory serves, this title is pretty creepy and may entertain those with a penchant for psychological horror flicks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Furthermore, they have a Blu-ray of the British thriller, The\nNightcomers<\/em> (1971). This effort involves two children and a governess whose\nviews on the world begin to be twisted by the charismatic household\ngroundskeeper (played by Marlon Brando). The release includes an introduction\nfrom director Michael Winner (Death Wish<\/em>), a commentary with Winner, a\nnew film historian audio track, and a trailer. You can also pick up the comedy Rhinoceros<\/em>\n(1974), with Gene Wilder and Zero Mostrel. This title is about an alcoholic who\nbegins to believe that all around him are transforming into the oversized\nanimal. The Blu-ray includes interviews with director, producer, a promotional\nfilm for the American Film Theatre, and a collection of trailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And that’s not all. They are also releasing a Blu-ray of Sex Madness Revealed<\/em> (2018). The picture is a reworking of the original exploitation film, Sex Madness<\/em> (1938), a less-than-subtle film which warns viewers against “social diseases” like syphilis and gonorrhea by telling the tragic tale of an unmarried couple who decide to partake in activities that they later come to regret. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Viewers witness actor\/comedian Patton Oswalt interviewing the creepy “grandson” of the film’s director (played by actor\/director Rob Zabrecky) for a Podcast as the movie plays out behind them. The figure begins to reveal strange “facts” about the production, that culminates in more weirdness. Get it? Apparently, it’s quite funny, and the release includes an audio commentary by director and co-writer Patrick Cooper, the original and complete Sex Madness<\/em> film from 1938, a short film with Zabrecky that follows up on events, a s\u00e9ance featuring Zabrecky, a theatrical trailer, and other bonuses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Kino have a Special Edition Blu-ray of the Kevin\nCostner comedy, Swing Vote<\/em> (2008). The movie follows an average guy\nwhose vote will ultimately determine the outcome of a Presidential election.\nThis edition includes a director commentary, deleted and extended scenes, a\nproduction featurette and the theatrical trailer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You Know, For Kids!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are titles arriving that may be of interest to kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Help, I Shrunk My Parents<\/em>
The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part
Floogals<\/em>: Season 1 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Tube!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And here are some TV-themed releases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agatha Raisin<\/em>: Series 2
Better Call Saul<\/em>: Season 4
Floogals<\/em>: Season 1
Locked Up Abroad<\/em>: Season 9 (National Geographic)
NOVA: Rise of the Rockets<\/em> (PBS)
Unforgotten<\/em>: Season 3 (PBS) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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