{"id":18929,"date":"2019-08-20T00:54:24","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T07:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=18929"},"modified":"2019-08-20T00:54:24","modified_gmt":"2019-08-20T07:54:24","slug":"dvd-blu-ray-roundup-for-august-20th-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=18929","title":{"rendered":"DVD\/Blu-ray Roundup for August 20th, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s time for another look at highlights of new Blu-ray and DVD\nreleases arriving this week. There is plenty of interesting fare including\nfilms from Hollywood and around the\nworld. So if you can’t make it out to the movies this week, be sure to give one\nof these titles a try!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Aniara<\/em> – This Swedish-Danish science-fiction picture\nis set on a spaceship headed to Mars. With the Earth dying, the craft carries a\nmassive population planning to colonize the red planet. When the ship is\nknocked off course, the travelers are forced into contemplating their\nconsumerist habits and whether their species is really worth saving. The\nproduction received slightly more positive reaction than negative from critics.\nA percentage appreciated what the movie was attempting, but stated that it had\ntoo much on its plate and lacked focus or relatable characters. Slightly more\nthought it was grim but engaging, with excellent production value and plenty of\nideas. It features Emeile Jonsson, Peter Kananian and Peter Carlberg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Biggest Little Farm<\/em> – A filmmaker and his wife\ndecide to try their hand at starting a farm in this documentary. They begin to\ndevelop an incredibly diverse and sustainable ranch on 200 acres outside of Los\n Angeles and record every step of the process. Along\nthe way, they are faced with both expected and unexpected complications as they\nrealize that their soil lacks proper nutrients and then a drought begins.\nResponse towards the film was excellent. One or two found the storytelling\ntechniques used in this non-fiction feature stiff and artificial. However, the\nconsensus was that this doc was inspirational and a fascinating examination of\nwhat it takes to coexist with the natural surroundings.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Brightburn<\/em> – Using traditional superhero movies as\ninspiration, this dark comedy involves a young boy in an alien vessel who crash\nlands on a farm, He’s adopted by a family and 12 years later, the newcomer discovers\nthat he has immense power and is invulnerable to most weapons. Unfortunately,\nhe also gets a belated message from his ship that tells him  that his role in life is to take over the\nworld. The press did seem a bit split on the end results, although slightly\nmore enjoyed it than disliked it. A group didn’t think it did much with the\nunique material and described the jokes as being dumb and dopey. A slightly\nlarger contingent believed that several elements worked and that the movie was\nfunny enough to entertain. It stars Elizabeth Banks, David Denman and Jackson\nA. Dunn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Brink<\/em> – This documentary follows extreme\nright-wing leader Steve Bannon, who spent many years being part of President Donald\nTrump’s inner circle. After the figure was fired as White House strategist\nfollowing the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally in 2017, the film details\nhis move to Europe and attempts to unify and solidify\nvarious extremist factions and influence over there. Critics gave the\nnon-fiction feature high marks. One or two suggested that it didn’t reveal\nanything about the man we didn’t already know. Still, the majority stated that\nit did an exceptional job of capturing Bannon’s racist tendencies, habitual\nlying and nasty temper in great detail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Camp Wedding<\/em> – An engaged woman decides to have her nuptials at a summer camp and enlists her wedding party to help set up the festivities. As the event draws near, stresses arise when the venue doesn’t look as wonderful as hoped for. Things take an even darker turn when bridesmaids and groomsmen are slowly murdered by a psychotic killer. This independent horror\/comedy has played a few festivals but is primarily debuting on disc. Sadly, the few reviews that have popped up haven’t been complementary. One reviewer complained that the gags don’t land and little fear or tension is developed. It features Kelley Gates, Sean Hankinson, Cadden Jones and Morgan McGuire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A Dog’s Journey<\/em> – In this tearjerker, a dog’s family\ndecides to remove the animal from their home after having a newborn. Separated\nfrom the baby yet still determined to protect her, the pooch vows to find the\ninfant once again. Along the way, the canine encounters tragedy, dying and\nbeing reincarnated as different breeds, continuing to remember and seek out its\noriginal relative. Reviewers were divided on the end result. About half\nadmitted it was manipulative in its attempts to elicit emotion, but thought the\ndogs were still pretty darn cut. The rest contended that the animal voice-over\ndidn’t work and the movie was too obvious and blunt in its efforts to engage\nviewers. Warm-hearted family film or doggie snuff flick… you be the judge!\nThe movie stars Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid, Kathryn Prescott, Marg Helgenberger and\nBetty Gilpin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Hustle<\/em> – Two female con artists from different backgrounds butt head in this comedy after finding themselves both working the French Riviera. At first, the more established of the pair tries to train the other to be her accomplice, but bickering ensues and the leads soon make a bet to determine who can remain at the scenic locale. This is a remake of 1988’s Dirty Rotten Scoundrels<\/em>, which itself was a redo of the 1964 feature Bedtime Story<\/em>. One thing is certain about this particular version… very few enjoyed it. A couple liked the tireless efforts of the cast, but almost everyone else stated that this film wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as the previous version, didn’t add anything new and was a misfire. Anne Hathaway, Rebel Wilson and Alex Sharp headline the film. To read a full review of the picture, click here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Iron Sky: The Coming Race<\/em> – This sequel to the 2012\nFinnish-German horror\/comedy Iron Sky<\/em> picks up where the original ended.\nFor those who don’t remember the first chapter, a group of Nazis escaped Earth\nand built a secret base on the Moon, before starting a war on the planet below.\nIn this follow-up, our home planet has been rendered inhabitable and various\ngroups of survivors battle for control of the base and orbiting rock mass.\nCritics weren’t overwhelmed by this follow-up. About one third of them wrote\nthat as absurd as the story was, they were impressed by the imagination on\ndisplay. Still, the most common comment was that this title lacked wit and came\nacross as loud and annoying. It features Lara Rossi and Vladimir Burlakov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I Trapped the Devil<\/em> – Those looking for a late summer\nChristmas-themed horror picture may want to give this a try. The story involves\nan eccentric who invites his brother and sister-in-law over for a festive\nholiday reunion and celebration. His guests become disturbed and confused when\nthey realize that their host has locked a man up in the basement… a figure\nwhom the captor claims is actually the devil himself. This little feature has earned\ngood notices. While a percentage did critique the movie for dragging in\nsections, most other write-ups complimented the mood and thought that as the\ncharacters switched loyalties and turned on one another, it all became quite\ntense. The cast includes Scott Poythress, AJ Bowen and Susan Burke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Low Low<\/em> – Here’s a coming-of-age film that depicts a\ngroup of teenage girls from lower-class backgrounds graduating from high\nschool. Over the course of the running time, viewers witness their last day\ntogether before their lives take them on different tracks. Along the way, they\ntake part in several rites passage and try to find a sense of empowerment and\nlearn the true value of friendship. This independent drama received plenty of\ndecent reviews. While comments declared that the film was far from perfect,\nthey still agreed that the young stars were great together and that it was\ninteresting to see them navigate and express concerns over the future. Sean\nCarrigan and Elaine Hendrix are featured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Seaside<\/em> –\nA young woman decides to head to the Oregon\ncoast after her boyfriend inherits his childhood home. Once there, they decide\nto try and start a family. However, the new arrival soon runs into her\nsignificant other’s ex-girlfriend and learns that he hasn’t been completely\nhonest about his past. The female lead is forced into unraveling a mystery and deciding\nif her relationship is worth fighting for. This small indie flick is a thriller\nand has only played at a film festival or two. It hasn’t received many reviews\nas of yet, but the few that have appeared suggest that the movie is a bit slow\nmoving and drab. It stars Ariana DeBose, Matt Shingledecker and Steffanie\nLeigh.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Wild Pear Tree<\/em> – This Turkish foreign-language\nfeature involves a young writer who returns home after graduating. He searches\nfor sponsors to help him publish his first big novel but soon becomes distracted\nby his troubled father, who is weighed down by a serious gambling addiction. In\nreconnecting with his past, the young man begins to see how the people around\nhim have informed his work of art. Notices were very strong for this drama.\nAlthough many admitted that the movie was long and the storytelling less than\nsubtle, just about all who reviewed it also remarked that it was beautifully\nmade and very passionate about the ideas being expressed. It features Dogu\nDemirkol and Murat Cemcir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


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

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There are some really fantastic older titles also arriving on Blu-ray this week. Arrow Video have a Special Edition of the Al Pacino thriller, Cruising<\/em> (1980). It features the Oscar-winning actor as an undercover cop investigating a serial killer who is targeting New York City’s gay community. This film was from a different era and isn’t considered by some to be politically correct, but it has developed a sizable following over the years. For its high definition debut, the movie has been given a new restoration from a 4K scan of the original camera negative supervised by writer\/director William Friedkin (The French Connection<\/em>, To Live and Die in L.A.<\/em>), along with an updated sound mix. It also includes an archived director commentary, an archival featurette looking at the feature’s origins and production, a segment on the controversy surrounding the movie and its legacy, along with a trailer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several weeks back Arrow announced the release of Akio\nJissoji: The Buddhist Trilogy<\/em>, a 3-Disc Limited Edition  that included the Japanese films This\nTransient Life<\/em> (1970), Mandala <\/em>(1971) and Poem <\/em>(1972).\nApparently, the set was delayed at the last minute but is arriving today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Shout! have a Collector’s Edition of the cult classic The\nHarder They Come<\/em> (1972) on Blu-ray. It stars Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff as a\nmusician trying to make his mark in Kingston, Jamaica.\nHe encounters some nasty types and turns into an outlaw. This feature became\none of the first midnight movies\n(along with Night of the Living Dead<\/em>) and is an underground favorite.\nThe release boasts a new 4K scan of the original 16mm negative, an audio\ncommentary with a Jimmy Cliff authority, a making-of featurette and a clip\nabout the movie’s enduring legacy, archived interviews with Cliff as well as\nthe director and the producer, as well as cinematographer and line producer.\nYou’ll also get a trailer and a music video of the title track. Additionally,\nthis release includes a second film from the director called No Place Like\nHome<\/em>. It was also shot in Kingston\nbut had far more difficulty securing a release. The second title comes with\nmany of the same features included with the title flcik. And if that isn’t\nenough, there’s a third disc with a detailed and thorough examination of the\nJamaican cinema and music scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same distributor also have a Blu-ray of the Hammer\nhorror flick, Horror of Frankenstein<\/em> (1970). Not only is the film\npresented in two aspect ratios, but it also comes with a new movie historian\naudio commentary and a second archived filmmaker track. Extras also include an\ninterview with the lead actress, another with the producer\/director, and one\nfeaturing the assistant director. And you’ll get more featurettes and a\nselection of publicity materials relating the film. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kino have a massive selection of Blu-rays this week\nencompassing B-movie titles and cinematic classics. They include the likes of 4D\nMan<\/em> (1959), Babylon<\/em>(1980)\nand the so-bad-it’s-still-really-bad flick, Billy the Kid Versus Dracula<\/em>\n(1966). They’ve also got the old-fashioned sci-fi adventure feature, Dinosaurs!<\/em>\n(1960) in high definition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

On a completely different note, you can now pick up a new edition of the French arthouse favorite, Last Year at Marienbad<\/em> (1961). It’s considered a completely unique puzzle-box of a movie with long tracking shots and odd elements in the frame (like strange shadows) that don’t always make sense. There’s a lot of experimenting with film language and editing techniques as well. The film itself has been given a 4K restoration and comes with some bonuses that may help you decipher its many hidden meanings and layers. It has greatly influenced many moviemakers and the images featured have even inspired a music video or two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also have Blu-rays of the rom-com The Marrying Man<\/em>\n(1991), an extras laden 2-disc Special Edition of the Shirley MacLaine musical,\nSweet Charity<\/em> (1969), and a Blu-ray of the silent flick, Uncle Tom’s\nCabin<\/em> (1927) that features two different cuts of the movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Criterion are delivering the melodrama Magnificent\nObsession<\/em> (1954) from director Douglas Sirk (All That Heaven Allows<\/em>)\non Blu-ray. As in the filmmaker’s other pictures, you can expect the bright\ncolors to bounce off of the screen, which has received a high-definition\ndigital restoration. You’ll also get an audio commentary from 2008 featuring\nfilm scholar Thomas Doherty, Magnificent Obsession<\/em>, John M. Stahl\u2019s\n1935 adaptation of the same novel newly restored, and a documentary on Sirk\nfrom 1991. The disc also includes a 2009 interview with screenwriter Robert\nBlees, discussions from 2008 with filmmakers Allison Anders and Kathryn\nBigelow, in which they pay tribute to director Douglas Sirk and a trailer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The next release is a personal favorite. The Witches<\/em>\n(1990) is a superb kids film based on the Roald Dahl novel that also happens to\nbe just a little bit creepy and intense in spots. It’s about a young boy whose\ngrandmother takes him on a trip to the coast of England\nafter the unfortunate death of his parents. The pair suddenly find themselves in\nthe middle of a convention for witches (their leader is played by Anjelica\nHuston). When the youngster is transformed into a mouse, he must use unique\nmethods in order to stop the sinister threat. Warner Archive are finally making\nthis title available to order on Blu-ray through their site. Now viewers can enjoy\nthe trippy vibe from director Nicolas Roeg (Don’t Look Now<\/em>, The Man\nWho Fell to Earth<\/em>), and fun make-up and puppet work in high definition.\nThis is one of my favorite Dahl adaptations and is recommended for kids who can\nalso stand to get a little bit scared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, classic film fans can pick up The Buster Keaton\nCollection: Volume 3<\/em> from Cohen Media. This new Blu-ray includes the\ncomedies Battling Butler<\/em> (1925) and Seven Chances<\/em> (1926).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Here are some titles that youngsters may enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Dog’s Journey<\/em>
LEGO DC: Batman<\/em>
Pokemon: The Series: Diamond and Pearl<\/em>: The Complete Season
Ronja: The Robber’s Daughter<\/em>: The Complete Series (Studio Ghibli)
Shimmer and Shine: Legend of the Dragon Treasure<\/em> (Nickelodeon)
The Witches<\/em> (Warner Archive Blu-ray)
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

And these are the week’s TV-themed releases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

American Gods<\/em>: Season 2
Arrow<\/em>: Season 7
Blue Bloods<\/em>: Season 9
Brooklyn Nine-Nine<\/em>: Season 6
The Bureau<\/em>: Season 4
Gourmet Detective<\/em>: Complete Movie Collection (Hallmark TV-movies)
Mayans M.C.<\/em>: Season 1
NCIS: New Orleans<\/em>: Season 5
Pokemon: The Series: Diamond and Pearl<\/em>: The Complete Season
Ronja: The Robber’s Daughter<\/em>: The Complete Series (Studio Ghibli)
The Streets of San Francisco<\/em>: The Complete Series
S.W.A.T.<\/em>: Season 2
The Walking Dead<\/em>: Season 9 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GF1HJ3D9hAc\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n