{"id":20462,"date":"2020-05-12T12:06:25","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T19:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=20462"},"modified":"2020-05-12T12:06:25","modified_gmt":"2020-05-12T19:06:25","slug":"blu-ray-dvd-roundup-for-may-12th-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=20462","title":{"rendered":"Blu-ray\/DVD Roundup for May 12th, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s time to once again look at new release highlights\narriving on Blu-ray and DVD. This is a surprisingly busy edition featuring a\ngreat many high-profile big studio flicks as well as some great independent\nfare. So, if you can\u2019t 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

Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn<\/em> \u2013 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<\/em>, 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\u2019t make a lasting impact. Still, more called it fun and appreciated the work of the film\u2019s leads. It stars Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ella Jay Basco and Ewan McGregor. To read this site\u2019s review, click here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The Call of the Wild<\/em> \u2013 Jack London\u2019s 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\u2019t 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<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Fantasy Island<\/em> \u2013 For those unfamiliar with the\nproperty, Fantasy Island<\/em> was a popular TV series in which guests would\narrive at a magical tropical resort and live out their deepest wishes, only to\nlearn a lesson about the pitfalls of being granted everything they desire. This\nfeature-length remake takes more of a horror slant, as the new arrivals\ndiscover when their fantasies suddenly turn into unpleasant nightmares. Sounds\nlike money not-so-well-spent for the visitors. Critics also thought their time\nwas being wasted at the locale. A few claimed that the movie was an exploitative\nbut amusingly trashy genre picture that would provide a gruesome laugh or two.\nAll others panned the flick, stating that it was a train wreck that wasn\u2019t tense\nenough to be classified as horror, nor funny enough to make it an engaging dark\ncomedy. It features Michael Pe\u00f1a, Maggie Q, Lucy Hale, Austin Stowell, Jimmy O.\nYang and Michael Rooker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Lazy Susan<\/em> \u2013 This independent comedy follows a young\nwoman who is the black sheep of her family. One day, she realizes that her\nextremely selfish ways have left her without a job or boyfriend and estranged\nfrom her own relatives. The middle-aged woman sets out to change her life and\nturn things around, but finds the job difficult after decades of lazing about\nand using other people. The press was not particularly taken by this effort.\nThere was a reviewer or two who thought that the movie actually liked its\ncharacters and appreciated the story avoiding opportunities to mock them in\novert ways. Regardless, the majority were frustrated by the actions of the protagonist\nand found that even the talented cast couldn\u2019t rescue the story. Sean Hayes,\nCarrie Aizley, Matthew Broderick and Rob Riddle headline the feature.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Lost Transmissions<\/em> \u2013 This independent drama tells the\nstory of a shy musician who discovers that one of her associates, a record\nproducer, is in trouble after going off of his medication for schizophrenia.\nCalling on the help of her friends, she and her compatriots attempt to find the\nmissing figure and convince him to check in to a psychiatric facility. Reaction\ntowards this little film was more favorable than downbeat. There was a\ncontingent who found the characters difficult to relate to and didn\u2019t care for\nthe shaky, handheld camerawork. Still, the majority commented that it was a\nheartfelt and interesting examination of mental illness, and credited the work\nof the cast as helping to show the need for more care and consideration in\ndealing with the issue. It stars Simon Pegg, Juno Temple, Alexandra Daddario\nand Tao Okamoto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The Photograph<\/em> \u2013 Here\u2019s 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\u2019s 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, <\/a>LaKeith Stanfield, Lil Rel Howery, Rob Morgan and Courtney B. Vance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Shoelaces<\/em> \u2013 Also known in some territories as Laces<\/em>,\nthis foreign-language drama from Israel details the relationship between a\nwidower father and his adult special-needs son. Their history is quite\ncomplicated, as the dad abandoned his child decades earlier before returning to\nhelp care for him. When the 60-year-old senior\u2019s kidneys begin to fail, the son\ndecides to donate one of his own to save his father\u2019s life. However, their\nunique situation results in questions and objections about the procedure from\nprofessionals. There haven\u2019t been a great many reviews yet in this part of the\nworld for this drama, but the ones that have appeared have all been positive\nand the movie itself has won numerous awards. According to sources, the\nperformances are excellent and the movie is very powerful, making a strong\nemotional impact on viewers. Nevo Kimchi and Doval’e Glickman play the\nleads.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The Traitor<\/em> \u2013 Set in the 1980s, this Italian crime\nbiography tells the story of the man who took down the Cosa Nostra. The story\nbegins with an all-out war between two Sicilian families what are fighting over\nthe heroin trade. With his own life and family in danger, a fully initiated\nmember of one of the groups decides to turn on both parties and work as an\ninformant for the police. It was nominated for the Palm d\u2019Or at Cannes and won\nmany awards at the Italian equivalent of the Oscars. Naturally, critics in\ngeneral were very impressed with this foreign-language title. One or two\ncomplained that they didn\u2019t really learn enough about the protagonist and\nthought the movie should have focused more on his inner demons. However, almost\neveryone else called the movie well-acted, compelling and powerful Mafia biopic\nthat stands alongside titles like The Irishman<\/em>. It features Pierfrancesco\nFavino, Luigi Lo Cascio and Fausto Russo Alesi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Vivarium<\/em> \u2013 A couple ready to start a family decide to\nfind their perfect home and enlist the services of a real estate agent. He\ntakes them to a mysterious suburban tract of identical homes. They are not\nimpressed by what they see. Even worse, the pair soon realize they can\u2019t find\ntheir way out of the labyrinth streets. The leads wonder if they will ever find\ntheir way out as they continue to search for an exit. Overall, the press seemed\nto like this independent sci-fi\/thriller hybrid. A small group suggested that\nwhile it started out great, it made its point early on and didn\u2019t offer much\nelse for the remainder of the running time. Still, the consensus was that the\nfilm presents an effectively nightmarish scenario with plenty to analyze and\nnoted that the movie was bolstered by the work of an exemplary cast. Imogen\nPoots, Jesse Eisenberg, Molly McCann and Danielle Ryan headline the feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Whatever May Come<\/em> \u2013 Those who\u2019d like to get out again\nmay experience a vicarious thrill from this documentary about a German motorcycle\nenthusiast. He heads out alone with a camera on an incredible journey, biking\nfor almost a full year on a trip spanning 50,000 kilometers around the world.\nHis ride takes him across the US, Canada, Russia, China, India, Mongolia,\nPakistan, Nepal and Iran. Apparently, he cut the final product down from\nover 400 hours of footage, and chronicles note only his journey, but the varied\nand incredible people he met along the way. This feature is debuting on disc,\nso there aren\u2019t any reviews of it currently available. Still, one imagines that\nit may be of interest to anyone who enjoys getting a look at remote areas\naround the world, all from the seat of a motorbike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

What the Waters Left Behind<\/em> \u2013 This foreign-language\nhorror picture from Argentina is known as Los Olvidados<\/em> in its homeland.\nThe plot follows a group of students filming a documentary about Villa Epecu\u00e9n,\na now-underwater tourist spot that was flooded in the 80s after a dam break.\nThey find an abandoned village nearby and soon come to the conclusion that they\nmay not be alone. One assumes they very quickly realize that horrific killers\nand\/or monsters are plotting to take them out one by one. This title was produced\na couple of years ago and is only making its North American debut on disc now.\nThere aren\u2019t many write-ups, but the word online from a few horror enthusiasts\nis that this a predictable and ineffective Texas Chainsaw Massacre<\/em>\nknock-off. Agust\u00edn Pardella, Dami\u00e1n Dreizik and Victoria Maurette play a few of the victims. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Wow, there were plenty of notable new releases arriving and\nthere just as many classic flicks are receiving a Blu-ray upgrade. Shout!\nFactory certainly have some titles of note. Over the years, the company has\nreleased plenty of Japanese animated films from Studio Ghibli and Hayao\nMiyazaki. This week, they\u2019re putting two of his releases out in special\nSteelbook packages. The movies getting the treatment are Howl\u2019s Moving\nCastle<\/em> (2004) and Ponyo<\/em> (2008). Both are visually stunning, beloved\nby fans and come in new, fancy packaging with all of the previously releases\nextras. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

They also have a Collector\u2019s Edition of the cult horror\/comedy, Idle Hands<\/em> (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 \u201csloth\u201d. In the feature, a lazy teen’s hand is possessed by a demonic force and causes a lot of trouble. It wasn\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This release included a previously released commentary from\nthe director and cast, deleted scenes with optional commentary, storyboard\ncomparisons, a vintage making-of featurette, and all of the movie\u2019s press and\npublicity material. And there are plenty of new bonus additions with this\nrelease, including a second recently recorded cast commentary, as well as\ninterviews with the director and several cast members as well as the writer. If\nyou enjoyed the movie, you\u2019ll certainly get a kick out of this disc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

VCI are putting out a Blu-ray\/DVD combo of the martial arts\nflick, Dynamo<\/em> (1978). This one stars Bruce Lee lookalike Bruce Li as a\nHong Kong taxi driver. He meets a producer struck by the resemblance and is\ntold that he can make into a star. The protagonist enjoys the celebrity life,\nbut is suddenly forced to complete in a martial arts tournament. This disc\nincludes two 2K scans of different cuts of the movie and comes with a 15-minute\nfeature on Li\u2019s career, a film historian audio track and other bonuses. They\nalso have a Blu-ray of the western serial, Gordon of Ghost City<\/em> (1933)\ncoming your way, restored in 2K from the original film masters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kino are offering a couple of impressive Blu-ray box sets\nfor classic movie fans. The Barbara Stanwyck Collection<\/em> includes three\ntitles featuring the Hollywood star, including Internes Can’t Take Money<\/em>\n(1937), The Great Man’s Lady<\/em> (1942) and The Bride Wore Boots<\/em> (1946).\nTwo of the three films also include movie expert commentaries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema – Volume 2<\/em> contains\na Blu-ray trio of thrillers as well. You\u2019ll get Thunder on the Hill<\/em>\n(1951), The Price of Fear<\/em> (1956) and The Female Animal<\/em> (1958).\nAll the flicks come with trailers, and the final title on the list also\nincludes a historian commentary track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dark Force continue to locate and release obscure and unusual\nlittle genre titles. This week, Teenage Hitchhikers<\/em> (1974) is hitting\nBlu-ray. It\u2019s about a pair of hitchhikers using their feminine wiles to make\ntheir way across the country by tricking amorous male drivers. Like other\nflicks from the distributor, it comes with plenty of extras including a\ncommentary and an interview with the director\/writer\/producer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scorpion have a Blu-ray of the supernatural thriller, Shadow\nPlay<\/em> (1986), staring Dee Wallace-Stone and Cloris Leachman. Wallace-Stone\nplays a woman staying on a remote island with her mother-in-law \u2013 that sounds\nuncomfortable enough, but when the ghost of her fianc\u00e9 appears, things get even\nstranger. The movie arrives with a new 2K master, interview with Stone, still\ngallery and trailer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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<\/em> (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\u00a0introduction with Andy Sidaris and star Julie Strain, behind-the-scenes featurettes, trailers and a director Commentary. Errmm, looks like a movie chock-full of\u2026 scientists. And there\u2019s even more for B-movie fans! You can also pick up a Blu-ray of Enemy Gold<\/em> (1994) another of the filmmaker\u2019s 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\u2019ll find on the other disc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The distributor is also making a couple of Double Feature\nBlu-rays available for purchase. The first one contains Hollywood Story <\/em>(1951)\nand New Orleans Uncensored<\/em> (1955), two film noirs from famous\nproducer\/director William Castle (The Tingler<\/em>, 13 Ghosts<\/em>, House\non Haunted Hill<\/em>), who is more known for his work with horror pictures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are also putting out a western double-bill containing The\nMan from the Alamo<\/em> (1953) and They Came to Cordura <\/em>(1959). As with\nother Mill Creek Blu-rays, these are priced inexpensively, making it easy to\ntake a chance on their products. Glenn Ford stars in the first feature and Gary\nCooper takes on the lead role in the second. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they are giving fans of Japanese monster movies and TV shows the program, Ultraman Ace<\/em>: Season 1 (1972 – 1973). This contains several episodes featuring the character taking on beasts from other worlds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Criterion are delivering an all-time classic this week on\nBlu-ray in the form of The Great Escape<\/em> (1963). Set during World War II,\nthis epic follows a group of inmates at a POW camp who strive to make life\ndifficult for their German captors. Steve McQueen plays a heroic motorcycle-racing\ndaredevil, alongside Charles Bronson, James Coburn, James Garner and Donald\nPleasence. Those who pick up the disc will receive a new, restored 4K digital\ntransfer of the feature, two audio commentaries (one from 1991, featuring\ndirector John Sturges and composer Elmer Bernstein; the other, from 2003,\nfeaturing actors James Coburn, James Garner, and Donald Pleasence). And that\u2019s\nnot all. You\u2019ll also get a critic interview discussing the film, a lengthy\n4-part 2001 documentary on those whom the film was based on. In addition, it\ncomes with a feature on the man who inspired McQueen\u2019s heroic character and\n1993 series of interviews with the cast about their experiences making the\nmovie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going back to B-movies, Mondo Macabro have a couple of\nBlu-rays with the Italian giallo thriller, An Ideal Place to Kill<\/em> (1971).\nThis one stars Ornella Muti and comes with a 2K transfer and a giant helping of\nextras. The same is true for the Mexican chiller, Satanico Pandemonium<\/em>\n(1975), which involves demonic possession at a convent full of nuns. This one\nfeatures a 4K image from the original negative and too many bonuses to mention\nhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Finally, Warner Archive are delivering some impressive\ncatalog titles as made-to-order Blu-rays. The first is the Oscar-nominee Inside\nDaisy Clover<\/em> (1965), a romance set against the backdrop of Hollywood\nstarring Natalie Wood, Christopher Plummer and Robert Redford. The second title\nis the horror classic, Mystery of the Wax Museum<\/em> (1933) with Fay Wray.\nAccording to the studio press release, the movie was shot in the early\nTwo-Color Technicolor process and was considered a lost film for decades. That\nis, until a well-worn print was discovered nearly 50 years ago. They say that a\nmeticulous new restoration allows the film to be experienced as intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

This edition contains plenty of selections new and old that\nmay appeal to the young… and young at heart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Call of the Wild<\/em> (2020)
Howl\u2019s Moving Castle<\/em>
Ponyo\ufeff<\/em>
Ultraman Ace<\/em>: Season 1 (1972 – 1973)
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

And here are the week\u2019s TV-themed releases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucifer<\/em>: Season 4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n