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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nFukushima 50<\/em> \u2013 Based on the 2011 disaster in Japan, this drama tells the story of how a magnitude 9.0 earthquake rocked Fukushima. A nuclear plant manager and his team of engineers risk their lives to try and contain a reactor leak and must also contend with a massive tsunami rushing into the region. Frustrated by a lack of assistance and left alone to deal with the issue, they must prevent an even greater calamity from occurring. Response was generally positive towards this foreign-language feature. A few reviewers complained that the feature wasn\u2019t as impressive as the Chernobyl<\/em> miniseries and that the storytelling techniques felt old-fashioned. Still, the majority said the film made some important points about the danger of nuclear power and thought it was an appropriate and engaging tribute to real-life heroes. It stars Ken Watanabe, Takumi Saitoh, Riho Yoshioka and Hidetaka Yoshioka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist<\/em> \u2013 The\nExorcist<\/em> is one of the most successful and well-regarded horror films ever\nmade. This documentary was originally made for the Shudder steaming service and\nis now also being released on disc. It details the entire production through\nthe eyes of director William Friedkin (The Boys in the Band<\/em>, The\nFrench Connection<\/em>, Sorcerer<\/em>, To Live and Die in L.A.<\/em>). He describes\nhow he became involved in the project, his approach to the story and also tells\nwild tales of the shoot itself. The movie also goes into more history about the\ndirector\u2019s other films. This feature earned excellent notices. There were one\nor two who weren\u2019t overly impressed and stated that they already knew most of\nthe information being relayed. However, the consensus was that the movie was fascinating\nand Friedkin had plenty of interesting revelations about the movie\u2019s creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lily\u2019s Light: The Movie<\/em> \u2013 In this musical for families, a foster mom becomes the keeper of an enchanted lighthouse. The eccentric woman, her talking pets and her adopted kids do their best to keep the place in order using joy, love, laughter and songs to deal with any problems that arise. Some of the tunes used in the film have been contributed by Kenny Loggins and Songwriting Hall of Fame inductee Steve Dorff. This feature premiered on streaming platforms recently and is now arriving on disc. Currently, there aren\u2019t a lot of reviews available for the movie. Those that have popped up online suggest that while the feature is unrelentingly sugary and upbeat, the performers do a solid job and suggest that the film should appeal to preschoolers. The cast includes Sherry Hursey, Maxwell Gross, Jordyn Curet, Mindy Sterling and Fred Willard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Oliver Sacks: His Own Life<\/em> \u2013 Dr. Oliver Sacks was a British\nneurologist, naturalist and writer who penned many successful books on a wide\nvariety of subjects related to his fields of study. He often used the\nexperiences of his patients as inspiration, as well as his own personal\nexperiences. The filmmakers bring together Sacks\u2019 friends, family members,\ncolleagues and patients as they discuss the man\u2019s remarkable life and career.\nCritics uniformly praised the feature and it has yet to receive a single\nnegative review. They all suggested that the interviewees were excellent and really\nhelped viewers understand the incredible importance of Sacks\u2019 work and provided\na clearer picture of the man who created it. In the end, they called the movie\na moving and inspirational analysis of a figure who deserves more attention for\nhis good deeds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Willy\u2019s Wonderland<\/em> \u2013 This genre picture begins with a\nloner driving into a small town and having his car unexpectedly break down. When\nhe discovers that the repairs are more than he can pay for, the lead asks the\nlocal mechanics how he might be able to pay off the debt. He agrees to work\novernight as a janitor at Willy\u2019s Wonderland, a local theme park. Unfortunately,\nthe lead quickly learns that the animatronic mascots are sentient and have a\nhabit of murdering workers. The concept certainly is a fun one and more members\nof the press recommended the feature than told people to stay away. Those who had\nissues with the final product thought that the filmmakers didn\u2019t make the most\nof the engaging scenario and wrote that events felt too repetitive. However,\nmost found it to be an enjoyably crazy, tongue-in-cheek effort that might even\nbecome a cult item. It stars Nicolas Cage, Emily Tosta, Beth Grant and Ric Reitz.\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Plenty of interesting older movies are receiving Blu-ray upgrades\nthis week. VCI is releasing The Basher Box Set<\/em> which contains 4K, high-definition\nversions of Hong Kong action pictures The Prodigal Boxer<\/em> (1972) and The\nAwaken Punch<\/em> (1973) aka Village on Fire<\/em>. Both flicks are about young\nmartial artists out for revenge on those who have murdered their family\nmembers. In addition to the improved image quality, the Blu-ray also includes\nan expert commentary on the first title, an interview on these types of features\nwith an action choreographer, theatrical trailers and some essays on this revenge\nsubgenre and its place in Kung Fu cinema history. Looks like it could be a lot of\nbutt-kicking fun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kino has plenty of new titles to promote. Dynasty <\/em>(1977)\nis a period effort from Hong Kong an Emperor who must battle for his survival\nafter being accused of treason. The movie was shot in 3D and this Blu-ray comes\nwith many viewing options, including two different 3D versions. One is in \u201cReal\n3D\u201d for specially equipped televisions and the second is an edition that comes\nwith one pair of red and cyan glasses for viewing in an alternate three-dimension\nformat that will play on any TV. Of course, you\u2019ll also get a 2D edition. This\nrelease comes with extras like a short explaining 3D technology, a 3D animated\nshort, a featurette on the format in the 1950s, a promotional short about a\ndepartment store from the era, as well as a 3D comic book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those who enjoy surfing can pick up the drama North Shore<\/em>\n(1987) on Blu-ray. It stars Matt Adler, Nia Peeples and Gregory Harrison and\ntells the tale of a young man who travels to Hawaii for the summer. Once there,\nhe learns plenty of life lessons from the local surfers. You\u2019ll also get a director\nand executive producer commentary, an interview with the filmmaker, deleted\nscenes, an alternate ending and a trailer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Producers<\/em> (1968) was put out many years ago by\nShout! Factory, but now it\u2019s being reissued on Blu-ray from Kino with a 4K image\nrestoration featuring corrected color grading. This classic from Mel Brooks (Young\nFrankenstein<\/em>, Blazing Saddles<\/em>) is about two Broadway producers who\nattempt to make money by creating a notably disastrous stage flop \u2013 which turns\ninto an unexpected smash success. This version includes a new film historian\ncommentary as well as an hour-long making of, outtakes and other publicity materials.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking of Mel Brooks, the distributor is also debuting another\nof his titles on Blu-ray. Spaceballs<\/em> (1987) is parody of Star Wars<\/em>\nthat made a huge impression with young viewers during its original run at theaters.\nIt\u2019s all very silly stuff, but it does feature an impressive cast (Bill\nPullman, John Candy, Daphne Zuniga, Rick Moranis and Brooks himself) and there\nis a huge demographic who fondly remember the movie. You will be able to pick\nup a 4K edition of the movie or a regular Blu-ray and both come loaded with\nbonuses. There\u2019s a Mel Brooks commentary, a lengthy interview with Brooks and co-star\nRudy De Luca, a documentary about the feature, a discussion with the writer\/director\nand a co-screenwriter, a tribute to co-star Candy, flubs, publicity materials\nand other extras. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also pick up the Two Films by Lois Weber<\/em> Blu-ray\nset which contains the dramas A Chapter in Her Life<\/em> (1923) and Sensation\nSeekers<\/em> (1927). These were early pre-code silent films from a female\nmoviemaker that were released by Universal and depicted the struggles of modern\nwomen as they attempt to gain independence. Both titles have received 2K\nrestorations and the later film also includes a film historian commentary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And Kino also have a Blu-ray of the teen comedy, The Wild\nLife<\/em> (1984). This movie is about a high school grad who moves into an\napartment with his best pal, hoping to embark on some wild adventures on his\nown. Unfortunately, their attempt at fun don\u2019t go as planned, resulting in\ncomic misadventures. The flick had a plenty of familiar faces, including Chris\nPenn, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Eric Stoltz, Jenny Wright, Lea Thompson, Rick\nMoranis and Randy Quaid. Remarkably, it has only been available until now on\nVHS and is finally getting a new life on Blu-ray. The disc comes with a\ncommentary from a teen film expert, an interview with co-star Ilan Mitchell-Smith,\n9 radio spots and a trailer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Troma is presenting the cult zombie flick The Children<\/em>\n(1980) on Blu-ray. This effort follows a town that comes under attack from a\nhorde of undead, irradiated kids. The movie was previously released by Vinegar\nSyndrome but has been out-of-print and hard to locate for some time now. There\naren\u2019t any details available about this version, but one assumes that the image\nquality and extras should be the same as in the other version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ironmaster<\/em> (1983) is arriving on Blu-ray courtesy of Code\nRed. This is an Italian fantasy flick about a group of humans living in the\nstone age who must create tools and use their brains to fight off a vicious\nenemy force. The movie arrives with an HD master that was scanned in 2016, as\nwell as interviews with the cast and crew. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Scorpion is releasing September 30, 1955<\/em> (1977) on\nBlu-ray. It\u2019s set in the 1950s and follows a group of teens who go on a crime\nspree after watching the news and learning about the death of their hero, James\nDean. This feature stars Richard Thompson and marks the onscreen debut of Dennis\nQuaid. You\u2019ll get a film historian audio commentary and a trailer on the disc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And distributor The Film Detective has a Special Edition of Hercules\nand the<\/em> Captive Women<\/em> (1963). The sword and sandal effort from Italy\ninvolves the legendary hero traveling to Atlantis, dealing with a lovely\nsorceress and saving the city from an aquatic monster. This Blu-ray comes with\na documentary feature about these flicks, a film historian commentary and a full\nMystery Science Theater 3000<\/em> episode in which the hosts poke fun at the\nmovie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Low-budget outfit Full Moon is making House of Cruel\nDolls<\/em> (1974) available on Blu-ray as part of their Eurocine Collection\nline. According to various sources, it\u2019s a trashy little exploitation flick that\nhas been remastered for genre film audiences in its uncut form from the\noriginal camera negative for the first time in North America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also pick up Full Moon\u2019s quirky B-movie comedy Shrunken\nHeads<\/em> (1994) in high definition. This picture tells the tale of some nice teens\nwho are murdered by a street gang. A voodoo spell resurrects them from the dead\nas flying shrunken heads and the buddies set out to stop the murderers before\nthey do harm to the entire community. The disc includes a new restoration of\nthe fully uncut version of the film, a behind-the-scenes featurette and\ntrailers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Rising Sun Media is presenting a Blu-ray of the ultra-low-budget tongue-in-cheek horror\/comedy Killer Pi\u00f1ata <\/em>(2015). This one is about a pinata that comes to life in order to avenge for all of its pals who have been beaten open by families during birthday celebrations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cult Epics is releasing The Debut<\/em> (1977) on Blu-ray,\na foreign-language art film from the Netherlands about a May-December romance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, Criterion is presenting a Blu-ray of the romantic drama,\nHistory is Made at Night<\/em> (1937). This well-regarded feature is about a\ndivorcee who falls for a Parisian woman, but must contend with the angry ex of his\nnew love who will do anything to win her back. The pair race across Europe\ntrying to evade the jilted and dangerous pursuer. This release includes a 4K restoration\nof the feature, a conversation about the title with a critic, an interview with\nanother film authority about the movie\u2019s director, audio excepts with the filmmaker\nfrom 1958, a 1940 radio adaptation of the picture and a new program about the\nimpressive restoration of the picture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You Know, For Kids!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some titles coming your way that may appeal to\nyoungsters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n BoBoiBoy: Elemental Heroes<\/em> On the Tube!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And here are all the TV-themed releases arriving on store\nshelves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ancient Aliens<\/em>: Season 13 (History Channel)![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/DVD-leap-of-faith-fixed.jpg\")
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\nBlasts from the Past!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/DVD-prodigal-boxer.jpg\")
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Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space<\/em>: Season 1 (1972) Warner Archive
Ultraman Leo<\/em>: The Complete Series (Mill Creek) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns<\/em> \u2013 Fully Restored in High Definition (PBS)
BoBoiBoy: Elemental Heroes<\/em>
Hemingway: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick<\/em> (PBS)
Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space<\/em>: Season 1 (1972) Warner Archive
Le Mans 2020<\/em>
Pumas: Legends of the Ice Mountains<\/em> (PBS)
Ultraman Leo<\/em>: The Complete Series (Mill Creek)
Wedding Every Weekend<\/em> (Hallmark TV-Movie) <\/p>\n\n\n\n