{"id":22784,"date":"2021-05-24T17:38:13","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T00:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=22784"},"modified":"2021-05-24T17:38:13","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T00:38:13","slug":"blu-ray-dvd-roundup-for-may-25th-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=22784","title":{"rendered":"Blu-ray\/DVD Roundup for May 25th, 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to another look at new releases arriving on Blu-ray\nand DVD. There aren\u2019t a great many major Hollywood films arriving on disc this\nweek, but there is a lot of interesting and exciting material coming around.\nSo, if you can\u2019t or shouldn\u2019t be heading out to the movies this week, be sure\nto 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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American Fighter<\/em> \u2013 A college wrestler desperate to\nhelp pay medical bills for his ailing mother decides to earn extra cash by\njoining an underground fighting circuit. Initially, it doesn\u2019t go well and the\nprotagonist is injured during his first match, but a trainer takes a shine to\nthis new competitor. The experienced figure decides to train the lead and turn\nhim into a lean, mean athlete for the next tournament. This independent feature\nearned more positive write-ups from the press than negative notices. A portion\nthought the fights were well-shot but complained that the drama ultimately\nmissed the mark. However, slightly more appreciated the sincerity on display and\nfound it charming overall. It features George Kosturos, Tommy Flanagan, Sean Patrick\nFlanery and Bryan Craig. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Benny Loves You<\/em> \u2013 In this dark comedy from the UK, a 35-year-old\nman still living at home must deal with tragedy after his parents pass away. He\ndecides to make a new start in life by tossing out some of his childhood toys. This\nincludes the lead\u2019s favorite childhood plush animal, Benny. Unfortunately, Benny\ndoesn\u2019t take kindly to being thrown away and goes on a murderous rampage to let\nhis owner know that they should not be separated. Critics were amused by what\nthey saw unfold. A small number of them couldn\u2019t get on the film\u2019s wavelength\nand stated that the events depicted were sophomoric and unfunny. Yet the vast\nmajority described the feature as an entertaining black comedy. They found\nBenny hysterical and thought the mix of laughs and gruesomeness generally\nworked. The cast includes Karl Holt, Claire Cartwright, George Collie and James\nParsons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chaos Walking<\/em> \u2013 In the future, a young man exists in a world where all women have disappeared and every man\u2019s thoughts are put on display for all to see. When the protagonist discovers a mysterious crashed spacecraft with a woman onboard, he vows to keep her safe from the violent men roaming the area. While they set out to find safety, the two learn more about what drew them together so unexpectedly. This big budget film comes from noted director Doug Liman (Mr. & Mrs. Smith<\/em>, The Bourne Identity<\/em>, Edge of Tomorrow<\/em>) and features an impressive cast, but it didn\u2019t get much of release in theaters and wasn\u2019t well received by reviewers. A few suggested that it was a perfectly serviceable sci-fi flick with some interesting ideas, even if they weren\u2019t expertly dealt with. Sadly, everyone else commented that the movie was a choppy misfire that reeked of post-production reshoots and tinkering. It stars Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley, Demi\u00e1n Bichir, David Oyelowo, Cynthia Erivo, Mads Mikkelsen and Nick Jonas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Deadly Force: Mission Budapest<\/em> \u2013 Curiously enough,\nthis China\/Hungary co-production was released in most markets as The Rookies<\/em>.\nFor its North American Blu-ray\/DVD debut, the action movie has been given a\nname change. The story follows an extreme sports athlete who finds himself being\nrecruited by an international team of special agents. However, he becomes concerned\nby his oddball cohorts after they set out to stop a maniacal villain from\ndetonating a weapon that will turn people into plants. The consensus wasn\u2019t overly\npositive for this title. Most asserted that the screenplay was terrible, the\nhumor missed the mark and that the story made little to no sense. However, a\nsmall grouping has suggested that the flick is so outrageous, dopey, awkward\nand bizarre that it provides a very enjoyable helping of cinematic cheese. The\ncast includes Talu Wang, Sandrine Pinna, Milla Jovovich, Timmy Xu and David Lee McInnis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Deliver Us from Evil<\/em> \u2013 A South Korean hit man decides\nto retire after completing his latest assignment. Unfortunately, the assassin\nlearns that an ex-girlfriend from Thailand has been murdered and her child has\nbeen kidnapped. Believing that he may be the father of the infant, the\nprotagonist decides to find the responsible party and rescue the child, while the\nvengeance-focused brother of his previous victim chases after him. The press\nreally took a shine to this action picture. In fact, there haven\u2019t been any\nnegative write-ups for the movie. All of the reviews complimented the\nperformances, stating that the actors added a level of humanity to the\nproceedings. They also complimented the pacing, the impressive action sequences\nand admired that the stylish cinematography. Hwang Jung-min, Lee Jung-jae and\nPark Jung-min headline the feature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Happily<\/em> \u2013 This comedy follows a happily married\ncouple who have been together more than a decade and are still smitten with\neach other. After they are invited to weekend getaway with their friends, the\ntwo are shocked to learn that other couples now dislike them, citing their functional\nmarriage and PDAs as irritating. Angered, the pair are then visited by a mysterious\nstranger who makes a bizarre offer that changes the course of their lives.\nReaction towards the film was generally decent. A group of reviewers did\ncritique the story, stating that they didn\u2019t like the direction it eventually\ntook and didn\u2019t mix drama and comedy particularly well. However, more thought\nthat the feature was a wild and unpredictable trip with enough good moments to\nearn it a recommendation. It stars Kerry Bish\u00e9, Joel McHale, Al Madrigal, Natalie\nZea, Paul Scheer, Stephen Root, Natalie\nMorales, Charlyne Yi and Breckin Meyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kinky Boots: The Musical<\/em> \u2013 Kinky Boots<\/em> was a\n2005 movie based on a true story about a shoe manufacturer who befriends a drag\nqueen and creates high-heeled boots for men that end up saving his business. It\nwas turned into a hit Tony-winning musical production in 2013 (with Cyndi\nLauper writing the songs) that ran for several years. This feature is a filmed version\nof the West End London stage adaptation. There aren\u2019t many reviews available for\nthe disc, but a few have popped up online. They all suggest that it\u2019s a solid\nproduction that does a good job of capturing the stage show. However, a few did\ncomplain that the movie frequently cuts to audience reaction shots, which did take\nthem out of the story. Matt Henry, Killian Donnelly, Natalie McQueen, Sean Needham\nand Cordelia Farnworth headline the feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Long Weekend<\/em> \u2013 This tale follows a struggling writer\nwho is depressed and suffering from an unknown illness. After attending an\nafternoon movie matinee with a bottle of whiskey, he encounters a charismatic\nwoman. The two people fall for each other immediately, but their new\nrelationship becomes increasingly complicated when each reveals their unusual pasts\n(which actually involves a science-fiction element). This independent romantic\ncomedy received more upbeat notes than negative responses. Those who weren\u2019t\nimpressed said it was too quirky, calling the characters and situations\ngimmicky. Still, most liked the chemistry between the leads and enjoyed the\nstory\u2019s twists. This title is only being released on DVD. It stars Finn Whitrock,\nZoe Chao, Casey Wilson, Jim Rash, Damon Wayans Jr. and Wendi McLendon-Covey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Martha: A Picture Story<\/em> \u2013 Photographer Martha Cooper\nis the subject of this documentary. She was one of the first to capture\ngraffiti art with her camera in New York City during the 1970s. The filmmakers interview\nthe figure and discuss her career and how her popular images have not only impressed\nthose in her field, but inspired new generations of graffiti artists around the\nworld to create works of art. The press uniformly enjoyed this non-fiction feature.\nThe reviewers all admitted that the material on the figure had been presented\nin a typical and ordinary way. However, they still called it a joyous and\nupbeat examination of the life of an influential figure who was well ahead of\nher time and helped popularize an underground art movement during its earliest\ndays. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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This is a very busy edition those looking for older features.\nBlue Underground are getting the ball rolling with the release of The Final\nCountdown<\/em> (1980), a fascinating little science-fiction picture involving a\nbattleship carrier that finds itself transported to the Pacific Ocean a day before\nthe bombing of Pearl Harbor. Those onboard are forced to figure out how to respond\nand react to the unusual situation. This cult movie was shot on a working US Navy\nvessel and has a great cast that includes Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Katharine\nRoss, James Farentino and Charles During. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The title is being released as a Limited Edition 3-disc 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray. It also includes a CD featuring the film\u2019s score. The extras are plentiful too. They include a commentary track from the director of photography, an extended interview with crew member Lloyd Kaufman (who dishes plenty of dirt on what happened during the production). You\u2019ll also get interviews with members of the flight crew, all kinds of publicity materials, a lengthy booklet giving more background information about the movie, as well as more extras! It’s a great disc. Read all about it in detail here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arrow have some great Blu-rays as well. If you didn\u2019t pick\nup their exceptional Blu-ray of 12 Monkeys<\/em> (1995) a year or so ago, you\ncan now pick up a Steelbook edition with fantastic new cover art. This edition\nof the sci-fi classic comes with all the remarkable extras from the distributor\u2019s\nprevious edition.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you like spaghetti westerns, you can also purchase a 4K Blu-ray\n2-disc Limited Edition of Django<\/em> (1966). This is an incredible flick\nabout a mysterious man out for revenge who drifts into town dragging a coffin.\nThe movie inspired the title of the 2012 Quentin Tarantino production Django\nUnchained<\/em> and it\u2019s easy to see how this flick made an impression on the filmmaker.\nThe set also comes with the film Texas, Adios<\/em> (1966), which featured the\nsame lead actor and was released in some territories as a sequel to the marquee\nfeature. Django<\/em> comes with a film historian commentary, an interview\nwith the assistant director, a discussion with the director\u2019s wife, an archival\ntalk with both of the co-writers, another interview with a stuntman and performer\nfrom the movie, an appreciation of the feature with a western film scholar, an\narchival featurette with director Alex Cox (Repo Man<\/em>, Sid & Nancy<\/em>)\nabout the movie\u2019s historical importance, publicity materials and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s not all! Arrow are also putting out the box set Weird\nWisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection<\/em>. This independent filmmaker created\nall sorts of drive-in B-movies and this Blu-ray collection includes Monster\na Go-Go! <\/em>(1965), Invasion from Inner Earth<\/em> (1974), The Alpha\nIncident<\/em> (1978), The Demons of Ludlow<\/em> (1983), The Game<\/em> (1984)\nand Twister\u2019s Revenge!<\/em> (1988). You\u2019ll also receive the feature-length\ndocumentary, Who is Bill Rebane?<\/em> (2021), which goes into more detail about\nthe life of the man behind the camera. The set features new restorations of all\nof the movies, interviews with Rebane about each of the titles included, as\nwell as additional discussions about his career, visual essays about some of the\nflicks, short films and industrial shorts by the director. It also comes with stills,\ntrailers and much more. Sounds like a great set for fans of low-budget do-it-yourself\nhorror filmmakers.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shout! Factory have a trio of big Blu-ray titles. City\nSlickers II: The Legend of Curly\u2019s Gold<\/em> (1994) was a follow-up to the 1991 Billy\nCrystal\/Jack Palance Oscar-winner, City Slickers<\/em>. It reunites the cast\nof the first film as they take part in a new adventure across the American west.\nThe release arrives with an audio commentary with the director and co-stars\nDaniel Stern and Jon Lovitz. You\u2019ll also get a making-of documentary and a\ntrailer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most exciting releases of the week is the Blu-ray\ndebut of the cult film, Explorers<\/em> (1985). The feature follows three kids\n(played by Ethan Hawke, River Phoenix and Jason Presson) who receive a message\nfrom space and attempt to make contact with otherworldly forces. This film from\ndirector Joe Dante (Gremlins<\/em>, Innerspace<\/em>, The \u2018Burbs<\/em>) didn\u2019t\nfare well at the box office during its original release, but has built up a\nmassive fan following over the years. It is arriving as a Collector\u2019s Edition\nthat includes the theatrical and TV cuts of the feature, as well as an hour-plus\nlong documentary about the production featuring recent interviews with Dante,\nHawke, the screenwriter and others. You\u2019ll also get deleted scenes with\noptional director commentary, an interview with the director of photography and\na trailer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the distributor is putting out a Blu-ray of The Hand<\/em>\n(1981), an early feature from Oliver Stone (Platoon<\/em>, Wall Street<\/em>,\nJFK<\/em>, Natural Born Killers<\/em>). This horror flick stars Michael Caine\nas a man who loses his hand in a traffic accident, only to have the severed\nappendage go on a murderous rampage. The disc includes a 2K scan of the movie\nfrom the inter-positive, a new interview with Stone himself, discussions with\nco-stars Bruce McGill and Andrea Marcovicci, in addition to the film\u2019s producer.\nYou\u2019ll also get a previously recorded commentary track with Stone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kino are releasing plenty of noteworthy Blu-rays. The all-star\ncomedy Honky Tonk Freeway<\/em> (1981) is a satire about a town that tries to\nbuy an interstate ramp to their community and will do anything to get what they\nwant. The movie has received a 4K Blu-ray restoration from the original camera\nnegative and comes with a producer commentary and a trailer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lights of Old Broadway<\/em> (1925) is a classic silent technicolor\ndrama with Marion Davies that has been given a 2K restoration, a new orchestral\nscore and a film historian commentary. If you\u2019re looking for more wacky comedies,\nyou can pick up Million Dollar Mystery<\/em> (1987). It\u2019s about a bunch of\ntravelers in a diner who are told by a dying customer that his massive fortune\nis buried in four locations across the country. Naturally, they end up racing\nagainst each other as they scramble to locate the cash. It\u2019s not a great movie,\nbut does feature a lot of familiar faces partaking in the wackiness. This Blu-ray\nincludes an entertainment journalist audio track and trailer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Night of the Following Day<\/em> (1969) is a thriller\nwith Marlon Brando and Richard Boone about a gang of men who take the daughter of\na millionaire hostage. Their plans go awry as they fight among themselves over\nhow to split the money. The Blu-ray comes with a critic commentary, a\ndiscussion of the trailer with director Joe Dante (Gremlin<\/em>s, Explorers,\nInnerspace<\/em>, The \u2018Burbs<\/em>) and a second trailer. And Kino also are making\na Blu-ray available of the French drama, Ponette<\/em> (1996).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Criterion have an interesting film-noir. Nightmare Alley<\/em>\n(1947) is about a conman working at a carnival who makes a life for himself\ntelling lies. As time passes and those around him threaten to reveal the truth,\nhis life begins to fall apart and he takes some extreme risks. The film has\nreceived a 4K digital Blu-ray restoration and comes with a 2005 film historian audio\ncommentary, a critic interview, a discussion with others included in the\nproduction, numerous featurettes with critics discussing the film\u2019s importance,\nas well as audio recordings with the cast and crew and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Cinema Guild have a Blu-ray of the well-regarded South\nKorean comedy\/drama, Yourself and Yours<\/em> (2016).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re looking for B-movies, you\u2019ve got plenty to choose\nfrom this week. Vinegar Syndrome are having a \u201cHalfway to Black Friday\u201d sale on\ntheir website this weekend. Besides discounts on many titles, they will also\nrelease some new Blu-rays. One of them is the cult action\/comedy Six-String\nSamurai<\/em> (1998), which contains a 4K transfer, multiple director commentary\ntracks, an extended making-of documentary and tons of other bonuses.\nApparently, the Eddie Deezen comedy, Surf II<\/em> (1984) is also arriving on\nthe site. All of these Blu-rays and a few surprise releases will be announced.\nAll of the company\u2019s products come chock full of extras, so if you are a genre\nfilm fan be sure to check the sale out!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Scorpion are delivering a Blu-ray of the action picture, Eye\nof the Tiger<\/em> (1986). This is a wild one starring an over-the-top Gary Busey\nas a war veteran who takes on a motorcycle gang terrorizing his small hometown.\nIf memory serves, he does a couple of outrageous things to the bad guys over\nthe course of the feature (one involves threatening to set off a stick of\ndynamite in a very sensitive area for a villain). The movie has been given a 2K\nrestoration and the disc includes a trailer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Speaking of crazy flick, the sketch-comedy movie The Groove Tube<\/em> (1974) is also hitting Blu-ray through the Hen\u2019s Tooth label. This title includes close to 20 sketches poking fun at television (the most outrageous involving a puppet performance that doesn\u2019t actually feature a puppet). Chevy Chase appears as one of the comedic cast members. Apparently, there aren\u2019t any extras included on the disc but the image quality is very improved over previous releases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dark Force has Revenge of the Bushido Blade<\/em> (1980) on\nBlu-ray. It\u2019s an action flick about the son of a Japanese general who enacts\nrevenge on the American platoon who raped his mother during WWII. The disc boasts\na 4K scan of the movie and includes a 40-minute interview with star Leo Fong. The\nItalian train-set thriller Terror Express <\/em>(1980) is also appearing on Blu-ray\nfrom this distributor. It has been newly remastered and includes several interviews\nwith the cast and screenwriter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smile<\/em> (1975) was a very well-reviewed satire of\nbeauty pageants from the 70s that starred Bruce Dern. Fun City Editions are\npresenting the film on Blu-ray with a 2K restoration. It also includes a new\ninterview with the lead, an audio commentary with film authorities talking\nabout the feature and some publicity materials. They also have a 4K restoration\nof the Robert Forster action picture, Walking the Edge<\/em> (1985). You\u2019ll\nget numerous cast and crew interviews, multiple audio commentaries and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A while back Universal released a box set of Alfred\nHitchcock titles that were being newly presented in 4K Ultra HD. They\u2019ve now\nstarted releasing the movies included as separate products. This week, they will\nbe putting out 4K Blu-rays of The Birds<\/em> (1963) and Psycho<\/em> (1960) for\nthose who just want individual copies of a few of the filmmaker\u2019s works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lionsgate have a Target Exclusive Steelbook title called the\nSchwarzenegger Double Feature<\/em>. The new packaging contains previously\nreleased Blu-rays of Terminator 2: Judgment Day<\/em> (1990) and Total\nRecall<\/em> (1991) inside elaborate new packaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It seems that Paramount are also rereleasing plenty of Blu-ray\ntitles at new, lower prices. A few of these have previously been released by distributors\nlike Criterion, which means these are likely bare-bones versions for those who\njust want the film at a discounted rate. You can purchase Days of Heaven<\/em>\n(1978), Don\u2019t Look Now<\/em> (1973), Get Rich or Die Tryin\u2019<\/em> (2005), The\nLast Castle<\/em> (2001), The Legend of Bagger Vance<\/em> (2000), a 4K edition\nof My Fair Lady<\/em> (1964), A Night at the Roxbury<\/em> (1998), Rosemary\u2019s\nBaby<\/em> (1968), The Saint<\/em> (1997), Super 8<\/em> (2011) in 4K, Tupac:\nResurrection<\/em> (2003) and The Tuxedo<\/em> (2002). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And finally, Warner Archive have made-to-order Blu-rays of a\npair of musical comedies. They have Athena<\/em> (1954) and the Frank Sinatra\/Debbie\nReynolds feature The Tender Trap<\/em> (1955), both of which can be bought through\nthe studio website or on Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

If you child likes Japanese monsters, then there is a classic\nTV series arriving on disc courtesy of Mill Creek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultraman Leo<\/em>: The Complete Series (1974 \u2013 1975)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

And here are some of the TV-themed releases coming your way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Big Bang Theory<\/em>: The Complete Series
The Bureau<\/em>: The Complete Series
Everybody Loves Raymond<\/em>: The Complete Series
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air<\/em>: The Complete Series
One Lane Bridge<\/em> (Sundance Now)
Supernatural<\/em>: The Complete Series
Ultraman Leo<\/em>: The Complete Series (1974 \u2013 1975)
The Waltons<\/em>: The Complete Series <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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