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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nABSOLUTION \u2013 An aging gangster and ex-con discovers that\nafter years of using his fists in confrontations, he has an untreatable\nneurodegenerative disease. Realizing he has little time left, the lead decides\nto contact his estranged daughter and grandson in order to repair their\nrelationship. The protagonist also plots one final, dangerous job to try and\nhelp his family live a better life. Reaction from the press for this crime\ndrama was split. Almost half commented that the thriller was heavy-handed and\ndidn\u2019t offer anything that audiences hadn\u2019t seen a hundred times before. Almost\nthe same number, along with a few more, liked that the story was more\nthoughtful and downcast than other pictures of its ilk and appreciated the lead\nperformance. It stars Liam Neeson, Ron Perlman, Yolanda Ross, Frankie Shaw and\nDaniel Diemer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAPARTMENT 7A \u2013 An aspiring dancer arrives in New York, only\nto suffer a debilitating accident during an audition. Defeated, she\nunexpectedly runs into an elderly couple who say they\u2019re sympathetic to her\ntroubles and offer a free apartment. Thrilled, she agrees, but soon finds her\nnew neighbors a little, well, creepy. The dancer also begins having terrifying\nvisions of a pregnancy. If you haven\u2019t guessed by now, this movie is a prequel\nto the classic Rosemary\u2019s Baby<\/em>. It premiered on the Paramount+ site and is\nnow arriving on disc. The feature received more negative notices than positive\nones. A small number liked the performance of the lead actress and complemented\nthe feature\u2019s attempts to tackle current issues. But the majority complained\nthat the film was a flavorless reworking of a classic that didn\u2019t offer\nanything new or exciting to the concept. The cast includes Julia Garner, Dianne\nWiest, Jim Sturgess, Kevin McNally and Marli Su.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE APPRENTICE \u2013 This biopic is set in the 1970s and focuses\non young businessman Donald Trump. The man befriends and becomes captivated by\nnotorious lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn. The elder mentors the\npower-hungry young man on how to use nefarious tactics to succeed in New York.\nBut when the main character decides to forge out for himself with various real\nestate development plans, he begins to accrue major business debts. Overall,\nthe press gave this drama high marks. About one-fifth of reviews did state that\nthe film didn\u2019t pack as hard a punch as it could have or reveal any new insight\nabout its subject. Yet most called the cast excellent and thought it was a good\ncharacter study about how greed and ambition has ultimately led its main\ncharacter down a dark and corrupt path. It features Sebastian Stan, Jeremy\nStrong, Maria Bakalova and Martin Donovan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CONCLAVE \u2013 This thriller begins with the passing of the\nPope. A cardinal is immediately tasked with bringing Catholic Church\u2019s leaders\nfrom around the world together. The group is sequestered in the Vatican to\nelect someone to the throne. Numerous parties make their case to be voted in as\nnew Pope, while the cardinal learns more strange details about the final days\nof their previous leader. Tensions rise as secrets are revealed and they\nattempt to come to a resolution. Reaction was very positive towards this\nfeature. A few write-ups described the film as a silly thriller that didn\u2019t\nfeel authentic or delve deeply into its interesting concept. However, all\nothers appreciated the work of the cast and thought the movie was stylish and\nentertaining as it dealt with politics within the Catholic Church. Ralph\nFiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Lucian Msamati, Bryan F. O\u2019Byrne, Sergio\nCastellitto, Isabella Rossellini and Carlos Diehz headline the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n EVIL DOES NOT EXIST \u2013 A tiny alpine village somewhere\noutside Tokyo is home to a man and his daughter. They live by a forest and\ncollect natural ingredients for a local restaurant. As outsiders begin to see\nthe area as a possible destination for tourism and a \u201cglamping\u201d vacation spot,\nthe leads are asked to escort businessmen to the area to assess the site. The\nfather becomes increasingly concerned about the impact of their proposal and\nponders what to do about it. Reviewers generally raved about this Japanese\nforeign-language drama from the director of recent Best International Feature\nFilm Oscar winner Drive My Car<\/em>. A small number found the movie\nslow-going and disliked the finale. Everyone else was impressed by the\natmosphere and unique tone of the feature, stating that it effectively sold its\necological message without hammering it over the heads of viewers. It stars\nHitoshi Omika, Ryo Nishikawa and Ryuji Kosaka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GHOSTS OF RED RIDGE \u2013 Set in a dying Gold Rush town in 1876,\nthis western tells the story of a sheriff dealing with a past trauma and\nfeeling sad for the downtrodden residents. When a gang of angry outlaws arrive\nwanting to take revenge on the area for also leaving them impoverished and\ndesperate, the lawman is forced to rise to the occasion and take them down.\nThis independent, low-budget effort appears to be debuting on disc and\nstreaming sites. No major press reviews have appeared, but there are a couple\nof online write-ups available. One states that despite the minimal budget, the\nfilm provides a few unique moments as characters deal with ghosts of the past.\nAnother states the movie is disappointing, failing to deliver any surprises,\nthrills or drama. The cast includes Owen Williams, Trent Culkin, Griffin Wad\nand Mercedes Peterson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN \u2013 The Dark Horse Comics character\nHellboy first debuted on the big screen 20 years ago courtesy of director\nGuillermo del Toro (Pan\u2019s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water<\/em>). This is a\nreboot of the character from another filmmaker that begins in the 1950s with\nthe title character employed at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.\nHe and his partner follow the trail of a mysterious entity terrorizing locals\nwith nightmarish visions. The latest attempt to rebrand the character did not\ngo over well with critics. Slightly more than one-third stated that the film\nwas accurate to the source material and delivered enough chills and action to\nearn it a recommendation. But the consensus on the movie was that it lacked\nthrills and excitement. They thought it looked cheap, choppy and was hard to\nfollow, becoming dull and dreary as it lurched forward. It features Jack Kesy,\nJefferson White, Adeline Rudolph, Leah McNamara, Joseph Marcell and Martin\nBassindale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX \u2013 This sequel to the 2019 Oscar-winner\n(for Best Actor and Original Score) Joker<\/em> sees the popular DC villain\nincarcerated at Arkham State Hospital. He is eventually put on trial for his\ncrimes from the previous film. Bored, he begins to imagine the legal\nproceedings as musical numbers. The Joker also takes note of a superfan who wants\nto get to know him better. This big budgeted follow-up was a commercial flop.\nIt didn\u2019t impress reviewers either. One-third of them called the movie bold, clever\nand original, stating that it subverted expectations and asked questions about\nobsessive fandom. However, most were put off by the tone, stating that the film\nseemed determined to annoy viewers and didn\u2019t have much of note to say. They\nalso suggested there was little chemistry between the leads. Multiple editions\nof the film will be available, including a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Steelbook, a\n4K Ultra HD-only edition, and a standalone Blu-ray. Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga,\nZazie Beetz, Steve Coogan, Brendan Gleeson and Catherine Keener headline the\npicture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n OMNI LOOP \u2013 A quantum physicist studying time travel wants\nthe ability to go and repair her own personal relationships. The protagonist\nfinds a way, but ends up in a loop which only allows her to repeat the same\nweek in her life over and over again. After visiting a doctor, the physicist\nalso discovers she has a black hole growing inside her body. She tells a gifted\nstudent about her problem, and the youngster tries to figure out how to save\nher. This independent science-fiction\/comedy\/drama earned solid notices. A\nhandful of reviewers did take issue with the second half, noting that the story\nbecame repetitive and was also blunt in delivering its message. Still, everyone\nelse thought the two leads were a great onscreen pair and that the movie\npresented a unique take on time travel that was bittersweet and moving. For the\ntime being, this is a DVD-only release. It stars Mary-Louise Parker, Ayo\nEdebiri and Carlos Jacott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PIECE BY PIECE \u2013 Hugely popular musician Pharrell Williams shares his life story in this documentary. Told entirely through animation, all of the individuals are LEGO figures. Viewers see the artist\u2019s childhood, the way he sees music, and those who inspired him. Then, the picture shows how he broke into the music industry and depicts stories of him creating hit songs with various collaborators. The press generally enjoyed the picture. A small segment believed that the movie was too self-congratulatory and simply jumped from hit to hit, failing to give much insight into the artist\u2019s process. However, the majority liked the unconventional way that this documentary was put together. They admired the look of the film and claimed that the end result was effective and surprisingly inspirational. Besides Williams, the voice cast includes Morgan Neville, Kendrick Lamar, Gwen Stefani, Timbaland, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Daft Punk, Busta Rhymes and many more. You can read a full review of this movie here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n SLEEP \u2013 This horror\/dark comedy from South Korea is about a\nrecently married wife. After getting pregnant, she begins hearing weird noises\nfrom the other side of the bed. The woman soon learns that her new husband has\na horrible sleepwalking condition in which he acts out unpredictably. Worried\nthat he may harm himself, her or their unborn baby, she goes about trying to\ncure the condition with science, and then spiritualists. Critics gave this\nforeign-language film high marks. One or two took issue with the shifting\ntone and thought the story ultimately went in a formulaic direction. Yet, the\nvast majority thought it was extremely well written and effective. They stated\nthat the relatable concept pulled them in and that the movie became creepier\nand creepier as it progressed, delivering a memorable finale. It features Jung\nYu-Mi and Lee Sun-Kyun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TERRIFIER 3 \u2013 The graphic low-budget independent slasher Terrifier<\/em>\nshocked horror fans in 2016. A 2022 sequel received a theatrical release and\ndeveloped an even bigger following. So much so that the third movie in the\nseries became a box office smash, earning almost $90 million worldwide against\na $2 million dollar budget. The plot follows a supernatural killer named Art\nthe Clown. This follow-up takes place 5 years after part two during Christmas,\nas the antagonist and a possessed individual hunt down the survivor of the\nprevious entry. They also violently slaughter any individual they encounter\nalong the way. This sequel fared better than previous installments with\nreviewers. One-quarter said there was no one in the film to relate to, and that\nthe nonsensical, over-the-top murder set pieces were dopey instead of scary.\nStill, the majority stated that this follow-up was yet another improvement on\nits predecessor. They called it memorably depraved and found the slaughter\nscenes creatively captured and darkly humorous. The title can be purchased as a\n4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo pack, a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Steelbook, a 4K\nUltra HD and Blu-ray box set, and as a Blu-ray only release. David Howard\nThornton, Lauren LaVera, Elliott Fullam and Samantha Scaffidi headline the\nmovie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TRANSFORMERS ONE \u2013 The popular Hasbro toy line gets a movie reboot in this animated action\/adventure that tells the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron. Working in the mines of the planet Cybertron, the two friendly, sentient robots aspire to live above ground like others residing on the surface. The leads uncover a dark conspiracy about their leader and ultimately process the information differently, leading to a break in their friendship. Notices were very good for this feature. In fact, they were the best the entire franchise has ever received. A small number wasn\u2019t sure if the film was for adults or children and couldn\u2019t help but feel it was just a toy advertisement. Everyone else was impressed, stating that the film was well-paced, delivering impressive action and zippy dialogue between the characters that made the story seem heartfelt. You can pick this title up in a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo or a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Steelbook pack. The voice cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Laurence Fishburne, Steve Buscemi and Jon Hamm. Read a full review of the movie by clicking this link.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s also a busy week for upgrades of some older films. Arrow Video is releasing Demolition Man<\/em> (1993) as a \u201cLimited Edition\u201d 4K Ultra HD and separately as a \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray. The movie stars Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes as a tough cop and psychotic criminal who are cryogenically frozen. When the killer awakens in a violence-free future, he takes advantage of the situation and causes chaos. The policeman is then unfrozen to help deal with the situation. There\u2019s big action and a strong satirical element to this picture as it tackles social themes in an amusing way. The supporting cast of future stars includes Sandra Bullock, Nigel Hawthorne, Benjamin Bratt, Denis Leary, Rob Schneider and a very brief appearance by a young Jack Black. Want to know more about this release? Click here to read all about the disc!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/DVD-Apprentice-fixed.jpg\")
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\n BLASTS FROM THE PAST!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/DVD-Demolition-Man-image-fixed.jpg\")
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