{"id":30403,"date":"2025-01-06T12:39:24","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T20:39:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=30403"},"modified":"2025-01-06T12:39:24","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T20:39:24","slug":"4k-ultra-hd-blu-ray-and-dvd-roundup-for-january-7th-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=30403","title":{"rendered":"4K Ultra HD\/Blu-ray and DVD Roundup for January 7th, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to another look at highlights arriving on 4K Ultra\nHD, Blu-ray and DVD. This edition may not have a great many new arrivals, but\nthere are a couple of big films and some interesting independent fare. So, if\nyou can\u2019t make it out to the movies this week, be sure to give one of these\ntitles a try!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BIG NEW RELEASES!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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ARMOR \u2013 An armored truck is stopped and trapped on a bridge,\nsurrounded by heavily armed hijackers. The two drivers initially try to take\ncover until help arrives, but the vehicle is toppled, leaving them no escape.\nThe pair still deny entry to the robbers and try to figure out why they are\nbeing attacked and how to fight back. It all leads to an intense fnal\nconfrontation. The press universally panned this action\/thriller. All of them\nsaid that while the movie had an interesting premise, claustrophobic setting,\nand a strong cast, it failed to do anything with the setup. They continued that\nthe story didn\u2019t make much sense and that the action wasn\u2019t dynamically shot or\nedited, leaving the entire film feeling bland and overstretched. It stars Jason\nPatric, Sylvester Stallone, Dash Mihok, Josh Wiggins, Laney Taylor, Erin\nOwnbey, Jeff Chase and Martin Bats Bradford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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BEYOND THE WASTELAND \u2013 Not to be confused with the recent\ndocumentary about the Mad Max<\/em> franchise, this science-fiction feature is\nan international co-production between North Macedonia, Croatia, France, Kosovo\nand Luxembourg that was released outside of North America as M<\/em>. A young\nboy named Marko escapes a pandemic with his father and spends years living in\nan isolated forest. After a personal tragedy, he leaves, encounters another\nyoung survivor and crosses paths with desperate, violent adults. As they head\nback to civilization, it seems that much of humanity has been turned into\nzombie-like monsters. There aren\u2019t any notices for the film in this part of the\nworld but European write-ups were decent. Many stated that the film was\nwell-directed and quite tense, although they felt that the first half was much\nstronger than the second section. Matej Sivakov, Sasko Kocev, Aleksandar\nNichovski and Kamika Tocinovski headline the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CARVILLE: WINNING IS EVERYTHING, STUPID \u2013 Democratic\nstrategist James Carville is the subject of this documentary. It tells the\nstory of this outspoken figure\u2019s professional and personal life, masterminding\nBill Clinton\u2019s successful presidential campaign in 1992 all the way to his\nrecent attempts to help the party after a calamitous debate performance last\nfall. The movie also details Carville\u2019s marriage to former Republican\nconsultant Mary Matalin. Most reviewers liked the feature. They stated that\nwhile it didn\u2019t deliver any revelations and was unintentionally depressing\ngiven what eventually transpired in the 2024 election, it was generally\nentertaining and provided an interesting look at a dynamic figure and at what\noccurs behind the scenes during political races. For the time being, this is a\nDVD-only release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SATURDAY NIGHT \u2013 The famous late-night sketch comedy program\nSaturday Night Live<\/em> has now been on the air for 50 years, and this\nbiopic dramatizes what happened during the chaotic premiere of the show.\nAudiences follow producer Lorne Michaels backstage as he tries to deal with\nnervous executives, censorship, difficult star personalities and other\nproduction issues hours before the show\u2019s first live national broadcast.\nCritics were generally upbeat about what they witnessed. About one-fifth\nclaimed that the movie was overstuffed and didn\u2019t have an important message or\npurpose. However, the majority called the film tightly-paced and exciting to\nwatch, with the performers doing marvelous takes on the program\u2019s\npersonalities. They also thought it effectively showed how something legendary\ncould be produced in a madhouse environment thanks to creative solutions, as\nwell as a bit of luck. It features Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory\nMichael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O\u2019Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne\nMorris, Kim Matua, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Jon Batiste\nand Willem Dafoe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D\u2019ETAT \u2013 In 1960, the U.S. State\nDepartment and the CIA helped orchestrate a coup in Congo that resulted in the\nassassination of the country\u2019s leader. To do so, various American jazz artists\nlike Louis Armstrong and other famous performers were sent to the African\nnation to serve as a distraction while their plot was undertaken. The synopsis\nof this documentary states that it uses eyewitness accounts, official\ngovernment memos, testimonies from mercenaries and CIA operatives, speeches from\nLumumba himself, and a veritable canon of jazz icons to tell the story.\nWrite-ups for the movie were excellent. One reviewer thought the moviemakers\nbecame distracted by the music and lost control of the narrative being told.\nAll others stated that while it required the full attention of viewers, this\nwas a remarkable story that was thrillingly told and filled with incredible\nmusic. Some thought it was among the best documentaries of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WE LIVE IN TIME \u2013 This UK drama tells the story of a couple, from their unexpected first meeting, all the way through an incredibly difficult time following a dire medical prognosis. The tale is presented out of sequence, jumping from the present, to the past, and various points in between, showing significant highlights in their lives. The press gave this feature more recommendations than negative write-ups. About one-fifth commented that the unusual storytelling technique took them out of the drama, while a few others suggested the film tried too hard to elicit an emotional response from them. Still, most thought it was an interesting and engaging effort with wonderful performances that really sold the emotional stakes. They also believed it made a lasting impression with its idea that seemingly small moments in life can have great significance. The movie stars Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh, Grace Delaney, Lee Braithwaite, Aoife Hinds and Adam James. Read a full review of the film here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BLASTS FROM THE PAST!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s a little quiet this week on the older title rerelease\nschedule, but there are a few notable releases coming before things get busy\nagain. Arrow Video is releasing the Japanese horror anthology Rampo Noir<\/em>\n(2005) on Blu-ray. The four stories in this feature (all from different\ndirectors) are adapted from the works of popular genre writer Edogawa Rampo and\ninvolve nasty events like a man walking through a desolate landscape, a\ndetective investigating murders in which the victim\u2019s faces are charred, a\nwounded veteran being tortured by his wife and a woman who her chauffeur.\nExtras include a film historian commentary track, numerous cast and crew\ninterviews, a making-of documentary, a collection of image galleries, as well\nas an insert booklet with essays on the movie and a fold-out poster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Akira Kurosawa classics Yojimbo<\/em> (1961) and Sanjuro<\/em>\n(1962) will be arriving as a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray set from Criterion. The\nfirst features a ronin warrior who arrives in a town and gets himself embroiled\nin the middle of a gang war. He uses the situation to his advantage, switching\nsides whenever it serves his own purposes. The second title involves a samurai\nusing his wits to help a boy save his uncle, who has been arrested by a corrupt\ngovernment official. Besides the 4K picture upgrades, bonuses include movie\nscholar commentary tracks on the pictures, making-of documentaries, teasers and\ntrailers, still galleries, in addition to essays about the importances of these\nJapanese masterpieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s Get Lost<\/em> (1988) is a documentary about famous\njazz trumpeter-singer Chet Baker, a tragic figure whose drug addiction\nultimately led him down a dark path. It features rare footage from his heyday\nin the 1950s along with images of him during his final years in the 1980s. The\npicture has been given a 4K restoration and the disc includes a number of\nadditional shorts by the director and a trailer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shout! Factory is giving the very entertaining Drag Me to\nHell<\/em> (2009) a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Walmart exclusive Steelbook release.\nIf you haven\u2019t seen the picture, it\u2019s about a bank employee yearning for a\npromotion. When she tries to impress her boss by getting tough with an elderly\nwoman, she ends up having to deal with a gypsy curse. This wildly fun and\nvisually striking feature from Sam Raimi (the Evil Dead <\/em>and original Spider-Man<\/em>\nseries) includes all previously released extras like the unrated and theatrical\ncuts all in 4K, commentaries and more, but in new packaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same is true for the cult classic Motel Hell<\/em>\n(1980). This 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Walmart exclusive Steelbook contains the\nbest available image quality as well as the previously released director\ncommentary, cast and crew interviews and more. If you haven\u2019t seen it, it\u2019s\nabout a remote inn that secretly uses guests as part of the dinner menu. It\nfeatures a very memorable climactic chainsaw duel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After the financial success of Avatar<\/em> in 2009, 3D pictures were starting to make a comeback. One of the titles that followed was the thriller Sanctum<\/em> (2011), about a cave diving team who get lost in an unexplored series of underwater caverns. While the 3D craze appears to have ended for now, the distributor is putting out a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo of the film. The original elements have been used for this 4K 2D transfer, and it comes with a new movie expert commentary track, an archived cast and crew commentary, deleted scenes, and various featurettes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And Warner Bros. is giving The Lord of the Rings: The\nFellowship of the Rings<\/em> (2001) a 4K Ultra HD only Walmart exclusive\nSteelbook release. The extended and theatrical cuts are included with the\nhighest possible image quality. It doesn\u2019t look like this edition contains as\nmany bonuses are previous versions. For those interested, it\u2019s a safe bet that\nthe other films in the series will soon arrive as Walmart exclusive Steelbooks\nas well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Se7en<\/em> (1995) recently received a successful IMAX\nrerelease, and now Warner Bros. is putting it out for purchase as a 4K Ultra HD\nor as a 4K Ultra HD in Steelbook packaging. This incredible thriller from David\nFincher (Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network<\/em>) about two detectives\nseeking out a killer who uses the seven deadly sins as inspiration for his\nhorrendous acts, has been given a new restoration supervised by the director.\nMost of the extras from the previous 2010 Blu-ray of the film are also included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

YOU KNOW, FOR KIDS!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looks like another slow edition for kid\u2019s entertainment, but\nthings will soon pick up considerably!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ON THE TUBE!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a list of the week\u2019s TV-related releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Biltmore Christmas<\/em> (Hallmark) DVD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Merry Scottish Christmas<\/em> (Hallmark) DVD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miracle in Bethlehem, PA<\/em> (Hallmark) DVD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATURE: Dracula\u2019s Hidden Kingdom<\/em> (PBS) DVD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time for Her to Come Home for Christmas<\/em> (Hallmark)\nDVD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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