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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBIRTHRITE \u2013 A pregnant woman inherits a house from her\ndeceased aunt. She and her girlfriend decide to leave the big city and make a\nnew start at the impressive country locale. It all seems gorgeous, before\na tradesman begins to tell the pair about all the strange past of the house.\nRumors even suggest it was a coven for witches and that children disappeared\nthere. Soon, the new residents and their unborn child are threatened by a\nmysterious force. Only a few members of the press have seen this independent\nhorror film, but most have given it a recommendation. A small number wrote that\nthe film was plodding and predictable, taking too long to get to the thrills\nand chills. Still, the majority called it quiet, yet atmospheric and creepy,\nwith well written characters and interesting themes. It stars Alice Kremelberg,\nJuani Feliz, Michael Chernus and Jennifer Lafleur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBOYS GO TO JUPITER \u2013 A quirky suburban Florida teenager\nquits school and takes a job in order to make enough money to pay for his own\nplace. He works as a delivery boy and ends up meeting all sorts of eccentric\nclients as he tries to earn his way in the world. This independent,\nadult-animated feature played at various film festivals over the past year and\na half and was very well-regarded by critics. A very small group of reviewers\ncouldn\u2019t get on the movie\u2019s oddball wavelength and wrote that the film was a\ndisjointed mess. Everyone else raved about the picture. They thought that this\ncoming-of-age story was completely original, with a unique vision that won them\nover very quickly. They claimed it was filled with sweetness, humor and a bit\nof sorrow and that the unusual scenarios were entertaining to watch. The voice\ncast includes Jack Corbett, Grace Kuhlenschmidt, Elsie Fisher, Janeane\nGarofalo, Tavi Gavinson and Julio Torres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nA DESERT \u2013 A photographer decides to take a trip to the\nMojave Desert and get some impressive images. While out in the quiet landscape,\nhe runs into a brother and sister who start giving him a lengthy history about\nthe area. The pair insist the cameraman take their picture and the three end up\nat a motel, where things get even stranger and more threatening when the lead\ntries to extricate himself from the two. The notices for this film were\npositive overall. A small number of write-ups described the movie as being so\nslow that it was not worth the final revelation. Regardless, the majority\ncalled the independent chiller a grim and disturbing neo-noir that keeps you\nguessing about what exactly is going on. They also noted that the climax left\nthem appropriately disturbed. It features David Yow, Kai Lennox, Sarah Lind,\nZachary Ray Sherman and Ashley Smith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nDUNGEONS OF ECSTASY \u2013 The latest direct-to-disc and\nstreaming effort from independent producer Charles Band (The Dungeonmaster<\/em>,\nTrancers<\/em>, and The Gingerdead Man<\/em> and Evil Bong<\/em> series) is\nan erotic thriller. After a journalist survives a car crash, she decides to\nrecuperate at a remote Italian village. She meets a man who resembles her\nex-husband and is taken captive by him. The figure leads her to the title\nlocation for a series of \u201csensual trials\u201d. A shorter version of this picture\nwas released with a vertical image (presumably for viewing on phones), but now\na feature-length widescreen version is appearing on disc. No critics have seen\nthe picture. It\u2019s probably for the best given the plot synopsis, which sounds\nlike a low-budget Fifty Shades of Grey<\/em> knock-off. The cast includes\nNicole Mattox, Eric Guilmette and Mark Aaron.r<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE ENCAMPMENTS \u2013 This documentary chronicles the 2024\nstudent protests at Columbia University. Hundreds who opposed the bombings in\nGaza demanded a ceasefire and an economic boycott of Israel until the bombing\nstopped. The leaders of the movement are interviewed, as well as university\nprofessors. The movie also deals with other protests, and the detaining of the\ngraduate student and leader of the Columbia effort, who was taken by ICE and is\ncurrently fighting deportation. For the most part, response to the feature was\npositive. One or two notices complained that while the message was a good one,\nthe film needed to offer more perspectives on what occurred. All others called\nthe film an important work that showed how the message of the protests were\nbeing distorted. They hoped the movie would help inform more on what exactly\noccurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n IN OUR BLOOD \u2013 A filmmaker decides to make a documentary\nabout her estranged mother, who was a drug addict and appeared to be suffering\nfrom paranoia. She and a cameraman travel to a facility to interview the woman,\nbut are surprised to discover that she has disappeared. The two set out to find\nout what happened. In the process, they begin to wonder if some of her\ndisturbing claims might be true. This independent horror picture has only been\nseen by a handful of critics so far, but reaction has been uniformly upbeat.\nThey complimented the performances and suggested that the story gripped them\nfrom beginning to end. Several believed that it built up a great deal of\nsuspense, that the finale was eerie and that this was an above-average\nfound-footage feature. Brittany O\u2019Grady, E.J. Bonilla and Alana Ubach headline\nthe feature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n MAN FINDS TAPE \u2013 There is a second independent,\nfound-footage chiller arriving this week. As the title suggests, this effort\nbegins with a Texas man recording himself after finding a mysterious box of\ntapes that include secretly recorded footage of various persons\u2026 including\nhimself. He attempts to investigate who photographed him and others as well as\nfigure out what the purpose was. Everything appears to be tied to a local\npastor, leading to a horrifying discovery. Those who reviewed the picture were\ngenerally positive. A small number of write-ups thought that the set-up was\nstrong, but that the final act was a disappointment. Still, the majority called\nthe film atmospheric and that it successfully pulled off a few chilling twists\nand kept them guessing right to the climax. It stars John Gholson, Christine V.\nHall, Nell Kessler, Mia King and William Magnusson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RESCUE AT DONGJI \u2013 Released in other parts of the world as Dongji\nRescue<\/em>, this Chinese war-time thriller is based on a true story (referred\nto in the east as the Lisbon Maru shipwreck). During World War II, a Japanese\ncargo ship carrying nearly two-thousand British prisoners of war was torpedoed\nby the US Navy. The tale follows a group of Chinese fishermen who attempt to\nsave the lives of survivors and protect them after Japanese forces arrive and\nsearch the area. The film was nominated for awards in its homeland for its\nvisual effects, and received decent reviews. A few have called the movie a\ndepthless and unmemorable war picture, but the majority commented that it was a\ncompelling effort. They admired its attempts to tell a complicated story and\nfind heroism from unexpected places. The cast includes Yilong Zhu, Lei Wu, Ni\nNi, Haoyu Yang, Minghao Chen, William Franklyn-Miller and Kevin Lee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE SECRET LIVES OF BILL BARTELL \u2013 This independent\ndocumentary is also arriving for purchase this week. It attempts to tell the\nstory of L.A. figure Bartell, who is described as a musician (who was part of\nthe early 1980s punk rock band White Flag<\/em>), a record label owner, as\nwell as police officer, rodeo bull rider, attention-seeking recluse, and the\nultimate fan-boy. According to the makers of this feature, many notable\nperformers knew him, including Sean Lennon, Kurt Cobain, KISS, Iron Maiden, The\nMelvins, Shonen Knife, and even Quentin Tarantino. Unfortunately, few got the\nfull picture of who he really was. Through extensive archival footage and\ninterviews, Bill’s friends and collaborators compare notes on what they knew\nand what Bill kept hidden from them. Few have seen this picture, but its\ndirector (who also made 1991: The Year Punk Broke<\/em>) attempts to paint a\nfull portrait of the man. If you\u2019re interested, you can now pick it up on\nBlu-ray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SHE WAS HERE \u2013 Also released as Heather O\u2019Rourke: She Was\nHere<\/em>, this documentary tells the story of child performer O\u2019Rourke. She\nmade a strong impression with audiences in the early 1980s, thanks to recurring\nroles in television shows like Happy Days<\/em> and Webster.<\/em> Yet she\nwas most famous for playing Carol Anne Freeling in the Poltergeist <\/em>movie\nseries. Sadly, the youngster passed away at the age of 12 after contracting\ngiardiasis and suffering from various intestinal complications, including\nsepsis. This documentary tells her life story and features interviews with\nfamily members, as well as co-stars like Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Wiliams, Zach\nGalligan and director Gary Sherman. The film also goes into specifics about her\ntragic passing, which a few media sources falsely claimed was part of a curse\naffecting members of the Poltergeist<\/em> film series. This picture hasn\u2019t\nbeen seen by critics yet, but may be of interest to those who remember the\nactress and her films. It is a DVD-only release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE TIME IT TAKES \u2013 This Italian\/French drama is a biopic\nfrom filmmaker Francesca Comencini (Mi Piace Lavorare<\/em> aka Mobbing<\/em>)\nand tells her story growing up on film sets with her father (who worked on\nnumerous productions). The story focuses on her time with her dad on the set of\na famous Pinocchio<\/em> adaptation, her later addiction to drugs, and how her\npop guided her through these rough periods in her life. The film was nominated\nfor numerous awards in its home country, but hasn\u2019t been seen by many reviewers\noutside of Italy. One North American critic found the movie excessively\nself-contemplative and tired of it quickly. However, all others were impressed\nby the character drama and called the film an intriguing and honest examination\nof adolescence. For now, this is a DVD-only release. It features Romana\nMaggiora Vergano, Fabrizio Gifuni and Daniele Monterosi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AN UNFINISHED FILM \u2013 A filmmaker in Wuhan, China decides to\ncomplete a movie he started ten years earlier, bringing his cast and crew back\ntogether to resume shooting. But just as they\u2019re about to get underway,\nCOVID-19 forces everyone into lockdown at their hotel. The group are suddenly\nforced to deal with the unexpected challenges that result, including being\nseparated from their families. This Singapore production played at major film\nfestivals like Cannes and received awards. Critical reception to the movie was\ngood, but not as euphoric as on the festival circuit. Not quite one-quarter of\nthem found the pacing sluggish and the story overly melodramatic. However, the\nmajority described the picture as an interesting take of the good and bad that\noccurred in China during the lockdown. Hai Qin, Xiaorui Mao, Xi Qi, Xuan Huang\nand Ming Liang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BLASTS FROM THE PAST!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n So many older titles are being released this week that it\u2019s\ngoing to be difficult to get through them all, but I\u2019ll do my best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first title is the iconic Excalibur<\/em> (1981) which\nis being given a \u201cLimited Edition\u201d 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video, as well a\n\u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray. This is an incredible British feature about the\nlegend of folk hero King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. In fact, if\nyou ask me, it\u2019s the best adaptation, telling Arthur\u2019s life story and the\nnumerous challenges he faced. The film was directed by John Boorman (Point\nBlank, Hell in the Pacific, Deliverance, Zardoz, The Emerald Forest, Hope and\nGlory, The General<\/em>), stars Nigel Terry, Cherie Lunghi, Helen Mirren,\nGabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson and Nicol Williamson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll get a 4K Ultra HD restoration of the original 35mm\ncamera negative presented in Dolby Vision. The theatrical cut contains two new\ncommentaries from John Boorman authorities, as well as an archival track from\nBoorman himself. The accompanying Blu-ray contains a never-before-released\ndocumentary on the production that was directed by a young Neil Jordan (The\nCrying Game, Interview with the Vampire, Ondine<\/em>), a new interview with\nJordan, a new interview with 93-year-old Boorman and his son, Charlie Boorman\n(who played Mordred). A recent talk with the production designer is also\nincluded, as well as one with 2nd<\/sup> unit director Peter MacDonald (who\nlater helmed Rambo III)<\/em>. There are new film historian featurettes\nincluded as well, trailers and an image gallery. Additionally, a third Blu-ray\ncontains a 50-minute retrospective documentary from a little more than a decade\nago featuring most of the cast. A shorter, TV-version of the movie with\nalternate narration is also included. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It all comes with a booklet featuring more writing on the movie, a double-sided fold-out poster with original and newly commissioned art, and six postcard-sized artcards. And if you don\u2019t have a 4K Ultra HD player, a Blu-ray version is also available. Read a full review of the release here. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Arrow Video is also reissuing True Romance<\/em> (1993) as\na \u201cSpecial Edition\u201d 4K Ultra HD and a \u201cSpecial Edition\u201d Blu-ray. A \u201cLimited\nEdition\u201d was available last year but sold out, so this is a newer edition. With\nthe exception of elaborate packaging and posters, etc., the contents of the\ndiscs should be similar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The memorable science-fiction feature Westworld<\/em>\n(1973) is arriving as a \u201cLimited Edition\u201d 4K Ultra HD, as well as a \u201cLimited\nEdition\u201d Blu-ray. This picture was written and directed by Michael Crichton\n(who later wrote Jurassic Park) and features a group of tourists as a\ntheme-park filled with robots that resemble humans. The bots soon go haywire\nand terrorize the customers. For this release, the original 35mm camera\nnegative was scanned and restored in 4K and is presented in Dolby Vision.\nBonuses include a new film historian commentary, a recently recorded\nconversation with star Richard Benjamin, an interview with actor James Brolin,\nand a talk with the producer. A new video essay and appreciation of the movie\nis also included, as well as an archival behind-the-scenes featurette, a\n48-minute pilot for a TV series based on the film, and promo materials.\nAdditionally, you\u2019ll receive a booklet with new essays on the feature, a\ndouble-sided fold-out poster with original and newly commissioned artwork, and\nsix postcard-sized artcards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Radiance Films is presenting more fantastic features from around the globe. This week, you can purchase the Greek feature Iphigenia<\/em> (1977), which follows a group of Athenians attempting to rescue Helen of Troy from Paris. The Blu-ray promises a high-definition digital transfer of the movie, a recent interview with a Greek film expert, an archival interview with the director and the star, and a booklet with new writing on the move. It all comes in packaging with a reversible sleeve containing new and original art for the picture. Read a full review of this disc right here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Japanese Godfather Trilogy<\/em> is a Blu-ray box set containing the crime pictures Japanese Godfather<\/em> (1977), Japanese Godfather II: Ambition<\/em> (1977) and Japanese Godfather III: Conclusion<\/em> (1978). In addition to high-definition digital transfers of the movies, you will receive an archival interview with the director, a new discussion with the screenwriter, a recently recorded appreciation of the film with Japanese moviemaker Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, and trailers. Of course, a booklet is included with writing on the features, and a reversible sleeve with artwork based on original promotional materials. You can read a detailed review of the set including all three pictures by clicking on this link.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DVD-Encampments-fixed.jpg\")
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