It’s time for another look at the highlights coming your way on DVD and Blu-ray. This list includes a couple of big summer releases as well as plenty of independent fare. So if you can’t make it out to the movies this week, be sure to give one of these titles a try!
Big New Releases!
Beep: A Documentary History of Game Sound - Like video games? Seems like you’d better if you want to appreciate this non-fiction effort. Over the two-hour running time, the filmmakers trace the history of music and sound in games, starting all the way back in Victorian penny arcades and following it through the decades to modern times. It also features interviews with composers and sound designers.
Blood Father - An ex-con and recovering alcoholic gets a shock when he learns that his wayward 17-year-old daughter is being hunted down by a drug cartel. Dad steps in, using his own criminal past and connections to make sure they don’t go down without a fight. Critics were complimentary about this pulpy, violent action-thriller. While they stated it wasn’t the most original story in the world, they called it an effective little B-movie with strong, charismatic performances from its leads. They include Mel Gibson, William H. Macy, and Miguel Sandoval.
Les Cowboys - The Cowboys is a French film with an intriguing idea — a modern Gallic drama with a Western tinge. This tale of an estranged family follows the efforts of a father (who loves all things cowboy-related) and his attempts to find his lost daughter. His son also ends up taking on the search, which takes him to the Middle East. Notices were quite strong for this release, calling it unusual and unpredictable, with interesting insights into a post 9/11 world.
Ghostbusters - This reboot sure caused a lot of controversy among bloggers and got plenty of press as well; I supposed many didn’t realize just how beloved the original was. While admitting it wasn’t as strong as its inspiration and was only intermittently funny, several enjoyed the laughs that did work. The cast includes Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth, and Cecily Strong.
Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party - Well, the audience for this effort is pretty specific — the far, far, far right. It’s a dubious “documentary” that posits bizarre theories about the Democratic Party and the current Presidential nominee’s motivations. And almost no members of the press liked the movie, criticizing it for being pure rhetoric and lacking in coherence or even basic facts.
Ice Age: Collision Course - With a meteor threatening their existence, a group of dinosaurs travel to outer space to impede the rock’s progress. It’s the fourth sequel in the animated family series and it has garnered the worst reviews thus far. Apparently, it will entertain only the youngest of viewers.
The Infiltrator - Based on a true story, a U.S. customs agent is sent undercover as a businessman in the hopes of infiltrating the world of drug cartel Pablo Escobar. As expected, the job endangers the man’s life at every turn as he interacts with bigger figures in the organization. Write-ups were generally positive about the drama, complimenting the cast’s work as impressive... even if several felt the story was a bit generic and could have gone into more behind-the-scenes detail. It stars Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Diane Kruger, Benjamin Bratt, Amy Ryan, and Olympia Dukakis.
The Legend of Tarzan - The classic Edgar Rice Burroughs character gets a modern update in this new adventure. The plot involves the newly married Lord Greystroke being lured with wife Jane back to Africa. The pair gets into trouble after investigating a nasty entrepreneur and his mining operation. Critics were split on this updating, with more leaning toward the negative. While a few enjoyed its attempts at modernization, more believed that the character’s return had not been asked for and didn’t work in a blockbuster framework.
Blasts From the Past!
It’s another great week for introducing classic titles in high definition. Arrow Films is a distributor that has been mention before in this column. This week, they have two great scare flicks arriving on Blu-ray. Dark Water (2002) is actually a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. This is an effective little supernatural horror flick about a divorced mom and her young child who move into a creepy apartment complex with plenty of water leaks. They also begin seeing a ghostly figure in the halls. It’s an effective tale with great atmosphere.
Arrow also has a Blu-ray for the Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street, the Scream series and countless others) horror classic, The Hills Have Eyes (1977). It’s about a family whose camper breaks down in the desert. They’re soon targeted by a nasty group of feral characters and must fight for their lives. It’s an incredibly intense and effective picture that was very disturbing and edgy in its day.
Criterion has a new, extras-packed Blu-ray of Richark Linklater’s drama, Boyhood (2014). This film chronicled the life of its main character from childhood to adulthood, all in real time over a period of 12 years.
They are also bringing the Robert Altman (MASH, Nashville, The Player) Western McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) to high definition. This one is about the goings on at a frontier town brothel and features Warren Beatty and Julie Christie as the title characters. The movie is renowned for its unusually gritty, realistic, and beautiful photography. If you pick it up, you’ll be rewarded with a new 4K restoration of the film elements, along with an audio commentary from 2002 featuring director Robert Altman and producer David Foster, and more.
Shout! Factory has a couple of fantastic scary flicks that they’re giving the special treatment to. They’ve put it out before, but never quite like this. Carrie (1976) is one of the most famous horror flicks of its time, about a telekinetic high school student who eventually turns on the nasty student body.
And they’re giving the same treatment to John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982). Another classic (and one of the best remakes ever) this tale involves a group of researchers in Antarctica who find an alien mimic infiltrating their base, copying them, and wiping each person out one by one. The paranoia between characters, as well as the cold and uniquely remote environment really set this one apart from others of its ilk.
And that’s not all, folks. It isn’t a great picture, but those with a taste for B-movie drive-in fare can now pick up The Astro Zombies (1968) on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino. Film Movement Classics has a high-definition transfer of the Japanese cult flick Violent Cop (1989), which marked the first starring role for actor Takashi “Beat” Kitano.
The Salton Sea (2002) is a great little thriller with Val Kilmer as a trumpeter hanging in the seedy, drug-addict underbelly of Southern California. However, viewers soon find he has ulterior motives for his actions. Strictly Business (1991) is a romantic comedy that stars Halle Berry in an early role. Surviving the Game (1994) is an action thriller about a homeless man being hunted to death as sport. Of course, he fights back and eventually gets the better of his pursuers. That one has a great cast.
As for classic studio fare, Paramount is releasing It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) in a “Platinum Anniversary Edition” Blu-ray.
At Universal, your can pick up a couple of box sets and both definitely include some classics. The Clint Eastwood 4 Movie Thriller Collection includes The Beguiled (1971), Coogan’s Bluff (1968), The Eiger Sanction (1975) and Play Misty for Me (1971). The same studio is also releasing the Gregory Peck Centennial Collection, which includes two titles — Cape Fear (1962) and To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Both come with plenty of bonus features as well.
You Know, For Kids!
Listed below are some choices that might appeal to youngsters.
Adventure Time: Season 6 (Cartoon Network)
Doctor Strange (Marvel Animated Fetures)
Ice Age: Collision Course
The Kwicky Koala Show: The Complete Series (Warner Archive)
Pokemon: Master Quest: The Complete Collection
By Glenn Kay
For the Sun
