Welcome back for another look at highlights coming your way on Blu-ray and DVD. There certainly are some interesting and unusual flick arriving. So if you can’t make it out to the movies this week, be sure to give one these titles a try!
Big New Releases!
The Boy - In this horror flick, a young woman is hired as a nanny for a youngster at an old, eerie English estate. Things get even stranger when she discovers that’s she’s caring for a porcelain figure and that it seems to have a mind of its own. Reviews veered more towards the negative, with many feeling it relied too heavily on clichés. Personally, I didn’t mind it and feel like it’s a decent creeper (with a nice sting or two) that should satisfy horror fans. It stars Lauren Cohen, Rupert Evans, Jim Norton and Diana Hardcastle.
Creative Control - This small production from Amazon Studios uses black and white (as well as color photography) to tell a drama set in the future. It’s about a marketing man who uses new, augmented reality technology to conduct an affair with his best friend’s wife. Serious complications and troubles arise as a result. Critics were generally upbeat on this effort. Some found it a bit too emotionally cold and felt the satire didn’t work, but others stated it was an interesting effort with plenty of points to make. The cast includes Benjamin Dickinson, Nora Zehetner, Dan Gill, Alexia Rasmussen and Reggie Watts.
Deadpool - You might have heard of this flick. Based on the popular Marvel character, this R-rated X-men spin-off features a smart-talking, scarred superhero out to get revenge on the evil scientists who created him. He spouts a lot of rude quips as he dispatches bad guys. Notices and box office were surprisingly strong for the film. It has been written that if you don’t mind the violence and smug humor, you’re in for a fast and funny action flick. Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller and Gina Corano headline the feature.
Mustang - Set in a Turkish village, five sisters struggle with life and their extremely strict and conservative guardians. After spending the afternoon playing with boys they’re treated like prisoners in their own home and arranged to be married off. It leads the young women to react in different ways. The movie received raves from the press, who called its message powerful and praised the naturalistic work of the young cast. It ended up being nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at last year’s Academy Awards. Gunes Sensoy and Doga Zeynep Doguslu play two of the siblings.
Regression - This international thriller from the director of Thesis, The Others and The Sea Inside follows a detective investigating the sexual abuse of a teenage girl by her father. Using an experimental technique to regain memories from the participants, an even more sinister plot is revealed. Unlike the filmmaker’s previous titles, reviews were quite poor. Apparently, the majority felt that it didn’t generate enough tension or surprises to recommend. The cast includes Ethan Hawke, Emma Watson, David Thewlis and Aaron Ashmore.
Where to Invade Next - Michael Moore’s latest documentary didn’t get as big a push at theaters as some of his previous efforts. In it, he takes on the role of an invader and visits various nations in an attempt to determine what assets can be taken. Reviews were quite strong for the feature. There were a few who felt the humor was forced, but most called it a surprisingly gentle, optimistic and inspiring effort about the positive things that the US government can learn from other nations in regards to public welfare and foreign policy.
Blasts From the Past!
Kino have some noteworthy titles involving youngsters arriving on Blu-ray. The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976) is an eccentric little thriller starring Jodie Foster as a 13 year old who has moved to a small town along with her mysteriously unseen father. Unfortunately, she attracts the attention of a local creep (played by Martin Sheen) who wonders why no one has ever witnessed her parent around town.
Additionally, there’s a Blu-ray of The Manhattan Project (1986), a well reviewed flick that didn’t make a big impact at the box-office but has built a fan-base over the years. It’s about a brilliant high school student whose mom is dating a scientist working in a secret government weapons lab. He breaks in and steals plutonium, with the goal of building an atom bomb for the New York Science Fair and exposing the secret work. Naturally, federal agents become involved in trying to stop the protest. It stars John Lithgow, Christopher Collet and Cynthia Nixon.
Finally, Solarbabies (1986) is a notorious sci-fi fantasy that bombed at the box-office and has been out-of-print for several years. It involves a group of kids who live in the post-apocalyptic wasteland and get around on roller-skates - they try to stop a nasty and militant agency who are oppressing the citizens. The cast includes Jason Patric, Jami Gertz, Lukas Haas, James Le Gros, Charles Durning and Richard Jordan.
Shout! Factory have a new Blu-ray of You’ll Like My Mother (1972). This is a creepy little thriller starring Patty Duke as a pregnant widow goes to visit her in-laws for the first time. She ends up staying with them during a snowstorm and accidentally discovers some very disturbing family secrets. The disc features new interviews with cast members, photo gallery and a trailer.
Criterion have the Humphrey Bogart film-noir In A Lonely Place (1950). It arrives with a newly restored, high definition transfer. The actor plays a violent-tempered murder suspect who has his named cleared by a neighbor. Not long after, she begins to wonder if she didn’t make a huge mistake. The Blu-ray disc features extras that include a film historian audio commentary, a 1975 documentary about the film’s director, a 1948 radio adaptation of the source material and many other bonuses.
Horror low-budget B-movie fans, Mondo Macabro is releasing the English/Belgiamn horror flick Symptoms (1974), while Raro Video USA have the odd and atmospheric Italian thriller, The Perfume of the Lady in Black (1974).
Horror/sci-fi fans can also pick up a new Lionsgate DVD reissue of the David Cronenberg film, Existenz (1999). This is a dark satire set within a gaming world and exposing the addictive culture of video games. The subject matter and themes were several years ahead of the curve during its original release. Boy, does it hold up well. Personally, I think it stands as the director’s most underrated work. It stars Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ian Holm and Willem Dafoe.
Finally, Warner Archive have a Blu-ray of the Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor comedy, Father of the Bride (1950).
You Know, For Kids!
Here’s are some titles for youngsters.
Bubble Guppies: Fun on the Farm (Nickelodeon)
Scooby-Doo & Lego: Haunted Hollywood
By Glenn Kay
For the Sun