Welcome to another look at highlights arriving on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD. This is another huge edition with major titles, as well as several notable independents. There are plenty of options in numerous genres. So, if you can’t make it out to the movies this week, be sure to give one of these features a try!
BIG NEW RELEASES!
THE AMATEUR – An introverted decoder for the CIA has his life shattered after his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack. He wants to catch those responsible himself, but is told by employers that this is not possible. It is also implied that he doesn’t have the right personality to be a ruthless assassin. The protagonist goes rogue, hiring a contact to train him so that he can personally take revenge. This thriller earned slightly more positive notices than negative ones. About four out of ten reviewers stated that the story was both predictable and full of silly plot conveniences, and that the final product lacked a sense of tension or excitement. Still, the slight majority believed that the elaborate plans cooked up by the protagonist were interesting, and the performances very strong. They thought these elements also helped deliver convincing moments that dealt with grief. It stars Rami Malek, Laurence Fishburne, Rachel Brosnahan, Caitriona Balfe, Jon Bernthal and Michael Stuhlbarg.
HELL OF A SUMMER – A 24-year-old can’t get enough of the summer camp he attended as a child. Now a counselor there, he takes a lot of heat from parents and other counselors about his refusal to move forward in life. When a mysterious masked killer appears at the location and starts murdering the staff, suspicion falls upon the lead. He tries to alleviate their concerns by helping unmask the maniac and save the group before they’re all wiped out. This independent horror comedy split the press, but did earn a few more positive write-ups than negative ones. Those who disliked the film commented that it focused too much on old slasher movie references, and didn’t offer enough chills or laughs to earn a recommendation. But slightly more wrote that anyone expecting more of a silly comedy than a horror picture would be entertained, saying it was an amusing throwback with some memorable gags. The cast includes Adam Pally, Rosebud Baker, Fred Hechinger, Susan Coyne, D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai, Abby Quin, Krista Nazaire, alongside Billy Bryk and Finn Wolfhard (the pair co-wrote and co-directed the picture).
THE LEGEND OF OCHI – This unusual tale is set in a village on the island of Carpathia in Eastern Europe. The townspeople there are fearful of a strange beastly species that live in the woods, and even train the youth to help hunt them down and kill them. When one young girl discovers a wounded infant creature, she decides to help it reunite with its kind, and learns more about them in the process. She starts to believe that the beings have been misunderstood. Overall, critics seemed to like the picture. About one-quarter suggested that despite its noble intentions, the movie lacked a sense of wonder, the pacing was off, and the characters in the story were difficult to relate to. However, more stated that the cinematography and visual effects were very impressive, and that they found the tale unique and unexpectedly engaging to watch. It features Helena Zengel, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson and Finn Wolfhard. Read a full review of the movie right here.
LET’S START A CULT – A doomsday cult member gets a shock when he misses a mass suicide planned for his group. Still alive and now completely alone, the main character decides to track down his former cult leader. After locating the individual, he attempts to convince the old figurehead that they should start an all-new sect. They seek out troubled individuals and attempt to take advantage of the perks associated with being cult figureheads. This independent dark comedy has only been seen by a handful of reviewers so far, but response has been upbeat. One voice critiqued the feature for not making the most of its concept, relying on obvious, hackneyed jokes. However, the rest complimented the tone of the film, saying that it took a serious subject and managed to infuse its story with effectively quirky gags and unsettling observations about needful individuals. Stavros Halkias, Katy Fullan, Wes Haney, Eric Rahill, CM Punk and Ethan Suplee headline the feature.
ROSARIO – After her grandmother dies unexpectedly, a Wall Street stockbroker returns to the family matriarch’s apartment to clean up and make funeral arrangements. The protagonist finds a hidden chamber containing occult artifacts, suggesting that the lady may have been involved in unsettling cult rituals. She begins experiencing supernatural occurrences and realizes that the only way to stop the visions is to learn more about her grandma’s strange practices. Write-ups were more positive than negative for this independent chiller. About one-third of reviews thought the film had trouble building suspense, relying on an overuse of ineffective jump scares in order to shock viewers. Still, most called the movie atmospheric and well-acted, also admiring the way in which it presented Latino culture. For the time being, this is a DVD-only release. It stars Emeraude Toubia, David Dastmalchian, Paul Ben-Victor and José Zúñiga.
THE RULE OF JENNY PEN – A cruel and arrogant judge suffers a stroke and finds himself partially paralyzed. He is moved to a retirement home. Frustrated by his predicament, the lead takes his anger out on staff members and is rude to other residents. That is, until he meets someone else staying at the assisted living facility. This eccentric individual introduces the judge to a sadistic game involving a puppet and begins tormenting him. When the victimized man tells the staff, they don’t believe him, and he sets out to stop the cruel bully on his own. This independent thriller from New Zealand was generally well-received. Slightly more than one-quarter of critics found the picture overly bleak and repetitive, delivering its message in a blunt and unskillful manner. Still, the majority stated that the big actors in the film were compelling to watch. They also stated that the story and twisted games being played made their skin crawl. The cast includes Geoffrey Rush, John Lithgow, Maaka Pohatu, George Henare, Fiona Collins and Yvette Parsons.
SHADOW FORCE – A pair of romantically entangled shadow operatives go through a rough patch and decide to exit their line of work in order to focus on raising their young son. The couple’s employer is not pleased about this decision and sends operatives out to kill them. So, the pair must overcome their differences, fight off attackers and protect their child, as well as try to rekindle their relationship in a short period of time. This action picture was mostly panned by the press. About one-third stated that the chemistry between the leads was dynamic and that the various fight scenes were well-staged, resulting in an entertaining flick. Unfortunately, everyone else commented that the screenplay was dull and that there were no interesting plot twists, resulting in a feature that was lackluster and disappointing. It features Kerry Washington, Omar Sy, Mark Strong, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Method Man.
SINNERS – The big release of the week is this horror film from writer/director Ryan Coogler (Creed and the Black Panther series). Set in 1932, it follows two identical twin brothers. After serving their country in World War II and spending time working for gangsters in Chicago, the two return to their hometown in the deep south. They decide to open a juke joint for the black community, but find resistance from racist locals. The protagonists encounter more problems on opening night when unusual, threatening and perhaps supernatural individuals try to enter the establishment. This title was a box office smash and highly rated by critics. A few felt the movie was predictable and had difficulty mashing dramatic, musical, comedy and horror elements together. All others were impressed by the work of the cast (especially the star, who plays two characters who are continuously interacting with each other), the way music was used in the film, and noted the striking photography. They found it tense and exciting from beginning to end. This picture is being released on various formats. There is a 4K Ultra HD only edition, a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Steelbook, a standalone Blu-ray, and a DVD-only version. Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Tenaj L. Jackson, Omar Miller, Li Jun Li and Delroy Lindo headline the film. Read a review of the film by clicking this link.
UNTIL DAWN – A group of young friends head out to the country, only to encounter a psychopath who murders them all. They suddenly wake up and find themselves reliving the same evening over and over again. It becomes clear to the protagonists that they are all caught in a kind of time loop. They focus their attention on trying to get everyone to survive until the morning, hoping that it will break the chain and free them from a never-ending series of brutal ends. Response was split for this video-game adaptation, with slightly more giving the movie a pass. Almost half called it a waste of a good concept. They felt that the movie was too dour and serious for its own good, and the repetition wore them out. The same number and a few more called the film ambitious, and believed it possessed enough unique moments to make it interesting. The picture is available in a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo pack. It stars Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Odessa A’zion, Ji-young Yoo, Belmont Cameli and Maia Mitchell.
BLASTS FROM THE PAST!
Tons of older options will be available this week as well. Back in 2023, Arrow Video released The Game Trilogy Blu-ray “Limited Edition” set, containing the Japanese crime films The Most Dangerous Game (1978), The Killing Game (1978) and The Execution Game (1979). This famous Toei trilogy follows the exploits of a hard-nosed assassin and it made a cinema icon of star Yusaku Matsuda. The set is being rereleased once more, arriving with all the same specs, including film historian commentaries, interviews with crew members and promo materials.
The same goes for the shot-on-video slasher film, Lovers Lane (2000). It was originally put out on Blu-ray in 2023 and is now being repressed. The plot involves a hook-brandishing killer wiping out a group of teens. The film is noted for featuring star Anna Faris in an early role. It arrives with a writer-producer commentary, legacy featurette, trailer and image gallery.
Criterion is putting out a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo pack of Barry Lyndon (1975) from famed director Stanley Kubrick (The Killing, Paths of Glory, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket). In this period effort, a poor Irish boy finds himself serving in the Seven Years War, living as a gambler, and eventually finding his way into the high ranks of society. The project is noted for its lush cinematography, which used a special film stock so that the actors could be lit by candlelight. For its 50th anniversary, the film is arriving on 4K Ultra HD in Dolby Vision. Bonuses include interviews with cast and crew, as well as an audio archival discussion with Kubrick. You’ll also get two film historian interviews, a talk with co-star Leon Vitali, as well as a featurette with an art curator about the aesthetics of the movie. Trailers are also listed as being on the discs.
The Angela Lansbury/Keith Andes film noir A Life at Stake (1955) is being rereleased on Blu-ray from Film Masters. It initially arrived on disc in 2021, but has been out-of-print for some time. The story follows an unemployed man who gets caught up in a deadly scheme created by a femme fatale. This title has received a 4K restoration from original archival elements for this release and comes with a film noir expert commentary, a look at Hollywood, and a booklet with an essay on the feature.
Undead movie enthusiasts will be happy to learn that the out-of-print zombie film Sugar Hill (1974) is being made available on Blu-ray once again from Kino as part of their Kino Cult line. This fun black exploitation feature stars Marki Bey as the girlfriend of a nightclub entrepreneur. When he is murdered by white gangsters, she uses voodoo to raise an army of undead hitmen and take revenge. Bonuses listed on the release are a director commentary, a film historian commentary, interviews with co-stars Don Pedro Colley, Richard Lawson, Charles Robinson and filmmaker Maslansky, as well as a trailer and radio spots.
Mondo Macabro is putting out Blu-rays of several genre titles. The first is Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight (1973), a Japanese movie about a suicidal swordsman who is rescued from death by a gang of nasty pimps. He attempts to fit in with them and their cruel world view, before squaring off with them. The feature has been given a new 4K restoration for this Blu-ray, and features an interview with the director, an archival interview with the star. a Japanese film expert commentary, a second archival commentary with Japanese filmmakers and a trailer.
Café Flesh (1982) is set after a nuclear apocalypse and takes place in a sex club that takes part in some unusual practices. The film is being presented on Blu-ray with a 4K restoration of 35mm theatrical material of both the R-rated and X-rated versions. This disc features a co-writer/director commentary, an interview with the filmmaker, as well as the other co-writer, and cast members. A trailer is also included.
And the kinky French horror picture Girl Slaves of Morgana Le Fay (1971) is also getting a Blu-ray release from the distributor. It follows ladies who run into a sorceress and barter to stay young forever as the figure’s lovers. Specs include a 4K restoration of the fully uncut version taken from the original camera negative and a director’s commentary. There is also a short film from the director, two interviews and a third archival track with the filmmaker, a discussion with one of the stars and a publicity video with stills and posters.
The huge teen comedy Clueless (1995) is celebrating its 30th Anniversary with a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo release, as well as a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Amazon exclusive Steelbook. Paramount Pictures is putting out this tale of a Beverly Hills matchmaking teen who struggles to find herself the perfect match. It stars Alicia Silverstone, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd and Donald Faison. The latter version includes a small poster, photo cards, a decal, a report card, stickers and more.
The recent horror film In a Violent Nature (2024) is receiving a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray “Collector’s Edition” Steelbook from RLJ Entertainment. It’s a brutal and disturbing feature about a masked killer who rises from the dead. The camera follows him as he targets and takes down numerous victims.
Abigail (2024) is a recent horror hit that is now arriving from Shout Factory in a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo pack. The plot involves a young ballerina who is taken hostage for a ransom. The captors soon learn that the youngster isn’t what she appears to be and is incredibly dangerous. This edition boasts a 4K presentation from the original film elements presented in Dolby Vision. Additionally, there is a commentary with the directors and the editor, a film critic commentary, talks with both co-writers, the production designer and the cinematographer. Deleted and extended scenes will also be included in the release.
The extremely well-regarded Japanese animated feature Grave of the Fireflies (1988) is also being made available in a Blu-ray and DVD combo pack, and a Blu-ray and DVD Steelbook. Pictured above and to the right, the plot involves two children who become lost after the American firebombing of their hometown. The pair struggle to survive while trying to locate their parents. Those who pick up this release will get the original Japanese audio with English subtitles, as well as an English-language dub, feature-length storyboards, deleted scene storyboards, interviews with the director and critic Roger Ebert, as well as promo materials.
If you remember the 1970s, you’ll recall that disaster movies were a major trend. One of the grandest and, well, over-the-top efforts was the star-studded Earthquake (1974). Universal Pictures is now putting out a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo of the movie, as well as a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Steelbook. It’s about a varied group of Los Angeles residents who try to survive a catastrophic quake that rips the city apart. Charlton Heston, Ava Gardiner, George Kennedy, Lorne Greene, Genevieve Bujold, Richard Rountree, Marjoe Gortner, Victoria Principal and Walter Matthau (as a ridiculously-dressed drunk) headline the feature. It doesn’t look like this release comes with many extras, but it should boast exceptional picture quality.
And Warner Bros. is releasing a 4K Ultra HD only version of the DC animated feature, Batman Ninja (2018). You can also pick up the Denzel Washington thriller The Little Things (2021) as a 4K Ultra HD only title.
YOU KNOW, FOR KIDS!
This edition is slim on kid-friendly material, but hopefully the next one will correct the problem.
ON THE TUBE!
Below is a list of TV-related releases.
Fallout: Season 1 (Warner Bros.) 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD Amazon exclusive Steelbook, or Blu-ray only, or DVD only
Independent Lens: Matter of Mind (PBS) DVD
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman: The Complete Series (1993 – 1997) (Warner Bros.) Blu-ray
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 18 (Acorn Media) Blu-ray or DVD
NOVA: Revolutionary War Weapons (PBS) DVD
Patience (PBS) DVD
See: The Complete Series (Fifth Season) Blu-ray
Simon Schama: The Holocaust, 80 Years On (PBS) DVD