New to View: June 28
By Bob Bloom
Eye in the Sky (Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2016, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: R, violent images, language
The lowdown: This military drama centers on ethical and moral issues dealing with the use of drone strikes.
A top-secret military intelligence unit learns that terrorists are planning a strike, and alter a mission from capturing suspects to killing them.
Just as an American pilot is to engage his drone, a 9-year-old girl enters the kill zone, triggering a dispute between the highest levels of the American and British governments.
The film, which stars Aaron Paul and Helen Mirren, features the final performance by Alan Rickman.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, Spanish; DVD: 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: A featurette that examines the ethical conflicts of drone warfare and another that looks at the deeper questions raised in the movie comprise the major bonus offerings.
Adventures in Babysitting
Details: 2016, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: TV-G
The lowdown: This made-for-Disney TV movie was inspired by the 1980s feature of the same title.
The story centers on two competitive girls who are vying for the same internship. But when one of them, Lola, loses her babysitting charges, she must call the other girl to help track them down.
They go through a series of comic misadventures to get all the kids back together and make sure everything is on an even keel before the parents get home.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital and French and Spanish 2.0 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Blooper outtakes comprise the major bonus features.
Knight of Cups (Blu-ray)
Release date: June 21
Details: 2016, Broad Green Pictures
Rated: R, sexual content, nudity, language
The lowdown: Christian Bale stars as a disillusioned writer in this feature written and directed by Terrence Malick.
The movie looks at the writer, Rick, as he embarks on relationships with six women, played by, among others, Cate Blanchett and Natalie Portman.
As with other Malick works, this feature is rather structurally dense and slowly paced.
It does, however, offer some edgy performances as Rick searches for the beauty that surrounds him if only he can see it.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and Spanish 5.1 DTS digital surround; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: A making of featurette is the major bonus offering.
Eddie the Eagle (Blu-ray + DVD + digital HD)
Release date: June 14
Details: 2016, Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, suggestive material, partial nudity, smoking
The lowdown: Despite incorporating every cliché in the sports genre cinematic manual, “Eddie the Eagle” is an infectious and pleasing concoction that will amuse, entertain and, most importantly, inspire.
The film is based on the true story of Eddie Edwards who became a hero in Great Britain for defying the odds and competing in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics as a one-man British ski-jump team.
“Eddie the Eagle,” like “Hoosiers,” “Rudy,” “Miracle,” “My All American” and other sports biopics, takes liberties with the facts.
But you overlook that it strays from the truth because the movie’s major aim is to motivate and entertain.
And despite its formulaic approach, “Eddie the Eagle” does make your heart soar.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 5.1 audio descriptive track, French 5.1 DTS and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English 5.1 audio descriptive track and Spanish and French 2.0 Dolby digital surround; English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include featurettes on Eddie, on the making of the movie, on the friendship between Eddie and Hugh Jackman’s Peary and on filming the ski jumps.
Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan (Blu-ray)
Details: 2011, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A documentary that looks at the career and works of special effects genius Ray Harryhausen, whose creations have grabbed our imaginations and taken us to lands beyond the beyond.
The movie includes interviews with Harryhausen as well as such luminaries as Terry Gilliam, Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg, Dennis Muren, John Landis, Guillermo del Toro, James Cameron and Phil Tippet.
These filmmakers discuss some of Harryhausen’s works such as “It Came From Beneath the Sea,” “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad,” “Jason and the Argonauts,” “The Golden Voyage of Sinbad” and “Mysterious Island,” and how these movies influenced them.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English stereo.
Don’t miss: Extras include interviews with Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Rick Baker and others, 12 interview outtakes, a message from Harryhausen, deleted scenes, question-and-answer sessions from London and Paris, a commentary track and a Harryhausen trailer reel.
Return of the Killer Tomatoes (Blu-ray)
Details: 1988, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: The main attraction of this cult favorite sequel is the appearance of George Clooney and his 1980s mullet.
The movie takes place 10 years after the Great Tomato War. Professor Gangreen (the late John Astin) has created an army of tomato militiamen who, to save on special effects, look just like humans.
It’s silly and campy fun that you can enjoy with a bowl of popcorn and, perhaps, a glass of tomato juice.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English LPCM stereo; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track with writer-director John De Bello, an interview with actor Anthony Starke and a booklet with writings about the movie.
Elstree 1976
Details: 2015, Filmrise-MVD Visual
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A documentary that takes you behind the scenes and introduces film buffs to the people behind the masks and beneath the helmets of “Star Wars.”
The feature focuses on the army of actors and extras who donned gear and costumes to help create a galaxy far, far away.
To most of these people, it was simply a job. They had no idea of the impact “Star Wars” would create.
Filmmaker Joe Spira has found and interviewed several of these people, exploring the community they have formed and explain what it means to exist in the shadow of such a cultural phenomenon.
Technical aspects: Widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital surround.
Victor Victoria (Blu-ray)
Release date: June 14
Details: 1982, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: PG, mature themes, sexual content
The lowdown: Julie Andrews stars in this comic farce written and directed by her husband, Blake Edwards, about a woman who impersonates a man who impersonates a woman as a performer in a French cabaret.
James Garner, Robert Preston, Lesley Ann Warren and Alex Karras add solid support to this gender-bending comedy that features an Academy Award-winning score by Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse.
The Blu-ray is a made-on-demand feature from the Warner Archive Collection and can be found at www.wbshop.com or other Internet sites.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track with Andrews and Edwards is the main bonus component.
Francofonia
Details: 2015, Music Box Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This intriguing documentary looks at the cultural legacy of World War II’s Nazi Germany’s occupation of France.
Filmmaker Alexander Sokurov focuses on two men, Jacques Jaujard, director of French National Museums, and Count Franziskus Wolff-Metternich, a German officer and art historian leading the Reich’s art collection efforts.
The men formed a tentative alliance that led to the preservation of many of the world’s greatest art treasures.
The film deals with the relationships between art, history, culture and war.
Technical aspects: 1.66:1 widescreen picture; French, Russian and German 5.1 Dolby digital; English, French, German and Dutch subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a documentary about Jaujard, a making of featurette and a booklet on the production of the movie.
Dinky (DVD-R)
Release date: June 14
Details: 1935, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Jackie Cooper, one of the finest and most popular child stars of the 1930s, plays the title character in this MGM feature about a military school cadet whose mother is unjustly convicted for a fraudulent bond scam, but does not want him to know of her shame.
But when word of her arrest reaches Dinky he goes AWOL to the county orphanage, but keeps it a secret from his mother.
The film is overloaded with sentiment, giving Cooper plenty of opportunities to emote. And, of course, being an MGM feature, a happy ending is mandatory.
The movie is a made-on-demand DVD-R from the Warner Archive Collection and can be found at www.wbshop.com or other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1.37:1 (4×3) full-screen picture; English Dolby digital.
Two Guys and a Girl: The Complete Series
Details: 1998-2001, Shout! Factory
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A young Ryan Reynolds is among the stars of this TV sitcom that ran for four seasons on ABC.
This 11-disc set features the entire series, all 81episodes, which co-starred Nathan Fillion, Jennifer Westfeldt, Suzanne Cryer, Richard Ruccolo, Traylor Howard and Jillian Bach.
This Boston-based series as they find careers and love.
The set also includes the alternate series finale.
Technical aspects: 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English Dolby digital stereo; English closed-captioned.
Lord Jeff (DVD-R)
Release date: June 14
Details: 1938, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Freddie Bartholomew and Mickey Rooney reteam in this MGM feature about a defiant and angry orphan (Bartholomew) who is arrested after setting up a jewel heist with adult companions, played by those fine villainous character actors, Gale Sondergaard and George Zucco.
The young man is sent to a mercantile marine school where Rooney’s Terry O’Mulvaney gives him a grueling course in personal honor.
The supporting cast includes Charles Coburn, a young Peter Lawford and Terry Kilburn, who was to return to England with director Sam Wood to costar in “Goodbye Mr. Chips.”
The feature is a made-on-demand DVD-R from the Warner Archive Collection and can be found at www.wbshop.com or other online dealers.
Technical aspects: 1.37:1 (4×3) full-screen picture; English Dolby digital.
Other Blu-rays and DVDs being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Rams (Blu-ray) (Cohen Media Group)
DIGITAL DOWNLOADS AND STREAMING
The Story of Film: An Odyssey
Streaming: July 1
Site: Hulu
This 15-part series, hosted and written by film historian Mark Cousins is a must-see for buffs and lovers of cinema.
The episodes take a world’s-eye view of movie history, covering such rarely touched upon aspects as Shanghai films of the 1930s, the Indian melodramas of the 1950s and a look at the African filmmakers of the 1970s.
The series features interviews with actors, directors and filmmakers such as Lars Von Trier, Wim Wenders, Gus Van Sant, Claudia Cardinele, Robert Towne, Stanley Donen and Jane Campion.
The series spans from 1895 to today, and every episode is an entertaining and educational experience.
Batman v Superman: The Dawn of Justice (Warner Home Video)
Janey Makes a Play (Uncork’d Entertainment)
Chasing Niagara (Strarz, July 1) (at iTunes)
House of Cards: The Complete Fourth Season (July 4, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Bob Bloom is a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. He reviews movies, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. He can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow Bloom on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook. Movie reviews by Bloom also can be found at Rottentomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.