New to View: Dec. 7
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Dec. 7, unless otherwise noted:
Cry Macho (Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2021, Warner Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, language, thematic elements
The lowdown: Clint Eastwood stars in and directed this drama about a former rodeo star and onetime horse breeder who takes a job from a former boss to bring the man’s young son home from his alcoholic mother.
The pair must take back roads, driving through rural Mexico on their way to Texas.
The journey proves to be challenging, but along the way Eastwood’s Mike Milo discovers his own sense of redemption by teaching the boy what it means to be a decent man.
Eastwood was 91 when he made the movie, and while it is not his best work, you have to applaud him for keeping active.
The movie divided critics, some calling it messy and lightweight, while others praised the reflective aura Eastwood brought to his role. The movie received a 58 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 5.1 Dolby digital descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus features include a making of featurette and a behind-the-scenes look at the movie’s animal handlers.
Dear Evan Hansen (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2021, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, thematic elements including suicide, language, suggestive references
The lowdown: In an individual’s maturation, the teen years — and high school especially — is where you get battle tested.
Those years are brutal rites of passage that, if you survive unscathed or with only a few scars, can strengthen you for what comes later in life.
High school was a bit rough when I attended in the early and mid-1960s, but I can’t imagine how difficult it is today — especially with the Damocles sword of social media hanging over every teenager’s head.
For those who feel like outsiders or ignored, those years can be cruel and isolating.
The film adaptation of the award-winning Broadway musical, “Dear Evan Hansen,” captures those sentiments with understanding and compassion.
“Dear Evan Hansen,” at 137 minutes, almost wears out its welcome. The movie offers a glimpse of how brutal high school can be and how social media can, almost instantly, turn peoples’ perceptions from praise to scorn.
But its dealings — on a rather basic level — with mental health issues, especially among our vulnerable young people, present some useful insights that can be valuable.
A majority of critics disagreed with my assessment of the movie, giving it a 30 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, 2.0 DVS, French 5.1 Dolby digital and Spanish 7.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital and English 2.0 DVS; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: A behind-the-scenes look at each song in the movie, a making of featurette and an on-set look at the collaboration between cast members and filmmakers.
Ron’s Gone Wrong (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2021, Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: PG, rude humor, language, thematic elements
The lowdown: Barney is a socially awkward middle-schooler who receives Ron, a malfunctioning digitally connected device that is supposed to be his “best friend out of the box,” in this animated feature.
Barney and Ron share a series of misadventures as they discover the messiness of true friendship.
The movie is a comedic look at the connections and relationships between people and artificial intelligence. It also satirizes big tech and the people behind these companies who, at times, appear clueless about human behavior.
The movie, which features spot-on audio and visual transfers, is a simple and uncomplicated kids’ movie that is funny, sweet and worth viewing.
A majority of critics believed so, awarding the film a 79 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 2.0 descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital and English 2.0 descriptive audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a featurette with voice actors Zach Galifanakis and Jack Dylan Grazer and a “Making Ron Right” featurette.
Werewolves Within (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, RLJE Films
Rated: R, bloody violence, sexual references, language
The lowdown: A proposed gas pipeline has divided the residents of the small town of Beaverfield just as new forest ranger Finn (Sam Richardson) arrives in the snowy hamlet.
Sam becomes friends with quirky mail carrier Cecily (Milana Vayntrub), who gives him a tour of the area and introduces him to its eccentric residents.
When power is lost during a snowstorm, the residents are trapped inside the local inn.
Now, Finn and Cecily must keep the peace between the factions and also undercover the truth about a mysterious creature that has begun terrorizing the community.
The movie is more comedy than horror feature, with a dollop of mystery added for good measure.
The film earned an 86 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
The Blu-ray’s audio and visual transfers are very sharp and clean.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Malignant (Blu-ray + digital)
Release date: Nov. 30
Details: 2021, Warner Home Entertainment
Rated: R, strong and gruesome horror violence and images, language
The lowdown: Annabelle Wallis stars as a young woman paralyzed by shocking visions of brutal murders in this horror feature from director James Wan.
Wallis’ Madison Mitchell becomes even more frightened when she discovers that her dreams are, in fact, terrifying realities.
The movie, at times, recalls the giallo features popularized in Italy in the 1960s and ’70s.
“Malignant’s” final twist complements all the bloody sequences that preceded it.
Critics praised the film, awarding it a 76 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Dolby digital descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: A behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of the movie and Wan’s vision of it.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (4K UHD + Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 1988, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: PG, crude humor, cartoon violence, smoking
The lowdown: “Roger Rabbit’s” technical achievements are breathtaking, but for animation aficionados — myself included — the best sights are the interactions of iconic Disney and Warner Bros. characters such as Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Donald Duck, Daffy Duck, Goofy, Porky Pig and Tweety Bird as well as characters from other studios, such as Betty Boop, Droopy and Woody Woodpecker.
The live action-cartoon feature, set in 1947 Hollywood, stars Bob Hoskins as private detective Eddie Valiant, who gets involved in a mystery that includes murder, blackmail, a plan for something called a freeway and finding the killer of Valiant’s brother.
Hoskins is backed by a talented comedic supporting cast including Joanna Cassidy, Christopher Lloyd and Stubby Kaye. Abetting them are the top-notch voices as Charles Fleischer as Roger Rabbit, Kathleen Turner as Jessica Rabbit, Amy Irving as Jessica’s singing voice, June Foray and the legendary Mel Blanc.
Even today, despite advances in technology, “Roger Rabbit” remains as fresh and enjoyable as when it was first released.
The movie earned a 97 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
And this new 4K UHD transfer provides an experience that will immerse you in all the movie’s madcap mayhem.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p 4K Ultra high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos and 2.0 descriptive audio, Spanish 1.0 monaural and French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 descriptive audio, Spanish 1.0 monaural; and French 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: The set contains hours of bonus materials including a commentary track with director Robert Zemeckis, writers Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman, producer Frank Marshall, associate producer Steve Starkey and visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston; three Roger Rabbit cartoon shorts; a deleted scene; a behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of the movie; a before-and-after, split-screen comparison showing the live-action actors, animators and special effects; a look at the cast rehearsing with life-size stand-ins for the toons; a behind-the-scenes documentary; and an “On Set! Benny the Cab” featurette on the making of a scene from the movie.
Angels with Dirty Faces (Blu-ray)
Details: 1938, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This Warner Bros. feature could be the prototype of the urban gangster movies that the studio released during the 1930s.
James Cagney stars as Rocky Sullivan, a hoodlum who has been in reform school then prison for most of his life.
His childhood friend, Jerry Connolly, played by Pat O’Brien, who just barely escaped being arrested as a juvenile, has become a priest.
When Rocky is released from prison, he returns to his old Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, which also is Father Jerry’s parish.
Rocky meets a group of young toughs, played by the Dead End Kids — Billy Halop, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Bobby Jordan and Bernard Punsly — who pick his pocket and steal his wallet.
Rocky tracks the boys to their hideout — which also used to be his as a youth — and a friendship of sorts commences.
Father Jerry, worried about Rocky’s influence over his young charges, asks him to leave them alone, but Rocky refuses.
After Rocky is arrested and convicted of murder, his childhood friend visits him on death row. He asks Rocky a momentous favor — to die as a coward, disappointing his young friends and opening the door for Father Jerry to help set them on the straight and narrow.
The movie, which costars Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan and George Bancroft, earned a 100 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
With the possible exception of Cagney’s Oscar-winning performance as George M. Cohan in “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” this is one of the actor’s best and most nuanced performance. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his Rocky Sullivan and was honored as best actor by the National Board of Review and New York Film Critics.
The release, a made-on-demand Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, can be ordered at the WAC store at Amazon.com or other online retailers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A “Warner Night at the Movies” hosted by Leonard Maltin, featuring a newsreel, music short and cartoon; a featurette about the movie, a commentary track with film historian Dana Polan and a radio production of the movie with Cagney and O’Brien.
Get Crazy (Blu-ray)
Details: 1983, Kino Lorber
Rated: R, language, sexual situations
The lowdown: Allan Arkush (“Hollywood Boulevard,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School”) directed this rock comedy-parody set on the night of Dec. 31, 1982, where Saturn Theatre owner Max Wolfe (Allen Goorwitz {Garfield}) is planning on staging the biggest rock ‘n’ roll concert ever produced.
However, things are not going well for Wolfe; his doctor tells him he may have a fatal disease; his nephew and archrival are working together against him; a crazy fire inspector is spraying the audience with foam; and someone is trying to kill Wolfe and blow up his theater.
But these problems are minor compared to the antics posed by the crazy performers themselves, mostly notably by Reggie Wanker (Malcolm McDowell.)
The cast includes Daniel Stern, Ed Begley Jr., Lou Reed, Gail Edwards, Miles Chapin, Fabian, Bobby Sherman, Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, Clint Howard, Linnea Quigley, Dick Miller, Howard Kaylan of The Turtles, Lori Eastside from King Creole and the Coconuts and Bill Henderson.
This is a wild, musical farce that will keep you highly entertained.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a commentary track with Arkush, filmmaker Eli Roth and filmmaker-historian Daniel Kremer; a documentary with cast members and filmmakers; three music videos; a “Fan Fiction” with No Dogs in Space featurette; and a Trailer From Hell” segment with Arkush.
21 Hours at Munich (Blu-ray)
Details: 1976, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A straightforward account of the horrific violence at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed by the militant group Black September.
The movie does not preach or offer opinions on either side of the attack.
Rather, it centers on efforts to, led by Munich police chief Manfred Schreiber (William Holden) to end the crisis with as few casualties as possible.
Two of the athletes were killed in their Olympics dormitory, while the rest were taken hostage in an effort to gain the release of Palestinian detainees.
The other nine athletes were killed at the airport.
The cast includes Franco Nero, Anthony Quayle, Shirley Knight, Richard Basehart and Paul L. Smith.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen and 1.33:1 full-screen pictures; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track is the main supplement.
Mr. Majestyk (Blu-ray)
Details: 1974, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG, violence
The lowdown: Charles Bronson stars as Vince Majestyk, an ex-con and Vietnam veteran, who runs a watermelon farm that he is struggling to keep afloat.
He is being thwarted by narrow-minded locals, corrupt police and gangsters.
Majestyk finally has reached his boiling point when a hit man, played by the always-nasty Al Lettieri, burns his crop.
Majestyk grabs his rifle, and with his girlfriend behind the wheel, and goes after the mobster and anyone else who gets in his way.
The movie, which costars Linda Cristal and Lee Purcell, was directed by Richard Fleischer. It earned a 79 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track and interviews with Purcell and director of photography Richard H. Kline.
The Monkey King: Reborn (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This animated Chinese movie, the short-tempered Monkey King is insulted while visiting a temple with his master, Tang Monk.
In retaliation, Monkey King destroys a magical tree, thus accidentally releasing the ancient King of Demons, who then kidnaps Tang Monk as vengeance for his long imprisonment.
It is up to Monkey King and his fellow disciples to rescue their master. And time is not on their side, as they only have three days to succeed before the Demon King regains his full power and unleashes his armies to destroy the world.
This is a feature fitting for adults as well as children. It is artful with a very good visual quality.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 (16:9 enhanced) widescreen picture; Mandarin and English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 Dolby digital; English and Chinese subtitles.
Broken Lullaby (Blu-ray)
Details: 1932, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Ernst Lubitsch was best known for his many urbane and sophisticated comedies of manners and romance.
But “Broken Lullaby” is a departure for this noted filmmaker.
This pre-Code drama is set in Germany after World War I. It centers on French violinist Paul Renard (Phillips Holmes), a WWI veteran haunted by the death of a German soldier at his hands. Because of his guilty conscience, Renard is determined to make amends. He travels to the soldier’s hometown and meets his former fiancée, Elsa (Nancy Carroll), and his father, played by Lionel Barrymore.
Renard does not reveal his true identity. Rather, he tells the two that he was a former friend of the deceased soldier.
Soon, he is drawn into the family, which makes Renard feel even more guilty.
This beautifully crafted and profound movie displays Lubitsch’s strong handling of drama.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track by film historian-author Joseph McBride is the main bonus offering.
Love It Was Not (DVD)
Details: 2020, Greenwich Entertainment-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A fascinating documentary about Helena Citron, a young Jewish woman sent to Auschwitz, where she develops an unlikely romantic relationship with Franz Wunsch, a high-ranking SS officer.
Citron survived the camp, and 30 years later receives a letter from Wunsch’s wife asking her to testify on his behalf.
The movie, from Israeli filmmaker Maya Sarfaty, does not provide any easy answers.
Citron’s choice — whether to help the man who brutalized so many lives, but saved hers — is one not many people would want to make.
Sarfaty creates a fascinating and suspenseful documentary that will give you pause for thought.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; German, Hebrew and English 2.0 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Hard Target: Special Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1993, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Legendary Hong Kong director John Woo helmed this action thriller starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as combat veteran Chance Boudreaux, who is skilled in martial arts.
He is hired by Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler) to find her missing father.
She gets more than she bargains for when she and Boudreaux discover her father has been killed by a group of wealthy men who pay $500,000 to stalk and kill homeless men for sport. If the men survive, which, of course, they don’t, they will be paid $10,00.
Boudreaux becomes the target of a sinister mercenary, played by Lance Henriksen, who recruits veterans for the hunters.
The movie, set in New Orleans, is a derivative of the classic story, “The Most Dangerous Game.
The cast also features Arnold Vosloo, Kasi Lemmons and Wilford Brimley. The two-disc set features the unrated international version of the movie.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p 4K Ultra high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Vision; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include a commentary track and interviews with Woo, Henriksen, Butler and stunt coordinator Billy Burton.
Blue Monkey (Blu-ray)
Details: 1987, Code Red
Rated: R, bloody violence, disturbing images
The lowdown: This is a schlocky horror movie about an insect that, after being exposed to an experimental growth promoter, grows to an enormous size and begins terrorizing patients in the hospital in which it was discovered.
Steve Railsback (“Helter Skelter,” “Lifeforce”) stars as the detective who, along with Dr. Rachel Carson (Gwyneth Walsh), must find a way to stop and destroy the slimy insect before it reproduces and spreads the deadly infection it is carrying.
The movie tries for an “Alien” vibe, but lacks the budget or a director talented enough to reach those heights. This B-movie also is known as “Insect.”
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Checkered Flag or Crash (Blu-ray)
Details: 1977, Code Red-Kino Lorber
Rated: PG
The lowdown: Joe Don Baker stars as “Walkaway” Madden, a reckless race car driver who enters the Manila 1000, a dangerous, three-day, off-road race through the Philippine jungle.
Susan Sarandon portrays photojournalist C.C. Wainwright who, much to Madden’s annoyance, joins him.
The movie features Larry Hagman as the villain as well as racing legend Parnelli Jones in a supporting role.
This is a simple, drive-in, B-movie offering a lot of speed and crazy stunts. It is a popcorn-munching acton comedy that you can simply sit back and enjoy.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Mill of the Stone Women: Limited Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1960, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: In 19th century Holland, art student Hans arrives in a town near Amsterdam to write a monograph on the reclusive sculptor Professor Gregorious Wahl, known as Professor Val.
The sculptor lives on an island in an old mill house the locals have dubbed the Mill of the Stone Women.
Wahl, along with his assistant, Dr. Boles, is conducting experiments in hopes of curing Wahl’s beautiful but ailing daughter, Elfie.
Hans, who is attracted to Elfie, slowly comes to realize that the figures surrounding the mill are those of missing women, subjects of Wahl and Boles’ experiments.
This two-disc set offers four cuts of the movie in three different languages — the 96-minute Italian and English export version, a 90-minute French cut and a 95-minute U.S. version containing alternate dubbing.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 picture; English, French and Italian LPCM monaural; English SDH and English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track by film historian-author Tim Lucas, a visual essay on the wax/statue woman in Gothic horror by author-critic Kit Ellinger, a featurette with archival interviews with actress Liana Orfei and film historian Fabio Melelli, an interview with actor Wolfgang Preiss and the opening titles from the United Kingdom version, entitled “Drops of Blood.”
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Beyto (DVD & digital) (Dark Star Pictures)
Creepshow: Season 2 (Blu-ray & DVD) (RLJE Films)
Ema (Blu-ray & DVD) (Music Box Films)
The Handler (DVD & digital & VOD) (Uncork’d Entertainment)
I Am Syd Stone (DVD & digital) (Dark Star Pictures)
The Jesus Music (Blu-ray & DVD & digital) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Last Shoot Out (Blu-ray & DVD & digital) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Woke: Season 3 (DVD & digital) (Breaking Glass Pictures)
FOR KIDS
Shirobako: The Movie (Blu-ray + DVD) (Shout! Factory-Eleven Arts)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Death to Metal (Wild Eye Releasing)
The End of Us (Saban Films-Well Go USA Entertainment)
Fatal Distraction (Morgan Cooper Productions)
The Scrapper (1091 Pictures)
Agnes (Magnet Releasing, Dec. 10)
American Sicario (Saban Films, Dec. 10)
Crossing Swords: Season Two (Hulu, Dec. 10)
The Hating Game (Vertical Entertainment, Dec. 10)
Joy Womack: The White Swan (Film Movement, Dec. 10)
Off the Rails (Screen Media, Dec. 10)
Portal Runner (Terror Films, Dec. 10)
The Unforgivable (www.netflix.com/theunforgivable) (Netflix, Dec. 10)
Coming next week: The Last Duel
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.