New to View: July 12
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, July 12, unless otherwise noted:
The Beatles: Get Back: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, Buena Vista-Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated, language, mature themes, smoking
The lowdown: This three-disc set directed by Peter Jackson is an interesting documentary culled from about 60 hours of footage filmed in 1969 as well as another 150 hours of audio recordings following three weeks of recording sessions as The Beatles — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr — create its “Let It Be” album.
This fly-on-the-wall experience will please fans of the Fab Four as you watch them write and experiment with music and songs, bicker and — at one point — defect.
One of the most compelling sequences involves Harrison quitting the band walking out of the sessions, believing his contributions are being ignored.
It’s also worth noting that McCartney is a bit of a control freak, taking charge and constantly making suggestions — wanted or not — to his bandmates.
If the set has one drawback, it’s the picture quality. It is not as sharp as it could be, but the audio — three options are offered — help compensate.
This movie is a wonderful time capsule capturing one of the greatest bands in history, at a point in which they had abandoned live concerts to concentrate on making their kind of music in the studio.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, 7.1 PCM, 2.0 PCM and 2.0 descriptive audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials are slight — four cards featuring the band members and a promotion for a companion book.
Star Trek: Lower Decks: Season 2 (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, CBS Home Entertainment-Paramount Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This fun-filled animated series goes where no “Star Trek” series has gone before — spotlighting the support crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos.
The two-disc set features all 10 second-season episodes in which Ensigns Becket Mariner, Brad Boimier, Samanthan Rutherford and D’Vana Tendi must juggle their duties aboard one of the Federation’s least important ships with their social lives.
And they must perform all of this while their ship is being rocked by several space anomalies.
All the while, these crew members seek to be recognized and earn promotions.
The series is a worthy addition to the “Star Trek” franchise.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 16:9 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH and French subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a behind-the-scenes visit with the team that creates the audio for the series and how they bring the show to life, interviews with cast members and producers about the arc of the season, commentaries on four episodes as well as Easter eggs and animatics on all episodes.
Batwoman: The Third and Final Season (Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2021-22, Warner Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This three-disc set features the final 13 episodes of this CW series. Unlike other shows set in the DC Universe, “Batwoman” did not enjoy the success of “Arrow” or “The Flash.”
Still, fans should enjoy seeing Ryan Wilder’s Batwoman (Javicia Leslie) and her Bat Team stopping villains and protecting Gotham City from these bad guys who are using weapons created by several of Batman’s former enemies that were found in the Gotham River.
The series finale wraps up a few loose ends that had existed throughout the seasons.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.00:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a gag reel, deleted scenes and a “Batwing: A Hero’s Journey” featurette.
The Frisco Kid (Blu-ray)
Details: 1979, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: PG, violence
The lowdown: A rabbi and a cowboy walk into a saloon. …
Unfortunately, “The Frisco Kid” is not THAT funny. The movie stars Gene Wilder as Polish Rabbi Avram Belinsky, who lands in Philadelphia with plans to travel to San Francisco to start a congregation.
The rabbi is quickly relieved of all his belongings by con artists. Undeterred, Belinsky begins walking west, getting into one scrape after another until he finally is rescued by kindly bandit Tommy Lillard (Harrison Ford).
He offers to help Belinsky reach San Francisco, but not before they must confront the law, Native Americans and a band of killers.
The film, directed by Robert Aldrich, is a made-on-demand Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection and can be found at the WAC Amazon store or from other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Bigfoot or Bust (Blu-ray)
Details: 2022, Full Moon Features-MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A team of beautiful celebrities begin a quest to find Bigfoot, not knowing that three time travelling women from the future are on the same mission.
Each team tries to sabotage the other to find the elusive creature, all the while clashing with local hillbillies.
This goofy movie is 75 minutes of low-brow and slapstick humor from the mind of writer-director Jim Wynorski.
Movie collectors who enjoy these types of goofy features probably won’t be disappointed.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A deleted scene, a behind-the-scenes featurette, a commentary track with Wynorski and a music video comprise the extras.
Ants! (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 5
Details: 1977, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: An army of malevolent ants descends upon visitors at ritzy Lakewood Manor in this made-for-TV thriller that stars Robert Foxworth, Lynda Day George, Anita Gillette, Bernie Casey, Barry Van Dyke, Myrna Loy, Anita Gillette, Brian Dennehy and Suzanne Somers.
These ants enjoy human flesh and the actors listed above are on their menu. It turns out these ants ate toxic insecticides that, instead of killing them, made them angrier and hungrier.
It seems sometime in the 1970s, as the environment became a prime issue and producers of made-for-television and theatrical features used various animals and insects as warnings that if we did not become caretakers, we would eventually become the prey.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen TV version and 1.85:1 theatrical widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include interviews with actors Barbara Brownell, Van Dyke, Gillette, Moosie Drier and production assistant Valerie Landsburg and a commentary track with film historian Lee Gambin.
Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 5
Details: 1977, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Another made-for-TV deadly insect feature, this one spotlighting tarantulas.
Two Americans fly down to Ecuador to pick up a load of premium coffee beans. Innocuous enough.
What they don’t know is that their cargo contains a hoard of deadly and gigantic venomous tarantulas.
The tarantulas overcome and kill the pilots, thus crashing the plane over an orange-producing town in California.
The creepy-crawlies are unleashed — killing townspeople and high-tailing it to the orange-processing plant, where they battle the townspeople.
The cast includes such movie and TV veterans as Claude Akins, Bert Remsen and Pat Hingle as well as Tom Atkins, Deborah Winters, Howard Hesseman, Sandy McPeak and Charles Frank.
And, yes, it is all very silly, but fans of deadly bug-insect movies will have a good time.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track by “The Made for TV Mayhem Show” podcast hosts Amanda Reyes, Dan Budnik and Nate Johnson.
Terror Out of the Sky (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 5
Details: 1978, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: In this made-for-TV sequel to TV movie “The Savage Bees,” the head of the National Bee Center (which has nothing to do with spelling, by the way), discovers that a swarm of killer bees has infiltrated the research facility. Center director David Martin (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) recruits his assistant, Jeannie Devereux (Tovah Feldshuh) and her jealous boyfriend, Nick Willis (Dan Haggerty), to help destroy the bees before they attack the nearby small town.
A marching band and a school bus filled with kids serve as prime targets for the bees.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track is the major extra.
Sexual Drive (DVD)
Details: 2021, Film Movement
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This Japanese feature blends thriller, sex comedy and gastronomy as it delves into the carnal and culinary lives of three people — a designer worried about his sexless marriage, an office worker struggling to recover from driving-induced panic attacks and an advertising agent who wants to end a relationship with his lover.
Connecting all three people and stories is a mysterious individual named Kurita. He reveals delicious secrets to each person about their sexual drive.
At times, the movie may make you squirm. It is intriguing, sexy and unconventional. And at a mere 70 minutes, it’s a delicacy you can enjoy.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 widescreen picture; Japanese 2.0 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Poppy Field (DVD)
Details: 2020, Film Movement
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Christi is planning on spending a quiet weekend with his long-distance boyfriend in this Romanian drama.
But their reunion is cut short when Christi, a Bucharest police officer, is called into work to handle a crisis.
His unit is sent to quell a riot at a local movie theater where a far-right group has interrupted the screening of a queer film.
As tensions continue to mount between the protesters and the audience, the closeted Christi begins to spiral out of control when he spots a former boyfriend in the audience.
A violent outburst threatens to reveal his secret, forcing him to deal with the contradictions between his personal and professional life.
This powerful movie examines self-loathing and societal prejudice. It features definably drawn characters and fine acting.
Technical aspects: 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Romanian, English and French 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital; English closed-captioned subtitles.
Don’t miss: An interview with the movie’s director and a short Romanian film about a gay man’s continual search for his Mr. Right.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Death Hunt (DVD & digital & VOD) (Uncork’d Entertainment)
I’m Charlie Walker (DVD) (Shout! Studios)
Wolf Hound (Blu-ray & DVD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
The Bloody Man (Wild Eye Releasing)
The Bob’s Burgers Movie (Hulu)
Cop Secret (Epic Pictures)
Fair Game (Dark Star Pictures)
Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen (Kino Lorber)
Glasshouse (Visual Media)
Museum Town (Kino Lorber)
The Silent Party (Outsider Pictures)
JULY 13
Solar Opposites: Season Three (Hulu)
JULY 14
Bowen’s Heart (Global Digital Releasing)
Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons (Hulu)
JULY 15
Black Bird: Episode 3 (Apple TV+)
Gateway (Dark Sky Films)
Girls to Buy (VMI)
Image of Victory (Netflix)
Karmalink (Good Deed Entertainment)
JULY 18
The Cursed (Hulu)
COMING NEXT WEEK: The Bob’s Burgers Movie
Drive My Car
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.