New to View: April 2
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, April 2, unless otherwise noted:
Baby Assassins 2 (Blu‑ray)
Details: 2023, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Two highly‑trained teenage assassins, after being suspended from their agency for a rules violation, are forced to get real jobs to make ends meet.
But while the deadly duo are forbidden from eliminating targets or enemies under any circumstances, two aspiring rival hitmen decide to eliminate their competition while they are vulnerable.
This leads to a speedy showdown between the trained killers.
Despite the violence, the movie is light and appealing, with comic bantering and chemistry between the lead performers.
The movie, which garnered a 90 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, is fun enough to merit another sequel.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 16:9 (enhanced) widescreen picture; Japanese 5.1 DTS‑HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
The Book of Clarence (Blu‑ray)
Release date: March 26
Details: 2023, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG‑13, strong violence, strong language, drug use, suggestive material, smoking
The lowdown: Writer‑director‑composer Jeymes Samuel (“The Harder They Fall”) spin on biblical themes in this spoof on Hollywood-era spectacles.
Streetwise Clarence is struggling, looking for a better life for himself and his family. He wants to prove to the woman he loves that he is not a nobody.
Fascinated by the rising power and glory of the rising Messiah and His apostles, Clarence decides to create his own path to the divine life — and in the process discovers the redemptive power of belief.
The movie, which also touches upon the rise and influence of celebrity, also features Omar Sy, Anna Diop, David Oyelowo, Alfre Woodard, James McAvoy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Teyana Taylor, Nicholas Pinnock and Babs Olussanmokun. It garnered a 68 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English and Spanish 5.1 DTS‑HD Master Audio and English 5.1 Dolby digital audio description track; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include a commentary track with Samuel and star LaKeith Stanfield, a featurette on the cast, a look at the movie’s music collaboration, an on-the‑set featurette with Samuel, a gag reel and a making the film featurette.
3 Godfathers (Blu-ray)
Release date: March 26
Details: 1948, Warner Archive Collection‑Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This Western tale has been filmed a few times, going as far back as 1916.
Three outlaws, played by John Wayne, Pedro Armendariz and Harry Carey Jr., rob a bank in small Arizona town and flee across the desert.
There, they come upon a covered wagon with a dying woman, portrayed by Mildred Natwick, and her newborn son. Before dying, the woman makes the fugitives promise to care for the infant.
The movie, directed by John Ford, is a biblical parable of the Three Wise Men and the Prodigal Son, as the outlaws are redeemed as they sacrifice to keep the baby alive and return it to civilization.
The film’s Technicolor vista complement this saga of redemption and love.
The film can be ordered at www.moviezyng.com or other online retailers. The Blu‑ray also contains a 1936 version of the movie starring Chester Morris, Lewis Stone and Walter Brennan.
At Rotten Tomatoes, the movie garnered an 85 percent fresh rating.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 (16:9 enhanced) full‑screen picture; English 2.0 DTS‑HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: The 1936 movie is the main bonus offering.
The Crime Is Mine (Blu‑ray)
Release date: March 26
Details: 2023, Music Box Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: In 1930s Paris, struggling actress Madeleine (Nadia Tereszkiewicz) and unemployed lawyer Pauline (Rebecca Marder) live together in a cramped flat, and to make their problem more precarious they are five months behind in their rent.
When a lustful theatrical producer who wronged Madeleine turns up dead, the actress is tried for murder, with Pauline representing her as well as acting as the ringmaster of the media circus surrounding the case.
As Madeleine’s courtroom performance captures the public’s fancy, a new life of tabloid celebrity, fame and wealth awaits — until the truth is revealed.
The social satire, directed by François Ozon, offers an old‑fashioned Hollywood vibe reminiscent of “Roxie Hart.”
The movie received a 98 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; French 5.1 DTS‑HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a making of featurette, a deleted scene and bloopers, interviews with Ozon, Tereszkiewicz and Marder and costume and lighting tests.
They Drive by Night (Blu‑ray)
Release date: March 26
Details: 1940, Warner Archive Collection‑Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: George Raft and Humphrey Bogart play independent, truck-driving brothers in this Warner Bros. drama that also features Ann Sheridan and Ida Lupino.
Bogart had not yet reached stardom but, thanks to Raft, he would in the next year as Raft turned down the leads in both “High Sierra” and “The Maltese Falcon,” giving Bogart an opening to really display his talents.
When the brothers’ truck is wrecked and, in the accident, Bogart loses an arm, Raft goes to work for trucking executive, Alan Hale, whose neurotic wife, played by Lupino, flings herself at him.
Raft, rebuffing her advances because he is in love with Sheridan, is framed for Hale’s murder by Lupino, who is slowly going crazy.
Everything works out in the end, of course. The movie also costars Gale Page and Roscoe Karns, all under the direction of Raoul Walsh.
The movie, which can be ordered at www.moviezyng.com or other Internet sellers, earned a 92 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 (16:9 enhanced) full‑screen picture; English 2.0 DTS‑HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: A “Lux Radio Theater” adaptation of the movie, with Raft and Lana Turner, a featurette on the making of the movie and a Warner Bros. short, “Swingtime in the Movies,” comprise the bonus components.
Amelie: Steelbook (Blu-ray)
Release date: March 26
Details: 2001, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: R, sexual content
The lowdown: This imaginative French feature tells of a young woman who has seen her share of tragedy and fantasy.
Audrey Tautou gives a sterling performance as Amelie who works as a waitress in a Montmartre bar run by a former dancer.
Amelie enjoys life’s simple pleasures until she discovers that her goal is to help others. To do so, she invents all kinds of tricks that allow her to intervene incognito into other people’s lives, including a heavy‑drinking concierge and her hypochondriac neighbor.
Her most challenging case, though, turns out to be Nino Quincampoix, a lonely sex shop employee who collects photos abandoned at coin‑operated photo booths.
The film was praised for its charm, quirkiness and interesting characters.
The movie garnered a 90 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH and English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a retrospective with director Jean-Pierre Jeunet about the movie, a commentary with Jeunet and 11 behind-the‑scenes featurettes.
Stand and Deliver (Blu‑ray)
Release date: March 26
Details: 1988, Warner Archive Collection‑Allied Vaughn
Rated: PG
The lowdown: Edward James Olmos received a best actor Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Jamie Escalante, a math teacher at East Los Angeles’ Garfield High School, who pushes his inner-city students to believe in themselves.
To help his students gain the confidence to survive in a world that already has written them off, he drills and cajoles them to compete in the National Advanced Calculus Exam, transforming them into mathematical wizards.
The film, which costars Lou Diamond Phillips, Andy Garcia and Rosana De Soto, garnered a 90 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
The Blu-ray can be found at www.moviezyng.com or other online retailers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 (16:9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS‑HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
The Little Drummer Girl (Blu‑ray)
Release date: March 26
Details: 1984, Warner Archive Collection‑Allied Vaughn
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Diane Keaton stars as Charlie, a repertory actress and Palestinian sympathizer, who is recruited by a Mossad agent, played by Klaus Kinski, as bait to capture an elusive Palestinian terrorist
Charlie poses as the girlfriend of the terrorist’s dead brother.
But as Charlie goes deeper into her role, she grows confused about how far she must go to sustain her cover.
The movie, directed by George Roy Hill and based on a novel by John Le Carre, is, at times, confusing and convoluted.
The film, though intriguing, is not totally satisfying, with Keaton’s performance drawing mixed reviews.
The Blu-ray can be ordered at www.moviezying.com or other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 (16:9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS‑HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Rambo: First Blood (4K UHD + Blu-ray + digital) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Rambo: Last Blood (4K UHD + Blu-ray + digital) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Red: 2-Film Collection (4K UHD + Blu-ray + digital) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Underdog (DVD) (First Run Features)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Bushman (Kino Lorber)
Skin Deep (Kino Lorber)
You Have No Idea (Good Deed Entertainment)
APRIL 3
Loot: Season 2, Episodes 1 & 2 (Apple TV+)
The New Look: Episode 10 (Apple TV+)
Palm Royale: Episode 5 (Apple TV+)
APRIL 4
Ever Deadly (Kino Film Collection)
Musica (Amazon Prime)
La Syndicaliste (Kino Film Collection)
We Were the Lucky Ones: Episode 4 (Hulu)
APRIL 5
Girls State (Apple TV+)
Manhunt: Episode 5 (Apple TV+)
Model House (Shout! Studios)
The Penultimate (Film Movement Plus)
The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy: Season 2, Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
Sugar: Episodes 1 & 2 (Apple TV+)
APRIL 6
The Dynasty: The New England Patriots: Episode 10 (Apple TV+)
Coming next week: Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey
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.