New to View: April 16
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, April 16, unless otherwise noted:
Yuni (DVD)
Details: 2021, Film Movement
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: An Indonesian feature about Yuni, a high school student with limited options, whose choices, after rejecting a marriage proposal, grow even slimmer.
Arawinda Kirana offers a compelling performance as the young woman have to define her wishes within a society that is attempting to order her fate.
Yuni, while navigating her growing sexuality and educational prospects, also must come to terms with the rigid gender politics that confine her.
Yuni observes her peers and the women around her as they reject or give in to the expectations made of them and the consequences of their decisions.
The movie, which earned a 100 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, succeeds because of its universal message, a casualness that depicts an oppressive society, its subtlety and tenderness.
Technical aspects: 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Indonesian 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Star Trek: Lower Decks: Season 4 (DVD)
Details: 2023, Paramount Home Entertainment-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A two‑disc set that features all 10 episodes of this adult animated “Star Trek” series set in the 24th century, focusing on low‑ranking officers with menial jobs aboard the U.S.S. Cerritos.
Among the adventures shared by Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells), Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis), Jack Ransom (Jerry O’Connell), Shaxs (Fred Tatasciore) and T’Ana (Gillian Vigman) are dealing with a macrovirus threat from the Delta Quadrant, a mission to rescue humans from an alien menagerie, a family wedding that involves a kidnapping and dealings with the Ferengi.
The series is fun to watch, offering many nods to previous and other shows in the “Star Trek” universe.
The DVD can be purchased at www.moviezyng.com or other online retailers.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus features include a look at the fourth season, commentaries and an old friends featurette.
You Never Can Tell (Blu‑ray)
Release date: April 9
Details: 1951, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: I first saw this delightful murder‑mystery‑fantasy at Cinevent, the annual Memorial Day weekend film festival, about 20 years ago.
The story is unique and fun: An eccentric tycoon leaves his $6 million fortune to his faithful dog, King.
King’s trustee, Ellen Hathaway (Peggy Dow), is inundated by fortune hunter when they realize that she is next in line to inherit the money.
When King is poisoned, Ellen is accused of the crime.
King’s spirit is granted permission to return to Earth in human form to help clear Ellen. He returns as private eye Rex Shepard (Dick Powell) and is aided by a former racehorse named Goldie (Joyce Holden).
This whimsical feature, costars Charles Drake and Albert Sharpe.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full‑screen picture; English 2.0 DTS‑HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: The main extra is a commentary track with film historians Michael Schlesinger and Darlene Ramirez.
Monk: Season Five (Blu-ray)
Release date: March 26
Details: 2006‑07, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: The performance of Tony Shalhoub) as private investigator Adrian Monk is the foundation on which this quirky series rests.
In the 16 episodes that comprise the fifth season, the obsessive‑compulsive Monk never lets his disorder distract his attention from detail when on a case.
Besides the supporting cast, which includes Ted Levine, Traylor Howard and Jason Gray‑Stanford, a plethora of guest stars, including Jennifer Lawrence, Brooke Adams, Sean Astin, Alice Cooper, Charles Durning, Dan Hedaya, Chi McBride, Stanley Tucci, Steve Webber, Reginald VelJohnson and Peter Weller, spar with Monk.
This off-beat series is one that crime fans will embrace.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS‑HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include the original black-and‑white and syndication color versions of the episode “Mr. Monk and the Leper,” a commentary track on that episode with producers, the director and cast members, and introductions to the episode by Shalhoub, Levine and Gray‑Stanford, plus four webisodes.
The Road to Ruin: The Golden Age of the Exploitation Picture: Volume 15 (Blu‑ray)
Details: 1928, 1934, Kino Classics‑Something Weird
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This exploitation drama about wholesome high schoolers whose flirtations with vice lead to degradation and worse.
The movie, was first produced as a silent in 1928, running 55 minutes with some scenes color tinted. Among the cast is a young Grant Withers, later a sometime member of the John Ford stock company as well as the first husband of Loretta Young.
The movie also features Helen Foster, who also starred in the 1934 sound remake, as a love-hungry teenager whose need for acceptance leads her down a moral slope that does not end well.
The 1934 version was co‑directed by Mrs. Wallace Reid (Dorothy Davenport), who husband was ballyhooed as an athletic, clean-cut example of youth who later became addicted to morphine after a train wreck.
Reid died of influenza while in a sanatorium while trying to recover from his addiction.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full‑screen picture; English intertitles (1928 version) and DTS‑HD Master Audio.
Don’t miss: Commentary tracks are included on both movies.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
APRIL 22
A Place Further than the Universe (Blu‑ray) (Shout! Studios)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
The Brink Of (4Digital Media)
Deadly Justice (Level 33 Entertainment)
Dune: Part II (Warner Home Entertainment)
The Peasants (Sony Home Entertainment)
Puffin Rock and the New Friends (Amazon Prime‑Apple TV+)
APRIL 17
Loot: Season 2, Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
Palm Royale: Episode 7 (Apple TV+)
Under the Bridge: Episodes 1 & 2 (Hulu)
APRIL 18
Orlando Bloom: To the Edge (Peacock)
The Outside Man (Kino Film Collection)
Tommy Guns (Kino Film Collection)
We Were the Lucky Ones: Episode 6 (Hulu)
APRIL 19
Ahead of the Curve (Netflix)
Asleep in My Palm (Strike Back Studios)
Beautiful City (Film Movement Plus)
Blood for Dust (The Avenue)
Dancing in the Dust (Film Movement Plus)
Dusk for a Hitman (Saban Films)
Force of Nature: The Dry 2 (IFC Films)
Franklin: Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
Hanky Panky (Amazon‑Apple TV+)
Jane: Season 2 (Apple TV+)
Late Night with the Devil (IFC Films‑Shudder)
Manhunt: Episode 7 (Apple TV+)
Sugar: Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
White River (Film Movement Plus)
APRIL 22
Hip‑Hop and the White House (Hulu)
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.