New to View: May 15
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, May 15, unless otherwise noted:
Black Panther (Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2018, Marvel Studios-Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, action violence, a rude gesture
The lowdown: “Black Panther” is more than your typical superhero movie.
Yes, it features the prerequisite sequences of combat, explosions and special effects, but it also features textures and complexities usually not found in the genre.
In most other movies, the delineation between right and wrong, good and bad, is clearly defined.
Not so in “Black Panther.” A villain does exist, but his goals are righteous in his mind. It’s his methods that go awry.
Underlying “Black Panther” is a question of tradition vs. progress, of responsibility to one’s people vs. serving the good of all mankind.
Representing tradition is T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), the newly crowned king of the fictional African nation of Wakanda, the Black Panther, who picks up the mantle of his fallen father after the events in “Captain America: Civil War.”
Michael B. Jordan as Erik “Killmonger” Stevens is the angry face of progress.
Director Ryan Coogler has created an action movie that is spectacle and personal; timely and timeless. His sure-handed confidence has added new depth to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that other movies in the franchise will have a difficult job matching.
“Black Panther” is thrilling and compelling, a film you will want to see more than once. Like Wakanda, it’s what is under the surface that makes this movie memorable.
As an added bonus, the movie’s digital transfer is superb, no flaws were noticed in either picture or sound.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Dolby digital 2.0 descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a roundtable discussion about how the film came to be, deleted scenes, a gag reel, a behind-the-scenes look at Black Panther’s world, a featurette on the women of Wakanda and the actors who portray them, a featurette on the diverse people of Wakanda, a look at Wakanda’s technology, a featurette looking at the first 10 years of Marvel Studios, an introduction to the film by Coogler, a commentary track and a sneak peek at “Ant-Man and the Wasp.”
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure: 30th Anniversary Edition Steelbook (Blu-ray)
Details: 1989, Shout! Factory
Rated: PG, rude humor
The lowdown: The appeal of this comedy rests upon its goofy charm.
Keanu Reeves (Ted) and Alex Winter (Bill) star as a pair of high schoolers more interested in music than education.
And they are on the precipice of failing history. Coming to their rescue is the time-traveling Rufus (George Carline), whose phone booth allows the dense dudes to discover history in a way out way.
Their travels help them bring history to life and create a great lesson with the help of Socrates, Napoleon, Genghis Khan and Joan of Arc.
You can’t help but like the film, despite it being childish and low brow.
It doesn’t hurt that this reissue to celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary comes in a sturdy Steelbook packaging.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a retrospective documentary about the film that features interviews with cast members and filmmakers and a commentary track.
Landing Up (DVD + VOD)
Details: 2017, Random Media
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A dramatic and edgy movie about two young women living on the streets of New York, doing anything and everything they must to survive.
Their world changes when one of them falls in love. However, she struggles whether to tell her new boyfriend the truth about her past for fear that she will lose him.
The undercurrent of homelessness runs deeply through this feature.
Technical aspects: Widescreen picture; English Dolby digital.
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension: Limited Edition Steelbook (Blu-ray + DVD)
Details: 1984, Shout! Factory
Rated: PG, action violence
The lowdown: This rather campy sci-fi outing stars Peter Weller as Buckaroo Banzai, a 1980s renaissance man: He’s a physicist, neurosurgeon, rock star and bona fide hero.
He always, with the help of his team, The Hong Kong Cavaliers, is ready to drop everything to save the world.
His latest invention, the Oscillation Overthruster, allows him to travel through solid matter. The device also unleashes a new threat, the alien Red Lectroids, led by the deranged dictator Lord John Whorfin (a delightfully hammy and over-the-top John Lithgow).
The Lectroids steal the device to use it to return to their home planet.
The film costars Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd and Clancy Brown.
The Steelbook edition is limited to 10,000 copies.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and stereo; English subtitles; DVD: 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include commentary tracks, a multi-part documentary that looks at the making of the film and includes cast and filmmaker interviews, a “Buckaroo Banzai Declassified” featurette, an alternate opening sequence and deleted scenes.
“It’s Alive Trilogy” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1974-87, Scream Factory
Rated: PG, R & R
The lowdown: What can be cuter or more harmless than a newborn?
Well, filmmaker Larry Cohen uses a monstrous baby to tell his cautionary tale that tapped into environmental fears.
In “It’s Alive” (PG, 1974), John P. Ryan and Sharon Farrell’s Frank and Lenore Davies are the parents whose newborn is a monster that kills when it becomes scared.
The baby flees the hospital and follows its instincts to return to its mother, Along the way, it kills those who try to stop it.
“It Lives Again” (R, 1978), which includes Ryan’s Davies in the cast, centers on an epidemic of mutated monsters babies being born throughout the United States. Frederic Forrest and Kathleen Lloyd play the parents who must cope with this new menace.
“It’s Alive III: Island of the Alive” (R, 1987) finds the government rounding up mutant babies and transferring them to a deserted island.
Years later, an expedition goes to the island to study the growth of the babies. Things go south from there.
The latter two movies lack the surprises and shocks of the original, but they still make entertaining exploitation fodder.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a look back at the three movies and commentaries on the films.
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
Release date: May 8
Details: 2015, FilmRise
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney directed this documentary, based on the book by Pulitzer Prize-winner Lawrence Wright, that profiles eight former members of the Church of Scientology, whose celebrity members include Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
The film, that aired on HBO, looks at the history of Scientology and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, and its rise in popularity in Hollywood and the world.
The movie is not kind to the movement, nor are many of the comments from former members.
The film is chilling and sad — and somewhat unnerving — as it chronicles the inner workings of Scientology and the grip it has on its members.
Technical aspects: Widescreen picture; English Dolby digital.
Gun Crazy (Blu-ray)
Release date: May 8
Details: 1949, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Peggy Cummins and John Dall star in this B-movie cult classic, directed by the legendary Joseph H. Lewis, about a femme fatale and gun fancier who team up and go on a crime spree.
The film, a precursor to “Bonnie and Clyde” is a stylish noir thriller with Cummins sharpshooting Annie Laurie Starr and Dall’s Bart Tare robbing banks, eluding the authorities and creating romantic sparks.
Annie and Bart feed off their young, violent impulses and love of guns in this memorable feature.
The release is a made-on-demand Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection and can be ordered at www.wb.com/warnerarchive or other online features.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 (4×3) full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A documentary on the film noir genre and a commentary track are the major extras.
The Lost Squadron (DVD-R)
Release date: May 8
Details: 1932, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: In the late 1920s and early 1930s, a fascination with aviation swept the nation — and the movie industry.
“Wings,” produced in 1927, was the first film to win a best picture Academy Award.
In 1929, Howard Hughes released his “Hell’s Angels,” which captive audiences and led to more features, including “The Dawn Patrol” (1931) and this offering.
“The Lost Squadron” is not a war movie. Rather, it follows a trio of fliers who forged a bond in the sky but went their separate ways after the war.
One thing they had in common was the drabness of civilian life.
One of the former fliers lands a job in Hollywood taking to the air in movies. He then convinces his buddies to join him.
The pilots, played by Richard Dix, Joel McCrea and Robert Armstrong, face a new menace in maniacal film director Arthur Von Furst (the legendary Erich von Stroheim), who demands for realism and use of worn-out planes leads to tragedy.
The film was directed by George Archainbaud, who went on to director several Westerns in the “Hopalong Cassidy” series.
The release is a made-on-demand DVD-R from the Warner Archive Collection and can be found at www.wb.com/warnerarchive or other online retailers.
Technical aspects: 1.37:1 (4×3) full-screen picture; English Dolby digital monaural.
It’s Not Yet Dark
Release date: May 8
Details: 2017, FilmRise
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: An inspirational and intriguing documentary that looks at filmmaker Simon Fitzmaurice, a young Irishman with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
The film, narrated by Colin Farrell, follows Fitzmaurice as he directs his first movie, using his eyes and eye gaze technology.
This uplifting portrait of an artist also will probably make some people uncomfortable, but it also will propel others to strive overcoming obstacles to follow their dreams.
Technical aspects: Widescreen picture; English Dolby digitial.
The Jackie Gleason Show in Color: Deluxe Edition
Details: 1966-70, Time Life
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A three-disc set featuring 12 never-before-released episodes of “The Jackie Gleason Show.”
Among the highlights are seven “Honeymooners” sketches, as well as a variety of guest stars, including Groucho Marx, Frankie Avalon, Mickey Rooney, George Burns, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Tony Bennett, Phil Silvers and Florence Henderson.
Gleason loved golf, so his show was aired from Miami Beach, Fla., so he could spend his free time playing golf.
Technical aspects: 4×3 full-screen picture; English Dolby digital; English SDH and closed-captioned subtitles.
Dayveon
Release date: May 8
Details: 2017, FilmRise
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This independent film follows 13-year-old Dayveon (Devin Blackmon) who, struggling with his older brother’s death, and with no parents and few role models, falls in with a gang in his rural Arkansas town.
Trying to help Dayveon get back on the right track are his sister and her boyfriend, who tries to be a stable and positive influence on the teenager.
But, during the boring and hot summer days, Dayveon finds himself more attracted to the camaraderie and violence of his gang-member associates.
Director Amman Abbasi, who co-wrote the script, uses amateur performers to tell his story, which gives the movie a more authentic vibe than a studio-made production.
Technical aspects: Widescreen picture; English Dolby digital.
Finding Oscar
Release date: May 8
Details: 2016, FilmRise
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This highly acclaimed documentary by Ryan Suffern centers on a massacre during Guatemala’s decades-long Civil War, in which an entire village was wiped out.
But one boy, named Oscar, was spared by a Guatemalan soldier.
Thirty years later, to serve justice, a forensic team and a young Guatemalan prosecutor — along with others — set out to reveal the truth about the event and bring those responsible to justice.
To do so, however, they must find the missing boy — now a grown man.
This is a documentary that, at times, is brutal and difficult to watch. Yet, it is a compelling story of dedicated and remarkable individuals who work to bring the truth to light, as well as those impacted by the violence.
Technical aspects: Widescreen picture; English and Spanish Dolby digital.
Espionage Agent (DVD-R)
Release date: May 8
Details: 1939, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Joel McCrea and Brenda Marshall, in her film debut, star in this thriller in which Warner Bros. continues its cinematic criticism of Hitler and his Nazi regime.
McCrea plays U.S. State Department diplomat Barry Corvall who becomes a counterspy in the days leading up to World War II.
Among his discoveries in his new role is the disturbing fact that his refugee bride, Brenda Ballard, has been coerced into acting as a Nazi agent.
Barry is expelled from the foreign service but is recruited by an assistant secretary of state to go undercover as a disgraced ex-diplomat under the influence of his new wife.
He and Brenda travel to Geneva where they uncover the secrets of a Nazi spy ring operating inside the United States.
The movie, like the earlier “Confessions of a Nazi Spy,” pulls no punches about the evil intent of Hitler’s Germany and its march toward war.
This release is a made-on-demand DVD-R from the Warner Archive Collection and can be found at www.wb.com/warnerarchive or other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1.37:1 (4×3) full-screen picture; English Dolby digital monaural.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Play the Devil (DVD + VOD) (Breaking Glass Pictures
The Shannara Chronicles: Season Two (Paramount Home Entertainment)
Divine Divas (FilmRise, May 8)
The Secret Life of Lance Letscher (FilmRise, May 8)
Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God … Be Back by Five: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
1987: When the Day Comes (CJ Entertainment)
Early Man (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Steven Tyler: Out on a Limb (Momentum Pictures)
Amnesia (Acorn TV, May 21)
Anna Karenina (Acorn TV, May 21)
Sando (Acorn TV, May 21)
I am a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 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. My movie reviews also can be found at Rottentomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.