New to View: Oct. 22
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Oct. 22, unless
otherwise noted:
The Lion King (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2019, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: PG, violence and peril, thematic elements
The lowdown: This remake of the Disney animated classic is a visual and technical achievement, but its lacks the heart and energy of its predecessor.
The story is basically the same. Simba, the lion cub son of King Mufasa, idolizes his father, until Simba’s uncle, Scar, betrays the family, causing Simba to flee.
The voice talent is headlined by Donald Glover, James Earl Jones — reprising his role from the animated feature, Beyoncé Knowles, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Seth Rogan and Billy Eichner.
The music remains the main draw, and those unfamiliar with the original, will enjoy the remake.
The larger question remains — why do a remake, at all. It seems like a simple cash-grab by Disney.
Critics were divided on the film, giving it a 53 percent fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 1.78:1 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: Bonus features include a documentary on the making of the movie, a behind-the-scenes look at the musical moments, a Beyoncé music video, a sing-along option and a commentary track.
Stuber (Blu-ray + digital)
Release date: Oct. 15
Details: 2019, Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: R, graphic violence, language, sexual references, nudity
The lowdown: This odd-couple buddy film is filled with clichés and formulaic plot situations as it details as Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) a mild-mannered driver, picks up Vic (David Bautista), he gets more than he bargained for.
Vic is a tough cop on the trail of a killer, and he enlists the very reluctant Stu into his quest.
All Stu wants to do is drop off his passenger and drive away, but Vic keeps pulling him in.
The ride is rather uneven, and it’s the chemistry between Nanjiani and Bautista that keeps the movie from running out of gas.
A majority of critics agreed, giving the film a 42 percent fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 5.1 descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track, deleted scenes, a joke-o-rama and a gag reel.
The Return of Martin Guerre (Blu-ray)
Details: 1982, Cohen Film Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This acclaimed period drama, directed by Daniel Vigne and starring Gérard Depardieu and Nathalie Baye, is set in the 16th century during the Hundred Years War.
Depardieu plays Martin Guerre who, after several years away at war, returns to his village a wiser and better man — more tender and morally strong than they remember.
Depardieu’s Guerre is soon accused of being an imposter and is taken to court. The movie keeps the audience guessing about whether or not Depardieu is really Guerre.
An American remake, entitled “Sommersby” and starring Richard Gere and Jodie Foster, was released in 1993.
This release features a director’s cut 4K restoration that is beautiful to watch.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 picture; French LPCM and English-dubbed audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: The major extra is a discussion with Baye.
Billy Bathgate (Blu-ray)
Details: 1991, Kino Lorber
Rated: R, violence, nudity, language
The lowdown: This adaptation of E.L. Doctorow’s novel stars Loren Dean as young, streetwise Billy Bathgate, who is ambitious and gives in to the lure of power, money and glamour of the underworld.
The film tells of the rise and fall of infamous mobster Dutch Schultz — portrayed by a scary Dustin Hoffman — but through the eyes of Billy.
The movie, directed by Robert Benton from a screenplay by playwright Tom Stoppard, costars Nicole Kidman, Steve Buscemi, Stanley Tucci, Steven Hill and Bruce Willis.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS; English subtitles.
Legend of the Demon Cat (Blu-ray)
Details: 2017, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A historical drama set during the Tang Dynasty when the General’s wife is possessed by an ancient demon.
An eccentric poet and dutiful monk must work together to unravel the facts behind the centuries-old death of a beautiful courtesan, which may hold the key to saving the general’s wife.
This fantasy feature combines actual events with mythology. It features top-flight visuals and will please fans of Asian cinema.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; Mandarin and English dubbed 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
The Eagle (Blu-ray)
Details: 1925, Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This silent feature, set during the time of Czarina Catherine II, stars Rudolph Valentino as Vladimir Doubrovski, a lieutenant in the imperial guard who becomes a fugitive after he rejects his queen’s advances.
Doubrovski returns to the land of his father where he dons a mask and becomes a champion of justice known as The Black Eagle. His main target is a nobleman who has been oppressing the poor and weak residents of the region.
Before, he can right the misdeeds of the nobleman, his true identity is revealed, and he must face the judgment of his angry monarch.
The role was a change for Valentino, whose onscreen Latin lover persona made him one of the most popular stars of silent films in the 1920s.
His untimely death in 1927 shocked the nation and cut short a career that was on the rise.
“The Eagle” actually inspired a 1936 Republic Pictures, 12-chapter serial entitled “The Vigilantes Are Coming,” which was set in 1850s California and starred Robert Livingston as a masked crusader called The Eagle, who was battling to protect the peons and save California from becoming a Russian colony.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio musical score.
Don’t miss: A commentary track is the major bonus component.
The Dead Center (Blu-ray)
Details: 2018, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This thriller is built more on atmosphere than violence as it tells about a troubled psychiatrist who is obsessed with helping a mysterious patient who is brought to a hospital’s psych ward in a catatonic state with no memory of how he reached the hospital.
Soon afterward, a series of killings terrorize the ward.
Are the killings related to a John Doe, a suicide who supposedly rose from the dead and brought a malevolent force with him? Or are the demons inside the psychiatrist responsible?
This is a rather smart chiller that relies more on mood than horror.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a series of short films and radio plays written by the movie’s writer-director Billy Senese, the original short movie that inspired the film, a 2011 short film directed by Senese starring Jeremy Childs, who costars in “The Dead Center,” interviews with actors Shane Carruth and Pooma Jagannathan, a look at Childs’ makeup effects for the film’s climax, a making of featurette, deleted scenes and an alternate ending, two commentary tracks and a booklet with writings about the movie.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
An Israeli Love Story (Film Movement)
Angel of Mine (Blu-ray & DVD & digital) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Harmonia (Film Movement)
She’s Just a Shadow (DVD & VOD) (Breaking Glass Pictures)
Sisters of the Wilderness (IndiePix Films)
Strange But True (Blu-ray + digital) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Tone Deaf (Blu-ray + digital) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Nekromantix: 3 Decades of Darkle (Blu-ray + DVD + CD) (Cleopatra Entertainment, Oct. 25)
FOR KIDS
BAKUGAN: Battle Planet: Origin of the Species (Cartoon Network-Warner Home Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Blinded by the Light (Warner Home Entertainment)
The Kitchen (Warner Home Entertainment)
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Sweetheart (Universal Studios Home Entertainment)
The Gallows: Act II (Lionsgate Home Entertainment, Oct. 25)
Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House (Acorn TV, Oct. 28)
Mythos 1 (Acorn TV, Oct. 28)
Coming next week: The Devil Rides Out
Matewan
I am a founding 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.