New to View: Sept. 1: Update
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Sept. 1, unless otherwise noted:
Irresistible (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2020, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: R, language, sexual references
The lowdown: “Irresistible,” writer-director Jon Stewart’s new political satire, offers several laughs — mostly because of stars Steve Carell and Rose Byrne — but its softball parody about electioneering is openly condescending and toothless.
What keeps “Irresistible” from totaling collapsing is the presence of Chris Cooper as the small-town mayoral candidate who becomes the focus of an election battle between two opposing, high-priced political operatives, played by Carell and Byrne.
For decades, Hollywood has produced movies that either portrayed middle-class and/or rural Americans as unsophisticated rubes or as wise, down-to-earth folk who easily outwit the city slickers.
Stewart’s primary focus is the abuses of political campaigns — especially the process’s financial aspects.
While Stewart’s barbs are on point, “Irresistible,” at times, feels and sounds as if he is preaching to the choir. Yes, we all know that the spending abuses of political campaigns, as well as using focus groups and demographics are out of control. Without offering any solutions, Stewart gently lampoons those excesses.
What “Irresistible” is missing is a sense of passion or anger; sure, Stewart displays some disgust for the entire process, but he does so in a way that dilutes his argument.
“Irresistible” is safe and it’s fun, but such a satire about today’s dysfunctional political climate should be more ferocious and unforgiving.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 side-matted picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 Dolby digital DVS; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 1.66:1 side-matted picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital and 2.0 Dolby digital DVS: English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include deleted and extended scenes, a gag reel, a behind-the-scenes making of featurette, a look at the movie’s cast and a featurette on Stewart.
Death on the Nile (Blu-ray)
Details: 1978, Kino Lorber Studio Classic
Rated: PG
The lowdown: Peter Ustinov stars as Agatha Christie’s Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in this sumptuous adaptation of Christie’s mystery thriller.
A cruise down the Nile leads to a murder of an heiress, played by Lois Smith, that Poirot must unravel. The movie, directed by John Guillermin, features an all-star cast of passengers and suspects including Bette Davis, Maggie Smith, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, George Kennedy, Olivia Hussey Jack Warden, Simon MacCorkindale, Jon Finch, Sam Wanamaker and Jane Birkin.
David Niven also is on board as a friend of Poirot’s who helps the detective in his investigation.
The movie starts rather slowly, but picks up steam as the steamer heads down the Nile.
This is Ustinov’s first foray as Poirot, taking over for Albert Finney who portrayed Poirot in 1974’s “Murder on the Orient Express.” Ustinov reprised his Poirot in the 1982 follow-up, “Evil Under the Sun.”
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a making of featurette, interviews with Ustinov and Birkin and a commentary track.
Magnum P.I.: Season Two (DVD)
Details: 2019-20, CBS DVD-Paramount Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Aloha from Hawaii, where private investigator Thomas Magnum (Jay Hernandez) solves cases that range from a bank manager who goes missing just before her wedding, a deadly siege and a stolen cellphone.
Aiding Magnum as always is Higgins (Perdita Weeks) and Rick (Zachary Knighton).
This five-disc set includes all 20 episodes, including a “Hawaii Five-O” crossover excursion.
This breezy reboot of the cult-favorite Tom Selleck series has earned a following of its own, with witty repartee and exciting cases that showcase our 50th state.
Technical aspects: 16:9 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Among the extras are deleted scenes, a look at the crossover episode, an overview of the second season, a gag reel and a video diary with T.C.’s Stephen Hill.
Evil Under the Sun (Blu-ray)
Details: 1982, Kino Lorber Studio Classic
Rated: PG
The lowdown: Peter Ustinov reprises his role as Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in this adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Evil Under the Sun.”
Like its predecessor, “Death on the Nile,” this murder-mystery also features an all-star cast, though not as luminous as the earlier film.
Returning to the franchise are Maggie Smith and Jane Birkin, but as different characters than in “Nile.” Also appearing are Diana Rigg, James Mason, Roddy McDowell, Colin Blakely, Nicholas Clay, Sylvia Miles and Denis Quilley.
In this outing, Poirot investigates the murder of a famed actress (Rigg) as well as the theft of a valuable diamond that had been in her possession.
The beautiful and posh Mediterranean island resort abets the movie’s splendid production values.
Guy Hamilton, who directed a few James Bond films, is behind the camera for this production.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A making of featurette and a commentary track are the main extras.
CRSHD (DVD)
Release date: Aug. 11
Details: 2019, Lightyear Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A coming-of-age, sex comedy set at a small liberal arts college in Ohio.
It’s the end of the school year and freshman Izzy Alden (Isabelle Barbier) and her two best friends, Anuka (Deeksha Ketkar) and Fiona (Sadie Scott), decide to take Izzy to a “crush party” so she can lose her virginity before the end of the semester.
As usual in such movies, plans become complicated and Izzy begins having second thoughts about her decision.
The movie, written and directed by Emily Cohn, has a nice vibe as Cohn captures the nuances of its youth culture.
At a quick 81 minutes, the movie is funny and creative.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English closed-captioned subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a question-and-answer session with Cohn and her three young stars and a commentary track.
The Burnt Orange Heresy (Blu-ray)
Release date: Aug. 25
Details: 2019, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: R, violence, sexual content, nudity, language, drug use
The lowdown: A modern neo-noir thriller involving the art world and the underworld.
The movie, set in Italy, finds art critic James Figueras (Claes Bang) on the skids, lecturing tourists about art history.
The one bright spot in his life is a new-found love interest, Berenice Hollis (Elizabeth Debicki), an American.
An opportunity arises for Figueras when wealthy art dealer Joseph Cassidy (Mick Jagger) calls him to his villa where he asks the critic to steal a legendary painting from reclusive artist Jerome Debney (Donald Sutherland).
But Figueras’ life begins to again spin out of control when greed and ambition take hold.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 5.1 Dolby digital audio description track; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include a behind-the-scenes featurette and a commentary track.
Split Second (Blu-ray)
Release date: Aug. 11
Details: 1992, MVD Rewind Collection
Rated: R, violence
The lowdown: The premise of this “futuristic” thriller, set in 2008, deals with some kind of beast that hunts humans and devours their hearts.
Even the heavily-armed police cannot cope with this threat. The killer took maverick cop “Harley” Stone’s (Rutger Hauer) partner and now seems to have its sights set on Stone’s girlfriend, Michelle (Kim Cattrall).
Stone and a rookie cop team up to take down this killer, even though their weapons may be no match for its deadly moves.
The movie’s supporting cast includes Michael J. Pollard and Pete Postlethwaite.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 LPCM; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras a featurette on the making of the movie; a commentary track, interviews with filmmakers, the film’s composer and cinematographer, archival interviews with Hauer, other cast members, the special effects creator and others, a full-frame Japanese cut of the movie with Japanese subtitles, deleted scenes from the Japanese cut with subtitles and a mini-poster.
Bloodfight/Ironheart double feature (Blu-ray)
Release date: Aug. 11
Details: 1989, 1992, MVD Rewind Collection
Rated: R, violence
The lowdown: A pair of martial arts movies that feature Bolo Yeung, best known to genre fans for his appearances in such films as “Enter the Dragon,” “Drunken Master,” “Bloodsport” and “Timecop.”
In “Bloodfight,” he has what is basically a cameo. This is one of those arena-of-death offerings in which a lot of blood flows.
“Ironheart” finds a martial arts expert seeking revenge for the death of his best friend and having to go against Yeung as the deadly henchman of the drug dealer he seeks.
Both can be considered entertaining B-movie features aimed at fans of the genre.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture (“Bloodfight”) and 1.85:1 widescreen picture (“Ironheart”); English 2.0 LPCM; English subtitles.
Max Reload and the Nether Blasters (Blu-ray)
Release date: Aug. 11
Details: 2020, MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This is a movie that will appeal more to video game aficionados than the average moviegoer.
The story centers on Max Jenkins (Tom Plumley), a small-town video-game store clerk, who finds and plays the only known copy of Nether Dungeon, a legendary lost installment of the Nether Games series.
Max accidentally unleashes the ancient “Curse of the Ages,” which turns his friends and family into possessed ghouls whose only aim is to destroy civilization.
To stop them Max must elicit the help of his best friends Reggie and Liz as well as two old-school gaming gurus to figure out how to defeat the game, end the treat and save humanity.
This is a film for gaming nerds, while the rest of us can enjoy some of the silliness.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include an art and animation featurette, NetherCragon and Egypt VFX featurettes, bonus features, a “Reggie Gets Nethered” featurette, an anatomy of a scene and a “Speed Run” bonus featurette.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest (Blu-ray & DVD & digital & VOD) (Shout! Studios)
Blood Quantum (Blu-ray & DVD) (RLJE)
City of the Sun (Big World Pictures)
A Night of Horror: Nightmare Radio (DVD & VOD) (Uncork’d Entertainment)
Rogue (Blu-ray + digital & DVD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
The Shadow of Violence (DVD & digital & VOD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Terrified (Blu-ray & DVD) (RLJE)
Time Loop (DVD & digital & VOD) (ShineHouse Group)
Widow’s Point (DVD & digital) (101 Films)
Z (Blu-ray & DVD & digital & VOD) (RLJE)
The B-52s: Live at US Festival (DVD & digital) (Shout! Factory, Sept. 4)
FOR KIDS
Barbie Princess Adventure (Netflix)
Children of the Sea (Blu-ray & DVD & digital) (Shout! Factory-GKids)
Sesame Street — Monster Hits: Rock & Rhyme with Elmo (Shout! Kids-Sesame Workshop)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Away (Sundance Now)
Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (Utopia)
Followed (Global View Entertainment)
Immortal (Stonecutter Distribution)
The Surrogate (Monument Releasing)
Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump (Dark Star Pictures)
Watch List (Uncork’d Entertainment)
The Wind Rises (Shout! Factory-GKids)
The Sounds: Episodes 1 & 2 (Acorn TV, Sept. 3)
The Suspect: Episode 3 (Sundance Now, Sept. 3)
We Got This: Episode 1 (Sundance Now, Sept. 3)
A Step Without Feet (Kandoo Films, Sept. 4)
Away (www.netflix.com/Away) (Netflix, Sept 4)
Desert One (digital & VOD) (Greenwich Entertainment, Sept. 4)
I’m Thinking of Ending Things (www.netflix.com/imthinkingofendingthings) — (Netflix, Sept. 4)
Lost Girls & Love Hotels (Astrakan Films, Sept. 4)
Public Enemies (Acorn TV, Sept. 7)
The Sounds: Episode 3 (Acorn TV, Sept. 7)
When I Walk (Sundance Now, Sept. 7)
When We Walk (Sundance Now, Sept. 7)
Wisting (Acorn TV, Sept. 7)
Coming next week: Bad Education
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 Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.