New to View: Feb. 2
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Feb. 2, unless otherwise noted:
Let Him Go (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2020, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: R, graphic violence
The lowdown: The meaning of family is at the center of the dark and disturbing thriller, “Let Him Go.”
The movie is a modern-day Western, a showdown between good and evil.
George and Margaret Blackledge are a Montana ranch family living under the pall of tragedy. Their son, who — along with his young wife and infant son — also lived on the ranch. The son was later killed in a horse-riding accident.
Even before the accident Margaret doted on her grandson, continually taking over the duties of Lorna, the baby’s mother, whose smoldering resentment is obvious to the audience but not to Margaret.
A few years pass, and the lonely Lorna remarries a young man named Donnie Weboy. Shortly after the wedding, the couple move from the Blackledge ranch, which upsets Margaret.
In town later, Margaret spies Donnie hitting Lorna and her grandson.
And when the pair move to be back with Donnie’s family, the Blackledges go after them.
“Let Him Go” is a taut feature with sympathetic protagonists and a family of villains who, despite being almost cartoonish, emit an air of malevolence that cannot be ignored.
Despite a weak finale, it is a solid movie worth viewing. It may also make you hold your loved ones closer and tighter.
Critics thought enough of the film to award it an 83 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 DVS, French 7.1 DTS-HD high resolution audio and Spanish 5.1 DTS digital surround; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital and English 2.0 DVS; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a making of featurette, profiles of Lane and Costner and a look at writer-director Thomas Bezucha.
Wild Mountain Thyme (DVD)
Details: 2020, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, thematic elements, suggestive comments
The lowdown: This romantic comedy-drama, set in Ireland, was written and directed by John Patrick Shanley (“Moonstruck”).
Emily Blunt plays Rosemary Muldoon, a strong-willed farmer who yearns for the love of her neighbor, Anthony Reilly (Jamie Dornan), who seems to have inherited a family curse. He remains unaware of Rosemary’s feelings for him.
When Reilly’s father, Tony (Christopher Walken), plans to sell the family farm to his American nephew, Adam (Jon Hamm), Anthony is awakened and begins to pursue his dreams.
The film has a magical quality to it, but a majority of critics were not impressed, giving the film a 28 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital and 2.0 DVS; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Ammonite (Blu-ray)
Release date: Jan. 12
Details: 2020, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: R, graphic sexual content, graphic nudity, language
The lowdown: “Ammonite” is saddled with a familiar vibe — a period piece about two women living in a time when their gender was repressed socially, economically and sexually — who find each other and dare to walk a forbidden path.
“Ammonite,” which refers to a marine mollusk fossil, is driven by the performances of Kate Winslet as Mary Anning, a famous self-taught paleontologist who lives and works on the island of Lyme Regis, where she unearths fossils and makes a meager living for herself and her sick mother by selling her finds to tourists, and Saoirse Ronan as Charlotte Murchison, the neglected wife of a ne’re-do-well.
Earlier in life, Mary had gained some recognition by unearthing a find that landed in the British Museum.
Now, to support herself and her mother, she must accept money from a dilettante poser-paleontologist, Roderick Murchison, who pays Mary to take him on one of her seashore digs before he leaves on an overseas expedition.
“Ammonite” does not offer any surprises. Its trajectory is predictable from the outset. But the acting by Winslet and Ronan instills an air of liberation into the journey.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH.
Don’t miss: A making of featurette is the major bonus component.
Survival Skills (DVD)
Details: 2020, Cranked Up-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A black comedy that imitates the style of a lost police training video from the 1980s.
Stacy Keach is the Narrator, who introduces Jim (Vayu O’Donnell), the perfect police officer in a perfect relationship with his perfect community.
Jim gets in over his head as he tries to resolve a domestic violence case.
It doesn’t take long before the ugly underbelly of the so-called “Good Guys in Blue” begins to expose it and Jim must take matters in his own hands.
The movie has a topical vibe that, at times, is as disturbing as it is funny.
Technical aspects: 1.33:1 (16×9 enhanced) full-screen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include featurettes “Domestic Violence and Law Enforcement Today,” “Getting the VHS Look,” training videos and “Survival Skills,” a short film.
Nationtime (Blu-ray)
Details: 1972, Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: To mark Black History Month, Kino Lorber is releasing a few movies chronicling the African American experience.
One of the more interesting of these releases is “Nationtime,” a documentary that is an in-depth account of 1972’s National Black Political Convention held in Gary, Indiana.
The convention gathered black delegates from the complete political spectrum, including Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, Coretta Scott King, Dr. Betty Shabazz, Isaac Hayes, Richard Roundtree, Richard Hatcher and Charles Diggs.
The movie, narrated by Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, was considered too militant for television viewers and has since been circulated in a cutdown 58-minute version.
This restoration from IndieConnect, with funding from Jane Fonda and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, restores the movie to its 80-minute length.
This relevant and historical documentary is a treasure, a thoughtful time capsule.
The movie earned a 100 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a commentary track, interviews with Louise Greaves, widow of the movie’s producer-director-editor William Greaves, and David Greaves and a booklet with an essay about the movie and a note on its restoration.
Anna Lucasta (Blu-ray)
Details: 1958, Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: The wonderful Eartha Kitt stars in screenwriter Philip Yordan’s adaptation of his play, alongside Sammy Davis Jr. and Rex Ingram.
Kitt’s Anna is thrown out of her home by her self-righteous father (Ingram) and falls into a life of prostitution. She hooks up with a sailor, Danny (Davis Jr.), and they spend their time partying.
Anna is called home when her greedy family sees a way of making some money by marrying Anna off to Rudolph, a young man with money and good prospects.
After many setbacks, Anna and Rudolph find happiness.
The movie was filmed earlier in 1949 with the family changed to Polish-American, as Yordan originally wrote it, and starring Paulette Goddard.
The 1958 version did not do well at the box office as its studio did little to promote it.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 picture; English DTS-HD; English subtitles.
A Man Called Adam (Blu-ray)
Details: 1966, Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Sammy Davis Jr. stars in this musical drama as a hot-tempered, alcoholic, damaged-by-life, self-destructive jazz musician who tries to find peace within himself but is continually thwarted by external forces — including police racism.
The film is somewhat heavy handed in its approach. However, Davis’ performance and a strong supporting cast, including Louis Armstrong, Ossie Davis, Cicely Tyson, Peter Lawford, Mel Tormé, Lola Falana, Johnny Brown and Frank Sinatra Jr., add some bite to the proceedings.
No matter how much fame and respect Adam receives, his past always haunts him and pushes those he loves away.
The movie is a bit cliched, but watchable because of its cast.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track is the sole extra.
2012 (4K UHD + Blu-ray + digital)
Release date: Jan. 19
Details: 2009, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, intense disaster sequences, language
The lowdown: This overblown disaster feature, directed by Roland Emmerich (“Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow”) is visually exciting, but is shackled with too many subplots and, at 158 minutes, is unevenly paced.
Basically, the Mayan prediction that the world will end in 2012, sparked this movie, which begins in 2009 with the discovery that the Earth’s core in overheating.
Three years later, havoc erupts as do earthquakes and other natural disasters that destroy cities, landmarks — well, you know the drill.
The film has a serial-like quality, as its main protagonists have narrow escape after narrow escape during their journey to reach safe haven.
The movie does have a decent cast, including John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofer, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt and Woody Harrelson.
This three-disc set should please fans of the planet-destroying disaster genre.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p UHD, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos (Dolby 7.1 TrueHD compatible); English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Dolby digital audio description track and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: The set includes several bonus features, many of which are lifted from earlier home entertainment released of the movie. These include a Discovery Channel’s “2012 Apocalypse” featurette, an interactive Mayan calendar, five behind-the-scenes featurettes on the making of the movie, deleted scenes, an alternate ending, a picture-in-picture featurette, a commentary track and an Adam Lambert music video.
Dark Intruder (Blu-ray)
Details: 1965, Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This made-for-TV Gothic horror outing is a period feature set in 1890 San Francisco. It involves a series of murders with supernatural themes.
Leslie Nielsen, still performing dramatic roles, stars as Brett Kingsford, a rich, playboy detective with a library of books on the occult and a secret laboratory.
His close friend, Robert (Peter Mark Richman), is having trance-like episodes at odd times and is one of the suspects.
However, the killer growls like a beast and has claws with which he murders his victims.
At a mere 59 minutes, the movie rolls along until the murderer is finally unmasked.
The movie owes a debt to such films as “Mystery of the Wax Museum” and its “House of Wax” remake.
The supporting cast includes some familiar faces, including “Hogan’s Heroes” Werner Klemperer, Vaughn Taylor and Peter Brocco.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track and an interview with Mike Westmore, nephew of makeup artist Bud Westmore.
The Norseman (Blu-ray)
Details: 1978, Scorpion Releasing-Kino Lorber
Rated: PG, violence
The lowdown: There is no getting around it — “The Norseman” is a silly adventure movie that would have fared better as a Mel Brooks spoof of Viking sagas.
Lee Majors stars as Thorvald, an 11th-century Viking prince, who sails across the sea — to what is now known as America — in search of his father, the Norse King Eurich, played by Mel Ferrer.
The king and members of his expedition were captured by warriors of the Iroquois nation.
Thorvald and his companions, who include his friend Ragnar (Cornel Wilde) and a mystic known as the Day Dreamer (Jack Elam), arrive in the New World and attempt to free Eurich and his crew.
They are aided by a native woman, Winnetta (Susie Coelho).
The movie nears camp proportions, which bombed commercially and artistically.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words (DVD) (Breaking Glass Pictures)
HellKat (DVD & VOD) (Uncork’d Entertainment)
Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (Blu-ray & DVD) (RLJE Films)
Host (Blu-ray & DVD) (RLJE Films)
I’ll See You Around (DVD & VOD) (Breaking Glass Pictures)
Love, Weddings and Other Disasters (Blu-ray + digital & DVD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
FOR KIDS
Sesame Street: Elmo’s World: Things Elmo Loves (DVD & digital) (Sesame Workshop-Shout! Kids)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
4X4 (Red Hound Films)
First Blush (Gravitas Ventures)
The Funeral Home (Uncork’d Entertainment)
Tribes on the Edge (Gravitas Ventures)
The Murders (Sundance Now, Feb. 4)
Apollo 11: Quarantine (Neon-CNN Films, Feb. 5)
Dear Comrades (Neon-Hulu, Feb. 5)
Malcolm & Marie (www.netflix.com/MalcolmandMarie) (Netflix, Feb. 5)
The Mimic (Red Square Pictures, Feb. 5)
Son of the South (Vertical Entertainment, Feb. 5)
The Wanting Mare (Gravitas Ventures, Feb. 5)
Balthazar: Series 3 (Acorn TV, Feb. 8)
Love My Way: Series 1 (Acorn TV, Feb. 8)
Muse of Fire: A Shakespearean Road Movie (Acorn TV, Feb. 8)
Coming next week: Freaky
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.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.