New to View: May 4
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, May 4, unless otherwise noted:
Judas and the Black Messiah (Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2021, Warner Home Entertainment
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: If you followed the news in the late 1960s and early 1970s, you probably believed this nation was under siege.
The Nixon White House, the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover, other government agencies and sometimes the mainstream media were bombarding the American people about threats from within — antiwar activists, hippies and, most ominously, militant groups such as the Black Panther Party.
Scare tactics were used to portray the Black Panthers as gun-toting thugs who hated white people and wanted to foment a revolution in the United States.
Mostly ignored were the party’s programs, such as food services for children and families as well as education classes for Black children and adults. Like Black activist groups today, the Black Panthers filled a need in Black neighborhoods underserved by those in power.
Which brings us to “Judas and the Black Messiah,” Shaka King’s film about Chicago Black Panther chairman Fred Hampton, his attempts to aid his people and William O’Neal, the Black FBI informant who betrayed him and his cause.
Recent Academy Award-winner Daniel Kaluuya gives a dynamic performance as Hampton. He is a fiery orator, preaching not only revolution, but black self-sufficiency.
And while not eschewing violence, he does remind people that they have the right to protect themselves and fight back against injustice.
Kaluuya’s Hampton truly believes in the righteousness of his cause. And, foreshadowing his future, he says he is willing to die for his principles.
Though the events depicted in the film happened nearly a half-century ago, the issues they include — judicial inequities, racism, poverty and oppression — remain relevant and real struggles Black citizens continue to deal with today.
And if you missed the film in theaters, here’s your chance to see one of the best movies of 2020.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and English descriptive audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Two featurettes, one about Fred Hampton and the importance of his story, and the other about William O’Neal and why he betrayed Hampton.
The Little Things (Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2021, Warner Home Entertainment
Rated: R, violence, disturbing images, language, nudity
The lowdown: For a thriller that emphasizes the importance of the smallest details, “The Little Things” is sloppy in many other aspects.
Writer-director John Hancock’s movie stars three Academy Award-winners — Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto — yet it lacks the spark and verve that this strong trio pf performers should ignite.
The movie also feels familiar as if it is channeling such other serial-killer movies as “Se7en” or “Zodiac,” but without the intensity of its predecessors. That may be because the film is set in 1990 and feels old-fashioned — clunky computers, no cellphones, no Internet.
The characters themselves seem recycled: Washington’s Deputy Sheriff Joe “Deke” Deacon, who five years earlier left the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and took a job at a department in a small, nearby county, is a tortured soul with a dark secret, Malek’s L.A. county Detective Sgt. Jim Baxter is a methodical, up-and-coming homicide investigator, and Leto’s Albert Sparma is your stereotypical creepy murder suspect who plays a cat-and-mouse game with the officers.
It’s difficult to watch the movie’s trio of actors work so diligently to make “The Little Things” special. Sadly, it’s just run-of-the-mill and fails to meet its potential.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and English descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a documentary on Washington’s roles in four Warner Bros. releases — “The Little Things,” “Training Day,” “Fallen” and “Ricochet” — and a look at the contrast in styles between Washington and Malik and how they created their characters.
F.T.A. (Blu-ray)
Details: 1971, Kino Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: In 1971, during the height of the Vietnam War — as well as protests against the conflict — Jane Fonda, an outspoken critic of the U.S. engagement in Vietnam, and Donald Sutherland toured towns near military bases in the United States and then, throughout Southeast Asia with an anti-war comedy show.
As expected, the show was controversial, and Fonda and Sutherland were highly criticized for its presentation.
The show served as a counterpoint to the USO tours staged by Bob Hope that were becoming more and more dated, as Hope was losing touch with the modern-day soldier.
Among the performers who took part in various “F.T.A. shows,” were actor Peter Boyle, comedian Dick Gregory and singers Country Joe McDonald, Rita Martinson and Johnny Rivers.
This documentary is a chronicle of its time, displaying artistic dissent against a war many considered immoral and unjust.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a new introduction to the movie by Fonda, a 2005 interview with Fonda, a 2005 documentary, “Sir! No Sir!” and a booklet with essays about the movie and the anti-war movement.
Wages of Sin: Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of the Exploitation Picture: Volume 10 (Blu-ray)
Details: 1966, Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: In the 1960s, exploitation distributors were seeing profits diminish as they continually repackaged the old-fashioned releases from the 1930s and ‘40s.
Instead, they began importing European movies that were franker — especially when compared to American movies — in their look at sexual matters.
Any serious integrity these films may have possessed were erased by the sensational titles and ad campaigns employed to market them to naïve American audiences.
This German movie, originally titled “Der Arzt stelit fest …” (“The Doctor Notes …”), a soap-opera drama set inside a women’s clinic, argues in favor of birth control and safe, legal abortion.
The film was released in the U.S. as “Wages of Sin,” and was accompanied by additional birth control shorts and a live lecture.
The Blu-ray includes another German movie, this one from 1929, “The Misery and Fortune of Women,” which was not pushed on the exploitation market.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 picture; English audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a medical lecture and two short films, “Life and Its Secrets” and “Triplets by Cesarean Section.”
A Ghost Waits (Blu-ray)
Details: 2020, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A haunted house horror-comedy about a handyman, Jack, played by the film’s producer MacLeod Andrews, hired to renovate a neglected rental home, who quickly discovers why all the tenants keep leaving.
It seems the house is haunted by Muriel (Natalie Walker), whose task is to make sure the home remains vacant.
Jack and Muriel soon learn they have a lot in common; they are kindred spirits who are lonely. Together, they fight for their newfound affection, despite the pressures that keep them at cross purposes.
The movie is imaginative and delightful, with Andrews and Walker offering touching performances.
A supernatural rom com that is charming and a cute study about loneliness.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio stereo; English SDH subtitles.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Another Gay Picture: Director’s Cut (DVD) (Breaking Glass Pictures)
For the Sake of Vicious (Blu-ray) (Dread)
Painkiller (DVD & digital & VOD) (Cinedigm)
Stealing Chaplin (DVD & digital) (High Octane Pictures)
Tu Me Manques (DVD & VOD) (Dark Star Pictures)
The Virtuoso (Blu-ray & VOD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Wrong Place, Wrong Time (DVD & VOD) (Uncork’d Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Cerebrum (Glasshouse Distribution)
Crappy Mother’s Day (Uncork’d Entertainment)
Dark State (Atlas Distribution Company)
Selena the Series: Part 2 (www.netflix.com/selena) (Netflix)
The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness (Netflix, May 5)
The Drowning (Acorn TV-Sundance Now, May 6)
15 Things You Didn’t Know About Bigfoot (#1 Will Blow Your Mind) (Cranked Up, May 7)
Jupiter’s Legacy (www.netflix.com/jupiterslegacy) (Netflix, May 7)
Locked In (Saban Films-Paramount, May 7)
The Paper Tigers (Well Go USA Entertainment, May 7)
Undercover Punch & Gun (Well Go USA Entertainment, May 7)
Undergods (Gravitas Ventures, May 7)
Amber (Acorn TV, May 10)
Blinded — Those Who Kill (Acorn TV, May 10)
Burn Burn Burn (Sundance Now, May 10)
Girl Rising (Sundance Now, May 10)
Gun Runners (Sundance Now, May 10)
Harmonium (Sundance Now, May 10)
Keeping Faith: Series 3, Episode 6 (Acorn TV, May 10)
No Small Matter (Sundance Now, May 10)
Coming next week: The Mauritanian
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.