New to View: June 22

By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, June 22, unless otherwise noted:
Nobody (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2021, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: R, bloody images, strong violence, language, drug use
The lowdown: “Nobody” lulls you into false expectations.
The film opens with a montage of the daily, routine life of Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk). Mansell lives in a nice suburban home with his wife and two children and works for his father-in-law.
His life changes when two burglars break into his house, and he offers no resistance. His son believes him a coward, while Hutch’s wife begins acting chilly toward him.
He also gets grief at work from his father-in-law and brother-in-law.
Fed up, Mansell begins going out at night. At this point, you suspect that “Nobody” is going to take a “Death Wish” vigilante route.
And in a manner of speaking, it does, until an incident on a bus begins to provide hints of the man Mansell used to be.
“Nobody,” at 92 minutes, transforms into a bloody, ultraviolent and cartoonish action-thriller in which Mansell, using skills that have lain dormant for years, becomes a one-man army, dismantling dozens of minions of a Russian mobster that, to exact revenge, want to harm Mansell’s family.
This freewheeling and exciting movie is so far out there that, despite the mayhem, you actually begin to laugh. It’s almost as if “Nobody” were a satire on the recent spate of action movies starring Liam Neeson, but with the Ordinary Joe-like Odenkirk in the Neeson role.
“Nobody” is delightfully savage. It is too unbelievable to even try taking seriously. The film truly is a guilty-pleasure popcorn muncher.
A good majority of critics got the joke, awarding the movie an 83 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, 2.0 DVS, Spanish 7.1 Dolby digital and French 5.1 Dolby digital; 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 featurette on Odenkirk training to become Hutch Mansell, deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the major fight sequences, a look at the beginning of the story for Odenkirk and what director Ilya Naishuller brought to the film and two commentary tracks, one with Odenkirk and Naishuller and the other with just Naishuller.

Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One (Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2021, Warner Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, violence, bloody images, language, smoking
The lowdown: In the latest Batman animated feature from the DC Universe, the Dark Knight, Capt. James Gordon and district attorney Harvey Dent work furiously to discover and capture the mysterious Holiday killer, who has been targeting the underworld and leaving corpses all over the city.
It is a time of misdeeds and corruption as the Falcone crime family has the city in its malevolent grip.
Can these champions of law and order solve the case before the next holiday?
The film is based on the popular and critically acclaimed graphic novel.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include “The Losers,” a DC Showcase Short, in which the ragtag World War II outcasts find themselves marooned on an uncharted island in the South Pacific that is overrun with dinosaurs; a sneak peek at part two of “Batman: The Long Halloween”; and two cartoons from the DC Vault.

French Exit (DVD)
Release date: June 15
Details: 2020, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: R, language, sexual references
The lowdown: Michelle Pfeiffer stars as Frances Price, a penniless Manhattan socialite, now living in Paris. Price’s husband died 12 years earlier and she has been living off his inheritance ever since.
But now, the money is gone, she sells the rest of her possessions and resolves to live quietly and anonymously in a borrowed apartment.
Her main companion is her directionless son, Malcolm (Lucas Hedges). She also finds comfort in her cat, Small Frank, who may embody the spirit of Price’s dead husband (and is voiced by the wonderful Tracy Letts).
The movie is, at times, goofy, but Pfeiffer’s performance has a grace and nobility that makes it interesting viewing.
Technical aspects: 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English and English audio description track 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, English and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Deleted and extended scenes comprise the main extras.

The War Tapes (DVD)
Details: 2006, Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This Iraqi War documentary was compiled from footage shot by soldiers on the front lines.
The movie details Operation Iraqi Freedom through the lenses of Sgt. Steve Pink, a wisecracking carpenter with dreams of being a writer; Sgt. Zack Bazzi, a Lebanese-American university student who enjoys traveling and is fluent in Arabic; and Specialist Michael Moriarty, a father and patriot who rejoined the Army after 9/11.
The trio captured more than 800 hours of footage, offering a look at their lives in the midst of war.
The movie shows their struggle to understand their duty and their mission as well as the impact their deployment has on their families.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental offerings include follow-up interviews with the soldiers, outtakes and extended scenes.

Camino: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 2015, MVD Rewind Collection
Rated: Not rated, bloody violence
The lowdown: Zoe Bell stars in this action-thriller as war photographer Avery Taggert who is on assignment in the Colombian jungle following a group of missionaries supposedly bringing medication to the poor.
But when Avery photographs the Guillermo, the missionary leader, conducting a cocaine deal and murdering a child witness, he turns his group against the photographer and orders them to kill her on sight.
Avery flees into the jungle and begins a cat-and-mouse game with those hunting her.
The film is B-movie fodder that comes to life during Bell’s many hand-to-hand combat sequences, which her fans will appreciate.
Other than that, the movie is lackluster and preposterous.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English and French subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a three-part behind-the-scenes featurette and a soundtrack promo.

Boogie (Blu-ray + digital)
Release date: June 1
Details: 2021, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: R, language, sexual references, drug use
The lowdown: “Boogie” is not your typical, formulaic, inspirational sports story. It’s also about race, culture and family expectations.
Boogie Chen (Taylor Takahasi), a Queens native, transfers to a new high school, City Prep, to get exposure from college recruiters and hopefully a full athletic scholarship — a dream of his parents.
Problems arise almost immediately: Boogie’s new team is not good and its coach and he clash over Boogie’s attitude.
Some top schools, including Georgetown and St. John’s, want to recruit the young athlete, but neither offers a scholarship.
Boogie’s manager begins pressuring him to play a year in China to gain experience as a path to his dream of playing in the NBA.
The film marks the debuts of Takahasi and writer-director Eddie Huang.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 2.0 DVS and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a featurette with Takahasi and Huang discussing the road to Takahasi’s casting as well as their budding friendship, a discussion with Huang about his personal connection to the film’s cultural complexities and a tribute to costar Bashar “Pop Smoke” Jackson.

The Paper Tigers (Blu-ray)
Details: 2020, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, language, offensive slurs, violence
The lowdown: Three childhood friends, all kung fu, disciples reunite after 25 years.
Time has not been kind to the trio who are washed-up, middle-aged, out-of-shape losers.
But when their old master in murdered, they reunite to avenge him.
In the process, they must learn to put aside old grudges and work together to honorably defend his legacy — as well as not get themselves killed as well.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 16:9 enhanced widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, Korean, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and Vietnamese subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a behind-the-scenes featurette, bloopers and deleted scenes.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond Season 1 (Blu-ray)
Release date: June 15
Details: 2020, RLJE Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A three-disc set featuring all 10 first-season episodes of this “Walking Dead” series, which is set 10 years into the apocalypse.
The series centers on sisters Hope and Iris Bennett, who have grown up inside a walled community, the Campus Colony, which houses about 10,000 people, about a hundred miles outside Omaha.
Their scientist father conducts research in a facility that is about 1,000 miles away. When the sisters receive a message that their father is in danger, they break the rules of their community and enlist the aid of a couple of friends, Elton and Silas, to make the dangerous journey to save him.
Along the way, during the various episodes, they fight living and dead threats.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include looks at the series and characters and a making of the first season featurette.

Your Honor (DVD)
Release date: June 15
Details: 2020-21, Showtime Entertainment-Paramount Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This three-disc set features Bryan Cranston as Michael Desiato, a respected New Orleans judge whose teen-age son, Adam, is involved in a hit-and-run accident in which the son of Jimmy Baxter (Michael Stuhlbarg), a local mob boss, is killed.
When Cranston’s Desiato discovers the identity of the victim, he and his son concoct an alibi and a cover-up.
But Baxter and his just as dangerous wife, Gina (Hope Davis), will stop at nothing to uncover the truth.
The cat-and-mouse game plays out over 10 episodes.
The cast also includes Carmen Ejogo, Isiah Whitlock Jr. and Sofia Black-D’Elia.
Technical aspects: 16:9 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Deleted scenes comprise the major extras.

Adam Resurrected (Blu-ray)
Details: 2008, MVD Marquee Collection
Rated: R, disturbing behavior, language, sexual content, nudity
The lowdown: Jeff Goldblum stars as Adam, a World War II death camp survivor who was tormented by a high-ranking Nazi officer, played by Willem Dafoe.
Since the war, Adam has spent 15 years in remote experimental insane asylum with fellow Holocaust victims.
With what remains of his sanity, Adam uses his magic and talent skills to entertain his fellow residents. He also develops a relationship with a pretty nurse, played by Ayelet Zurer.
Adam’s begins to confront his own pain and guilt after he reaches out to a mentally scarred young boy.
The movie celebrates the resilience of the human spirit, but its plot is somewhat convoluted and unfocused.
The cast, which also includes Derek Jacobi, was directed by Paul Schrader.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, a commentary track with Schrader and a question-and-answer program at the Haifa International Film Festival.

“Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973-1977: Limited Edition” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1973-77, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A three-disc set featuring five Italian crime thrillers produced during an era in which intensity uncertainty and instability reigned in the country.
Right-wing and left-wing terrorism ran rampant, corruption flourished and people viewed the government and police with cynicism, suspicion, paranoia and rage.
During this time, these sentiments found their way into many brutal crime features that were morally ambiguous. This era was dubbed “Years of Lead.”
The movies in this set reflect these times. The titles are: “Savage Three” (1975), “Like Rabid Dogs” (1976), “Colt 38 Special Squad” (1976), “Highway Racer” (1977) and “No, the Case Is Happily Resolved” (1973).
This genre was dubbed “poliziotteschi” by critics, who decried these films for their supposedly fascistic overtones.
However, upon viewing you see that the movies are more ideologically varied and nuanced than their capsule descriptions.
For those whose Italian films mostly consist of sword-and-sandal epics, giallo suspense and mystery movies or comedies with sexual overtones, these features are an interesting viewing experience.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture (“Savage Three,” “Highway Racer” and “No, the Case Is Happily Resolved”) and 2:35:1 widescreen picture (“Like Rabid Dogs” and “Colt 38 Special Squad”); Italian LPCM monaural and English LPCM monaural (“Colt 38 Special Squad”); English SDH (“Colt 38 Special Squad”) and English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include interviews with directors and actors associated with the movies, visual essays, an alternate ending on “No, the Case Is Happily Resolved” and a booklet with essays about the movies.

Irezumi (Blu-ray)
Details: 1966, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: “Irezumi” is a thriller considered part of a specific subgenre in which women are tattooed, often against their will.
“Irezumi” tells the story of a middle-class woman who is betrayed and sold into geisha slavery, where she becomes the obsessive subject of a tattoo artist who adorns her back with a giant spider that has a human-like face.
While supposedly acting submissive, the woman apparently is exacting revenge with death and destruction always around her.
The film also has a hint of the supernatural, implying that the spider tattoo is influencing the woman’s behavior. And in its own bizarre way, it is a celebration of female empowerment.
The film’s video transfer is excellent.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include a commentary track, an introduction to the film by Tony Rayns, an analysis of the movie’s cinematography and a booklet about the film.

Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Diana at Sixty (DVD & digital & VOD) (Coach House Productions)
The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee (Blu-ray) (Severin Films-MVD Visual Entertainment)
Feed the Gods (Blu-ray) (MVD Marquee Collection)
Last Request (DVD) (IndiePix Films)
Siberia (Blu-ray & DVD & digital) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Horropops — Live at The Wiltern (Blu-ray + DVD + CD) (Cleopatra Entertainment, June 18)
Lilly’s Light: The Movie: Special Edition (Blu-ray) (FilmRise, June 8)

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Life in a Year (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Miranda Veil (Indican Pictures)
A Soldier’s Story: Return from the Dead (Indican Pictures)
Finding Ophelia (Indie Rights, June 23)
Unchained (ArtStyle Pictures, June 23)
Sisters on Track (Netflix, June 24)
Cruella (Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, June 25)
False Positive (Hulu, June 25)
Fathom (Apple TV+, June 25)
Gaia (Neon-Decal, June 25)
The Ice Road (www.netflix.com/theiceroad) (Netflix, June 25)
Lansky (Vertical Entertainment, June 25)
My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (Dark Sky Films, June 25)
Sex/Life (www.netflix.com/sexlife) (Netflix, June 25)
Werewolves Within (IFC Films, June 25)
Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries: Season 2, Episode 5 (Acorn TV, June 28)

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