New to View: March 29
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, March 29, unless otherwise noted:
Marry Me (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2022, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, suggestive material, language
The lowdown: Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson star in this romantic comedy about pop star Kat Valdez who is set to marry her pop star fiancé, Bastian (Maluma), on stage when she discovers he has cheated on her with her assistant.
Broken-hearted Kat has a meltdown on stage and in a moment of insanity, she impulsively chooses to marry divorced high school math teacher Charlie Gilbert (Wilson), who was dragged to the concert by his daughter, Lou (Chloe Coleman), and his best friend, Parker (Sarah Silverman).
They marry and shortly thereafter reality sets in as the differences between their two worlds present difficult challenges that must be overcome for true romance to survive and thrive.
The film is an engaging and formulaic studio rom com that does not break any new ground but is successful because of the winning personalities of Lopez and Wilson.
Critics were mostly generous to the movie, awarding it a 61 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 2.0 DVS and French 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 options include a gag reel, deleted scenes, a making of featurette, a behind-the-scenes look at Lopez, a look at the movie’s music, a look at Lopez and Maluma performing at Madison Square Garden, a look at the styles set for Kat and Bastian’s wedding, a video and a commentary track.
Sing 2: Collector’s Edition (4K UHD + Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2021, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG, rude material, mild danger, violence
The lowdown: All your favorite characters from the original return in this Illumination animated sequel, which finds the always-optimistic koala, Buster Moon, and his friends dreaming of staging their own show in the entertainment capital of Redshore City.
The only hitch — they must persuade the world most reclusive rock star, Clay Calloway, to join them.
Returning are Rosita, Ash, Johnny, Meena and Gunter, who are joined by some new characters in this family friendly comedy that spotlights the emotional power of music.
The movie’s vocal talent includes Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton, Nick Kroll, Tori Kelly, Bobby Cannavale, Pharrell Williams, Halsey and Bono.
The movie was enjoyed by a majority of critics, who awarded it a 71 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, Spanish 7.1 Dolby digital plus and French 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, 2.0 DVS, Spanish 7.1 Dolby digital plus and French 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bons materials include two mini-movies — “For Gunther’s Eyes Only” and “Animal Attraction; outtakes, super sing-alongs, how to draw and how to dance featurettes, a look at the movie’s voice talents and a behind-the-scenes with the animators.
The Last Waltz (4K UHD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1978, The Criterion Collection
Rated: PG, language
The lowdown: Martin Scorsese directed this rock ‘n’ roll concert film documenting and celebrating the farewell performance of The Band, which had backed up rockabilly hero Ronnie Hawkins and who also recorded with Bob Dylan.
The movie, filmed at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom on Thanksgiving, 1976, featured performances by Dylan, Muddy Waters, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, the Staple Singers, Neil Young and Van Morrison, among others.
Scorsese utilized seven camera operators, led by director of photography Michael Chapman, and including Vilmos Zsigmond and László Kovács, to film the artists.
The movie is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that brings the viewers onstage and immerses them in the music.
The film received a 98 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include two commentary tracks, a 2002 documentary about the making of the movie, a new interview with Scorsese, a 1978 interview with Scorsese and Band member Robbie Robertson and an essay about the movie.
A Star Is Born (Blu-ray)
Details: 1937, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: The first and, rated by many film buffs as the best, version of this heartbreaking Cinderella story about a young woman who becomes a movie star and the personal toll her rise to fame costs her.
The movie, produced by David O. Selznick and directed by William A. Wellman, features Janet Gaynor as Esther Blodgett, a young hopeful whose career is launched by fading star Norman Maine (Fredric March). Esther’s name is changed to Vicki Lester and she soon becomes a rising star.
She and Maine also fall in love and eventually marry. But as her career continues to skyrocket, Maine’s declines because of his age and alcoholism.
And while Esther wants to abandon her dreams for love of her husband, his sacrifice compels her to both continue her career while honoring her husband.
This version of the movie — remade in 1954 with Judy Garland, 1976 with Barbra Streisand and 2018 with Lady Gaga — has been lovingly restored from its original nitrate Technicolor camera negatives.
It looks and sounds wonderful. You can find the movie at the Warner Archive Collection store at Amazon.com or at other online retailers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 (16×9 enhanced) full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include two “Lux Radio Theater” broadcast adaptations of the film, a classic Warner Bros. cartoon, “A Star Is Hatched,” and three Warner Bros. shorts.
“Drive-In Retro Classics: Science Fiction Triple Feature (DVD)
Details: 1950-58, Corinth Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This trio of sci-fi movies are not so much classics as solidly entertaining features, spanning a decade in which movies about space travel and the effects of radiation excited the public.
The movies in the set are “Rocketship X-M” (1950), “The Brain from Planet Arous” (1957) and “The Hideous Sun Demon” (1958).
“Rocketship X-M” features a strong cast headed by Lloyd Bridges, Osa Massen and John Emery as well as Noah Beery Jr. and Hugh O’Brien. The story centers on mankind’s first expedition to the moon, but an accident with their ship sends the crew to Mars where they find evidence of a once-thriving, now destroyed, civilization.
The surviving crew members attempt to return home and, in the process, issue a dire warning about how the same fate can befall our planet.
The film’s Martian sequences have a reddish tint reflecting their alien landscape.
“The Brain from Planet Arous” stars John Agar as a nuclear scientist whose mind is taken over by an evil brain-like entity from the planet of the title, whose race wants to enslave the Earth.
Of course, mankind prevails in the final reel.
“The Hideous Sun Demon” was directed by and stars Robert Clarke as an atomic research scientist who, after a near fatal exposure to radiation, discovers that his body now has a terrible reaction to the sun, transforming him into a reptilian creature when sunlight hits his skin.
And while colleagues work to cure the scientist, the psychological toll of the experience begins to take a toll on the man.
The movie is rather cheesy, but still enjoyable enough to tolerate.
Fans of 1950s sci-fi will get a kick out of this set and may even bring back memories — as it did for me — of Saturday afternoons with friends at movie matinees.
Technical aspects: 1.37:1 full-screen picture (“Rocketship X-M”) and 1.85:1 widescreen picture (“The Brain from Planet Arous” and “The Hideous Sun Demon”); English Dolby digital monaural.
Shakedown (Blu-ray)
Details: 1950, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A crime-thriller that centers on press photographer Jack Early (Howard Duff), who is sent to snap a picture of racketeer Nick Palmer (Brian Donlevy).
Palmer likes Early and takes him under his wing. But Early has other — and bigger ideas — including double-crossing his new benefactor. Early sets up Palmer and rival crime boss Harry Colton (Lawrence Tierney) against one another.
At the same time, the slimy Early is seducing and manipulating newspaperwoman Ellen Bennett (Peggy Dow) as well as Palmer’s moll Nita (Anne Vernon).
Eventually, Early’s unscrupulous ways catch up with him in this film-noir drama directed by Joseph Pevney.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track is the major bonus component.
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (Blu-ray)
Details: 1962, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: G
The lowdown: This rather fictionalized biography of brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, portrayed by Laurence Harvey and Karl Boehm, was produced by George Pal, who also directed the stop-motion animation sequences, while Henry Levin directed the rest of the movie.
The story centers on the brothers, who are tasked with writing a historical manuscript for a local duke. However, they are behind schedule because Wilhelm spends most of his time collecting fairy tales.
After an accident in which Wilhelm nearly dies, Jacob agrees to work with his brother on a book of fairy tales.
The movie, shot in the Cinerama process, and presented in that format in this two-disc set, features three of the brother’s fairy tales — “The Dancing Princess,” “The Cobbler and the Elves” and “The Singing Bone.”
The cast also includes Claire Bloom, Walter Slazek, Oscar Homolka and Barbara Eden, as well as Russ Tamblyn reprising his role as Tom Thumb. Appearing in the fairy tale sequences are Jim Backus, Yvette Mimieux, Tamblyn, Terry-Thomas, Beulah Bondi, Otto Kruger and Buddy Hackett.
The set features the movie in a letterboxed format and a Smilebox version, which attempts to replicate the curved Cinerama experience.
The release is a made-on-demand Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection and can be found at the WAC store at Amazon.com or from other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.85:1 widescreen picture and 2.59:1 (16×9 enhanced) Smilebox format picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include radio interviews with Tamblyn and Mimieux, featurettes about Pal and the movie and a look at the film’s restoration.
On the 3rd Day (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, Scream Factory-Shudder
Rated: Not rated, violence, language
The lowdown: Cecilia is on a trip with her young son when she has a car accident.
Three days later, Cecilia finds herself wandering on a lonely road with no sign of her son anywhere. More importantly, she has no memory of what occurred after the crash.
She begins searching for her child, which leads her to an eventual face-off against a fanatical religious cult, which holds the key to the entire mystery.
The film offers some suspense and a few familiar horror-thriller tropes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English (dubbed) 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Jump, Darling (DVD & digital) (Breaking Glass Pictures)
Pursuit (Blu-ray & DVD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Royalty Free: The Music of Kevin MacLeod (DVD & VOD) (First Run Pictures)
Schemers (DVD & digital) (Gravitas Ventures)
Writing with Fire (DVD) (Music Box Films)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib (www.netflix.com/bossbabybackinthecrib) (Netflix)
Death on the Nile (Buena Vista Home Entertainment)
The Girl from Plainville: Episodes 1-3 (Hulu)
Jackass Forever (Paramount Home Entertainment)
Jockey (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
So Cold the River (Saban Films)
APRIL 1
Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood (Netflix)
The Bubble (www.netflix.com/TheBubble) (Netflix)
Get Organized with the Home Edition: Season 2 (Netflix)
Let the Wrong One In (Dark Sky Films)
Severance: Episode 8 (Apple TV+)
Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
APRIL 4
Rookie Season (Strike Back Studios)
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.