New to View: June 21
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, June 21, unless otherwise noted:
The Bad Guys: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2022, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG, action, rude humor
The lowdown: This delightful, animated feature from DreamWorks Animation centers on five infamous friends — Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Mr. Piranha, Mr. Shark and Ms. Tarantula. They have committed numerous heists and are considered the world’s most-wanted villains.
But when the gang is finally caught, Mr. Wolf makes a deal to keep them out of prison, pretending they have transformed into good guys.
This family-friendly film offers solid characters, a breezy story and some emotional depth.
It is abetted by fine vocal performances from Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Alex Borstein, Zazie Beetz and Richard Ayoade.
The movie received an 88 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos and 2.0 DVS, Spanish 7.1 Dolby digital plus 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 making of featurette; deleted scenes; an original short “Maraschino Ruby”; a featurette on the vocal talent; a cast table reading; a look at how to make Mr. Snake’s frozen pops; a look at how to create storyboards; and a commentary track.
Ambulance (4K UHD + Blu-ray + digital)
Release date: June 14
Details: 2022, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: R, intense violence, bloody images, language
The lowdown: Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this action-thriller directed by Michael Bay as Danny, a career criminal who is called upon to help his adoptive brother, Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a veteran desperate for money.
Danny’s way of helping is offering his brother a big score, but when the heist goes wrong, the brothers hijack an ambulance with a wounded police officer and an EMT onboard.
The brothers must evade a citywide law enforcement response to the heist and the hijacking, keep their hostages alive as well as trying not to kill each other.
The movie, despite its unrealistic premise, is exciting and the typical assault on the senses associated with Bay’s moviemaking.
A majority of critics seemed to have fun with the film, giving it a 69 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 2,35:1 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, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos and 2.0 DVS, Spanish 7.1 Dolby digital plus and French 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include cast members, including Gyllenhaal, Abdul-Mateen II and Eliza Gonzalez, and members of the crew discussing the experience of working on a Bay movie; a look at how Bay raised his car chase craft level; a featurette on Bay’s use of drones to create dynamic aerial footage; a featurette on the genesis of the movie; a featurette on how Los Angeles’ miles of highways and streets became characters in the film; and a tribute to first responders.
Shaft: Combo Edition (4K + Blu-ray)
Details: 1971, The Criterion Collection
Rated: R, violence, language, sexual content and references
The lowdown: There is no overstating the impact of “Shaft” in movie history. The film, written by Ernest Tidyman and directed by Gordon Parks, was produced during a tumultuous era in U.S. history — the Vietnam anti-war movement and the rise of Black power across the nation.
The movie’s success helped launch the blaxploitation era and introduced a bad-ass action hero in John Shaft, a career-defining role for Richard Roundtree.
The story centers on Shaft being recruited to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a Harlem mob boss from Italian gangsters and soon finding himself in the middle of an uptown vs. downtown gangland turf war.
Parks offers a gritty look at early 1970s’ Manhattan, abetted by a funky score by Isaac Hayes.
The film inspired sequels, remakes and copy-cat features, but none touch the original.
The movie earned an 86 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K UHD: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a Blu-ray of the sequel, “Shaft’s Big Score”; a documentary about “Shaft”; a 1971 archival featurette on the filming of the movie; archival interview with Parks, Hayes and Roundtree; a new program centering on Hayes’ score; an interview with the movie’s costume designer; a new featurette about the Black detective; a 2019 featurette on the “Shaft” legacy; and an essay about the movie and character.
Father Stu (Blu-ray + digital)
Release date: June 14
Details: 2022, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: R, language
The lowdown: Mark Wahlberg stars in this story of faith, based on the life of Stuart Long, a former amateur boxer who, after a motorcycle accident, wonders if he can use his second chance to help others.
He comes to the surprising realization that he is meant to be a priest.
Despite a severe health crisis and the skepticism of church officials as well as his estranged parents, played by Mel Gibson and Jacki Weaver, Stu pursues his chosen vocation, displaying courage and compassion. He inspires those close to him and others with whom he comes in contact on his journey.
The movie was not that well received by critics, who gave it a 43 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 5.1 Dolby digital audio description track and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include deleted scenes and a featurette about Father Stuart Long.
Strawberry Mansion (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, Music Box Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A futuristic fantasy, set in 2035, in which people’s dreams are infused with product placement and where auditors assess unpaid taxes on individual’s most private imaginings.
James Preble (Kentucker Audley, who also cowrote and co-directed) is a long-suffering taxman who visits an old house in the countryside for a routine dream audit.
There, he meets Bella Isadora (Penny Fuller), a lifelong dreamer who remains stubbornly analog.
As Preble works through Bella’s archive of VHS tapes of her unconscious, he begins a cosmic journey, along the way falling in love with Bella’s younger self, played by Grace Glowicki.
Bella’s dreamworld, though, is cluttered with dangerous family secrets and a gallery of tape monsters, sailor mice and blue demons, who threaten to burn down the lovers’ paradise.
The movie asks the question if Preble and Bella can flee from their monetized dreamscape and find refuge in the peaceful Strawberry Mansion.
This gentle, eccentric feature provides some bite. It impressed critics who awarded it an 87 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include a commentary track, a making of featurette, deleted and extended scenes, test footage and animation, short films by cowriter-co-director Albert Birney and a look at the Dan Deacon soundtrack and music video.
Vampire’s Kiss (Blu-ray)
Details: 1988, MVD Rewind Collection
Rated: R, violence, sexual content, nudity, language
The lowdown: Nicolas Cage gives one of his patented over-the-top performances in this horror-comedy feature about Peter Loew (Cage), white-collar New Yorker, whose life seems to revolve around making as much money as he can and bedding as many women as he can meet.
Things change when he brings home the sexy Rachel (Jennifer Beals), who bites him on the neck when they are in bed.
The next day, Peter awakes and believes that he has become a vampire. Though no one shares his viewpoint nor has he changed physically, Peter, wearing fake fangs, begins stalking women.
The question the movie raises is whether Peter actually has become a creature of the night or has his fevered imagination gotten the better of him?
The film’s biggest problem is Cage’s unbridled, self-indulgent acting, which limits any sympathy you may have for his character.
Critics thought so as well, awarding the movie a 58 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 LPCM monaural; English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track with Cage and director Robert Berman is the main extra.
Last of the Dogmen (Blu-ray)
Release date: June 14
Details: 1995, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG, violence
The lowdown: Tom Berenger stars as bounty hunter Lewis Gates, hired to hunt down a trio of escaped convicts in the Oxbow region of the Rockies in this contemporary Western.
The trail he follows leads him to a secluded spot and signs of a struggle. While he does not find any bodies, he does discover a strange arrow shaft.
He takes his find to Lillian Sloan (Barbara Hershey), an expert on Native American culture. Together, they set out to solve the mystery.
Deep in the Oxbow, Gates and Sloan a tribe they believe cannot exist, massacred 100 years earlier. Now, they must race against time to save these people from the destructive forces of the modern world, symbolized by the twisted Sheriff Deegan (Kurtwood Smith), who wants to use the killings of the escaped convicts to wipe out the tribe.
This interesting feature earned a 69 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: The main extra is a commentary track.
The UFO Incident (Blu-ray)
Details: 1975, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: James Earl Jones (“The Great White Hope”) and Estelle Parsons (“Bonnie and Clyde”) star as Barney and Betty Hill in this made-for-TV movie about husband-and-wife survivors of an alien abduction.
The movie is based on one of the most controversial and heavily documented cases of an extraterrestrial encounter.
The Hills claim that on Sept. 19, 1961, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire they were taken aboard a saucer-like spacecraft and examined medically by greyish-skinned humanoids.
The film describes the couple’s very bad anxiety and nightmarish visions following the experience, during which they both suffered from amnesia.
For years, the Hills refused to discuss the experience, which put a strain on their marriage. Finally, they decided to visit a psychiatrist, portrayed by Bernard Hughes, and, under hypnosis, told remarkably similar stories about the event.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include a commentary track by filmmaker-historian Gary Gerani and a feature-length documentary about the film.
Ip Man: The Awakening (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This martial arts feature looks at the young Ip Man during a time when he visited Hong Kong.
There, he intervenes in a kidnapping, igniting a turf war with a human trafficking ring.
Ring members retaliate by kidnapping a close friend of Ip Man, forcing him to challenge the group’s brutal boxing champion to combat.
These movies about the legendary martial artist continue to be rolled out on an assembly-line basis, but they have enough action to satisfy fans of the genre.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; Mandarin and English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
For Me and My Gal (Blu-ray)
Release date: June 7
Details: 1942, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This delightful MGM musical stars Judy Garland as well as serving as the film debut for Gene Kelly who, for years, praised Garland’s kindness and helpfulness for a newcomer.
In the movie, set in the years before World War I, Garland and Kelly portray song-and-dance partners who struggle to climb the ladder of success.
The movie, directed by Busby Berkeley, costars George Murphy and features such numbers as “Ballin’ the Jack” as well as the title song.
In his first movie, Kelly plays an egotistical heel who reforms and shows heroism during the war.
The release is a made-on-demand Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection and can be ordered from the WAC store at Amazon or from other online sellers.
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: Bonus options include a commentary by Garland biographer John Fricke; two vintage musical shorts, “La Fiesta de Santa Barbara” and “Every Sunday”; a deleted finale; outtakes; and a 1943 “Screen Guild Players” radio production of the movie.
Passion in the Desert (Blu-ray)
Release date: June 7
Details: 1997, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG-13, graphic violence, nudity
The lowdown: This feature looks at the mystical bond between man and beast as envisioned by Honoré de Balzac in his controversial novella.
The film centers on Augustin, a young officer in Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign who becomes lost in the Sahara Desert.
He realizes that he will probably die, until he stumbles upon a mysterious ruin, where he is befriended by a wild leopard. The two form a passionate and tragic bond, offering an unforgettable and exotic experience that should enchant viewers.
The movie, which earned a 71 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, shows sensitivity, intelligence and artistry.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Ziegfeld Girl (Blu-ray)
Release date: June 7
Details: 1941, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Lana Turner, Hedy Lamarr and Judy Garland star in this backstage MGM feature that spotlights three young women from different backgrounds seeking stardom in the Ziegfeld Follies.
The men in their lives are played by James Stewart, Philip Dorn and Jackie Cooper.
The movie mixes drama with some extravagant musical numbers directed by Busby Berkeley.
The strong cast also includes Tony Martin, Paul Kelly, Charles Winninger, Ian Hunter and Edward Everett Horton.
A musical highlight is the “You Stepped Out of a Dream” number, which featured vocals by Martin.
The release is a made-on-demand Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection and can be found at the WAC Amazon store or other online sellers.
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: Extras include an introduction by Garland biographer John Fricke; two musical shorts; an “Our Gang” short; two audio-only outtakes; and the deleted “We Must Have Music” finale.
The Beatles and India (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, Abacus Media Rights-MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A musical and historical documentary that looks at the spiritual journey of The Beatles — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr — as the young musicians visit a remote Himalayan ashram in search of bliss and cleansing that ultimately inspires an intense burst of creative songwriting.
The movie explores how India shaped the development of the band and John, Paul, George and Ringo’s role in bridging the vastly different cultures as well as introducing Indian music, musicians and instruments to the West.
The documentary also explores the relationship between the Beatles and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and their parting, which the documentary goes into near its finale.
The film also looks at Harrison’s fascination with Indian music and how he was drawn to study with sitar master Ravi Shankar.
Fans of the Beatles will find this an interesting addition to their Fab Four collection, with archival footage and audio recordings from various participants.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
The Clock (Blu-ray)
Release date: June 14
Details: 1945, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This wartime romance stars Judy Garland and Robert Walker as a young couple who meet in New York while Walker, a GI, is on a two-day pass.
The two fall madly in love and, with the city as a backdrop, begin a whirlwind affair that culminates in them getting married.
At various times, the city helps and hinders the young lovers, either embracing or frustrating them as they decide to wed.
The movie was directed by Vincente Minnelli, who was about to marry Garland.
The release is a made-on-demand Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection and can be found at WAC Amazon store or other Internet sellers.
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: Extras include a Pete Smith short, a cartoon and a radio show adaptation of the movie with Garland and John Hodiak.
Edge of Sanity (Blu-ray)
Details: 1989, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Anthony Perkins stars in this mash-up of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and the Whitechapel murders committed by Jack the Ripper in the late 19th century.
Perkins’ Jekyll is conducting experiments into a powerful new anesthetic. When they go terribly awry, the good doctor is transformed into the pleasure-seeking and murderous Hyde.
In this iteration of the story, Jekyll has a wife, Elisabeth, who does charitable work, rehabilitating Whitechapel’s fallen women (prostitutes, to make it even clearer).
As his monstrous alter-ego, Perkins cuts loose, giving an extreme performance that would make Nicolas Cage blush. The movie offers some story situations that may surprise you, but fans of Perkins may appreciate his intensity.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include director Gérard Kikoïne discussing the movie, another featurette in which Kikoïne discusses his career, a commentary track, an interview with the film’s producer, an analysis of Jack the Ripper in film culture and an overview of the movie by author Stephen Thrower.
Aliens, Clowns and Geeks: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 2019, Elfmaniac Media-MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This wild and hilarious sci-fi feature, from the mind of writer-director Richard Elfman, tells of out-of-work actor Eddy Pine who somehow stumbles upon the key to the universe and is drawn into an intergalactic war between killer clowns and sneaky green aliens.
All this places the fate of the planet on Pine’s shoulders.
The cast of this cult favorite includes Bodhi Elfman as Pine, Rebecca Forsythe, George Wendt, French Stewart, Verne Troyer, Steve Agee, Angeline Rose Troy and Martin Klebba.
This satire, which features music by Danny Elfman and Ego Plum, received a 100 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Critics lauded the film’s outrageousness and absurdity.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include behind-the-scenes interviews with cast members and filmmakers, an interview with writer-director Richard Elfman and a “Mambo Diabolico” music video.
The Initiation of Sarah (Blu-ray)
Details: 1978, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This made-for-TV horror feature centers on Sarah Goodwin (Kay Lenz) who has the gift to control and, if need be, destroy with her mind.
The movie, inspired by the success of “Carrie,” follows Sarah as she goes to college with her more outgoing and popular sister, Patty (Morgan Brittany).
The sisters aspirations to join a prestigious campus sorority are dashed by Jennifer Lawrence, the snobby president, played by Morgan Fairchild.
Sarah is separated by her sister and joins a rival, less popular sorority, whose mysterious house mother, played by two-time Oscar-winner Shelley Winters), wants to harness Sarah’s powers for a revenge scheme.
Betrayed by Patty and humiliated by Jennifer, things erupt in flames during Sorority Hell Week.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track, a visual essay about the movie, interviews with film critic Samantha McLaren and story co-writer Tom Holland, and an appreciation of the movie.
Aquaman: King of Atlantis (DVD & digital)
Details: 2021, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Aquaman, the newly-crowned king of Atlantis, begins his first day on the throne, with lots to do.
He is aided by his two royal advisors, the scholar Vulko, and Mera, the water-controlling warrior princess.
Aquaman has to deal with shady surface dwellers and his half-brother, who wants to take the throne.
Aquaman must rise to the challenge to prove to his subjects — and more importantly to himself — that he is worthy to rule the undersea kingdom.
Technical aspects: widescreen picture; English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
The Cellar (Blu-ray & DVD) (RLJE Films)
Cinderella (Blu-ray & DVD & digital) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Cyst (DVD & digital & VOD) (RLJE Films)
Escape the Field (Blu-ray & DVD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Potato Dreams of America (Blu-ray) (Dark Star Pictures-Vinegar Syndrome)
You Are Not My Mother (Blu-ray & DVD & VOD) (Magnet Releasing-Magnolia Home Entertainment)
FOR KIDS
Panda, Go Panda! (Blu-ray & DVD) (GKids-Shout! Factory)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Granada Nights (Amazon Prime-Apple TV+)
The Story Won’t Die (Raefilm Studios)
Watcher (IFC Midnight)
JUNE 22
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution-Marvel Studios)
JUNE 24
Abandoned (Vertical Entertainment)
Chloe (Amazon Prime)
Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes (Dark Sky Films)
Downton Abbey: A New Era (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
Now & Then: Episode 8 (Apple TV+)
Wildwood (Hulu)
COMING NEX WEEK: Firestarter
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.