New to View: June 28
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, June 28, unless otherwise noted:
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (4K UHD + Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2022, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, fantasy violence, action
The lowdown: The magic is definitely fading from J.K. Rowling’s “Wizarding World” franchise as evidenced by its newest release, “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.”
This third feature in the series of “Harry Potter” prequels lacks urgency and is much too long.
Plus, the spell of all the sorcery has become too tame and familiar.
Perhaps it is because we are dealing with a world of adult wizards. The major charm of the “Harry Potter” movies was a trio of smart and spunky adolescents battling overwhelming odds to save their world.
The movie seems to simply coast along with the characters reprising schtick from their previous movies.
The movie is supposed to portray a battle between good and evil, but plays more like old-time, backroom machinations at a political party convention.
It does not help that the film, directed by David Yates, has a gloomy sheen, as if all the life had been drained from the magical domain.
Critics were unimpressed, giving the movie a 46 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English, French and Spanish Dolby Atmos TrueHD and English descriptive audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English, French and Spanish Dolby Atmos TrueHD and English descriptive audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.Don’t miss: Special features include looks at the Dumbledore family tree and Dumbledore through the ages, a “Magical or Muggle” featurette, behind-the-scenes looks at more fantastic beasts, the magic of Hogwarts, Newt in the wild, the German Ministry of Magic, a Dumbledore duel, the candidates’ dinner, the secrets of the cursed child, the battle in Bhutan and the Erkstag jailbreak as well as deleted scenes.
Firestarter: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2022, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: R, graphic violence
The lowdown: The new version of “Firestarter” is tepid, a bare-bones retelling of the Stephen King novel that while it has some merits, simply leaves you cold.
The movie, told in a compact 94 minutes, dispenses with all the scientific testing of young Charlie that bogged down the 1984 movie.
This 21st century “Firestarter,” written by Scott Teems and directed by Keith Thomas, shifts the focus of the movie. The first half mostly is spent on the home life of Andy, his wife, Vicky (Sydney Lemmon) and Charlie, their attempts to appear as a normal family and their staying off the grid.
But their plans begin to unravel when Charlie’s bullying at school ignites a series of incidents that draws attention to the family.
“Firestarter” feels rushed and incomplete, as if too much is omitted and left unexplained. The film is feeble, failing to spark any passion or emotional connection with any of the characters.
You have no emotional investment in either Zac Efron as Andy or Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Charlie. They work hard to create some connection but are continually undermined by the weak script.
“Firestarter” is rudimentary with no sense of time nor place. And a vast majority of critics felt the same, awarding the movie a paltry 11 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 and 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 an alternate ending, deleted and extended scenes, a gag reel, a look at the close work between Efron and young Armstrong, a look at how the movie was adapted from the novel, a featurette on the fire effects and stunts, a breakdown of the physical stunts and practical effects and a commentary track.
True Romance: Limited Edition (4K UHD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1993, Arrow Video
Rated: R, violence, language, sexual situations
The lowdown: Quentin Tarantino wrote and Tony Scott directed this violent action-romance starring Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette.
Slater’s Clarence Worley is an Elvis-worshipping comic bookstore employee and Arquette’s Alabama Whitman is a prostitute.
They meet at a Sonny Chiba triple feature and from then on, they are inseparable.
They marry within 24 hours and go on the run after Clarence ends up killing Alabama’s psychopathic pimp.
They leave Detroit in a Cadillac heading for Hollywood, intending on selling a suitcase filled with drugs for money in order to start a new life for themselves.
What the lovebirds don’t know is that the police and the mob are chasing them.
The question is, whether they live happily ever after? If you have not seen the movie, which costars Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Tom Sizemore, Samuel L. Jackson, James Gandolfini, Michael Rappaport, Saul Rubinek and Bronson Pinchot, I will not spoil it for you.
The movie, which earned a 93 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, features an impressed 4K visual and audio upgrade.
The set includes theatrical and director’s cut versions of the movie.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A plethora of old and new bonus materials including four commentary tracks; select-scene commentaries with Hopper, Kilmer, Pitt, Rappaport, Rubinek and Pinchot; new interviews with costume designer Susan Becker, co-editor Michael Tronick and composers Mark Mancina and John Van Tongeren; an overview of Scott’s life and work; a fun piece with superfan Dan Storm, who ended up with the movie’s iconic purple Cadillac; deleted and extended scenes with optional commentary by Scott; an alternate ending with optional commentary by either Scott or Tarantino; and an electronic press kit that includes short interviews with Slater, Arquette, Scott, Hopper and Oldman.
Compartment No. 6 (Blu-ray)
Release date: June 7
Details: 2021, Sony Pictures Classics
Rated: R, language, sexual references
The lowdown: A Russian film about human connections focuses on a young Finnish woman fleeing from a love affair in Moscow by boarding a train to the arctic port of Murmansk.
She is forced to share the long ride and a tiny sleeping car with a Russian miner.
The encounter leads them both to face major truths about themselves and their lives.
The movie, which features sharp performances by its two leads, looks at how people from different cultures find common ground and make connections.
This nuanced film mixes humor with melancholy. It impressed critics who awarded it a 93 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; Russian 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and English 5.1 Dolby digital audio description track; English SDH, English and French subtitles.
Out of Sight (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1998, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, strong violence, language
The lowdown: The star power and magnetism of George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez ignite this crime caper directed by Steven Soderbergh and adapted from a novel by Elmore Leonard.
Clooney plays Jack Foley, the most successful bank robber in the country. On the day he breaks out of jail, Foley steals the heart of Karen Sisco (Lopez), a federal marshal.
Now they must see if their hearts and feelings are strong enough to overcome their differences about the law.
Scott Frank, who adapted Leonard’s novel, received an Academy Award nomination for his script.
The cast of this slick and snappy film includes Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Dennis Farina and Albert Brooks.
The movie received a 93 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 subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track with Soderbergh and Frank, a documentary on the making of the movie featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with cast members and filmmakers and deleted scenes.
Killer’s Kiss (4K UHD)
Details: 1955, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This black-and-white noirish feature was the second movie directed by Stanley Kubrick. The young filmmaker also produced, wrote the script, shot and edited it, as well.
Aging boxer Davey Gordon (Jamie Smith) begins a romance with nightclub dancer Gloria Price (Irene Kane), but their growing relationship is broken up by Gloria’s boss, Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera), who has his eyes on Gloria.
Rapallo and his thugs kidnap Gloria, forcing Gordon to search among the rottenest corners of the Big Apple to find and rescue his new love.
He is determined, even knowing that Rapallo’s goons could be hiding in the many shadows dotting the city.
The film shows the early promise that Kubrick honed as he continued his career.
The film earned an 82 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track with film historian Imogen Sara Smith.
Fire in the Sky (Blu-ray)
Release date: June 21
Details: 1993, Scream Factory
Rated: PG-13, sci-fi violence
The lowdown: D.B. Sweeney stars as logger Travis Walton, who, in 1975, encounters — with his coworkers — a UFO.
While his friends were able to escape, Walton was taken aboard the craft and was subjected to painful and unearthly medical study.
Walton’s four friends report the incident, but are met with skepticism, even being accused of killing their friend.
Five days later, however, Walton reappears. But no one believes his story of alien abduction.
The movie costars James Garner, Robert Patrick, Craig Shaffer, Peter Berg and Henry Thomas.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a new interview with director Robert Lieberman, and interviews with Sweeney, Patrick and composer Mark Isham.
Charlotte (Blu-ray)
Details: 2021, Good Deed Entertainment-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: An animated drama that tells the true story of Charlotte Salomon (voiced by Keira Knightley), a young German-Jewish painter who comes of age in Berlin on the eve of World War II.
The gifted Charlotte dreams of becoming an artist, but as the world around her changes — and the Nazi regime begins its persecution of Jews — Charlotte’s options grow smaller and smaller.
When anti-Semitic policies inspire violence, Charlotte leaves Berlin for the south of France, where she begins to paint again. She also finds love.
A family tragedy, that reveals a dark secret, interrupts her work. Believing that only extraordinary circumstances will have her, Charlotte embarks on the titanic task or painting her life story.
The movie’s first-rate vocal talents include Brenda Blethyn, Jim Broadbent, Mark Strong, Sam Claflin, Eddie Marsan, Helen McCrory and Sophie Okonedo.
This sad, thoughtful but inspiring movie earned a 67 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes footage.
20,000 Days on Earth (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 1
Details: 2014, Giant Pictures-MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This inventive movie is a tribute to creativity and an intimate look at the artistic process of musician and cultural icon Nick Cave.
The movie melds drama and documentary, blending a staged day in Cave’s life with cinema verité observations of his creative style.
The movie is intelligent and riveting, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the iconoclastic Cave and celebrating his artistry.
The movie impressed critics, who awarded it a 95 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English closed-captioned subtitles.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Horror Noire (DVD) (RLJE Films-Shudder)
Mothering Sunday (Blu-ray) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
The Rose Maker (DVD) (Music Box Films)
Where the Scary Things Are (DVD & digital & VOD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
FOR KIDS
Scooby-Doo! And the Guess Who?: The Complete Second Season (DVD) (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Cryo (Saban Films)
Green Ghost & the Master of the Stone (Gravitas Ventures)
Kamikaze Heart (Kino Lorber)
Mondocane (Kino Lorber)
Only Murders in the Building: Season Two (Hulu)
JUNE 29
The Upshaws: Season 2, Part 1 (Netflix)
JULY 1
Accepted (Greenwich Entertainment)
The Princess (Hulu)
Sniper: The White Raven (Well Go USA Entertainment)
JULY 2
Asking for It (Hulu)
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.