New to View: Aug. 2
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Aug. 2, unless otherwise noted:
Apples (Blu-ray)
Details: 2020, Cohen Media Group
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A worldwide pandemic is causing sudden amnesia. Middle-aged Aris finds himself enrolled in a recovery program designed to help unclaimed patients build new identities.
Aris is prescribed daily tasks on cassette tapes so he can create new memories and document them on camera.
He soon reverts to an ordinary life, meeting Anna, who also is in recovery.
The movie, by Greek writer-director Christos Nikou, advances a captivating reflection of identity, memory and loss, exploring how society would deal with such an irreversible epidemic through one man’s story of self-discovery.
The film invests you in Aris’ journey. It is melancholy and meditative, earning a 92 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; Greek 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus components include conversations between Nikou and writer-director-actor Taika Waititi as well as one between Nikou and executive producer Cate Blanchett.
Green Lantern: Beware My Power (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital)
Release date: July 26
Details: 2022, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, strong violence, bloody images, partial nudity
The lowdown: This animated feature introduces former Marine John Stewart as the newest member of the Green Lantern Corps.
As soon as he receives his Power Ring, Stewart begins his new life — and his first baptism by fire. Teaming with Justice League member Green Arrow and Thanagarian Hawkgirl, Stewart is thrown into the midst of a complicated galactic war.
It also seems a bunch of killers are out to eliminate every Green Lantern in the universe.
The new Green Lantern’s mettle is tested when he must try to end the Rann/Thanagar conflict.
Voice talents include Aldis Hodge as John Stewart-Green Lantern, Jimmi Simpson as Green Arrow, Ike Amadi as Martian Manhunter, Brian Bloom as Adam Strange and Jamie Gray Hyder as Hawkgirl.
This latest edition to the DC Cinematic Universe will not disappoint fans of the franchise, especially with its strong 4K audio and visual transfers.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra 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; Blu-ray: 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 a featurette on John Stewart and his long career as a Green Lantern and two bonus cartoons.
Flatliners (4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray)
Details: 1990, Arrow Video
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: An appealing cast, including Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Julia Roberts and William Baldwin, try their best to make this drama about medical students who experiment on each other to see if there is life after death, seem important.
Unfortunately, they don’t succeed. They bring conviction to their parts, but the movie — directed by Joel Schumacher — fails to go deep enough dramatically, psychologically or ethically.
The movie’s supernatural elements, in which the students visions of the afterlife begin to merge into their waking lives, is predictable.
The movie, which also features Oliver Platt, Kimberly Scott and Hope Davis, received a 47 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
One conciliation, it is much better than a 2017 remake that earned a pitiable 4 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 2160p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include interviews with costume designer Susan Becker, production designer Eugenio Zanetti and art director Larry Lundy, first assistant director John Kretchmer, director of photography Jan de Bont and chief lighting technician Edward Ayer, screenwriter Peter Filardi and a commentary track.
Nathalie … (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 19
Details: 2003, Cohen Film Collection-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This French feature centers on an unusual love triangle. Catherine discovers that her husband is unfaithful.
But the wronged wife does not want revenge. Instead, her curiosity is aroused. She wants to share the experience — but in secret.
So, she hires a leading prostitute to seduce him and then report back to Catherine. But her desire to remain in control of the situation is soon challenged as other desires arise in her.
The cast, led by Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Béart and Gérard Depardieu, is compelling, surprising and somewhat erotic. The film is loaded with sophistication and elegance.
Critics awarded the movie a 70 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; French 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 26
Details: 2022, Zeitgeist Films-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Jeff Goldblum narrates this documentary that spotlights director Norman Jewison’s vision to recreate the lost world of Jewish life in Tsarist Russia as well as to re-imagine the stage musical into a big-screen epic.
While the movie generally garnered positive reviews — it earned an 83 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes — most of the criticism was directed at how the movie diminished or lost the intimacy of the hit stage production.
Filmmaker Daniel Raim puts us into Jewison’s heart and mind, using behind-the-scenes footage and never-before-seen stills, to describe the impact of the project on the director — as an artist and as a human being.
The movie features interviews with Topol, which played Tevye, composer John Williams, film critic Kenneth Turan, lyricist Sheldon Harnick and actress Rosalind Harris, Michelle Marsh and Neva Small, who played Tevye’s daughters.
The documentary provides an in-depth appreciation of the movie and the experience of making it. The film earned a 100 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include additional interviews with Topol, Williams, Harris, Small and Harnick; an excerpt from the documentary “Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story,” in which film researcher Lillian Michelson talks about the undergarments used in “Fiddler”; and Raim’s Oscar-nominated short film “The Man on Lincoln’s Nose,” which featured Jewison.
Good Guys Wear Black (Blu-ray)
Details: 1978, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG, violence
The lowdown: Chuck Norris’ rise to stardom began with this martial arts action feature in which Norris’ John T. Booker, an ex-Vietnam commando, discovers that many of his army buddies were killed in a mission meant to fail from the outset.
Booker quits his teaching job to track down the last surviving members of his unit to get to the bottom of his comrades’ deaths. His actions have put him at the top of a CIA hit list as well as the minions of a crooked and untouchable politician.
Booker is aided by a lovely Senate investigator, portrayed by Anne Archer, in helping unravel the conspiracy.
This action-packed, stunt-filled feature is loaded with intrigue and treachery.
The movie contains auto racing, Squaw Valley ski slopes and smoky Washington D.C. backrooms.
The supporting cast includes James Franciscus, Lloyd Haynes, Dana Andrews, Jim Backus and Soon-Tek Oh.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a making of featurette, a commentary track and an interview with director Ted Post.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Release date: July 26
Details: 2004, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, language, some drug use, sexual content
The lowdown: Jim Carrey plays Joel and Kate Winslet is Clementine in this sci-fi love story — from a screenplay by Charlie Kaufman.
Joel is distraught to learn that after their painful breakup, Clementine underwent a procedure in which her memories of Joel were erased.
Desperate, Joel contacts the inventor of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), to undergo the same technique.
However, as his memories of Clementine begin to fade, Joel realizes how much he loves her.
The movie, which garnered a 92 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, is a pleasurable, strange and memorable story expertly directed by Michel Gondry.
The cast also features Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood.
Technical aspects: 4K; 2160p ultra high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track with Gondry and Kaufman, an interview with cinematographer Ellen Kuras, a behind-the-scenes featurette, conversations with Carrey and Gondry and Winslet and Gondry, a featurette on Gondry, deleted and extended scenes and a breakdown of the Saratoga Avenue scene.
A Force of One (Blu-ray)
Details: 1979, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG, violence
The lowdown: Chuck Norris stars in this action-thriller as a world karate champion Matt Logan, who is enlisted by the police to help discover the identity of a karate killer who has been eliminating a squad of undercover narcotics officers.
Logan, in the midst of training to defend his title against Jerry Sparks (kickboxer Bill “Superfoot” Wallace), is helped by Amanda Rust (Jennifer O’Neill), a member of the undercover team. She figures out the identity of the killer and intends to warn Logan before he steps into the ring.
The cast also includes Ron O’Neal, Clu Gulager, James Whitmore Jr. and Eric Laneuville. It features a screenplay by Ernest Tidyman.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include a making of featurette and two commentary tracks.
Waiting: The Van Duren Story (DVD)
Release date: Aug. 5
Details: 2018, MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Van Duren was a noted Memphis musician who played with several bands during his career.
Yet, he is nearly forgotten today despite being touted as “the next Paul McCartney.”
This documentary, by first-time Australian filmmakers Greg Carey and Wade Jackson — fulfilling a drunken promise — embark on a journey to make a film about Duren.
Despite their moviemaking inexperience, Carey and Jackson soldier on, learning as they go. Along the way, they meet con men, rock stars and even Scientologists.
They also uncover the dark secret as to why Duren’s second album was never released. They finally come to the realization that Duren doesn’t own the rights to his own music.
Carey and Jackson, now part of the saga, meet Duren in Memphis and realize they must help him regain the rights to his music.
This feel-good movie showcases another examination of the dark side of the record business.
Technical aspects: 16:9 widescreen picture; English Dolby digital; English and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include interviews with Jody Stephens of Big Star, Andrew Loog Oldman, manager of the Rolling Stones and Terry Manning of Ardent Studios; and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Bring Him Back Dead (DVD & digital & VOD) (Uncork’d Entertainment)
Krypto the Superdog: The Complete Series (DVD) (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
Shalom Taiwan (DVD & digital) (Outsider Pictures)
White Elephant (Blu-ray & DVD) (RLJE Films)
FOR KIDS
Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water: The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (Shout! Factory-GKids)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
All Must Die (Breaking Glass Pictures
Anais in Love (Magnolia Pictures)
Dawn (Uncork’d Entertainment)
Fire in the Mountains (Kino Lorber)
Lightyear (Pixar-Buena Vista Home Entertainment)
Mister Candid Camera (Shout! Factory)
The Skunk Ape Experiment (1091 Pictures)
AUG. 5
Black Bird: Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
Cave Rescue (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Luck (Apple TV+)
Prey (Hulu)
Resurrection (IFC Films)
Thirteen Lives (Amazon Prime)
Trying: Season 3, Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
AUG. 8
Dawn (Uncork’d Entertainment)
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.