New to View: Oct. 10
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Oct. 10, unless otherwise noted:
The Boogeyman (Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2023, Buena Vista-Disney-Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, violent content, terror, teen drug use, language
The lowdown: A horror-thriller, adapted from a Stephen King short story, that despite some spooky moments in mainly generic and formulaic.
The story centers on two sisters, the older Sadie and younger Sawyer, who are still mourning the death of their mother. Their father, Will, a therapist, isn’t much help because he is dealing with his own grief.
When a desperate patient shows up at their home, he leaves behind a scary supernatural entity that preys on families and feeds on the suffering of its victims.
The movie contains the usual jump scares — some of which are effective — but they have become such cliches that their impact is more and more deadening.
The movie earned a 60 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 2.0 Dolby digital descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitle.
Don’t miss: An “Into the Darkness” featurette and outtakes comprise the main bonus options.
Strays: Unleashed Edition (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2023, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: R, language, crude & sexual content, drug use
The lowdown: A young pup named Reggie (voiced by Will Ferrell) believed he and his owner, Doug (Will Forte), were pals.
They were having fun playing fetch, when Reggie meets Bug (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a streetwise stray, who convinces Reggie that Doug has abandoned him.
Other strays confirm Bug’s story, so Reggie, with the help of Bug, devises a plan to return to Doug and give him a big bite where the sun does not shine.
This tale of canine revenge is irreverent and obscene, with some solid, but uneven, humor.
Besides Ferrell and Foxx, other vocal talent involved includes Isla Fisher, Randall Park, Brett Gelman and Josh Gad. The movie received a 54 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 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: 1.85:1 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: Extras include a making of featurette, a behind-the-scenes look the vocal talent, a look at the challenges of filming with non-human actors, an interview with Forte, a featurette on the movie’s dog trainers, a look at the bond between humans and dogs and a commentary track.
Talk to Me (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Release date: Oct. 3
Details: 2023, Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Rated: R, strong, bloody violent content, sexual material, language
The lowdown: This horror outing involves a group of friends who discover how to use an embalmed hand to conjure spirits.
Of course, they get enough thrills from it that they become hooked causing death and mayhem when they unleash terrifying supernatural forces — are there any other kind?
So, do they give the evil the finger and wave the hand for a sequel?
To be fair, the movie grips you, offering fine pacing and some solid performances by its young cast.
The movie earned an impressive 94 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos; English SDH and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.39:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a commentary track with co-writer-director Danny Philippou and director Michael Philippou, a featurette on the making of the movie and deleted scenes.
A Bronx Tale: 30th Anniversary Edition (4K Ultra HD)
Details: 1993, Tribeca Film
Rated: R, language, violence
The lowdown: Robert De Niro’s directorial debut may, on its surface, look like a New York gangster film similar to those made by his frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese, but you’d be mistaken.
At its heart, “A Bronx Tale” is the story of a battle for a young boy’s soul fought by his no-nonsense, hard-working bus driver father, played by De Niro, and the local gangster, portrayed by Chazz Palminteri, who befriends the boy. Palminteri also wrote the screenplay, which was based on his play.
The movie, set in the 1960s, centers on Calogero Anello, known as “C,” from the time he is 9 until his high school years. His father, Lorenzo, drives a bus and, discourages “C,” who idolizes Palminteri’s Sonny, to keep away from the mobster.
As he grows older, “C” finds himself torn between these two worlds. His life becomes even more complicated when he falls for a Black classmate.
The movie is a solid, compelling coming-of-age story about love and loyalty that earned a 97 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.
Don’t miss: Extras include new interviews with De Niro and Palminteri and an original making of featurette.
Hard Boiled II: The Last Blood (Blu-ray)
Details: 1990, 88 Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Despite its title, this movie has not connection to John Woo’s “Hard Boiled.” It’s a simple ploy trying to promote the movie, also known as “12 Hours of Terror.”
The attempted assassination of a high-ranking Tibetan lama by Red Army terrorists is the spark that kick-starts the movie. Complicating matters is that the lama has an ultra-rare blood type, which is needed for a transfusion to save him.
Two Hong Kong cops, played by Andy Lau and Alan Tram, must protect the unlikely donor — a cowardly con man — from determined hit men and get him safely to the hospital.
The movie, filmed in Singapore, provides some stunning locations of that fabulous city.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Cantonese and English 2.0 LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track with Hong Kong film expert Frank Djeng is the main extra.
“Douglas Fairbanks double feature”: Robin Hood and The Black Pirate (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 25
Details: 1922, 1926, Cohen Media Group
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: In the early years of his movie career, Douglas Fairbanks was featured in romantic comedies that showcased his athletic prowess and love of the outdoors.
In 1919, Fairbanks, along with his soon-to-be-wife, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and director D.W. Griffith, founded United Artists, which gave them all artistic control over their films and the profits they generated.
It was in 1920 that Fairbanks altered his image with “The Mark of Zorro,” the first in a series of adventure-costume movies that capitalized on his winning personality.
In 1922, Fairbanks starred in “Robin Hood,” setting the template for those who followed him in the role. The movie, with its monumental castle set, cost more than $1 million — an astounding amount for those times.
The movie, which ran 133 minutes, featured Wallace Beery as King Richard the Lion-Hearted, future stuntman Bud Geary as Will Scarlet, Enid Bennett as Lady Marian Fitzwalter, Sam De Grasse as Prince John, Paul Dickey as Sir Guy of Gisbourne, William Lowery as the sheriff of Nottingham and Alan Hale as Little John, a role he reprised in 1938’s “The Adventures of Robin Hood” with Errol Flynn and in 1950s’s “Rogues of Sherwood Forest” with John Derek as the outlaw.
The movie was directed by Alan Dwan.
“The Black Pirate” (1926) finds Fairbanks as a passenger marooned after pirates attacked the ship carrying himself and his father, who died.
Vowing vengeance, the young man, calling himself the “Black Pirate,” is accepted by the pirate band after fighting and killing the Pirate Captain.
The Black Pirate uses his cunning to stay alive as well as defeat the evil Pirate Lieutenant, who works to undermine him.
The movie was filmed in an early two-strip Technicolor process, and features a memorable stunt in which the Black Pirate slides down the sails sequence, considered one of the most famous stunts in film history.
The movie costars Billie Dove as the damsel in distress rescued by the Pirate, Donald Crisp as a Pirate ally and Sam De Grasse as the evil Pirate Lieutenant.
Fairbanks fans will enjoy this double feature, with both movies being digitally restored and cleaned.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; Musical score 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio stereo; English intertitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include a commentary track on “The Black Pirate” by film historian-author Rudy Behlmer, 18 minutes of outtakes from “The Black Pirate” with Behlmer commentary and an additional 29 minutes of “Black Pirate” outtakes.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Eismayer (DVD & digital) (Dark Star Pictures)
Flying Boat (DVD & digital) (Outsider Pictures)
Io Sto Bene (I Am Fine) (DVD) (IndiePix Films)
The League (DVD & digital) (Magnolia Home Entertainment)
Sniper: G.R.I.T. (DVD) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Yellowjackets: Season Two (Paramount Home Entertainment)
OCT. 12
Goldsmith (DVD & streaming & VOD) (Cinephobia Releasing)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Candy Hack (Wild Eye Releasing)
Candela (Breaking Glass Pictures)
Deadly Women (Viaplay)
Fremont (Music Box Films)
Mercy Road (Well Go USA Entertainment)
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part One (Paramount Home Entertainment)
Moonlighting (Hulu)
Speed Is Expensive (Kino Now)
The Storms of Jeremy Thomas (Kino Now)
OCT. 11
Invasion: Season 2, Episode 8 (Apple TV+)
Messi Meets America: Episodes 1-3 (Apple TV+)
The Morning Show: Season 3, Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
OCT. 13
15 Cameras (Gravitas Ventures)
Beautiful City (Film Movement Classics)
The Bell Keeper (Screen Media)
The Burial (Amazon Prime)
The Changeling: Episode 8 (Apple TV+)
Dangerous Waters (Brainstorm Media)
Dark Harvest (MGM)
Fair Play (www.netflix.com/FairPlay) (Netflix)
Herd (Dark Sky Films)
Lessons in Chemistry: Episodes 1 & 2 (Apple TV+)
The Road Dance (Music Box Films)
Still Up: Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
COMING NEXT WEEK: Tod Browning’s Sideshow Stoppers — Freaks / The Unknown / The Mystic
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.