New to View: Oct. 31
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Oct. 31, unless otherwise noted:
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2023, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, suggestive material, some nudity
The lowdown: The third time was not a charm for this Nia Vardalos comedy franchise.
The movie has Toula (Vardalos) and her family going to Greece to honor her father’s final wish.
But the family reunion becomes complicated with the revelation of a deep family secret.
The returning cast includes John Corbett as Toula’s husband, Ian; Louis Mandylor as her brother, Nick; Lainie Kazan as her mother, Maria; and Andrea Martin as her Aunt Voula, who nearly steals the movie with her perfectly-timed one-liners.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 2.0 DVS and Spanish 5.1 DTS digital surround; English SDH and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital and English 2.0 DVS; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a making of featurette, a commentary track with Vardalos, a gag reel, deleted and extended scenes and a behind-the-scenes, on set look at Vardalos.
The Edge of the World (Blu-ray)
Details: 1937, Milestone Film & Video-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This early film by famed British filmmaker Michael Powell is set on a remote island off the coast of Scotland on which two families live.
The way of life on the island is fading as fishing trawlers are threatening its survival as a fishing port.
The movie involves romance, a tragedy that divides the families, and a new beginning.
The cast, which includes Finlay Currie, Niall MacGinnis, John Laurie, Belle Crystall and Eric Berry, was filmed on the island of Foula in the Shetlands.
The movie was one of the first great movies in the Powell canon, which included “The Red Shoes” and “A Matter of Life and Death.”
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a commentary track with Academy Award-winning film editor Thelma Schoonmaker, film historian Ian Christie Oscar-winner Daniel Day-Lewis, reading from Powell’s book on the making of the movie; Powell’s 1979 movie, “Return to the Edge of the World,” in which he, his cast and crew return to Foula; “An Airman’s Letter to His Mother,” a 1941 World War II-era film by Powell; and Powell’s home movies narrated by Schoonmaker.
Witness: Limited Edition (4K Ultra HD)
Details: 1985, Arrow Video
Rated: R, violence, language, partial nudity
The lowdown: Harrison Ford gives one of the strongest performances of his career as Detective John Book in this crime thriller about a big-city detective who must protect an Amish widow and her young son, who witnessed the murder of an undercover police officer by crooked cops.
Book takes Rachel (Kelly McGillis) and her son, Samuel (Lukas Haas), home, believing that is the best place to protect them.
The movie also is a romance and a tender relationship develops between Book and Rachel. The movie, directed by Peter Weir, offers a nice emotional vibe that counterbalances the crime-thriller aspects of the movie.
The movie earned a 93 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a deleted scene from the TV version of the movie, two vintage featurettes, an archival conversation with Weir, a five-part documentary on the making of the movie that features interviews with Ford, McGillis, Weir, Haas, cast members Patti Lupone and Viggo Mortensen and others, a new interview with cinematographer John Seale, a visual essay on the film, a 1985 interview with Ford about the movie and a commentary track.
The Devil Doll (Blu-ray)
Release date: Oct. 24
Details: 1936, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Lionel Barrymore stars and Tod Browning directed this macabre revenge thriller about a former respected French banker who, framed for robbery and the killing of a night watchman, escapes after 17 years imprisonment from Devil’s Island along with a scientist who is trying to create a formula to reduce people to one-sixth their size to make the planet’s resources last longer.
After the escape, the scientist dies. The banker, returning to Paris, joins the scientist’s widow, and he decides to use the shrinking formula to get revenge on the three business associates who framed him.
To accomplish his mission, the ex-convict disguises himself as an old woman who sells lifelike dolls, which he uses to infiltrate the homes of his enemies. He eventually clears his name, meets the daughter he never knew and heads off into the night.
The plot, of course, is outlandish, but is overshadowed by the thrilling special effects.
Maureen O’Sullivan plays Barrymore’s daughter. The film received a 79 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
The movie can be ordered at www.moviezying.com 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: A commentary track and two cartoons comprise the bonus materials.
Godzilla (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital)
Release date: Oct. 24
Details: 1998, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, sci-fi monster action and violence
The lowdown: If you are a devotee of kaiju movies, this “Godzilla” remake will not make the top of your list.
It is worth viewing for its 4K UHD upgrade and sturdy steelbook packaging.
The film itself, written by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, and directed by Emmerich, is simply a showcase for CGI effects. It also is the first Godzilla film produced by an American studio.
The story, in which French atomic bomb tests in the South Pacific, mutates a lizard nest, creating a giant creature that, for some reason, is heading toward New York City — and leaving a trail of havoc and destruction in its wake.
In the Big Apple, a nest of eggs produced by Godzilla is found inside Madison Square Garden.
Of course, the big brute and its nest are destroyed — or are they?
A vast majority of critics were unimpressed with the 138-minute movie, many calling it slow and bloated. Decide for yourself.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos (7.1 Dolby TrueHD compatible, English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a visual effects commentary, a behind-the-scenes featurette, an all-time best Godzilla fight scenes featurette and a music video.
Dance, Fools, Dance (Blu-ray)
Details: 1931, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Joan Crawford stars in this pre-Code melodrama as Bonnie Jordan, a former society girl who, along with her brother, Rodney (William Bakewell), lost their family fortune in the stock market crash, which also caused their father to have a fatal heart attack.
Bonnie gets a job as a cub reporter, while Rodney goes to work for bootlegger Jake Luva (Clark Gable).
After the murder of reporter Bert Scranton (Cliff Edwards), Bonnie goes undercover to link Luva to her coworker’s killing.
The movie was the first teaming of Crawford and Gable. He was billed fifth, not yet reaching the heights he would attain in the next few years. But the chemistry that would carry them through many other films was evident on screen even at this early stage.
The Blu-ray can be ordered at www.moviezyng.com or other online retailers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include the documentary, “MGM: The Dream Factory” and two early Warner Bros. cartoons.
Justice League X RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two (4K Ultra HD + digital)
Details: 2023, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Rated: PG, action violence, language
The lowdown: In the second part of this animated feature from the DC Cinematic Universe, the members of the Justice League emerge in their own world only to find that Grimm, bloodthirsty creatures from Remnant, have overtaken Earth.
To defeat them, Earth’s superheroes must call on their new allies, Team RWBY, for help.
The characters and storyline for part two seem better thought out than the first part, which seemed to be a bit bogged down in explanatory situations and dialogue.
In Part two, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Batman and Green Lantern again work with Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang are more motivated and work better as a cohesive team.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a look at the bond between Justice League and RWBY members and a featurette on the changed appearances of the RWBY team on Earth.
The Boys: Season 3 (Blu-ray)
Release date: Oct. 24
Details: 2022, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated, graphic violence, language, sexual content
The lowdown: This satirical superhero series is set in a universe where people with special abilities, who work for Vought International, a powerful corporation that markets and monetizes them, are treated as celebrities.
In private, these “heroes” are self-serving, greedy, unstable and deadly.
They are opposed by a group known as The Boys who want to take them and Vought down because of their corruption, which has cost many lives.
In season three, the Boys, led by Butcher, have endured a time of relative calm. But the superhero known as Homelander and Butcher have a history of bad blood, so soon all hell breaks loose again.
The cast includes Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Anthony Starr and Erin Moriarty.
The two-disc set features all eight third-season episodes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, English and French subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include gag reels, deleted and extended scenes and a making of featurette.
The Challenge (Blu-ray)
Details: 1982, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, graphic violence, language
The lowdown: Scott Glenn stars as a boxer who finds himself caught in a family feud between two Japanese family members, both of whom are seeking ownership of an ancient sword.
Toshiro Mifune plays a master samurai who trains the boxer in the ways of Japanese martial arts and culture so he can help him in blocking his rich industrialist brother.
The film was directed by John Frankenheimer and features a memorable score by Jerry Goldsmith.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track by film historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson is the major extra.
Lorna … the Exorcist (Blu-ray)
Release date: Oct. 24
Details: 1974, Kino Cult
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Cult filmmaker Jess Franco directed this sexual supernatural thriller about a young woman (Lina Romay) haunted by erotic visions who comes to realize that her sexual possession is the result of a bargain struck 19 years earlier between her philandering father and an ethereal, pansexual seductress (Pamela Stanford).
A parallel narrative finds a visionary doctor (Franco) trying to unravel the specific form or psychopathia sexualis that tortures a beautiful patient (Catherine Lafferière)
Franco’s film outlook, many filled with sexual imagery, included “Venus in Furs,” “The Diabolical Doctor Z,” “Count Dracula” and “Jack the Ripper.”
The Blu-ray features French and English audio tracks.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; French and English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track with novelist and critic Tim Lucas and interviews with Stanford filmmaker Gérard Kikoïne and Stephen Thrower, author of “Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesûs Franco.
The Dark Power (Blu-ray)
Release date: Oct. 24
Details: 1985, Kino Cult
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: “Alien Outlaw” director Phil Smoot reunites with former B-Western star Al “Lash” La Rue for this horror outing in which a weekend party is derailed when an ancient tribal curse unleashes an army of zombies upon a house filled with beautiful coeds.
La Rue plays whip-cracking lawman Ranger Girard who stands up for a showdown with the undead.
The movie is another creature-feature homage by Smoot.
The film is not great, but fans of La Rue may find some nostalgic memories in watching him again crack his whip.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track by Smoot and another by the cast and crew, a featurette about the making of the movie and an interview with editor Sherwood Jones comprise the extras.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
A Compassionate Spy (DVD & digital) (Magnolia Home Entertainment)
Bloodthirst (DVD & digital & VOD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
King of Killers (Blu-ray & DVD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
A Haunting in Venice (Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution-Hulu)
The Most Remote Restaurant in the World (Viaplay)
Radical Wolfe (Kino Lorber)
NOV. 1
Black Cake: Episodes 1-3 (Hulu)
The Morning Show: Season 3, Episode 9 (Apple TV+)
NOV. 2
All the Light We Cannot See (www.netflix.com/AlltheLightWeCannotSee) (Netflix)
NOV. 3
Black Noise (Saban Films)
Courtney Gets Possessed (Peach Jam Pictures)
Fingernails (Apple TV+)
Hands That Bind (Dark Sky Films)
The Kill Room (Shout! Studios)
Lessons in Chemistry: Episode 5 (Apple TV+)
Project Z (Dark Star Pictures)
Quiz Lady (Hulu)
Showdown at the Grand (Shout! Studios)
Squealer (Lionsgate Home 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.