New to View: July 30
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, July 30, unless otherwise noted:
The First Omen (Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2024, Buena Vista-Disney-Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: R, violent content, grisly & disturbing images, brief graphic nudity
The lowdown: A prequel set in 1971 that stars Nell Tiger Free as Margaret, an American nun-to-be, who is traveling to Rome to take the veil.
The movie details the events that leads up to Damien’s inception as Margaret encounters a darkness that causes her to question her faith as well as revealing a terrifying conspiracy to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.
A horrific atmosphere hangs over the feature because it takes its subject matter seriously. It is a scary story that levels its criticism at organized religion.
The movie earned an 81 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 2.0 Dolby digital descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus features include a featurette with director Arkasha Stevenson, who talks about crafting the movie through a female lens; a featurette with filmmakers and cast members discussing Margaret’s relationship with others in the story; and a featurette on set designs and costumes that hold symbols relevant to the story as well as how practical effects twist what is real and what is not throughout the movie.
Back to Black: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 23
Details: 2024, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment-Peacock
Rated: R, drug use, nudity, language, sexual content
The lowdown: Marisa Abela stars as Amy Winehouse in this biopic that is not as compelling as its subject matter.
The film mostly covers the period when Winehouse was making her “Back to Black” album, which propelled her to global fame.
At times the movie is tacky, messy and underwhelming, more interested in Winehouse’s toxic relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil than in her career and musical talent.
“Back to Black” pales in comparison with the 2015 documentary “Amy,” which covered Winehouse’s career with depth, sensitivity and brutal honesty.
This rendition of the singer’s life uses broad strokes instead of subtlety, which may be among the reasons why it only garnered a 35 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French and Spanish 7.1 DTS-HD high resolution; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a featurette on how Abela was cast and the extensive training she underwent to portray Winehouse; a featurette on Winehouse’s music and the importance of its authenticity in the film; and a commentary track by director Sam Taylor-Johnson.
Run Lola Run (4K Ultra HD)
Details: 1998, Sony Pictures Classics
Rated: R, violence and language
The lowdown: A re-release of this highly acclaimed German movie celebrating its 25th anniversary.
The story is about a pair of lovers who have minutes to alter the course of their lives.
Lola (Franka Potente) has just received a frantic phone call from her boyfriend, Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), who has lost a large amount of money belonging to his mobster boss.
Lola has 20 minutes to replace the money before Manni suffers severe consequences. She sprints through the streets of Berlin trying to raise the needed cash — even going so far as begging her bank manager father.
This kinetic feature is a cinematic adrenaline rush, continuing its frantic pace without letup.
The film received an impressive 93 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; German, English and Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH, English and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Two commentary tracks, one with director Tom Tykwer and editor Mathilde Bonnefoy, the other with Tykwer and Potente; a still running featurette; a making of featurette; and a music video comprise the extras.
The Story of G.I. Joe (Blu-ray)
Release date: July 23
Details: 1945, Ignite Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: The experiences of Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent and columnist Ernie Pyle is the subject of this World War II movie directed by the legendary William A. Wellman.
Burgess Meredith stars as Pyle, who joins the untested infantrymen of Company C, 18th Infantry, U.S. Army, before they head out to take part in their first encounter, the Battle of Kasserine Pass.
Pyle gets to know the men as well as Lt. Bill Walker, played by Robert Mitchum in what is considered his breakthrough role.
Pyle and the soldiers move on, but Pyle reunites with them in Italy where the company is about to attack a German-held town, Monte Cassino.
What made Pyle such a memorable correspondent was that he wrote about the courage, sacrifice, camaraderie of the soldiers he met.
The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including one for Mitchum as best supporting actor. It was the only Oscar nomination he received during his long career.
Pyle was killed covering the invasion of Okinawa in early 1945.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include an interview with Bill Wellman Jr., a commentary track by author-film historian Alan K. Rode and a featurette on the restoration of the movie.
In & Out (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1997, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG-13, sexual content, language
The lowdown: Kevin Kline heads the cast in this comedy about a popular high school teacher who inadvertently outed by a former student, Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon), who, in his acceptance speech after winning a best actor Academy Award, tells the world the teacher is gay.
The reaction in by fellow teachers, school administrators and the Greenleaf, Indiana, community at large, upends the life of popular English literature teacher Howard Brackett (Kline), who does his best to assert his manliness, especially to his devoted fiancée, Emily (Joan Cusack, who received a best supporting actress Academy Award nomination for her performance).
Brackett’s family, as well as Emily, are in disbelief — as is Howard, who loudly protests, saying that he is heterosexual.
Events take a more chaotic turn when the national news media invade Greenleaf, harassing him for interviews. School principal Tom Halliwell (a droll Bob Newhart) is uncomfortable with all the attention the revelation has brought to the school.
The media frenzy subsides, but entertainment reporter Peter Malloy (Tom Selleck) decides to stay in Greenleaf to cover the wedding of Howard and Emily.
Howard seeks advice from a priest, who advises that he sleep with Emily before the wedding to prove his heterosexuality. But Howard cannot go through with it because of his concerns for Emily’s reputation and well-being.
Howard and Peter cross paths, with the reporter admitting that he is gay. Again, Howard insists that he is not gay, but then Peter kisses him, to which Howard reacts positively.
Finally, during the wedding ceremony Howard hesitates when he has to recite his vows and admits to Emily and those in the church that he is gay.
The revelation costs Howard his job, although he is allowed to attend the high school graduation. Also showing up is Drake, who questions the decision to fire his favorite teacher. Soon, Howard’s students show their support by starting to claim they are gay.
And to cap off the ceremony, Drake presents Howard with his Oscar.
This warm and funny movie, directed by Frank Oz, also features Debbie Reynolds, Wilford Brimley, Gregory Jbara, Shawn Hatosy, Shalom Harlow and Zak Orth. At Rotten Tomatoes, the movie garnered a 73 percent fresh rating.
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 .85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a commentary track with screenwriter Paul Rudnick, moderated by author-film historian Lee Gambin; interviews with Oz and composer Marc Shaiman; behind-the-scenes footage; and archival interview clips with Kline, Cusack, Selleck, Reynolds, Oz and Rudnick.
Bwana Devil 3D (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray)
Details: 1952, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: British railway workers in Kenya are being attacked and killed by two man-eating lions. Chief engineer Bob Hayward (Robert Stack) and Dr. Angus McLean (Nigel Bruce) desperately try to halt the slaughter, going so far as bringing in other hunters to help them — but to no avail.
Finally, Hayward must take matters in his own hand. The movie is based on the historical event of the Tsavo maneaters, which killed many railway workers.
The movie has a place in cinema history as the first 3D color film.
The story is secondary to the 3D effects, which astounded moviegoers in the early 1950s.
And for those without 3D capabilities, a standard 2D version also is offered on the disc.
If the storyline sounds familiar, it also served as the basis for the 1996 movie “The Ghost and the Darkness,” which starred Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include “The Story of Bwana Devil,” a featurette with 3-D expert Mike Ballew; and “Natural Vision — 3-Dimension,” an original 1952 prologue featuring Lloyd Nolan, Shirley Tegge and Bob Clampett’s Beany and Cecil from TV’s “Time for Beany.”
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: Limited Edition (4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray)
Details: 2015, Arrow Video
Rated: PG-13, action violence, partial nudity, suggestive content
The lowdown: This jaunty action feature looks at the world during simpler times — the Cold War.
The movie, based on the popular 1960s TV series, is a fun-filled spy vs. spy adventure.
As in the TV show, the feature centers on the team of American agent Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and Soviet agent Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer), bitter rivals forced by their governments to team up to thwart a plan by unrepentant Nazis to unleash a nuclear bomb.
Director Guy Ritchie camouflages the unremarkable story with star power and cool set pieces.
The movie’s presentation for home viewers on the 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray discs is first-rate, with sharp colors and buzz-free audio.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos and 7.1 Dolby TrueHD; English SDH subtitles. Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, 7.1 TrueHD and 5.1 Dolby descriptive audio track; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track by critics Bryan Reesman and Max Evry; interviews with co-writer-producer Lionel Wigram and actor Luca Calvari; a featurette celebrating the original TV series and its influence on the movie; four archival behind-the-scenes on-set visits; five archival featurettes on the making of the movie; a featurette exploring Ritchie’s career and films; and an illustrated booklet with new articles about the movie.
Alienoid: Return to the Future (Blu-ray)
Details: 2024, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A sequel that begins after a shaman and modern-day women locate the Divine Blade and begin a race through time to fight a powerful alien commander intent on destroying humanity.
To best appreciate the movie, it would be prudent to watch the 2022 original.
The sequel, which is part of writer-director Choi Dong-hoon’s on-going sci-fi series, is a solid, action-packed, fast-paced movie with bits of humor and decent special effects.
The movie may be a bit too convoluted meaning you have to really pay attention to follow the storyline but it is worth it.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; Korean and English (dubbed) 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English and French subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include a making of featurette and a character trailer.
“The Nico Mastorakis Collection”: Limited Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1984-92, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated, R, violence, language, sexual situations
The lowdown: Nico Mastorakis made B-movies that satirically skewered American movies, whether it be science fiction features or screwball comedies.
This three-disc set features six movies by Mastorakis: “The Time Traveller” (1984), “Sky High” 1985), “Terminal Exposure” (1987), “Glitch!” (1988), “Ninja Academy” (1989) and “The Naked Truth” (1992).
“The Time Traveller,” as known as “The Next One,” features Adrienne Barbeau as Andrea, a widow who has moved to a Greek island with her son. One day, they find a naked man, Glenn (Keir Dullea) washed ashore on a deserted stretch of beach and take him home to heal. Glenn, suffering from amnesia, is later revealed as a time traveler who was supposed to meet his brother, also a time traveler.
“Sky High” deals with three American students on holiday in Greece who are handed a tape by a mysterious man who, before he is assassinated, begs them not to let it fall into the wrong hands. The main noteworthy aspect of the movie is an early score by Hans Zimmer.
“Terminal Exposure,” also known as “Double Exposure,” finds two young Venice Beach, California, beach photographers who accidentally photograph a murder and immediately set out after the killer, a tall and beautiful blonde with a rose tattoo on her behind.
The movie is more comedy than thriller.
“Glitch!” is a comedy in which two inept burglars attempt to throw the house party of the century in the luxury home of a Hollywood producer. Their plan is foiled by gangsters who want to collect the money the producer owes them. The movie, with spurts of humor, features some nudity.
“Ninja Academy” is simply a satire that mocks martial arts movies with obvious jokes and references.
“The Naked Truth” is a homage to “Some Like It Hot,” as two friends, out to elude a vicious mob boss, decide to pass themselves off as women and pose as makeup artists for a local beauty pageant. Everything is fine until the mob boss falls for one of the “women.”
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include six interviews with Mastorakis, in which he looks back at his movies; interviews with “Sky High” actor Dan Hirsch and “Ninja Academy” actor Gerald Okamura; and a booklet about Mastorakis’ career.
Eighteen Years in Prison (Blu-ray)
Details: 1967, Radiance Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A Japanese crime drama that begins after World War II. Two men, Kawada and Tsukada, trying to survive in the ruins of their defeated nation, run afoul of the military police after stealing valuable copper wire.
Kawada is arrested and sent to prison, while Tsukada uses their gains to start a yakuza gang.
Kawada, facing violent inmates and a cruel warden, vows to escape and stop his former partner.
Director Tai Kato’s prison story offers some flair and features a very strong performance by Noboru Ando as Kawada.
The movie examines the deep scars of wartime and its impact on the nation’s people.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Japanese LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a visual essay by author Tom Mes on Japanese prison films and a booklet about the movie.
Red Line 7000: Limited Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1965, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This stock-car racing feature was directed by Howard Hawks in the twilight of his career. He made just two films after this — “El Dorado” and “Rio Lobo” — both starring John Wayne and somewhat derivative of their earlier “Rio Bravo.”
“Red Line 7000” marked the first starring role for James Caan, who portrays driver Mike Marsh.
The movie is a rather formulaic story of overnight fame and fortune and the women who follow the racers. The story continually shifts from the racers trying to make names for themselves as they court danger — and possible death — on the stock-car circuit to the women who love and worry about them.
Some thrilling racing sequences are included, which help elevate the film.
The feature co-stars Laura Devon, Charlene Holt, Gail Hire, John Robert Crawford, Marianna Hill, Norm Alden, Skip Ward and George Takei.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a new visual essay on the “Hawksian Woman” by film scholar Kat Ellinger, new visual essay about the movie by filmmaker-critic Howard S. Berger, a commentary track by Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman, an interview with assistant director Bruce Kessler and a booklet with new writing about the movie.
Sting (Blu-ray)
Details: 2024, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: R, violence, bloody images, language
The lowdown: A creature feature in which 12-year-old Charlotte’s pet spider, which she names Sting, and has raised in secret, grows rapidly to enormous size and transforms into a giant, flesh-eating monster.
Soon, the pets of neighbors and neighbors themselves who live in the same apartment building as Charlotte and her family, begin to disappear.
The movie is creepy and goofy — as well as bloody — running at a brisk 90 minutes.
Technical aspects: 1.85:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH and French subtitles.
Don’t miss: A behind-the-scenes look at the movie, including interviews with crew and cast members and the creation of the creature, is the main extra.
Tchao Pantin (So Long, Stooge) (Blu-ray)
Details: 1983, Radiance Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A French feature about Bensoussan a small-time drug pusher who, being trailed by suspicious police officers, takes refuge in a gas station and strikes up a conversation with Lambert, the night manager.
As Bensoussan continues to stop by, the two strike up a friendship. But it is not long before problems arise with Lambert feeling a responsibility toward his young friend.
And, after tragedy strikes, Lambert — at the urging of Bensoussan’s latest girlfriend — decides to act.
The movie has a cult following in France, and basically is divided into two parts — the first dealing with the friendship between Lambert and Bensoussan, and the second the actions taken by Lambert after the tragedy.
Coluche, who played Lambert, was best known as a comedian, but he was honored for his acting in this dark feature film.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; French LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a documentary about the movie that includes interviews with cast members and filmmakers and a booklet about the movie.
The Cocaine Fiends / The Pace That Kills: Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of the Exploitation Picture: Volume 16 (Blu-ray)
Details: 1935, 1928, Kino Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Another pair exploitation movies that were meant to “educate,” but instead titillated mostly rural and small-town filmgoers for a few decades.
Many of them, including the two in this set, were produced by Willis Kent, who made a career from offering these types of movies to theaters.
“The Cocaine Fiends” (1935), with its no-name cast, is the story of a cocaine-snorting gangster who lures a small-town waitress to the big city, where a series of tragedies occur.
When her brother attempts to locate her, he too falls into his own abyss of drugs and moral degradation.
The movie is a remake of 1928’s “The Pace That Kills,” a silent film which basically tells the same story.
These films were the template for “Reefer Madness” and other movies of this ilk.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture (“The Cocaine Fiends”) and 1.33:1 full-screen picture (“The Pace That Kills”); English audio; English SDH subtitles (“The Cocaine Fiends”); English intertitles and a music track (“The Pace That Kills”).
Don’t miss: A commentary track by Eric Schaefer, author of “Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!: A History of Exploitation Films” is paired with “The Cocaine Fiends” and a commentary track by film historian Anthony Slide goes with “The Pace That Kills”; and alternate opening titles are included.
Queendom (DVD)
Details: 2023, Kino Lorber-Greenwich Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A documentary about a brave and defiant queer young woman, Jenna Marvin who, in defiance of Russia’s anti-LGBTQ laws, gives radical public performances throughout Moscow.
Marvin’s shows blend artistry and activism that tweak the nation’s paranoid and lockstep society.
Director Agniia Galdanova and cinematographer Ruslan Fedotov often zoom in on Marvin, highlighting the nuances of her performances.
The importance of art as a power of protest is one of the themes that run through the movie, which earned a 100 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 2.39:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; Russian and English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.
Can’t Stop the Music (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1980, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG
The lowdown: Many factors contributed to the death of disco and, “Can’t Stop the Music” may be one of them.
The movie, a fictionalized account of the Village People, stars Steve Guttenberg as Jack Morell, a struggling songwriter who needs one hit to get his music heard and land a record deal.
With the help of his roommate, Samantha (Valerie Perrine) and an uptight tax attorney, Ron White, played by former Olympian Bruce Jenner years before he transitioned to Caitlyn Jenner, they bring together six singing macho men from Greenwich Village to form a musical group.
The movie, which chronicles the rise to fame of the new musical group, is not that good except for its camp value.
It does offer a nice supporting cast including Tammy Grimes, Paul Sand, Barbara Rush, Marilyn Sokol and Jack Weston, all under the direction of actor Nancy Walker.
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: Extras include commentary tracks on both discs, one with film critic-historian Lee Gambin and Village People expert DJ Maynard, the other with “The Fabulous Allan Carr: director Jeffrey Schwarz and comedy writer Bruce Vilanch; and an interview with Village People’s Randy Jones.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg (DVD & VOD) (Magnolia Home Entertainment)
I Saw the TV Glow (Blu-ray) (A24)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
The Abandon (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
And Soon the Darkness (Kino Film Collection)
The Bohemian (Music Box Films)
Scab Vendor (Dark Star Pictures)
JULY 31
Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa (Netflix)
Sunny: Episode 5 (Apple TV+)
Time Bandits: Episodes 3 & 4 (Apple TV+)
Women in Blue (Las Azules): Episodes 1 & 2 (Apple TV+)
AUG. 2
#AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead (Cineverse)
Cowboy Cartel (Apple TV+)
Doctor Jekyll (Hammer Films)
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Hulu)
Lady in the Lake: Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
Libertad (Film Movement Plus)
Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (Netflix)
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.