New to View: Jan. 21
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Jan. 21, unless otherwise noted:
Venom: The Last Dance (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2024, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, intense sequences of violence and action, bloody images, language
The lowdown: This final film in the “Venom” franchise finds Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and his alien alter ego, the Venom symbiote, on the run after they are returned to their home universe on Earth-688.
They find they are wanted for the apparent killing of Patrick Mulligan, so Eddie sets out to clear his name.
Unknown to Eddie and Venom, a creature known as Xenophage, working for Knull, creator of the symbiotes, has been tracking them.
The script deals with other symbiotes on Earth, the revelation that Mulligan is still alive and, taking a page from DC’s “Man of Steel,” a battle over control of a Codex that Xenophage has tracked to Earth.
“Last Dance” is rather formulaic and derivative, garnering a 41 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, where a majority of critics believed it was unimaginative, silly and much too loud.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos (7.1 Dolby TrueHD compatible), French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital audio description tracks; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English and French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital audio description tracks; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus components include deleted and extended scenes, outtakes and bloopers, featurettes on Hardy and writer-director Kelly Marcel, look at Venom’s inner circle and the movie’s action and stunts, select scene PreVis, an interview with the Mrs. Chen character, a music video and a look at the Venom legacy.
The Grifters: Combo Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1990, The Criterion Collection
Rated: R, nudity, language, violence
The lowdown: This dark neo-noir thriller starring Anjelica Huston, John Cusack and Annette Bening centers on three grifters, Lilly Dillon (Huston), her son, Roy (Cusack) and his seductive girlfriend, Myra Langtry (Bening).
Lilly is a possessive woman and very protective of her cynical son. She also is very distrustful of Myra. For most of the movie, directed by Stephen Frears, the trio circle each other in an emotional and manipulative con game that eventually turns to betrayal and Oedipal undercurrents that slowly bubble to the surface.
This was Frears first American film, adapted by Donald E. Westlake, from a novel by Jim Thompson.
“The Grifters” is an eccentric, clever and twisted feature driven by its three solid performers, abetted by supporting turns by Pat Hingle, Stephen Tobolowsky and Henry Jones.
The movie, which garnered a 91 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, received four Academy Award nominations — Huston for best actress, Bening for supporting actress, Westlake for his screenplay adaptation and Frears for director.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options on the Blu-ray disc include a commentary track with Frears, Cusack, Huston and Westlake; an interview with Bening; a making-of documentary featuring Cusack, Frears, Huston, Westlake and production manager Dennis Gassner; a making of featurette; a featurette on Thompson; and an essay about the film.
Murder by Decree (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1979, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG, violence, language
The lowdown: The first Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper movie was 1965’s “A Study in Terror,” which identified the Ripper as an aristocrat.
“Murder by Decree,” produced 14 years later, takes this premise one step further, linking the Ripper’s killings as part of a Masonic plot as well as their links to the royal family.
“Decree” stars Christopher Plummer as Holmes and James Mason as Dr. Watson. Both are excellent in their portrayals, bringing a humanity and empathy to the characters, largely missing from previous iterations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters.
The plot of “Decree” revolves around the killings of prostitutes who were friends of Anne Crook (Genevieve Bujold), who is now institutionalized, and gave birth to a child whose father is rumored to be a member of the royal family.
A cover-up attempting to thwart Holmes’ investigation and led by high government officials, cannot stop the Great Detective from learning the truth.
The film, which earned an 86 fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, also features Donald Sutherland, David Hemmings, Susan Clark, Frank Finlay, Anthony Quayle and John Gielgud.
As an interesting aside, Finlay, who portrays Inspector Lestrade, also played the inspector in “A Study in Terror.”
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Both discs feature two commentary tracks, one by Clark, the other by film historians Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell.
Shelf Life (Blu-ray)
Details: 1993, Liberation Hall
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: The last film by actor-director Paul Bartel is finally seeing the light of day, which is apropos based on its subject matter.
The movie is an adaptation of a play written by O-Lan Jones, Andrea Stein and Jim Turner. They play three siblings, Tina, Pam and Scotty, who as children on the day of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, are locked in a nuclear fallout shelter with their paranoid parents.
Thirty years later, with their parents having died, the three now-grown children — portrayed by Jones, Stein and Turner — still survive in the shelter, oblivious to the outside world and with fading memories of their earlier lives.
They spend most of their time playing games, acting as if they are going to school or stage musical numbers. They sing, dance, listen to records and, once in a while, watch whatever they can catch with their old TV signal.
The movie, in which Bartel appears as various apparitions, was never released on VHS and DVD, so this is its home entertainment debut.
It is a fascinating comical and absurd feature that somehow feels relevant in today’s polarized world.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English Dolby digital stereo; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a question-and-answer session with Jones, Stein, Turner and film editor-camera operator Alex Mechanik; a question-and-answer session with Tina, Pam and Scotty; and a commentary track with Jones, Stein, Turner, Mechanik and director of photography Philip Holahan.
Separated (DVD)
Details: 2024, Greenwich Entertainment-Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A disturbing and heartbreaking documentary by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Errol Morris that looks at the Trump administration’s harsh and inhumane policy of family separation as a tool to discourage illegal immigrants from crossing into the United States.
The movie, based on NBC News political and national correspondent Jacob Soboroff’s book, features interviews with government officials and narrative vignettes tracing the plight of one family. Put together, they deftly display the organized cruelty of the policy, which was its underlining purpose.
In all, thousands of children were taken from their parents and, as records were poorly administered, as many as 1,300 of them have not been reunited with their families, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
If you have a soul and conscience, the movie should make you not only angry, but ashamed of your government.
Technical aspects: 2.39:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.
Inglourious Basterds: Limited Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Release date: Jan. 14
Details: 2009, Arrow Video
Rated: R, graphic violence, language
The lowdown: Quentin Tarantino’s exuberant rewriting of World War II history is a violent and exciting epic featuring two parallel stories — the first centers on a group of Jewish American soldiers whose mission is to assassinate as many Nazis as they can.
The second plot follows a French-Jewish theater owner vengeful plot to kill high-ranking Nazi officers.
Brad Pitt portrays Lt. Aldo Raine, who leads his squad, which includes Eli Roth’s Sgt. Donny Donowitz, Til Schweiger as Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz, B.J. Novak as Smithson Utivich, Omar Doom as Omar Ulmer, Gedeon Burkhard as Cpl. Wilhelm Wicki and Samm Levine as Hirschberg.
The secondary story centers on Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent), who seeks to avenge the murder of her Jewish family.
Intersecting the two plotlines is SS Col. Hans Landa played by Christoph Waltz, who won a supporting actor Academy Award for his performance.
Others in the cast includes Michael Fassbender as British commando Lt. Archie Hicox, Diane Kruger as Bridget Von Hammersmark as a German film star turned spy for the United Kingdom and Daniel Brühl as Fredrick Zoller, a German sniper whose story is made into a propaganda film.
The fiery climax takes place in a theater, run by Shosanna — using an alias — that holds the premiere for Zoller’s film. It is attended by Hitler and other top brass.
Others appearing in small roles include Rod Taylor, Michael Myers and Lea Seydoux.
This outrageous feature is a hoot, garnering an 89 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track by film critic-author Tim Lucas; interviews with Doom, assistant editor Fred Raskin and special makeup effects supervisor Greg Nicotero; visual essays about the movie by film critic Walter Chaw and another by historian, curator and critic Pamela Hutchinson on the movie’s altered history; featurettes on the French film industry during the Nazi occupation; and archival extras, including the making of Zoller’s propaganda film, an overview of the film, an interview with Taylor and extended and alternate scenes.
Love & Crime (Blu-ray + DVD)
Details: 1969, 88 Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A combo set that offers four dramatized stories of real-life crimes of passion in Japan, most of which involved women across the ages.
This anthology from cult director Teruo Ishii features stories of the “Hotel Nihonkaku Murders,” in which the owners of the establishment were killed by Kau Kobayashi and an accomplice; Takahashi Oden, who killed a man, also was suspected of poisoning her husband and was the last woman in Japan to be executed by beheading; serial killer Yoshio Kodaira, who killed his father-in-law and later raped and killed at least seven women in the post-World War II era; and the story of Sada Abe, the infamous castratice featured in the movie “In the Realm of the Senses.”
Ishii’s movie examines female pathology, which was drawn from criminal casebooks.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; Japanese monaural; English subtitles; DVD: 2.35:1 widescreen picture; Japanese monaural; English subtitles.
Rampo Noir: Limited Edition (Blu-ray)
Release date: Jan. 7
Details: 2005, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A disc that features a four-part anthology movie from a quartet of singular Japanese filmmakers who adapt stories by Japan’s master of the macabre, Edogawa Rampo.
The stories are “Man’s Canal,” in which a man encounters the other side of his psyche beyond the reflective surface of a circular pond located in a desolate landscape. “Mirror Maker,” from Ultraman series director Akio Jissoji, deals with a mad mirror maker. “Caterpillar” is about a wounded war veteran who returns home from the front line as little more than a bloody torso who cannot defend himself against the increasingly perverted impulses of his embittered wife. “Crawling Bugs” centers on a famous actor who is subjected to the obsessive attentions of her limousine driver.
The movie is a stylish effort that evokes the “erotic grotesque” worlds created by Japan’s pioneering filmmakers of horror and mystery.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Japanese 2.0 LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary by Japanese film experts Jasper Sharp and Alexander Zahlten; interviews with Suguru Takauchi, director of “Man’s Canal,” “Caterpillar” director Hisayasu Sato, “Crawling Bugs” director Atsushi Kaneko, “Mirror Hell” director Jissoji and cinematographer Masao Nakabori, “Caterpillar” cinematographer Akiko Ashizawa and “Mirror Hell” director Yumi Yoshiyuki; a behind-the-scenes look at a gathering of cast members and directors at the premiere of the movie; a making of documentary; and a booklet with essays about the movie.
Invasion of the Bee Girls (Blu-ray)
Details: 1973, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, sexual situations, nudity
The lowdown: A schlocky, soft-core science fiction exploitation movie about a female scientist who is suing radiation-mutated bee serum to create an army of beautiful women who seduce men to death.
A government agent is sent to the California town to investigate the deaths. Eventually he uncovers the truth but not before more men are killed during the throes of death with the transformed women.
The movie is silly, but the eye-candy women are appealing.
The emphasis is on the women’s anatomy more than the storyline.
Basically, “Bee Girls” is a guilty pleasure feature, with a script by future director Nicholas Meyer, and starring William Smith, Anitra Ford, Victoria Vetri, Cliff Osmond, Wright King and Ben Hammer.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: The main extra is a commentary track by film historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson.
Feed: 20th Anniversary Edition: Limited Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 2005, Unearthed Films
Rated: Not rated, violence, disturbing images, language, nudity
The lowdown: “Feed” is one of the most disturbing and bizarre movies you ever will encounter.
A grotesque feature in which an Australian cyberporn investigator discovers an American website devoted to fat-admiring men and obese women.
The investigator travels to Ohio, where he meets perverted Michael Metszencalmpf, also known as Michael Carter, who, after meeting the investigator, insists he is doing nothing wrong since he is freeing fat women from the prejudices of society that encourages thinness.
Michael, however, is a serial killer who begins a car-and-mouse game with the dogged Aussie officer.
At times, the film is disgusting and gross, mostly for its subject matter.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 LPCM; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track by director Brett Leonard, deleted and extended scenes with commentary by Leonard, an alternate ending with commentary by Leonard, the U.S. cut of “Feed,” outtakes, interviews with Leonard, actors Alex O’Loughlin and Jack Thompson and producer Melissa Beauford, behind-the-scenes footage, “Feed in Philadelphia: The North American Featurette” and an infomercial.
Dark Sanctuary: The Story of the Church (Blu-ray)
Details: 2024, Cleopatra Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A documentary that looks at The Church, the longest running goth club in the United States and the transgressive community of artists and misfits who call the Dallas, Texas, club their home.
Interviews with famed music artists, local bands and patrons are used to help tell the story of the nearly 30 years of this club’s existence and what it means to the people of the community.
Included are such artists as Cevin Key of Skinny Pony and Bill Leeb of Front Line Assembly.
The Church’s motto became “Enter Without Prejudice,” which means it was welcoming to everyone.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio stereo.
Don’t miss: Extras include uncut celebrity interviews and music videos.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
A Legend (Blu-ray & DVD & digital) (Well Go USA Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Boom: A Film About the Sonics (Apple TV+)
Oh, Canada (Apple TV+-Prime Video-Kino Lorber)
On Wheels (Music Box Films)
JAN. 22
Prime Target: Episodes 1 & 2 (Apple TV+)
JAN. 23
The Disappearance of My Mother (Kino Film Collection)
Prey for Rock and Roll (Kino Film Collection)
JAN. 24
Before Now and Then (Film Movement Plus)
The Best Heart Attack of My Life (Hulu)
Eternal You (Film Movement Plus)
Grafted (Shudder)
Into the Deep (Saban Films)
Life as a B-Movie: Piero Vivarelli (Film Movement Plus)
Severance: Season 2, Episode 2 (Apple TV+)
Coming next week: Hundreds of Beavers
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.