New to View: March 17
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, March 17, unless otherwise noted:
Is This Thing On? (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2025, Buena Vista Home Entertainment-Searchlight Pictures
Rated: R, language, sexual references, drug use
The lowdown: Will Arnett and Laura Dern head the cast in this comedy-drama about a couple whose marriage is unraveling as they face middle age and an impending divorce.
Bradley Cooper, who costars, directed this relationship study that examines how Arnett’s Alex and Dern’s Tess deal with their new life-changing situations.
Alex finds release in stand-up comedy at the Comedy Center, while Tess rekindles her passion for volleyball, hoping to coach in the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The movie’s foundation lies in the performances of Arnett and Dern and its beguiling premise. Cooper, Arnett and Mark Chappell wrote the screenplay, based on a story idea by British comedian John Bishop.
The film received an 87 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos and 2.0 Dolby digital descriptive audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 Dolby digital descriptive audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus features include a behind-the-scenes making of featurette.
Testament: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1983, The Criterion Collection
Rated: PG, thematic material
The lowdown: An understated, haunting and intimate approach is the hallmark of this story of one family in the wake of nuclear devastation.
What stands out about “Testament” is its lack of sensationalism — no explosions, no buildings collapsing, no bodies vaporized. It is a small, quiet movie directed by Lynne Littman.
Jane Alexander received a best actress Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Carol Wetherly who must take care of her three children in the wake of unimaginable horror. Her Carol demonstrates strength and resilience as she contends with radiation sickness and the realization that their close-knit, small-town community will never be the same.
“Testament” is a highly emotional story that most likely will bring you to tears. It is a humane, unadorned vision of what it means to go on living in a shattered world.
The movie was originally produced by PBS for its “American Playhouse,” but was first released theatrically by Paramount Pictures. The cast also includes William Devane, Leon Ames, Ross Harris, Lukas Haas, Roxana Zal and, in small roles before their climbs to stardom, Kevin Costner and Rebecca De Mornay.
At Rotten Tomatoes, “Testament” scored an 89 percent fresh rating.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a conversation between Littman and author Sam Wasson; archival programs featuring interviews with cast, crew members and nuclear-science experts in connection with the film’s 20th anniversary; an audio recording of Alexander reading “The Last Testament,” the short story on which the movie was based; two documentaries by Littman in collaboration with anthropologist Barbara Myerhoff — “Number One Days” (1976) and “In Her Own Time” (1985) and an essay by author and film curator Michael Koresky.
Cobra Kai: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Release date: March 3
Details: 2018-25, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A 13-disc set offering all six seasons — 65 episodes — of this streaming series that was a sequel to the first three “Karate Kid” movies.
Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, reprise their roles as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, former antagonists who are struggling as adults.
The series first episodes deal with Johnny, after using karate to defend a teenage neighbor, Miguel Diaz, from bullies, decides to reopen Cobra Kai to train Miguel as well as other bullied, social outcasts in self-defense.
His newfound purpose rekindles Johnny’s rivalry with Daniel who, in response, opens the Miyagi-do dojo, leading to a rivalry between the two dojos.
Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi appears in footage from the film series, while Martin Kove’s John Kreese and Thomas Ian Griffith’s Terry Silver, make recurring appearances throughout the series.
The set can be found at www.moviezyng.com and the title can be ordered at https://moviezyng.com?bg_ref=IynKWWRwB7.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include deleted scenes, blooper reels, behind-the-scenes featurettes and episode commentaries.
Dead Again (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1991, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Actor-director Kenneth Branagh’s second foray behind the camera — after his highly-acclaimed “Henry V” — was this film-noirlike thriller that was a Hitchcock-like, supernatural-tinged romantic murder mystery.
Branagh portrays Mike Church, a Los Angeles private investigator, hired to help a beautiful amnesia victim, played by Emma Thompson, who is tormented by bloody nightmares.
Derek Jacobi is featured as an eccentric antiques dealer and hypnotist who assists Church.
The story hinges on the nightmares experienced by Thompson’s character, which may be a past-life connection to Margaret Strauss (also Thompson), a world-famous pianist allegedly killed by her composer husband (also Branagh) in 1948.
The movie has Gothic overtones, with a cast including Andy Garcia, Hanna Schygulla and Robin Williams. “Dead Again” garnered an 81 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
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 commentary tracks by Branagh and by producer Lindsay Doran and screenwriter Scott Frank on both discs.
Port of Shadows (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1938, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: The wonderful Jean Gabin stars and the steady Marcel Carné directed this drama set in the city of Le Harve.
Gabin is Jean, an army deserter looking for another chance at life. Fate, however, has other plans for him when acts of revenge and kindness turn him into front-page news.
The movie looks at an underworld of lonely and desperate souls dealing with their individual destinies. “Shadows,” one of the classics of the golden age of French cinema, is an example of poetic realism>
The cast includes Michel Simon and Michele Morgan, abetted by memorable cinematography by Eugen Schüfftan.
With 29 reviews at Rotten Tomato, the movie scored an 97 percent fresh rating.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; French 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; French 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include a commentary track by film critic-author Simon Abrams on both discs and, on the Blu-ray disc, a documentary about the movie and an introduction to the film by professor-film critic Ginette Vincendeau.
She Was Here (DVD)
Details: 2026, Kino Lorber-Virgil Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Child actress Heather O’Rourke captivated audiences with two words — “They’re here” — in 1982’s “Poltergeist.”
The youngster, who appeared in all three “Poltergeist” movies, died in 1988 from septic shock caused by an undiagnosed intestinal condition. She was 12 years old.
This documentary looks at Heather’s life and features family, friends and co-stars, including Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Zach Gilligan and Gary Sherman sharing their memories of her.
The movie focuses on Heather’s bright and loving spirit, ignoring the headlines and rumors surrounding her untimely death.
Technical aspects: 16:9 widescreen picture; English 2.0 Dolby digital; English closed-captioned subtitles.
Mimic (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1997, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language, terror
The lowdown: Guillermo del Toro directed this sci-fi creature feature in which entomologist Dr. Susan Tyler (Mina Sorvino) is recruited by deputy director of the CDC, Dr. Peter Mann (Jeremy Northam), to help stop a plague of “Strickler’s disease,” which is spread by cockroaches and is killing hundreds of children in New York City.
Using genetic engineering, Tyler creates a “Judas breed,” a hybrid between a mantis and a termite that releases an enzyme that speeds up the roaches metabolism so they burn calories faster than they can nourish themselves and thus starve to death.
This ends the crisis — for now.
Three years later, other killings begin in the city, with Tyler is sold a weird bug by two kids and discovers it is very similar to the Judas breed.
With help, Tyler comes to realize that the Judas breed is alive and has created a colony underneath the city.
More deaths occur and Tyler, Mann, his assistant Josh Maslow (Josh Brolin) and MTA officer Leonard Norton (Charles S. Dutton) begin to combat the threat.
Of course, our heroes prevail, but not without a few sacrifices. Is the threat contained? Well, two sequels followed “Mimic,” so I guess more bug spray will be needed.
The three-disc set features the theatrical and extended director’s cut of the movie, which garnered a 67 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
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: Bonus selections include a commentary track by del Toro on all three discs and, on the second Blu-ray disc, a commentary track by horror cinema expert Arne Venema and cinema author Stefan Hammond (on the theatrical version), a video prologue by del Toro, three featurettes, deleted scenes, a gag reel and animated storyboards.
The Closer: The Complete Series (DVD)
Release date: March 10
Details: 2005-12, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Kyra Sedgwick stars as Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson in this police procedural crime series that ran on TNT for seven seasons and featured 109 episodes.
The show’s premise centers on Johnson, a CIA-trained interrogator, who has a stellar reputation for not only closing cases, but eliciting confessions that lead to convictions.
Throughout the series, the episodes covered many aspects of the cultural variety of Los Angeles as well as public policy, ethics, traditional religious influences, faith and the breakdown of the family system.
The most interesting aspect of the series was watching Johnson’s techniques and her ability to get confessions anyway she can — even sometimes skirting the parameters of the legal system.
A large supporting cast included J.K. Simmons, Corey Reynolds, Robert Gossett, G.W. Bailey, Tony Denison, Jon Tenney, Michael Paul Chan, Gina Ravera and, during seasons five through seven, Mary McDonnell.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 (16:9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital (seasons 2-7) and 2.0 Dolby digital (season 1); English SDH or closed-captioned subtitles, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include unaired scenes, gag reels, featurettes and music videos.
Lone Samurai (Blu-ray)
Details: 2025, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: R, strong, bloody violence, gore
The lowdown: A 13th-century samurai finds himself shipwrecked on an island he believes to be deserted.
As he thinks about his future, he realizes a dignified death at his own hands might be his best solution.
However, when he is captured by members of the cannibal tribe that inhabit the island, his survival instincts kick in and he fights to stay alive.
The movie, directed by Josh C. Waller, is uneven; it lacks tension and the cannibals almost appear cartoonish.
A lot of swordsmanship and bloodshed nearly compensate for the movie’s flaws.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 16:9 (enhanced) widescreen picture; Japanese and English (dubbed) 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English and French subtitles.
“Jack Benny Comedy Classics” (Blu-ray)
Details: 1937, 1938, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Jack Benny was better known for his radio (and later) television programs than for the movies he made.
That may be because Benny’s humor was more reactive, playing off the silliness of those around him.
The two movies in this set are “Artists and Models” (1937) and “Man About Town” (1939).
In the first, Benny is mostly deadpan as Mac Brewster, the head of an advertising company that is in debt. A $1 million contract from Townsend Silver could save his firm, but wealthy playboy Alan Townsend wants an amateur from high society rather than a model to become “the Townsend girl.”
The cast includes Richard Arlen, Ida Lupino, Gail Patrick, Ben Blue, Judy Canova as well as appearances by Martha Raye and Louis Armstrong.
The story is predictable. One of the interesting aspects of this feature is its director — the rough-and-tumble Raoul Walsh.
“Man About Town,” directed by Mark Sandrich, finds Benny as Broadway producer Bob Temple, who has brought a show to London. Temple loves his glamorous star, Diana, played by Dorothy Lamour, but she won’t take him seriously.
To arouse her jealousy, he starts flirting with Lady Arlington (Binnie Barnes), who is mostly ignored by her husband, Sir John (Edward Arnold).
The cast, which also includes performers from Benny’s radio show such as Eddie “Rochester” Anderson and Phil Harris, help provide some laughs. Others in the movie include Betty Grable, Monty Woolley and Isabel Jeans.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include a commentary track on “Artists and Models” by film historian Eddy Von Mueller and a commentary on “Man About Town” by film historians Paul Anthony Nelson and Lee Zachariah.
America 3000 (Blu-ray)
Details: 1986, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG-13, violence, language, sexual references
The lowdown: This cheesy exploitation move is set 900 years after a nuclear war. The movie, set around what was once Denver, details how civilization has regressed into a new tribal society that is primitive, violent and dominated by women.
In the 31st century, the macho man is no more. Men are women’s slaves, used for breeding or playthings.
But a man rebels, Korvis (Chuck Wagner), who is intent on changing the system.
At the site of an ancient war bunker, Korvis builds a small reengage army of males. And when he stumbles onto an underground arsenal of 21st-century weapons, a new arms race begins.
Vena (Laurene London), the beautiful (of course) warrior queen of the Thunder Women must reach an accord with Korvis before a full-scale war erupts.
This Golan-Globus, Cannon Films B-outing is energetic, campy and kind of silly.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras in an interview with London and a commentary track with writer-director David Engelbach, moderated by filmmaker Douglas Hosdale.
The Birthday (4K Ultra HD)
Details: 2004, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Corey Feldman is the star of this dark comedy that went unreleased for about 20 years.
Feldman portrays Norman Forrester, an awkward young man who decides to attend the birthday party of the father of his girlfriend, Alison (Erica Prior), deciding it is the perfect time to propose to her.
But between bizarre encounters with guests and an unnervingly polite hotel staff, Norman stumbles into a nightmarish occult conspiracy that threatens more than his and Alison’s relationship — it can impact the entire world.
The movie, directed by Eugenio Mira, blends horror and screwball comedy, but is erratic.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a commentary track with Feldman and Mira, a new interview with Mira, an in-depth breakdown of a scene by Mira, featuring archival behind-the-scene footage, storyboard and rushes, a 2024 question-and-answer session with Feldman and Mira celebrating the movie’s 20th anniversary and a booklet.
Ilsa, the Tigress of Siberia (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1977, Kino Lorber-Kino Cult #44
Rated: R, violence, sexual content, nudity, language
The lowdown: Ilsa (Dyanne Thorne) is back. This time she is the overseer of a Stalinist gulag in Siberia. But after Stalin’s death, Ilsa and her guards kill their prisoners and flee.
Ilsa relocates to Montreal, where she soon is running a brothel. Years later, one of the camp’s prisoners, Yakurin, who is now the coach of the Soviet boxing team, and his fighters are in Montreal, where the coach allows them to a visit a brothel.
Ilsa and Yakurin see each other — she wants another chance to break him, he wants revenge.
As usual, the movie is loaded with sex, sadism, torture and violence.
This movie, like the other “Ilsa” features offer more of the same, only the locales are different.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1:66:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, :66:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track on both discs by film historians Jason Pichonsky and Paul Corupe and, on the Blu-ray disc, an alternate footage, less explicit television version of the movie and a sidebar conversation with novelist-critic Tim Lucas and author-artist-film historian Stephen R. Bissette.
Other titles being released in the upcoming week include:
Anaconda: Steelbook (4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray & digital) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Zodiac Killer Project (Blu-ray & DVD) (Music Box Films)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
By Design (Music Box Films)
Dragn (Cineverse)
The Forbidden City (Well Go USA Entertainment)
Preschool (Republic Pictures-Paramount Home Entertainment)
MARCH 18
Imperfect Women: Episodes 1 & 2 (Apple TV+)
Invincible: Season 4 (Prime Video)
Shrinking: Season 3, Episode 8 (Apple TV+)
MARCH 19
Double Stakes: Episode 1 (Viaplay)
The Stroke: Episodes 5-8 (Viaplay)
MARCH 23
1000 Women in Horror (Shudder)
Dear Prudence (Film Movement+)
Golden (Level 33 Entertainment)
I Am Baseball (Film Movement+)
The Last Thing He Told Me: Season 2, Episode 5 (Apple TV+)
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: Season 2, Episode 4 (Apple TV+)
Nina Wu (Film Movement+)
The Well (Quiver Distribution)
Wonder Pets: In the City: Season 2 (Apple TV+)
MARCH 23
Paradise: Season 2, Episode 7 (Hulu)
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 X @ReelBobBloom, on Facebook at ReelBob and on Bluesky at @bobbloom1948@bsky.social or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.