New to View: Sept. 22
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Sept. 22, unless otherwise noted:
Toy Story 5 (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2026, Buena Vista-Walt Disney Studio Home Entertainment-Pixar
Rated: PG, thematic elements, rude humor
The lowdown: Toy meets Tech in the latest Pixar offering in newest movie in this delightfully animated franchise.
Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the rest of the pals face a new challenge — the digital age — in the form of Lilypad, a brand-new tablet device that arrives with her own ideas about what is best for their kid, Bonnie.
The movie is an emotional and sometimes funny look at modern childhood at youngsters growing dependence on technology.
“Toy Story 5” is more thoughtful than previous movies in the series, as it explores Bonnie’s growing attachment to Lilypad as well as the traditional toys’ suspicion and, at times, resentment of it.
The movie does what this franchise does best — offering a lot of heart, humor and charm as well as adventure and emotional heft.
Cast regulars Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack return with support from Greta Lee voicing Lilypad as well as Conan O’Brien, Craig Robinson, Bonnie Hunt, Tony Hale, Wallace Shawn and Ernie Hudson.
The movie earned a 93 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 5.1 DTS-HD, 2.0 Dolby digital, 2.0 Dolby digital descriptive audio and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital, 2.0 Dolby digital descriptive audio and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include “The Toys Are Back in Town,” a featurette with filmmakers, cast and crew about the movie, reuniting beloved characters and introducing new toys; a featurette with Conan O’Brien and Greta Lee having fun recording their characters; a gag reel; deleted scenes; a look inside the toy box; a look at one of the movie’s most pivotal moments; a commentary track by co-director Kenna Harris, production designer Bob Pauley and VFX supervisor Thomas Jordan; and a music video by Taylor Swift on the digital version.
Twiggy: The Woman Behind the Icon (DVD & digital & VOD)
Details: 2024, Cleopatra Entertainment-Studio Soho International
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A documentary that looks at the life and career of Twiggy, the model whose face became a symbol for the 1960s.
She was discovered at 16 and became an overnight success, gracing the covers of “Vogue” and “Tatler” by 17. The “New Yorker” devoted nearly 100 pages to the Twiggy “phenomenon” after her arrival in New York.
Twiggy had not only an impact on fashion, but on the way women looked. She brought an elfin androgyny to the public and helped revolutionize the accepted image of the female form.
The 90-minute documentary features interviews with Paul McCartney, Dustin Hoffman, Brooke Shields, Tommy Tune, Pattie Boyd, Joanna Lumley and Sienna Miller.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include an introduction by Twiggy and director Sadie Frost and interviews with Twiggy and others.
Careful (Blu-ray)
Details: 1992, Kino Lorber
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: “Careful” is one of director Guy Maddin’s early features. It is set in a 19th-century Alpine village where all the residents must speak softly and tread lightly lest they cause an avalanche.
However, sexual frenzies abound in this repressive atmosphere, setting off incestuous love triangles and quadrangles with deadly consequences.
The movie is bathed in lurid, luminescent tints that resembles a vintage melodrama from another time and place. It has a German Expressionist style that is reminiscent of German films of the 1920s.
It is a strange, but fascinating movie that is variously darkly funny and disturbing.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include an archival commentary by Maddin and writer George Toles a 1995 short film by Maddin and a “Guy Maddin: Waiting for Twilight” featurette.
Bridget Loves Bernie: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Details: 1972-73, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This two-disc set features all 24 episodes of the first — and only — season of this TV series about the interfaith marriage between a Catholic woman and a Jewish man.
Bridget Fitzgerald (Meredith Baxter), a teacher from a wealthy Catholic family, and Bernie Steinberg (David Birney), a cab driver with aspirations of being a playwright.
The two meet at a bus stop, fall in love and, despite misgivings from both families marry.
The show received very good ratings but was canceled after one season because CBS caved to pressure concerning negative reactions from various groups to the characters’ marriage.
The supporting cast included Audra Lindley and David Doyle as Bridget’s parents, Harold J. Stone and Bibi Osterwald as Bernie’s folks, as well as Ned Glass, Robert Sampson, Nancy Walker and Bill Elliott.
The Blu-ray can be ordered at www.moviezyng.com or other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH and English subtitles.
Masters of the Universe (4K Ultra HD)
Release date: Sept. 15
Details: 1987, Toy Robot Video
Rated: PG, violence
The lowdown: A 4K UHD set that contains theatrical and preview cuts of this action-fantasy feature starring Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as the evil Skeletor.
The planet Eternia and the castle of Grayskull are under threat from the evil Skeletor, who wants to rule the planet. But a group of freedom fighters, led by the heroic He-Man, are accidentally transported to Earth by the mysterious Cosmic Key, which has the power to turn Skeletor all-powerful.
On Earth, He-Man joins alliances with two teenagers, Julie (Courteney Cox) and Kevin (Robert Duncan McNeil), to find the powerful weapon.
The cast also includes Billy Barty as Gwildor, inventor of the key, Meg Foster, John Cypher and Barry Livingston.
The movie has a cheesy 1980s charm and great action sequences.
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: Extras include interviews with McNeil, actor Anthony De Longis and production designer William Stout; a commentary track by director Gary Goddard; a new commentary track by Stout; and an archival featurette.
Bulletproof (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1996, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language, sexuality, drug use
The lowdown: Damon Wayans and Adam Sandler star in this action comedy as longtime friends, now on the opposite sides of the law, which puts an enormous strange on their relationship.
Wayans is Rock Keats, an undercover cop whose real name is Jack Carter, and Sandler is Archie Moses, who works for crime boss Frank Colton (James Caan). Carter assignment is to get evidence against Colton, but the plan goes haywire when Moses accidentally shoots Carter in the head during a police raid on a Colton heroin shipment.
When he recovers, Carter arrests Moses. Later, though, the two former friends are forced to work together when Colton’s gangsters and dirty cops put them in their crosshairs.
The movie is more comedy than violence with Wayans and Sandler providing some nice chemistry together.
The cast also includes James Farentino, Bill Nunn and Jeep Swenson.
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: Bonus materials include two commentary tracks on both discs — one with director Ernest Dickerson and entertainment journalists-authors Byran Reesman and Max Evry and the other with action film historian Mike Leeder. Extras on the Blu-ray disc include an interview with actor Xander Berkeley and deleted scenes.
Johnny Handsome (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1989, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Walter Hill directed this revenge thriller starring Mickey Rourke as Joh Sedley, a petty gangster with a facial deformity that has earned him the mocking nickname of Johnny Handsome.
When Sedley and a friend are double-crossed during a robbery by two partners, his friend is killed and Sedley is sent to prison.
There, a sympathetic surgeon makes a deal to give Sedley a new face — and a new start in life.
But once free, Sedley discovers that going straight isn’t easy. He does find that his new look opens a door — the one that leads to revenge.
The neo-noir feature costars Ellen Barkin, Elizabeth McGovern, Forest Whitaker, Morgan Freeman, Scott Wilson and Lance Henriksen.
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 materials include two commentary tracks — one by filmmaker Edgar Pablos and film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger, and the other by film critics Alain Silver and James Ursini on both discs; and, on the Blu-ray disc, interviews with Hill, McGovern, writer Ken Friedman, makeup artist Michael Westmore and stuntman Allan Graf.
Red Flag Down (Blu-ray)
Release date: Sept. 8
Details: 1992, Blood Sick Productions
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Who knew paintball could be so lethal. In this action-filled, short 60-minute feature, the eccentric owners of a state-of-the-art paintball park invite a young reporter to preview their facility.
Events get out of hand when one team realizes they’ve been tricked into using real bullets and killing their opponents.
Those who were forced to kill their own friends confront the crazy owners only to find they are trapped in the game. Their only way out is through the use of their weapons.
Revenge is on the table in this bloody, shot-on-video, kill-or-be-killed feature filled with blood-dripping squibs, strange characters and bullet-ridden corpses.
“Red Flag Down” is a movie that fans of no-budget, backyard filmmaking can embrace and enjoy.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 4:3 full-screen picture; English stereo.
Don’t miss: Extras include a short film featuring director Christopher P. Smith and a commentary track by Josh Schafer from Lunchmeat and Brewce Longo and Kasper Meltedhair from Blood Sick Productions.
The Bubble: Space Vision 3-D (Blu-ray)
Details: 1966, Kino Lorber-Kino Cult #52
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Arch Oboler wrote and directed this sci-fi feature starring Deborah Walley and Michael Cole.
The pair played Catherine, who is pregnant, and Mark, her husband. A plane carrying the couple is forced to land in a mysterious remote town, where the locals shuffle around like brain-dead automatons. To make matters worse, the town is surrounded by an impenetrable dome.
Can Catherine and Michael escape, or will they be transformed into mindless inmates within this human zoo?
This release features the original 112-minute version of the film before Oboler cut it to 91 minutes to satisfy distributors who believed it was too slow.
The film’s payoff is rather pedestrian and the story is formulaic. The cast also incluscides Johnny Desmond, Virginia Gregg and Vic Perrin.
“The Bubble’s” main appeal will be its 3-D effects.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.50:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track by Matt Rovner and Mike Ballew, an alternate opening title for the 1976 re-release, Robert Bernier 3-D demonstration footage and a 30-minute “Lights Out” radio play by Oboler.
Blazing Magnum (Blu-ray)
Details: 1976, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: An Italo-crime drama starring Stuart Whitman, John Saxon and Martin Landau in which a hardened Canadian cop, Tony Saitta (Whitman), begins a violent investigation after his sister is poisoned at a party.
His search turns into a whirlpool of revenge and betrayal that features multiple plot twists.
The movie, also known as “Shadows in an Empty Room,” features a memorable car chase as well as lots of action and tough police procedural drama.
The cast also includes Tisa Farrow, Carole Laurie and Gayle Hunnicutt.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Italian and English (dubbed) 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary with film historians Steve Mitchell and Troy Howarth, a featurette with director Alberto De Martino’s memories of the movie and a featurette with author-critic Kim Newman about the movie comprise the bonus materials.
Everyone Calls Me Mike (DVD & digital & VOD)
Details: 2023, IndiePix Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A drama in which three people — Jean, Isabelle and her son, Damien, leave everything behind to sail around the world.
While docked in Djibouti, Jean invites Mike, a quick-witted taxi driver, to join them. He accepts the offer.
Days later, when Somali pirates attack, Mike shoots the captain, thus saving the family. Now stranded at sea with their radio destroyed, relief quickly morphs into suspicion.
Why is Mike carrying a gun and, more importantly, can he be trusted?
Director Guillaume Bonnier has created a tense and unsettling drama that will keep you on edge.
Technical aspects: 16:9 widescreen picture; French, Arabic and Somali 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Kriminal (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1966, Cult Epics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A mastermind thief known as Kriminal always seems to be one step ahead of the law in this Italian crime feature.
He is planning the biggest score of his career, but can he achieve it or will he be double crossed? Since Kriminal is cunning, ruthless and deadly, the odds seem to be in his favor.
“Kriminal’s” plot is convoluted with many plot twists.
Kriminal, a pulp-comic anti-hero, starring Glenn Saxson and directed by Umberto Lenzi, kills in various, imaginative ways. He wears a cool skeletal costume that makes him stand out, even though he is able to disappear in a crowd.
The film will please any fan of this “fumetti neri” Italian genre.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; Italian and English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; Italian and English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition.
Don’t miss: A commentary track by Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth is featured on both discs, while extras on the Blu-ray include a documentary about Lenzi, interviews with Saxson and filmmaker Pierpaolo Sanctis, an isolated score featurette and the movie’s original Italian credits comprise the extras.
Guyver: Dark Hero (Blu-ray)
Release date: Sept. 8
Details: 1994 Toy Robot Video
Rated: R, violence
The lowdown: In this sequel to “The Guyver,” Sean Barker returns to settle some unfinished business with the evil human mutant Zoanoids.
Barker is drawn to an archeological dig in Utah, where he discovers an alien ship filled with world-destructive level weaponry.
With the fate of mankind resting on his shoulders, The Guyver takes a final stand against the forces of evil.
The Blu-ray contains two cuts of the movie — the original and enhanced versions, with the latter featuring new special effects.
The sequel was directed by creature effects master Steven Wang, with a cast including David Hayter, Kathy Christopherson and Christopher Michael.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus features include three commentary tracks, including one with Wang; interviews with Wang, Hayter, Christopherson, screenwriter Nathan Long, composer Les Claypool III and other cast and crew members; behind-the-scenes footage; and an archival making of featurette.
Graduation Day: Tromatic Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Release date: Sept. 8
Details: 1981, Troma Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A mystery is at the center of this Troma feature in which, weeks before high school graduation, members of the track team are, one-by-one, being mysteriously and gruesomely murdered.
When Laura, the team’s star runner, drops dead at the end of a championship meet, her sister, Anne, comes to town and, soon after, a series of grisly killings begin.
Who is the killer? Is it Anne seeking some sort of revenge? Or Michaels, the track coach, who was fired after Laura’s death? Maybe, it is the campus cop, who is hated because of his overzealous drug investigations? Perhaps it is Laura’s boyfriend, Kevin, who cannot reconcile himself with her death.
To find the answers, you will have to race to discover the guilty party in “Graduation Day.”
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio.
Don’t miss: Extras include an introduction by Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman; commentaries by actors Patch MacKenzie, Linnea Quigley, director Herb Freed, co-writer David Baughn and editor Martin Jay Sadoff, and another featuring Baughn and the hosts of “The Hysteria Continues” podcast.
Mindscape (Blu-ray)
Release date: Sept. 15
Details: 2013, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, nude sexual images
The lowdown: This sci-fi psychological thriller, which includes a bit of film noir, stars Mark Strong as John, a detective with the ability to enter people’s memories.
In the past, John has used his talent to solve criminal cases, but a stroke has since left him a shell of his former self.
Desperate for an assignment, John asks his superior, Sebastian (Brian Cox), for a new case.
Sebastian assigns him involving a troubled 16-year-old girl, Anna (Taissa Farmiga), who has begun a hunger strike.
At first, the job seems quite simple, but it soon grows difficult as Anna proves to be more challenging than John expected.
Anna is intelligent, insight — and possibly one of the most conniving and manipulative people John has ever encountered.
And as John delves deeper into her memories, everyone surrounding Anna becomes a suspect — her family, her nurse and even Sebastian himself.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include an interview with Strong and Farmiga, a behind-the-scenes featurette and deleted scenes.
Oil Capital Underground: The Genesis & Evolution of Punk Rock in Tulsa Late 70s to Mid-90s (DVD)
Details: 2018, VCI Indie-MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A documentary that explores the Oklahoma city’s punk, new wave and thrash scenes from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s.
It covers such bands as Los Reactors, NOTA, Pitbulls on Crack, Bunnies of Doom and others that created a raw, do-it-yourself culture in the heart of a deeply conservative city.
Through rare live footage, archival flyers and photos, and interviews with musicians and promoters, the movie captures the energy, challenges and cultural impact of a defiant and noisy underground scene that these artists built from the ground up.
Technical aspects: 16:9 widescreen picture; English Dolby digital stereo; English closed-captioned subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include an outtake video reel, a behind-the-scenes photo gallery and a commentary by producer-director Bryan Crain.
My Only Friend’s a Corpse (Blu-ray)
Details: 2025, MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Danny, a punk runaway, stumbles upon a sentient, decaying corpse behind a dumpster, sparking an unlikely and dark, but comedic, friendship.
The corpse, driven by a warped sense of purpose, convinces Danny that the only way to save humanity is by killing God.
Together, they set out on a violent and strange odyssey across the Midwest, encountering a chaotic world filled with monsters, demons, angels and other supernatural horrors.
As the journey continues, Danny is pulled deeper into the corpse’s deadly mission, forcing him to face the consequences of his actions and the growing blurred line between salvation and destruction.
The movie, written and directed by Jack Bayless, features a twisted sense of humor that will appeal to many viewers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary by Bayless and cast and crew interviews.
Other titles being released in the upcoming week include:
ChaO (Blu-ray) (Shout! Studios)
Outlander: Season 8 (Blu-ray & DVD) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Heavy Healing (MVD Visual Entertainment)
Legend of the White Dragon (Well Go USA Entertainment)
Lucky Strikes (Apple TV-Prime Video-Indican Pictures)
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World (Kino Film Collection)
Mistura (Seine Pictures-Amazon Prime-Apple TV)
Ophira Eisenberg: I Used to Be Nicer (Stark Raving Black Productions)
Scavenger Hunt (Kino Film Collection)
Super Troopers 3 (Searchlight Pictures)
SEPT. 23
Brothers: Episodes 1 & 2 (Apple TV)
Last Seen: Episode 4 (Apple TV)
The Love Hypothesis (Prime Video)
Slow Horses: Season 6, Episode 2 (Apple TV)
Ted Lasso: Season 4, Episode 8 (Apple TV)
SEPT. 24
Go Deep: The DeSean Jackson Story (Prime Video)
SEPT. 25
Dark Matters: Season 2, Episode 5 (Apple TV)
The Deputy (Well Go USA Entertainment)
The Reborn (IndiePix Unlimited)
Tatsumi (Film Movement+)
Unabomber (Netflix)
Viktor (Film Movement+)
SEPT. 28
Heresy (GrimmVision)
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs at 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, on Facebook at ReelBob.com 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.