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OnVideo's Weekly Guide to Home Video Releases
July 23:
Pokemon Detective Pikachu: Ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son, Tim, to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry's former Pokémon partner, wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth Detective Pikachu. Finding that they are uniquely equipped to work together, as Tim is the only human who can talk with Pikachu, they join forces to unravel the tangled mystery. Based on the 2016 video game. (DVD, Blu-ray release: August 6)
Poms: Uplifting comedy about a woman who forms a cheerleading squad at a retirement community. With an all-star ensemble cast led by Diane Keaton and Jacki Weaver and co-starring Pam Grier, Celia Weston and Rhea Perlman. (DVD, Blu-ray release: August 6)
Rock, Paper, Scissors: Horrifying take on the hand game that pits a rehabilitated serial killer against his female neighbor. From the writer of "Friday the 13th" and the director of "Child’s Play." (DVD, Blu-ray release: Day & date)
Tolkien: The formative years of the orphaned author J.R.R. Tolkien as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at school. (DVD, Blu-ray release: August 6)
Blood Paradise
(2018) Andréa Winter, Patrick von Barkenberg, Christer Cavallius, Rolf Brunnström, Martina Novak, Lars Brunnström. Reeling after her latest novel flops, best-selling crime writer Robin Richards (Winter) is sent by her publisher to the Swedish countryside to regain inspiration. Instead of relaxation, she comes across an assortment of peculiar and possibly dangerous characters. The beautiful and stylish young woman soon discovers just how dangerous farm life can be. English-language, filmed-in-Sweden horror-thriller. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD. Extras: Deleted scenes, music videos: "Dreamer" and "You and Me" by Baby Yoga. (Artsploitation Films).
Critters Attack!
(2019) Dee Wallace, Tashiana Washington, Ava Preston, Jack Fulton, Jaeden Noel. Newest entry in the bloody, live-action, horror/sci-fi film series. Inspired by the film series from the 80s and 90s, this one follows 20-year-old Drea (Washington), who reluctantly takes a job babysitting for a professor of a college she hopes to attend. Struggling to entertain the professor’s children Trissy and Jake, along with her own little brother Phillip, Drea takes them on a hike, unaware that mysterious alien critters have crash-landed and started devouring every living thing they encounter.
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo Digital. Extras: Three featurettes: "Engineering Gore: Designing Critters," "Critters: An Out-of-this-World Experience" and "The Critter Ball,"
scene specific commentary with director Bobby Miller and a Critter. (Warner).
The Erlprince
(2016 -- Poland) A startling new vision of childhood genius and teenage angst. An exceptionally gifted teenage boy is about to start studying physics at a university specializing in the theory of parallel worlds. He has an extraordinary mind and a wounded soul, which his mother, who steers his life, seems incapable of healing. Then a Man appears in their lives and, as the Boy passes from the hands of the Mother into his care, a new order is established. Their torturous road forms a bond between the three central characters, but their shared happiness is not to last long. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray. (Altered Innocence).
Hellboy
(2019) David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane, Daniel Dae Kim, Thomas Haden
Manifest: The Complete First Season
(2018-19) Four-disc set with all 16 episodes of the NBC series. A plane inexplicably disappears on a trans-oceanic flight and returns five years later after being presumed lost at sea. While no time has passed for those on the flight, years have gone by for their loved ones who have learned to live with their loss. In addition to the outward mystery of what happened on that flight, there’s also an inward mystery of what has happened to the passengers…and why.
Formats: DVD. (Warner).
Master Z: Ip Man Legacy
(2018 -- China) The next entry in the critically acclaimed Ip Man franchise. After his defeat by Master Ip, Cheung Tin Chi makes a life with his young son in Hong Kong, waiting tables at a bar that caters to expats. It’s not long before the mix of foreigners, money, and triad leaders draw him once again to the fight. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, Digital. (Well Go USA).
Rock, Paper, Scissors
(2018) Luke Macfarlane, Michael Madsen, Tatum O’Neal. A tale of a serial killer who’s been cured ... or has he been? Released from a mental hospital, Peter (Macfarlane) is haunted by memories of childhood abuse and murder victims while being menaced by the cop who put him away (Madsen). His only friend is pretty neighbor Monica, who says she wants to interview him for a book. But does she have a more sinister motive in mind? Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, Digital. (Lionsgate).
Universal Horror Collection Vol. 2
Undertake four tales of terror from the archives of Universal Pictures, the home of classic horror. A maniacal hunter and collector of wild animals uses them to dispose of rival and enemies in "Murders in the Zoo" (1933). An unhinged scientist flees the San Francisco police and continues his bizarre experiments on a remote tropical island in "The Mad Doctor of Market Street" (1942). A mysterious avenger is murdering acquitted criminals while dabbling in brain transplants in "The Strange Case of Doctor Rx" (1942). And a doctor’s experiments with nerve gas turn his assistant into a grave-robbing freak in "The Mad Ghoul" (1943). Extras: Commentaries, still galleries, trailers, Formats: Blu-ray. (Scream Factory).
Alita: Battle Angel
When Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this discarded cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past. When deadly and corrupt forces come after Alita, she discovers a clue to her past - she has unique fighting abilities that those in power will stop at nothing to control. If she can stay out of their grasp, she could be the key to saving her friends, her family and the world she's grown to love.
Vitals: Director: Robert Rodriguez. Stars: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Keenan Johnson.
2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 122 min., Science Fiction, Box office gross: $85.710 million, Fox.
Extras: "Alita’s World" motion comics: "The Fall," "Iron City," "What it Means to be a Cyborg" and "Rules of the Game"; "From Manga to Screen" behind-the-scenes look into the origins of Yukito Kishiro’s manga, “Gunnm,” and the long road to bring it to life on the big screen. Blu-ray adds "Evolution of Alita": how Alita was brought to life, from the casting of Rosa Salazar, to performance capture, and final VFX by WETA Digital; "Motorball" inside Iron City’s favorite pastime featurette; James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez and cast Q&A moderated by Jon Landau; "Robert Rodriguez’s 10 Minute Cooking School: Chocolate"; "2005 Art Compilation" (2019), James Cameron’s original compilation of concept art for the then-titled “Battle Angel: Alita,” presented with new voiceover and music; four scene deconstructions.
Hellboy
Hellboy is back, and he’s on fire. From the pages of Mike Mignola’s seminal work, this action-packed story sees the legendary half-demon superhero (David Harbour) called to the English countryside to battle a trio of rampaging giants. There he discovers The Blood Queen, Nimue (Milla Jovovich), a resurrected ancient sorceress thirsting to avenge a past betrayal. Suddenly caught in a clash between the supernatural and the human, Hellboy is now hell-bent on stopping Nimue without triggering the end of the world.
Vitals: Director: Neil Marshall. Stars: David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane, Daniel Dae Kim, Thomas Haden Church.
2019, CC, MPAA rating: R, 121 min., Fantasy Action, Box office gross: $21.903 million, Lionsgate.
Extras: Deleted scenes, previsualizations. Blu-ray adds “Tales of the Wild Hunt: Hellboy Reborn” (three-part documentary).
Missing Link
Hugh Jackman is Sir Lionel Frost, a brave and dashing adventurer who considers himself to be the world’s foremost investigator of myths and monsters. The trouble is no one else seems to agree. Zach Galifianakis is Mr. Link. As species go, he’s as endangered as they get; he’s possibly the last of his kind, he’s lonely, and he believes that Sir Lionel is the one man alive who can help him. Along with the independent and resourceful Adelina Fortnight (Zoe Saldana), who possesses the only known map to the group’s secret destination, the unlikely trio embarks on a riotous rollercoaster ride of a journey to seek out Link’s distant relatives in the fabled valley of Shangri-La.
Vitals: Director: Chris Butler. Stars: Voices of Hugh Jackman, David Walliams, Stephen Fry,Matt Lucas, Zach Galifianakis, Timothy Olyphant, Zoe Saldana, Amrita Acharia, Emma Thompson.
2019, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 94 min., Family Animated, Box office gross: $16.622 million, Fox.
Extras: Commentary by Chris Butler, "Creating Mr. Link," "Bringing the Final Battle on the Ice Bridge to Life," "Animation Inspiration," "VFX Breakdown Reel – Realizing the Potential of Stop Motion," "Oh What a Mystery: Pulling the Camera Back on Missing Link’s Magic," "Making Faces," "Inside the Magic of Laika," gallery.
Alita: Battle Angel
(2019) Dir.: Robert Rodriguez; Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Keenan Johnson. Set several centuries in the future, the abandoned cyborg Alita is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Ido, a compassionate cyber-doctor who takes her to his clinic. When Alita awakens, she has no memory of who she is, nor does she have any recognition of the world she finds herself in. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious past. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, 4K Ultra HD/3D//Blu-ray Combo, VOD, Digital. Extras: "Alita’s World" motion comics: "The Fall," "Iron City," "What it Means to be a Cyborg" and "Rules of the Game"; "From Manga to Screen" behind-the-scenes look into the origins of Yukito Kishiro’s manga, “Gunnm,” and the long road to bring it to life on the big screen. Blu-ray adds "Evolution of Alita": how Alita was brought to life, from the casting of Rosa Salazar, to performance capture, and final VFX by WETA Digital; "Motorball" inside Iron City’s favorite pastime featurette; James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez and cast Q&A moderated by Jon Landau; "Robert Rodriguez’s 10 Minute Cooking School: Chocolate"; "2005 Art Compilation" (2019), James Cameron’s original compilation of concept art for the then-titled “Battle Angel: Alita,” presented with new voiceover and music; four scene deconstructions. (Fox).
Do the Right Thing
(1989) Set on one block of Brooklyn's Bed-Stuy Do or Die neighborhood, at the height of summer, this 1989 masterpiece by Spike Lee confirmed him as a writer and filmmaker of peerless vision and passionate social engagement. Over the course of a single day, the easygoing interactions of a cast of unforgettable characters -- Da Mayor, Mother Sister, Mister Señor Love Daddy, Tina, Sweet Dick Willie, Buggin Out, Radio Raheem, Sal, Pino, Vito, and Lee's Mookie among them -- give way to heated confrontations as tensions rise along racial fault lines, ultimately exploding into violence. Punctuated by the anthemic refrain of Public Enemy's "Fight the Power," "Do the Right Thing" is a landmark in American cinema, as politically and emotionally charged and as relevant now as when it first hit the big screen. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc with new 4K digital restoration, approved by cinematographer Ernest Dickerson, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: Audio commentary from 1995 featuring director Spike Lee, Dickerson, production designer Wynn Thomas, and actor Joie Lee; introductions by Lee; "Making "Do the Right Thing," a documentary from 1988 by St. Clair Bourne; new interviews with costume designer Ruth E. Carter, camera assistant Darnell Martin, New York City Council Member Robert Cornegy Jr., and writer Nelson George; interview with editor Barry Alexander Brown from 2000; programs from 2000 and 2009 featuring Lee and members of the cast and crew; music video for Public Enemy's "Fight the Power," directed by Lee, with remarks from rapper Chuck D; behind-the-scenes footage; Cannes Film Festival press conference from 1989; deleted and extended scenes; original storyboards, trailer, and TV spots; an essay by critic Vinson Cunningham, and (on the Blu-ray) extensive excerpts from the journal Lee kept during the preparation for and production of the film. (The Criterion Collection).
Hail Satan?
(2019) Chronicling the extraordinary rise of one of the most colorful and controversial religious movements in American history, this documentary is an inspiring and entertaining new feature documentary from acclaimed director Penny Lane ("Nuts!," "Our Nixon"). When media-savvy members of the Satanic Temple organize a series of public actions designed to advocate for religious freedom and challenge corrupt authority, they prove that with little more than a clever idea, a mischievous sense of humor, and a few rebellious friends, you can speak truth to power in some truly profound ways. As charming and funny as it is thought-provoking, "Hail Satan?" offers a timely look at a group of often misunderstood outsiders whose unwavering commitment to social and political justice has empowered thousands of people around the world. Formats: DVD. (Magnolia Home Entertainment).
Church. Based on the graphic novels by Mike Mignola, Hellboy, caught between the worlds of the supernatural and human, battles an ancient sorceress bent on revenge. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo, VOD, Digital. Extras: Deleted scenes, previsualizations. Blu-ray adds “Tales of the Wild Hunt: Hellboy Reborn” (three-part documentary). (Lionsgate).
Missing Link
(2019) Voices of Hugh Jackman, David Walliams, Stephen Fry,Matt Lucas, Zach Galifianakis, Timothy Olyphant, Zoe Saldana, Amrita Acharia, Emma Thompson. Mr. Link recruits explorer Sir Lionel Frost to help find his long-lost relatives in the fabled valley of Shangri-La. Along with adventurer Adelina Fortnight, this trio of explorers travel the world to help their new friend.
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo, VOD, Digital. Extras: Commentary by Chris Butler, "Creating Mr. Link," "Bringing the Final Battle on the Ice Bridge to Life," "Animation Inspiration," "VFX Breakdown Reel – Realizing the Potential of Stop Motion," "Oh What a Mystery: Pulling the Camera Back on Missing Link’s Magic," "Making Faces," "Inside the Magic of Laika," gallery. (Fox).
1984
(1984) This masterly adaptation of George Orwell's chilling parable about totalitarian oppression gives harrowing cinematic expression to the book's bleak prophetic vision. In a rubble-strewn surveillance state where an endless overseas war props up the repressive regime of the all-seeing Big Brother, and all dissent is promptly squashed, a profoundly alienated citizen, Winston Smith (thrillingly played by John Hurt), risks everything for an illicit affair with the rebellious Julia (Suzanna Hamilton) in a defiant assertion of humanity in the face of soul-crushing conformity. Through vividly grim production design and expressionistic desaturated cinematography by Roger Deakins, Michael Radford's 1984 conjures a dystopian vision of postwar Britain as fascistic nightmare-a world all too recognizable as our own.
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc with new 4K digital restoration, supervised by cinematographer Roger Deakins, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Extras: New interviews with director Michael Radford and cinematographer Roger Deakins; new interview with David Ryan, author of "George Orwell on Screen"; behind-the-scenes footage; trailer; an essay by writer and performer A. L. Kennedy. (The Criterion Collection).
Weird Science
(1985) Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Kelly LeBrock, Bill Paxton, Robert Downey Jr. After proving himself the king of heartfelt teen flicks with "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club," writer-director John Hughes infused the genre with a hefty dose of wacked-out sci-fi comedy in "Weird Science," a film where every teenage boy's wildest fantasies come to life. Perennially picked-on high school nerds Gary (Hall) and Wyatt (Mitchell-Smith) are sick of their status at the bottom of the social food chain. Using Wyatt's computer, the two hatch a plan to create their dream woman -- and following a massive power surge, that woman unexpectedly appears in the form of Lisa (LeBrock). Gorgeous, intelligent, and blessed with limitless magic powers, Lisa makes the boys' dreams come true ... but what about Wyatt's gun-toting psycho older brother Chet (Paxton), and the two bullies (Downey Jr and Robert Rusler) determined to put them back in their place? Inspired by EC Comics and boosted by a killer soundtrack (including the classic title theme by Oingo Boingo), "Weird Science" has never looked better than in this new special edition, including an exclusive extended version of the film featuring deleted scenes never released on home video before. New restoration by Arrow Films from a 4K scan of the original negative. Original lossless stereo audio, plus 5.1 DTS-HD MA surround option (theatrical version only). Also available in a steelbook edition. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: Option to watch additional scenes from the extended version separately; newly-filmed interview with special makeup creator Craig Reardon; newly-filmed interview with composer Ira Newborn; newly-filmed interview with supporting actor John Kapelos; new interview with casting director Jackie Burch; "It’s Alive: Resurrecting Weird Science," an archive documentary featuring interviews with cast, crew and admirers, including Anthony Michael Hall; theatrical trailers and TV spots; image gallery; reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tracie Ching (not on steelbook edition); FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Amanda Reyes. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).
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July 22, 2019
(ISSN 1094-3676).
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