It is kind of amazing to me that the Predator franchise is still a thing. Not only that, but the last couple of films have been some of the best in the entire series. Predator: Badlands might just be my very favorite of all of them. It was definitely one of my favorite films of last year, and you can read all about that here.
It is getting a variety of releases in different formats and covers (plus it is now streaming on Hulu, but I guess I shouldn’t talk about that in a post covering physical releases). And now it is my pick of the week.
Here’s what else is coming out this week that struck my fancy:
Ben-Hur: William Wyler’s biblical epic took home a whopping 11 Oscars in 1959, and now it is getting the UHD treatment. It has been a long time since I watched this, but now I’m itching to see it again in HD glory.
Song Sung Blue: Loosely based on a true story, this film follows a married couple who form a Neil Diamond cover act and see both success and failures along the way.
Rental Family: Brendan Fraser stars in this drama about an American living in Japan who is hired as a token American for a rental-family company.
All the President’s Men: Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman star as the real-life Woodward and Bernstein, the reporters who helped uncover the Watergate Scandal and bring the Nixon presidency down. A great film in every way, and this UHD upgrade is getting good reviews.
Dexter: Resurrection: The Complete First Season: I think I watched the first season of the original Dexter, and I’ve not really paid it much attention after that. But I know it has fans.
Cloud: Kiyoshi Kurosawa is one of my favorite modern Japanese directors. His latest features a guy who gets into the resale business, but his carelessness puts him in harm’s way. That’s a terrible description, but the film is great.
The Visitor: This absolutely insane film is about an intergalactic warrior who joins a Christ-like figure to battle a demonic eight-year-old. Arrow has the release.
Eclipse Series 8: Lubitsch Musicals: I’ve only seen a couple of Ernst Lubitsch movies, and none of them have been musicals, but all of them have been enjoyable. He’s one of those directors who is beloved by a lot of people I like, but I’ve never truly dug into him. Maybe now is the time to start. The films include The Love Parade, Monte Carlo, The Smiling Lieutenant, One Hour With You.
Spencer Tracy 4-Film Collection: I’ll have a review of this up soon. The films include Bad Day at Black Rock, Fury, Northwest Passage, and Libeled Lady.
themidnightcafe.org 