Category: DVD Pick of the Week

Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection is the Pick of the Week

disney legcy

Like every sane person who enjoys a movie or two from time to time, I am a huge fan of Disney’s animation department. For 100 years the Mickey Mouse company has been making animated films of various stripes. Not all of them have been masterpieces, but some of them are, and most are very good. In celebration of its centennial, Disney is exclusively releasing through Wal-Mart, this collection of 100 animated films from its storied existence.

The films range from their earliest feature-length movie, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937), to Pixar’s most recent one Elemental (2023), plus a few surprises like Pooh’s Heffalump Movie (2005).

Now, that’s the good news. The bad is that while it is packaged in a nice-looking cardboard box, the disks are apparently plain Jane Blu-rays without any real extras. And it retails at $1,500.

That’s a huge amount of money. Way more than I’ll spend. I’m very curious as to who this set is for as it seems like people who are big enough fans that they would be willing to lay down that much for these movies probably already own most of them on Blu-ray. But whatever, it is still a cool set and it is now my Pick of the Week.

Also out this week that looks interesting:

The Sonny Chiba Collection, Vol. 2: Sonny Chiba was one of the great martial arts movie actors. This set includes seven films and lots of extras.

Terms of Endearment: James L. Brooks’ wonderful comedy/drama follows the lives of a mother and daughter team (Shirley Maclaine and Debra Winger) who live very different lives.

Blue Steele: Jamie Lee Curtis stars in this Kathryn Bigelow-directed film as a rookie cop who is chased by a psychopath.

Justified: City Primeval: I love Elmore Leonard and I really enjoyed the FX series, Justified, based on his Raylan Givens stories. Strangely, I’ve never actually seen every episode of the series. I’ve tried a couple of times and I always get hung up somewhere in season three. And it isn’t even a bad season, but for whatever reason I always get distracted around there.

This new limited series takes place several years after the original one ended and finds Raylan in Detroit. Maybe someday I’ll finish Justified so I can get to this one.

Spirited Away: Live on Stage: Spirited Away is one of my favorite Studio Ghibli films. I have no idea how that animated film will translate to a live-action stage performance, but I’m interested in giving it a try.

The Last Picture Show: Peter Bogdanovich’s brilliant look at the lives of several high schoolers in 1950s Texas is getting the 4K Criterion treatment.

The Buster Keaton Collection, Vol. 5 is the Pick of the Week

buster keaton 5

Buster Keaton was one of the great stars of the silent screen. I’ve only seen a couple of his films and so I’m excited that more and more of his movies are getting nice Blu-ray releases. The Cohen Media Group has been releasing them pretty regularly and now Vol. 5 is my Pick of the Week. You can read more about this release and what else is coming out by reading my column over at Cinema Sentries.

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning is the Blu-ray Pick of the Week

mission impossible dead reckoning blu

Say what you will about Tom Cruise (and really you can say whatever you want about that crazy mofo and his awful religion – sorry I generally let people believe whatever they want to believe but everything I read about Scientology is just awful) but the dude knows how to make good movies.

I’ve enjoyed every single one of the Mission Impossible films (well, ok the second one isn’t great) and I hope they keep making them for eternity. I completely missed Dead Reckoning Part One in the theaters. I miss just about everything in the theaters these days as I rarely make the trip, but I’m looking forward to catching it now that it is out on Blu-ray. Like just about every other big blockbuster hit, this one comes in a variety of formats with a variety of extras.

Also out this week that looks interesting:

Blue Beetle: I am pretty much superheroe’d out at this point, but I’ve heard good things about this one, or at least it seems to be trying for something slightly different so I’ll give it a chance at some point.

The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection, Vol. 3: Includes Rope, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Torn Curtain, Topaz, and Frenzy. All in 4K. Calling all of these classics is a bit much.

Nanny: Criterion brings us this story about an immigrant Nanny, piecing together a new life in New York City while caring for the child of an Upper East Side family, is forced to confront a concealed truth that threatens to shatter her precarious American Dream.

Barbie is the Pick of the Week

barbie

My wife is obsessed with dolls. It began with our daughter when she was young. We’d buy her baby dolls, Monster High Dolls, My Little Pony Dolls, etc. and so forth, and yes we bought her lots of Barbie dolls. My wife always enjoyed playing dolls with our daughter (whereas I always tended to make them fight each other) and the obsession grew out of that.

My wife also enjoys sewing. She used to sew for herself and then when our daughter was born she’s make all sorts of cute dresses for her. But my daughter no longer likes dresses. She’s more of a cargo pants and sweatshirt girl these days. So, the wife started sewing for the dolls. At first, it was just a few dresses for fun and then it turned into something else.

She makes all sorts of amazing outfits for the Barbie dolls, then poses them and takes some really cool photos. She got herself an Instagram account and posts the best ones there. Apparently, there is a whole doll world on Instagram (called Dollstagram naturally) where fans create stories, and swap ideas and whatnot. It is all beyond me, but she loves it and I think that is awesome.

Naturally, we went to see the Barbie movie in the theaters. I gotta admit, I really enjoyed it. The film is clever and funny and it has something to say beyond “you should buy more dolls.” Some of its messaging is a little on the nose and that monologue everyone is talking about felt a little too preachy to my ears (though admittedly it is all true), but mostly it is quite good.

It came out on Blu-ray today in a variety of formats and versions and it is absolutely my Pick of the Week.

Also, out this week that looks interesting:

The Last Voyage of the Demeter: Bram Stoker’s Dracula has been adapted, remade, and reimaged a million times. What this film does is it takes one tiny part of the story (Dracula’s voyage from Carpathia to England) and makes an entire movie of it. Results are mixed.

Haunted Mansion: A Disneyland ride is turned into a kid-friendly, star-studded, and somewhat enjoyable movie.

Todd Browning’s Sideshow Shockers: The Criterion Channel is releasing three early films from Dracula (1931) director Tood Browning. The films are The Mystic (1925), The Unknown (1927), and Freaks (1932). I’ve only seen Freaks but it’s terrific.

The Way We Were (50th Anniversary Edition): Robert Redford and Barbara Streisand star in this Sydney Pollack-directed drama about two people in love who are driven apart by their political convictions.

The Walking Dead Complete Collection: This show should have been right up my alley. I love zombies. I’ve read (some of) the comics. I enjoyed the first season but found the second one a dreadful bore and couldn’t make it through the first half of the third season. I’m surprised it was so successful and launched so many spin-offs. Obviously, some folks love it and now you can have the entire series.

The Desperate Hours: Humphrey Bogart stars in this terrific crime flick as a desperate convict on the lam who hides out inside a house owned by Frederic March.

The Wicker Man: Best Buy recently announced that they will no longer be selling movies of any sort in their stores or online. With this package, they are going out with a bang. This classic horror film is being exclusively sold by Best Buy in a new 4K edition chocked full of extras.

Don’t Look Now is the Pick of the Week

dont look now criterion

When I talk about horror movies I suspect a lot of people think of harsh violence and heavy gore. For sure some horror movies specialize in that type of thing, but many of them do not. To tell the truth, as I get older, and especially now that I have a young daughter, I find I have less tolerance for the ultra-violence on screen. Especially sexual violence.

But horror doesn’t have to include that. I love eerie haunted house movies and movies that terrorize you with the threat of something awful happening. I love a good psychological horror.

Don’t Look Now is a film that has very little on-screen violence. In fact, it has very little violence at all. But it does have horror, mostly coming from a sense of dread and grief. Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie play a young couple who recently lost their son due to a tragic accident. Sutherland’s character has taken a job in Venice and they are both using it as a way to escape. But you can’t escape that kind of grief. It is a beautiful, powerful, and yes horrific film. Criterion has just released it in a new 4K addition and it is my pick of the week.

Also out this week that looks interesting:

Prey: Predator is a ridiculously dumb 1980s action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger who goes to the jungle to fight a killer alien. It is also kind of awesome. It somehow managed to launch an entire franchise. I haven’t seen all of them, but I’ve seen quite a few of them and they are definitely a mixed bag. Prey is really freaking good. It is basically the same premise as the first one except for this time the alien lands on Earth some 300 years ago and a Comanche Indian has to fight it with primitive tools.

Talk to Me: I’ve heard good things about this horror film about a group of friends who conjure spirits using an embalmed hand. They become hooked on it, go too far, and unleash the spirit world upon them.

Evil Dead Rise: The original Evil Dead is a low-budget horror masterpiece. The sequel, Evil Dead II, took the same premise (dumb teens go to a cabin in the woods and unleash evil) and turned it into a slapstick horror/comedy masterpiece. That spawned another sequel (Army of Darkness, not as good, but fun) and eventually a TV series (Ash Vs Evil Dead, I’ve only seen a few episodes, but I liked it). Then came a soft reboot which went back to its roots (dropped Bruce Campbell and the humor). And now it has a sequel. That’s a lot of words to say that I have no real desire to see this. I saw the reboot and didn’t much care for it. Like I said earlier, hard-core violence just doesn’t do it for me anymore.

It Came From Outerspace: Very silly-looking 1950s science fiction flick gets a nice release from Universal Studios.

Poker Face: Season One is the Pick of the Week

poker face

I write the Pick of the Week for Cinema Sentries every other week and then on the off week, I just write it for this site. I keep forgetting to link over to my articles when I write them for CS.

This week a Rian Johnson murder mystery series comes out on Blu-ray. I’m a big fan of the director’s work so I’m excited to finally get to watch it. You can read all about it and what else is coming out this week by clicking here.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the Blu-ray Pick of the Week

spiderman across the spiderverse

Superhero fatigue is real. I’ve grown so tired of the MCU and the DCEU I can hardly stand it. And this is coming from someone who considers himself a fan. I’ve loved a lot of the MCU. They are entertaining diversions. I love the way they are interconnected so that each film builds up to a big Avengers movie now and again. But at some point, it all started to feel like homework. I have to watch this film and this series just to understand what is happening in this movie. And now it seems like every movie spends most of its runtime calling back to older movies or setting up some future film.

Movies, especially popcorn movies shouldn’t feel like this much work. I watched the first Avengers movie having never seen any of the previous films, and it didn’t matter. I’m sure I missed a few things, but I still had a great time at the movies. Could I do that now?

When Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse hit theaters in 2018 it felt like a breath of fresh air. It was so original and interesting. It took familiar characters and did something new. It was completely different visually from the MCU and wildly entertaining.

The sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse doesn’t reinvent that wheel, but it still feels fresh. It is easily my pick this week. As with all big-budget releases this one is coming out in a variety of formats with various extras.

Also out this week that looks interesting:

Star Trek: Picard – The Final Season: I am not a huge Trekkie. I loved the original series when I was a kid and watched some of The Next Generation when it came out, but I wasn’t religious about it. I’ve seen all the movies but none of the other series. My wife and I enjoyed the first season of Picard, but not enough to bother with the second or third ones. I’m sure we’ll eventually get to them.

Harley Quinn: The Complete Third Season: I’ve heard good things about this animated series, but have yet to watch it.

Black Circle: The synopsis for this film reads “The lives of two sisters change dramatically since they were hypnotized by a mystical vinyl record from the 1970s”. Sounds fun.

You Hurt My Feelings is the New Blu-ray Pick of the Week

you hurt my feelings

One of the perks of writing for Cinema Sentries is that I sometimes get free Blu-rays and books and things. The owner of the site offers things up and I request anything that looks interesting. I usually choose things that I’ve seen before and really liked, or that I’ve heard good things about. Sometimes I’ll offer to review something I’ve never heard of and know nothing about. When I’m lucky that things turn out to be really good and I’ve added to my collection of wonderful things.

Such was the case with Enough Said a lovely little comedy/drama starring Julia Louis Dreyfuss and James Gandolfini. It wasn’t a major piece of work, it didn’t redefine cinema or even make it to my best films of the year list. It was a small little film with some good writing and terrific performances. We need more films like that.

It was directed by Nicole Holofcener who has a new film out, You Hurt My Feelings and from everything I’ve read, it has that same vibe, that same low-key goodness. It also stars Dreyfuss who plays a novelist with what she thinks is a pretty happy and fulfilling life. Then one day she overhears her husband (Tobias Menzies) discussing her latest book in none-too-flattering tones. Delving into the feeling this creates is the plot of the film.

That’s a pretty small plot to base a film on, but if Enough Said is an example of the kind of work Holofcener makes then I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

Also, out this week that Looks interesting:

Coma (1978)(Special Edition): Michael Crichton wrote (along with Robin Cook) and directed this film about a bunch of hospital patients going into comas and the horrible conspiracy behind it. It is not a great film, but it is a lot of fun and it’s got some really creepy images to back it up.

A Moment of Romance (1990): A triad gangster is forced to take a young woman hostage. When his bosses tell him to kill her he refuses setting up all sorts of problems. I love this period of Hong Kong cinema so I’m looking forward to checking this one out.

Unman, Wittering and Zigo (1971): David Hemmings stars in this mystery about a school teacher that learns his students may or may not have murdered the previous teacher and he sets out to find the truth.

Hardcore (1979): George C. Scott stars in this Paul Schraeder-directed drama about a deeply conservative and religious man discovering his daughter has run away and is starring in porno films.

The Night of the Hunted (1980): French director Jean Rollin made a name for himself making beautifully shot, erotically charged horror films. I’ve only seen a couple of them but I really want to see more of them. This one is about a woman taken to a mysterious clinic whose patients have a mental disorder in which their memories and identities are disintegrating as a result of a strange environmental accident.

The Rape of the Vampire (1968): The first film from Jean Rollin is about four women who are led to believe they are vampires and are held hostage in a beautiful chateau.

Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema Blu-ray: I don’t know anything about these films, but it is being put out by Criterion, and that always makes my list.

Cosa Nostra: Franco Nero in Three Mafia Tales by Damiano Damiani is the Pick of the Week

franco nero in three mafia tales

As I return from my vacation my mind once again turns to this blog. I really don’t know what I’m doing with it anymore. I love the idea of it being this eclectic pop-cultural thing where I share shows, review movies, talk about books and music, give details on upcoming Blu-ray releases and tour dates, and whatever else I find interesting. But that takes quite a bit of time to do and I don’t always have time, or I’m too tired to do anything, or I’m just lazy. So, it winds up being this really weird hodge podge. Which is maybe ok. But for now, I’m gonna make an effort to write about a lot of stuff.

Franco Nero is an Italian actor who has been in over 200 films in his long career. He is best known for playing Django in the classic spaghetti western from 1966, but he’s performed in just about every genre ever. Django was more or less a remake of Sergio Leonne’s A Fistful of Dollars (1964) which itself was more or less a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo (1961), which if you want to get technical about it was more or less an adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s novel Red Harvest.

But I digress.

With his rugged good looks and his pale, blue eyes Nero made an excellent leading man in all sorts of Italian genre films throughout the 1960s and 1970s and beyond. I’ve only seen a handful of his films but I’m always excited to see his name in the credits. Radiance Films is putting out a three-film collection that stars Nero and was directed by Damiano Damiani entitled: Cosa Nostra: Franco Nero in Three Mafia Tales by Damiano Damiani. The three films in question are: The Day of the Owl, The Case is Closed, Forget It, and How to Kill a Judge. I don’t know a thing about the films except they all were made in the late 1960s to the early 1970s, are Italian, and fall loosely into the poliziotteschi genre of Italian crime films (and of course, they star Franco Nero) and that’s enough for me to make this set my pick of the week.

Also out this week that looks interesting:

Shaw Brothers Classics: Volume Two: I’ve written about the Shaw Brothers before in these pages. I’m a huge fan of their kung fu films. Shout Factory is releasing its second set of films from the studio. It contains 12 films (Lady of Steel / Brothers Five / The Crimson Charm / The Shadow Whip / The Delightful Forest / The Devil’s Mirror / Man of Iron / The Water Margin / The Bride From Hell / Heroes Two / The Flying Guillotine / The Dragon Missile) and is chock full of extras.

Asteroid City: Wes Anderson’s latest is possibly the most Wes Anderson film Wes Anderson has ever made. It is a movie within a TV show within a play, or something like that. It is weird, funny, and moving in the way his films usually are. It has a huge and magnificent cast. I can’t wait to watch it again. His movies usually (eventually) come out in deluxe sets from the Criterion Collection so I’ll probably wait on that, but it is worth checking out if you haven’t already.

Is Paris Burning?: Rene Clement directs this World War II story from a script by Gore Vidal, Francis Ford Coppola, and Marcel Moussey about a Nazi general who is given orders to destroy Paris if the Allied troops make it into the city. It is chock full of stars (Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford, etc., etc., etc.) but didn’t receive particularly great reviews.

The Lincoln Lawyer: Season One: I really enjoyed the Bosch television series and I’ve been enjoying the book series it was based on. The writer, Michael Connelly, also wrote the books this series is based on and that alone is enough to make me intrigued.

Audie Murphy Collection III: Audie Murphy was one of the most decorated war heroes to come out of World War II. After the war, he become a film star. He made a lot of different movies but is best known for his westerns. Kino Lorber is releasing three more of his films (Showdown, Hell Bent for Leather, and Posse from Hell) in this regular collection of the actor.