The following article was written by my buddy and colleague Alonso Duralde. You can be taught extra about him HERE.
NEW ON 4K/BLU-RAY/DVD IN AUGUST: KARATE KID, LILO & STITCH, BEYOND TRAINSPOTTING AND MORE!
NEW RELEASE WALL
Karate Kid: Legends (Sony): This one received brief shrift in theaters earlier this summer season, however right here’s hoping it finds its viewers on house video. The charismatic Ben Wang takes over because the titular child, a martial-arts prodigy uprooted from his house in China and moved to New York by his physician mother (Ming-Na Wen). He not solely runs afoul of an evil dojo but in addition finds time to coach his girlfriend’s dad (Joshua Jackson), a pizzeria proprietor pressured by gangsters to return to the boxing ring. All this and appearances by each Jackie Chan and OG Ralph Macchio make for a breezy story with some memorable battle sequences.
Also accessible:
The Accountant 2 (WBD): Ben Affleck returns because the number-cruncher and bone-cruncher, as soon as once more teaming up with estranged bro Jon Bernthal, this time to take down a human-trafficking ring.
Bring Her Back (A24): The twisted minds behind Talk to Me return with one other intense story of horror, that includes a searingly out-of-character flip from Sally Hawkins.
Friendship (A24): Tim Robinson brings the awkwardly uncomfortable comedy of I Think You Should Leave to the massive display with this story of middle-aged male bonding.
How to Train Your Dragon (Universal) / Lilo & Stitch (Disney): Two huge hits of the summer season – the primary is a live-action remake of an animated movie co-directed by Dean DeBlois, the opposite can be a live-action remake of an animated movie co-directed by Dean DeBlois, however solely the primary remake was additionally directed by Dean DeBlois. Got it?
Locked (Paramount): Would-be carjacker Bill Skarsgård is held prisoner inside a tricked-out SUV by Anthony Hopkins, a sufferer of crime who’s determined to not take it anymore, on this entertaining style train.
Vermiglio (Janus Contemporaries): The sudden arrival of a deserter in a distant Italian city in 1944 adjustments everybody’s lives in Maura Delpero’s acclaimed drama.
NEW INDIE
Barron’s Cove (Well Go USA): An spectacular ensemble – Garrett Hedlund, Hamish Linklater, Brittany Snow, Christian Convery, Tramell Tillman, Raúl Castillo, and Stephen Lang – headlines this mystery-thriller.
Perpetrator (Arrow): Alicia Silverstone tackles a really completely different form of position because the mysterious aunt of a younger girl whose buddies have gone lacking.
Rent Free (Cinephobia): Two buddies in Austin, Texas, try to spend a complete 12 months couch-surfing on this low-budget comedy.
NEW INTERNATIONAL
The Maiden (Altered Innocence): Canadian director Graham Foy makes his directorial debut with this bold temper piece about disaffected youngsters adrift in a world and looking for their place in it. Calling to thoughts Gus Van Sant at his most Béla Tarr – and even the nearly-forgotten Texas indie Odile and Yvette on the Edge of the World – Foy locations his characters in a pure habitat that’s each stunning and foreboding, much less about plot and extra involved with dreamy ambiance.
Also accessible:
Block Pass (Distrib/Icarus): This acclaimed French queer coming-of-age movie is ready in opposition to the macho backdrop of motocross.
Delegation (Greenwich): Three Israeli high-school college students take one final journey collectively earlier than heading off to navy service, determining the place they’ve been and the place they’re going.
Just the Two of Us (Music Box Films): French stars Virginie Efira and Melvil Poupaud star on this acclaimed thriller from Cannes 2023.
Shikun (Kino Lorber): Irène Jacob stars in Amos Gitai’s metaphorical comedy-drama, based mostly loosely on Ionesco’s Rhinoceros.
Wolf and Dog (IndiePix): On the island of São Miguel, a younger girl embarks on a journey of erotic discovery.
NEW DOCUMENTARY
Beyond Trainspotting: The World of Irvine Welch (Cleopatra): An exploration of the groundbreaking and influential Scottish novelist.
Simple Minds: Everything Is Possible (Greenwich): An exploration of the groundbreaking and influential Scottish rock band.
NEW GRINDHOUSE
High Tension: Four Films by Lamberto Bava (Severin): Originally made for Italian TV – and subsequently rejected for being too intense for the small display – this legendary quartet of movies from Lamberto Bava get a 2K restoration and a first-ever English-language soundtrack. Horror followers can now expertise The Prince of Terror, The Man Who Wouldn’t Die, School of Fear, and Eye Witness, lengthy accessible solely as bootlegs, as they had been initially meant to be seen.
Also accessible:
Baby Assassins 3 (Well Go USA): Those homicidal slackers are again, this time to take out a would-be competitor who seeks to take their place on the prime of the murderous heap.
Blaxploitation Classics Vol. 2 (Shout Factory) This important collection continues with the 4K premieres of Foxy Brown, Friday Foster, Cotton Comes to Harlem, Bucktown, Slaughter, and Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off, in a 12-disc set loaded with extras, together with a brand new documentary.
Castle of Evil (Vinegar Syndrome Labs): Scott Brady, Virginia Mayo, and future Will & Gracescene-stealer Shelley Morrison star on this old-dark-house mystery-thriller set on a Caribbean island.
City on Fire (Shout Studios): Chow Yun-Fat stars in Ringo Lam’s influential crime drama, accessible in 4K for the primary time and that includes new subtitles, interviews, and commentary.
Confessions of a Psycho Cat/The Fat Black Pussycat (Distribpix): A spin on The Most Dangerous Game that includes Jake LaMotta in a uncommon appearing look, and a beatnik murder-mystery re-edited right into a giallo-style slasher – each are must-sees for style followers.
Fear Cabin: The Last Weekend of Summer (Cleopatra): It’s a cabin. In the woods. You do the mathematics.
The Films of Larry Fessenden, Volume 1 (Vinegar Syndrome): The first assortment honoring the mumblecore horror legend options new 4K variations of Habit and No Telling.
Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror (Kino Cult): New 3D Blu-ray of the 1968 Paul Naschy automobile which, opposite to the title, focuses on vampires and werewolves.
Invasion USA/Rocket Attack USA (Film Masters): Both of those low-budget faves wound up as Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes, however they provide an interesting glimpse at Cold War paranoia propaganda. This Blu-ray options new 4K scans, interviews, commentaries, and documentaries.
Martial Law: Lo Wei’s Wuxia World (Eureka): Before collaborating with Bruce Lee on The Big Boss and Fist of Fury, director Lo Wei created acclaimed martial-arts movies within the wuxia style, three of which — The Black Butterfly, Death Valley, Vengeance of a Snow Girl – are featured right here, alongside new extras.
The Medium (Raro Video): A widow and his son transfer right into a haunted mansion in Rome after which rent a spiritualist to drive out the malevolent presence there.
Playroom (Vinegar Syndrome): Christopher McDonald provides a gleefully over-the-top efficiency on this story of a younger man who returns to the Yugoslavian archaeological website the place his father was murdered.
Robo Warriors (Vinegar Syndrome Archive): In a future post-apocalypse, solely humankind’s final remaining big robotic can push again in opposition to an alien invasion.
Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD (Vinegar Syndrome): New 4K of the Troma saga of a careless cop who’s reincarnated as a superhero imbued with the powers of Japanese theater. Or one thing like that.
Shinobi: Volume 2 (Radiance): Three extra ninja epics from director Raizo Ichikawa: Shinobi No Mono 4: Siege, Shinobi No Mono 5: The Return of Mist Saizo, and Shinobi No Mono 6: The Last Iga Spy.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre / The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (each Arrow): Platinum Dunes’ twenty first century tackle the Tobe Hooper basic, now in 4K and that includes a lot of bonus materials.
The Vengeance of Dr. Mabuse (Kino Cult): Jesús Franco brings the legendary silent-movie villain into the Nineteen Seventies.
NEW CLASSIC
Saving Face (The Criterion Collection): Alice Wu made a formidable 2004 directorial debut with this comedy about closeted lesbian physician Wil (Michelle Krusiec) whose middle-aged mom Hwei-Lan (Joan Chen) will get pregnant out of wedlock and is, in flip, kicked out of the home by her personal mom. Hwei-Lan strikes in along with her daughter, complicating Wil’s burgeoning love life. A captivating queer love story set in opposition to the vibrancy (and inescapable gossip) of the Taiwanese-American immigrant neighborhood in New York City, this was Wu’s solely movie till her triumphant comeback with 2020’s The Half of It, after taking break day to are inclined to her ailing mom. This new Criterion set includes a new HD remaster and new interviews with Wu and Chen.
Also accessible:
Better Off Dead (Paramount): Savage Steve Holland’s delightfully absurdist teen comedy (and Christmas film) will get a 4K launch.
The Burmese Harp / Fires on the Plain (each The Criterion Collection): Two highly effective Nineteen Fifties dramas from Kon Ichikawa coping with the aftermath of WWII on the Japanese populace.
Cairo Station (The Criterion Collection): Youssef Chahine’s 1958 story of romantic obsession turned an early key work in Arab cinema, now restored in 4K.
Compensation (The Criterion Collection): Recently named to the National Film Registry, Zeinabu irene Davis’ 1999 story of deaf African Americans on the flip of the twentieth century is discovering a brand new viewers.
Coneheads (KL Studio Classics): Consumption of mass portions, now in 4K.
Confessions of a Co-Ed/Ladies of the Big House(KL Studio Classics): If Sylvia Sidney solely from Beetlejuice, clutch your pearls and prepare for a double function of saucy pre-code movies from the early-talkies starlet.
A Confucian Confusion/Mahjong: Two Films by Edward Yang (The Criterion Collection): A double-bill of two acclaimed movies from the late Taiwanese director finest recognized for Yi Yi.
The Conjuring (WBD): Just in time for the fright franchise’s (promised) remaining entry, right here’s the one which began all of it, now in 4K.
Convoy (KL Studio Classics): Sam Peckinpah, Kris Kristofferson, and Ali MacGraw tackle a one-hit surprise, making its 4K debut.
Corpse Bride (WBD): Tim Burton’s creepy animated romance celebrates its twentieth anniversary with a brand new 4K steelbook.
The Farmer’s Daughter (KL Studio Classics): The Martha Raye comedy, which got here out seven years sooner than the Loretta Young comedy.
Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XXVI (KL Studio Classics): A trio of shadowy faves, together with Dr. Broadway, Smooth as Silk, and the primary big-screen adaptation of The Great Gatsby. (The GatsbyBlu-ray can be accessible separately.)
Finis Terrae (Eureka): A silent basic from French impressionist Jean Epstein about 4 fishermen shedding their minds on a three-month expedition.
The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Universal): Celebrate the twentieth anniversary of this Judd Apatow comedy – dang, Steve Carell’s character can be 60 now? – with its very first 4K launch.
Gung Ho (KL Studio Classics): Ron Howard’s 1986 culture-clash comedy about American labor and Japanese administration.
Happy Gilmore (KL Studio Classics): Ignore the dreadful sequel on Netflix, decide up the unique in 4K.
His Motorbike, Her Island (Cult Epics): Director Nobuhiko Obayashi (Hausu) melds romance, drama, and fantasy on this story of a biker and the girl who loves him. This new Blu-ray options two visible essays, a commentary observe, and an archival interview with Obayashi.
Huckleberry Finn (KL Studio Classics): Jackie Coogan stars as Mark Twain’s resourceful river rat.
The Lords of Discipline (KL Studio Classics): A brand new 4K of the difference of Pat Conroy’s novel that ripped the lid off his experiences at The Citadel.
Mixed Blood (Cinématographe): Paul Morrissey’s darkish comedy about drug-dealing youngsters in New York – just like the members of Menudo, they finally age out of the gig – makes its 4K debut (and options John Leguizamo in his very first movie position).
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Sony): Hoist your shrubbery for the fiftieth anniversary of this comedy masterpiece, now accessible as a 4K steelbook.
The Odd Job (Severin): Speaking of Monty Python, Graham Chapman starred in and co-wrote this comedy caper from Peter Medak (The Ruling Class), now making its world Blu-ray debut.
Poseidon (Arrow): Not that one, the remake. But it’s in 4K.
Repossessed (KL Studio Classics): Linda Blair and Leslie Nielsen gamely try to do to The Exorcistwhat Airplane! did to catastrophe motion pictures.
The Rundown (KL Studio Classics): The Rock’s movie-star trajectory begins with this action-comedy, reverse Seann William Scott, Christopher Walken, and Rosario Dawson.
Save the Tiger (KL Studio Classics): Jack Lemmon gained a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of a manufacturing unit proprietor pushed to the brink.
Scoop (KL Studio Classics): From Woody Allen’s Scarlett Johansson interval, additionally that includes Hugh Jackman.
Shoeshine (The Criterion Collection): Vittoria De Sica’s neo-realist masterpiece about two boys making an attempt to outlive the imply streets of Rome within the years following World War II.
Smoke / Blue within the Face / Smoke/Blue within the Face (all KL Studio Classics): Director Wayne Wang and novelist Paul Auster collaborated on these two movies about numerous denizens of a Brooklyn neighborhood, all gravitating round Harvey Keitel’s tobacco store. Features a unprecedented ensemble, however Smoke presents a very spectacular breakout efficiency by Harold Perrineau.
Sunset Blvd. (Paramount): Seventy-five years later, and this Billy Wilder basic remains to be prepared for its close-up, this time in 4K.
Through and Through (Radiance): This 1973 noir introduced worldwide consideration to Polish auteur Grzegorz Królikiewicz.
The Two Jakes (KL Studio Classics): Jack Nicholson’s Chinatown sequel has garnered some essential reevaluation in recent times, with little question extra to return following this 4K launch.
Undisputed (KL Studio Classics): Boxing drama starring Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames, now in 4K.
Vampire Hunter D (Sentai): One of the primary main anime releases to get a foothold with US audiences, this action-horror basic will get its first hi-def remaster.
Wolf Children (GKIDS): Continuing the 4K reissue of the movies of anime grasp Mamoru Hosoda, this new launch options new paintings and a steelbook choice.
The Woman Chaser (Cinématographe): Long unavailable because of music-rights points, this acclaimed 2000 movie, starring Patrick Warburton as a automotive vendor with filmmaking aspirations, lastly makes it to 4K.
Xanadu (KL Studio Classics): A box-office flop with ardent followers (and a few haters, too, however no matter) will get the shimmering 4K launch it deserves.
NEW TV
1923: A Yellowstone Origin Story: Season Two (Paramount): More grim prairie tales from Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford.
The Boys: Season Four (Sony): The caped fascists are again on the town.
NCIS: Origins – Season One (Paramount): Mark Harmon narrates the early adventures of his character (performed right here by Austin Stowell) on this hit prequel collection.
Single, Out: Season Three (Cinephobia): In this newest installment, Adam should take care of the appeal and the mess that’s his half-brother Ethan.
Ultraman Decker: The Complete Series + Ultraman DeckerFinale: Journey to Beyond (Mill Creek): More kaiju pleasure as a part of a reissue of the entire Ultraman run.