New to View: April 23
A lesbian road-trip comedy that's a homage to exploitation movies of the 1970s and '80s leads off the new releases in my New to View at ReelBob.
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, April 23, unless otherwise noted:
Drive‑Away Dolls: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2024, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: R, crude sexual content, nudity, language, violence
The lowdown: Ethan Coen directed and co-wrote with Tricia Cooke, this raunchy lesbian comedy‑drama road trip movie that harkens back to exploitation-like B‑movie, drive‑in fare of the 1970s.
Margaret Qualley (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” “Poor Things”) portrays Jamie, an uninhibited free spirit mourning another breakup with a girlfriend.
Her reserved, uptight friend, Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan), needs to loosen up and show some spontaneity.
In search of a fresh start, the two begin a road trip to Tallahassee. Things begin to go wrong when they cross paths with a gang in inept criminals along the way.
The movie, which costars Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal, Joey Slotnick and C.J. Wilson, is uneven at times but, to its credit, does not take itself too seriously.
The film garnered a 63 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD, 2.0 DVS and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital and English 2.0 DVS; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus components include a featurette with the cast and filmmakers as they discuss their roles, getting into character and the movie’s cameo appearances; a featurette with Coen and Cooke discussing their inspiration for the movie and why they waited 20 years to bring it to the screen; and a road‑trip essentials featurette.
Rolling Thunder (4K Ultra HD + Blu‑ray)
Details: 1977, Shout! Studios
Rated: R, graphic violence, language
The lowdown: William Devane stars as Major Charles Rane, a Vietnam War veteran who spent many years as a POW. He finally returns home to San Antonio, Texas, to find that his wife has fallen in love with another man and his young son does not even know him.
Despair turns to tragedy when criminals invade his home, seeking the reward he received upon his return. They kill his wife and son and maim him, leaving Rane for dead.
But Rane survives and, with the help of a fellow veteran and POW, played by Tommy Lee Jones, seeks to avenge the murders of his family.
This is a brutal movie, with a screenplay cowritten by Paul Schrader. It touches upon the despair and cynicism of the post‑Vietnam War era.
The cast also includes James Best, Dabney Coleman, Luke Askew and Linda Haynes. The movie, directed by John Flynn, earned an 86 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra‑high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles; Blu‑ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include a commentary track with co‑screenwriter Heywood Gould and author‑film historian C. Courtney Joyner, a new commentary track with filmmakers Jackson Stewart and Francis Galluppi, an interview with Joyner about Flynn, an interview with film composer Barry De Vorzon, a making of featurette and a “Trailers From Hell” episode with filmmaker Eli Roth.
The Scarface Mob: Limited Edition (Blu‑ray)
Details: 1959, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This movie, starring Robert Stack as Eliot Ness, was originally conceived as a two-part TV pilot for what soon became the prohibition‑era series “The Untouchables.”
Featuring staccato, ripped‑from‑the‑headlines narration by newspaper columnist Walter Winchell, this movie — and the later TV series — dramatized Ness and his men’s battles against Al Capone and his mob as well as other gangsters in the late 1920s and early 1930s Chicago area.
Stack is a no-nonsense Ness who defies crooked cops as well as politicians to take down Capone, played by Neville Brand, and his hoodlums.
The movie — and subsequent series — was more dramatization than factual, but it still was — and is — fun to watch.
The cast also includes Keenan Wynn, Pat Crowley, Barbara Nichols, Bill Williams, Joe Mantell and Bruce Gordon.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus features include a video essay about on the career of Ness and his depictions on film, a video essay about the film’s director, Phil Karlson, a booklet with writings about the movie, six postcard‑size lobby cards and a double‑sided, fold‑out poster.
The Cat and the Canary: Limited Edition (Blu‑ray)
Details: 1927, Eureka Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This 1927 Universal Pictures release is considered by some cineastes as the studio’s first classic horror film and its initial horror‑classic release.
The movie, based on a 1922 play by John Willard, is one of the first of the “old dark house” features in which secret rooms and corridors abound and people either disappear and/or are murdered.
“The Cat and the Canary” itself was remade many more times, one of the most popular remakes, released in 1939, starred Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard.
Th original version, directed by famed German director Paul Leni (“Waxworks,” “The Man Who Laughs”), stars Laura La Plante as Annabelle West who, 20 years after her the death of her uncle, Cyrus West, gathers with other relatives to hear the reading of his will.
Annabelle is declared the heir to West’s fortune under the condition that she is declared sane by Dr. Lazar (Lucien Littlefield).
Later that evening, the family is warned that an insane man known as “The Cat” is on the loose in the area. Soon after, lawyer Roger Crosby (Tully Marshall) is found dead and Annabelle fears she will be the next victim.
The cast also includes Creighton Hale as the bumbling hero, the role reprised by Hope in the remake, as well as Gertrude Astor, Forrest Stanley, Arthur Edmund Carewe and George Siegmann.
Leni’s use of innovative use of the camera, adds to the suspense and spooky proceedings.
And at 86 minutes, the movie, which garnered a 93 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, moves at a nice clip.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.32:1 full‑screen picture; English intertitles with a 5.1 DTS‑HD Master Audio musical score, based on music‑cue sheets from the original release.
Don’t miss: Extras include two commentary tracks, one with author‑critic Kim Newman and Stephen Jones, the other with Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby; interviews with writer‑critic Pamela Hutchinson and with critic Phoung Le; an overview and quasi‑history lesson about the movie by David Cairns and Fiona Watson; two audio extracts from Willard’s play; a reprint of a cigarette ad with Leni (hey, times were different about a century ago!); and a booklet with essays about the movie.
Monolith (Blu‑ray)
Details: 2022, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: R, language
The lowdown: A disgraced journalist, trying to salvage her career and rehabilitate her reputation, begins digging into a strange conspiracy theory using a new and controversial investigative podcast.
Soon, as the evidence begins leading closer to home, she will be forced to deal with a series of lies at the heart of her own story.
This rather curious movie features one character, the journalist, played by Lily Sullivan. The movie’s’ major emphasis is on its audio rather than its visual components.
The various elements prove to be confounding and diminish whatever point the filmmakers were trying to ascertain.
The movie is rather claustrophobic and tantalizing, despite its limited budget, earning an 85 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.00:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A behind‑the‑scenes featurette and a commentary track comprise the bonus components.
Black Mask: 2‑Disc Limited Edition (Blu‑ray)
Details: 1996, Eureka Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Jet Li stars as Tsui Chik in this superhero action movie who leads a quiet life as a librarian but, in reality, was once a member of the 701 Squad, a group of elite fighters from a failed super‑soldier project.
Like other members of his squad, his central nervous system has been altered so he cannot feel pain. When several of his fellow test subjects resurface and embark on a crime spree under the direction of their former commander, Tsui is forced to use his abilities to stop them.
To protect himself and others, he covers his face and becomes the vigilante known as Black Mask.
The film was heavily influenced by Bruce Lee’s performance as Kato in the short‑lived mid‑1960s “Green Hornet” television series.
This two‑disc set offers four versions of the movie: the Hong Kong cut, the export version, the Taiwan cut and an extended version. These various cuts feature different voices, dubs and music tracks.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Cantonese 2.0 LPCM and 5.1 DTS‑HD Master Audio (Hong Kong cut), English 2.0 LPCM (export cut), Mandarin 2.0 LPCM and stereo (Taiwan cut) and Cantonese 2.0 LPCM (extended version); English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include the uncut Hong Kong version of the movie, a commentary track on the Hong Kong cut by Frank Djeng, a commentary on the export version by Mike Leeder and Arne Venema, a chat with stuntman Mike Lambert, a look at the movie with critic Andrew Heskins, a featurette with author Leon Hunt, an archival making of documentary and a booklet with essays about the movie.
Tormented (Blu‑ray)
Details: 1960, Film Masters
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Filmmaker Bert I. Gordon was known as “Mr. Big” for his late 1950s low-budget, badly‑matted science fiction‑horror films such as “The Amazing Colossal Man,” “Beginning of the End,” “The Cyclops” and “War of the Colossal Beast.”
“Tormented” was a change of pace for Gordon. It’s a tale of supernatural passion, set on an island in a tight‑knot community.
Richard Carlson portrays Tom Stewart, who is preparing for his wedding. But the appearance of his old girlfriend, Vi (Juli Reding), creates complications. Vi confronts Tom at the top of the island’s lighthouse, insisting he can only be hers.
A freak accident causes Vi to fall to her death. Tom, of course, is relieved, but then strange events begin to occur as Vi’s vengeful spirit begins to follow him wherever he goes.
The tormented Tom, he had hidden his involvement in the accident, goes to great lengths to protect his secret, including killing a young man.
Soon, he returns to the lighthouse to confront the ghost and face his destiny.
The script was co‑written by Gordon and George Worthing Yates, one of the co‑writers of Republic’s 1938 serial, “The Lone Ranger,” the masked man’s first appearance on screen. Yates was no stranger to giant creature features having written the screenplay for “Them,” the film that began the giant bug genre, as well as “The Spider,” “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers,” “War of the Colossal Beast” and the giant octopus film, “It Came from Beneath the Sea.”
Carlson was no stranger to supernatural and sci‑fi outings, appearing in “It Came from Outer Space,” “The Maze” and the classic, “Creature from the Black Lagoon.”
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English closed‑captioned subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include the “Mystery Science Theater 3000” version of the movie, an archival interview with Gordon, a documentary about Gordon, a visual essay about the film, a 1961 unreleased TV pilot of “Famous Ghost Stories” featuring Vincent Price and a commentary track with historian-writer‑filmmaker Gary Rhodes and filmmaker Larry Blamire.
Doom Patrol: The Fourth and Final Season (Blu‑ray)
Release date: April 9
Details: 2022-23, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A three‑disc set featuring the final 12 episodes of this DC superhero series in which Robotman, Cyborg, Negative Man, Elasti-Woman and Crazy Jane are joined by former super‑villain Madame Rouge.
The common thread uniting these heroes is that they all suffered horrible accidents that gave them superhuman abilities, but also left them scarred and disfigured.
The Doom Patrol is part support group and part super-hero team; a band of freaks united to fight for a world that wants nothing to do with them.
Season four opens with the team traveling to the future where they find an unwelcome surprise. Facing imminent demise, the Doom Patrol must decide what is more important — their own happiness or the fate of the world.
The cast includes Brendan Fraser, Matt Bomer, April Bowlby, Diane Guerrero and Joivan Wade.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.20:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS‑HD Master Audio; English SDH and French subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a trio of featurettes.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Kamen Rider Geats: The Complete Series (Blu‑ray) (Shout! Studios)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Accidental Texan (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Downtown Owl (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Max Beyond (HaZimation)
The Moon and Back (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Nostalghia (Kino Lorber)
The Seeding (Magnet Releasing‑Magnolia Pictures)
APRIL 24
The Big Door Prize: Season 2, Episodes 1‑3 (Apple TV+)
Loot: Season 2, Episode 5 (Apple TV+)
Palm Royale: Episode 8 (Apple TV+)
Under the Bridge: Episode 3 (Hulu)
APRIL 25
Heartworn Highways & Heartworn Highways Revisited (Kino Film Collection)
We Were the Lucky Ones: Episode 7 (Hulu)
APRIL 26
Alam (Film Movement)
Breathe (Capstone Global‑Warner Bros.)
Franklin: Episode 5 (Apple TV+)
Infested (Shudder)
Red Moon Tide (Film Movement Plus)
Sugar: Episode 5 (Apple TV+)
Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story (Hulu)
COMING NEXT WEEK: Andor: The Complete First Season
Moon Knight: The Complete First Season
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for 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 and on Facebook at ReelBob or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.