The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Dec. 22, unless otherwise noted:
The War With Grandpa (Blu-ray + DVD + digital) Details: 2020, Universal Studios Home Entertainment Rated: PG, rude humor, language, thematic elements The lowdown: Robert De Niro earns a paycheck in this innocuous comedy about Peter (Oakes Fegley), an average sixth grader who learns that he must give up his prized possession — his room — because his recently widowed grandfather, Ed (De Niro), is moving in with the family and will be occupying Peter’s bedroom. Naturally, Peter is upset, so he devises a series of pranks to force his grandfather out of the room. Grandpa, however, is stubborn and won’t go without a fight. An all-out war ensues as the two vie for the upper hand and rights to the room. The movie strolls through familiar territory. It’s a nice diversion, but nothing more, despite a supporting cast that includes Uma Thurman, Christopher Walken, Cheech Marin, Rob Riggle and Jane Seymour. Critics were cold to the movie, giving it a 29 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and Spanish 5.1 DTS digital surround; English SDH and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
The Shop Around the Corner (Blu-ray) Details: 1940, Warner Archive Collection Rated: Not rated The lowdown: James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan head an all-star cast in director Ernst Lubitsch’s romantic comedy about two bickering Budapest gift-shop workers, Alfred and Klara, who, unbeknownst to each other, are secret pen pals and in love. It’s rather funny watching all-American Stewart playing a Hungarian without altering that distinctive voice of his, but that is the magic of Hollywood. Nor does it deter from the fun of this feature — which was remade twice, once as “In the Good Old Summertime” with Judy Garland and Van Johnson and then as “You’ve Got Mail” with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. “The Shop Around the Corner,” which costars Frank Morgan, Joseph Schildkraut, Felix Bressart, Sara Haden and William Tracy, is a made-on-demand Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection. It can be ordered at www.wb.com/warnerarchive or other online retailers. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 (4x3) full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles. Don’t miss: Extras include a 1940 “Screen Guild Players” and a 1941 “Lux Radio Theater” radio adaptations of the movie and a featurette, “A New Romance in Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound.”
“The Trip: Four Course Meal” (DVD) Release date: Dec. 1 Details: 2010-2020, IFC Films Rated: Not rated The lowdown: This delightful set spotlights the quartet of culinary and tourist excursions taken by comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon during the past decade. Their journeys began by sampling the cuisine of northern England in “The Trip” (2010). That was followed by “The Trip to Italy” (2014), “The Trip to Spain” (2017) and “The Trip to Greece” (2020). Besides the food and the beautiful locales, the highlights of the films are the banter between Coogan and Brydon, who are continually trying to top each other, as well as their celebrity impersonations of Marlon Brando, Michael Caine and Roger Moore. These films are fun, abetted by the obvious joy of Coogan and Brydon traveling together. Technical aspects: 1.85:1 widescreen for all four pictures; English Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated: Blindfire (Blu-ray & DVD) (Kandoo Films) DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD In Case of Emergency (Carolyn Jones Production-Kino Lorber) Yellow Rose (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) A Music Lover’s Guide to Murdoch Mysteries (Acorn TV, Dec. 24) The Commons: Episode 4 (Sundance Now, Dec. 24) Riviera: Season 3, Episode 8 (Sundance Now, Dec. 24) Shadow Lines (Sundance Now, Dec. 24) Total Control: Episode 2 (Sundance Now, Dec. 24) Sylvie’s Love (Amazon Prime, Dec. 25) We Can Be Heroes (www.netflix.com/WeCanBeHeroes) (Netflix, Dec. 25) In Corpore (Nexus, Dec. 26) The Daughter Tree (Sundance Now, Dec. 28) Madame Bovary (Sundance Now, Dec. 28)
Coming next week: Honest Thief
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 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.