New to View: Dec. 23
A solid horror-film sequel that continues the battle between Finney, his family and the back-from-the dead Grabber highlights new releases.. Check them out in New to View at ReelBob.
The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Dec. 23, unless otherwise noted:
Black Phone 2: Collector’s Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2025, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: R, graphic and strong violence, gore, teen drug use, language
The lowdown: A sequel set four years after Finney Blake (Mason Thames) killed the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) has Finney’s sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), having dreams where she sees murders that happened at Alpine Lake Camp in 1957.
During one of her dreams, Gwen receives a phone call from her mother, Hope, who, during the 1957 killings, was having similar dreams.
Most of the film takes place at the camp during a blizzard. While there, Finney receives a call from the dead Grabber, who vows revenge on the youth.
Everything, of course, works out by the fade out, with the family secrets revealed, the bodies of the 1957 killings recovered and the Grabber again neutralized.
The movie earned a solid 72 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos and French and Spanish 7.1 Dolby digital plus; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos, 2.0 DVS and French and Spanish 7.1 Dolby digital plus.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include deleted scenes; featurettes on the cast and the technical efforts, stunts and prosthetic work; a behind-the-scene look at the set; and a commentary track with director-co-writer-producer Scott Dickerson.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2025, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: R, language
The lowdown: Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie star as David and Sarah in this romantic fantasy directed by Kogonada.
David, whose car is clamped, visits a strange “Car Rental Company, where he is given a 1994 Saturn SL with a special GPS. It is the only car the agency rents.
David and Sarah are introduced at a mutual friend’s wedding. In conversation, Sarah indicates she is uninterested in marriage or relationships, while David always has dreamed of being a husband and father. The two later part ways.
Driving home, the GPS directs David to a rest stop fast-food burger restaurant, where he runs into Sarah. They soon discover they have rented cars from the same company.
When Sarah’s vehicle refuses to start, the GPS in David’s car, instructs him to pick her up, and they set off in a journey together.
After going through a few doors, which take them to various events in their lives, Sarah and David declare their love for each other, kiss and walk through his front door.
The movie earned a 37 percent positive rating at Rotten Tomatoes, with the majority of critics unimpressed with its believing it was too self-conscious and contrived.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.00:1 widescreen picture; English, French and Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and English and French 5.1 Dolby digital audio description tracks; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include three behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Laurel & Hardy: The Restored Features, Vol. 1 (Blu-ray)
Details: 1931, 1932, Classic Flix
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Like many Baby Boomers, I grew up watching the films — shorts and features — Laurel & Hardy on television.
To this day, I still laugh at the slapstick antics of Stan and Ollie.
And while I prefer their two-reel short films to their feature-length ones, there is no doubt that this new restoration of their first two features — “Pardon Us” (1931) and “Pack Up Your Troubles” (1932) — are well worth viewing.
“Pardon Us,” directed by James Parrott, is a spoof of MGM’s 1930 blockbuster, “The Big House.” Stan and Ollie find themselves in prison in “Pardon Us” after their attempt at bootlegging immediately collapses when they sell a policeman some of their homemade beer.
The supporting cast includes many Hal Roach-Laurel and Hardy regulars include James Finlayson, Walter Long, Wilfred Lucas, Tiny Sanford, Harry Bernard and Charlie Hall.
“Pack Up Your Troubles” finds Stan and Ollie as two World War I veterans who find themselves raising the little girl (Jackie Lyn Dufton) of a fallen comrade — with hilarious results. She is more a grown-up than The Boys.
The supporting cast includes Finlayson, Richard Cramer, Mary Carr, Tom Kennedy, Grady Sutton, Charles Middleton and Billy Gilbert. The movie’s co-director George Marshall (along with Ray McCarey), performs a fun bit as a vengeful Army chef.
ClassicFlix restored “Pardon Us,” and while it is not pristine, it remains an exciting and enjoyable 55 minutes of comedy; “Pack Up Your Troubles” was restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive and The Film Foundation.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture English audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include an alternate raw audio track of “Pardon Us” without added music; the opening title sequence of the preview version of “Pardon Us,” an alternate ending of “Pardon Us” without audio and a “Pardon Us” restoration comparison.
Law & Order: The Original Series (DVD)
Release date: Dec. 2
Details: 1990-2010, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A 104-disc set that features the complete first 20 seasons of the stories of New York City’s dedicated detectives and district attorneys who prosecute offenders.
Many of the episodes were inspired by ripped-from-the-headline events though, as they would say in “Dragnet,” the names were changed to protect the innocent.
The series went through several cast changes with George Dzundza, Chris Noth, Dann Florek, Paul Sorvino, Jerry Orbach, S. Epatha Merkerson, Benjamin Batt, Jesse L. Martin, Dennis Farina and Jeremy Sisco among those putting on the badge, while Steven Hill, Michael Moriarty, Richard Brooks, Jill Hennessy, Sam Waterston, Carey Lowell, Angie Harmon, Elisabeth Röhm, Alana de la Garza, Fred Dalton Thompson and Linus Roache portraying district attorneys or assistant district attorneys.
Among those who guest starred in the series were future and already-honored Academy Award-winners Robin Williams, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Allison Janney, Samuel L. Jackson, Kerry Washington, Sara Paulson, Timothy Chalamet, Jennifer Garner, Cynthia Nixon, Claire Danes, Pedro Pascal, Felicity Huffman, Laura Linney, Courtney B. Vance, Idris Elba, Edie Falco and Colman Domingo.
But it was the compelling stories and interesting characters that propelled this series and has fueled its return to television. The series set can be ordered at www.moviezyng.com or other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1.33:1 full-screen and 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include deleted and extended scenes, cast profiles, a set tour and crossover episodes.
Cloud Atlas: Collector’s Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 2012, Shout! Factory
Rated: R, violence, language, nudity, sexuality, some drug use
The lowdown: Tom Hanks and Halle Berry head the cast in this massive feature with six interwoven stories, written and directed by Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer and Lilly Wachowski, that shifts between the past, present and future.
The cast, which also includes Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Keith David, Susan Sarandon and James D’Arcy, reunite from one life to the next. And in doing so, evil transforms to good and an act of kindness inspires a revolution.
The movie is a bold mixture of science fiction, mystery, action and romance.
“Cloud Atlas” garnered a 65 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. It takes patience and concentration to fully appreciate it, but the effort is worth it.
Technical aspects: 4K UHD: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras on a third disc include a featurette reconnecting the cast and crew; a look back at the film, hosted by Jon Donahue, and including new interviews with Tykwer, the Wachowski, author David Mitchell and cast members, including Hanks, Broadbent, Weaving, Grant, other cast members and filmmakers and seven archival featurettes.
Kill the Jockey (DVD)
Release date: Dec. 16
Details: 2024, Music Box Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Remo Manfredi is a once-famous jockey whose life is now a mess. He is perpetually drunk, in debt to a minor crime boss and his girlfriend, Abril — also a jockey — is pregnant and fed up with their drab domestic life.
Remo’s only hope of getting out of debt and saving his relationship and perhaps his life, is his next race.
He is to ride a thoroughbred specially imported from Japan. But the race does not go as Remo expected and he winds up in the hospital with a life-changing injury.
Soon, he is wandering the streets of Buenos Aires, hunted by the mob. He dons a disguise and a new identity as Dolores.
The movie, which garnered an 85 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, is a crime comedy that explores the fluidity of identity and desire.
Technical aspects: 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: The main extra is an interview with actor Náhuel Pérez Biscayart, who portrays Remo.
Walking Tall (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Release date: Dec. 16
Details: 2004, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: PG-13, intense violence, sexual content, drug material, language
The lowdown: While this movie has the same title as the 1973 movie that starred Joe Don Baker as real-life Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser, it is light years away from Pusser’s story.
In the newest version, Dwayne Johnson stars as Chris Vaughn, a former U.S. Army special forces officer, who returns to his home town in rural Washington state.
Looking for work, he finds the local cedar mill was closed down and that a casino now accounts for most of the local revenue.
From there, the story follows the contours of the 1973 movie, with Vaughn becoming sheriff and cleaning out the town’s dirty elements.
The cast also includes Johnny Knoxville, Neal McDonough, Kristen Wilson and Ashley Scott.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include three commentary tracks, one with film journalist Brandon Streussig, a second with Johnson and a third with director Kevin Bray, director of photography Glen MacPherson and editor Robert Ivison, on both discs; and, on the Blu-ray disc, a “Fight the Good Fight” featurette, deleted scenes, a gag reel and an alternate ending.
Other titles being released next week include:
The Long Walk (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
All’s Fair: Episode 10 (Hulu)
Springsteen: Deliver Us From Nowhere (Disney)
DEC. 24
Goodbye June (Netflix)
Made in Korea: Episodes 1 & 2 (Hulu)
Palm Royale: Season 2, Episode 7 (Apple TV+)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Episode 4 (Disney+)
DEC. 26
The Nipple Talk: Episode 8 (Film Movement+)
Onimasa (Film Movement+)
El Paraiso (Film Movement+)
Pluribus: Episode 9 (Apple TV+)
Tokyo Bordello (Film Movement+)
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 X @ReelBobBloom, on Facebook at ReelBob and on Bluesky at @bobbloom1948@bsky.social or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.