New to View: Feb. 8

A family drama detailing how Richard Williams helped propel his daughters, Venus and Serena, to the mountaintop of tennis. Also being released, Disney's magical animated feature, Encanto.

The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Feb. 8, unless otherwise noted:
King Richard (Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2021, Warner Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, violence, language, sexual references, a drug reference
The lowdown: Will Smith stars as Richard Williams, the father of tennis greats Serena and Venus, whose brashness and self-confidence helped propel his daughters into the top echelons of the sport.
The movie chronicles Williams’ 78-page life plan for his daughters as he strives, first on run-down courts in Compton, Calif., and then on other venues.
Smith does not portray Williams as a saint. He shows the father’s cockiness and his ability to rub some people the wrong way.
What is clear is Williams’ devotion to his girls.
Balancing Williams’ overly focused drive is Aunjanue Ellis’ performance as his wife, “Brandy,” who instills some balance and perspective in the family.
The scenes between Richard and Brandy are the heart of the movie, chronicling a solid parental foundation that helps their daughters succeed.
The movie impressed critics who awarded it a 90 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby Atmos TrueHD, English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital and English descriptive audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include a making of featurette, a look at Smith as Williams, deleted scenes and a look at Venus and Serena visiting the movie set.

Encanto (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2021, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: PG, thematic elements, mild danger
The lowdown: This enchanting Disney animated feature, with music by Lin-Manuel Miranda, tells the story of the Madrigals, a very special family living in a magical house in the Colombian mountains.

Each family member has a special gift, except for Mirabel.
Her time to shine comes when she discovers that the magic surrounding the family home is in danger and that she may be the only hope to avert disaster.
Underlying it all is a story about family bonds and communications. And while Miranda’s music and lyrics are not overwhelming, they are serviceable.
The digital transfer is very sharp and clear, with bright and exciting colors. Critics were impressed with the movie as well, awarding it a 90 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 descriptive audio track and Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital and English 2.0 audio descriptive track; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include outtakes and deleted scenes, featurettes on the magical house, the family members, a scouting trip to Colombia, Miranda’s music and a discussion about the character of Bruno and an overview of Colombia.

Catwoman: Hunted (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + digital)
Details: 2022, Warner Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, violence, bloody images, suggestive material
The lowdown: In this newest animated feature from the DC Universe series, Selina Kyle, a k a Catwoman, sets her sights on stealing the world’s most valuable emerald.
Trying to thwart her plans are Batwoman and Interpol, so Catwoman must use stealth to gain her objective.
Also in her way is the Leviathan global crime syndicate and their assassins — including Tobias Whale, Black Mask, Cheshire, Nosferata, Solomon Grundy, Talia al Ghul and Cheetah — who also are on the lookout for the felonious feline.
The visual and audio on this 4K UHD release is very sharp and clean; no major flaws in picture or sound were noticed.
Technical aspects: 2160p Ultra HD, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a featurette on the villains going after Catwoman’s and a documentary on Catwoman’s history.

Gold Diggers of 1933 (Blu-ray)
Details: 1933, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: “Gold Diggers of 1933,” along with “42nd Street” and “Footlight Parade,” are three prime examples of the imaginative choreography devised by Busby Berkeley in a series of Warner Bros. musicals in the 1930s.
It's the camera work, lighting and precision dance moves that make Berkeley’s sequences so memorable and timing.
“Gold Diggers of 1933” was Berkeley’s second musical at Warner, following “42nd Street.”
The numbers include the toe-tapping opening with Ginger Rogers singing “We’re in the Money,” then doing a refrain in pig Latin.
The most touching number is the “Remember My Forgotten Man” finale in which star Joan Blondell sings about the World War I veterans whose Depression-era plight are seemingly being ignored by society and the government.
The movie’s slim plot revolves around a group of chorus girls who get roles in a new musical financed by their songwriting neighbor who, unbeknownst to them all, is rich.
The cast also includes such Warner Bros. regulars as Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Warren William, Aline MacMahon, Guy Kibbee and Ned Sparks.
The release is a made-on-demand Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection and can be ordered from the WAC store at Amazon Prime or other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 (16x9 enhanced) full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include four featurettes — “Gold Diggers: FDR’s New Deal … Broadway Bound,” “The 42nd Street Special,” “Rambling Round Radio Row #2” and “Seasoned Greetings,” and three vintage cartoons —   “We’re in the Money,” “I’ve Got to Sing a Torch Song” and “Pettin’ in the Park.”

A Walk in the Sun (Blu-ray)
Details: 1945, Kit Parker Films-MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Lewis Milestone, who won an Academy Award for directing one of the greatest anti-war movies ever produced, “All Quiet on the Western Front,” returned to battle in this story about a platoon of GIs, assigned to capture a bridge and farmhouse after landing in Italy.
The movie is more drama than action, as we listen to the various soldiers talking as they hike toward their objective, always on the alert for enemy attack.
The strong cast includes Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, Norman Lloyd, Lloyd Bridges, John Ireland, Sterling Holloway and former Dead End Kid Huntz Hall.
The movie features several newsreel battle sequences to compensate for its limited budget, which created some problems for the production.
The two-disc set features the movie on Blu-ray and the extras on DVD.
The new restoration is solid, even though some wear-and-tear because of the film’s age is apparent.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a commentary track with author Alan K. Rode, a “Zanuck Goes to War: The WWII Films of Fox” featurette, an interview with Norman Lloyd about the movie as well as his role in Hitchcock’s “Saboteur,” an uncut version of the documentary, “The Battle of San Pietro” and World War II Fox Movietone newsreels.

The Flag of Iron (Blu-ray)
Details: 1980, 88 Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Another Shaw Brothers martial arts release featuring the usual fare of feuds, combat and betrayals.
The characters have names such as Iron Panther, Iron Monkey, Iron Tiger and the White Robed Rambler.
When the master of the Iron Flag clan is killed by a mysterious assassin known as The Wanderer, it starts a violent chain of events that pits brothers against each other.
This Hong Kong film was directed by Chang Cheh, who helmed “The One-Armed Swordsman” and “Five Deadly Venoms.”
The movie features eye-popping acrobatics, exotic weapons and fast-paced fight sequences.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; Mandarin and English (dubbed) 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio and LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include a commentary track and a booklet.

Paranoiac: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1963, Scream Factory
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This British thriller starring a young Oliver Reed was produced in an attempt to cash in on the “Psycho” craze about demented family members.
Reed plays Simon Ashby, a mentally unbalanced young man, who lost his parents years earlier in a car accident. A few years after that, his brother supposedly committed suicide, though his body was never recovered.
Simon and his sister, Eleanor (Janette Scott), live with their Aunt Harriet who cares for them.
A few weeks before Simon is to inherit his parents estate, a young man turns up claiming to be Simon and Eleanor’s older brother, Tony, who claims he faked his suicide.
Of course, Tony, is an imposter, hired by the son of the family’s attorney so the lawyer can continue embezzling from the estate.
There are secret rooms, weird music in the night and other chills and thrills before everything is sorted out.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track, interviews with authors-film historians Kim Newman and Jonathan Rigby and a making of featurette.

Legendary Weapons of China (Blu-ray)
Details: 1982, 88 Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This feature is a combination of martial arts and mysticism set during the time of the Boxer Rebellion.
A former member of a failing magical kung fu order threatens to destroy the remaining group’s reputation through various actions.
This wuxia style film from the Shaw Brothers studio contains much action as it pits disciplines of martial arts, swordplay and hand-to-hand combat against bullets.
Like several other genre features, the movie features disguised characters and betrayals before everything is sorted out.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; Cantonese and English (dubbed) LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include interviews with producer Titus Ho and actor Gordon Lui, an “Eighteen Weapons” featurette with David West discussing the movie and two commentary tracks.

Where There’s Life (Blu-ray)
Details: 1947, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Bob Hope stars as New York radio show host Michael Valentine whose life is turned upside down when he is whisked off to the kingdom of Barovia where he discovers he is the long-lost and unknown son of that nation’s king, who has been gravely wounded in an assassination attempt.
Now, the cowardly — as most Hope characters are — Valentine must stave off plots against his life, not only by Barovian revolutionaries, but by the policeman brother of his Manhattan fiancée.
The movie, which runs 75 minutes, is a middling Hope vehicle, aided by a strong supporting cast, including Signe Hasso, William Bendix, Vera Marshe, George Zucco, George Coulouris, Dennis Hoey and Victor Varconi.
Hope is his usual wisecracking self, which will please his fans.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.

Marionette Land (DVD)
Details: 2021, MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A documentary that goes behind the scenes of the Lancaster Marionette Theatre where Robert Brock writes, directs and performs each show.
Brock also lives above the tiny puppet theater with his mother-business partner, Mary Lou.
After years of focusing on family shows such as “Peter Pan” and “The Wizard of Oz,” Brock decides to bring back the popular adult show, “Divas and Dames” for a final performance, even though he is 62.
The personal and business challenges — as well as unforeseen circumstances that emerge — have Brock and Mary Lou struggling to keep the theater open while preparing to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
This is an interesting movie about following your passions no matter the consequences.
Technical aspects: Widescreen picture; English Dolby digital.
Don’t miss: Extras include deleted scenes, a commentary track and a question-and-answer session at the Omaha Film Festival.

God’s Gun (Blu-ray)
Details: 1977, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: Lee Van Cleef, Jack Palance and Richard Boone star in this Italian-Israeli spaghetti Western about a priest (Van Cleef) who is murdered while trying to defend his town from a brutal group of outlaws, led by the notorious Sam Clayton (Palance).
Clayton, however, did not expect that the priest’s gunslinging twin brother (also Van Cleef) would come seeking revenge.
Boone plays the town’s drunk and cowardly sheriff.
This is not a top-tier spaghetti Western. I have seen worse. The cast is the main attraction.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track with filmmaker Alex Cox is the main extra.

Surf Nazis Must Die (Blu-ray)
Details: 1987, Troma Entertainment
Rated: R, violence, language
The lowdown: From Troma, which gave us “The Toxic Avenger” and other exploitation features, comes this post-apocalyptic story of motherly love and revenge.
After a devastating earthquake, the beaches of California have been taken over by neo-Nazis, led by Adolf.
When the Nazis kill Leroy, an African-American oil worker jogging on the beach, his mother, Eleanor “Mama” Washington takes a handgun and some grenades and sets out to settle the score.
Though, only 87 minutes, the movie drags in spots and lacks the wit of “Toxic Avenger” and other Troma releases. The satire is rather heavy-handed with the Nazi characters having such obvious names as Adolf, Eva and Mengele.
It is violent and bloody but lacks real punch.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English stereo.
Don’t miss: Extras include an introduction by Lloyd Kaufman,  interviews with director Peter George and producer Robin Tinell, deleted scenes, scenes from the Tromaville Café and The “Soul” of Troma featurettes, a Projection Booth Podcast with George and promos for other Troma features.

Live or Let Die (Blu-ray)
Details: 2020, Shout! Studios-Scream Factory
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Another post-apocalyptic feature in which a viral outbreak brings humanity to the edge of extinction. Of course, the movie features zombies feeding off the living.
Amidst this chaos walks Nick, a loner, who discovers an old diary that contains a map indicating a sanctuary that might be his last chance to find peace.
Nick teams up with John, a survivor who is reckless. Together, they travel through the ruins of what was once human society in search of this new Eden.
They soon discover that even in a dead world, danger and threats exist all around them and that living people are as menacing as the dead.
This is a German-made feature dubbed into English.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English (dubbed) 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.

Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Apex (Blu-ray & DVD) (RLJE Films)
Exorcist Vengeance (DVD & digital) (Uncork’d Entertainment)
Gintama: The Very Final (Blu-ray + DVD) (Shout! Factory-Eleven Arts)
Miss Willoughby and the Haunted Bookshop (DVD & digital & VOD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
Alter Ego (Indican Pictures)
Belfast (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
Bite Me (Adventure Kid-Blue Fly Films)
The Fabulous Filipino Brothers (1091 Media)
Rose: A Love Story (Shout! Studio-Scream Factory)
Student Body (1091 Pictures)
Super Turnt (Amazon Prime)
Pam & Tommy: Episode 4 (Hulu, Feb. 9)
Blues on Beale (Echelon Studios, Feb. 10)
The Afterparty: Episode 5 (Apple TV+, Feb. 11)
Catch the Fair One (IFC Films, Feb. 11)
Cosmic Dawn (Cranked Up, Feb. 11)
Dollface: Season Two (Hulu, Feb. 11)
I Want You Back (Amazon Prime, Feb. 11)
Love is Blind: Season 2: Episodes 1-5 (Netflix, Feb. 11)
Pretzel and the Puppies (Apple TV+, Feb. 11)
The Sky Is Everywhere (Apple TV+, Feb. 11)
Suspicion: Episode 3 (Apple TV+, Feb. 11)
Tall Girl 2 (www.netflix.com/TallGirl2) (Netflix, Feb. 11)
Those Who Walk Away (SIE Films, Feb. 11)
Worst to First: The True Story of Z100 New York (Gunpowder & Sky, Feb. 11)
Along Came Wanda (Buffalo 8, Feb. 14)

Coming next week: The Eternals

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.