By Bob Bloom The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Jan. 19, unless otherwise noted: Assassins (DVD) Details: 2020, Kino Lorber-Greenwich Entertainment Rated: Not rated The lowdown: A documentary that examines the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in a crowded Malaysian airport. The film focuses on the two young women who, captured on security camera, are seen coming up behind him, covering his eyes and pressing the lethal VX nerve gas into his eyes. The women, who were captured, claimed they had been hired to pull a video prank and did not know what they really were doing. The Malaysian government did not believe them and put them on trial for murder. The movie covers the aftermath of the assassination, including whether the young women — one who as Indonesian, the other Vietnamese — were simply pawns as well as the culpability of Kim Jong-un and the North Korean regime. The is a fascinating documentary that earned a 100 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Technical aspects: 1.78:1 (16x9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English, Indonesian, Malay and Vietnamese 5.1 Dolby digital; English and English closed-captioned subtitles.
Martin Eden (Blu-ray) Details: 2020, Kino Lorber Rated: TV-PG The lowdown: This Italian production is an adaptation of Jack London’s 1909 novel, transposed to an unspecified time in Italy. It’s a story of class distinction and ambition as Martin Eden (Luca Marinelli), a self-taught proletarian, falls in love with Elena Orsini (Jessica Cressy), a beauty from a wealthy, middle-class family. Dreams of Elena aspire Martin to fulfill his dream of becoming a writer, so he can rise above his station and marry her. The movie is set against the backdrop of tension between the classes and the political awakening that leads to destructive anxiety that grips a nation and its people. The 128-minute movie, in Italian with English subtitles, received an 85 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 picture; Italian 5.1 DTS-HD; English subtitles. Don’t miss: Bonus options include a commentary track, an interview with director Pietro Marcello and a virtual question-and-answer session with Marinelli and Marcello.
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese: Special Edition (Blu-ray) Details: 2019, The Criterion Collection Rated: Not rated The lowdown: In 1975, Bob Dylan embarked on a now-legendary tour with Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, poet Allen Ginsberg and others. It was known as the Rolling Thunder Revue. Director Martin Scorsese has blended behind-the-scenes archival footage, interviews and narratives to create a cultural record of that traveling counterculture experience. The centerpiece of the film, of course, is Dylan, a singer-songwriter-poet who was a growing voice for a changing America. Great songs and performances as well as a whiff of mischief are the foundations on which the movie is built. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture and 1.33:1 full-screen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles. Don’t miss: Extras include interviews with Scorsese, editor David Tedeschi and writer Larry “Ratso” Sloman; restored footage of never-before-seen performances and extended cut of songs; a restoration demonstration; and a new essay about the Rolling Thunder Revue.
Yellow Rose (DVD) Release date: Jan. 5 Details: 2020, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Rated: PG-13, language, teen drinking The lowdown: Rose Garcia (newcomer Eva Noblezada) is an undocumented Filipina teenager from Texas who dreams of being a country music performer. To pursue her career, she must decide between staying with her family or leaving home. She has no choice after ICE agents seize her mother; Rose flees the house, forcing her to embark on a journey of self-discovery as she seeks a new home in the honky-tonk world of Austin music. The film is as much about the immigrant experience as it is about music. The cast also includes Lea Salonga as Rose’s mother, Gail, and country singer Dale Watson as himself. Incidentally, Noblezada followed in Salonga’s footsteps, both having starred in Broadway productions of “Miss Saigon.” A majority of critics were impressed by the movie, awarding it an 86 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Technical aspects: 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital and audio description track; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles.
In Case of Emergency (DVD) Details: 2020, Kino Lorber Rated: Not rated The lowdown: The crisis in the nation’s health care system, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis and the lack of insurance for millions of Americans, is the focus of this documentary. The movie focuses on emergency rooms around the nation and the struggles they endure daily as they battle the coronavirus and the physical, emotional and mental toll that fight takes on doctors, nurses and other staff members. The film focuses on seven facilities, rural and urban, and sheds light on the problems and deficiencies in our health care system and how nurses and doctors rise to the challenge of meeting those failings. Technical aspects: 1.78:1 (16x9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English closed-captioned subtitles. Don’t miss: A question-and-answer session is the major extra.
The Last Shift (DVD) Release date: Dec. 29 Details: 2020, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Rated: R, language, drug use The lowdown: Character actor Richard Jenkins shines in this little movie with big ideas — some of which do not pan out. Jenkins plays Stanley, an aging fast-food worker who plans to call it quits after 38 years on the graveyard shift at Oscar’s Chicken and Fish. Stanley, a high school dropout who has watched the world pass him by, is tasked with training his replacement, Jevon (Shane Paul McGhie), a talented young writer who contentious politics continually gets him in trouble. Circumstances bring these two men — who have nothing common — together. Their generational differences are apparent as Stanley proudly explains the nuances of the job, while Jevon places everything in a political context, contending that labor is being exploited. Beneath it all, though, a sense of camaraderie grows between the two. The movie received a 63 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Technical aspects: 2.00:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Giant From the Unknown (Blu-ray) Details: 1958, The Film Detective Rated: Not rated The lowdown: A low-budget horror outing from director Richard E. Cunha, who helmed such other grade-Z offerings as “Missile to the Moon” and “Frankenstein’s Daughter.” This one deals with a murderous Spanish conquistador named Vargas, who has been in suspended animation for centuries and is resurrected by a bolt of lightning. He begins a rampage of terror through a small California community. This is a schlocky sci-fi-horror movie that, nonetheless, has a Saturday matinee charm to it. The cast includes Buddy Baer as Vargas and such B-movie stalwarts as Ed Kemmer, Morris Ankrum and Bob Steele. The premise, of course, is ludicrous, yet the film holds your interest, despite a slow start. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English and Spanish subtitles. Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include two commentary tracks, with one featuring film historian-author Tom Weaver and the other from actor Gary Crutcher who, as a kid, had a role in the film; an interview with Crutcher; and a look at the career of Steele in the 1950s.
The Road to Mandalay (DVD) Details: 2016, Film Movement Rated: Not rated The lowdown: A drama about two Burmese immigrants who meet on the road from Burma to Thailand. They fall in love, but once arriving in Bangkok, the two make their own ways to make enough money to fulfill their dreams. After the two find work, they focus on obtaining fake identity papers. However, only one is successful, which then creates a threat to their relationship. This is a fine addition to the growing list of movies that examine the immigrant experience. It puts a human face on the challenges faced by people who want to begin new lives. Technical aspects: 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Chinese, Burmese and Thai 5.1 Dolby digital; English subtitles. Don’t miss: A short film, “On the Border,” is the sole extra.
Afterglow / Ray Meets Helen: Marquee Double Feature (Blu-ray) Details: 1997, 2017, MVD Visual Entertainment Rated: R, not rated The lowdown: The two films here were directed by Alan Rudolph, a disciple of famed director Robert Altman. “Afterglow” (1997, R) features Nick Nolte, Julie Christie, Lara Flynn Boyle and Jonny Lee Miller in a romantic feature about a handyman (Nolte), who creates havoc in two families. Nolte’s Lucky Mann is hired by Marianne (Boyle) to remodel a nursery. The only problem is that Marianne is not pregnant and her husband, Jeffrey (Miller), is not interested sex. So Mann decides to help Marianne. Meanwhile, Jeffrey has become infatuated with Phyllis (Christie), a fading former starlet, who happens to be Mann’s wife. The four get caught up in romantic involvements that seem to re-ignite their marriages. The film received a respectable 76 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. “Ray Meets Helen” (2017, not rated) follows a pair of 60-plus individuals, Ray (Keith Carradine) and Helen (Sondra Locke), both of whom happen upon large sums of money that give them to opportunities to re-invent themselves. When fate has them meet, sparks fly and lives are altered. The film features a solid supporting cast including Samantha Mathis, Keith David, Jennifer Tilly and Kim Wayans. The movie was not as well received as “Afterglow,” garnering a 43 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen pictures; English 2.0 LPCM (“Afterglow”) and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (“Ray Meets Helen”); English subtitles.
Born to Be (DVD) Details: 2020, Kino Lorber Rated: Not rated The lowdown: A documentary that follows the work of Dr. Jess Ting at the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery in New York City. The facility is one of the first to offer quality transition-related health and surgical care to gender non-conforming people. The movie details how Ting’s work impacts many patients and how famed plastic surgeon became a pioneering gender-affirming surgeon. The film, which should be seen, received a 100 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Technical aspects: 1.78:1 (16x9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, English closed-captioned and Mandarin subtitles. Don’t miss: Deleted scenes are the major bonus offering.
Batwoman & The Panther Women double feature (Blu-ray) Details: 1967, 1968, VCI Entertainment-MVD Visual Entertainment Rated: Not rated The lowdown: A pair of Mexican luchador movies, which featured Lucha libre wrestlers, a group of professional athletes who wore masks and, sometimes, capes. “Batwoman” (1968) features a bikini-clad masked crimefighter, who is called in by police to help solve a series of murders in which athletes have had their pineal glands surgically removed> The movie features a mad scientist, a red “Creature From the Black Lagoon”-like gill man and, of course, some wrestling sequences. “The Panther Women” (1967) centers on a devil-worshipping cult and a lot of fights between female wrestlers — some out to stop the cult, while others are members. The entire affair is silly, but in a watchable way. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English (dubbed) 2.0 LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
JSA: Joint Security Area (Blu-ray) Details: 2000, Arrow Films Rated: Not rated The lowdown: A Korean drama that centers on an incident in the DMZ separating North and South Korea, in which two North Korean soldiers are killed, supposedly by a South Korean soldier. The South Korean soldier claims he fired in self-defense, while a North Korean survivor claims the attack was premeditated. It is up to a Swiss-Swedish team from neutral countries to investigate the incident and discover the truth. The movie is basically a murder mystery, but with a humanist twist that makes it worth viewing. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; Korean 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles. Don’t miss: Extras include an isolated movie and effects track, a commentary by writer and critic Simon Ward, an interview with Asian cinema expert Jasper Sharp, two archival features that look at the making of the movie, a series of archival introductions to the film by cast members, a behind-the-scenes montage, opening ceremony footage, two music videos and a booklet about the movie.
Max Cloud (Blu-ray) Details: 2019, Well Go USA Entertainment Rated: Not rated The lowdown: A fantasy feature in which Sarah, a teenage gamer, finds an “easter egg” and accidentally opens a portal into her favorite side-scroller. She then becomes trapped in a notorious intergalactic prison, which houses the galaxy’s must notorious and dangerous villains. To escape, she must finish the game with help from her not-so-savvy friend on the outside. If they fail, she will remain in the game forever. This is a movie that those of us who are not gamers, may not appreciate as much as those who participate. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 (16x9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated: All Too Human (DVD & digital) (Random Media) A Cold Hard Truth (DVD & digital) (Indican Pictures) Bartender: 15th Anniversary Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray & digital) (Shout! Factory) The Cleansing Hour (DVD & digital & VOD) (RLJE Film-Shudder) Open Up to Me (DVD) (Corinth Films) Spiral (Blu-ray & DVD) (RLJE Film) The Strong Ones (Los Fuertes) (DVD & VOD) (Breaking Glass Pictures) The Village in the Woods (DVD & digital & VOD) (4Digital Media) Professor Louie and the Crowmatix: Music From Hurley Mountain (Woodstock Records, Dec. 11) Louis Van Beethoven (DVD) (Film Movement) Welcome to Chechnya (DVD & digital) (Music Box Films, Jan. 21)
FOR KIDS Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?: The Complete First Season (DVD) (Warner Home Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD Bring Me a Dream (Indican Pictures) Clapboard Jungle (IndieCan Pictures-Gravitas Ventures) Cleaning Up: Episode 4 (Sundance Now) The Commons: Episode 8 (Sundance Now) Let Him Go (Universal Studios Home Entertainment) The Night Caller: Episode 1 (Sundance Now) Total Control: Episode 6 (finale) (Sundance Now) Flinch (Ardor Pictures, Jan. 21) Give Me Liberty (Music Box Direct-Amazon Prime, Jan. 21) Agent Revelation (Quiver Distribution, Jan. 22) Born a Champion (Lionsgate Home Entertainment, Jan. 22) Breaking Fast (Vertical Entertainment, Jan. 22) Brothers by Blood (Vertical Entertainment, Jan. 22) No Man’s Land (IFC Films, Jan. 22) A Discovery of Witches: Season 2, Episode 3 (Sundance Now, Jan. 23) Stockton on My Mind (HBO Home Entertainment, Jan. 24) Blueprint (Sundance Now, Jan. 25) Flame Trees of Thick (Acorn TV, Jan. 25) Flex Is King (Sundance Now, Jan. 25) The Killing Floor (Sundance Now, Jan. 25) Love My Way: Series 2 (Acorn TV, Jan. 25) Réunions (Acorn TV, Jan. 25) The Secret History of the British Garden (Acorn TV, Jan. 25) The Stand: How One Gesture Shook the World (Sundance Now, Jan. 25)
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.