By Bob Bloom The following titles are being released on Tuesday, May 1, unless otherwise noted: 12 Strong (Blu-ray + DVD + digital) Details: 2018, Warner Home Video Rated: R, war violence, language The lowdown: The movie is based on the supposed true exploits of the first U.S. Special Forces team deployed into Afghanistan right after 9/11. The mission of these soldiers is to convince the general of the Northern Alliance to join forces in battling the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Both sides must overcome distrust, and the Americans must also adapt the tactics of the Afghan horse soldiers. Even after joining forces, the new allies find themselves outmanned and outgunned by an enemy that does not believe in taking prisoners. The film, which stars Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon and Michael Pena. Critics were divided on the flick, giving it a 54 percent fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com. Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 2.40:1 (16x9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 5.1 descriptive audio and French 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.40:1 (16x9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English and French 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles. Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include a making of featurette and a look at building the nation’s response monument.
The Insult (Blu-ray) Details: 2017, Cohen Media Group Rated: R, language, violent images The lowdown: This film, set in Beirut, was nominated for best foreign language film Academy Award. The story centers on two men, Tony, a Lebanese Christian, and Yasser, a Palestinian refugee. An insult is blown out of proportion and lands the two men in court. There secret wounds and traumatic revelations come to the fore amid a media circus that spotlights the case and puts the nation under a social microscope. The out-of-control situation forces the two men to reconsider their lives and their biases. The film was hailed by critics, who gave it an 89 percent fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; Arabic 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 5.1 Dolby digital; English subtitles. Don’t miss: The major extra is a conversation with writer-director Ziad Doueiri and Richard Pena.
In the Fade Details: 2017, Magnolia Home Entertainment Rated: R, disturbing images, drug use, languages, sexual references The lowdown: This Golden Globe-winner for best foreign language film stars Diane Kruger as a woman whose life is upended after her husband and young son are killed in a bomb attack. After mourning the loss of her family, Kruger’s Katja sets out to seek, not only justice, but revenge. When two suspects are captured and put on trial, she attends the proceedings. The two are a young couple with neo-Nazi leanings. Attending the trial pushes Katja to the edge of reasoning as her obsession for justice continually increases. Kruger was named best actress at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival for her performance. A majority of critics admired the movie, giving it a 74 percent fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com. Technical aspects: 2.39:1 widescreen picture; German and English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, English and Spanish subtitles. Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include a featurette on the making of the movie, a behind-the-scenes look at the film and interviews with Kruger and writer-director Faith Akin.
Maze Runner: The Death Cure (Blu-ray + DVD + digital) Release date: April 24 Details: 2018, Fox Home Entertainment Rated: PG-13, intense science fiction action and violence, language, thematic elements The lowdown: In this conclusion to the “Maze Runner” trilogy, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) leads the group of escaped Gladers on a mission to break into the legendary Last City to save their friends. The city is a WCKD-controlled labyrinth that could be the deadliest maze of them all. At the end of the ordeal, though, lies the answers to many of the questions that have obsessed the Gladers since the first movie. The film received a tepid reception from critics, who gave it a 42 percent fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com. Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 5.1 descriptive audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles; DVD: 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English 5.1 descriptive audio and French and Spanish 2.0 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles. Don’t miss: Supplemental options include a commentary track, deleted and extended scenes, four behind-the-scenes and making of featurettes, a gag reel and a look at the visual effects with an optional commentary track.
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool Release date: April 24 Details: 2017, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Rated: R, language, sexual content, brief nudity The lowdown: Annette Bening’s poignant performance as faded movie star Gloria Grahame drives this drama about the last years of the actress’ life and her affair with a young British actor. Grahame’s heyday was in the 1940s and ‘50s, when made her mark in many black-and-white film-noir titles of the era, including “Crossfire” and “In a Lonely Place.” She is best remembered, though, for her supporting roles in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “The Bad and the Beautiful” — which earned her an Academy Award for best supporting actress — and “Oklahoma.” Scandal, changing tastes and a reputation of being difficult on set railroaded her career in the mid-1950s. Grahame, though, kept active, doing work on television and on the stage. The movie’s strength rests on its pillars of respect, understanding and compassion for Grahame, as well as Bening’s vulnerable performance. She mostly avoids the Norma Desmond-faded-star histrionics that other films about once-famous performers have utilized to either gain sympathy or ridicule its subject. Bening embraces the quiet desperation of a star whose time has cruelly passed her by, abandoning her to the junk heap of has-beens. She also displays strength and resolve, with a stubbornness to continue fighting for her seat at the table — be it on film or stage. The film’s intimacy is magnified on the smaller confines of a home entertainment center, than on a big theater screen. Technical aspects: 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital and English 5.1 audio description track; English SDH, English and French subtitles. Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a featurette on Bening as Grahame, a commentary track, a music video, a making of the music video and a question-and-answer session with Bening, costar Jamie Bell, director Paul McGuigan and author Peter Turner.
Please Stand By Details: 2018, Magnolia Home Entertainment Rated: PG-13, language The lowdown: Dakota Fanning stars as Wendy in the charming character study about a very independent and brilliant young woman with autism. Wendy wants to leave her group home and return to the bosom of her family. To prove her new-found competence and abilities to her loved ones, Wendy, who is a big fan of anything “Star Trek,” and writes in her free time, hears about a “Star Trek” screenplay competition. She decides to take her 500-page script and enter. But, it must be done in person, and since the site for the contest is hundreds of miles away, she must sneak out of her group home and make her way through an outside world, where she is unprotected by the boundaries imposed by her organized cocoon. Wendy is determined and will not let anything — or anyone — deter her from achieving her goals. The movie had a limited theatrical run and received mixed reviews at Rottentomatoes.com, garnering a 58 percent fresh rating. Technical aspects: 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH and Spanish subtitles. Don’t miss: A making of featurette and deleted scenes are the main bonus components.
Kaleidoscope (Blu-ray) Details: 2017, IFC Midnight-Scream Factory Rated: Not rated The lowdown: Toby Jones stars in this thriller about a man recently released from prison after 15 years. Jones’ Carl wants to get with his life. One of his initial steps is to go on a date for the first time in those 15 years. Suddenly, Carl’s fresh start is smashed by the appearance of his domineering mother, played by Anne Reid, whose presence rekindles some deep-seated trauma. The movie is a twisted journey through the dark corners of an individual’s psyche that mixes reality, illusion and bursts of violence. The major premise asks the question, can you escape your past? The movie, which received limited distribution in the U.S., received a 63 percent fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH and Spanish subtitles. Don’t miss: Extras include a making of featurette, a “Keeping Up with the Joneses” featurette about star Toby Jones and director Rupert Jones, and a behind-the-scenes look at working in the studio.
Lights of New York (DVD-R) Release date: April 17 Details: 1928, Warner Archive Collection Rated: Not rated The lowdown: This film is a historical artifact: It was Warner Bros. first all-talkie feature-length production that utilized the studio’s sound-on-disc process. It’s a gangster movie that runs a mere 57 minutes. And when the studio says it’s an all-talkie, it isn’t kidding. The movie features more dialogue than action, but that was expected. Audiences were beginning to crave sound pictures, so the brothers Warner obliged. By the next year, most of the major studios were producing mostly sound features. “Lights of New York” is an OK B-picture. It was the first in what would become a long tradition of urban crime dramas produced by Warner Bros. The story centers on two small-town yokels from upstate New York, tricked into opening a barbershop in the big city that a gangster could use as a front for his speakeasy. There’s murder, a scorned mistress and a frame-up, but, by the fade out, everything is worked out. The release is a made-on-demand DVD-R from the Warner Archive Collection and is available at www.wb.com/warnerarchive or other online retailers. Technical aspects: 1.37:1 (4x3) full-screen picture; English Dolby digital monaural. Don’t miss: Extras include a group of 1928 Vitaphone shorts.
In Between Details: 2018, Film Movement Rated: Not rated The lowdown: A drama that follows three strong and independent-minded Palestinian women who share an apartment in Tel Aviv. The movie, directed by Maysaloun Hamoud, details the lives of Laila, Salma and Nour as they navigate between work, study and being away from the constraints of their families. All three women dream of living free and unfettered, shaking off the traditions that bind them. Soon, a series of events will push them to limits they had not expected, change their lives forever and seal their bond of friendship. The movie impressed reviewers, who gave it a 98 percent fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com. Technical aspects: 2.40:1 widescreen picture; Arabic and Hebrew 5.1 Dolby digital surround; English and French subtitles. Don’t miss: The major bonus offerings are “Scent of the Morning,” a short film by Hamoud, and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
Deep Blue Sea 2 (Blu-ray + DVD + digital) Release date: April 17 Details: 2018, Warner Home Video Rated: R, graphic violence and gore, language The lowdown: This sequel to the 1999 killer-shark thriller finds a pharmaceutical billionaire hoping to revive the research that was tragically derailed 19 years earlier. The billionaire enlists a former Navy SEAL and two scientists, but also wants to enlist a shark conservationist. But the eco-friendly conservationist is shocked to learn that the company is using highly aggressive and unpredictable bull sharks in as its test subjects. Before long, of course, the drug-enhanced sharks, which are growing smarter, quicker and deadlier, go after the humans. Dinner at sea is served. Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 (16x9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French and Spanish (Latin and Castilian) 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 1.78:1 (16x9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English, French and Spanish (Latin and Castilian) 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles. Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a making of featurette, a look at being killed by a shark, deleted scenes and a gag reel.
A Notorious Affair (DVD-R) Release date: April 17 Details: 1930, Warner Archive Collection Rated: Not rated The lowdown: Billie Dove, who was a big star in silent films, heads the cast in this romantic drama about a British heiress who gives up high society for love. She marries a penniless musician, played by Basil Rathbone, and is disowned by her family. Her husband’s talent propels him to the top of his profession. He also is helped by the patronage of a lovely countess, played by Kay Francis. Of course, the Countess demands a specific type of payment from the musician, one that shatters his marriage and emotions. The contrite musician returns to his wife, who nobly helps him recover. The movie helped advance the career of Francis, whose portrayal of the man-eating femme fatale was one of the feature’s highlights. Rathbone, of course, went on to become one of the screen’s best villains with his performances in such classics as “A Tale of Two Cities,” “David Copperfield,” “Captain Blood,” “The Adventures of Robin Hood” and “The Mark of Zorro.” This release is a made-on-demand DVD-R from the Warner Archive Collection. It is available at www.wb.com/warnerarchive or other online dealers. Technical aspects: 1.37:1 (4x3) full-screen picture; English Dolby digital monaural.
Manhattan Parade (DVD-R) Release date: April 17 Details: 1931, Warner Archive Collection Rated: Not rated The lowdown: A pre-Production Code feature that centers on a costume company that works with Broadway productions. Winner Lightner plays Doris Roberts, the operations manager of the Roberts Costume Company, which she co-founded with her husband, John (Walter Miller). Things are running smoothly until John guilts Doris into stepping down from her job to be a full-time mother to their son, Junior (the wonderful Dickie Moore). But while Doris stays at home, John runs off to Europe with Doris’ former secretary. Now it is up to Doris to step in and save the company before creditors take it away. Miller was a big name in silent films, starring in many serials. With the arrival of sound, he became a reliable villain mostly in serials and B-Westerns. The release is a made-on-demand DVD-R from the Warner Archive Collection and can be found at www.wb.com/warnerarchive or other Internet dealers. Technical aspects: 1.37:1 (4x3) full-screen picture; English Dolby digital monaural.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated: Followers (SKD) Most Likely to Murder (DVD + VOD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell (Blu-ray + DVD + digital) (Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The Con Is On (In theaters + VOD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment, May 4)
FOR KIDS Paw Patrol: Summer Rescues (Nickelodeon-Paramount Home Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD The 15:17 to Paris (Warner Home Video) Cartel 2045 (Uncork’d Entertainment) Dead List (High Octane Entertainment) Duck Butter (The Orchard) The Fortress (CJ Entertainment) John Mulvaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City (Netflix) Perfect (Upstream Flix) Game Night (Warner Home Video, May 4) Gehenna: Where Death Lies (Uncork’d Entertainment, May 4) Paterno (HBO Home Entertainment, May 7) Strike Back: The Complete Fifth Season (HBO Home Entertainment, May 7)
Coming next week: Fifty Shades Freed
I am a 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. My movie reviews also can be found at Rottentomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.