By Bob Bloom The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Oct. 30, unless otherwise noted:
Twelve Monkeys (Blu-ray) Details: 1995, Arrow Video Rated: R, violence, language The lowdown: Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt and Madeleine Stowe star in this strange, sometimes confusing, science fiction-time travel thriller directed by Terry Gilliam. Willis plays James Cole, a prisoner of the state in 2035, who can earn a parole if he travels back in time to thwart a devastating plague that wiped out much of mankind and forced the rest to move underground. Sent to 1990, Cole is imprisoned in a mental facility because of his warnings. There, he meets scientist Kathryn Railly (Stowe) and Jeffrey Goins (Pitt), the son of a famous virologist (Christopher Plummer). Cole is returned to 2035 and eventually ends up in 1996, where he reconnects with Railly and enlists her aid. Along the way, he discovers an animal rights activist group called the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, and, despite many obstacles, Cole must figure out how the group and Goins fit into this puzzle and stop whoever is behind the future pandemic. Despite its rather confounding and convoluted storytelling, the movie received an 89 percent fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles. Don’t miss: Extras include a featurette on the making of the movie, a commentary track, an appreciation of the film by Ian Christie and a booklet with essays about the film.
Les Parents Terribles (The Storm Within) Blu-ray) Details: 1948, Cohen Film Collection Rated: Not rated The lowdown: The great Jean Cocteau directed and wrote this adaptation of his play about a mother who has devoted herself to and always smothered her now-grown son flies into a rage after he meets a young woman and leaves the family circle. Complicating matters is that the young woman is the girl the boy’s father has been secretly seeing. Tragedy ensues, of course, in this movie, which is considered a masterpiece among Cocteau’s filmography. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; French dual monaural; English subtitles. Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include an introduction to the movie, camera tests and an interview with assistant director Claude Pinoteau.
Sorry to Bother You (Blu-ray + DVD + digital) Release date: Oct. 23 Details: 2018, Fox Home Entertainment Rated: R, language, sexual content, nudity, drug use The lowdown: This surreal and outrageous satire marks the screenwriting and directorial debut of hip-hop artist Boots Riley. The film skewers capitalism, greed and bizarre workplace dynamics. In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield), a struggling telemarketer, discovers that the key to professional success is sounding white. Using his new skills, finds him rising in the company and coming under the spell of the corporation’s cocaine-sniffing CEO, Steve Lift (Armie Hammer). It also causes tension with his girlfriend, Detroit (Tessa Thompson), a performance artist and activist. The movie was praised for its use of comedy as social commentary as well as portraying the strange times in which we find ourselves. Critics were impressed with the feature, giving it a 93 percent fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com. Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 5.1 descriptive audio; English SDH and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital and 5.1 descriptive audio; English SDH and Spanish subtitles. Don’t miss: Extras include a look at the film with Riley, a commentary track, a featurette on the cast and one on the art of the white voice.
Sisters: Special Edition (Blu-ray) Release date: Oct. 23 Details: 1973, The Criterion Collection Rated: Not rated The lowdown: This thriller marked director Brian De Palma’s initial foray into horror voyeurism. It was followed by such titles as “Obsession,” “Carrie,” “Phantom of the Paradise,” “The Fury” and “Dressed to Kill.” “Sisters” stars the late Margot Kidder as Danielle, a model separated from her Siamese twin, Dominque. An intrepid reporter, played by Jennifer Salt, who suspects Dominque of a brutal murder, soon becomes woven into the twins’ dangerous and deadly sibling bond. Helping the movie is a chilling score by the legendary Bernard Hermann. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles. Don’t miss: Bonus features include a new interview with Salt, 2004 interviews with De Palma, cast members Bill Finley and Charles Durning, editor Paul Hirsch and producer Edward R. Pressman, an audio of a 1973 discussion with De Palma at the American Film Institute, a 1970 appearance by Kiddor on “The Dick Cavett Show” and an essay by film critic Carrie Richey and excerpts from a 1973 interview with De Palma on the making of the movie and a 1973 article by De Palma on working with Hermann.
The Americans: The Complete Final Season Release date: Oct. 23 Details: 2018, Fox Home Entertainment Rated: Not rated The lowdown: A three-disc set featuring the final episodes of this compelling TV series about an “average” American couple who are actually Soviet spies. In the final season, tensions are easing between the United States and U.S.S.R., but Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell) remains a hard-liner, dedicated KGB agent. That causes a rift in her marriage as husband, Philip (Matthew Rhys) as put espionage in his rearview mirror. And as Philip’s friendship with FBI agent Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich) grows, the danger of the revelations of the family’s true purpose — and could impact the Jennings’ daughter, Paige (Holly Taylor), reaches critical mass. Fans of the series will not be disappointed in how the show wraps up all its threads, and this set allows you to again enjoy at how the drama, tension — and heartbreak — continues to build. Technical aspects: 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles. Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a gage reel, deleted scenes and inside looks at various episodes.
Dragnet: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray) Details: 1987, Shout! Factory Rated: PG-13, violence, language The lowdown: Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks star in this homage-parody of the famous 1950s-’60s TV drama starring Jack Webb as Officer Joe Friday. Aykroyd is the namesake nephew of the original Friday who, with his partner Pep Streebek (Hanks), seeks to save Los Angeles from a power-made pagan cult. The problem with the movie, which was written by Aykroyd, Alan Zweibel and Tom Mankiewicz, who also directed, is that is lacks a solid focus, continually shifting from spoofing the old series to low-brow, “Police Academy”-type shenanigans. The release, part of the Shout Select series, also features Harry Morgan as Bill Gannon, who was Webb’s partner when the series was revived in the 1960s. The cast also includes Christopher Plummer, Dabney Coleman and Alexandra Pope. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio stereo; English SDH subtitles. Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include an interview with Paul, a commentary track and a promotional look at the movie with Aykroyd and Hanks.
Torso (Blu-ray) Details: 1973, Arrow Video Rated: Not rated, graphic violence, sexual content The lowdown: Director Sergio Martino, known for his many giallo thrillers, helmed this horror outing that arrived on the cusp of the slasher film movement. The story centers on four college students who leave their campus because a sex maniac is prowling the nearby streets. They travel to a secluded country villa — only to discover that the terror they were fleeing has come with them. The movie, also known as “Carnal Violence,” was first released in Italy, then enjoyed a second life on the American grindhouse circuit. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 picture; Italian and English LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles. Don’t miss: Extras include interviews with Martino, co-writer Ernesto Gastaldi, actor Luc Merenda, filmmaker Federica Martino, daughter of the director, Mikel J. Koven, author of a book on the giallo genre, a 2017 question-and-answer session with Martino and a commentary track.
“Retro Afrika Collection” Details: 1983-90, IndiePix Films Rated: Not rated The lowdown: It difficult to imagine the suffering and indignities of black South African residents during the Apartheid-era. Yet, native South Africans, despite all their hardships, were able to create a vibrant cinema movement. This “Retro Afrika Collection” features three of those movies: “Gone Crazy” (1983), “Umbango” (1986) and “Fishy Stones” (1990). These race features met with opposition from the white government, and many have never been seen either inside nor outside of South Africa. “Gone Crazy” deals with a disgruntled psychopath who seeks revenge on a small-town mayor by stealing a mega-bomb from the explosives wing of a local chemical research facility. He plans to blow up a dam and drown the town. Two police inspectors team up to thwart the plot. “Umbango” is a Western-style feature about two friends accused of murder who plan to fight back against the businessman bent on avenging his dead brother. The movie’s locale is KwaZulu Natal, where the friends decide to take on the posse of thugs sent to get them. “Fish Stones” tells of two amateur thugs on the run after a poorly-executed jewelry store heist. Before being captured, they stash their loot in a clump of bushes in the countryside. Later, two teenage friends on a camping expedition find the cache of stolen jewels, shortly before the two robbers escape from prison to retrieve their ill-gotten gains. Along the way, they pick up the trail of the boys. Can the boys be saved, the crooks captured, and the stolen loot returned? You will have to watch to find out. These films all contain local dialects and lots of action in the style of Hollywood B-movies. Technical aspects: English stereo; English subtitles.
The Padre Details: 2018, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Rated: R, language, violence The lowdown: Nick Nolte, Luis Guzman and Tim Roth star in this thriller about retired judge Randall Nemes (Nolte) and his hired gun, Gaspar (Guzman), who track down a small-time con artist (Roth), who is posing as a priest in a small Colombian town. However, their mission is diverted by a 16-year-old local girl intent on reuniting with her little sister in the United States. The movie offers some good ideas, but as a whole, the movie fails to gel. Technical aspects: 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, English and Spanish subtitles.
Patient Zero Release date: Oct. 23 Details: 2018, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment-Vertical Entertainment Rated: R, bloody violence, language, sexual content The lowdown: A thriller about the hunt for an intelligent, adrenaline-fueled creature born from a viral super-strain. It has caused a pandemic that is spread through bites around the world. One bitten survivor realizes he is asymptomatic and can communicate with those who are infected. With their help, they work to track down Patient Zero and find a cure. The movie had a limited theatrical release, but fans of such movies should enjoy this latest addition to the pandemic-infected-save-humanity genre. Technical aspects: 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Believer (Blu-ray + DVD) Details: 2018, Well Go USA Entertainment Rated: Not rated The lowdown: A thriller about an ambitious cop who, in order to bring down Asia’s biggest drug cartel, conspires with a lowly member of the criminal gang who is seeking revenge against his boss. The movie is a partial remake and reimagining of an earlier Korean movie, “Drug War.” The film basically follows the tropes of the genre, with bloodthirsty gangsters and slick production values. Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 (16x9 enhanced) widescreen picture; Korean DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles; DVD: 2.39:1 (16x9 enhanced) widescreen picture; Korean Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated: DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD A Whale of a Tale (Giant Pictures) Alpha (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) Juliet, Naked (Lionsgate Home Entertainment) The Meg (Warner Home Video) Mile 22 (Universal Studios Home Entertainment) The Degenerates (Netflix, Oct. 30) Bill Coors: The Will to Live (KDC Films, Nov. 1) In Harm’s Way (Shout! Factory, Nov. 2) Monster Party (RLJE Films, Nov. 2) The Other Side of the Wind (Netflix, Nov. 2) Ballers: The Complete Fourth Season (HBO Home Entertainment, Nov. 5) Elizabeth and Her Enemies (Acorn TV, Nov. 5) The Simple Heist, Season 1 (Acorn TV, Nov. 5) The Story of Women & Power (Acorn TV, Nov. 5)
Coming next week: Incredibles 2 Christopher Robin
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. My movie reviews also can be found at Rottentomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.