New to View: Sept. 15
By Bob Bloom The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Sept. 15, unless otherwise noted: Succession: The Complete Second Season (DVD) Details: 2019, HBO-Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Rated: Not rated The lowdown: Power, politics, money and loyalty are among the themes explored in the second season of this acclaimed HBO series about the Roy family. This three-disc set features all 10 episodes as the Roys battle to retain control of their vast business empire, dealing with external and internal threats. The biggest threats seem to be among the four children of Logan Roy (Brian Cox), whose personal agendas conflict with, not only their father, but with each other. This Emmy Award-winning series is a compelling viewing with high drama and dagger-like wit. Oh, and FTC regulations compel me to write that “Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of this DVD that I am reviewing in my weekly column. The opinions I share (obviously) are my own.” Technical aspects: 16:9 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles. Don’t miss: Bonus options include on-the-set interviews with the series’ storytellers and 10 “inside-the-episode” featurettes.
The Cat and the Canary (Blu-ray) Details: 1939, Kino Lorber Studio Classic Rated: Not rated The lowdown: Bob Hope is in top form in this comedy thriller set at an abandoned mansion in the Louisiana bayous. Hope utilizes his usual swagger and wisecracks to cover his normal fear and cowardice in a tale about a group of relatives who, a decade after the death of an eccentric millionaire, converge on the mansion to hear the reading of his will. The millionaire has left all his money to his niece, Joyce Norman (Paulette Goddard). The will also states that one of the other relatives will get everything if Joyce goes insane within the next 30 days. Chills and laughs intermingle as timid Wally vows to protect Joyce, who, along with her jealous and angry relatives, a creepy maid and a homicidal maniac who has just escaped from a nearby sanitarium, must spend the night in the mansion. The cast also includes John Beal, Douglass Montgomery, Gale Sondergaard, Elizabeth Patterson, George Zucco and John Wray. The film is based on a popular play by John Willard. A silent-film adaptation was released in 1927. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles. Don’t miss: The main extra is a commentary track by author and film historian Lee Gambin.
The Ghost Breakers (Blu-ray) Details: 1940, Kino Lorber Rated: Not rated The lowdown: The success of 1939’s “The Cat and the Canary” led Paramount Pictures to reteam Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard in another comedy-thriller, this one set in a “haunted” castle in Cuba. Hope plays Lawrence “Larry” Lawrence, a New York radio commentator, who is being hunted by police for a murder he did not commit. Lawrence hides in the steamer trunk of Mary Carter (Goddard) who, along with her trunk, is on her way to Cuba to take possession of the aforementioned castle. Lawrence believes Mary is in danger, so with the help of his valet, Alex (Willie Best), he determines to help her anyway he can, despite his fears. On the island, they encounter ghosts, zombies and other unearthly-like foes. As in “The Cat and the Canary,” the movie mixes thrills with Hope’s false-courage bluster and wisecracks. If there is a drawback, it would come from the PC police complaining about Best’s character. But don’t allow that from keeping you from enjoying this spooky fun ride. The supporting cast includes Richard Carlson, Paul Lukas, Anthony Quinn, Noble Johnson, Virginia Brissac, Pedro de Cordoba, Tom Dugan and Paul Fix. George Marshall directed the movie and 13 years later, he helmed a revamped remake, “Scared Stiff,” starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles. Don’t miss: Extras include a “Trailers From Hell” episode on the movie and a commentary track with author-film historian Lee Gambin.
Flying Leathernecks (Blu-ray) Details: 1951, Warner Archive Collection Rated: Not rated The lowdown: This World War II movie is set during the battle for Guadalcanal and centers on a Marine fighter squadron trying to hold a strategic airstrip against Japanese shelling as well as malaria and combat fatigue. This is one of those gung-ho military action films, though it was made six years after the war ended. The major conflict is between John Wayne as head of the fighter group and Robert Ryan as the executive officer who tries to get him to ease up on his pilots. The movie contains the usual clichés as well as combat newsreel footage from the actual Guadalcanal engagement. This isn’t the best John Wayne war movie, but it is far from the worst. The release is a made-on-demand Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection and can be purchased at www.wb.com/warnerarchive or other Internet dealers. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture, English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway (Blu-ray) Details: 2019, Arrow Video Rated: Not rated The lowdown: It cannot be said that this very strange and absurd movie is dull. Anything but, considering a plot of this futuristic featured that finds CIA agent Gagano pining to leave the agency so he can start a business with his wife, Malin. Before Gagano can resign, a cyber virus attacks Psychobook, the CIA’s operating system. This breach forces Gagano to enter cyberspace via virtual reality to combat the unknown threat. In time, the virus creeps into the real world and begins destabilizing the socio-economic order. Gagano is trapped in the virtual world and needs help finding his way out. Along the way, Gagano encounters Joseph Stalin, Batman and Jesus Christ. This bizarre movie is part Philip K. Dick dystopian nightmare mixed with some David Lynch-like surrealism as well as a sprinkling of 60s’ exploitation feature. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles. Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track, a visual essay about the influence of exploitation cinema on the movie, an interview with director Miguel Llansó, two short films by Llansó, “Crumbs,” his feature-film debut and a booklet with essays about the movie.
Ivans XTC (Blu-ray) Details: 2000, Arrow Films Rated: Not rated The lowdown: Writer-director Bernard Rose’s loose, modern interpretation of Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” finds Danny Houston as the title character, a Hollywood agent whose wheeler-dealer lifestyle in cut short after a cancer diagnosis. The high-powered agent’s life was fueled by excess — especially drink and drugs. The movie is told in flashback. Costars include Peter Weller and Lisa Enos. It is not easy to watch this movie, but it is so riveting that you cannot turn away. The disc offers two versions of the movie — the theatrical release and the director’s cut. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles. Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include a making of featurette, a commentary track, a question-and-answer session from a 2018 screening of the movie, archival interviews with Enos and Rose, extended party sequence outtakes and a booklet with an essay about the movie.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated: 21 Jump Street & 22 Jump Street (4K UHD) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) A Dark Path (DVD & digital & VOD) (ShineHouse Group) A Tramway in Jerusalem (DVD) (Film Movement) Fear PHarm (DVD & VOD) (Indican Pictures) Guilt (DVD & digital & VOD) (GVN Releasing) In the Life of Music (DVD & VOD) (Indican Pictures) Killer Therapy (DVD & digital & VOD) (4Digital Media) Little Monsters (Blu-ray + digital) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment) One Hour Outcall (Blu-ray & DVD & digital & VOD) (Gravitas Ventures) The Outpost: Season Two (DVD) (Distribution Solutions) Shivers (Blu-ray + digital) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment) Two Hundred Thousand Dirty (DVD) (Corinth Films) “Alejandro Jodorowsky 4K Restoration Collection” (4K UHD) (ABKCO, Sept. 18)
DIGTIAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD DTF (Gravitas Ventures-Red Arrow Films) Fight for Justice: David and Me (Sundance Now) House of Cardin (Utopia Films) The Last Laugh (High Octane Pictures) The Secret: Dare to Dream (Lionsgate Home Entertainment) The Devil All the Time (www.netflix.com/TheDevilAlltheTime) (Netflix, Sept. 16) One Lane Bridge: Episode 1 (Sundance Now, Sept. 17) We Got This: Episode 3 (Sundance Now, Sept. 17) All in: The Fight for Democracy (Amazon, Sept. 18) Antebellum (Lionsgate Home Entertainment, Sept. 18) Blackbird (Screen Media, Sept. 18) Lost Girls & Love Hotels (Astrakan Films AB, Sept. 18) Murder in the Woods (Rezinate Entertainment-Yel Productions, Sept. 18) Ratched (Netflix, Sept. 18) Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs (Lionsgate Home Entertainment, Sept. 18) Bang: Series 2 (Acorn TV, Sept. 21) Cosmopolis (Sundance Now, Sept. 21) The Departure (Sundance Now, Sept. 21) The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (Acorn TV, Sept. 21) The Sounds: Episode 5 (Acorn TV, Sept. 21) War of Art (Sundance Now, Sept. 21) The Yorkshire Vet: Series 9 (Acorn TV, Sept. 21)
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. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.