THE FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN BY MY FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE ALONSO DURALDE. LEARN MORE ABOUT HIM HERE.
WHAT’S NEW ON 4K/BLU/DVD IN AUGUST: POWER BALLAD AND SING STREET, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD, YOUR NAME, AND MORE!
NEW RELEASE WALL
Power Ballad (Lionsgate): John Carney (Once, Begin Again) loves to tell the origin story of a pop song, and he finds an insightful new way of doing so in his latest feature, starring Paul Rudd as a never-quite-made-it bassist and Nick Jonas as a former boy-band singer looking for a new direction in his music. The singer finds it by, essentially, stealing the bassist’s song, and when the bassist recognizes it, he begins his quest for the credit he deserves. Rudd and Jonas have a charming chemistry, and Carney’s love of his characters once again shines through. Bonus for Carney fans: we also get a tenth anniversary 4K of his charming, ’80s-set Sing Street (Lionsgate Limited).
Also available:
Backrooms (A24): One of the year’s two breakout horror movies from a YouTube director, this chilling mood piece captures that truly nightmarish sensation of being inside rooms and hallways that seem vaguely familiar, but that you can’t get out of.
The Breadwinner (Sony): We’re still trotting out the Mr. Mom shtick in the 21st century, starring noted MMA fan Nate Bergatze.
Carolina Caroline (Magnolia): Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner go full Bonnie & Clyde in this amour-fou road trip.
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (Decal Neon): Baz Luhrmann edits together never-before-seen rehearsal footage with other filmed sequences to create a non-fiction Elvis tapestry to go with the Aussie filmmaker’s recent biopic. (Incidentally, they’ve already announced a 4K steelbook release for this title, coming in November.)
Exit 8 (Decal Neon): Acclaimed by critics as a far-better-than-average video-game adaptation, this Japanese thriller follows a man who finds himself trapped inside a subway station.
Father Mother Sister Brother (Mubi): Jim Jarmusch’s latest features another sterling ensemble, including Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver, Tom Waits, Charlotte Rampling, Vicky Krieps, and Indya Moore.
Project Hail Mary (Amazon MGM): High-school science teacher Ryan Gosling finds himself lost in the stars on a mission to save the Earth, and only his unlikely friendship with a similarly-commissioned alien will see him through.
She Rides Shotgun (Lionsgate): Ex-con Taran Egerton teaches his young daughter the ropes of survival, as both flee some very powerful enemies.
The Sheep Detectives (Amazon MGM): When shepherd Hugh Jackman is killed, it’s up to his ovine charges – who know the ins and outs of investigating, thanks to the whodunnits he read aloud to them – to solve the case.
NEW INDIE
Broken Land (Well Go USA): David Morse stars as a rancher torn between helping a young migrant and aiding his son, a border patrol agent.
Honeyjoon (Circle Collective): A mother-daughter grief vacation to Portugal takes unexpected tours when they get involved with a local surfer.
Idiotka (Utopia): A Russian-American woman (Anna Baryshnikov) living in West Hollywood pursues her reality TV dreams in Nastasya Popov’s satire.
Softshell (Factory 25): Mumblecore meets the Asian-American experience in Jinho Myung’s acclaimed sophomore feature. This new Blu-ray comes loaded with commentary, interviews, short films, and other extras.
The Sword of Trust (IFC): Writer-director Lynn Shelton’s final feature is a comic yarn about a very awkward inheritance, featuring Marc Maron, Michaela Watkins, Jillian Bell, Jon Bass, and Toby Huss.
NEW INTERNATIONAL
Kontinental ’25 (1-2 Special): Radu Jude’s latest blistering satire of Romanian society centers on the suicide of an old man whose building is being gentrified and the guilt of a civil servant (Eszter Tompa) who asks increasingly uncomfortable questions about her own complicity. All of the Romanian New Wave directors dig into the complexities of the nation in its post-Ceausescu era, but Jude’s mordant sense of humor and unblinking gazes into humanity’s moral abysses make him a standout among a crop of gifted and unsparing filmmakers.
Also available:
The Currents (Kino Lorber): Milagros Mumenthaler’s festival favorite follows the life of an Argentine fashion designer whose personal and professional lives begin to unravel after she mysteriously decides to jump into an icy river.
The Kung Fu Kid (Well Go USA): Chinese kids’ movies can, apparently, be longer than two hours, like this animated saga of a young villager who enters an international martial-arts competition to save the life of his dying father.
Life Is Life (Distrib): A legal battle between a Sardinian shepherd and a developer out to take his land to build a resort illustrates contemporary conflicts between heritage and the future in this acclaimed drama.
The Stranger (Music Box Films): Prolific French director François Ozon tackles the classic novel by Albert Camus.
NEW DOCUMENTARY
Not Quite Hollywood (Magnolia): You know Roger Corman, but are you familiar with the work of Brian Trenchard-Smith? The director of Stunt Rock and BMX Bandits is just one of the filmmakers highlighted in Mark Hartley’s tribute to “Ozploitation,” the wild and wonderful grindhouse cinema of Australia. While arthouse films like Picnic at Hanging Rock and My Brilliant Career were winning praise and awards worldwide, there was also an outrageously energetic outpouring of drive-in cinema being produced in the land Down Under, which this documentary lovingly explores. Get ready to make a list of movies you’ve never heard of but can’t wait to watch.
Also available:
Action Figure Adventure (Enjoy the Ride): Follow super-collector Jay Bartlett as he feverishly assembles the world’s greatest assortment of action figures (so he can auction the whole lot off for charity). Interviewees include Kevin Smith and Super 7 founder Brian Flynn.
Longing for Innocence (Kino Classics): Documentarian Leni Riefenstahl filmed more than just Nazis and Olympians – this unfinished film collects footage the notorious filmmaker shot between 1963 and 1976, documenting the Nuba people of Sudan.
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World (Kino Lorber): This critically acclaimed examination of the life and work of the beloved poet features her work being read aloud by an eclectic assortment of performers, from Oprah Winfrey to John Waters.
The Shepherd and the Bear (Willa): This nature doc examines the conflict between shepherds of the Pyrenees mountains and the reintroduction of brown bears to the area.
Will Wood: Slouching Toward Branson (Hostile City): The mordant musician-comedian recounts his experiences in Missouri’s infamous tourist trap.
NEW GRINDHOUSE
Ice Cream Man (Vinegar Syndrome): No, not the already infamous new film from Eli Roth which has drawn criticism for his use of AI; this is the original 1995 chiller, available in 4K for the first time. And if there’s an upside to Roth’s movie, it – and this new physical-media release – are shining a light on this often-overlooked exploitation fave, featuring another memorably creepy turn from the legendary Clint Howard, who stars as a homicidal purveyor of frozen treats.
Also available:
The Acid Eaters/Space Thing (AGFA/Something Weird): Psychedelic freakouts and outer-space cheesecake, all in one convenient package.
Bloody Psycho (Vinegar Syndrome): If the title hasn’t already sold you, perhaps the “Lucio Fulci Presents” credit might do the trick.
Bride of Re-Animator (Ignite Films): This 4K premiere, available in four different editions, features the practical effects work of the recently-departed genius Screaming Mad George.
The Bubble (Kino Cult): Give your 3D TV something to chew on with Arch Oboler’s ’60s chiller about a young couple (Deborah Walley, Michael Cole) who find themselves trapped in another dimension.
Danza Macabra, Volume 5: The Spanish Gothic Collection Box Set (Severin): Another quartet of vintage Iberian horror titles, including Strange Voyage, Exorcism’s Daughter (aka Las Melancólicas), The Dracula Saga, and The Turn of the Screw, plus more than 10 hours of additional material.
Django Shoots First (KL Studio Classics): Glenn Saxson fills the boots of the legendary spaghetti-Western gunslinger.
Exposed (Klubb Super 8): Swedish sexploitation classic from 1991, starring Christina Lindberg.
Faces of Death III (Vinegar Syndrome Archive): Another archival entry from the infamous video-nasty franchise.
Italo-Crime (KL Studio Classics): A trio of Euro-thrillers in one handy set, or you can buy The Counsellor, Blazing Magnumand Weapons of Deathseparately (also each from KL Studio Classics).
Johnny Handsome (KL Studio Classics): Mickey Rourke plays the title role in Walter Hill’s haunted noir saga.
Ju-On: The Grudge (Arrow): New 4K of Takashi Simizu’s J-horror classic, which the director later remade in the US for producer Sam Raimi.
Of Unknown Origin (Vinegar Syndrome): Peter Weller faces off with a deadly Big Apple sewer rat in this thriller from George Pan Cosmatos.
Seven Snipers (Well Go USA): This Aussie spin onSeven Samurai features an impressive ensemble, including Radha Mitchell,
Ioan Gruffudd, Ryan Kwanten, and Tim Roth.
Shogun’s Ninja (Arrow): Norifumi Suzuki’s ultra-violent swords-and-karate saga makes its Blu-ray debut with lots of special features.
NEW CLASSIC
Your Name (GKIDS): A 4K steelbook release celebrates the tenth anniversary of this all-time anime classic. Makoto Shinkai’s heartbreaking masterpiece tells the story of a girl from the country and a city boy who find themselves occupying each other’s bodies (and dreams), but when they attempt to find each other, they unlock a larger, tragic secret. Winner of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association’s Best Animated Feature prize, and the highest-grossing Japanese animated feature of all time, Your Name makes a beautiful starting point for anyone who wants to know more about the eclectic and breathtaking world of anime.
Also available:
Aloïse (Several Futures): Screen legends Isabelle Huppert and Delphine Seyrig portray another legendary artist, Swiss outsider poet and painter Aloïse Corbaz, in the acclaimed biopic from Liliane de Kermadec.
Beverly Hills Cop (Paramount): The Eddie Murphy smash returns in a 4K steelbook.
Clear and Present Danger (Paramount): 4K steelbook for the Tom Clancy thriller starring Harrison Ford.
Coup de Torchon (The Criterion Collection): Philippe Noiret, Isabelle Huppert, and Stéphane Audran star in Bertrand Tavernier’s gritty adaptation of Jim Thompson’s Pop. 1280.
Daylight (KL Studio Classics): Sylvester Stallone’s collapsed-tunnel saga is a fun throwback to 1970s disaster movies, made decades later.
The Devil Queen (Kino Cult): Little seen in the US until this recent 4K restoration, this 1974 Brazilian crime saga, based on a true story, captures the machinations of a queer crime boss and all she surveys.
Eclipse Series 49: Five Radical Documentaries by Kazuo Hara and Sachiko Kobayashi (Eclipse/Criterion): Spanning 1972 to 2016, this quintet of non-fiction films highlights the investigative gaze of this legendary husband-wife team of documentarians.
Elementary Cinema: The Early Films of Sherlock Holmes (Film Masters): For as long as there have been movies or TV, there have been adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary sleuth, and early examples from both media have been collected here.
Enemy at the Gates (Paramount): New 4K steelbook of Jean-Jacques Annaud’s tense WWII thriller starring Jude Law, Ed Harris, and Joseph Fiennes.
The Fast and The Furious (Universal): Remember when the family was just a bunch of crazy kids stealing DVD players and mostly obeying the laws of physics? Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the NOS-burning franchise with this new 4K release.
Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XXVII (KL Studio Classics): More dames, more guns, more brooding in The Man Is Armed, Unmasked, and The Great Train Robbery.
The First Deadly Sin (Vinegar Syndrome Labs): The unlikely pairing of Frank Sinatra and Faye Dunaway star in this serial-killer saga.
Fresh Horses (Mill Creek): Molly Ringwald sought to expand her on-screen persona with this portrayal of a trashy temptress who commits bigamy while lying about being underage.
Goodbye Paradise (Umbrella Pictures): Ray Barrett stars in this 1982 Aussie neo-noir.
Harlan County U.S.A. and American Dream (both The Criterion Collection): A pair of deservedly legendary labor documentaries from the great Barbara Kopple get the Criterion treatment.
Identity (Arrow): John Cusack leads an all-star cast in James Mangold’s thriller about a group of strangers at a roadside motel who come to realize they have been targeted for death.
Le Choc and Manon 70 (both KL Studio Classics): A pair of Catherine Deneuve Euro-classics.
Little Odessa (The Criterion Collection): Hitman Tim Roth has an awkward homecoming with his Russian-American family in James Gray’s drama.
Macho Dancer (Kani): Director Lino Brocka’s queer international breakthrough follows the lives and loves of male sex workers in Manila.
Mars Attacks! (WBD): New 4K of Tim Burton’s sci-fi comedy.
The People vs. Larry Flynt (Arrow): Can’t have a month go by without a Larry Karaszewski–affiliated physical-media release; this new 30th anniversary 4K release of the Oscar-nominated biopic features a wealth of extras, including Karaszewski and screenwriting partner Scott Alexander (as well as with the film’s star, Woody Harrelson).
Popeye (Paramount): New 4K release of the once-controversial musical, which annoyed Robert Altman partisans at the time but went on to become beloved by the generations of children who grew up with Harry Nilsson’s quirky songs, indelibly performed by Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, and the rest of the amazing cast.
Practical Magic (WBD): Just in time for the sequel, here’s a new 4K release of the witchy rom-com starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman.
Safe (The Criterion Collection): Todd Haynes’ chilling examination of suburban alienation featured the first of his many collaborations with Julianne Moore.
The Saint (Paramount): Val Kilmer as Leslie Charteris’ elusive do-gooder, now in a 4K steelbook.
Talladega Nights (Sony): We have somehow reached the 20th anniversary of Will Ferrell’s outrageous auto-racing comedy, and now here’s a 4K.
Troy (Arrow): Wolfgang Petersen’s swords-and-sandals epic, now also known as “We have The Odyssey at home.”
The War Wagon (KL Studio Classics): John Wayne and Kirk Douglas seek vengeance by robbing a shipment of gold from a seemingly impenetrable armored stagecoach in this classic Western.
NEW TV
Death of a Cheerleader / Disappearance (both Iconoscope): Vinegar Syndrome launches a new label devoted to TV-movie treasures, and they’re launching it with a pair of memorable ones: Cheerleader stars Tori Spelling as the titular victim and Kellie Martin as a prime suspect, which Disappearance sends Harry Hamlin, Susan Dey, and their family off the main road in Nevada, only to have terrible things befall them. Looking forward to seeing what other small-screen gems are unearthed by Iconoscope.
Also available:
Harlem School 1970 (Kino Classics): Schoolteacher Phil Gries crafted this legendary first-person documentary based on his experiences as a public-school teacher.
Marshals: Season One (Paramount): If you thought Yellowstone wouldn’t continue in some shape or form after the departure of Kevin Costner, this show begs to differ.
Reacher: Season Three (Paramount): Everybody loves the big guy.
