THE FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN BY MY FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE ALONSO DURALDE. LEARN MORE ABOUT HIM HERE.
WHAT’S NEW ON 4K/BLU/DVD IN JULY: IS GOD IS, TWO PIANOS, DISCO ITALIANA, MIKE MILLS, AND MORE!
NEW RELEASE WALL
Is God Is (Amazon MGM): When asked to list the best films of the first half of 2026, I immediately thought of this dazzling directorial debut from playwright Aleshea Harris. Two sisters (two-time Tony winner Kara Young and Mallori Johnson) are sent on a quest by their estranged mother (Vivica A. Fox) to find and murder their father (Sterling K. Brown), the man responsible for leaving all three women with severe burns. Along the way, the siblings encounter a living-room preacher (Erika Alexander), an ambulance-chasing attorney (Mykelti Williamson), and their father’s bougie new wife (Janelle Monáe) in a road trip that’s tragic, hilarious, and Biblically apocalyptic in equal measure.
Also available:
All You Need Is Kill (GKIDS): The manga that inspired the 2014 Tom Cruise-Emily Blunt action saga Better Luck Tomorrow gets the full anime treatment.
Castration Movie Anthology ii. The Best of Both Worlds (Muscle): Louise Weard’s ongoing epic trans saga continues.
The Christophers (Decal/Neon): Sir Ian McKellen and Michaela Cole play off each other deliciously in Steven Soderbergh’s art-world comedy.
Dead Pigs (Film Movement): Before rewriting the superhero movie with Birds of Prey, Cathy Yang made her directorial debut with this Sundance hit about intertwining lives (and deceased livestock) in modern-day Shanghai.
Deep Water (Magenta Light): Airplane disaster and sharks and Michael Bay, oh my.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 (20th Century): It’s fun to see the old gang back together again, even as the film tries its best to acknowledge the ongoing death of print media.
The Drama (A24): Zendaya and Robert Pattinson are a seemingly perfect couple headed down the aisle, until a repressed secret from the past complicates matters.
Flight (KL Studio Classics): Denzel Washington in Robert Zemeckis’ tale of an alcoholic airline pilot, now in 4K.
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (WBD): This non-Universal mummy movie goes hard on the gross-outs and body horror.
The Love That Remains (Criterion Premieres): An Icelandic family simultaneously falls apart and strengthens its bonds in this comedy-drama from Hlynur Pálmason.
Michael (Lionsgate): The highest-grossing biopic of all time looks at how the Jackson family exploited Michael’s musical genius while also being an example of same.
Miroirs No. 3 (1-2 Special): Christian Petzold (Afire, Transit) returns with this mysterious story of a woman who gets in a car accident and moves in with the older woman who witnessed it.
Mortal Kombat II (WBD): This martial-arts-video-game sequel operates with tongue firmly in cheek, particularly in regards to Karl Urban as a washed-up ’90s action star who finds his true calling.
Obsession (Universal): One of 2026’s biggest success stories is this clever, low-budget horror movie that has become one of the
most profitable films of all time.
Pillion (A24): Harry Melling stars as a young gay man who learns what kinks he likes – and what his boundaries are – when he falls for a dominating biker stud (Alexander Skarsgård).
Queen of the Ring (Kino Lorber): Biopic of pioneering women’s wrestling champ Mildred “Millie” Burke (Emily Bett Rickards).
The School Duel (Altered Innocence): Gritty YA movie set in a future Florida where school shootings lead to an annual last-kid-standing shootout; black-and-white gives this low-budget directorial debut an added edge.
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror (Magenta Light): A fascinating look at the legendary stage show and film, with insight from all the (living) insiders you’d want to hear from.
The Voice of Hind Rajab (Willa): Based on a true story, this suspenseful and tragic tale of a young girl trapped in a Gaza war zone is told entirely through the operators at a 911 call center trying to help.
NEW INDIE
$positions (Dark Star): A working class man plunges into a roller-coaster of success and failure when he plunges his family’s money into crypto.
The Frontier (Dekanolog): Seeking to disappear into a desert community, a young woman finds herself embroiled in further complications.
Magic Hour (Greenwich): Katie Aselton (who also directs) and Daveed Diggs star in this romantic drama, which premiered at SXSW.
Mermaid (Utopia): Kind of like if Splash were a Florida-man indie.
Omaha (Greenwich): John Magaro plays a father who isn’t immediately forthcoming about why he’s spontaneously taking his family on a road trip in this Sundance fave.
Starbright (Ruby Max): Two young people haunted by tragedy seek redemption by protecting a powerful being who literally steps down from the stars.
NEW INTERNATIONAL
Two Pianos (Kino Lorber): International piano legend Mathias (French star François Civil) returns home at the behest of his mentor Elena (Charlotte Rampling); the homecoming leads to a number of reckonings for the neurotic prodigy, including the possibility of a son he never knew existed. Director and co-writer Arnaud Desplechin (A Christmas Tale, My Sex Life… or, How I Got into an Argument) touches upon many of his favorite themes and tropes here, but this empathetic drama is also a great place to start if you aren’t familiar with this exemplary body of work.
Also available:
All That’s Left of You (Watermelon): The latest from Cherien Dabis (Amreeka) traces the travails of a Palestinian family from current tragedies back through multiple generations. Executive-produced by Mark Ruffalo.
Good Manners (Icarus): Arthouse meets grindhouse in this allegory about Brazilian society told through the filter of a werewolf tale.
My Troubles with Comics (Klubb Super 8): Simon’s failure in the world of stand-up comedy sends him back to being a comics background artist in this Swedish comedy.
Who by Fire (KimStim): A reunion between a director and his longtime collaborator gives way to anxieties and recriminations in this Quebecois drama.
The Year Before the War (Indiepix): Just before the start of WWI, a humble doorman in Riga gets swept up into politics and a parade of figures who will shape the eras to come.
Young Mothers (Music Box Films): This latest film from the internationally acclaimed Dardenne brothers follows a quintet of young women in shelter, raising their children and hoping for better futures.
NEW DOCUMENTARY
Boutique: To Preserve and Collect (ETR Media): If you’re a reader of this column, you’re automatically in the demographic of this new doc about physical-media collectors.
Citizen Sleuth (Dark Sky): A true-crime podcaster gets enmeshed in investigating a murder.
Fiume o Morte! (Icarus): In this Croatian Oscar entry, citizens of Rijeka – which Italians call “Fiume” – retell, reconstruct, and reinterpret the bizarre story about the 16-month occupation of their city in 1919 by Italian poet, dandy and preacher of war Gabriele D’Annunzio.
Peaches Goes Bananas (Film Movement): Director Marie Losier spent 17 years chronicling the life and work of avant-garde musician and performance artist Peaches.
NEW GRINDHOUSE
Disco Italiana (Severin): This is why physical media exists, my darlings. This box set celebrates Italy’s low-budget responses to the wild success of Saturday NightFever and its Italian-American star John Travolta — American Fever, Grease Rock, and John Travolto: The Face with Two Left Feet – alongside the UK disco tale The Music Machine (co-starring the recently-departed Brenda Fricker). It’s a delicious serving of exploitation (that you can dance to), restored in 4K and packaged with commentaries, soundtracks, and lots of other fun extras.
Also available:
Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story (Shudder): This adaptation of a Joe Hill story sees generations of Van Helsings dealing with their complicated family history.
Barbed Wire Dolls (Delirium): Jess Franco does women-behind-bars, an irresistible combo for certain fans of psychotronic cinema.
The Butcher’s Blade (Well Go USA): Liu Fengchau and Yuan Fufu star in this wuxia crime drama.
The Cop in Blue Jeans (Raro): Tomas Milian plays a cop who stumbles upon a thievery ring run by Jack Palance in this 1970s Eurocrime drama.
Crawl (Paramount): The terrifying alligator thriller gets a steelbook 4K release.
Deadly Blessing (KL Studio Classics): The Wes Craven classic, now in 4K.
Death Cycle (Dark Star): Two people thrown together by tragedy investigate a motorcycling serial killer.
The Demon Disorder (Shudder): Two estranged brothers reunite when their younger sibling is apparently possessed by a familial curse.
Descendent (IFC): A security guard deals with visions of aliens and his complicated family legacy as he prepares to become a father for the first time.
Destination Moon/Flight to Mars (Film Masters): Two new 4K scans of spage-age sci-fi classics.
The Evil Dead (Sony): Celebrate the 45th anniversary of Sam Raimi’s lunatic masterpiece with this new 4K release.
Flesh Eaters from Outer Space (Saturn’s Core): New Blu-ray of the micro-budget, shot-on-video 1980s creature feature produced in New Jersey.
Ip Man: Kung Fu Legend (Well Go USA): Donnie To portrays the martial-arts legend for the fourth time.
The Island (KL Studio Classics): This lurid adaptation of the Peter Benchley novel ranks among Michael Caine’s one-for-the-money movies.
Island of the Fishmen (Delirium): A group of escaped convicts wash up on an island where mad scientist Joseph Cotten is creating a race of monstrous fish-men hybrids. (Also known as Screamers and Something Waits in the Dark.)
Jailbreak (Film Movement): In this Cambodian spin on The Raid, a group of policemen must protect an informer from an entire prison whose inmates have been tasked by a crime lord with killing him.
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair 4K Collectors Edition (Lionsgate Limited): Originally released in two parts, Quentin Tarantino’s homage to martial-arts cinema finally exists in the one-long-movie format originally intended. Also available on VHS.
Magnificent Bodyguards (88 Films): Jackie Chan’s 1978 hit – but put on your glasses, because this release is a 3D Blu-ray.
Night School (Vinegar Syndrome): This academic slasher, branded a “video nasty” in the UK upon its original release, was the last film of director Ken Hughes (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) and the debut feature of actress Rachel Ward.
The Nine Demons (Visual Vengeance): The legendary Chang Cheh directs this saga of a fighter who signs a Faustian bargain.
Overlord (Paramount): Nazis and zombies – now in a steelbook 4K.
Portraits of the Apocalypse (Cleopatra): Zombies invade Buenos Aires in four intertwined stories in this horror anthology.
Radio Free Steve: Into the Forbidden Zone(VHSHitfest): A pirate-radio DJ takes his show on the road in a post-apocalyptic America.
Revelations of a Psychiatrist in a World of Perverse Sex (Redemption): This 1973 Italian psychodrama features a therapist hearing a series of shocking tales from his patients.
Rise of the Super Tromettes (Troma): When a mysterious virus decimates the men of Tromaville, it’s up to the Super Tromettes to save the day.
Scobie Malone (Umbrella): This 1970s Australian crime thriller follows the investigative and passionate pursuits of a dashing private eye.
Scream Dream (Visual Vengeance): This satanic-panic cult horror film from 1989 follows a heavy-metal singer fired amidst Satanic rumors, who then proves them true by turning into a bloodthirsty demon.
Snow Shark: Ancient Snow Beast (Wild Eye): This low-budget 2011 creature feature focuses on a snowy mountain town besieged by sharks. As they do.
Sodomaniac (Wild Eye): Murder and vengeance are on the menu for this grimy underground horror film.
Teenage Riot Video Party (AGFA/Something Weird): A new collection of vintage 1950s youth-gone-wild cinema, including Lost, Lonely, and Vicious; Jacktown; The Flaming Teen-Age; and The Narcotic Story.
Tiki Tiki (Canadian International Pictures): A wild combo of animation and live-action follows a group of monkeys (animated) making a movie (live-action) that’s an avant-garde Soviet fantasy.
Toomorrow (Deaf Crocodile): Years before Grease and Xanadu, Olivia Newton-John made her big-screen debut with this goofy and beloved Australian rock musical.
Touch Me (Yellow Veil): Lou Taylor Pucci stars in this tale of two humans who become addicted to the touch of an alien.
The Ultimate Degenerate/A Thousand Pleasures(Something Weird/Distribpix): A pair of restored Times Square skinflicks from director Michael Findlay.
The Wages of Sin (Kino Classics): From 1938, it’s one of the classic exploitation films about the moral degradation of innocent young women.
NEW CLASSIC
I’ll Remind You of Everything: The Films of Mike Mills (The Criterion Collection): He’s relatively early in his big-screen career, but writer-director Mike Mills already has a trip of contemporary classics under his belt, now featured in this brand-new Criterion box set. Beginners, Twentieth Century Women, and C’mon C’mon are all delightfully humane and insightful examinations of family (chosen and biological), and this collection features commentaries and an interview with Mills, a new documentary, vintage short films and music videos from the director, and an appreciation by Joachim Trier.
Also available:
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (Sony): The Ray Harryhausen stop-motion classic, now in 4K.
54 (Cinématographe): Rescued from “Harvey Scissorhands,” director Mark Christopher was able to create and release his original cut of the disco drama (starring Ryan Phillippe, Neve Campbell, and Salma Hayek) after Miramax chopped and screwed his movie upon its original release. This 4K collection features both versions, along with essays and other extras.
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (The Criterion Collection): The one Scorsese movie to spawn a sitcom gets the full treatment here, with new interviews and commentaries.
An American Affair (Circle Collective): Gretchen Mol and Cameron Bright (Birth) star in this coming-of-age drama set against the backdrop of the JFK era.
Body Snatchers (Vinegar Syndrome): Abel Ferrara puts a chillingly creepy spin on the classic horror tale, bolstered by an unforgettably terrifying turn by Meg Tilly.
The Boxer (Radiance): Bunta Sugawara stars in this 1977 Japanese sports saga.
Brit Noir Collection III (KL Studio Classics): More crime drama from across the pond; this edition includes Nowhere to Go, The Man Upstairs, and Payroll.
Cruel Story of Youth (The Criterion Collection): Nagisa Oshima’s sophomore feature, about teens falling into a life of crime, makes its 4K debut.
The Crying Game (The Criterion Collection): Neil Jordan’s Oscar-nominated thriller has been newly reevaluated by trans critics, so it’s fitting that this new release includes an essay by Corpses, Fools and Monsters co-author Willow Catelyn Maclay.
The Double (Radiance): Unreleased on physical media since VHS, Romolo Guerrieri’s 1971 giallo has grown in estimation among cultists.
The Elephant Man (The Criterion Collection): Frequently unavailable in recent years, this early masterpiece from David Lynch finds a new foothold with this gorgeous new Criterion release.
Escape from Zahrain (KL Studio Classics): Yul Brynner, Sal Mineo, and Jack Warden are among a team of escapees from a fictional foreign country in this action tale from director Ronald Neame (The Poseidon Adventure).
Falling Down (Arrow): Michael Douglas stars as a white guy pushed to violence in this prescient drama from Joel Schumacher.
The Fantasy of the Deer Warrior (Klubb Super 8): This 1961 Taiwanese film threads political metaphor into fables by Aesop, enacted by human actors in animal costumes.
Hookers on Davie (Canadian International Pictures): Directors Janis Cole and Holly Dale offer a sympathetic eye to Toronto sex workers in this 1984 documentary.
The House of 72 Tenants (Kani): This 1973 hit from Hong Kong is considered a direct influence on Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle.
Hud (The Criterion Collection): Paul Newman gives an indelible performance opposite Patricia Neal and Melvyn Douglas in this searing Larry McMurtry adaptation.
I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (Vinegar Syndrome Ultra): Well before the Scary Movie franchise was born, the Wayans family was already poking holes in beloved genres with this blaxploitation spoof,
King Creole (KL Studio Classics): One of Elvis’ better vehicles, directed by Michael Curtiz, now in 4K.
Lady in White (Vinegar Syndrome): The cult chiller that spooked young Gen-Xers in the 1980s gets a 4K release with lots of extras, interviews, and deleted scenes.
The Love Trap (KL Studio Classics): In this early talkie, Laura LaPlante stars as a chorus girl who struggles to be accepted by the wealthy family of her boyfriend (Neil Hamilton, who would later play Commissioner Gordon on the 1960s Batman show).
The Mad Monkey (aka Twisted Obsession) (Bizarro): Jeff Goldblum and Miranda Richardson in the Fernando Trueba thriller.
The Maverick Queen (KL Studio Classics): Undercover Pinkerton Barry Sullivan falls for Barbara Stanwyck, who runs the criminal organization he’s trying to shut down.
A Man Named Rocca / La Scoumoune (Hit Man)(both KL Studio Classics): A pair of Euro-thrillers starring Jean-Paul Belmondo.
Micki & Maude (Mill Creek): This underrated Blake Edwards farce features Dudley Moore finding himself caught up in bigamy as he marries and impregnates both Anne Reinking and Amy Irving.
Money from Home (KL Studio Classics): It’s Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis — in 3D! (If you have a Blu-ray/TV set-up that plays it that way.)
The Outfit (Arrow): This acclaimed 1973 adaptation of the novel by Richard Stark (aka Donald E. Westlake) mixes actors from the New Hollywood era (Robert Duvall, Karen Black, Joe Don Baker) with vintage noir favorites (Marie Windsor, Jane Greer, Elisha Cook Jr.).
Pleasantville (Shout Factory): New 30th anniversary 4K for the beloved Reese Witherspoon satire.
The Razor’s Edge (Several Futures): Not the W. Somerset Maugham one, Jocelyne Saab’s 1985 feature debut captures the unlikely friendship of a middle-aged artist and a teenager against the backdrop of civil war in Lebanon.
Red Sun (Arrow): International all-stars Charles Bronson, ToshirōMifune, and Alain Delon face off in Spain, under the direction of Terence Young.
South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (Paramount): They’re a couple of years late for the 25th anniversary, but a new steelbook 4K for this outrageous animated musical is always cause for celebration.
Soylent Green (Arrow): You guys, it’s [REDACTED], in this dystopic science-fiction classic, now in 4K.
Sugar Cookies (Troma): Legendary exploitation classic borrows a few ideas from Vertigo but absolutely veers off into its own territory; starring the great Mary Woronov and directed by her then-husband, Theodore Gershuny (Silent Night, Bloody Night).
The Untouchables (Paramount): Would that all big-screen remakes of old TV shows could have this kind of pedigree (plus an Oscar-winning turn by Sean Connery); new steelbook 4K release.
Walk a Tightrope (KL Studio Classics): Dan Duryea stars as an American expat in England, who gets caught up in an increasingly complicated murder plot.
Will It Happen Again? / Triumph of the Will (both Kino Classics): Now that the return of fascism has passed “if” and gone straight into “when” in the United States, those who wish to resist should study the past, whether through Nazi propaganda (the latter) or bizarre exploitation movies including Hitler’s home movies (the former).
NEW TV
The Show About the Show (Factory 25): Documentarian Caveh Zahedi created a perfect ouroboros when he convinced a local cable station to give him a 24-episode series, with each episode covering the making of the previous episode. It’s a dizzyingly delightful puzzle box and the ultimate “making-of” documentary.
Also available:
The Apothecary Diaries: Season One (Crunchyroll): New steelbook release of the series about a young food-taster who uses her medicinal and poison-detecting skills to uncover the truth behind a mysterious plague.
I Love Lucy: The Complete Series (75thAnniversary Edition) (Paramount): It’s the same anniversary release as last month, only now in Blu-ray.
Murder Is Easy (Fifth Season): David Jonsson and Penelope Wilton suss out a serial killer in this Agatha Christie adaptation.
NCIS: Tony & Ziva – Season One (Paramount): This spinoff follows the couple to Paris, where they realize they haven’t completely left the past behind them.
The Office: The Complete Series – Superfan Extended Episodes (Universal): All 194 episodes, “enhanced” with additional footage totaling some 25 hours of never-before-seen segments.
Playing Around: Season One (Cinephobia): This Colombian series follows the romantic adventures of a 29-year-old gay man determined to find love before he turns 30.
Witch Watch: Season One (GKIDS): In this popular anime series, a high-school student’s life is turned upside down when an old friend, training to become a witch, chooses him to be her familiar.
