by Malakie Peters

New Release Tuesday! This week we’ve got Dr. Who, werewolves in 4K, a long-lost Japanese 80’s rock musical, pro-wrestling melodrama, Julia Child, immortal superheroes, the complete adventures of Deputy Marshall Sam McCloud, and more. 

200 CIGARETTES (BLU-RAY) (1999) 

This ensemble comedy follows an array of young people in New York City on New Year’s Eve. Among the numerous characters looking for love and fun are impulsive artist Ellie and punks Tom and Dave, who meet up with Stephie and Val, two girls from Long Island. Also interacting with various partygoers are a pensive bartender and a taxi driver who operates a disco in his cab.

BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN (DVD) (2021)

Emi, a schoolteacher, finds her reputation under fire after a personal sex tape gets uploaded to the internet. Forced to meet the parents who are demanding her dismissal, Emi refuses to surrender. The censored version includes cleverly placed graphics over explicit content.

BAJA + AMNESIA (DVD) (1995/1997) 

In Baja, a couple has a big drug deal go bad and flees across the border to Baja California, Mexico. Bebe’s dad sends her ex-husband there to talk sense into her and a dangerous hitman soon follows.

In Amnesia, Unbeknownst to his wife Martha, Paul Keller is a minister in an illicit affair with his son’s teacher. Unable to see an end to his deceptive and sinful path, he concocts a scheme to fake his own death. However, his cunning plan goes awry and he is left with no recollection of himself or his former life.

BECKY SHARP (BLU-RAY) (1935)

Becky Sharp – a resourceful, self-involved, young lady – manages to survive a number of setbacks and deprivations in the years following Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo.

BLANK GENERATION (BLU-RAY) (1980) 

A French journalist becomes involved with the rising punk-rock musician (Richard Hell) whose life she’s chronicling.

BUONA SERA MRS CAMPBELL (1968) (BLU-RAY) 

During World War II, an Italian villager befriends three American soldiers. Later, when unsure which of them fathered the daughter she has, she invents a dead captain named Campbell, declares herself his widow and accepts support checks from all three soldiers. Twenty years later, a reunion unexpectedly brings the three veterans — and their wives and children — back to Italy. Mrs. Campbell panics as she endeavors to keep her lively past from her daughter.

CICADA (DVD) (2020) 

Ben, a young bisexual man, comes out to the world and develops an intense relationship with Sam, a closeted man struggling with deep wounds of his own. As summer progresses and their intimacy grows, secrets from the past come to light.

CITY ON FIRE (BLU-RAY) (1979) 

An all star cast gets engulfed in this tale of terror and heroism! William Dudley is a corrupt mayor who has allowed a chemical works to be built right in the center of town. When an employee at the works has been denied an expected promotion and, in addition, finds himself fired shortly thereafter, he decides to take his revenge by opening the valves to the storage vats and their interconnecting pipes. It doesn’t take long for this act of petty vandalism to start a fire that soon engulfs an entire metropolis! The drama focuses on a newly built hospital which, like all civic buildings that went up during the mayor’s crooked administration, is shoddily built and poorly equipped and is now under the fire storm headed its way. Who will survive? 

DAKOTA (BLU-RAY) (1945) 

A gambler who, with his new wife, moves to North Dakota hoping to cash in on the land boom created by increasing railroad expansion. On their trip west, they meet two swindlers, Bender and Collins, who have been pillaging farms and driving the farmers out of the territory. The two crooks steal John and Sandy’s savings, a dangerous riverboat chase ensues, and the criminals make a clean getaway. In a desperate attempt to get back his savings and see justice prevail, Devlin joins the wheat farmers in a heated range battle against Bender, Collins and their vicious gang. 

DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP (BLU-RAY) (1959) 

Comedy legend Jerry Lewis stars as a newlywed naval officer whisked away from his honeymoon by a senate investigating committee who would like to know what happened to the WWII battleship that had commanded the crew to arrive home safely, but the battleship has completely disappeared. They don’t know that he suffers from a mental block concerning the mission, so they assign a beautiful psychiatrist to probe his subconscious. 

DON’T GO IN THE HOUSE (BLU-RAY, DVD) (1979) 

A shy incinerator worker scarred by memories of his mother’s abuse begins luring women to his childhood home for incendiary torment.

DR. WHO – THE COMPLETE 13TH SERIES: FLUX (DVD) (2021) 

An eccentric yet compassionate extraterrestrial Time Lord zips through time and space to solve problems and battle injustice across the universe, traveling via the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimensions in Space), which is his old and occasionally unreliable spaceship that resembles a blue police phone box (but changes its appearance depending on its surroundings) and is much, much larger inside than outside.

DRAGONWORLD (DVD) (1994)

When five-year-old John makes a wish on a magical tree, he conjures up a baby dragon who grows up to be his best friend. But when a nefarious businessman exploits the dragon to showcase his new amusement park, John must take steps to save the beast. Filled with heart, humor and imagination and featuring eye-popping stop motion special effects by the legendary David Allen (DOLLS, PUPPET MASTER), DRAGONWORLD is family fun at its finest.

EL PASO (BLU-RAY) (1949) 

After serving in the Civil War, an ex-Confederate captain is ready for a quiet life as a lawyer in peacetime El Paso, Texas. However, with a corrupt sheriff, a drunken judge and a crooked landowner running the town, he decides to form a vigilante group to combat them. 

ETERNALS (4K + BLU-RAY, BLU-RAY, DVD) (2021) 

The Eternals, a race of immortal beings with superhuman powers who have secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years, reunite to battle the evil Deviants.

FINAL OPTION AKA WHO DARES WINS (BLU-RAY) (1983)

The British receive intelligence that an anti-nuclear militant group is planning to kill the U.S. ambassador at the Iranian embassy. The British Special Air Services enlists the help of Capt. Peter Skellen, who is charged with going undercover. But he is quickly found out by the terrorists, and his wife and child are taken hostage. As Skellen attempts to get word to his superiors, the terrorists begin to execute their plan, which leads to a siege at the embassy.

FLAG OF IRON (BLU-RAY) (1980) 

Another cult classic from the Shaw Brothers Studio, The Flag of Iron is a quintessential Hong Kong tale of rivals, betrayal and family feuds. When the master of the Iron Flag clan is killed by a mysterious assassin known only as Spearman, it sets off an explosive chain of events which pits two brothers against each other in an action-packed adventure of fist flying fury.  This kinetic and highly influential Kung Fu picture, mixes traditional storytelling with more modern presentation techniques, layering acrobatics, the use exotic weaponry and quick as lightning fight sequences to produce a sure fire entertaining hit, which no serious collector of martial arts movies can be without.

GHOST RIDERS (BLU-RAY) (1987)

Revenge is a hearty meal for phantoms of the prairie! On a dark and haunting night, all that is visible by the campfire light is the breath of vicious lawmen. The local preacher and townspeople gather on a lonesome prairie as the lawless career of desperado Frank Clements is about to end. Just as the hangman’s noose tightens around his neck, the most feared outlaw of 1888 shouts a curse of revenge on the town preacher – a curse which will haunt the preacher’s family through generations. One hundred years later, unsuspecting of the events in 1888, the town is prospering. Frank Clements and his gang return from hell to seek revenge against the preacher’s grandson and his family. The fight against the phantoms from the past proves futile, and they become unwilling victims of bloodthirsty outlaws. Weapons are defenseless against the phantom cowboys – you can’t kill what’s already dead!

HEELS: SEASON 1 (DVD) (2021)

Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig star as two brothers and rivals who play out scripted matches as they war over their late father’s wrestling promotion and vie for national attention in small-town Georgia. A piece of trivia: longtime wrestling fan Amell broke his back while performing a stunt for the first episode.

THE HOWLING (4K + BLU-RAY) (1981)

Severely shaken after a near-fatal encounter with a serial killer, TV newscaster Karen White takes some much-needed time off. Hoping to conquer her inner demons, she heads for “the Colony,” a secluded retreat where her new neighbors are just a tad too eager to make her feel at home. Also, there seems to be a bizarre link between her would-be attacker and this supposedly safe haven. And when, after nights of being tormented by savage shrieks and unearthly cries, Karen ventures into the forest to find answers, she makes a terrifying discovery. Now she must fight not only for her life…but for her very soul!

IN DREAMS (BLU-RAY) (1999) 

Claire Cooper’s peaceful family life takes a chilling turn when a mysterious serial killer invades her seemingly idyllic New England town… and haunts her dreams with dark clues to his next deadly moves. With frightening accuracy, Claire predicts his every turn, but still no one believes her. Unable to convince the police, her doctor or even her husband of her mind-link with the madman, Claire must confront the killer alone…and on his terms…before another terrifying dream becomes a reality!

JULIA  (DVD) (2021) 

Brings to life the legendary cookbook author and television superstar who changed the way Americans think about food, television, and even about women. Using never-before-seen archival footage, personal photos, first-person narratives, and cutting-edge, mouth-watering food cinematography, the film traces Julia Child’s 12 year struggle to create and publish the revolutionary Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961) which has sold more than 2.5 million copies to date, and her rapid ascent to become the country’s most unlikely television star. It’s the empowering story of a woman who found her purpose – and her fame – at 50, and took America along on the whole delicious journey

LEGEND OF THE STARDUST BROTHERS (DVD) (1985) 

The lost cult hit has finally made it to North America! Meet the Stardust Brothers, a 1980s Japanese pop duo manufactured by a shady music mogul when he brings together two wannabe stars–punk rock rebel Kan and new-wave crooner Shingo–and transforms them into a girl-friendly, silver-jumpsuited, synth-pop sensation. Along with their appointed #1 fan, who herself dreams of a music career, the duo rockets to stardom, only to discover that, as the lyrics of one of their insanely catchy songs makes clear, “Once you reach No. 1, you just go down.”

LEGENDARY WEAPONS OF CHINA (BLU-RAY) (1982) 

When the former member of a failing magical kung fu order threatens to destroy the remaining group’s reputation through his loud mouth insults and defamatory behavior, an elite band of killers is dispatched to silence him forever. This gloriously fast-paced drama which entertainingly mixes swordplay with hand to hand combat in a fabulously furious rollicking adventure weaves its own special kind of magic.

LIPSTICK (BLU-RAY) (1976) 

The Story of One Woman Who Had to Take the Law into Her Own Hands Margaux Hemingway makes her film debut portraying a high-fashion model who is victimized by a brutal assailant and then again by the judicial system that’s supposed to protect her. Chris Sarandon plays the music teacher who brutally attacks her and forces her to the point of desperation—and revenge. 

LOOPER (4K + BLU-RAY) (2012)

In the futuristic action thriller Looper, time travel will be invented – but it will be illegal and only available on the black market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target 30 years into the past, where a “looper” – a hired gun, like Joe– is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good… until the day the mob decides to “close the loop,” sending back Joe’s future self for assassination.

LOVE AFFAIR (BLU-RAY, DVD) (1939) 

Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer are chic strangers who meet and fall in love aboard an ocean liner bound for New York. Though they are both involved with other people, they make a pact to reconnect six months later at the top of the Empire State Building—until the hand of fate throws their star-crossed affair tragically off course.

MCCLOUD COMPLETE SERIES (DVD) (1970)

Dennis Weaver stars as the brave deputy marshal Sam McCloud, The toughest cowboy to overtake on the mean streets of New York-as well as the by-the-book detectives of the NYPD. Despite the demands of his strict supervisor, Chief Peter B. Clifford (J.D.Can – non), McCloud finds himself in an endless showdown with some of the meanest criminals east of the Mississippi.

MOGUL MOWGLI (DVD) (2020)

British-Pakistani rapper on the cusp of his first world tour, is struck down by an illness that forces him to face his past, his family, and the uncertainty of his legacy. From director Bassam Tariq.

MONDAY (DVD) (2020)

Following a whirlwind weekend of romance and sex, two self-destructive Americans plunge headfirst into a relationship. But can their love survive the real world?

MRS. POLLIFAX: SPY (DVD) (1971)

When Mrs. Emily Pollifax’s doctor recommends that she pursue her unfulfilled life ambitions; he doesn’t realize that she has always wanted to be a spy. A letter to her congressman and a misunderstanding in an interview with the CIA lands her on a dangerous assignment. Based on the novel The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman.

REMOTE (DVD) (1993)

When 13 year old whiz kid Randy Mason creates a fleet of sophisticated remote controlled toys, he soon runs afoul of both the local bully and his school principal, leading to a suspension and his mother banning him from using his ingenious devices. But when a cabal of crooks comes to call, Randy must defend his turf and rescue his lady love Judy using only his wits and his radio-controlled pals. 

RIDE THE HOT WIND (BLU-RAY) (1971)

DISGRACED BY A VIETNAM MASSACRE, CAPTAIN GREGORY SHANK IS FORCED TO… RIDE THE HOT WIND! After Captain Gregory Shank is dishonorably discharged; his reputation follows him and thwarts his efforts to better himself. When he meets bikers, he gets caught up in the life he tried so hard to escape and becomes the target of a police manhunt.

SEOBOK- PROJECT CLONE (DVD) (2021)

A former special agent is called in for a secret mission: safely escort the world’s first human clone, whose body may hold the key to defeating death itself. But as the enemy closes in, the pair is forced to make an impossible choice.

SETTLERS (BLU-RAY, DVD) (2021)

Mankind’s earliest settlers on the Martian frontier do what they must to survive the cosmic elements and each other in this science-fiction thrill ride.

SINGING GUNS (BLU-RAY) (1950)

Singing legend Vaughn Monroe in his acting debut portrays Rhiannon, a notorious stagecoach robber who shoots the new sheriff, but decides to take him to the doctor. With the help of the kind doctor, Rhiannon cleans himself up and is presented to the sheriff as the man who saved his life. Rhiannon, who’s fond of singing a tune now and then, is deputized by the sheriff and falls in love with a lovely saloon gal. Rhiannon is now torn between his new life and his old one… can he turn over a new leaf and give up his illegal ways or are the prospects of robbing the next gold shipment too much for the ex-outlaw? 

SOUMAYA (DVD) (2019)

One day, Soumaya – a woman of color, a practicing Muslim, a mother, and an executive at an airport transportation company in Paris – is fired from her job of fourteen years without explanation or warning. Later that night, while watching TV, she learns that certain media outlets are linking her, through speculation, to jihadist circles. This all occurs only days after Soumaya’s apartment, where she lives with her young daughter, is raided by police. Shaken but not about to sit by in silence, Soumaya decides to exercise her right of reply in court – where her legal team demonstrates that she was fired only as a result of discrimination. 

SPONTANEOUS (BLU-RAY) (2020)

Get ready for the most outrageous coming-of-age love story about growing up… and blowing up! When students in their high school begin inexplicably exploding (literally…), seniors Mara and Dylan struggle to survive in a world where each moment may be their last. As an unexpected romance blossoms between them, Mara and Dylan discover that when tomorrow is no longer promised, they can finally start living for today.

SURF NAZIS MUST DIE (BLU-RAY) (1987)

An earthquake leaves the California coastline in ruins and reduces the beaches to a state of chaos. A group of neo-Nazis led by Adolf (Brenner), the self-proclaimed Führer of the new beach, takes advantage of the resulting chaos by fighting off several rival surfer gangs to seize control of the beaches. Meanwhile, an African American oil well worker named Leroy (Harden) is killed by the surf Nazis while jogging on the beach. Leroy’s mother, Mama Washington (Neely), devastated by the loss of her son, vows revenge. After arming herself with a handgun and grenades, she breaks out of her retirement home and exacts vengeance on the Surf Nazis.

THREE MUSKETEERS (BLU-RAY) (1948) 

Aspiring swordsman D’Artagnan arrives in Paris with hopes of joining the royal guard and falls in love with the beautiful Constance. After clashing with three of the king’s musketeers, Athos, Porthos and Aramis, he joins them in fighting the forces of corrupt Richelieu. When Richelieu attempts to undermine the throne and fan the flames of war, D’Artagnan and the musketeers must thwart his plans.

TIGER BY THE TAIL (BLU-RAY) (1970) 

A Vietnam War veteran returns home to restore his relationship with his estranged brother, a principal shareholder of a California racetrack. Upon arrival, he discovers that his brother has been murdered during a robbery. After being framed for his brother’s murder, he looks up his old flame to assist him in solving the robbery and murder. The ex-lovers are now caught in the callous greed of corrupt and vicious shareholders responsible for the cover-up and his brother’s murder. 

TOKYO SHAKING (DVD) (2021)

In March 2011, the largest tsunami in Japan’s history triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Newly transferred to Tokyo from Hong Kong, French executive Alexandra finds herself in the middle of the confusion and panic of the crisis. While government officials scramble to assess the full extent of the damage, local media downplays the disaster. While senior management flees back to France, Alexandra stays behind out of a sense of moral duty to her colleagues in the Tokyo office. However, as the crisis escalates and radioactive clouds threaten the city, Alexandra is increasingly torn between the demands of management and the desire to protect her colleagues and family. 

WOLF (DVD) (2022) 

Believing he is a wolf trapped in a human body, Jacob eats, sleeps, and lives like a wolf. He’s sent to a clinic where he undergoes increasingly extreme forms of ‘curative’ therapies at the hands of The Zookeeper. However, once he meets the mysterious Wildcat, and as their friendship blossoms into an undeniable infatuation, Jacob is faced with a challenge: will he renounce his true self for love?