by Malakie Peters

New Release Tuesday! This week we’ve got a return to the Matrix, Eddie Murphy back in America, a few new music docs, a ton of new catalog 4K titles, and lots more. 

ADOPTION (1975) (BLU-RAY, DVD) 

Trailblazing auteur Márta Mészáros gives aching expression to the experiences of women in 1970s Hungary in this sensitive and absorbing drama, which became the first film directed by a woman to win the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. Through intimate camera work, Adoption immerses the viewer in the worlds of two women, each searching for fulfillment: Kata (Katalin Berek), a middle-aged factory worker who wants to have a child with her married lover, and Anna (Gyöngyvér Vígh), a teenage ward of the state determined to emancipate herself in order to marry her boyfriend. The bond that forms between the two speaks powerfully to the social and political forces that shape women’s lives, as each navigates love, marriage, and motherhood in her quest for self-determination.

ADVENTURE TIME: DISTANT LANDS (2021) (BLU-RAY, DVD)

The series at large follows the adventures of Finn and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake, a dog with magical powers to change shape and size at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with the series’ other main characters, including Princess Bubblegum, Marceline the Vampire Queen, and BMO. Distant Lands focuses on new and returning characters in previously unexplored areas of the Adventure Time universe.

THE ADVENTURES OF BARRY MCKENZIE (1972) (BLU-RAY)

A stipulation in his dad’s will found loud and proud layabout Barry “Bazza” McKenzie (Barry Crocker) dragged from Australia to Britain for some much-needed cultural refinement, under the watch of his aunt Edna Everage (Barry Humphries). As he’s insulted and exploited by every pretentious pom he meets, can he cash in before he’s booted back to Bondi? 

AGNES (2021) (BLU-RAY, DVD)

Two priests travel to a convent when a nun shows signs of demonic possession.

AYLA (2017) (DVD) 

Haunted for years by the unexplained death of his four-year-old sister Ayla, Elton’s days and nights are inhabited by the presence of a mysterious woman. As his obsession with the woman grows, he becomes convinced she’s his sister, returned now as an adult. Resolving to find her at all costs, Elton plunges further down a rabbit hole forged by his own loneliness and desire, but who or what will emerge? 

BREAKING BREAD (2020) (DVD) 

Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel – the first Muslim Arab to win Israel’s MasterChef – is on a quest to make social change through food. And so, she founded the A-sham Arabic Food Festival, where pairs of Arab and Jewish chefs collaborate on exotic dishes like kishek (a Syrian yogurt soup), and qatayef (a dessert typically served during Ramadan). A film about hope, synergy, and mouth watering fare, Breaking Bread illustrates what happens when people focus on the person, rather than her religion; on the public, rather than the politicians. 

BURIED (2010) (DVD) 

A civilian truck driver in Iraq, Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) falls victim to a band of insurgents. An unknown length of time later, Paul awakes in a coffin, with little more than a lighter, a cell phone, and his ever-growing anxiety. Faced with a dwindling oxygen supply and a dying battery, Paul must fight panic, despair, and delirium as he awaits a rescue that might not arrive in time.

COMING 2 AMERICA (2020) (BLU-RAY, DVD)

Akeem and Semmi are back! Set in the lush and royal country of Zamunda, newly-crowned King Akeem (Eddie Murphy) and his trusted confidante Semmi (Arsenio Hall) embark on an all-new hilarious adventure that has them traversing the globe from their great African nation to the borough of Queens, New York – where it all began. 

DALGLIESH: SERIES 1 (2021) (DVD) 

Based on P.D. James’s global bestsellers, this riveting mystery series stars Bertie Carvel as enigmatic Inspector Adam Dalgliesh. A recent widower and acclaimed poet, Dalgliesh employs his exceptional empathy and insight to plumb the darker depths of the human psyche while investigating complex crimes in 1970s England. 

THE GIRL FROM THE MARSH CROFT / THE FINAL CHORD (1935-36) (BLU-RAY) 

The Girl from the Marsh Croft is an adaptation of Selma Lagerlöf’s popular novel, a tale of shame and superstition set in an insular farming community in the northern region of Germany. Hansi Knoteck stars as a moral outcast who is willing to sacrifice her own happiness for the sake of the man she loves (Kurt Fischer-Fehling). Female self-sacrifice is also the theme of The Final Chord, a lavish drama set in the classical concert halls of Germany. Maria von Tasnady is a woman who gives up her child for adoption, only to become its nursemaid years later. But even that tenuous happiness is threatened by the influence of a domineering nanny (Lil Dagover).

GOMORRAH: THE SERIES: SEASON 4 (2019) (DVD) 

Gomorrah: The Fourth Season continues the worldwide gangster show phenomenon that is based on Roberto Saviano’s best-selling book and the subsequent award-winning film of the same name. Genny (Salvatore Esposito), having lived through it all, needs to change his own life to save the family. As he turns into a businessman, he has to hand his kingdom over to Patrizia (Cristiana Dell’Anna) and entrust his own life to a mob crew with ties to Donna Imma.

THE GREAT BUDDHA ARRIVAL (2018) (DVD)

A gigantic statue of Buddha awakens and goes on a trek across Japan while the world watches in awe. Featuring an all-star cast of beloved actors from kaiju cinema’s history. A modern day reboot of the long lost, and quite possibly first daikaiju film, the classic Daibutsu Kaikoku (1934), this is a must-see love letter to kaiju cinema.

HONEY BOY (2019) (BLU-RAY, DVD) 

Back in the mid-2000s, faced with the choice of substance rehab or prison, troubled young movie star Otis Lort (Lucas Hedges) was forced to confront his upbringing, and the chaotic, exploitative relationship he had as a working child actor (Noah Jupe) with his short-fused, recovering alcoholic, ex-rodeo clown father (Shia LaBeouf). LaBeouf’s stunning therapeutic confessional also stars Natasha Lyonne, Clifton Collins, Jr., Laura San Giacomo, Martin Starr, and FKA Twigs. 

INVINCIBLE (2020) (DVD)

Colonel John Taylor enlists billionaire inventor Leor Teska to fund a secret black site, testing Teska’s new nanotechnology for military applications, developed by scientists. When one of the test subjects, Brock Cortez, escapes, Teska’s head of security, Cam Devore is given the dangerous task of tracking him down.

JIMMY NEUTRON: BOY GENIUS (2001) (BLU-RAY) 

Jimmy Neutron is trying to contact an alien civilization, but unbeknownst to him, a satellite he launches (okay, it’s the kitchen toaster, but it works!) is picked up by an unknown species. In the dark of night, the aliens abduct all the parents in Retroville, but Jimmy has a plan. With his robotic dog, Goddard, his best friend, Carl, and the rest of the town’s kids, they’ll blast-off into the skies to battle the evil King Goobot and his sidekick Ooblar.

A JOURNAL FOR JORDAN (2021) (DVD)

Based on the true story of First Sergeant Charles Monroe King (Michael B. Jordan), a soldier deployed to Iraq begins to keep a journal of love and advice for his infant son. Back at home, senior New York Times editor Dana Canedy revisits the story of her unlikely, life-altering relationship with King and his enduring devotion to her and their child.

LET ME BE ME (2021) (DVD)

The Westphal family learns that its 6-year-old son, Kyle, is on the autism spectrum. Fearing they may never develop a real connection to him, they embark on a radical journey in which they compassionately join Kyle in his unique behaviors. Twenty years later, the entire family looks back at his path from social isolation to professional clothing designer.

MASTERPIECE: ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL: SEASON 2 (2021) (DVD)

A trip back home to Glasgow presents James with a dilemma that will mean choosing between the people he loves. As Helen and James navigate their feelings for one another, Siegfried, Tristan, and Mrs. Hall are also forced to consider their places in the world, while James must decide between supporting his family or following his heart.

THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS (2021) (4K + BLU-RAY, BD/DVD)

To find out if his reality is a physical or mental construct, Mr. Anderson, aka Neo, will have to choose to follow the white rabbit once more. If he’s learned anything, it’s that choice, while an illusion, is still the only way out of — or into — the Matrix. Neo already knows what he has to do, but what he doesn’t yet know is that the Matrix is stronger, more secure and far more dangerous than ever before. Also featuring John Wick director Chad Stahelski (aka Keanu’s stunt double on the original Matrix!) as a Chad named Chad!

MONSTER FROM GREEN HELL (1957) (DVD)

When scientists try to understand the effects of radiation on earth creatures, the result brings them to an area of Africa known as “Green Hell,” where wasps have mutated into monsters!

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS (2021) (DVD)

Three days before the college football national championship game, star quarterback LeMarcus James and teammate Emmett Sunday ignite a player’s strike declaring they won’t compete until all student-athletes are fairly compensated. With billions of dollars at risk and legacies on the line, the stakes could not be higher. Now, with only hours until kickoff, the head coach (J.K. Simmons) and various power brokers must race against the clock to protect or destroy the prevailing collegiate athletics system.

THE NOWHERE INN (2020) (BLU-RAY, DVD)

Two creative forces band together to make a documentary about St. Vincent’s music and life. However, they soon discover unpredictable forces lurking within the subject and filmmaker that threatens to derail their friendship and the project.

PARADISE (2021) (DVD)

Presented here in a new version completed in 2021, Michael Almereyda’s Paradise is a poignant and surprising sketchbook, a collection of brief episodes captured during a decade of travel. The film is marked by a sense of mystery, wonderment, and sly humor, reflecting a notion of life as a series of elusive, paradisiacal moments that are routinely taken for granted ― and always slipping away.

PRESIDENT (2021) (DVD)

In the first Zimbabwean presidential election since Robert Mugabe was ousted in a coup, 40-year-old opposition candidate Nelson Chamisa runs against ruling president Emmerson Mnangagwa.

RED GHOST: NAZI HUNTER (2019) (DVD)

In 1941, a mythical lone-wolf fighter, known as The Red Ghost, roams the Russian forests sniping and killing Nazis one by one. He’s so destructive that a special unit of the Nazis’ Wehrmacht is ordered to search for and kill him. Simultaneously, a band of Soviet soldiers behind enemy lines trudge through the snow, hopeful to find safety, warmth, and vodka. Instead, they find themselves trapped at a farm and surrounded by the Wehrmacht unit against whom they must fight to the death – but not without the help of The Red Ghost.

SILENT NIGHT (2021) (BLU-RAY, DVD)

In true British fashion, a group of old friends reunite to celebrate Christmas in the comfort of an idyllic country home (while the rest of the world faces impending doom). Burdened with the inconvenience of mankind’s imminent destruction, they adopt a stiff upper lip, crack open another bottle of prosecco, and continue with their festivities. But no amount of stoicism can replace the courage needed for their last night on earth.

THE SPARKS BROTHERS (2021) (DVD)

How can one rock band be successful, underrated, hugely influential, and criminally overlooked all at the same time? Edgar Wright’s debut documentary, The Sparks Brothers, which features commentary from celebrity fans Flea, Beck, Jack Antonoff, Jason Schwartzman, Neil Gaiman, and more, takes audiences on a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers/bandmates Ron and Russell Mael celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favorite band’s favorite band.

THRILLER: A CRUEL PICTURE (1974) (BLU-RAY)

A mute young woman is trained as a violent assassin to seek revenge on those who have wronged her.

VHS LOVE: CULT CINEMA OBSESSION (2022) (DVD)

Experience the world of VHS obsessed enthusiasts who celebrate their own unique culture and live and breathe all things VHS. The format that never dies is back and here to stay! Celebrate all things cult cinema and delve deep into the minds of avid collectors who will stop at nothing to collect every beloved movie of their youth on VHS!

THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND: THE FINAL SEASON (2021) (DVD)

Set in Nebraska 10 years after the zombie apocalypse, the limited series is the third television series in “The Walking Dead” franchise, and focuses on the first generation to come of age in the apocalypse. The teens struggle with their roles in the outside world; some will become heroes and others villains, but all of them will be changed forever.

A WRITER’S ODYSSEY (2021) (BLU-RAY, DVD)

After the disappearance of his daughter, Guan Ning has descended into despair. With nothing left to lose in his life, he is approached by a powerful corporation who hires him for a dark task: to kill the young author of a fantasy novel. But the author’s work is no ordinary book, for its fantastic world is somehow impacting and merging with the real one. Guan’s journey into this realm uncovers hidden secrets and reveals the transformative power of art and imagination.

YELLOWSTONE: SEASON 4 (2021) (DVD) 

Amid shifting alliances, unsolved murders, open wounds, and hard-earned respect, Dutton family patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner) is determined to protect his ranch and his family’s legacy by any means necessary.

 

2.28 NEW BLU-RAY ADDITIONS 

ARABELLA BLACK ANGEL (1989) (BLU-RAY) 

Arabella is a nymphomaniac whose husband catches her with another man. When Arabella inexplicably kills the man, her husband encourages her to meet other men and starts documenting her experiences in a book.

BATMAN RETURNS (1992) (4K + BLU-RAY)

In the second of the blockbuster Batman films, the physically deformed criminal genius The Penguin threatens Gotham City. Helpless, the entire city can only pray that Batman returns. Only Batman (Michael Keaton) can defend the city from total chaos as The Penguin (Danny DeVito) lays twisted waste to a great metropolis. Meanwhile, the Dark Knight may have met his equal in the lethally lithe Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) – only he doesn’t know if she is feline friend…or foe.

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (2018) (4K + BLU-RAY) 

Freddie Mercury — the lead singer of Queen — defies stereotypes and convention to become one of history’s most beloved entertainers. The band’s revolutionary sound and popular songs lead to Queen’s meteoric rise in the 1970s. After leaving the group to pursue a solo career, Mercury reunites with Queen for the benefit concert, Live Aid — resulting in one of the greatest performances in rock ‘n’ roll history. Just look at those chompers!!! 

BROTHERS TILL WE DIE (1978) (BLU-RAY)

A dangerous gangster nicknamed `The Hunchback of Rome’ returns from Corsica to organize the robbery of an armored van carrying funds from a bank. Betrayed by his three accomplices, he decides to take revenge.

CHILDREN OF THE CORN (1984) (4K UHD) 

As physician Burt Stanton (Peter Horton) and his girlfriend, Vicky (Linda Hamilton), drive across the Midwest to his new job, their trip comes to a sudden halt when they encounter the body of a murdered boy in the road. In trying to contact the authorities, Burt and Vicky wander into a small town populated only by children, followers of sinister young preacher, Isaac Chroner (John Franklin). Soon the couple is fleeing the youthful fanatics, who want to sacrifice them to their demonic deity!

CRASH (1996) (4K UHD)

The good Crash! The film focuses on the strange lure of the auto collision, provoking as it does the human fascination with death and the tendency to eroticize danger. Most motorists will slow down to stare at the scene of a collision; they may feel their pulses quickening and become aware of the fragility of their own bodies. The characters of this story, however, carry this awareness a step further, cherishing and nurturing it. For them, a car collision is a sexual turn-on, and a jolting life force they come to crave.

ELECTRA, MY LOVE (1974) (BLU-RAY) 

It has been fifteen years since the death of her father, Agamemnon, and Elektra still burns with hatred for Aegisztosz, who conspired with Elektra’s mother to kill him. The story is set in an archaic and mythical world in which a tyrant faces rebellion by the down-trodden. Based on a play which premiered in Budapest in 1968, and which itself reinterpreted the Greek myth of Electra, the entire 70 minute duration is covered by just twelve takes.

FILIBUS (1915) (BLU-RAY) 

Skypirate Filibus commits robberies from her airship, while a dedicated detective attempts to put a stop to it. 

FREE HAND FOR A TOUGH COP (1976) (BLU-RAY)

When the critically ill daughter of a prominent family is kidnapped by a ruthless band of thugs, Inspector Sarti is forced to bend the rules and oversee the prison break of Sergio ‘Monnezza’  Marazzi, a lowlife criminal with deep roots in the criminal underworld. The unlikely duo team-up in hopes of retrieving the girl and catching the infamous Brescianelli, the crime boss behind the kidnapping, before time runs out.

GOODBYE, DRAGON INN (2003) (BLU-RAY)

In Taipei, a movie theater is closing, but not before one final film is shown — “Dragon Inn,” a 1967 actioner and the source of nostalgia for the moviegoers and employees in the old, decrepit, and possibly haunted building.

THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY (1981) (4K UHD)

A New England home, terrorized by a series of murders, is hiding a gruesome secret in the basement.

THE NEW YORK RIPPER (1982) (4K + BLU-RAY)

A burned-out New York police detective teams up with a college psychoanalyst to track down a vicious serial killer randomly stalking and killing various young women around the city.

OLIVER! (1968) (4K + BLU-RAY)

After being sold to a mortician, a young orphan runs away and meets a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor in 1830s London.

THE STRAIGHT STORY (1999) (BLU-RAY)

Alvin Straight, a retired farmer and widower, learns that his distant brother Lyle has suffered a stroke and may not recover. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver’s license. He hits on the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and deeply spiritual odyssey.

TOMORROW I’LL WAKE UP AND SCALD MYSELF WITH TEA (1977) (BLU-RAY)

Jan is a decent, boring man, living a decent, boring life as a rocket designer. When his adventurous twin brother dies in a breakfast accident, Jan decides to impersonate him, unwittingly becoming a part of a Nazi time travel conspiracy.

VIGILANTE (1983) (4K + BLU-RAY)

An outraged family man (Robert Forster) joins a co-worker’s (Fred Williamson) vigilantism against a New York street gang.

THE WITCH (2015) (4K + BLU-RAY)

Anyone up for living deliciously?? In 1630 New England, panic and despair envelops a farmer, his wife, and their children when youngest son Samuel suddenly vanishes. The family blames Thomasin, the oldest daughter who was watching the boy at the time of his disappearance. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, twin siblings Mercy and Jonas suspect Thomasin of witchcraft, testing the clan’s faith, loyalty and love to one another.