It’s New Release Tuesday! This week we’ve got 80’s DIY action, Vanilla Ice, underrated martial arts, women directors on Criterion, a classic Japanese comedy, a vintage Disney animated fantasy, and much more. 

ACTION U.S.A. (1989) 

Billy Ray’s a bad risk. He took the mob’s family jewels, now they want his! They tried beating and scaring it out of him, but he’s not giving them up. So they kill him. Now everyone believes Carmen must know where the jewels are. The Mafia boss has brought in his ”top gun” to find her and the jewels. This slime-ball and his trained killers follow our heroes through car chases and gun battles across the state of Texas leaving a trail of fireballs and hunks of twisted metal. (BLU-RAY)

BLACK CAULDRON, THE (1985)

Whoever releases the mysterious Black Cauldron’s powers will be invincible! The fearsome Horned King will do anything to possess it, but he is challenged by the most unlikely adversary: a young assistant pig keeper named Taran who dreams of doing heroic deeds. With a motley team of the brave Princess Eilonwy, a minstrel named Fflewddur Fflam, and Hen-Wen, a remarkable pig who can predict the future, Taran embarks on a quest to stop the Black Cauldron’s evil once and for all. Will he have the courage to succeed? Filmed in Technirama.

COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER, THE (1989) 

COOL AS ICE (1991) 

Featuring chart-topping music, Cool as Ice stars recording artist Vanilla Ice in his exciting motion picture debut. Johnny (Vanilla Ice) is a freewheeling, motorcycle-riding musician who rolls into a small town with his band. There he meets Kathy (Kristin Minter, TV’s ER), a high school honor student who catches his eye and his heart. Can a “good” girl like Kathy fall for such a “bad” guy? It’s modern romance with a beat in this fast-paced film with stunning visual style and a hit soundtrack. (BLU-RAY)

DRIVE (1997) 

Toby Wong (Mark Dacascos, John Wick 3: Parabellum) is on a martial arts mission impossible. With a bio-energy module placed on his chest, Toby’s awesome martial arts skills are tuned to a super-human level. The only problem is that Toby doesn’t want the power. Now, only an army can stop him, and that’s just what’s hunting him down. As he makes his escape from an ammo-packing posse of hitmen, Toby needs a hostage, Malik (Kadeem Hardison, White Men Can’t Jump) to drive him to freedom in Los Angeles. Its double-power Jackie Chan-like super moves as the two unlikely heroes face-off with a new advanced killer in this amazing cult classic high octane hyper-action movie featuring an all-star supporting cast that includes Brittany Murphy (Clueless), Sanaa Lathan (Alien vs Predator), Tracey Walter (Repo Man) and Ron Yuan (Mulan). (BLU-RAY)

FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH (1982) (CRITERION)

The wild world of adolescence has rarely been captured with as sharp an observational eye as in this refreshingly smart, frank spin on the teen comedy by director Amy Heckerling and screenwriter Cameron Crowe—for each of whom it kicked off a hugely successful film career. Based on Crowe’s experiences going undercover as a student at a Southern California high school, Fast Times at Ridgemont High blends hormone-fueled hilarity with an almost sociological examination of the 1980s teenage experience: the shopping mall hangouts, fast-food jobs, buzzkill teachers, awkward dates, and first experiences of love and sex. This pop-culture touchstone launched to stardom practically an entire cast of unknowns—including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Phoebe Cates, Judge Reinhold, Forest Whitaker, Anthony Edwards, Eric Stoltz, and Sean Penn as stoner icon Jeff Spicoli—and broke new ground in its raw yet sensitive depiction of the realities of coming of age. (DVD and BLU-RAY)

GIANTS AND TOYS (1958) 

As a new recruit to the marketing department of World Caramel, fresh-faced graduate Nishi (Hiroshi Kawaguchi) is eager to impress his ambitious and hard-nosed boss Goda (Black Test Car’s Hideo Takamatsu), even if it strains his relationships with his college friend Yokoyama (Koichi Fujiyama) and budding love interest Masami (Michiko Ono), who work at the rival companies of Giant and Apollo. With World’s lead over its competitors slipping badly, the two spot a chance to get back in the race in the shape of the pretty but unsophisticated 18-year-old, Kyoko (Hitomi Nozoe). Goda and Nishi get to work polishing this rough diamond as their new campaign girl, but as the three rival confectionary companies pitch themselves into an all-out advertising war that spills out onto the streets of Tokyo as it escalates to ludicrous extremes, Kyoko’s newfound fame starts going to her head.

Making its worldwide Blu-ray debut, this lurid adaptation of the award-winning 1957 novel by Ken Kaiko is considered a landmark in Japanese film history and a key work by Yasuzo Masumura (Blind Beast, Red Angel), one of the country’s most highly acclaimed directors of his generation. Its absurdist and acidly cynical take on the excesses of the media and advertising worlds recalls the work of Frank Tashlin (Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?), as it presents a garish vision of a bold new postwar Japan where traditional company values come head-to-head with American-style consumer capitalism. (BLU-RAY)

HORIZONS WEST (1952) 

From Budd Boetticher, the outstanding director of Red Ball Express, Wings of the Hawk, 7 Men from Now, The Tall T and Ride Lonesome, comes this classic western starring screen legends Robert Ryan (Day of the Outlaw) and Rock Hudson (Showdown). Post-Civil War Texas hosts a classic tale of brother against brother. After returning from the war, Dan Hammond (Ryan) sees his high hopes fall apart under the pressure of gambling debts. He turns to a life of crime, pitting him against his younger brother Neil (Hudson), the new local marshal. The stupendous cast also includes Julie Adams (Bend of the River), Raymond Burr (Pitfall), John McIntire (Rough Night in Jericho), James Arness (TV’s Gunsmoke), Dennis Weaver (Duel at Diablo) and Judith Braun (Red Ball Express). (BLU-RAY)

JUSTICE SOCIETY: WORLD WAR II (2021) 

KING KONG (1976) (TWO VERSIONS) (2 DISKS)

The Petrox company’s search for new oil reserves on a strange island unleashes a terror unseen by civilized man—King Kong! The timeless story of a beauty (Jessica Lange, making her feature-film debut) and a beast comes to the screen in this ambitious production from Dino De Laurentiis. Charles Grodin is the scheming oil company shark out to exploit the giant beast to his fullest. And Jeff Bridges is the desperate hero, Jack Prescott, who attempts to wrest the beautiful heroine from King Kong’s grasp. New York City trembles with each echoing footstep of the towering ape set loose in the streets! Also includes the extended broadcast version of the film. (BLU-RAY)

LAND (2021) 

LAPSIS (2020) 

New York, an alternate present: the quantum computing revolution has begun and investors are lining their pockets in the quantum trading market. Building the network, though, requires miles of infrastructure to be laid between huge magnetic cubes by ‘cablers’ – unprotected gig workers who compete against robots to pull wires over rough terrain.

Queens delivery man Ray Tincelli (Dean Imperial) is skeptical of new technology, and the buy-in to start cabling is steep, but he struggles to support himself and his ailing younger brother, who suffers from a mysterious illness. So when Ray scores a shady permit, he believes their fortunes may have finally changed. What he doesn’t expect is to be pulled into a conspiracy involving hostile cablers, corporate greed, and the mysterious ‘Lapsis’ who may have previously owned his medallion. (DVD)

LEGEND OF HEI (2019) 

MARKSMAN, THE (2021) 

Ex-Marine and hardened Arizona rancher Jim Hanson (Liam Neeson) simply wants to be left alone as he tries to make a living on an isolated stretch of borderland. But everything changes when he witnesses 11-year-old migrant Miguel and his mother fleeing from a band of assassins sent by a ruthless drug cartel. After being caught in a shootout, Miguel’s mother begs Jim to take her son to the safety of their family in Chicago. Defying law enforcement, Jim and Miguel hit the road and slowly begin to forge an unlikely friendship while the cartel’s relentless assassins blaze a bloody trail, hot on their heels. (DVD and BLU-RAY)

MAURITANIAN, THE (2021) 

NINA WU (2019) 

After toiling for years in bit-parts, aspiring actress Nina Wu (Ke-Xi Wu, who also co-wrote the script based on her own personal experiences) finally gets her big break with a leading role in a spy thriller set in the 1960s. The part, which calls for nudity and explicit sex scenes, is made all the more challenging thanks to the director’s unending belittlements. While seemingly on the brink of professional triumph, Nina’s psychological resolve begins to crack under the pressure. As she rushes to her childhood home following a family emergency, Nina begins suffering paranoid fantasies that a mysterious woman is stalking and attacking her. As Nina clings to memories of happier times, it seems that there is one crucial memory that she is repressing. (DVD)

OBITUARY OF TUNDE JOHNSON (2019) 

A wealthy, Nigerian-American teenager is pulled over by police, shot to death, and immediately awakens, trapped in a terrifying time loop that forces him to confront difficult truths about his life and himself. Tackling the social issues of racism, police brutality, LGBTQ+ acceptance, mental health and addiction, The Obituary of Tunde Johnson confronts these seminal issues, all too prevalent in American society. (DVD)

QUANTEZ (1957) 

Screen legend Fred MacMurray (Gun for a Coward, Double Indemnity) stars as John Coventry, the leader of a gang of robbers trying to escape across the Mexican border. The outlaws manage to elude the law and navigate the rough terrain, but the flight comes to a dangerous halt in the mysterious abandoned town of Quantez. As their enemies get closer, tempers flare, betrayals set in and lines are drawn between the men. Ruthless criminals end up as heroes and villains plunge further into despair in this suspenseful, action-packed western. Wonderfully directed by Harry Keller (The Female Animal) and co-starring Dorothy Malone (Pillars of the Sky), James Barton (The Shepherd of the Hills), Sydney Chaplin (Limelight), John Gavin (Midnight Lace), John Larch (Play Misty for Me) and Michael Ansara (Texas Across the River). (BLU-RAY)

REASON I JUMP (2020) 

Based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida, The Reason I Jump is an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. The film blends Higashida’s revelatory insights into autism, written when he was just 13, with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe. Moments in the lives of each of the characters are linked by the journey of a young Japanese boy through an epic landscape; narrated passages from Naoki’s writing reflect on what his autism means to him and others, how his perception of the world differs, and why he acts in the way he does: the reason he jumps. The film distills these elements into a sensually rich tapestry that leads us to Naoki’s core message: not being able to speak does not mean there is nothing to say. (DVD and BLU-RAY)

SUITABLE BOY (2020) (2 DISKS)

TANK (1984) 

Screen legend James Garner (Support Your Local Sheriff) stars in this story of love, honor and loyalty, featuring Shirley Jones (Elmer Gantry), C. Thomas Howell (Grandview, U.S.A.), G.D. Spradlin (The Hunting Party), James Cromwell (Babe) and Jenilee Harrison (TV’s Three’s Company). Sergeant-Major Zack Carey (James Garner) is completing his final stint of duty at a post in a small southern town. After defending a prostitute (Harrison), he finds himself doing battle with the town’s maniacal sheriff (Spradlin). When the sheriff jails Zack’s son Billy (Howell) on a phony drug charge, the sergeant takes justice into his own hands- with help from his personal World War II Sherman tank! Written by Dan Gordon (Gotcha!, Passenger 57) and directed by television veteran Marvin J. Chomsky (Holocaust). (BLU-RAY)

TO NEW SHORES / HABANERA, LA (1937) 

Douglas Sirk (All That Heaven Allows) would become synonymous with the 1950s American melodrama, but he was already reinventing the genre while working in Germany in the 1930s. This disc collects two of these rarely-seen, innovative films, both showcasing the talents of Swedish-born superstar Zarah Leander. To New Shores stars Leander as a woman sentenced to an Australian penal colony for a crime committed by her former lover (Willy Birgel). She eventually marries a farmer (Viktor Staal) and returns to the cabaret stage, but remains tragically fixated on the man who broke her heart. In La Habanera, Leander plays Astree, a Swedish woman who marries a Puerto Rican land baron (Ferdinand Marian). As years pass, their love fades, and Astree’s passions are reawakened by a doctor (Karl Martell) who has come to help fight a devastating epidemic, igniting the fury of her jealous husband. While she bore certain resemblances to Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich (with her sultry insouciance, defiance of authority, and her low singing voice), Zarah Leander was in fact a striking original, and has largely been overlooked by American audiences because of the inaccessibility of her films (produced at Ufa when the studio was under Reich control). (BLU-RAY)

TWILIGHT’S KISS (2019) 

The story of two closeted married men in their twilight years. One day PAK, 70, a taxi driver who refuses to retire, meets HOI, 65, a retired single father, in a park. Despite years of societal and personal pressure, they are proud of the families they have created through hard work and determination. Yet in that brief initial encounter, something is unleashed in them which had been suppressed for so many years. As both men recount and recall their personal histories, they also contemplate a possible future together. (DVD)

WILD GEESE II (1985) 

From Peter Hunt, the acclaimed director of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Gold, Shout at the Devil, Death Hunt and Assassination, comes this action-packed sequel to the 1978 smash hit. Berlin’s notorious Spandau Prison holds Rudolf Hess (Laurence Olivier, Marathon Man), the only surviving Nazi leader in captivity. Hess knows secrets that could blast the civilized world apart, but he will only talk if he’s free. The best in the business are hired—mercenaries of legend who are adept at building armies, pulling off coups and generally changing the shape of the emergent nations of the Third World. Lead by John Haddad (Scott Glenn, The Challenge, Man on Fire), the team is back for their most spectacular rescue mission ever! The stellar cast includes Barbara Carrera (Never Say Never Again), Edward Fox (Force 10 from Navarone), Robert Webber (The Dirty Dozen), Ingrid Pitt (Where Eagles Dare), Stratford Johns (Salome’s Last Dance) and Patrick Stewart (X-Men). (DVD and BLU-RAY)