New Blu-ray Reviews

Love and Monsters Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + Digital Copy

Paramount Pictures | 2020 | 109 min | Rated PG-13 | Jan 05, 2021 | Martin Liebman

A young man learns how to survive a monster apocalypse with the help of an expert hunter.

Action / Adventure / Horror / Sci-Fi

Love and Monsters 4K Blu-ray Movie  

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy

Paramount Pictures | 2020 | 109 min | Rated PG-13 | Jan 05, 2021 | Martin Liebman

A young man learns how to survive a monster apocalypse with the help of an expert hunter.

Action / Adventure / Horror / Sci-Fi

Operation Mad Ball Blu-ray Movie  

Sony Pictures | 1957 | 105 min | Not rated | Dec 08, 2020 | Jeffrey Kauffman

A group of bored-to-tears American GI's stationed at a medical facility in France would like nothing more than to have a big party to let off steam -- except for the possibility of having a big party with some of the nurses they work with. However, it seems that the nurses are officers and the GI's are enlisted men, which means the Army forbids them to socialize, and Capt. Locke, the camp's Commanding Officer, is not a man to bend the rules. But Private Hogan is not the sort of guy to let the rules get in the way of a good time, enlisting the help of Yancy Skibo, a sergeant with a talent for scaring up needed supplies, and Mme. LaFour, a local hotel manager with a soft spot for making money off American servicemen.

Comedy / War

Dragnet Blu-ray Movie  

Kino Lorber | 1954 | 1 Movie, 2 Cuts | 88 min | Not rated | Nov 17, 2020 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

Dragnet, one of TV's most famous and innovative series from the 1950's, comes to colorful life in a classic full-length feature. As Sgt. Joe Friday, Jack Webb recreates his memorable portrayal of a Los Angeles cop - "Just the facts, Ma'am" - in this action-packed tale. A mysterious gangland slaying has taken place and it is up to Joe Friday and the Los Angeles Police Department to put together the pieces. With the help of his partner, Officer Frank Smith, they enlist the services of a pretty and daring police woman to trap the devious mobsters and bring them to justice.

Crime / Drama / Film-Noir

Under the Yum-Yum Tree Blu-ray Movie  

Sony Pictures | 1963 | 110 min | Not rated | Dec 08, 2020 | Jeffrey Kauffman

Jack Lemmon stars as Hogan, who lives a bachelor's dream as the manager of an apartment building that caters only to single women. Hogan likes to romance his tenants, and he sets his sights on a newcomer named Robin. Robin and her boyfriend David have moved in together, intending to see how compatible they are while maintaining a platonic relationship. This arrangement is the result of a suggestion from Irene, a marriage counselor who is subletting her apartment to Robin while living with her own boyfriend, Charles. Irene thinks that Robin and David need to discover whether they are suitable as marriage partners without letting sex cloud their judgment. Hogan finds out about the arrangement and schemes to get David away so he can seduce Robin.

Comedy / Romance

Baba Yaga Blu-ray Movie    

Shameless | 1973 | 1 Movie, 2 Cuts | 89 min | Rated BBFC: 18 | Nov 09, 2020 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

A photographer finds herself falling under the spell of a witch.

Horror / Comic book / Foreign

Blind Fury Blu-ray Movie  

Retro VHS Collection

Mill Creek Entertainment | 1989 | 86 min | Rated R | Jan 12, 2021 | Martin Liebman

Blinded and left to die in Vietnam, Nick Parker has been missing in action for more than two decades. Finally home, he sets out to find and forgive his old Army buddy.

Action / Comedy / Crime / Thriller / Martial arts

The Dead Ones Blu-ray Movie  

Artsploitation Films | 2019 | 73 min | Not rated | Sep 29, 2020 | Dr. Stephen Larson

For four outcast teens, summer detention means being assigned to clean their high school after a horrific incident. But they are not alone; a macabre gang wearing guises of The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse - Famine, Pestilence, War and Death - has locked them inside and is hunting them through the school's ravaged hallways. As the four students battle to survive, each must confront the supernatural echoes of past traumas they have struggled to forget - and may be condemned to relive.

Horror / Supernatural

A Place in the Sun Blu-ray Movie    

Imprint #08

Imprint | 1951 | 122 min | Rated ACB: PG | Aug 26, 2020 | Jeffrey Kauffman

George Eastman is a poor young man determined to win a place in respectable society and the heart of a beautiful socialite. But a factory girl with a dark secret threatens Eastman's professional and romantic prospects. Consumed with fear and desire, Eastman is ultimately driven to a desperate act of passion that unravels his world forever.

Drama / Romance

Essential Film Noir: Collection 1 Blu-ray Movie    

Framed / Alias Nick Beal / Detective Story / The Garment Jungle | Imprint #18 #19 #20 #21

Imprint | 1947-1957 | 4 Movies | 366 min | Rated ACB: M | Oct 28, 2020 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

Essential Film Noir Collection 1 includes four acclaimed and much sought after classics including Framed (1947), Alias Nick Beal (1949), Detective Story (1951) and The Garment Jungle (1957). Join Hollywood's legendary tough guys and femme fatale film noir icons such as Glenn Ford, William Bendix, Audrey Totter, Ray Milland & Eleanor Parker and Directing greats including William Wyler & John Farrow. Bonus material includes feature audio commentaries from Hollywood’s top film noir historians including Eddie Muller & Alan K. Rode. FRAMED (1947) Mike Lambert takes to driving a truck when he falls on hard times. When his rig breaks down in a small town, he is quickly drawn into a criminal plot. ALIAS NICK BEAL (1949) The mysterious Nick Beal materialises to offer honest politician, Joseph Foster, not only wealth but also the charms of Donna Allen. DETECTIVE STORY (1951) The personal conflict between a principled, rigid police detective and his tormented wife reaches an explosive, unforgettable climax. THE GARMENT JUNGLE (1957) Alan Mitchell must join forces with rebellious labour union leaders in order to save his family’s dress company from the mob.

Crime / Drama / Film-Noir / Mystery / Thriller

Alias Nick Beal Blu-ray Movie    

Imprint | 1949 | 93 min | Not rated | No Release Date | Dr. Svet Atanasov

A district attorney rises to political success and the governorship but loses his sense of morality once he starts associating with the shadowy and perhaps diabolical Nick Beal.

Drama / Film-Noir / Mystery / Thriller

Phffft Blu-ray Movie  

Sony Pictures | 1954 | 88 min | Not rated | Dec 08, 2020 | Jeffrey Kauffman

After several years of domestic squabbles, the marriage of Nina and Robert Tracy goes "phffft!" Upon receiving their divorce papers, Nina and Robert are certain that they'll remain friends, no matter how many new lovers they pick up along the way. Nina dallies briefly with bombastic Charlie Newton, while Robert has a fling with the luscious Janis. These romantic episodes only serve to make Nina and Robert realize how much they're still in love with each other.

Comedy / Romance

The Freshman Blu-ray Movie  

Retro VHS Collection

Mill Creek Entertainment | 1990 | 103 min | Rated PG | Jan 12, 2021 | Martin Liebman

Clark Kellogg is a young man starting his first year at film school in New York City. After a small time crook steals all his belongings, Clark meets Carmine "Jimmy the Toucan" Sabatini, an "importer" bearing a startling resemblance to a certain cinematic godfather.

Comedy / Crime

2020 World Series Champions: Los Angeles Dodgers Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + DVD

Shout Factory | 2020 | 85 min | Not rated | Dec 08, 2020 | Martin Liebman

The Los Angeles Dodgers are World Series champions of 2020. On a quest for redemption after losing the World Series in 2017 and 2018, the Dodgers clinched their 2020 title in six games against the Tampa Bay Rays during a season—a year—so unique. The Fall Classic pitted the two best teams of a condensed regular season and expanded Postseason at a neutral site, the new Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Documentary / Sport

The Day of the Locust Blu-ray Movie    

Imprint #13

Imprint | 1975 | 144 min | Rated ACB: M | Oct 28, 2020 | Jeffrey Kauffman

A Hollywood storyboard artist in the 1930's falls in love with a young actress. Filmed from the point of view of the newly arrived artist, this film depicts the alienation and desperation of a disparate group of individuals whose dreams of success have failed to bear fruit, against the backdrop of the Hollywood machine.

Drama

Cinema Paradiso 4K Blu-ray Movie  

Nuovo Cinema Paradiso 4K | Director's cut on BD | Arrow Academy | Special Edition / 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Arrow | 1988 | 1 Movie, 2 Cuts | 155 min | Not rated | Dec 08, 2020 | Jeffrey Kauffman

A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.

Comedy / Drama / Foreign / Melodrama / Period / Coming of age

It Happened on 5th Avenue Blu-ray Movie  

Warner Archive Collection

Warner Bros. | 1947 | 115 min | Not rated | Dec 22, 2020 | Randy Miller III

No one is inside that boarded-up mansion on Manhattan's ritzy 5th avenue, right? Wrong. Its secret inhabitants include a philosophizing hobo and some GI families who are unable to find apartments during the post-World War II housing crunch. They set up residence in the posh brownstone while the owner, the second richest man in the world, winters in Virginia. Except the owner isn't in Virginia. He's there in disguise...and discovering a lot about how the average Joe and Jane think and live.

Comedy / Family / Music / Romance / Holiday

Waiting for the Barbarians Blu-ray Movie  

Samuel Goldwyn Films | 2019 | 114 min | Not rated | Dec 15, 2020 | Brian Orndorf

A Magistrate working in a distant outpost begins to question his loyalty to the empire.

Drama

The Greek Tycoon Blu-ray Movie  

Scorpion Releasing | 1978 | 106 min | Rated R | Dec 08, 2020 | Brian Orndorf

The producers of The Greek Tycoon insisted that their film was not based on any "actual persons, living or dead." Yeh, right. Anthony Quinn stars as Greek shipping-magnate Theo Tomassis, who becomes the second husband of socialite Liz Cassidy (Jacqueline Bisset). It seems that Liz is the widow of young, charismatic American president James Cassidy (James Franciscus), who was felled by an assassin's bullet. When Tomassis marries the former Mrs. Cassidy, it is over the strident protests of his former love, Paola Scotti (Luciana Paluzzi), not to mention the millions of American who consider Liz to be an icon. Too long at 106 minutes, The Greek Tycoon was nonetheless expanded to 112 minutes for home video.

Drama / Romance

Jonathan Scott's Power Trip Blu-ray Movie  

MPI Media Group | 2020 | 84 min | Not rated | Jan 12, 2021 | Jeffrey Kauffman

Solar is a beautiful, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective source of energy, but fossil fuel monopolies, with the help of Koch Brothers funded groups and their government allies, are stifling the growth of renewables to protect their own wealth and control. Jonathan Scott, the famed HGTV "Property Brothers" personality, is on a mission to dismantle this system. POWER TRIP takes us across the US to explore the production of energy, something we take for granted but it is crucial to everyday living.

Documentary