New Blu-ray Reviews

Genius Party Blu-ray Movie  

ジーニアス・パーティ

Shout Factory | 2007 | 85 min | No Release Date | Neil Lumbard

Seven short films from different directors. Atsuko Fukushima's intro piece is a fantastic abstraction to soak up with the eyes. Masaaki Yuasa, of MIND GAME and CAT SOUP fame, brings his distinctive and deceptively simple graphic style and dream-state logic to the table with "Happy Machine," his spin on a child's earliest year. Shinji Kimura's spookier "Deathtic 4," meanwhile, seems to tap into the creepier corners of a child's imagination and open up a toybox full of dark delights. Hideki Futamura's "Limit Cycle" conjures up a vision of virtual reality, while Yuji Fukuyama's "Doorbell" and "Baby Blue" by Shinichiro Watanabe use understated realism for very surreal purposes. And Shoji Kawamori, with "Shanghai Dragon," takes the tropes and conventions of traditional anime out for very fun joyride.

Anime / Foreign

Genius Party Beyond Blu-ray Movie  

ジーニアス・パーティ・ビヨンド

Shout Factory | 2008 | 85 min | No Release Date | Neil Lumbard

A series of short animations by some of Japan's best animators comments to life in this collage of beautiful works of art.

Anime / Foreign

Edward II Blu-ray Movie  

Film Movement | 1991 | 91 min | Rated R | Jun 12, 2018 | Dr. Stephen Larson

Plantagenet King Edward II hands the power-craving nobility a perfect excuse by taking as a lover -- besides his diplomatic wife, the French princess Isabel -- not an acceptable lady at court but the ambitious Piers Gaveston, who uses his favor in bed to wield political influence. The stage is set for a palace revolt which sends the gay pair from the throne to a terminal torture dungeon.

Drama / History / Erotic

The Specialists Blu-ray Movie    

Gli specialisti / Drop Them or I'll Shoot | Eureka Classics

Eureka Entertainment | 1969 | 105 min | Rated BBFC: 15 | May 18, 2020 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

Gunman Hud arrives in Blackstone to seek revenge for his brother's death. He discovers the truth behind the lost money of the local bank, but still has to deal with an idealistic Sheriff, a dubious female banker, a one-armed Mexican bandit (who once was his friend) and a bunch of hippie-like youngsters.

Western / Foreign

Thousand Pieces of Gold Blu-ray Movie  

Kino Lorber | 1991 | 105 min | Not rated | May 26, 2020 | Neil Lumbard

In 1880's China, young Lalu is sold into marriage by her impoverished father. Rather than becoming a bride, Lalu ends up in an Idaho gold-mining town, the property of a saloon owner who renames her China Polly and plans to sell her as entertainment for the locals. Refusing to become a whore, Lalu ultimately finds her own way in this strange country filled with white demons.

Romance / Western

Underground Blu-ray Movie  

Подземље / Podzemlje

Kino Lorber | 1995 | 1 Movie, 2 Cuts | 170 min | Not rated | Feb 20, 2018 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

The story follows an underground weapons manufacturer in Belgrade during WWII and evolves into fairly surreal situations. A black marketeer who smuggles the weapons to partisans doesn't mention to the workers that the war is over, and they keep producing. Years later, they break out of their underground "shelter" --- only to convince themselves that the war is still going on.

Comedy / Drama / Dark humor / Foreign

Romance on the High Seas Blu-ray Movie  

Warner Archive Collection

Warner Bros. | 1948 | 99 min | Not rated | Jun 16, 2020 | Randy Miller III

Bon voyage! Georgia Garrett's singing career may not be going anywhere, but she is. She's on a cruise, sailing under the name Mrs. Elvira Kent while the real Elvira secretly stays home to spy on her presumably philandering hubby. Meanwhile, the husband hires a spy to snoop on his supposedly voyaging wife. Doris Day makes her first maiden film voyage, debuting as Georgia in a colorful bauble afloat on romantic seas. The studio surrounds the sunny, overnight screen sensation with top talent: Michael Curtiz directs, the Epstein brothers provide the script, Busby Berkeley guides musical numbers, Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn create the tunes, and co-stars include Oscar Levant and Jack Carson. "It's Magic," Day sings. Yes, it is.

Comedy / Musical / Romance

In Search of Dracula Blu-ray Movie  

Dracula's Transylvania / The Legend of Dracula

Kino Lorber | 1975 | 82 min | Rated PG | May 26, 2020 | Neil Lumbard

A documentary exploring the legends of vampires, using books, paintings and early films on the subject.

Documentary / Horror

Lupin the Third: Fujiko's Lie Blu-ray Movie  

Discotek Media | 2019 | 50 min | Unrated | Mar 31, 2020 | Neil Lumbard

Fujiko befriends a young boy whose late father hid away a treasure, but a killer is on the boy's trail.

Adventure / Anime / Crime / Erotic / Foreign

Non Non Biyori: Vacation - The Movie Blu-ray Movie  

劇場版 のんのんびより ばけーしょん / Gekijo-ban Non Non Biyori: Vacation

Sentai Filmworks | 2018 | 71 min | Rated TV-PG | Jun 09, 2020 | Neil Lumbard

Summer vacation might be coming to a close, but the adorable cast of Non Non Biyori is headed to Okinawa for some fun in the sun and a visit to the beach! The students of the super rural Asahigaoka branch school are eager to end their summer on a high note, making new friends and going on new adventures with the unbridled joy and adorable antics they’re known for.

Anime / Comedy / Comic book / Foreign

The War of the Worlds Blu-ray Movie  

Criterion | 1953 | 86 min | Rated G | Jul 07, 2020 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

A mysterious object has landed in a small California town. The Martian invasion of Earth has begun.

Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller

The Deer Hunter 4K Blu-ray Movie  

Collector's Edition / 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Shout Factory | 1978 | 182 min | Rated R | May 26, 2020 | Neil Lumbard

Three friends volunteer to serve in Vietnam, they fail to foresee the horrors that will encapsulate their future lives.

Drama / War / Melodrama

WWE: WrestleMania 36 Blu-ray Movie  

Warner Bros. | 2020 | 372 min | Not rated | May 12, 2020 | Martin Liebman

WrestleMania 36 is the 36th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brands.

Sport

Atlantic City Blu-ray Movie  

Paramount Pictures | 1980 | 104 min | Rated R | May 26, 2020 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

When Sally Matthews leaves her Canadian home to relocate to Atlantic City, she aspires to a prosperous career in the gambling industry. With her criminal husband on her trail, however, it appears that she can't escape from trouble, until she finds an unlikely savior in Lou Pascal, an aging small-time mobster. By becoming involved with Sally, Lou finds a way to achieve the success he's dreamed of, but his plan may endanger both their lives.

Crime / Drama / Romance

The Way of the Dragon Blu-ray Movie  

猛龍過江 / Meng long guo jiang / Return of the Dragon

Criterion | 1972 | 99 min | Not rated | No Release Date | Dr. Svet Atanasov

A rigorously trained martial artist travels from Hong Kong to Rome to help his cousin, whose restaurant is being threatened by a gang of thugs.

Action / Comedy / Crime / Drama / Thriller / Martial arts / Foreign

Song to Song Blu-ray Movie  

Broad Green Pictures | 2017 | 129 min | Rated R | Jul 04, 2017 | Dr. Stephen Larson

In this modern love story set against the Austin, Texas music scene, two entangled couples — struggling songwriters Faye and BV, and music mogul Cook and the waitress whom he ensnares — chase success through a rock 'n' roll landscape of seduction and betrayal.

Drama / Music / Romance

Princess Caraboo Blu-ray Movie  

Shout Factory | 1994 | 97 min | Rated PG | Jun 09, 2020 | Brian Orndorf

Bristol, England, early 19th century. A beautiful young stranger who speaks a weird language is tried for the crime of begging. But when a man claims that he can translate her dialect, it is understood that the woman is a princess from a far away land. She is then welcomed by a family of haughty aristocrats that only wants to heighten their prestige. However, the local reporter is not at all convinced she is what she claims to be and investigates. Is Caraboo really a princess?

Comedy / Drama / History

Pretty Smart Blu-ray Movie  

Bentley Academy

Scorpion Releasing | 1987 | 84 min | Rated R | May 19, 2020 | Brian Orndorf

In this adolescent-oriented drama, a young woman is forced to attend a posh finishing school in the Mediterranean. She vents her anger by rebelling against the cruel and sicko headmaster. When she discovers that he has been secretly photographing them naked and profiting from the pictures, she rallies the other girls and gets revenge.

Comedy / Drama

Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray Movie  

Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson / The Female Bunch / Psycho A Go-Go / Fiend with the Electronic Brain / Blood of Ghastly Horror / Half Way to Hell / Five Bloody Graves / Blood of Dracula’s Castle / Horror of the Blood Monsters / Smashing the Crime Syndicate a.k.a The Fakers / Hell’s Bloody Devils / Dracula vs. Frankenstein / Brain of Blood / Satan’s Sadists / Angel’s Wild Women / The Naughty Stewardesses / Blazing Stewardesses / Girls for Rent / Jessi’s Girls / Nurses for Sale / Black Heat / The Dynamite Brothers / Mean Mother / Uncle Tom’s Cabin / Black Samurai / Death Dimension / Sunset Cove / Cinderella 2000 / Nurse Sherri / Carnival Magic / Lost

Severin Films | 1960-2019 | 32 Movies | 2841 min | Not rated | Jun 02, 2020 | Jeffrey Kauffman

No synopsis for this title.

Action / Adventure / Biography / Comedy / Crime / Documentary / Drama / Family / Horror / Musical / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Western / Erotic / Martial arts / Foreign

Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson Blu-ray Movie  

Severin Films | 2019 | 101 min | Not rated | Apr 21, 2020 | Jeffrey Kauffman

Maverick indie filmmaker Al Adamson's real life was even crazier than one of the 30-plus sex 'n' schlock drive-in movies he made in the '60s and '70s.

Biography / Documentary