New Blu-ray Reviews

The Black Cat Blu-ray Movie  

Shout Factory | 1941 | 70 min | Not rated | No Release Date | Brian Orndorf

It appears the health of wealthy spinster Henrietta Winslow, who lives with her pet cats and mysterious servants, is failing. Her greedy relatives descend on the isolated mansion hoping to inherit a portion of her vast fortune. Joining them is Gil Smith, an enterprising real estate broker who hopes Henrietta will sell him the property and his comic sidekick, Mr. Penny, an idiosyncratic furniture dealer who sees a treasure trove of profitable antiques in the mansion. Henrietta's doctor surprises everyone by announcing that his patient has defied the medical predictions and is currently in remission, much to the disappointment of her gathered family. Not content to wait until nature eventually takes her course, someone expedites the process by murdering the old woman with a knitting needle...

Horror / Mystery / Dark humor

Man Made Monster Blu-ray Movie  

The Atomic Monster

Shout Factory | 1941 | 60 min | Not rated | No Release Date | Brian Orndorf

Dan McCormick is the sole survivor of a bus crash into hydro lines. Intrigued by Dan's apparent immunity to electricity, Dr. Lawrence asks Dan to visit him at his laboratory, where Lawrence's assistant, Dr. Rigas, is secretly conducting experiments to prove his theory that human life can be motivated and controlled by electricity. Rigas persuades Dan to submit to tests, where Dan absorbs increasingly powerful charges until he develops an amazing degree of immunity. Rigas does a final test of pouring a tremendous charge into Dan's body, and Dan becomes superhuman. He's also a robot that is controlled by Rigas. When Lawrence tries to stop the experiment, Rigas orders Dan to kill him. Rigas removes the electricity from Dan's body and he becomes a shrunken shell. Dan is sentenced to die in the electric chair, but in the death-chamber he absorbs three shocks which returns him to superhuman status...

Drama / Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller

Tower of London Blu-ray Movie  

Shout Factory | 1939 | 93 min | Not rated | No Release Date | Brian Orndorf

Starring Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff, Tower of London is a chilling 15th Century melodrama based on the life of Richard III. Sixth in line to the throne, Richard (Rathbone) is an ambitious man who, with the aid of his executioner friend Mord (Karloff), treacherously disposes of the five who stand between him and the crown. Mercilessly this cold-hearted pair torture and kill the heirs in the infamous Tower of London. Not for the faint of heart, this shocking classic grimly recounts the deeds that earned Richard III his place as the most despised monarch in English history and established the Tower as the most dreaded building in the world.

Drama / History

Abominable Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy

Universal Studios | 2019 | 97 min | Rated PG | Dec 17, 2019 | Martin Liebman

Three teenagers must help a Yeti return to his family while avoiding a wealthy man and a zoologist who want him for their own needs.

Adventure / Animation / Comedy / Family / Fantasy

Abominable 4K Blu-ray Movie  

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy

Universal Studios | 2019 | 97 min | Rated PG | Dec 17, 2019 | Martin Liebman

Three teenagers must help a Yeti return to his family while avoiding a wealthy man and a zoologist who want him for their own needs.

Adventure / Animation / Comedy / Family / Fantasy

84 Charing Cross Road Blu-ray Movie  

Shout Factory | 1987 | 100 min | Rated PG | Dec 10, 2019 | Dr. Stephen Larson

While searching for rare English books, New York writer Helene Hanff's letter to a London bookstore, run by Frank Doel, begins a relationship between the two that spans two decades and two continents. Although their personalities and cultures are miles apart, their friendship blossoms into a deeper affection.

Drama / Romance

Little Vampire Blu-ray Movie    

Bübchen | Edition Deutsche Vita Nr. 11 - Cover A / Blu-ray + DVD

Subkultur Entertainment | 1968 | 83 min | Rated FSK-16 | Jun 14, 2019 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

No synopsis for this title.

Drama / Foreign

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 4K Blu-ray Movie  

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

Sony Pictures | 2019 | 161 min | Rated R | Dec 10, 2019 | Jeffrey Kauffman

A story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton, former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth. Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don’t recognize anymore. But Rick has a new next-door neighbor, who may be a rising star…Sharon Tate.

Comedy / Drama / Thriller / Dark humor / Period

Adopt a Highway Blu-ray Movie  

RLJ Entertainment | 2019 | 81 min | Not rated | Dec 24, 2019 | Randy Miller III

An ex-felon discovers a live baby left in a dumpster.

Drama

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints Blu-ray Movie  

MVD Marquee Collection

MVD Visual | 2006 | 98 min | Rated R | Dec 17, 2019 | Jeffrey Kauffman

A coming-of-age drama about writer/director Dito Montiel's youth, the film captures the mid-1980s in the toughest neighborhood of Astoria, Queens. Dito, called home after 15 years because his father is ill, encounters old friends — the ones he lost, the ones he left behind, the ones he can't help but remember. These are Dito's "saints." An honest account of a bittersweet return to a neighborhood where relationships can never be what they once were, Dito's story is about coming to terms with a father's rage and a father's love.

Crime / Drama / Coming of age

Rambo: Last Blood 4K Blu-ray Movie  

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy

Lionsgate Films | 2019 | 89 min | Rated R | Dec 17, 2019 | Jeffrey Kauffman

Vietnam War veteran John Rambo crosses the U.S.-Mexican border looking for the daughter of a friend and quickly finds himself up against one of Mexico’s most violent cartels.

Action / Adventure / Thriller

Rambo: Last Blood Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy

Lionsgate Films | 2019 | 89 min | Rated R | Dec 17, 2019 | Jeffrey Kauffman

Vietnam War veteran John Rambo crosses the U.S.-Mexican border looking for the daughter of a friend and quickly finds himself up against one of Mexico’s most violent cartels.

Action / Adventure / Thriller

The Fly Blu-ray Movie  

Shout Factory | 1958 | 94 min | Not rated | Dec 10, 2019 | Dr. Stephen Larson

Scientist Andre Delambre becomes obsessed with his latest creation, a matter transporter. He has varying degrees of success with it. He eventually decides to use a human subject, himself, with tragic consequences. During the transference, his atoms become merged with a fly, which was accidentally let into the machine. He winds up with the fly's head and one of it's arms and the fly winds up with Andre's head and arm. Eventually, Andre's wife, Helene discovers his secret and must make a decision whether to let him continue to live like that or to do the unthinkable and euthanize him to end his suffering...

Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller

The Gun Runners Blu-ray Movie  

Kino Lorber | 1958 | 83 min | Not rated | Nov 12, 2019 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

Sam Martin owns a charter boat in the Florida Keys. He also has a serious gambling problem and mounting debts. His wife, Lucy, and first mate, Harvey, have managed to keep him out of serious trouble. However, when Sam suddenly finds himself on the brink of bankruptcy, he resorts to helping crooked weapons dealer Hanagan smuggle guns into Cuba. But things get ugly for Sam when the scheme expands to include murder.

Crime / Drama

Gates of Heaven / Vernon, Florida Blu-ray Movie  

Criterion | 1978-1981 | 2 Movies | 138 min | Not rated | Mar 24, 2015 | Jeffrey Kauffman

See individual titles for their synopses.

Documentary

Gates of Heaven Blu-ray Movie  

Criterion | 1978 | 83 min | Not rated | No Release Date | Jeffrey Kauffman

A documentary about two pet cemeteries in Northern California and the people involved with them. The film details our relationships to our pets, each other, and ourselves.

Documentary

Vernon, Florida Blu-ray Movie  

Criterion | 1981 | 56 min | Not rated | No Release Date | Jeffrey Kauffman

The eccentric inhabitants of Vernon, Florida share various anecdotes and opinions.

Documentary

Escape from Women's Prison Blu-ray Movie  

Le evase - Storie di sesso e di violenze / Jailbirds

Severin Films | 1978 | 1 Movie, 2 Cuts | 95 min | Rated R | Apr 30, 2019 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

Four female convicts break out of prison, and during their escape they take hostage a bus full of young female tennis players. They drive the bus to the house of the judge who originally sent them to prison, where--since this is after all a women-in-prison picture--the hostages undergo various forms of physical and sexual abuse in various degrees of nudity.

Action / Crime / Drama / Erotic / Foreign

Blue Collar Blu-ray Movie  

Kino Lorber | 1978 | 114 min | Rated R | Dec 10, 2019 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

When Detroit auto workers Zeke, Jerry and Smokey find bills piling up and pressures bearing down, they decide to rob their corrupt union office. In a cruel twist, their small haul becomes a nightmare when the heist goes horribly wrong and their once-loyal friendship turns to fear, betrayal and murder.

Crime / Drama

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy

Sony Pictures | 2019 | 161 min | Rated R | Dec 10, 2019 | Randy Miller III

A story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton, former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth. Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don’t recognize anymore. But Rick has a new next-door neighbor, who may be a rising star…Sharon Tate.

Comedy / Drama / Thriller / Dark humor / Period