Posted January 17, 2022 02:40 AM by Sean Greenwood
For the week of January 17th, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment will release Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho starring Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Michael Ajao, Terence Stamp and Diana Rigg. Wright's psychological horror film, about an aspiring fashion designer who moves to London and develops a supernatural connection with a nightclub singer who lived in the swinging sixties, was originally set for a 2020 release, but was delayed over a year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Ultimately, although the film only achieved a modest worldwide box office take of about $23 million, it received generally positive reviews. It was also the final film for actors Margaret Nolan and Diana Rigg, who both passed away in 2020. Universal's disc releases contain Dolby Atmos audio, while the 4K UHD disc also contains Dolby Vision HDR. Extras, which are included in 4K resolution on the UHD disc, include two audio commentaries: One with Edgar Wright, Editor Paul Machliss and Composer Steve Price and the other with Edgar Wright and Co-Writer Kristy Wilson-Cairns, five making-of featurettes, deleted scenes, animatics and more.
Also from Universal this week is a Blu-ray for Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon's The Addams Family 2, featuring the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Kroll, Javon "Wanna" Walton, Wallace Shawn, with Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, and Bill Hader. Announced after the previous film's successful opening weekend in 2019 (it would go on to gross $100 million domestically and $203 million globally), the animated sequel came in second on its opening weekend, behind Venom: Let There Be Carnage, but still managed a respectable domestic haul of over $56 million, despite negative reviews and a simultaneous release on Universal's Peacock streaming service. So far, the film has grossed over $110 million globally.
Reviewer Martin Liebman is impressed with the Blu-ray picture of The Addams Family 2, saying in part: "The picture boasts exceptional clarity and attention to detail...Colors are rich and robust as well; the depth and vividness are top tier, and it's fun to watch various real world color explosions juxtapose with the darker Addams clothes and camper...This is a very handsome release from Universal". Liebman also calls the disc's DTS-HD MA 7.1 track "full and precise" and continues "Musical clarity is rich and lifelike and also well-spaced. The track offers a few surprises that feature some very robust surround extension and stage fullness..." Three featurettes round out the disc as extras. For a full disc breakdown, read Martin's Blu-ray review.
Finally from Universal this week is a Blu-ray for Alex Rudzinski and Lear Debessonet's Annie Live!, starring Harry Connick Jr., Celina Smith, Taraji P. Henson, Nicole Scherzinger, and Megan Hilty.
Studio description: Annie, the beloved seven-time Tony Award-winning Broadway sensation, comes to life like never before in a live musical event starring Harry Connick, Jr., Nicole Scherzinger, Tituss Burgess, Megan Hilty and Taraji P. Henson, with newcomer Celina Smith in the title role of Annie. The iconic musical follows smart and spirited little orphan Annie, whose whole life changes when larger-than-life billionaire Daddy Warbucks takes her away from an orphanage run by the mean Miss Hannigan. One of Broadway's all-time biggest hits, the stage production features such popular songs as "Tomorrow" and "It's the Hard Knock Life," which are adored by generations of audiences around the world.
Also coming this week are two Blu-rays from Decal Releasing. First is Julia Ducournau's Palme d'Or winner Titane, starring Vincent Lindon, Garance Marillier, and Agathe Rousselle.
Description: Following a series of unexplained crimes, a father is reunited with the son who has been missing for 10 years.
Titane: A metal highly resistant to heat and corrosion, with high tensile strength alloys.
Decal's Blu-ray for Titane contains a New York Film Festival Q&A Session with Julia Ducournau, Vincent Lindon, and Agathe Rousselle as an extra.
Then from Decal is a Blu-ray for Tim Sutton's The Last Son, starring Sam Worthington, Thomas Jane, Heather Graham, Machine Gun Kelly, and Bates Wilder.
Official description: Sam Worthington stars as Isaac LeMay, a murderous outlaw who learns he is cursed by a prophecy: one of his children will kill him. To prevent this, he hunts down each of his estranged children including long-lost son Cal (Colson Baker). With bounty hunters and Sheriff Solomon (Thomas Jane) on his tail, LeMay must find a way to stop his children and end the curse.
Also this week, Film Movement has a Blu-ray for Ryûsuke Hamaguchi's Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, starring Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Hyunri, Aoba Kawai, and Fusako Urabe.
Description: An unexpected love triangle, a failed seduction, and a chance encounter with the past. Propelled by coincidence and imagination, and guided by love's gentle current, acclaimed director Ryūsuke Hamaguchi (Happy Hour, Asako I & II) returns with an enchanting triptych that spins mundane encounters into a world of infinite possibilities.
Reviewer Jeffrey Kauffman is impressed with Film Movement's Blu-ray for Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, saying of the picture: "This is a sharp and appealing looking digital capture that offers very nice detail levels throughout. The outdoor material in particular pops well, though the film really doesn't offer any "showy" moments in terms of production design or palette flourishes. The naturalistic ambiance of the performances flows through to the cinematography by Yukiko Iioka, and, as mentioned above, there are a number of really interesting long takes in the film that allow the actors to really inhabit their performances". Extras on the Blu-ray include an interview with Hamaguchi and one of his short films. For a full disc breakdown, read Jeffrey's Blu-ray review.
New this week from RLJE Films is a Blu-ray for Robert Connolly's The Dry, starring Eric Bana, Genevieve O'Reilly, Keir O'Donnell, John Polson, and Julia Blake.
Official description: Based on the global bestseller by Jane Harper, a federal agent's (Eric Bana) homecoming leads to a deeply personal murder investigation that reopens old wounds and threatens to unravel the tight-knit small town.
RLJE Films Blu-ray of The Dry contains six featurettes as extras. For a full disc breakdown, read Randy Miller's Blu-ray review.
Finally for new releases this week, Well Go USA has a Blu-ray for Ryoo Seung-wan's Escape from Mogadishu, starring Kim Yoon-seok, Joon-ho Huh, Jo In-Sung, and Jeong Man-sik.
Label synopsis: Dramatically constructed based on actual events: when civil war explodes in 1991 between rebel factions and Somali government forces under dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, rival North and South Korean diplomats are trapped in the capital city, surrounded on all sides by what would emerge as some of the deadliest fighting of the conflict. With no aid from either Korean government—and no means of communicating with the outside world—the diplomats' only shot at survival may require uniting with bitter adversaries to escape.
For a full disc breakdown of Escape from Mogadishu, read Jeffrey Kauffman's Blu-ray review.
Turning to catalog titles, we start with a 4K UHD upgrade from The Criterion Collection for Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night, starring John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Criterion's 4K UHD disc contains their 4K master of the film with Dolby Vision HDR, and three audio options: LPCM Mono, LPCM Stereo and DTS-HD MA 5.1, while the bundled Blu-ray contains the same plentiful extras as their previous Blu-ray release. Reviewer Svet Atanasov gave the disc perfect scores for picture, sound and extras in his 4K UHD review.
Also in 4K UHD this week, we have an upgrade from Blue Underground for Dennis Donnelly's The Toolbox Murders, starring Cameron Mitchell, Pamelyn Ferdin, Wesley Eure, Aneta Corsaut, and Kelly Nichols.
Blue Underground's 4K UHD release for The Toolbox Murders features a new 4K master from a scan of the original camera negative, which is presented with Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Audio options include a new Dolby Atmos remix, plus DTS-HD MA 5.1 and DTS-HD MA Mono audio tracks. New extras include an audio commentary with film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson, as well as new interviews with Donnelly, Eure and Nichols, the featurette "Slashback Memories – David Del Valle Remembers Cameron Mitchell" and "They Know I Have Been Sad", a video essay by film historian Amanda Reyes and filmmaker Chris O'Neill, as well as a new poster and stills gallery, in addition to all the extras on Blue Underground's previous Blu-ray.
Finally this week, Shout Factory has a newly remastered Blu-ray for Tom Shadyac's Liar Liar, starring Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Justin Cooper, Cary Elwes, and Anne Haney. Taken from a new 2K scan of an interpositive, Shout's new Blu-ray is billed as a 25th Anniversary Edition and contains all the extras from the previous Universal Blu-ray, as well as two new featurettes: "In Session: Looking Back At The Writing of Liar Liar" and "The Case For Comedy: Looking Back At The Cast of Liar Liar". For a full disc breakdown, complete with screecncaps from the new 2K scan, read Brian Orndorf's Blu-ray review.