Posted October 29, 2023 08:43 PM by Sean Greenwood
For the week of October 30th, Paramount Home Media Distribution will release Christopher McQuarrie's Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson and Vanessa Kirby.
Studio description: "Tom Cruise is at the top of his game" in "the best 'Mission' ever" (KTLA-TV) that's loaded with "next level action and thrills" (Entertainment Weekly). Certified Fresh with a stellar 96% critic score* on Rotten Tomatoes,® MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE—DEAD RECKONING Part One received widespread acclaim and a coveted "A" CinemaScore from fans.
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With the fate of the world at stake, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission - not even the lives of those he cares about most.
Paramount's Blu-ray releases of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One contain the film's Dolby Atmos audio, with Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc. Extras include filmmaker commentary, while a Blu-ray bonus disc includes several featurettes and a deleted scenes montage. In addition to separate Blu-ray and 4K UHD editions in standard packaging, a Limited Edition Dual Format SteelBook will also be available.
New on Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is Angel Manuel Soto's Blue Beetle, starring Xolo Maridueña, Bruna Marquezine, Becky G., Damián Alcázar, George Lopez and Adriana Barraza.
Studio descirption: From Warner Bros. Pictures comes the feature film "Blue Beetle," marking the DC Super Hero's first time on the big screen. The film, directed by Angel Manuel Soto, stars Xolo Maridueña in the title role as well as his alter ego, Jaime Reyes.
Recent college grad Jaime Reyes returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab. When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armor capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the Super Hero BLUE BEETLE.
Also coming to Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Warner is Dustin Matthews and Yssa Badiola's Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two, starring Ozioma Akagha, Jeannie Tirado, Tru Valentino, Lindsay Jones, Kara Eberle and Arryn Zech.
Description: On the heels of successfully escaping a deadly digital trap, the members of the Justice League emerge in their own world to discover that Grimm, ravenous creatures from Remnant, have overtaken Earth! In order to defeat the monsters, they must call on their new friends – Team RWBY – for help!
Following Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One, the new animated film from Rooster Teeth Animation, DC and Warner Bros. Animation, will see the Justice League and Team RWBY team up again in a whole new environment to take on Grimm, who has arrived on earth with even more powers.
Warner's Blu-ray releases of Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two contain DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio, with HDR on the 4K UHD edition. Extras include two featurettes. For full release breakdowns, read Randy Miller's 4K UHD review and Blu-ray review.
Finally from Warner are two more Blu-rays from the Warner Archive Collection. They are:
Harry Beaumont's Dance Fools Dance (1931), starring Joan Crawford, Lester Vail, Cliff Edwards, William Bakewell, William Holden and Clark Gable. Warner Archive presents Dance Fools Dance from a new 4K scan of the original nitrate negative, with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include the 51-minute documentary Hollywood: The Dream Factory (1972) and Merrie Melodies cartoons One More Time and Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! (both 1931).
Norman Taurog's Double Trouble (1967), starring Elvis Presley, Annette Day, John Williams, Yvonne Romain, The Wiere Brothers and Chips Rafferty. Warner Archive presents Double Trouble from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, with DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio. Extras include the Tom and Jerry cartoons Rock 'n' Rodent and Surf-Bored Cat (both 1967) and the film's original theatrical trailer.
New on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection is Nikyatu Jusu's Nanny (2022), starring Anna Diop, Michelle Monaghan, Sinqua Walls, Morgan Spector, Rose Decker and Leslie Uggams.
Description: A spellbinding blend of social observation and artful shocks, the debut feature from Nikyatu Jusu plunges into the increasingly fractured consciousness of Aisha (Anna Diop), a Senegalese immigrant who takes a job as a nanny for a wealthy white family in New York City. Separated from her own son and casually exploited by her employers, Aisha finds herself consumed by unsettling visions and a growing rage—one that could either destroy or empower her. This visually captivating tour de force—the first horror movie to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival—distills complex ideas about motherhood, inequality, and cultural dislocation into a work of dreamlike dread.
Criterion's Blu-ray of Nanny is sourced from a director-approved 4K master, with DTS-HD MA 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 audio options. English described audio is also available. Extras include a new program with Nikyatu Jusu, actors Anna Diop and Michelle Monaghan, and director of photography Rina Yang, and the film's trailer.
New on Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Capelight Pictures is Soi Cheang's Limbo (智齒) (2021), starring Ka-Tung Lam, Mason Lee, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Hanna Chan, Fish Liew and Sammy Sum.
Hong Kong: Veteran cop Cham Lau and his rookie partner pursue an elusive serial killer who's targeting 'lost' women throughout the city, cutting off their hands and dumping the bodies under piles of trash. But during the investigation, Cham Lau's life is turned upside down when he crosses paths with Wong To, a criminal whose dark and terrible past is connected to Cham's own. In a hopeful effort to gain Cham's forgiveness and find her own form of redemption, Wong To offers to help the detectives find the serial killer. Now caught between his resentment for Wong To and the heavy consequences of their shared past, Cham must find a way to both stop the killer and save the one person who can save him too.
Capelight's Blu-ray releases of Limbo contain DTS-HD MA 7.1 audio. The release is a Mediabook-style digibook with an included booklet.
New on Blu-ray from Lionsgate Home Entertainment is Nimród Antal's Retribution (2023), starring Liam Neeson, Matthew Modine, Noma Dumezweni, Jack Champion, Lilly Aspell and Embeth Davidtz.
Description: Liam Neeson stars in Retribution, an immersive ticking clock thriller that straps audiences in for a high-octane ride of redemption and revenge.
When a mysterious caller puts a bomb under his car seat, Matt Turner (Neeson) begins a high-speed chase across the city to complete a specific series of tasks. With his kids trapped in the back seat and a bomb that will explode if they get out of the car, a normal commute becomes a twisted game of life or death as Matt follows the stranger's increasingly dangerous instructions in a race against time to save his family.
Also from Lionsgate is a Blu-ray for Kevin Grevioux's King of Killers, starring Frank Grillo, Stephen Dorff, Alain Moussi, Marie Avgeropoulos, Kevin Grevioux and Shannon Kook.
Description: Based on a graphic novel by writer-director Kevin Grevioux, King of Killers follows former Agency hitman Marcus Garan (Alain Moussi) as he attempts to unravel the mystery behind a tragic incident. When offered a $10 million contract to eliminate the world's greatest assassin, Marcus travels to Tokyo to meet the client (Frank Grillo), but discovers other professional killers have been invited as well. Now Marcus and the others must confront this deadly, mythical assassin…or die trying.
New on Blu-ray from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is Nia Vardalos' My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, starring Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Louis Mandylor, Elena Kampouris, Gia Carides and Joey Fatone.
Description: When Toula (Vardalos) plans a trip to Greece to honor her late father Gus' (Michael Constantine, The Juror) final wish, the family's reunion becomes complicated with the reveal of a deep family secret. With non-stop laughter at every twist and turn, the highly anticipated third installment of the franchise brings a heartwarming reunion that honors the essence of what makes the original so unique.
Universal's Blu-ray of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 contains filmmaker commentary, a gag reel, deleted and extended scenes and featurettes. For a full disc breakdown, read Martin Liebman's Blu-ray review. Note that on the same day, Universal will also release a Blu-ray box set, My Big Fat Greek Wedding: 3- Film Collection (2002-2023), a three-disc set with all three films.
Coming to 4K UHD from Universal is The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection Vol 3 (1948-1972) a box set which includes the 4K UHD premieres of Rope (1948), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Torn Curtain (1966), Topaz (1969) and Frenzy (1972). All five films contain HDR and DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono audio (with an additional DTS-HD MA 3.0 option on The Man Who Knew Too Much) and included Blu-ray copies also contain making of documentaries, trailers and more.
Finally from Universal is the Blu-ray debut of Gregg Champion's Stealing Christmas (2003), starring Tony Danza, Lea Thompson, Angela Goethals, Betty White, David Parker and Malcolm Stewart. This is the film's world premiere on Blu-ray.
New from Oscilloscope Laboratories is a Blu-ray for Rita Baghdadi's Sirens (2022), starring Shery Bechara, Tatyana Boughaba and Alma Doumani.
Description: Sirens intimately chronicles the lives and music of Slave to Sirens, a band made up of five young metalheads whose burgeoning fame is set against the backdrop of the Lebanese revolution. Its members wrestle with friendship, sexuality, and destruction as their music serves as a refuge to Beirut's youth culture.
At the band's core are its two founding members, Lilas Mayassi and Shery Bechara, whose complicated relationship and subsequent tense fallout threatens the very fabric of the band. An even greater looming threat, however, is Lebanon's criminalization of homosexuality, as well as the wholly devastating effects of their country's political regime.
Despite their obvious challenges, the members of Slave to Sirens persist in trying to create a revolution of their own: living their truth.
Oscilloscope's Blu-ray of Sirens contains audio commentary, deleted scenes, a theatrical trailer and more.
New on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks is Phantom of the Idol: Complete Collection (神クズ☆アイドル) (2022), starring Nao Tôyama, Shun Horie, Fumiya Imai, Eri Kitamura, Hitomi Ueda and Manaka Iwami.
Description: Asahi loved performing so much that she still haunts her old talent agency… even after she died in an accident! Yuya, meanwhile, only became an Idol for the money, and practically sleepwalks through his performances. Just when he's about to be fired, Yuya encounters Asahi's ghost and they realize that they're the solutions to each other's problems: Asahi can possess Yuya's body when he's onstage! Sure, the fact that she was a girl and he's not does make things a bit strange, and no one knows what to make of Yuya's "spirited" new performing style. Still, this IS showbiz and if the fans are happy, that's all that matters to the PHANTOM OF THE IDOL!
Sentai's Blu-ray of Phantom of the Idol: Complete Collection is a two-disc set that contains ten episodes with either Japanese or English: DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio, with English or Spanish subtitles. Extras include clean opening and closing animations. For a full release breakdown, read Neil Lumbard's Blu-ray review.
New on Blu-ray from Vertical Entertainment is Miles Joris-Peyrafitte's The Good Mother (AKA Mother's Milk) (2023), starring Olivia Cooke, Hilary Swank, Jack Reynor, Hopper Penn, Norm Lewis and Laurent Rejto.
Description: Starring Academy Award®-winner Hilary Swank, the film follows a journalist grieving the murder of her son who forms an unlikely alliance with his pregnant girlfriend (Olivia Cooke) to track down the killers in the seedy world of drugs and corruption.
Finally this week, Grasshopper Film has a Blu-ray for Alain Gomis' documentary Rewind & Play (2023).
Description: In December 1969, legendary jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk ended his European concert tour with a performance at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. Before the show, he was invited to appear on a French television program to perform and answer questions in an intimate setting. Using newly discovered footage from this recording, director Alain Gomis (FÉLICITÉ) reveals the disconnect between Monk and his interviewer, Henri Renaud, whose unwittingly trivializing approach conveys the casual racism and exploitation prevalent in the music industry at large. A fascinating behind-the-scenes documentary with extraordinary rarely-seen performances, REWIND & PLAY offers a unique opportunity to see Monk in a way that very few people did.
Grasshoper Films' Blu-ray of Rewind & Play contains a theatrical trailer.