Movie Madness

Christmas stockings should be filled with what is on the physical media slate this week. Erik Childress is joined by Peter Sobczynski to take you through everything including Barbra Streisand’s big Oscar win and one of the great adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel. Great things come in threes including Clint Eastwood and the works of Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker. They also come in twos with Buster Keaton and the works of Jim Henson. Though speaking of three, Warner Bros. has one of the 4K trifectas of the year with a Mel Brooks classic, one of Hitchcock’s most purely entertaining and James Cameron’s legendary breakthrough. Finally not to dampen the holiday mood but the film that may just be Sam Raimi’s finest achievement with the great Bill Paxton gets a new 4K upgrade as well.

0:00 - Intro

1:24 – Criterion (Funny Girl 4K, Riyuichi Sakamoto: Opus)

10:46 – Sony (Little Women 4K)

15:55 – Kino (Seven Chances & Sherlock Jr, The Visitors, Two Mules for Sister Sara 4K, Play Misty for Me 4K, The Eiger Sanction 4K)

41:26 – Shout (Rush 4K, The Dark Crystal 4K, Labyrinth 4K)

1:04:16 – Paramount (ZAZ Collection 4K)

1:16:41 – Warner Bros. (Blazing Saddles 4K, North by Northwest 4K, The Terminator 4K)

1:48:27 – Arrow (A Simple Plan 4K)

2:03:28 – New TV & Theatrical Titles On Blu-ray

2:10:56 – New Blu-ray Announcements!

Mid-November and kind of a mid-week for releases, but Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy do have five reviews for you including a pair of documentaries on two icons in the film and music world (Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes, Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley). They look at the latest from Andrea Arnold (Bird) and try to look at the new musical from Jacques Audiard apart from its controversies (Emilia Perez). Finally, Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans team up to rescue Santa Claus from the Christmas Witch. Yes, really (Red One).

0:00 - Intro

1:38 - Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes

8:43 - Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley

21:37 - Bird

29:54 - Emilia Perez

42:28 - Red One

55:27 – Next Week’s Titles & Outro

A lot of good stuff on the physical media beat for those starting to make their Christmas lists. Peter Sobczynski joins Erik Childress to guide you through the lot which includes gangster and samurai classics from Criterion. There’s also a trio of 1980s puberty-starters and a reevaluation of the fourth Body Snatchers adaptation. You can also get new 4K releases of Steven Spielberg’s debut theatrical feature and one of Oliver Stone’s finest achievements.

0:00 - Intro

1:09 - Criterion (Scarface 4K, Seven Samurai 4K)

17:25 - Universal (The Sugarland Express 4K)

29:44 - Fun City (Paradise, Heavenly Bodies)

44:28 - Arrow (Elvira 4K, The Invasion 4K)

1:04:25 - Shout (Born on the Fourth of July)

1:15:16 - Kino (Maniac, Circus of Horrors, One Two Three, Arabesque 4K, Merchant Ivory, Roseland)

1:43:00 – New Blu-Ray Announcements

It’s a nine-movie week on the show with Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy looking at a historical atrocity (Stockholm Bloodbath), WWII through the eyes of a boy (Blitz) and Pierce Brosnan as a 92 year-old veteran trying to atone for D-Day (The Last Rifleman). A 70+ year old is sent undercover in a money laundering scam – or is he? – in a documentary chosen for last year’s Chicago Critics Film Festival (Starring Jerry As Himself). Get into the spirit of the holiday season with one film based on a beloved book (The Best Christmas Pageant Ever) and another trying to give you a mood (Christmas Eve In Miller’s Point). Cillian Murphy sees bad nuns in Ireland (Small Things Like These) and Anthony Mackie teams up with Morena Baccarin to battle creatures who don’t like heights (Elevation). Finally, one of year’s best movies pits two Mormon female missionaries against Hugh Grant’s religion buster (Heretic).

0:00 - Intro

1:21 - Stockholm Bloodbath

6:53 – The Last Rifleman

12:14 – The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

21:35 - Christmas Eve In Miller's Point

28:37 - Blitz

33:57 - Starring Jerry As Himself

41:14 - Small Things Like These

51:05 - Elevation

1:02:37 – Heretic

1:17:28 - Outro

Halloween is over, which means Christmas is creepin’ upon us so who better to start making your shopping lists with than Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski on this week’s physical media show. They include a pair of Christmas films including a perennial classic and a more modern one with a Wham twist. The king of the monsters has its origin upgraded to 4K by Criterion. Samuel L. Jackson goes to Yemen and Mel Gibson goes to Vietnam in a pair of military films just before Veterans Day. One of the original babysitter horror films gets a 4K upgrade and you can also see the first French adaptation remade as a particularly awful Ashley Judd film. Finally, there are a trio of film documentaries ranging from Powell and Pressburger to The Monster Squad to the year 1982 plus one of the all-time classic sitcoms gets the Blu-ray treatment.

0:00 - Intro

0:58 – Criterion (Godzilla 4K)

6:29 – Universal (Last Christmas 4K)

13:23 – Paramount (White Christmas 4K, We Were Soldiers 4K)

26:08 – Kino (Rules of Engagement 4K, Fright 4K, Deadly Circuit, Made in England, Wolfman’s Got Nards)

52:17 - MVD (1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever)

59:22 – Television on Blu-ray

1:06:42 – New Theatrical & Streaming Titles On Blu-ray

1:14:20 – New Blu-ray Announcements

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy return for a little crossover show including new titles this week and a recap of films from this year’s Chicago International Film Festival; some of which you can see right now. Reviews this week include a documentary on a legendary composer (Music By John Williams), one of the best animated films of the year (Memoir of a Snail) and the immigrant experience told through a heated kitchen (La Cocina). There is also the latest film from Clint Eastwood that Warner Bros. is burying (Juror #2) and a Forrest Gump reunion from Robert Zemeckis (Here). Then they look at ten more festival entries ranging from politics to coups and terrorists. Erik sees one of the best baseball films in years and Steve checks out a documentary about one of the great bands of the ‘90s. It’s a great mix of movies giving you something to look forward to both soon and later.

0:00 – Intro

1:50 – Juror #2

12:10 – Music By John Williams

27:10 – Memoir of a Snail

35:34 - La Cocina

46:58 – Here

1:02:13 – Separated

1:11:45 – Apocalypse in the Tropics

1:15:26 – Transplant

1:17:59 – Hard Truths

1:25:01 – Eephus

1:28:52 – September 5

1:37:10 – Vulcanizadora

1:42:58 – Pavements

1:48:48 – The Last Republican

1:56:55 – Armand

2:00:22 - Outro

The horror month of physical media closes out Halloween with a couple choice titles, though the horror-adjacent ones may be even better. Peter Sobczynski joins Erik Childress to talk a trio of film noir and a giallo film with Audrey Hepburn and James Mason. One of the great heist movies is here along with an all-timer true crime film from David Fincher. Wes Craven and Sam Raimi get the 4K upgrade as does a cult anthology that almost didn’t see the light of day. But the real joy may be in reminding everyone of a sequel too often left off the discussion of films vastly superior to the original. And that’s altogether ooky.

0:00 - Intro

1:13 – Kino (Dark Side of Cinema XXII, Topkapi)

15:30 - Vinegar Syndrome (Bloodline 4K)

27:05 – Paramount (Addams Family Values 4K, Zodiac 4K)

44:57 - Shout Factory (Shocker 4K, Drag Me to Hell 4K)

1:00:44 – Arrow (Trick or Treat 4K)

1:17:13 – New Blu-ray Announcements

We are still in the month of horror and Peter Sobczynski joins Erik Childress to talk about all the horrific and supernatural offerings getting upgrades this month. Not to mention Harmony Korine and Rob Lowe as a hockey player. But moving on from that the pair discuss the Hellraiser series and their lack of enthusiasm for even M. Night Shyamalan’s better films. They talk about the surprise hit of the summer of 1990, one of the films that established the horror genre and another that took it to such uncomfortable lengths Erik has to dare himself to watch it. There’s also Robert Zemeckis, Joe “3-star” Johnston and even some ‘80s teen shenanigans not involving death and murder. 

0:00 - Intro

1:25 – Criterion (Gummo)

6:43 – Kino (Up the Creek, Youngblood, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari)

29:50 – Disney (The Sixth Sense 4K, Signs 4K)

47:29 – Paramount (Ghost 4K)

59:13 - Warner Archive (The Hitcher 4K)

1:12:46 – Arrow (Hellraiser Quartet of Torment 4K )

1:32:44 - Shout: Death Becomes Her 4K/The Wolfman 4K

1:56:33 – New Theatrical and TV Titles On Blu-ray

2:02:43 – New Blu-ray Announcements

Peter Sobczynski joins Erik Childress to get you caught up on all the upgraded (not elevated) horror that you can add to your physical media library this week. But first there is some Jackie Chan, Rian Johnson, Jon Favreau and Sidney Lumet. Oh yes and some Hitchcock and Borchardt. But for your Halloween parties you can get probably the best J-horror remake from Gore Verbinski. Wes Craven delivers one of the most iconic horror characters of all-time. George Romero returns to the Land of the Dead and Tobe Hooper’s landmark cinematic achievement celebrates its 50th Anniversary.

0:00 - Intro

1:07 - 88 Films (Project A Collection 4K)

9:27 - Kino (Garbo Talks, Brick 4K, Cowboys and Aliens 4K)

25:09 - Sony (American Movie 4K)

34:21 - Paramount (To Catch a Thief 4K, The Ring 4K)

46:36 - WB (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4K)

1:06:04 - Shout (Land of the Dead 4K)

1:19:32 - Dark Sky (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4K)

1:35:01 – New Blu-ray Announcements

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy dive into 11 films this week including a documentary that debuted three years ago at SXSW about a unique theatrical production (Alien On Stage). There is also a documentary about Pharrell Williams told through Legos (Piece By Piece) and another chronicling the week John & Yoko took over the Mike Douglas show (Daytime Revolution). A dysfunctional family tries to get through the weekend in Chicago (All Happy Families) and another has a loss in theirs exploited by an evil entity (Daddy’s Head). A high school student devises an elaborate cheating scheme (Bad Genius) while a missing child sets off a mysterious manhunt (Caddo Lake). Laura Dern hooks up with a Hemsworth (Lonely Planet) while Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh’s relationship is presented in a fractured timeline (We Live In Time). Finally you have your choice of evil this week in the third chapter of Art the Clown (Terrifier 3) or the beginning of Donald Trump (The Apprentice)

0:00 - Intro

1:09 - Alien On Stage

13:45 - All Happy Families

21:29 - Daddy's Head

29:07 - Bad Genius

37:17 - Piece by Piece

45:41 - Caddo Lake

53:02 - Daytime Revolution

1:05:58 - Lonely Planet

1:15:33 - We Live In Time

1:26:43 – The Apprentice

1:40:04 - Terrifier 3