THE POOP SCOOP: Sensurround Edition

UPCOMING KIBBLES THAT MAKE US PURR!

The Original MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Movie on 4K and Blu-ray September 15 from Toy Robot. The muscular action-adventure movie Masters of the Universe makes its global 4K UHD debut. The film is based on the bestselling ’80s toy line featuring He-Man. Along with the original theatrical cut, the Preview Cut of Masters of the Universe is included, featuring new and extended scenes plus alternate takes. The release also includes hours of special features and newly commissioned extras. A 2-Disc Blu-ray version will also be available.

MINIONS & MONSTERS on Digital Now and 4K, Blu-ray & DVD Se[tember 9 from Universal. Illumination expands its joyful Minions universe with a riotous chapter featuring all-new characters in the biggest global animated franchise in history. This is the rambunctious, ridiculous and totally true story of how the Minions conquered Hollywood as movie stars, lost everything, unleashed monsters onto the world and then banded together to try saving the planet from the mayhem they created. 

The Original INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES on 4K September 15 from Warner Bros. Featuring an all-star cast led by Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt and directed by Academy Award winner Neil Jordan (“The Crying Game”), the newly remastered film will also include new bonus content featuring filmmakers reflecting on the making of the film over 30 years later. Based on the blockbuster novel of the same name by Anne Rice, the film features an all-star ensemble cast, including Academy Award winners Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, Academy Award nominees Antonio Banderas, Stephen Rea, and Kirstin Dunst along with Christian Slater. The film was nominated for Best Original Score and Best Art Direction at the 67th Academy Awards.

Not Quite Sensurround, but the next best thing…ROLLERCOASTER on 4K +  Blu-ray September 29 from Kino Lorber. An unnamed young extortionist (Timothy Bottoms) sets off a bomb on an amusement park roller coaster, causing multiple fatalities, then says that he will do the same to five other rides around the country simultaneously unless he's paid one million dollars. Amusement park employee Harry Calder (George Segal) gets unwillingly drawn into the precarious situation when the FBI's lead agent (Richard Widmark) presses him into service as the go-between with the authorities and the bomber. 

  

EVIL DEAD BURN on Digital Now and 4K, Blu-ray & DVD September 18 from Warner Bros. EVIL DEAD BURN unleashes the franchise’s most savage and terrifying ride to date with an all-new chapter of carnage and demonic mayhem.

SUPERGIRL on Digital Now and 4K, Blu-ray & DVD September 8 from Warner Bros. In its inaugural flight into the new DC Cinematic Universe, “Supergirl” reveals the origin of the interplanetary nomad Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, cousin of Kal-El, better known as Superman. 

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE on 4K, Blu-ray & DVD October 20 from Alliance Entertainment. After being separated for 15 years, the Sword of Power leads Prince Adam (Nicolas Galitzine) back to Eternia where he discovers his home shattered under the fiendish rule of Skeletor (Jared Leto). e.

Nominated for Multiple Oscars, THE SECRET AGENT Comes to 4K, Blu-ray & DVD September 22 from Criterion Collection. With an electrifying blend of kinetic punch and elegiac historical sweep, Kleber Mendonça Filho connects life under Brazil’s twentieth-century military dictatorship to the living present, delivering a kaleidoscopic period thriller pulsing with resonance. 

GONE WITH THE WIND in 4K and Digital November 3 from Warner Bros. The film quickly became an “Instant Classic” when it was first released over eighty-five years ago and now returns newly remastered with extraordinary picture and sound and includes new bonus content. 

Guillermo del Toro’s FRANKENSTEIN on 4K and Blu-ray October 27 from Criterion Collection. A decades-in-the-making triumph of darkly ravishing visual invention and operatic storytelling, Frankenstein is a deeply personal statement from a director who has long been drawn to the realm where men and monsters merge.  

STAR TREK: THE COMPLETE ORIGINAL SERIES 60th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray and DVD September 8 from Paramount. Blending action, philosophy, and visionary storytelling, the series remains one of the most influential sci-fi shows of all time. .

POWER BALLAD on Blu-ray (+DVD & Digital) August 25 from Lionsgate. From writer-director John Carney (Sing Street, Once), POWER BALLAD is a feel-good story about music, self-respect, friendship, and the price of ambition. 

THE SHEEP DETECTIVES on Blu-ray and DVD August 25 from Alliance Entertainment. The film holds a staggering 95% ‘Certified Fresh’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics and audiences agreeing that The Sheep Detectives is a film the whole family will be coming back to for years to come. 

The Original PRACTICAL MAGIC on 4K August 25 from Warner Bros. The newly remastered film will be available ahead of the theatrical release of the highly anticipated sequel Practical Magic 2 on September 11. 

FORBIDDEN PLANET Limited Edition on 4K September 28 from Arrow Video. For the very first time, Forbidden Planet is presented in its original Cinemascope aspect ratio of 2.55:1 with its theatrical "Perspecta" stereo soundtrack in an eye-popping brand new 4K restoration. 

THE COMPLETE KUBRICK Coming to 4K + Blu-ray October 20 from Criterion Collection. Collected here for the first time are Kubrick’s thirteen features and three shorts, all restored in 4K, over twenty-five hours of interviews, documentaries, and behind-the-scenes materials; and deluxe packaging.

Revisiting MARS ATTACKS! in 4K

MARS ATTACKS! (4K UHD)

1996 / 106 min

Warner Bros

#InPartnershipwithWB  

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😺

One of the black sheep in Tim Burton’s filmography, Mars Attacks! was a critical and commercial disappointment thirty years ago, his own equivalent to Spielberg’s 1941. In Burton’s defense, the film’s failure wasn’t entirely his fault. Even with his reputation and a cast of A-listers big enough to rival The Ten Commandments, releasing this one so soon after 1996’s other big-budget alien invasion movie doesn’t rank among the wisest Hollywood decisions ever made.

But aside from bad timing, I think the biggest issue with Mars Attacks! might’ve been that it was directed by a guy trying to make a cult film for a studio expecting him to crank out another blockbuster. That it ultimately did become something of a cult film is neither here nor there. With its obscure trading card origins, exaggerated characters, wild aesthetic and an overall emphasis on black comedy, the film was always destined to appeal to a niche crowd.

That being said, revisiting Mars Attacks! all these years later more-or-less confirms what I’ve personally always felt about it. Like 1941, it’s a film guided by boundless enthusiasm (on both sides of the camera), but mostly anchored by a one-joke premise that’s mildly amusing, though seldom hilarious. And once the basic plot and characters are established, it becomes a series of visual gags and set-pieces that could almost be placed in any order without disrupting the narrative too much. 

These guys should pay today's congress a visit.

While the impressive cast does what they can with the caricatures they’ve been given, the appeal of the film has always been largely aesthetic. And in that respect, Mars Attacks! might arguably be one of Burton’s most interesting efforts. The director’s films have always been triumphs of production design and this one is no exception. But in addition to that, the rendering of the Martians, as well as their ships and cartoony weapons, are great fun simply to look at. Speaking as someone who isn’t the world’s biggest Tim Burton fan, such amusing eye candy (aided by a fun sense of mean-spiritedness) is probably the reason I revisit this one more often than his others. 

And I gotta say, the thing looks wonderful in 4K. The overall image is very sharp, and the film’s frequent use of bright, garish color really stands out, much more so than on the previous Blu-ray release. There are also two audio options, the original theatrical mix and a brand new Dolby Atmos track. I’ve always loved Danny Elfman’s playful score, and it sounds terrific here. And finally, sweetening the deal for fans are two all new retrospective bonus features (see below). 

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Looking Back at Mars Attacks! features interviews with several people involved in the film’s production; Ack! Ack! Aesthetic is more of a continuation of the first featurette, with more of a focus on creating the Martians.

DIGITAL COPY

Lambcast #820: DECADE LOOKBACK: 1977

We recently participated in a recent installment of the popular LambCast show, Decade Lookback. Richard Kirkham hosts this lengthy (but well worth it) discussion of selected films from the year 1977. In addition to your furry friends at FREE KITTENS, you’ll hear personal insights, anecdotes and opinions from Howard Casner, David Brook, and Todd Liebenow. 

LISTEN HERE:

Lambcast #820: DECADE LOOKBACK: 1977

Power Powers ABANDON SHIP!

ABANDON SHIP! aka Seven Waves Away (4K UHD)

1957 / 101 min

Sony

Available at MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Paws😸

To be perfectly honest, I had no idea this movie even existed until just recently. Considering my lifelong predilection for disaster-based films, I’m kinda surprised that I hadn’t at least heard of it. Oh well…better late than never, because while Abandon Ship isn’t quite a disaster film, it’s a gripping tale of survival that had me pondering what I would do in a similar predicament.

Disaster certainly sets up the scenario, though. An ocean liner, the S.S. Crescent Star, strikes an old mine left over from World War II and sinks. Unfortunately, this is depicted immediately following the opening credits as a montage of fire and raging water, not even showing the ship going down and thus avoiding any expensive special effects. But my initial disappointment over the lack of spectacle dissipated as the story unfolded.

A couple of dozen survivors manage to make it to a lifeboat, which is only designed and equipped to support nine. After the captain dies, Executive Officer Alec Holmes (Tyrone Power) takes command. Almost immediately, he’s forced to deal with a dangerously overfilled boat, injured passengers, challenges to his authority and, most ominously, the realization that no distress signal was sent prior to the sinking. Worse yet, there isn’t nearly enough food or water to sustain everyone for very long. This ultimately forces Holmes to make the terrible decision of who to save and who to let perish.

The passengers learn that Holmes' previous command was the S.S. Poseidon.

I suppose comparisons to Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat are inevitable. But while that film is a superior technical achievement, it does occasionally get bogged down by melodrama. Conversely, Abandon Ship! achieves a darker tone. Aside from establishing an existing relationship between Holmes and ship’s nurse Julie White (Mai Zetterling), the narrative focuses almost exclusively on the crisis at hand, with Holmes acting alone and resorting to using a gun to force selected people off the boat. Abandoning the idea of trying to save everyone so that at least some stand a chance for survival is both logical and appalling.

To be honest, I never thought a “movie star” like Power had it in him to convey such a moral quandary, but Nightmare Alley notwithstanding, this could be the best (or at least the most underrated) performance of his career. Holmes’ character transformation is ultimately the crux of the entire film and Power pulls it off quite well. Though few of the other characters are as engaging, the story effectively establishes that some of those tossed from the boat absolutely do not deserve to die, leading to some gut-wrenching moments.

Somewhat forgotten over the years, Abandon Ship! is a survival thriller worth checking out. What it lacks in visual panache is compensated by a compelling story that raises some discussion-worthy questions. I’m not sure why Sony chose to forego any Blu-ray or DVD release and go straight to 4K with this one, but the disc does boast excellent picture and sound quality.

EXTRA KIBBLES

DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL CUTS - The latter is a couple of minutes longer.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By film scholar Jason A. Ney

DIGITAL COPY

PROJECT HAIL MARY: Another Great ROCKY Movie

PROJECT HAIL MARY (4K UHD)

2026 / 156 min

Alliance Entertainment

Review by Princess Pepper😸

I don’t recall the last time two of the biggest movies of the year also happened to be two of the best ones (so far, anyway). One is Obsession, a horror film that more than lived up to the hype. The other is Project Hail Mary. I haven’t enjoyed a science fiction film this much since The Martian…for a lot of the same reasons.

Both were adapted from novels by Andy Weir, who probably wakes up every morning high-fiving himself. The narratives are structurally similar, centered around a lone protagonist with a life-threatening problem that only science can solve. But whereas The Martian’s Mark Watney is trying to save himself, Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) is tasked with saving an entire planet…two, actually.

Grace wakes up on-board a spaceship with no memory of how he got there. The rest of the crew are dead, and he figures out that the ship is nearing the end of a 12 light-year journey to the Tau Ceti, the only star in the system that isn’t dying. Meanwhile, flashbacks (taking place on Earth) reveal our sun is dying, too, due to a black substance called astrophage, which absorbs a star’s energy to move around and procreate. 

Being something of a renegade scientist unafraid to put forth controversial theories, Grace becomes the foremost expert on astrophage. More or less against his will, he ends up on the mission to determine why Tau Ceti isn’t affected. But he isn’t alone for long. Another ship from a different world, also with a single surviving crew member, has been sent to the same place for the same reason. And this is when the narrative elevates Project Hail Mary from yet-another sci-fi film with apocalyptic implications to a charming - often very funny- tale of friendship.

The wi-fi out here sucks.

Grace’s new partner/companion is a rock-based creature, whom he dubs Rocky (voiced by James Ortiz). The film does a terrific job depicting how the language barrier is broken, as well as the two getting to know each other on a personal level. Though the present crisis looms large and remains central to the story, the best moments (especially during the middle act) are human ones (even though one of ‘em is a rock). Because both characters are so well developed, we become hugely invested in them and are rewarded with multiple emotional payoffs, especially during the final third of the film. This might also be Gosling’s best performance, which is quite impressive considering he’s largely sharing the screen with a special effect.

Speaking of which…while the special effects are excellent, they never become the focus of the film. They simply serve the story, which is so well written that deep space could be depicted with black felt & Christmas lights and it would still be engaging. Ultimately, Project Hail Mary is one of those sci-fi movies I’d recommend to people who profess to hate the genre (like my dad). There’s simply too much wonderful stuff going on to dismiss it as just your usual space flick. I can just tell Dad it's another great Rocky movie.

I’m glad I caught it on the big screen first, which is the best way to take it all in. However, this 4K UHD release from Alliance Entertainment does boast an overall picture that’s sharp, detailed, and at times very colorful, as well as an outstanding Dolby Atmos audio track. On the other hand, the disc is surprisingly lacking much in the way of supplemental material…just a commentary, some deleted scenes and a short featurette about Rocky. That’s a minor quip, though.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTE - Earth’s Favorite Eridian is all about how Rocky was designed, created and voiced.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

DELETED SCENES

JCVD in 4K!

DEATH WARRANT (4K UHD) and LIONHEART (4K UHD)

MVD Visual

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Bonecrusher😼

Two of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s popular fightfests from 1990 (when he was still flirting with A-lister status) are getting the 4K treatment from MVD Visual. Available separately, both more-or-less include the same bonus material from previous Blu-ray or DVD releases, so these are for the Damme die-hards who just gotta have the best picture and sound quality possible. You know who you are.

Lionheart (1990/110 min) is arguably the first film where Van Damme was required to truly act...you know, with emotions 'n stuff. As such, he isn't half bad. He plays Lyon Gaultier, trying to visit his dying brother who was burned alive during a drug deal gone bad in Los Angeles. Needing quick cash, Lyon ends up participating in underground fights to earn money to get to L.A., and later in a big money bout run by wealthy and conniving socialite Cynthia (Deborah Rennard).

Lyon is too late to see his brother, but his niece and estranged sister-in-law are in financial dire straits, so he resumes fighting, with Cynthia arranging bigger and more dangerous matches. Van Damme, of course, engages in plenty of what he does best: punching, kicking, collecting contusions. But unlike, say, Bloodsport, at least the downtime is watchable. Lyon's developing friendship with one character even manages to be engaging at times.

EXTRA KIBBLES:

4K & BLU-RAY COPIES

EXTENDED 110 MIN VERSION

"THE STORY OF LIONHEART" & "INSIDE LIONHEART" - Two lengthy and entertaining retrospective documentaries featuring some of the cast & crew, including director Sheldon Lettich, producer Eric Karson, Harrison Page, Deborah Rennard and, of course, Van Damme (who seems to be lost in his own world).

AUDIO COMMENTARIES - 1) By director Sheldon Lettich (this is the only new bonus feature); 2) By director Sheldon Lettich and actor Harrison Page.

INTERVIEWS - Individual interviews with director Sheldon Lettich and actor Harrison Page.

"LIONHEART: BEHIND THE FIGHTS"

VINTAGE MAKING-OF FEATURETTE

BEHIND-THE-SCENES OF THE AUDIO COMMENTARY (really) - Five minutes of Lettich & Page in a recording booth, beginning their commentary.

PHOTO GALLERY

TRAILER

MINI POSTER

"Did I step in something?"

Death Warrant (1990/89 min) is more outlandishly plotted and somewhat bereft of plausibility, but you could say the same about far worse Van Damme vehicles. Besides, this one delivers what his fans care about most…bone-crushing, bloody brawls. In this one, he’s a cop named Louis Burke who goes undercover as an inmate at a maximum security prison to investigate a string of murders. Complicating matters, however, is the appearance of “The Sandman” (Patrick Kilpatrick), a serial killer Burke thought was already dead (Burke shot the man himself in the prologue).

As long as you check your brain at the door, there’s some violent fun to be had here. Van Damme’s performance is, as usual, adequate enough for what’s required of the character, while Kilpatrick….you know, now that I think about it, I don’t recall ever seeing him in a role where he didn’t play a psycho. Stick to your strengths, I guess. Elsewhere, the action is plentiful and well shot. All-in-all, these are two decent additions to MVD’s LaserVision collection.

EXTRA KIBBLES

INTERVIEWS - Individual interviews with actors Patrick Kilpatrick, Cynthia Gibbs and one of my favorite “hey, it’s that guy!” actors, Art LaFleur.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By Director Deran Sarafian.

TRAILER

MINI POSTER

Both films feature upgraded picture and sound from previous Blu-ray editions. The overall image is a slight improvement, and the LPCM 2.0 audio tracks for each are clear and well balanced. Be advised, however, that the 5.1 Surround option for Lionheart is only available on the Blu-ray copy.