THE POOP SCOOP: Upcoming Kibbles!

😺SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER & UNCUT 25th Anniversary & TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE 20th Anniversary 4K Ultra HDs debut on June 25th

Join us as we celebrate 25 years of warping fragile little minds when the critically acclaimed, Academy Award-nominated SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER & UNCUT arrives for the first time ever on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc June 25, 2024 from Paramount Home Entertainment. On June 30, 1999, creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker unleashed their wildly popular South Park characters on the big screen for the first time. Twenty-five years later, SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER & UNCUT remains as irreverent, insightful, and hilarious as when it first premiered. The 25th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo includes legacy bonus content detailed below, access to a Digital copy of the film, and—for the first time—the Sing-A-Long version of the film. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s uproariously subversive TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE, which will also make its 4K Ultra HD debut on June 25th.  The 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo includes access to a Digital copy of the film, the Uncensored and Unrated cut of the film on Blu-ray, as well as legacy bonus content.

😺DUNE PART TWO Arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD May 14, and on Digital NOW from Warner Bros.

Dune: Part Two explores the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee. Dune: Part Two is directed by three-time Academy Award nominee Denis Villeneuve (“Arrival,” “Blade Runner 2049”) from a screenplay he and Jon Spaihts wrote, based on the seminal bestselling novel of the same name written by Frank Herbert. The expanded all-star international ensemble cast features returning and new stars, including Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar nominee Josh Brolin, Oscar nominee Austin Butler, Oscar nominee Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Oscar winner Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yacoub, with Stellan Skarsgård, with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling, and Oscar winner Javier Bardem. 

🐕ARTHUR THE KING now on Digital and coming to Blu-ray and DVD May 28 from Lionsgate.

Based on the “heart-swelling true story” (Courtney Howard, Variety) of friendship and loyalty, ARTHUR THE KING arrives on Premium Video on Demand and Premium Electronic Sell-Through on April 23, and on Electronic Sell-Through, Blu-ray (+ DVD + Digital), and DVD May 28 from Lionsgate. Embark on the physical and emotional journey based on the true story of adventure racer Mikael Lindnord and Arthur, the dog that changed Lindnord’s life. The film stars Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg. In ARTHUR THE KING, an unbreakable bond is forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light and a scrappy street dog companion dubbed Arthur over the course of a grueling 10-day, 435-mile racecourse. An “inspiring story for the whole family” (Rachel Wagner, Rachel’s Reviews), and based on true events, ARTHUR THE KING follows Light, desperate for one last chance to win, as he convinces a sponsor to back him and a team of athletes for the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic. Pushing the team to the outer limits of endurance and sacrifice, Arthur redefines what victory, loyalty, and friendship truly mean.

🙀FEAR & LOVE: THE STORY OF THE EXORCIST Now Available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime.

Do You Remember STIGMATA?

STIGMATA (Blu-ray)

1999 / 102 min

FROM CAPELIGHT PICTURES

Review by Joey, the Sudden Cat🙀

I watched Stigmata back in the day, but until revisiting it for this Blu-ray review, couldn’t have told you a damn thing about it. There was nothing in the film that resonated enough to make it all that memorable. 25 years later, I felt like I was watching it for the first time.

And you know what? It still isn’t all that memorable.

Which is not the same as saying it flat-out sucks. Stigmata is competently made, is reasonably well acted and has a premise that, in the right hands, has great horror potential. However, I suspect it was put together by a committee of craftsmen who had no clue about how to make an effective horror film.

The basic plot has atheist hairdresser Frankie Paige (Patricia Arquette) suffering from the titular ailment, in which the victim bears wounds similar to those inflicted upon Jesus during the crucifixion. They don’t appear all at once, of course, and most of the horror sequences feature Frankie violently receiving these wounds. I’m no filmmaker, but do know that scenes intended to instill terror shouldn’t be shot & cut like a Michael Bay action movie.

Looks like Frankie's gonna do some re-gifting this year.

Vatican investigator Father Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne) is appointed to investigate, while Frankie begins to show the usual signs of possession…not of a demon, but a dead priest whose stolen rosary was given to her. It’s not adequately explained why a clergy’s spirit - no matter how pissed - would subject anyone to pain, possession, levitation and fire just to reveal an ancient document containing the gospel of Jesus himself. Sounds a bit excessive.

But that’s just nitpicking. All the flash, fireworks and hyperactive editing in the world can't mask uninspired storytelling. Stigmata offers nothing we haven’t seen before, in movies or a well-made heavy metal video. On the plus side, it’s so forgettable that one could revisit it every couple of years and feel like they’re watching a brand new movie.

EXTRA KIBBLES

DIVINE RITES: THE STORY OF STIGMATA - Part making-of featurette, part speculative look at the history of stigmatics.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Rupert Wainwright.

DELETED SCENES

ALTERNATE ENDING

TRAILER

THE CHURCH (4K): Dario's Disciple Delivers

THE CHURCH (4K UHD)

1989 / 102 min

FROM SEVERIN FILMS

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

This one crept onto my radar back in the day because I’ve always been a huge Emerson, Lake & Palmer fan and had heard keyboard god Keith Emerson did the music score. But it would be years before I actually got the chance to see it, and was initially disappointed that most of the soundtrack consisted of music by Phillip Glass and one of the guys from Goblin. 

Still, Emerson’s sinister main title track sets the tone for the prologue, where witch-hunting Teutonic Knights in medieval Germany slaughter an entire village and bury their corpses in a mass grave. Then a massive church is built on the site to keep the demons at bay. Centuries later, Evan (Tomas Arana) is hired as a librarian in the same church, where he quickly gets cozy with restoration artist Lisa (Barbara Cupisti) and befriends plucky teenager Lotte (Asia Argento), the daughter of one of the priests.

Though warned to stay out of the building’s catacombs, Evan can’t help himself (otherwise, no movie). After reading an ancient parchment discovered by Lisa, he goes looking for the Stone with Seven Eyes, which he finds, of course. Removing the stone releases long-dormant demons which possess Evan and eventually trap a variety of other secondary characters in the church during the third act. It’s the only aspect of the plot where The Church resembles the Demons sequel it was once apparently conceived to be (but wisely abandoned).

Comic relief.

Why some become possessed while others don’t isn’t explained, nor is it really all that important. With lessons learned from good buddy (and co-producer) Dario Argento, director Michele Saovi emphasizes atmosphere and surrealism over logic and exposition. The film is visually impressive, especially sequences taking place within the labyrinthine church. There reaches a point in the narrative where the story itself - pretty-much bereft of a traditional main character - takes a backseat to aesthetics, including some creepy imagery and well-executed death scenes. And I have to admit…the Goblin music enhances the overall tension more effectively than Emerson’s few contributions do.

Though not as well-known or appreciated as some other Italian horror films of the 80s, The Church is definitely worth checking out. It reflects an obvious Argento influence, but I’d argue that it’s better than anything he was cranking out at the time. This 4K UHD release boasts an excellent picture and three audio options, English 5.1, English and Italian Stereo. There’s also a Blu-ray disc with the feature film and, more significantly, a ton of retrospective interviews with various cast and crew members.

EXTRA KIBBLES

REGION-FREE 4K and REGION A BLU-RAY COPIES

INTERVIEWS - 13 individual, often extensive interviews: The Mystery of the Cathedrals (with director Michele Saovi, who’s probably the gives the most entertaining interview of the bunch); Alchemical Possession (with producer/co-writer Dario Argento); The Eleventh Commandment (with co-writer Dardano Sacchetti); Lotte (with actor Asia Argento); Here Comes the Bride (with actor Antonella Vitale, who played the bitchy bride); A Demon Named Evan (with actor Tomas Arana); Father Giovanni (with actor Lombardo Rapice); Monsters & Demons (with FX artist Sergio Stivaletti); Holy Ground (with make-up artist Franco Casagni); Building the Church (with set designer Antonello Geleng); The Right-Hand Man (with assistant director Claudio Lattanzi); Return to the Land of the Demons (with Dario Argento biographer Alan Jones).

TRAILER

THE POOP SCOOP: Conclusions, Cuddly Killers & Corruption

🪐DUNE PART TWO Arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD May 14, and on Digital April 16 from Warner Bros.

Dune: Part Two explores the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee. Dune: Part Two is directed by three-time Academy Award nominee Denis Villeneuve (“Arrival,” “Blade Runner 2049”) from a screenplay he and Jon Spaihts wrote, based on the seminal bestselling novel of the same name written by Frank Herbert. The expanded all-star international ensemble cast features returning and new stars, including Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet), Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar nominee Josh Brolin, Oscar nominee Austin Butler, Oscar nominee Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Oscar winner Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yacoub (“The Braves,” “Climax”), with Stellan Skarsgård, with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling, and Oscar winner Javier Bardem. On April 16, Dune: Part Two will be available for early Premium Digital Ownership at home for 29.99 and for 48-hour rental via PVOD for $24.99 SRP on participating digital platforms where you purchase or rent movies, including Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Fandango at Home, and more. On May 14, Dune: Part Two will be available to own on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD from online and physical retailers. Dune: Part Two will also continue to be available to own in high definition and standard definition from participating digital retailers.

🧸IMAGINARY will be available on Electronic Sell-Through May 7 and Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital May 14 from Lionsgate.

When Jessica moves back into her childhood home with her family, her youngest stepdaughter, Alice, finds a stuffed bear named Chauncey. As Alice's behavior becomes more and more concerning, Jessica intervenes only to realize that Chauncey is much more than the stuffed toy bear she believed him to be. Keep your new best friend forever when IMAGINARY arrives on Electronic Sell-Through May 7 and Blu-ray (+ DVD and Digital), and DVD from Lionsgate. IMAGINARY stars Chauncey the Bear, Blumhouse’s latest horror icon, now ready to play in your imagination at home! But remember, Chauncey is not imaginary, and not your friend. Alongside Chauncey are his human castmates DeWanda Wise (Jurassic World Dominion), Tom Payne (“The Walking Dead”), Taegen Burns (“The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers”), Pyper Braun (Desperation Road), Betty Buckley (Carrie), Matthew Sato (“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”), and Veronica Falcón (“Ozark”).

😺CHINATOWN (plus THE TWO JAKES!) Celebrates 50th Anniversary With New Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD Release on June 18 from Paramount.

The haunting noir classic CHINATOWN celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and Paramount is marking the occasion with a Limited-Edition 4K Ultra HD release on June 18, 2024. Produced by the legendary Robert Evans, CHINATOWN was originally released on June 26, 1974 and received widespread critical acclaim along with 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Robert Towne’s brilliant Academy Award-winning screenplay weaves a tragic and shocking tale of corruption, greed, and the human propensity for evil.  Powerhouse performances by Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston, a riveting story inspired by real events, vivid imagery, and a stirring score combine to make an unforgettable film that is essential for every cinephile’s collection. The Limited-Edition Paramount Presents release includes the restored film on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc for the first time ever. In addition, this release includes extensive new and legacy bonus content, access to a Digital copy of the film, and a bonus Blu-ray with the 1990 sequel The Two Jakes, directed by and starring Jack Nicholson and written by Robert Towne.

😺NIGHT FALLS ON MANHATTAN on Blu-ray May 7 from Arrow Video.

On May 7th, Arrow Video will release the crime thriller Night Falls On Manhattan from director Sidney Lumet, who brings his gritty realism to this adaptation of former NYPD officer Robert Daley’s novel. Assistant DA Sean Casey (Andy Garcia) is assigned to prosecute a drug dealer whose case has deep ties to his family. As the young attorney uncovers the truth about the arrest, his career, family, and life are threatened. The Limited Edition Blu-ray features an all-star cast that includes Academy Award® nominees Richard Dreyfuss, Ian Holm, and Lena Olin, as well as James Gandolfini, Vincent Pastore, Frank Vincent, Bobby Cannavale, and Ron Liebman.The special features include two audio commentaries; a documentary about the director; on-set interviews with cast and crew; behind the scenes footage; trailers and TV spots.

LISA FRANKENSTEIN: Blunt Force Black Comedy

LISA FRANKENSTEIN (Blu-ray)

2024 / 101 min

FROM UNIVERSAL

Review by Pepper the Poopy😾

Lisa Frankenstein is slickly directed, looks great and features good performances. But while there’s plenty of comic horror potential in the basic concept, the film squanders it with shallow characters, heavy-handed satire and a misguided idea of black comedy.

The title character (Kathryn Newton) is your standard-issue misfit emo teenager who’d rather hang out in a graveyard than with her peers. After nearly being sexually assaulted at a party, she visits the grave of a long-dead musician, wishing aloud she could be with him. That wish ends up being granted when he’s resurrected by a lightning strike. Lisa is initially horrified by his stench and missing appendages, but after cleaning him up a bit, he becomes infatuated with her, enough so that when bitchy stepmom (Carla Gugino) threatens to send Lisa away, he kills her.

At this point, Lisa’s entire personality and appearance changes fast enough to give the viewer whiplash. Suddenly sexy, bitchy and outgoing, she ends up sewing missing pieces back onto the Creature (Cole Sprouse) with the body parts of those he kills. This includes a boy who tried to assault her at the party, as well as Michael (Henry Eikenberry), a guy she has a crush on but ends up sleeping with her stepsister, Taffy (Liza Soberano). 

"Stay off the bike...it's where I hang my clothes."

The plot isn’t the problem…it’s the execution. First of all, Lisa Frankenstein takes place in the ‘80s for no discernible reason. Not only is poking fun at that decade like shooting fish in a barrel, the setting has nothing to do with the plot. Additionally, virtually everyone is a caricature…the ditzy cheerleader, the sensitive hunk, the goofy dad, the narcissistic stepmom and, of course, the eye-rolling goth protagonist who’s increasingly nonchalant about the murder and dismemberment going on around her. I guess they'd all be funny if you'd never seen them before.

There’s a lot of situational black comedy in Lisa Frankenstein, but it’s presented with the subtlety of a mallet, as if hearing a sensitive ballad during a brutal murder is inherently humorous (which has been done to death in plenty of other horror comedies). Yet at the same time, the film pulls its punches in an obvious attempt to keep a PG-13 rating. Should any black comedy that takes place in the 80s and features the severing of body parts really be concerned with the tween crowd?

First time director Zelda Williams (Robin’s daughter) has a good visual eye and puts together some neat sequences. But she and the able cast are let down by Diablo Cody’s screenplay which, considering her resume, is surprisingly ham-fisted, derivative and superficial.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Resurrecting the ‘80s takes a look at the production design; An Electric Connection is about the characters; A Dark Comedy Duo features director Zelda Williams and screenwriter Diablo Cody.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Zelda Williams.

5 DELETED SCENES

GAG REEL

DIGITAL COPY

TORMENTED: A Little Film From Mr. B.I.G.

TORMENTED (Blu-ray)

1960 / 74 min

FROM FILM MASTERS

Review by Mr. Paws😺

For most of his career, the late Bert I. Gordon certainly lived up to his initials. This B-movie auteur was best known for economically cranking out a variety of killer creature features that mostly played in drive-ins for the teen crowd. 

If you’re of a certain age, perhaps you recall such schlockly classics as Beginning of the End, Earth vs. the Spider and The Amazing Colossal Man…if not from the days of local late-night TV, then maybe the original Mystery Science Theater 3000, which featured quite a few of his flicks. Yours truly is old enough to recall spending his own allowance to catch one of Gordon’s last critterfests, 1976’s The Food of the Gods, in a theater.

Gordon sometimes dabbled in other genres, usually budget-conscious versions of bigger and better films that were popular at the time, but seldom straying too far from his horror roots. One such film is 1960’s Tormented, a surprisingly atmospheric little ghost story. I remember once having TCM on the TV as background noise when this came on. Despite the director’s dubious reputation, I found it engaging enough to drop what I was doing and see it through. 

Not that Tormented is some kind of lost classic. It’s still a cheap film…but a pretty well made cheap film - for Bert I. Gordon, anyway - with decent performances and a good story. Jazz musician Tom Stewart (Richard Carlson) is about to marry new girlfriend Meg (Lugene Sanders) in Cape Cod when old flame Vi (Juli Reding) shows up. Still in love with him, she begs Tom to come back to her, even threatening blackmail. 

IKEA has some weird-ass room decor.

While they’re arguing atop a local lighthouse, the railing breaks. Hanging on for dear life, Vi begs Tom for help. He refuses and she falls to her death into the sea. While initially reasoning that he didn’t actually kill her himself, Vi returns from beyond to haunt him, still determined to stop the wedding. Like The Tell-Tale Heart, visions of her disembodied appendages, or finding jewelry he once gave her, could be manifestations of his guilt. But either way, Tormented is a fun little ghost story that establishes a moody tone with its seaside locations and, considering the budget, not-half-bad special effects.

Of course, being the work of Bert I. Gordon means Tormented isn’t without its goofy aspects, which are amusingly exploited in an old Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode included among this disc’s excellent batch of extras. Countering Joel and his robot friends’ merciless riffing are a few revealing bonus features that might have one appreciating what Gordon was always able to put together with very little money.

EXTRA KIBBLES

MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 VERSION - From 1992, featuring Joel, Crow & Tom Servo.

BERT I. GORDON: THE AMAZING COLOSSAL FILMMAKER - An 8 minute archival interview with the late director.

BIGGER THAN LIFE: BERT I. GORDON IN THE 1950’s and 1960’s - An excellent 40 minute appreciation by C. Courtney Joyner. The best of the new bonus features.

THE SPIRIT IS WILLING: CINEMAGIC AND SOCIAL DISCORD IN BERT I. GORDON’S TORMENTED - The Flying Maciste Brothers attach some seriously weighty themes to this little potboiler…kinda the antithesis of the MST3K episode.

FAMOUS GHOST STORIES - An unreleased TV pilot featuring Vincent Price, thought the episode itself is just an abridged version of Tormented.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By Gary Rhodes and Larry Blamire.

ORIGINAL AND RE-CUT, RESTORED TRAILERS

SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKLET - Includes an essay by Tom Weaver, as well as an interview with Susan Gordon, Bert’s daughter who plays little andy Hubbard.