PRISONER OF WAR: Scott Adkins, the Pizza Man

PRISONER OF WAR (Blu-ray)

2025 / 113 min

Well Go USA

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Brawler😼

My wife works a couple of evenings a week, and on those days, I am tasked with making dinner. Being the creative culinary Jedi that I am, that means we’re having frozen pizza on Thursdays. It may not be as delicious as some of the fancier pizzerias in town, but it’s cheap, easy and does its job of tasting more or less like a pizza.

When it comes to action movies, Scott Adkins is kinda like the guy who actually makes the pizzas we passively consume once a week. There’s nothing particularly outstanding or memorable about the B-movie brawls he stars in, but more often than not, you can count on them doing the job of serving-up perfunctory action, violence and, of course, Adkins' considerable martial arts skills. 

For Prisoner of War, the title and cover art tells all, just as the photo on that pizza box shows what it’s supposed look like once it's heated up. Here, Adkins plays British WWII fighter pilot James Wright, who gets shot down and ends up in a Japanese prison camp run by sadistic colonel Benjiro Ito (Peter Shinkoda). But instead of executing him - though he threatens to daily - Ito repeatedly forces Wright to fight other Japanese soldiers. Unsurprisingly, Wright whips their asses every time.

This pizza man delivers...pain.

Meanwhile, Wright hatches an escape plan with his fellow POWs, some of whom are provided personalities, but this is mostly just the Scott Adkins show. That oughta suit his fans just fine, who’d probably be just as happy if the film had him fighting his way out of a staff meeting that could’ve been an email. And unlike some of his direct-to-video contemporaries, Adkins is a fairly decent actor, so when not snapping limbs, at least he’s capable of delivering his lines without making the viewer cringe.

Prisoners of War runs a little longer than necessary, especially with a superfluous prologue and epilogue. But for the most part, it delivers exactly what you’d expect from a Scott Adkins fightfest. Like the frozen pizza I heat up for the family every Thursday, we won’t give it another thought afterwards, but it’s adequately satisfying in the moment.

THE POOP SCOOP: Three Masterpieces and Dante's Peak

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER on Digital 11/14 and Blu-ray, 4K & DVD 1/20/2026 from Warner Bros. Washed-up stoner dad, Bob, (DiCaprio) exists in a state of paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa (Infiniti).  When his evil nemesis (Penn) resurfaces after 16 years and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past. From Warner Bros. Pictures comes “One Battle After Another,” written, directed and produced by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Academy Award and BAFTA winners Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro, and Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti. 

PRIDE & PREJUDICE 20th Anniversary Edition Coming 11/23 on 4K from Universal. Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley stars in the greatest love story of all time, Pride & Prejudice. When Elizabeth Bennet (Knightley) meets the handsome Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen), she believes he is the last man on earth she could ever marry. But as their lives become intertwined, she finds herself captivated by the very person she swore to loathe for all eternity. Jane Austen's masterpiece novel comes to the screen in the film critics said "makes you believe in true love and happily-ever-after" (Stephen Holden, The New York Times). The exclusive Pride & Prejudice 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition includes a beautifully curated 42-page book filled with behind-the-scenes photos, a foreword written by Director Joe Wright, excerpts from cast and crew, behind-the-scenes photos, and much more!

HOWARD’S END on Blu-ray & DVD 11/18 from Cohen Media Group. One of Merchant Ivory’s undisputed masterpieces, this adaptation of E.M. Forster’s classic novel won three Academy Awards. Howards End is a compelling, brilliantly acted study of one woman’s struggle to maintain her ideals and integrity in the face of Edwardian society’s conformist values. Cohen Film Collection is proud to present a gorgeous 4K restoration from the original negative, overseen and approved by director James Ivory and cinematographer Tony Pierce-Roberts. 

After Delays, DANTE’S PEAK is Finally Coming to 4K/Blu-ray on 12/16 from Kino Lorber. Without warning, day becomes night; air turns to fire, and solid ground melts beneath white-hot lava. From director Roger Donaldson comes an adrenaline-pumping adventure starring Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton. Welcome to the charming Pacific Northwest town of Dante’s Peak…where a long-dormant volcano is about to erupt with devastating force! The race is on for volcanologist Harry Dalton (Brosnan) and Mayor Rachel Wando (Hamilton) to evacuate the townspeople before it’s too late. Who will survive when the inferno unleashes its fury? The answer will leave you breathless, and the special effects will blow you away! Written by Leslie Bohem (Daylight) and beautifully shot in Cinemascope by Andrzej Bartkowiak (Speed).

CHAIN REACTIONS Blu-ray Mediabook Blu-ray December 2 from Dark Sky Films. Fifty years after Tobe Hooper’s classic shocked the world, CHAIN REACTIONS charts the film’s profound impact and lasting influence on five great artists – Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike, Alexandra Heller- Nicholas, Stephen King, and Karyn Kusama. 

THE BLACK PHONE 2 on Digital Now and Blu-ray and 4K December 23 from Universal. Director Scott Derickson (Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose) continues the nightmare with darker, deadlier, and more terrifying scenes than ever before as Ethan Hawke (First Reformed) returns to his most disturbing role as deranged serial killer The Grabber..

BEAST OF WAR on Blu-ray and DVD December 9 from Well Go USA. When their boat is sunk while crossing the Timor Sea during World War II, a young troop of Australian soldiers must find a way to survive the harsh seas on a quickly shrinking life raft. Hundreds of miles from anywhere, they must confront interpersonal conflicts, enemy attacks, and the advances of one very large, very hungry great white shark. 

GOOD FORTUNE arrives 11/7 on Premium Digital and 12/9 on 4K and Blu-ray from Lionsgate. In Aziz Ansari’s directorial debut, GOOD FORTUNE, a well-meaning but rather inept angel named Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) observes a struggling gig worker, Arj (Aziz Ansari), and intervenes to show him that money can't solve all his problems. 

Stephen King’s THE LONG WALK on Digital October 21 and 4K, Blu-ray & DVD November 25 from Lionsgate. The highly anticipated adaptation of master storyteller Stephen King’s first novel is an intense, chilling, and emotional thriller that challenges audiences to confront a haunting question: how far could you go?

PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE on 4K & Blu-ray December 16 from Criterion Collection. One of the most eccentric comedies of the 1980s, this is a pop-culture touchstone that helped make a manic oddball named Pee-wee Herman into an icon for outsiders of all ages.

THE CONJURING: LAST RITES on Blu-ray, 4K and DVD November 25 from Warner Bros. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reunite for one last case as renowned, real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in a powerful and spine-chilling addition to the global box office-breaking franchise.

Steven Spielberg’s MINORITY REPORT and CATCH ME IF YOU CAN on 4K December 9 from Paramount. Both Minority Report and Catch Me If You Can were remastered this year in 4K and the sparkling new transfers were reviewed and approved by Spielberg.  

The Gialli Cult Classic, A HYENA IN THE SAFE, on Blu-ray November 25 from Celluloid Dreams. This Blu-ray release will feature the film in its original Italian language with English subtitles exclusively.

A Newbie's Take on HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (4K)

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS 25th Anniversary Edition (4K UHD)

2000 / 105 min

Universal

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Biscuit Maker😽

For me, the 1966 Chuck Jones-directed How the Grinch Stole Christmas has always been the greatest holiday TV special ever made. Charming, whimsical and, most importantly, succinct, it remains a Christmas staple in my house, even though my kids have long-since grown up. So naturally, the curmudgeonly boomer in me clutched his pearls at the thought of a live action feature-length remake. No way would this cynical cash grab ever play in my house!

Further fueling my ire…the 2000 remake features what might be the worst Christmas song not sung by Mariah Carey. I should know, because mere days after we’ve put away our Halloween decorations for the year, my daughters always manage to find a radio station playing holiday music. Year-in and year-out, “Where Are You Christmas?” is played incessantly. Where are you, Christmas? What the hell kind of question is that? Maybe the lyrics mean something within the context of the film, but I wasn’t willing to endure it to find out. And even though Carey didn’t sing the song, I later learned she had a hand in writing it. I shoulda known.

But a funny thing happened over the last quarter-century. Ron Howard’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas became a holiday classic in its own right, and it’s this version of the story that’s earned an annual holiday viewing spot in many households, having been endlessly released & re-released in every home video format, including two previous 4K editions. I dunno…maybe it was time to set aside my presumptions and see what I’ve been missing (or more accurately, avoiding). So for what it’s worth, these are a few of my takeaways from watching it for the first time…

First and foremost, How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a great looking film, bursting with color, vivid imagery and creative production design, especially its depiction of Whoville. Having never seen any previous home video format, I can’t say whether or not this new 4K edition is a significant improvement, but I was pretty impressed with the overall quality of the picture, which enhances the visuals. It also features a pretty solid Dolby Atmos audio track that nicely underscores its aesthetic. 

And if you have to make a live action version of the Grinch, I concede that they couldn’t have picked a more suitable actor than Jim Carrey. While I’m not necessarily a big Carrey fan, he’s demonstrated brilliance in certain roles, especially those that require him to be more than a living cartoon. As the title character, he’s no Boris Karloff (who voiced the Grinch in the original), but is pretty entertaining here, and even buried under all that make-up, he manages to deliver a stand-out performance, though he sometimes makes the Grinch more scary than funny.

"Pull my finger, kid."

In some ways, however, Carrey is the whole show. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is far less interesting whenever he’s not on-screen (as is usually the case with his films). This is where the movie inevitably feels padded out with superfluous new plot elements. The citizens of Whoville were the least interesting aspect of the cartoon, and despite a solid cast, expanding their roles merely exacerbates this. And while I still don’t think the Grinch himself needed a backstory, at least those sequences are somewhat engaging for those who go in for that sort of thing.

Ultimately, How the Grinch Stole Christmas was better than I initially expected, though I don’t think I’d ever be compelled to give it another spin during the holidays. Still, I can see why many people do (likely those who didn’t grow up on the Chuck Jones masterpiece). It’s obvious a lot of love was put into the film - especially on the technical side - and you sure can’t accuse Jim Carrey of phoning it in. At the very least, its heart is in the right place, making it a bit more than a cynical cash grab. That song still sucks, though.

Just in time for the holidays, here’s a new 25th Anniversary edition. For those who already own previous 4K versions, the only upgrade is an all new retrospective documentary, which is pretty good and features interviews with director Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer, make-up artist Rick Baker and actor Taylor Momsen. Speaking of Taylor, here’s a bit of interesting trivia: Once a child actor who played Cindy Lou Who, she has since become the lead singer of a hard rock band called The Pretty Reckless. Maybe they could’ve made “Where Are You Christmas” listenable.

EXTRA KIBBLES

4K, BLU-RAY & DIGITAL COPIES

25 YEARS LATER: THE GIFT OF THE GRINCH is a brand new retrospective documentary that looks back at the film. Features interviews with director Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer, make-up artist Rick Baker and actor Taylor Momsen. Fans who’ve made this part of their holiday viewing tradition should enjoy it.

FEATURETTES - Several short featurettes (carried over from previous editions) focus on various aspects of the film, including make-up design, set design, visual effects and the design & creation of the people of Whoville.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Ron Howard.

DELETED SCENES

OUTTAKES

MUSIC VIDEO -  “Where Are You Christmas?,” by Faith Hill. Ugh.

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST (4K): A Time to Forgive?

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST (4K UHD)

1975 / 133 min

Warner Bros

#InPartnershipwithWB

Review by Mr. Paws😸

While Jaws has gotten a lot of attention this year, another little film celebrated its 50th Anniversary as well. It also swept the Oscars back in 1975, winning every major category, including Best Picture. I distinctly remember being 12 years long and staring drop-jawed in the front the TV when the final award of the night was announced, incredulous that it beat the greatest movie ever made. It didn’t matter that Jaws was the only nominated film I’d actually seen at the time.

I still haven’t quite forgiven the Academy for that, but after finally watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest about a decade later - old enough to better appreciate its themes, distinctive characters and rich performances - I had to concede it was a pretty great film. Better than Jaws? Hell no, but perhaps I’d change my tune if Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) had met her demise in the mouth of a great white.

Even without any sharks, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest remains supremely rewatchable. Perhaps even more so today, because while revisiting the film in 4K, I was reminded of how many famous character actors got their first big break here, including Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Will Sampson and Brad Dourif. But of course, the whole movie still belongs to Jack Nicholson as rebellious asylum inmate R.P. McMurphy and Louis Fletcher as his cold blooded foil, Nurse Ratched. The Oscars they received for those performances are well-deserved. 

Jack sits on a tack.

I was also reminded of how subtly affecting the movie is, especially the scenes in which McMurphy endears himself to the other inmates. My favorite moment would have to be the one where McMurphy commandeers a fishing boat and takes his new friends on a real adventure, a sequence that’s both funny and heartwarming. Elsewhere, his friendship with silent, hulking “Chief” Bromden sets up a climax that remains poignant and haunting, no matter how many times I’ve seen it. 

50 years later, the film arguably remains the career highpoint for a lot of people on both sides of the camera, including director Milos Forman. So while One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest still no Jaws, maybe I should finally consider forgiving the Academy for thinking it was. After all, it ain’t like they gave the Best Picture statue to Barry Lyndon.

Finally remastered in 4K, both the picture and sound have been given significant upgrades from previous Blu-ray editions. The details, textures and color palettes are sharper and more accurate, while two audio tracks are offered, including an impressive DTS-HD Master Audio mix. The disc also comes with a few interesting new bonus features (outlined below), along with an archival feature-length retrospective documentary. But I gotta say...whoever designed the terrible new cover should be fired.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Conversations on Cuckoo: Group Therapy and Conversations on Cuckoo: Moviemaking Memories are a couple of new Zoom discussions featuring producer Michael Douglas and actors Christopher Lloyd, Brad Dourif and Danny Devito. 

COMPLETELY CUCKOO is a feature length retrospective documentary featuring a ton of interesting interviews that include producers Michael Douglas & Saul Zentz, Kirk Douglas (who originally optioned the film with the hope of playing the lead role), actors Louise Fletcher, Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito & Vincent Schiavelli, director Milos Forman and original author Ken Kesey.

5 DELETED SCENES

DIGITAL COPY

THE NAKED GUN: Not Bad For a Sequel Nobody Asked For

THE NAKED GUN (Blu-ray)

2025 / 85 min

Paramount

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Bulldozer😽

For a belated sequel that nobody was asking for, The Naked Gun ain’t bad at all.

The original Naked Gun, based on an even-funnier, short-lived TV series, Police Squad!, is an all-time classic that (along with Airplane!) firmly established Leslie Nielsen as the king of movie parodies. Along with rapid-fire dialogue & visual gags courtesy of the legendary ZAZ team, a big reason for its success was the casting of actors not typically associated with comedy, who played the material straight.

The idea of another film without the original cast and writers seems unthinkable, especially in an era when parody films are about as fresh as curdled milk. However, director Akiva Schaffer is no stranger to the genre, and while filling Nielsen’s shoes is arguably a fool’s errand, The Naked Gun similarly benefits from a cast mostly known for serious roles, starting at the top with Liam Neeson.

Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Nielsen’s character and also a member of LA’s Police Squad. Since even movies like this need a perfunctory plot, Drebin is investigating the death of software designer Simon Davenport. Initially deemed a suicide, Simon’s sister, Beth (Pamela Anderson), insists he was murdered. It turns out that Richard Cane (Danny Huston), the head of the tech company Simon worked for, has nefarious plans for the software.

A reminder to always use your turn signal.

But that’s neither here nor there. Like all the rest of the franchise (with plots we barely recall), the story is a clothesline on which to hang a plethora of gags, both visual and dialogue-driven. With perhaps a bigger emphasis on slapstick than previous films, not everything works, but a surprising amount of it does. For every joke that falls flat, a couple are genuinely funny, if not laugh-out-loud hilarious. Quite a bit of this is largely due to Neeson, whose performance never reeks of look-at-me-being-funny. 

Did the world need another Naked Gun movie? Of course not, but the fact that it’s actually pretty good is one of this year’s more pleasant surprises. While never getting the mileage from its gags that Nielsen and the ZAZ team did with the original, this one often captures the spirit of that film, at least enough to justify its existence. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - A Legacy of Laughter features interviews with the cast and crew; Son of a (Naked) Gun features actor Liam Neeson; The Funny Femme Fatale features actor Pamela Anderson; The Really Unusual Suspects features other members of the cast; Dropping the Balls focuses on the making of the finale.

OUTTAKES

DELETED/EXTENDED/ALTERNATE SCENES - There are a bunch of ‘em.

FAUX COMMERCIALS - Full versions of a couple of fake commercials that appear in the film.