Category Archives: Movie News and Articles

New on Home Video: “Constantine” on 4K Ultra HD + Digital

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Warner Brothers Discovery Home Entertainment is celebrating the 20th Anniversary of “Constantine” by bringing it to 4K Ultra HD for the very first time. The superhero horror film is based on the “Hellblazer” graphic novels from DC Comics and features Keanu Reeves as the titular protagonist John Constantine. It’s the feature film debut for Francis Lawrence who put together a dark and stylish supernatural adventure. Upon release, “Constantine” didn’t get the critical love it deserved. But over time people have rightly warmed up to it.

This cool new 4K Ultra HD edition of “Constantine” comes with a digital copy and will be available to purchase on February 18th. See below for a full synopsis of the film as well as release info including a list of special features.

About the Film:

Year: 2005

Runtime: 121 Minutes

Director: Francis Lawrence

Screenwriters: Kevin Brodbin, Frank Capello

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Djimon Hounsou, Gavin Rossdale, Peter Stormare, Max Baker, José Zúñiga, Francis Guinan, April Grace

Rating: R for violence and demonic images

Based on the DC Comics/Vertigo “Hellblazer” graphic novels and written by Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello, “Constantine” tells the story of John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), a man who has literally been to hell and back.  When he teams up with skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles.  Caught in a catastrophic series of otherworldly events, the two become inextricably involved and seek to find their own peace at whatever cost.

Special Features:

“Constantine” Digital release and Ultra HD Blu-ray disc contains a new special feature along with previously released special features:

  • New Feature – Two Decades of Damnation
  • Commentaries
  • Channeling Constantine
  • Conjuring Constantine
  • Holy Relics
  • Shotgun Shootout
  • Hellscape
  • Warrior Wings
  • Unholy Abduction
  • Demon Face
  • Foresight” The Power of Pre-Visualization
  • A Writer’s Vision

 

“Constantine” Ultra HD Blu-ray disc contains the additional previously released special features:

  • Director’s Confessional
  • Demon Face

 

New on Home Video: “Uncle Buck” on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

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Kino Lorber Studio Classics is bringing “Uncle Buck” back to home video in a new combo-pack complete with new special features and sharp new 4K transfer. Directed by the late John Hughes, this 1980s comedy classic stars the wonderful John Candy who’s in vintage form playing a lovable but irresponsible Buck Russell. With his brother in need of an emergency babysitter, Buck agrees to help. But he’s ill-prepared for the challenges ahead of him. Comedy hijinks ensue in this timeless Hughes gem.

This terrific new 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray combo edition of “Uncle Buck” will be available to purchase on February 18th. See below for a full synopsis of the film as well as release info including a list of special features.

About the Film:

Year: 1989

Runtime: 100 Minutes

Director: John Hughes

Screenwriters: John Hughes

Cast: John Candy, Amy Madigan, Macaulay Culkin, Jean Louisa Kelly, Laurie Metcalf, Gaby Hoffmann, Jay Underwood, Elaine Bromka, Garrett M. Brown, Mike Starr, Brian Tarantina, Suzanne Shepherd, William Windom, Anna Chlumsky, Dennis Cockrum

Rating: PG-13

The great John Candy (“Summer Rental”, “Spaceballs”) stars in this outrageous comedy as an idle, good-natured bachelor who’s left in charge of his nephew and nieces during a family crisis. Unaccustomed to suburban life, fun-loving Uncle Buck soon charms his younger relatives Miles (Macaulay Culkin, “Home Alone”) and Maizy (Gaby Hoffmann, “Now and Then”) with his hefty cooking and his new way of doing the laundry. His carefree style doesn’t impress everyone, though—especially Tia (Jean Louisa Kelly, “Mr. Holland’s Opus”), his rebellious teenage niece, and Chanice (Amy Madigan, “Field of Dreams”), his impatient girlfriend. Uncle Buck is the last person you’d think of to watch the kids. But with a little luck and a lot of love, he manages to surprise everyone in this heartwarming family classic from iconic filmmaker John Hughes, writer-director of “Sixteen Candles”, “The Breakfast Club”, “Weird Science”, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”.

Special Features:

Product Extras :

DISC 1 (4KUHD):

  • Brand New HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative 
  • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
  • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Joe Ramoni
  • 5.1 Surround and Lossless 2.0 Audio
  • Triple-Layered UHD100 Disc
  • Optional English Subtitles

DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):

  • Brand New HD Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative
  • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
  • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Joe Ramoni
  • Sixteen Going on Seventeen: NEW Interview with Actress Jean Louisa Kelly
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • 5.1 Surround and Lossless 2.0 Audio
  • Dual-Layered BD50 Disc
  • Optional English Subtitles

Ten Character Posters for “Paddington in Peru” – In Theaters This Weekend

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“Paddington in Peru” is set to hit theaters this weekend and I couldn’t be more excited. This is the third installment in what has been a delightful film series that follows the adventures of Paddington, a lovable Peruvian bear who finds a home in London with the equally lovable Brown family. Dougal Wilson takes the directing reins from Paul King to tell a story of Paddington (voiced by a returning Ben Whishaw) visiting his beloved Aunt Lucy in Peru. But upon arriving he learns that Aunt Lucy has gone missing. Good times most definitely ensues.

“Paddington in Peru” opens exclusively in theaters this weekend courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing. To celebrate here are TEN vibrant and colorful character posters to help warm your heart and get you read for another Paddington adventure.

New on Home Video: “Play It Again, Sam” on Blu-ray

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Kino Lorber Studio Classics is bringing the delightful comedy “Play It Again, Sam” to home video in a fantastic new Blu-ray edition. Released in 1972, “Play It Again, Sam” follows a neurotic and insecure film journalist and recent divorcee (played by Woody Allen) who is inspired by the ghost of Humphrey Bogart to get back into the dating game. Allen wrote the screenplay but it’s directed by Herbert Ross (“Funny Lady”, “The Turning Point”, “Footloose”, “Steel Magnolias”).

This handsomely packaged Blu-ray special edition of “Play It Again, Sam” will be available to purchase on February 11th. See below for a full synopsis of the film as well as release info including a list of special features.

About the Film:

Year: 1972

Runtime: 86 Minutes

Directors: Herbert Ross

Screenwriters: Woody Allen

Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Jerry Lacy, Susan Anspach, Jennifer Salt, Joy Bang,

Rating: PG

Woody Allen’s wonderful comedy was his first film with Diane Keaton, a relationship that would continue to produce great films like “Sleeper”, “Love and Death”, “Annie Hall” and “Manhattan”. Allen plays Allan, a fanatical movie buff with an outrageous recurring hallucination: Humphrey Bogart (Jerry Lacy) offering tips on how to make it with the ladies. His married friends Dick and Linda (Tony Roberts and Diane Keaton) fix him up with several eligible young ladies, but his self-confidence is so weak that he’s a total failure with them all. Eventually Allan discovers that there is one woman he’s himself with: Linda, his best friend’s wife. The final scene is a terrific takeoff on Casablanca’s classical ending, complete with roaring plane propellers, heavy fog and Bogie-style trenchcoats. “Play It Again, Sam” was penned by Woody Allen, based on his own 1969 Broadway play, and directed by Herbert Ross (“The Goodbye Girl”, “California Suite”).

Special Features:

Product Extras : 

  • Brand New HD Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative 
  • NEW Audio Commentary by Screenwriter/Producer Alan Spencer and Author/Film Historian Justin Humphreys 
  • Theatrical Trailer 
  • Optional English Subtitles

New on Home Video: A Spaghetti Western Double Feature – “Kill Them All and Come Back Alone” + “The Hellbenders” on 4K Ultra HD

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Kino Lorber Studio Classics has released a terrific spaghetti western double feature on home video. This special edition includes Enzo G. Castellari’s “Kill Them All and Come Back Alone” and Sergio Corbucci’s “The Hellbenders”, both on 4K Ultra HD for the very first time. Kino Lorber continues to be an industry leader in the preservation of classic cinema on physical media. They prove it again with this handsomely packaged collection.

This 4K Ultra HD two-film special edition is now available to purchase. See below for a full synopsis of both films as well as release info including a list of special features.

About “Kill Them All and Come Back Alone”:

Year: 1968

Runtime: 100 Minutes

Directors: Enzo G. Castellari

Screenwriters: Tito Carpi, Francesco Scardamaglia, Joaquín Romero Marchent, Enzo G. Castellari

Cast: Chuck Conners, Frank Wolff, Franco Citti, Leo Anchóriz, Ken Wood, Alberto Dell’Acqua, Hercules Cortez

Rating: R

From Enzo G. Castellari, the legendary director of “Street Law”, “The Big Racket”, “Keoma” and “The Inglorious Bastards” comes this action-packed spaghetti western starring screen and television great Chuck Connors (“The Big Country”, TV’s “The Rifleman” and “Branded”). In 1864, a mercenary Clyde McKay (Connors) leads a squad of tough-as-nails cutthroats on a mission for the Confederate high command to infiltrate an enemy fortress and steal millions in gold from the Union Army. Frank Wolfe (“Once Upon a Time in the West”) co-stars in this fully restored first-rate tale of betrayal and revenge.

About “The Hellbenders”:

Year: 1967

Runtime: 92 Minutes

Directors: Sergio Corbucci

Screenwriters: Ugo Liberatore, José Gutiérrez Maesso, Albert Brand

Cast: Joseph Cotten, Norma Bengell, Julián Mateos, Gino Pernice, Ángel Aranda, Claudio Gora, María Martín, Aldo Sambrell, Al Mulock

Rating: NR

From Sergio Corbucci, the legendary director of “Django”, “Navajo Joe”, “The Great Silence” and “The Mercenary” comes this classic spaghetti western starring screen icon Joseph Cotten (“The Third Man”, “Duel in the Sun”) as the fanatical patriarch of a family of ex-Confederate killers who massacre an army convoy carrying millions in cash to finance an invasion of the North. But before they can re-ignite the Civil War, they’ll have to smuggle a coffin crammed with the stolen cash across a frontier enflamed by lust, violence and extreme vengeance. Aldo Sambrell (“For a Few Dollars More”) and Al Mulloch (“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”) co-star in this fully restored western shocker. “The Hellbenders”—also known as “The Cruel Ones”, Features a rousing score renowned composer Ennio Morricone (“A Fistful of Dollars”).

Special Features:

Product Extras : 

  • 2020 UHD SDR Masters by StudioCanal 
  • Includes Both the 99-Minute English and 100-Minute Italian Cuts of KILL THEM ALL AND COME BACK ALONE 
  • Audio Commentaries (Both Films) by Filmmaker Alex Cox, Author of 10,000 Ways to Die: A Director’s Take on the Italian Western 
  • Theatrical Trailers (Both Films) 
  • KILL THEM ALL – Triple-Layered UHD100 Disc 
  • THE HELLBENDERS – Dual-Layered UHD66 Disc 
  • Optional English Subtitles

FIRST GLANCE: “Jurassic World Rebirth”

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Studios are ramping up promotion for their big summer blockbusters. Yesterday it was Disney and Marvel Studios teasing The Fantastic Four. Today it’s Universal Studios releasing the first full trailer for “Jurassic World Rebirth”, the seventh feature film in the Jurassic Park franchise. While the previous two films made a lot of money, they left a lot to be desired. Thankfully “Rebirth” gives us reasons to be optimistic starting with the first trailer.

“Rebirth” is a standalone sequel to 2022’s “Jurassic World Dominion”. It’s story takes place five years after “Dominion” and follows a top-secret mission back to the island of Jurassic Park. Team leader Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), Covert Operative Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), and paleontologist Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) are among the group searching for DNA that can be used in a number of medical cures. Of course they find much more than they bargained for mostly in the form a dangerous mutated dinosaurs.

The cast is a good one and helps make the film intriguing. But what excites me most is Gareth Edwards directing. He has delivered big with each of his last three films, “Godzilla” (2014), “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (2016), and “The Creator” (2023). After seeing the new trailer, there’s no reason to believe he won’t deliver once again.

“Jurassic World Rebirth” tromps into theaters on July 2nd. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.