Hearing the news of a sequel to 2000’s epic “Gladiator” left me skeptical. I adore the classic Russell Crowe-led original (it was the first DVD I ever owned) and the idea of following it up some 24 years later left me with several concerns. Easing my mind a bit was the return of Ridley Scott as producer AND director. Surely he wouldn’t return if there wasn’t a big vision and a meaningful story to tell…right?

Today Paramount dropped the long awaited first trailer for “Gladiator II”, a massive production sporting a near $300 million budget. Aside from some odd music choices, the trailer certainly looks to have some interesting ideas. At the same time, it also looks to be following a fairly similar blueprint as the 2000 film. Hopefully it isn’t too similar.

Paul Mescal plays Lucius Verus, the grandson of Rome’s murdered emperor Marcus Aurelius (see the first film) and former heir to the Empire. He is taken away from his wife and child by an ambitious general (Pedro Pascal). Following in the footsteps of Crowe’s Maximus, Lucius chooses to fight as a gladiator and inspire the people to stand against the cruel new emperors of Rome. The always great Denzel Washington looks to have a significant role and Connie Nielsen returns as the mother of Lucius. I remain both hesitant and excited. Regardless, there are some really good ingredients here.

“Gladiator II” releases in theaters on November 22nd. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment is bringing the 1996 box office hit “Twister” to 4K Ultra HD for the very first time. With its much anticipated sequel only a few weeks away, it’s a great time to revisit storm chasers Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt in this thoroughly entertaining disaster thriller. The film would go on to be the second highest grossing movie of 1996 and receive Academy Award nominations for visual effects and sound. Adding to the film’s noteworthy history, it is also known for being the first feature film released on the DVD format.

This 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray edition with Digital Copy of “Twister” will be available for purchase on July 9th. See below for a full synopsis and release information including special features.

About the Film:

Year: 1996

Runtime: 113 Minutes

Director: Jan de Bont

Screenwriter: Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin

Cast: Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Cary Elwes, Alan Ruck, Todd Field, Jeremy Davies, Lois Smith, Zach Grenier, Nicholas Sadler, Abraham Benrubi, Jake Busey, Scott Thomson

Rating: PG-13

Don’t breathe! Don’t look back! Just run for your life when a destructive force of nature comes howling straight toward you, destroying everything in its path – when you’re running from a Twister. Academy Award winner Helen Hunt stars as Dr. Jo Thornton-Harding, who as a small girl watched her father sucked to his death from her family’s storm cellar by a massive tornado. Now a storm chaser, a scientist who risks her life to study the dark side of nature by taking her data-transmitting instruments directly into the path of a deadly storm, Jo chases the largest tornado ever to strike Oklahoma as her marriage implodes and rival scientists will stop at nothing to steal her breakthrough.

Special Features:

The Twister 4K UHD Disc includes the following new and previously released special features:

• The Legacy of Twister – Taken by the Wind (NEW)
• Chasing the Storm: Twister Revisited
• Anatomy of a Twister
• The Making of Twister
• Van Halen Music Video – Humans Being
• Commentary 

The idea of J.K. Simmons playing Santa Claus is easily the biggest draw of “Red One”, an upcoming holiday film from director Jake Kasdan. With a massive budget of reportedly nearly $300 million, the Christmas-themed action-adventure comedy has its sights set on being a full-blown franchise. But after seeing its recently released first trailer, I’m curious to see if it will come anywhere close to making its money back despite the star wattage of its leads, Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans.

The premise centers around Santa Clause being kidnapped. The head of North Pole security, Callum Drift (Johnson) is forced to team up with obnoxious bounty hunter Jack O’Malley (Evans) to find Saint Nick and save Christmas (so to speak). Kasdan and company seem to be shooting for a buddy movie with a Christmastime setting. That could be entertaining. Unfortunately the trailer isn’t all that promising. An unconvincing CGI polar bear, even more unconvincing killer snowmen, patently unfunny banter – it’s all present plus some. Who knows what to expect?

“Red One” jiggles into theaters on November 15th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

The wickedly interesting cinematic vision of filmmaker Robert Eggers is without question distinctly and uniquely his own. His three feature films have ran the gamut between incredible (“The Witch”) to disappointing (“The Lighthouse”) to something in between (“The Northman”). Regardless, each film displayed an alluring visual and narrative style unlike anything else out there today. Judging by its captivating first trailer, his new film “Nosferatu” looks to continue that trend.

Essentially a remake of F. W. Murnau’s 1922 film of the same name, “Nosferatu” is a gothic period piece that tells the story of Count Orlock (Bill Skarsgård) and his growing infatuation with a troubled young woman named Ellen Hunter (Lily-Rose Depp). The film also features Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Willem Dafoe, Ralph Ineson, and Simon McBurney. Eggers’ fascinating use of imagery is seen all through the trailer and we get a really good sense of the tone he’s going for. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us.

“Nosferatu” is currently set to release on December 25th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Warner Brothers Discovery Home Entertainment and Amazon MGM Studios have announced the release of “The Boys in the Boat” to home video. Directed by George Clooney and featuring a fantastic Callum Turner lead performance, this inspiring biographical sports drama is based on Daniel James Brown’s non-fiction book about the 1936 University of Washington rowing team and their unlikely run towards the Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Read my full review [HERE].

This Blu-ray edition of “The Boys in the Boat” will be available for purchase on July 25th. See below for a full synopsis and release information including special features.

About the Film:

Year: 2024

Runtime: 123 Minutes

Director: George Clooney

Screenwriter: Mark L. Smith

Based on the Book by: Daniel James Brown

Cast: Callum Turner, Joel Edgerton, Peter Guinness, Jack Mulhern, James Wolk, Hadley Robinson, Courtney Henggeler, Chris Diamantopoulos, Sam Strike, Alec Newman

Rating: PG-13 for Language and Smoking

“The Boys in the Boat” is a sports drama based on the #1 New York Times bestselling non-fiction book written by Daniel James Brown. The film, directed by George Clooney, is about the 1936 University of Washington rowing team that competed for gold at the Summer Olympics in Berlin. This inspirational true story follows a group of underdogs at the height of the Great Depression as they are thrust into the spotlight and take on elite rivals from around the world.

“The Boys in the Boat” stars Joel Edgerton (“Loving”), Callum Turner (The “Fantastic Beasts” films), Peter Guinness (“Sleepy Hollow”), Jack Mulhern (TV’s “Mare of Easttown”), James Wolk (TV’s “Mad Men”), Hadley Robinson (“Anyone But You”), and Courtney Henggeler (TV’s “Cobra Kai”).

Special Features:

None

Well Go USA is bringing one of the best surprises of 2024 to home video. The riveting, stylishly made, and darkly funny action-thriller “The Last Stop in Yuma County” is coming to Blu-ray and it shouldn’t be missed. It marks the feature film debut for writer/director Francis Galluppi who pulls inspiration from the Coen brothers, “Pulp Fiction”, and many other genre gems. A cracking cast along with a terrific sense of time and place are just some of the reasons the film works so well. Read my review [HERE].

This Blu-ray edition of “The Last Stop in Yuma County” will be available for purchase on July 16th. See below for a full synopsis and release information including special features.

About the Film:

Year: 2024

Runtime: 90 Minutes

Director: Francis Galluppi

Screenwriter: Francis Galluppi

Cast: Jim Cummings, Jocelin Donahue, Richard Brake, Sierra McCormick, Faizon Love, Nicholas Logan, Michael Abbott Jr., Gene Jones, Connor Paolo, Alex Essoe, Robin Bartlett, Jon Proudstar, Sam Huntington, Ryan Masson, Barbara Crampton, Robert Broski

Rating: R for Violence and Language

While awaiting the next fuel truck at a middle-of-nowhere Arizona rest stop, a traveling young knife salesman is thrust into a high-stakes hostage situation by the arrival of two similarly stranded bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty—or cold, hard steel—to protect their bloodstained, ill-begotten fortune.

“The Last Stop in Yuma County” is the impressive debut feature film by writer/director Francis Galluppi, who has been tapped to write and direct the next Evil Dead movie—makes its Blu-ray^™ debut July 16 from Well Go USA Entertainment. While stranded at a rural Arizona rest stop, a traveling salesman is thrust into a dire hostage situation by the arrival of two bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty—or cold, hard steel—to protect their bloodstained fortune. “THE LAST STOP IN YUMA COUNTY” stars Jim Cummings (Halloween Kills), Jocelin Donahue (Insidious: Chapter 2), Sierra McCormick (The Nana Project), Nicholas Logan (“Dopesick”), Michael Abbott Jr. (Killers of the Flower Moon), Connor Paolo (A Creature was Stirring), Alexandra Essoe (The Pope’s Exorcist), Robin Bartlett (“Playing For Time”), Jon Proudstar (Young Guns II), and Sam Huntington (Seven Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss). Bonus materials include a Making-of featurette and three commentary tracks.

Special Features:

– Making-of Featurette

– Three Commentary Tracks