Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment is bringing the 1996 action film “Eraser” to 4K Ultra HD for the first time in celebration of the film’s 30th anniversary. Directed by Chuck Russell, “Eraser” stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a U.S. Marshal in the government’s Witness Protection program tasked with protecting a corporate whistle-blower (Vanessa Williams) with information on black market arms dealing. Though not the greatest film in Schwarzenegger’s catalog, it’s an underappreciated one. And it gets its due in the terrific new home video edition.
“Eraser” will be available to own on 4K Ultra HD + Digital Copy on June 16th. See below for a full synopsis of the film as well as release information including a list of special features.
About the Film:
Year: 1996
Runtime: 115 Minutes
Director: Chuck Russell
Screenwriters: Tony Puryear, Walon Green
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vanessa Williams, James Caan, James Coburn, Robert Pastorelli, James Cromwell, Danny Nucci, Andy Romano, Joe Viterelli, Olek Krupa, Gerry Becker, Nick Chinlund, John Slattery
Rating: R for strong/bloody violent content, sexual content/nudity and language
U.S. marshal John Kruger (Arnold Schwarzenegger) “erases” the lives and identities of people entering the Witness Protection Program. When his latest charge (Vanessa Williams) uncovers a deal to put a new superweapon in the wrong hands, it’s a do-or-die assignment. Kruger embarks on a high-octane action spree to protect her.
Special Features:
“Eraser”on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Digital contain the following new special features:
Reinventing the Modern Action Hero – The Evolution of Arnold (NEW)Discover how the legendary actor’s career shifted from the muscle-forward characters of the 80s into a sleeker, more emotionally grounded, action identity.
‘90s Action Thriller Reimagined (NEW)Dive deeper into the star power, early CGI, and technological innovations that defined the transition from the late-80s analog action into the emerging digital era to follow.
Mark Jenkin writes, directs, edits, shoots, and scores “Rose of Nevada”, a hypnotic fusion of rural drama and science-fiction, with ghost story elements sprinkled in to boot. The film has the feel of an old memory play although without the use of narration as a centering device. It remains mysterious, haunting, and at times utterly spellbinding. I found myself captivated, not only by its unconventional storytelling, but also by the impressive craftsmanship behind every shot.
“Rose of Nevada” grabs your attention from its first frame with its striking visual style and rich, post-production sound design. Jenkin shot his movie using a vintage clockwork Bolex camera on 16mm film stock. The 4:3 aspect ratio intensifies the focus while the grainy texture and highly saturated colors give the images both lived-in and dreamlike qualities. It quickly becomes a transporting experience that often has us questioning while admiring what we’re seeing.
Image Courtesy of 1-2 Special
The story takes place in a once bustling fishing village in Cornwall that has since become a shell of what it formerly was. It all changed three years ago, when the village’s fishing boat went out to sea and never returned. Besides the tragedy of losing two local fisherman, the village also lost its chief source of revenue. The few people who remain find themselves struggling to make ends meet. But the proverbial tide turns after the boat makes a stunning reappearance.
After three years, the village’s lost fishing boat called the “Rose of Nevada” mysteriously floats back into port. No one’s onboard but there are signs of the crew who worked it. Desperate to save what’s left of their town, a local businessman named Mike (Edward Rowe) decides to send the boat back out. He hires a salty sea captain named Murgey (Francis Magee) and two deckhands, a local husband and father named Nick (George MacKay) and a drifter named Liam (Callum Turner).
Jenkin’s attention to detail adds a visual richness to the compositions that evokes an array of feelings. In one sense, it helps things to feel true and organic. It feels as if we are embedded in the suffering community or aboard the cramped fishing boat. At the same time, Jenkin deftly skews our sense of reality with his illusory lensing. Cryptic imagery transports us back in time while creative touches, like cleverly incorporated film burns, leave the impression we’re moving in and out of a dream.
Image Courtesy of 1-2 Special
This comes more clearly into focus after Nick and Liam return home. I won’t dare spoil what they discover, but it sets two uniquely different paths in front of them that neither are quite prepared for. And it gives shape to the movie’s deeper themes of loss, sacrifice, second chances, and socio-economic decline. Meanwhile strong supporting work from Rosalind Eleazar, Yana Penrose, and Mae Voogd adds moral and emotional stakes to this enigmatic tale.
“Rose of Nevada” is one of the most visually absorbing and strikingly immersive films I’ve experienced in some time. Jenkin’s unique cinematic style mixed with perfectly tuned performances creates a deeply evocative experience that lures you in and keeps you engaged with its mesmerizing rhythm and mysterious allure. It’s a strange movie in many regards. But it’s not hard to get in sync with it. And once you do, you simply can’t break its hold on you.
Brad Pitt stars alongside a German Shepherd named Uber in the upcoming survival thriller “Heart of the Beast”. I’ve been interested in this film since word of its existence first game around. Now Paramount has released the first trailer and it shows a compelling balance between heartfelt and thrilling. David Ayer directs from a screenplay by Cameron Alexander. But Pitt and his canine companion are the real draws.
Pitt plays an Army Special Forces veteran who returns to civilian life with the combat dog he served with. But adapting proves difficult, as he’s haunted by traumatic dreams of his time at war. PTSD looks to play a significant part of the story, as does the bond between the man and his dog. And they’ll need that bond after their plane crashes deep in the Alaskan wilderness. Alone and with no way to call for help, the two must lean on their training and their love for each other to survive. Sign me up!
“The Heart of the Beast” opens in theaters September 25th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
I’ve been wildly curious about “The End of Oak Street” since its brief teaser dropped a couple of months back. Now Warner Bros. Pictures have released the first full trailer and I’m even more intrigued. This science-fiction survivor thriller comes from writer-director David Robert Mitchell, who gained a lot of attention for his 2014 horror film “It Follows” (a sequel is currently in the works with NEON producing and distributing). “The End of Oak Street” looks to be a MUCH different animal in size, scope, and scale.
Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor play Denise and Greg Platt, a husband and wife raising their two children in a quiet suburban neighborhood during the 1980s. But their unremarkable middle-class life is turned upside-down after a crazy cosmic event uproots Oak street and transports the neighborhood to someplace prehistoric. It’s a bonkers concept custom-made for the movies and it should be a lot of fun. The new trailer looks like an entertaining mix of “Jurassic Park” and “The Twilight Zone” with a strong family dynamic at its core. Sign me up.
“The End of Oak Street” arrives in theaters on August 14th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
I’ve learned a lot since I started researching for this review. I learned there is something called “creepypasta” which are horror-centric urban legends or short stories created and then spread virally across the internet. Then I learned that the new film “Backrooms” was originally a YouTube anthological video series that was based on a creepypasta of the same name. I don’t pretend to fully understand how all of that works, but it does nonetheless.
The YouTube creator behind “Backrooms” is 20-year-old Kane Parsons. The success of his online creation has now blossomed into a feature film adaptation which he directs. It’s quite an accomplishment for a young man not even old enough to buy liquor here in the states. But don’t let his age fool you. Parsons proves to be a savvy young filmmaker with keen instincts and surprising courage, even if not everything in his debut feature fully clicks.
“Backrooms” is backed by several notable producers including James Wan, Shawn Levy, and Osgood Perkins. Parsons does the rest, carving out his audacious vision with the help of screenwriter Will Soodik and two fantastic leads in Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve. He uses every bit of his modest budget to shrewdly build upon his original online premise, expanding his claustrophobic and atmospheric world while adding in new layers of lore.
Image Courtesy of A24
Ejiofor plays Clark, a failed architect who owns a struggling Santa Clara Valley furniture store called Cap’n Clark’s Ottoman Empire. While Clark’s professional failures have left him bitter and frustrated, his biggest difficulty is with his recent divorce which has left him alone, living in his store. When he’s not drowning himself in liquor, Clark attends sessions with his therapist Mary (Reinsve). But he doesn’t find much comfort in them. Meanwhile Mary has buried trauma of her own that can be traced back to her troubled childhood.
While in his store’s basement, Clark makes an astonishing discovery. He notices a glimmer of light shining through a long vertical crack in the wall. While investigating it, Clark phases through the wall, coming out in what resembles an empty office space bathed in an overwhelming yellow tint. As he explores further he finds what seems to be an endless maze of connected liminal spaces, many with slight distortions such as upside down stairways or furniture clipping through the floor.
Clark escapes back through the extradimensional door and rushes to tell Mary about the “backrooms”. But she doesn’t believe him. So Clark recruits his assistant manager Kat (Lukita Maxwell) and her videographer boyfriend Bobby (Finn Bennett) to follow him through the portal and record their findings as proof of its existence. But as the trio pushes deeper into the backrooms, they encounter something terrifying. Later, after receiving a concerning voice message from Clark, Mary goes to the store to check on him. She finds the portal door and unknowingly enters into the nightmare.
Despite how it may sound, the premise is an unnerving one, specifically once Clark discovers the backrooms. The top-notch production design routinely takes minimalistic spaces and creates something eerily compelling for us to set our eyes on. And the sheer mystery of it all, especially for those like me who are unfamiliar with the online material, keeps us engaged and on the look out for any clues. Also, the sheer commitment of both Ejiofor and Reinsve proves to be crucial in selling us on the story.
Image Courtesy of A24
Unfortunately some of Parsons’ early choices bog things down during what should be key moments. Clark’s first encounter with the backrooms starts with a chilling sense of dread but turns into a lengthy time-muncher as we watch him slow-walk around rooms, down halls, through doors, and into more rooms. Later, during what is arguably the film’s most harrowing sequence, Parsons suddenly turns to a prolonged found-footage approach, even though it doesn’t make sense in the moment. I get that it’s a nod to the web series, but it shortchanges what could have been truly terrifying.
But part of what makes Parsons so impressive is that he never seems stuck in one mode. He’s consistently throwing in something new and unexpected. This is especially true in the film’s wickedly entertaining second half. It takes a truly gonzo turn as Parsons takes some wild swings that land with an impact somewhere between horrifying and hilarious. The intensity also ratchets up, culminating in a big final twist that turns everything on its head in a mostly satisfying way. In the final few minutes I was glued to every word, every hint, and every suggestion.
From all indications “Backrooms” is doing massive opening week numbers and that’s great to see. This sci-fi and psychological horror hybrid is the kind of highly original material that can energize moviegoers, and that certainly appears to be the case. It also ushers in a fresh, bold, and young new voice in Kane Parsons, who displays the kind of striking vision and go-for-broke confidence that leaves you eager to see what he delivers next. As for his debut, “Backrooms” is enthralling, aggravating, mysterious, and confounding. And after much deliberation, I can say with confidence that I pretty much loved it.
I’ll be perfectly honest, I don’t know what to expect from the upcoming “Masters of the Universe”. I’m simply not sure what kind of demand there is for a movie based on a 1980s animated series and Mattel toy line. Yes I know there have been several animated revivals over the last forty years. But most remember it from its 80s heyday that saw the franchise make the jump from comics to television, and even spawn a not-so-great 1987 feature film starring Dolph Lundgren. But in 2026? I don’t know.
But hats off to Amazon MGM Studios for rolling the dice and bringing a “Masters of the Universe” to the big screen. And they aren’t taking the cheap route. The movie is said to have a $200 million production budget, and director Travis Knight has put together a rather compelling cast that includes Nicholas Galitzine, Jared Leto, Idris Elba, Alison Brie, Camila Mendes, Morena Baccarin, Kristen Wiig, James Purefoy, and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson.
In the end, my curiosity is more than enough to lead me to the theater, mainly as a fan of classic sword-and-sorcery films rather than the franchise itself. And the promotion for the film has been fun. Case in point – the eighteen (yes, EIGHTEEN) cool character posters that have been dropped ahead of the film’s June 5th release. Check them out below and let me know what you think. Also, how excited are you to see a new big screen adaptation of “Masters of the Universe”?
Keith & the Movies 