From the Big Screen:

Empire of Light

(2022) From Academy Award-winning director and writer Sam Mendes, “Empire of Light” is a moving drama about the power of human connection during turbulent times. Set in and around a faded old cinema in an English coastal town in the early 1980s, it follows Hilary (Olivia Colman), a cinema manager struggling with her mental health, and Stephen (Micheal Ward), a new employee who longs to escape this provincial town in which he faces daily adversity. Both Hilary and Stephen find a sense of belonging through their unlikely and tender relationship, and come to experience the healing power of music, cinema, and community. Vitals: Director: Sam Mendes. Stars: Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Tom Brooke, Tanya Moodie, Hannah Onslow, Crystal Clarke. 2022, CC, MPAA rating: R, 115 min., Drama, North American box office gross: $1.177 million, worldwide $5.430, million, Fox. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Read more here

This Week’s Best Bets:

America, 1976. The last day of school. Bongs blaze, bell-bottoms ring, and rock and roll rocks. Among the best teen films ever made, “Dazed and Confused 4K UHD” (1993) “Dazed and Confused” eavesdrops on a group of seniors-to-be and incoming freshmen. A launching pad for a number of future stars, the first studio effort by Richard Linklater also features endlessly quotable dialogue and a blasting, stadium-ready soundtrack. Sidestepping nostalgia, “Dazed and Confused” is less about “the best years of our lives” than the boredom, angst, and excitement of teenagers waiting … for something to happen. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, director-approved 4K UHD + Blu-ray special edition features new 4K digital restoration of the director’s cut, supervised and approved by director Richard Linklater and cinematographer Lee Daniel, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray of the film with special features. From The Criterion Collection. Read more here … International sensation Michelle Yeoh stars in “Magnificent Warriors” (1987), an incredible adventure set against the backdrop of World War II. Yeoh portrays a wisecracking mercenary pilot with a leather jacket, gun, and bullwhip who sets aside personal greed to defend a small town and free its leader from the clutches of the invading Japanese army. Filled with spectacular action sequences, “Magnificent Warriors” seamlessly blends sly humor with thrills. Yeoh’s martial arts prowess, comedic flair, and dramatic skills are fully brought to bear in this incredible follow-up to the classic “Royal Warriors.” The finale, in which the town, armed only with spears and stones, rises up against the heavily fortified Japanese forces is not to be missed. On Blu-ray from 88 Films.

Buzzin’ the ‘B’s:

In “The Retaliators” (2023)m starring Michael Lombardi, Marc Menchaca, Joseph Gatt and Jacoby Shaddix (front man of Papa Roach), an upstanding pastor uncovers a dark and twisted underworld as he searches for answers surrounding his daughter’s brutal murder. A high-octane original soundtrack and cameos from some of the biggest names in rock music set the tone as this horror-thriller reveals a game of revenge played using a new set of rules. On Blu-ray from Better Noise Films … In “The Old Way” (2023), Nicolas Cage stars in his first-ever Western as Colton Briggs, a cold-blooded gunslinger turned respectable family man. When an outlaw and his gang put Colton and his family in peril, Colton is forced to take up arms with an unlikely partner – his 12-year-old daughter (Ryan Kiera Armstrong. Co-stars Noah Le Gros, Clint Howard, Kerry Knupp. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Lionsgate. Read more here … “The Long Dark Trail” (2022), starring Carter O’Donnell, Brady O’Donnell, Mick Thyer, Paul “Doc” Ignatius and Trina Campbell, is a tale about two brothers who fight and escape an abusive father. Hoping to find and reunite with their estranged mother, they embark on a dangerous trek deep into the unforgiving forest of the Pennsylvania Northwest. Both are unaware that their mother may be as dangerous as the abusive parent they left, as she has become a disciple of a deeply sadistic cult that resides deep in the nightmarish forest. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Cleopatra Entertainment … “The Inspection” (2022), starring Jeremy Pope, Raúl Castillo, Bokeem Woodbine and Gabrielle Union, is Elegance Bratton’s deeply moving film inspired by his own story. A young, gay Black man, rejected by his mother and with few options for his future, decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. But even as he battles deep-seated prejudice and the grueling routines of basic training, he finds unexpected camaraderie, strength, and support in this new community, giving him a hard-earned sense of belonging that will shape his identity and forever change his life. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Lionsgate.

Foreign Films:

“Lamya’s Poem” (2022 — Syria) is an animated feature that tells the story of a 12-year-old Syrian refugee girl named Lamya who tumbles into a dream world where she meets a poet and must help him write the poem that will save her life. When Lamya flees the violence of her country, she is given a book of poetry by the famous 13th-century poet, Rumi. As the perils of Lamya’s journey mount, the book becomes a magical gateway where she meets Rumi when he was a boy and also a refugee fleeing the violence of his time. In a shared dreamworld, they battle the monsters that follow them from their real-world situations, and Lamya must help young Rumi find his calling and write the poem that 800 years later will save her life. From Freestyle Digital Media. Read more here.

Special Interest:

In the early 20th century, impoverished teenage Italian cobbler Salvatore Ferragamo sailed from Naples to America to seek a better life. He settled in Southern California, and became Hollywood’s go-to shoemaker during the silent era. In 1927, he returned to Italy and founded in Florence his namesake luxury brand. The feature-length documentary “Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams” (2020 — Italy) recounts his adventures. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Sony. Read more here.

All DVDs and Blu-rays are screened on a reference system consisting of an Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player w/SACD & DVD-Audio, a Rotel RSX-972 Surround Sound Receiver, and Phase Technology 1.1 (front), 33.1 (center), and 50 (rear) speakers, and Power 10 subwoofer.