Wonka

(2023) Based on the extraordinary, iconic character at the center of Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” one of the best-selling children’s books of all time, “Wonka” tells the wondrous story of how a young chocolate-maker, armed with nothing but a hatful of dreams, manages to change the world, one delectable bite at a time. Vitals: Director: Paul King. Stars: Timothee Chalamet, Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman, Keegan Michael Key, Rowan Atkinson, Sally Hawkins. CC, MPAA rating: PG, 115 min., Family Adventure, North American box office gross: $195.252 million, worldwide $552.552 million, Warner. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray + Digital Code, 4K Ultra HD + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Blu-ray extras: “Unwrapping Wonka: Paul King’s Vision”; “The Whimsical Music of Wonka”; “Welcome to Wonka Land”; “Hats Off to Wonka”; “Wonka’s Chocolatier”: Chocolatier Gabriella Cugno provides an in-depth look at the creation of the beautiful chocolates seen in “Wonka.” Read more here.

Migration

(2023) The Mallard family is in a bit of rut. While dad Mack is content to keep his family safe paddling around their New England pond forever, mom Pam is eager to shake things up and show their kids — teen son Dax and duckling daughter Gwen — the whole wide world. After a migrating duck family alights on their pond with thrilling tales of far-flung places, Pam persuades Mack to embark on a family trip, via New York City, to tropical Jamaica. As the Mallards make their way south for the winter, their well-laid plans quickly go awry. Vitals: Director: Benjamin Renner. Stars: Voices of Kumail Nanjiani, Tresi Gazal, Elizabeth Banks, Awkwafina, Danny DeVito, Carol Kane, Keegan-Michael Key, Kumail Nanjiani, David Mitchell. CC, MPAA rating: PG, 83 min., Animtaed Family, North American box office gross: $116.077 million, worldwide $256.079 million, Universal. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Code, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Extras: Three mini-movies: “Fly Hard,” “Mooned” and “Midnight Mission”; “Microphone Madness”; “Meet the Cast”; “Taking Flight: The Making Of”; “The Art Of Flight”; “The Sound Of Flight”; “How To Draw Mack, Delroy, Chump, Gwen”; “Build Your Own Pop-Up Book”; “Calling All Birds: The Mack Quack, The Heron Honk, The Chump Chirp”; “Best Nests”: how to make the best nest for your pet ducks.

Next Goal Wins

(2023) Based on a true story, this heartfelt underdog comedy follows the American Samoa soccer team, infamous for their brutal 31-0 FIFA loss in 2001. With the World Cup qualifiers fast approaching, the team hires down-on-his- luck, maverick coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), hoping he will turn the world’s worst soccer team into winners. Vitals: Director: Taika Waititi. Stars: Michael Fassbender, Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, David Fane, Rachel House, Beulah Koale, Will Arnett, Elisabeth Moss. CC, MPAA rating: PG-134, 104 min., Comedy Drama, North American box office gross: $6.713 million, worldwide $10.518 million, Disney. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Extras: “Creating The Pitch of Life” featurette; deleted scene. Read more here.

This Week’s Best Bet

“This Week’s Best Bets”
Ripped from the headlines of the turbulent era between the Great War and the Great Depression, the dynamic, nostalgia-tinged crime drama “The Roaring Twenties” (1939) balances tommy-gun action with epic historical sweep. Legends James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart star as army buddies whose fortunes rise and fall as their fates intersect, first in a foxhole on the front lines of World War I, then in Manhattan’s Prohibition-era underworld. Directed by Hollywood master Raoul Walsh, and based on a story by prolific journalist turned screenwriter and producer Mark Hellinger, “The Roaring Twenties” brought to a close the celebrated Warner Bros. gangster cycle of the 1930s, and it remains one of the greatest and most influential crime films of all time. On DVD, Blu-ray, 4k UHD/Blu-ray combo with new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the 4K UHD disc and the Blu-ray. In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. Read more here. From The Criterion Collection.

Buzzin’ the ‘B’s:

Inspired by true events, “The Night They Came Home” (2024), starring Danny Trejo, Brian Austin Green, Robert Carradine, Charlie Townsend and Tim Abell, chronicles the ruthless exploits of the Rufus Buck Gang, a group of outlaws who clashed with the Indian Territory of Middle America at the tail end of the 19th century. The combined force of local lawmen and Indian police aim to take down a coldhearted band of fugitives with vengeance on their minds. In a Blu-ray/DVD Combo from Lionsgate … Inspired by actual events, the “The Black Mass” (2023) takes place over the course of 24 hours and recounts the grisly murders that occurred over winter of 1978, when a serial killer attacked multiple victims on an undisclosed college campus. The film, which premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, marks the directorial debut of award-winning actor/producer Devanny Pinn (“Frost,” “The Dawn”). A brutal and unflinching look at a terrifying rampage, “The Black Mass” takes a new perspective on the tropes of the serial killer biopic, giving voice to the ones who rarely have one: the killer’s victims. Featuring performances by Jeremy London (“Mallrats”), Nicky Whelan (“Hall Pass”), Kathleen Kinmont (“Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers”), Lisa Wilcox (“Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master”), and Susan Lanier (“The Hills Have Eyes”). On DVD, Blu-ray, from Cleopatra/MVD Entertainment.

Foreign Films:

In “Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman” (2023 — South Korea), starring Gang Dong-Won, Huh Joon-Ho, Esom, Lee Dong-Hwi and Kim Jong-Soo, psychiatrist Dr. Cheon is a fake exorcist who doesn’t believe in ghosts. He uses his acute intuition – along with his assistant, YouTube channel, gadgets and explosives – to perform bogus exorcisms and solve cases across the country. When a new client approaches him to save her little sister from evil spirits, he accepts her case. Ready to perform his phony healing routine, he suddenly discovers he’s involved in a case more powerful than he’s ever experienced — a real one. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Well Go USA. Read more here … After the fall of Napoleon, the Restoration begins in “Allonsanfan” (1974 — Italy), directed by Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani. Fulvio (Marcello Mastroianni), an aristocrat who has dedicated his life to the revolution has become disillusioned and his cowardice keeps him from joining his comrades. As he struggles to manage his evasion and lies he gets swept up in a suicidal uprising in Southern Italy. Stunningly photographed with lush period detail and featuring the Taviani brothers’ trademark magic realism and absurdist irony, “Allonsanfàn” has Mastroianni on top form as the reluctant insurgent and one of Ennio Morricone’s finest scores. New 2K restoration of the film from the original negative, presented on Blu-ray for the first time in the world. From Radiance/MVD Entertainment … In “Black Tight Killers” (1966 — Japan), after wooing stewardess Yoriko (Chieko Matsubara, “Tokyo Drifter”), war photographer Hondo (Akira Kobayashi, “Battles Without Honor and Humanity”) sees her kidnapped by a team of deadly female assassins who use vinyl records as weapons. Investigating her whereabouts, Hondo uncovers a conspiracy to steal a buried stash of WWII-era gold. Soon he must dodge go-go dancing ninjas and chewing-gum bullets to save Yoriko, whose family secret is tied to the hidden treasure. Every bit as stylish and inventive as the wildest works by his mentor Seijun Suzuki, Yasuharu Hasebe’s spy spoof is a gaudy 1960s pop delight that ranks with the likes of Joseph Losey’s “Modesty Blaise” and Mario Bava’s “Danger: Diabolik!” On Blu-ray from Radiance/MVD Entertainment … In “The Moon” (2022 — South Korea), it’s seven years after Korea’s first fully manned mission to the moon ends in disaster, and a second human spaceflight is launched successfully —- until a strong solar wind causes the spacecraft to malfunction. With an astronaut left stranded in space and quickly running out of oxygen, the Naro Space Center turns to its former managing director to avert yet another fatal catastrophe. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Well Go USA. Read more here.

From TV to Disc:

“Fear the Walking Dead Season 8” (2023) is a three-disc set with all 12 episodes. Deriving from “The Walking Dead” universe, the final season of “Fear the Walking Dead” arrives on Blu-ray (+ Digital) and DVD. Season 8 begins with the return of Madison (Kim Dickens) as she joins Morgan (Lennie James) and the others to rescue Morgan’s daughter, Mo. Seven years after Morgan and Madison’s plans to rescue Mo from PADRE end in failure, the people they brought to the island are forced to toil under PADRE’s cynical rule. But the promise of a better world remains, resting with the only person able to reignite everyone’s belief in it: a now eight-year-old Mo. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Lionsgate.

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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.