From the Big Screen:

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

(2022) Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight to protect the kingdom of Wakanda from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Everett Ross and forge a new path for their nation. Vitals: Director: Ryan Coogler. Stars: Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Danai Gurira, Florence Kasumba, Lupita Nyong’o, Martin Freeman. 2021, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 161 min., Action Adventure, North American box office gross: $446.912 million, worldwide $832.574 million, Marvel/Disney. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray + Digital Code, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Extras: Deleted scenes; gag reel; commentary; “Envisioning Two Worlds” featurette; “Passing the Mantle” featurette. Read more here

This Week’s Best Bets:

“Three Colors” is a boldly cinematic trio of stories about love and loss, from Krzysztof Kieslowski; the films were a defining event of the art-house boom of the 1990s. The films are named for the colors of the French flag and stand for the tenets of the French Revolution — liberty, equality, and fraternity — but that hardly begins to explain their enigmatic beauty and rich humanity. Set in Paris, Warsaw, and Geneva, and ranging from tragedy to comedy, “Blue” (1993) “White” (1994) and “Red” (1994, Kieslowski’s final film) examine with artistic clarity a group of ambiguously interconnected people experiencing profound personal disruptions. Marked by intoxicating cinematography and stirring performances by Juliette Binoche, Julie Delpy, Irène Jacob, and Jean-Louis Trintignant, Kieslowski’s “Three Colors” is a benchmark of contemporary cinema. In a new 4K UHD + Blu-ray edition, with new 4K digital restorations, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks; Blu-ray-only edition: High-definition digital restorations, with 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks; DVD: High-definition digital restorations. In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of each film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray of each film with special features. From The Criterion Collection. Read more here … The new collection “Mickey & Minnie 10 Classic Shorts – Volume 1” gathers together 10 classic animated shorts for the first time, including the iconic “Steamboat Willie” (in which the character of Mickey Mouse was first introduced as a deckhand on a riverboat commanded by the tyrannical Captain Pete) and features all-new introductions from Mickey and Minnie for each short. Also included are “Brave Little Tailor,” featuring Mickey as a medieval tailor given a daunting task. In “Mickey’s Delayed Date,” the tardy mouse relies on his faithful pup Pluto to get him to a dance with Minnie. “Hawaiian Holiday” finds Mickey and his pals vacationing on a beautiful island. Then along with friends, Mickey and Minnie glide through a romantic date on a frozen river in “On Ice.” And catch five more delightful stories in this legacy collection. This release is part of the planned releases coming in 2023 to celebrate Disney’s 100th anniversary. In a Blu-ray/DVD Combo from Disney … A series of prostitute murders disturbs the public with the thought of a serial killer on the loose in “A Woman Kills” (1968 — France). Hélène Picard, a prostitute, is sentenced and executed for the murders, but shortly thereafter similar crimes continue. Executioner Louis Guilbeau meanwhile develops a relationship with the investigating officer, Solange, who soon learns Louis may not be who he says he is. Filmed in the tumultuous events of May 1968, Jean-Denis Bonan’s “A Woman Kills” never found distribution due to controversy around the director’s first film and producer Anatole Dauman (“The Beast,” “Hiroshima mon amour”) was unable to find distribution for the film for 45 years until Luna Park Films brought it back to life in a new restoration. Now released on Blu-ray for the first time anywhere, audiences outside of France can finally experience this utterly singular film, a new wave-influenced serial killer film that presents its narrative in an almost true crime approach yet focuses more on the psychological aspect with echoes of German Expressionism and Franju, set to a discordant, jazzy score. On Blu-ray with a limited edition booklet from Radiance Films. Read more here.

Buzzin’ the ‘B’s:

Starring then 14-year-old phenom Lulu Wilson (TV’s “The Haunting of Hill House,” “Annabelle: Creation,” “Ouija: Origin of Evil”) as a pint-sized femme fatale, Kevin James in a surprise turn as a stone-cold Neo-Nazi killer, and Joel McHale, “Becky” (2019) is a stylishly crafted and tenaciously acted thriller about a teenager’s weekend at a lake house with her father that takes a turn for the worse when a group of convicts wreaks havoc on their lives. On Blu-ray from Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment. Read more here … After her mother’s mysterious death, Abigail Arcane (Heather Locklear) travels to the Florida swamps to confront her resurrected evil stepfather Dr. Anton Arcane (Louis Jourdan) in “The Return of Swamp Thing” (1989). In an attempt to stave off the effects of aging, Dr. Arcane, assisted by Dr. Lana Zurrell (Sarah Douglas), combines genes from various swamp animals and human beings, creating an army of monsters known as Un-Men. When Abby arrives, Dr. Arcane is hell-bent on taking his own stepdaughter’s life in the name of science … that is until she is rescued by Swamp Thing in this must-see sequel to the original cult classic and based on the award-winning DC Comics series. Making its debut on 4K Ultra HD, “The Return of Swamp Thing” boasts a brand new 4K restoration from the original interpositive featuring Dolby Vision / HDR mastering. In a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo from Lightyear Entertainment … Three women warriors find themselves on the run and kicking in the teeth of every misogynist that dares to cross their path in “Divide & Conquer” (2021). Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman calls it, “A Feminist movie for the 21st century!” This estrogen fueled grindhouse tribute is Written, Directed and starring Mercedes The Muse (“Honor Killing,” “Rose & Viktor: No Mercy”). On Blu-ray from Tromas … In cyberspace, no one can hear you scream. “.com for Murder” (2002), the turn-of-the-millennium cyber psycho-thriller from Nico Mastorakis (“Island of Death,” “Nightmare at Noon”) showcases the usual gleeful eye for excess and inspired casting (including rock stars Roger Daltrey and Huey Lewis) one has come to expect from the cult director. Nastassja Kinski stars as Sondra Brummel, a young woman confined to a wheelchair following a skiing accident, who decides to have a bit of fun on an internet dating site with her friend Misty (Nicollette Sheridan) while her architect boyfriend Ben (Daltrey) leaves her alone for the weekend in the high-tech intelligent mansion he has built for them. Online anonymity works both ways, however, as they discover when they invoke the ire of a young man going by the handle of “Werther” and find the virtual world violently intruding upon the real, knife in hand. Nico Mastorakis takes us to the dark side of the web. On Blu-ray from Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment. Read more here … Directed by Chris Walas – FX genius of “Gremlins” and “The Fly” – “The Vagrant” (1992) is a demented black comedy starring cult icons Bill Paxton, Michael Ironside, Colleen Camp and Marshall Bell in a grimy blend of satire and grisly terror. Mild-mannered financial clerk Graham Krakowski buys a run-down starter home only to discover a vagrant, living in the empty lot across the street, keeps appearing inside. Attempts to remove the homeless man lead to a feud that spirals out of control and tests Graham’s sanity as the vagrant engages him in twisted mind games, defiling his home, and framing him for gruesome murders. Beloved character actor Bill Paxton stepped up to leading man status in “The Vagrant” and proved his extraordinary range in a role that runs the gamut of emotions and climbs to stratospheric heights of craziness. Newly restored from the original camera negative. On Blu-ray from Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment. Read more here.

On the Indie Front:

Set in the last week of 1999, best friends Kelly (Katy Erin) and Miguel (Michael Lovato) find themselves on the cusp of their future in “Millennium Bugs” (2023) Kelly has been floating through life after her parents’ deaths, drowning herself in alcohol and drugs. When her inheritance money runs out, Kelly is slapped with the realities of her actions. Her best friend Miguel is torn between his immigrant parent’s expectations and his dream to become a comedian. The pressure to pursue his dreams while defying the sacrifices his parents made for him pushes Miguel to the brink. From Indiecan.

Foreign Films:

In “Don’t Deliver Us From Evil” (1971 — France), starring Jeanne Goupil, Catherine Wagener, Bernard Dhéran and Gérard Darrieu, two young convent girls become friends and decide to spend the summer together. However, their innocent bicycle rides and walks in the country soon develop a much more sinister side — influenced by their reading of forbidden books, they decide to explore the world of perversion and cruelty. They find a victim and use their innocent appearance to seduce and destroy him. Once they have stepped over the line, they find it impossible to stop. And soon they are contemplating the ultimate evil act. Hugely controversial, the film was banned for blasphemy and was never released theatrically in the US. This first Blu-ray release is newly restored from the film’s original negative and includes a number of exclusive extra features. The film was screened as part of the Directors Fortnight at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival. On Blu-ray from Mondo Macabro.

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.