From the Big Screen:

Paint

(2023) Carl Nargle, Vermont’s #1 public TV painter who is convinced he has it all: a signature perm, custom van, and fans hanging on his every stroke … until a younger, better artist steals everything (and everyone) Carl loves. Vitals: Director: Brit McAdams. Stars: Owen Wilson, Elisabeth Henry, Paul Kosopod, Sonia Darmei Lopes, Ryan Czerwonko, Aidan T.K. Baker, Lucy Freyer, Lusia Strus, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Stephen Root. CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 96 min., Comedy, North American box office gross: $.570 million, worldwide $.811 million, IFC Films. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, Digital.

This Week’s Highlights:

In the mid-1960s, the success of Sergio Leone’s “Dollars” trilogy gave rise to an explosion of similar productions. Filmmakers sought to capitalize on this new, uniquely Italian take on the western, characterized by their deeply cynical outlook, morally compromised antiheroes and savage violence. The specially curated “Blood Money: Four Western Classics Vol. 2 [Limited Edition]” gathers four outstanding examples of the genre, all centered around the theme of blood money. In Romolo Guerrieri’s “$10,000 Blood Money” (1967), Gianni Garko – best known for his portrayal of supernatural gunslinger Sartana – takes on the part of another beloved western antihero, Django, who is on the trail of bandit Manuel Vasquez (Claudio Camaso). But what started as a job for hire soon turns personal, with Django swearing vengeance against the unscrupulous outlaw. Then, in the film’s spiritual successor, Giovanni Fago’s “Vengeance is Mine “(1967; a.k.a. “$100,000 for a Killing”), Garko and Camaso once again star as estranged half-brothers – one a Confederate soldier now riding with renegade outlaws, the other a bounty hunter tasked with bringing him in alive. Next, in Giuliano Carnimeo’s “Find a Place to Die” (1968), Jeffrey Hunter plays Joe Collins, a disgraced former soldier who assembles a ragtag band of scoundrels. They are lured into helping a woman to rescue her prospector husband, who is trapped at their gold mine cave-in – though in reality, they have designs on the gold strike themselves. Finally, in Cesare Canevari’s psychedelic :”Matalo! (Kill Him)” (1970), a band of outlaws, having holed up in a ghost town, set about terrorizing travelers Ray and Bridget – only to get more than they bargained for when Ray fights back, armed only with a bag full of boomerangs. Featuring a wealth of key Euro-cult talent both behind and in front of the camera, Arrow Films presents these four classic westerns in sparkling High Definition restorations produced specially for this release, alongside a plethora of brand new bonus materials. On Blu-ray. Extras: Read more here. From Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment … A small-town police chief (Bill Paxton) concealing an explosive secret. A pair of ruthless drug dealers (co-screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton and Michael Beach) who leave a bloody trail in their wake as they make their way from Los Angeles to Arkansas. And an enigmatic woman (Cynda Williams) caught in the middle. The way these desperate lives converge becomes a masterclass in slow-burn tension thanks to the nuanced direction of Carl Franklin in “One False Move” (1992), his haunting debut feature that travels a crooked road across America’s most fraught divisions — urban and rural, Black and white — while imbuing noir conventions with a wrenching emotional depth. In a 4K UHD + Blu-ray combo, with new 4K digital restoration, approved by director Carl Franklin, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. 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 … In “Swamp Thing” (1982), directed by Wes Craven and starring Ray Wise, Adrienne Barbeau, Louis Jourdan, David Hess, Nicholas Worth and Dick Durock, a brilliant scientist, Dr. Alec Holland (Wise) and a government agent, Alice Cable (Barbeau), have developed a secret formula that could end world hunger and change civilization forever. Little do they know, however, that their arch nemesis, Arcane (Jourdan) is plotting to steal the serum for his own selfish schemes. Looting the lab and kidnapping Cable, Arcane douses Holland with the chemicals and leaves him for dead in the swamp. Mutated by his own formula, Holland becomes “Swamp Thing” — a half human/half plant superhero who will stop at nothing to rescue the beautiful Cable and defeat the evil Arcane … even if it costs him his life. The release includes both the original PG-rated theatrical cut, and for the first time in North America, the unrated international cut. Read more here … Warner Archive is releasing six restored classic films this week: “The Broadway Melody” (1929), “Cimarron” (1931), “Du Barry Was a Lady” (1943) with Red Skelton, Lucille Ball and Gene Kelly, “The Fastest Gun Alive” (1956) starring Glenn Ford and Jeanne Crain, “Helen of Troy” (1956) with Cedric Hardwicke and Brigitte Bardot, and “The Last Time I Saw Paris” (1954), with Elizabeth Taylor, Donna Reed and Van Johnson in this sweeping romance loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Babylon Revisited.” All feature 4K restorations. … At long last, “can” and “must” meet on the graph, as “Robot Monster” (1953), billed as the most demented, delirious, and delightful 3-D film of the Golden Age, arrives in a showcase, 70th Anniversary Restored Edition, loaded with out-of-this-world extras. A cosmic catastrophe has wiped out humanity, and now the last six survivors must outwit that strangely iconic alien menace, Ro-Man. Taking orders from the pitiless Great Guidance, Ro-Man wavers in his pursuit of human annihilation when he falls in love with a girl (Claudia Barrett). Can dashing young Roy (George Nader) save her? Independently photographed in less than a week on location in Bronson Canyon, in the Hollywood Hills, the True-Stereo photography is comparable to the major studio 3-D productions of the time. And to mark the milestone 70th anniversary of this sci-fi classic, the 3-D version of “Robot Monster” has been painstakingly and masterfully restored from complete 35mm archival 3-D elements by the talented archivists at the 3-D Film Archive, the leading experts in vintage stereoscopic film restoration. The “Robot Monster” Blu-ray restoration is presented in both BD3D (for those with the necessary equipment) and compatible anaglyphic 3-D which will play on any system or monitor, plus in standard 2-D as well. In addition, one pair of red/cyan anaglyphic glasses is included. From Bayview Entertainment.
Watch the trailer here:

Buzzin’ the ‘B’s:

Until now, DC’s Justice League has been a loose association of super-powered individuals. But when they are swept away to Warworld, a place of unending brutal gladiatorial combat, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the others must somehow unite to form an unbeatable resistance able to lead an entire planet to freedom in “Justice League: Warworld” (2023). On Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo, from Warner. Read more here … Return to Milton High School in “My Best Friend Is a Vampire” (1987), starring Robert Sean Leonard, Cheryl Pollak, Rene Auberjonois and David Warner, this beloved ’80s teen comedy now available on Blu-ray for the first time. Shortly after high school student Jeremy Capello (Robert Sean Leonard) goes on a hot date, he finds he can’t stand garlic and can’t see his reflection in mirrors, but he can make a delicious raw-steak shake. As maniac vampire hunter Professor McCarthy (David Warner) stakes him out, Jeremy just wants to pursue his high school crush. On Blu-ray from Lionsgate.

Special Interest:

“It Ain’t Over” (2022) is an intimate and revealing portrait of a largely misunderstood American icon, Yogi Berra. This emotional and engaging documentary takes us beyond the caricatures and “Yogisms,” and into the heart of a sports legend whose unparalleled accomplishments on the baseball diamond were often overshadowed by his off-the-field persona. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Sony. Read more here.

From TV to Disc:

“Ancient Aliens Season 17” (2023)analyzes new areas of ancient technology, engineering, and communications from over 10,000 crop circles in over 50 countries, complex ancient temples and towering obelisks in Turkey and Egypt, over five decades worth of extensive data collected by MUFON, and much more. Ancient Astronaut Theorist Giorgio A. Tsoukalos joins other UFO experts and investigators to examine the mounting evidence of extraterrestrial encounters that continue to shape modern civilization and humankind. From Lionsgate … In “The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart” (2023), the Venture Bros. are back in an all-new original animated movie picking up right after the events from the shocking Season 7 finale. Doc’s latest invention will either bankrupt Team Venture or launch them to new heights, as Hank searches for himself, Dean searches for Hank, The Monarch searches for answers, and a mysterious woman from their pasts threatens to bring their entire world crashing down on them. On Blu-ray from Adult Swim/Warner.

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.