From the Big Screen:

The Ballad of Wallis Island

(2025) Follows Charles (Tim Key), an eccentric lottery winner who lives alone on a remote island and dreams of getting his favorite musicians, Mortimer-McGwyer (Carey Mulligan and Tom Basden) back together. His fantasy quickly turns into reality when the bandmates and former lovers accept his invitation to play a private show at his home on Wallis Island. Old tensions resurface as Charles tries desperately to salvage his dream gig. Vitals: Director: James Griffiths. Stars: Tom Basden, Tim Key, Carey Mulligan, Sian Clifford, Akemnji Ndifornyen, Steve Marsh. CC, MPAA rating:PG-13, 99 min., Comedy, Theatrical release date: April 18, 2025, North American box office gross: $1.6 million, worldwide $1.6 million, Streaming date: May 6, 2025, Universal. Due June 6. Formats: Blu-ray, VOD, Digital. Read more here.

This Week’s Highlights:

In the dystopian masterpiece “Brazil”(1985), Jonathan Pryce plays a daydreaming everyman who finds himself caught in the soul-crushing gears of a nightmarish bureaucracy. This cautionary tale by Terry Gilliam, one of the great films of the 1980s, has come to be esteemed alongside antitotalitarian works by the likes of George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, and Kurt Vonnegut. And in terms of set design, cinematography, music, and effects, “Brazil” is a nonstop dazzler. On 4K UHD + Blu-ray, with new 4K digital restoration of Terry Gilliam’s director’s cut, supervised and approved by Gilliam, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the film and special features. Extras: Read more here. From The Criterion Collection … Paul Schrader’s visually stunning, collagelike portrait of the acclaimed Japanese author and playwright Yukio Mishima (played by Ken Ogata) investigates the inner turmoil and contradictions of a man who attempted the impossible task of finding harmony among self, art, and society. Taking place on the last day of Mishima’s life, when he famously committed public seppuku, the film is punctuated by extended flashbacks to the writer’s past as well as gloriously stylized evocations of his fictional works. With its rich cinematography by John Bailey, exquisite sets and costumes by Eiko Ishioka, and unforgettable, highly influential score by Philip Glass, “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters”(1985) is a tribute to its subject and a bold, investigative work of art in its own right. On 4K UHD + Blu-ray combo with 4K digital restoration of the director’s cut, supervised and approved by director Paul Schrader and cinematographer John Bailey, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. Extras: Read more here. From The Criterion Collection.

On the Indie Front:

Writer-director Jessica Rae’s 1990s coming-of-age drama about high schoolers in the Midwest, “Raise Your Hand” (2023), is her directorial debut and was inspired by her real-life experiences growing up as a multiracial woman of color in Minneapolis. The film, starring Jearnest Corchado, Hanani Taylor, Evan Allen-Gessesse, and Donat (as Shawn Turner), follows best friends Gia and Lila as they balance school and personal connections with their family, friends, boys and neighborhood, including the corrupt local police. Gia struggles to maintain her grades and sort through a tumultuous relationship with her mother and stepfather. She attempts to find solace in a relationship with a new boyfriend, Wish, while investing in her writing. Very quickly, however, all of Gia’s relationships go through dramatic, sometimes traumatic, changes, and Gia and Lila find themselves in their own separate fights for both meaning and survival, in a film that is a testament to their perseverance and the power of story. On DVD, VOD, Digital from Freestyle Digital Media. Read more here.

From TV to Disc:

The “Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XVII” is a four-disc set with “The Crawling Eye,” “The Beatniks,” “The Final Sacrifice” and “Blood Waters of Dr. Z.” Welcome to the Satellite of Love, the orbiting home of legendary hosts Joel Robinson and Mike Nelson, along with their robotic companions – Crow T. Robot, Tom Servo and Gypsy. Join them as they embark on their 17th, and perhaps most impressive, volume of gut-busting riffs on the classic cinematic missteps of yesteryear. With the shocking inclusion of not one, but two, of the episodes most requested by MSTies around the globe, “Mystery Science Theater 3000: XVII” promises to be a comedic tour de force to be reckoned with. On DVD from Shout! Factory.

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.