From the Big Screen:

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

(2023) The film continues the story of teenage Billy Batson who, upon reciting the magic word “SHAZAM!” is transformed into his adult Super Hero alter ego, Shazam. Bestowed with the powers of the gods, Billy Batson and his fellow foster kids are still learning how to juggle teenage life with having adult Super Hero alter-egos. But when the Daughters of Atlas, a vengeful trio of ancient gods, arrive on Earth in search of the magic stolen from them long ago, Billy — aka Shazam — and his family are thrust into a battle for their superpowers, their lives, and the fate of their world. Vitals: Director:. Stars: Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Rachel Zegler, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, D.J. Cotrona, Grace Caroline Currey, Meagan Good, Lucy Liu, Djimon Hounsou, Helen Mirren. CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 130 min., Action Fantasy, North American box office gross: $57.638 million, worldwide $133.438 million, Warner. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Code, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo + Digital Code, VOD, Digital.

Creed III

(2022) After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has been thriving in both his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face-off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian – a fighter who has nothing to lose. Vitals: Director: Michael B. Jordan. Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Wood Harris, Florian Munteanu, Phylicia Rashad. CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 116 min., Drama, North American box office gross: $156.204 million, worldwide $273.804 million, MGM. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Code, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo + Digital Code, VOD, Digital.

This Week’s Highlights:

After making his name in the samurai genre, master filmmaker Hideo Gosha turned his camera to the world of the yakuza, and the violent streets they control in “Violent Streets” (1974 — Japan). Legendary gangster-turned-actor Noboru Ando plays Egawa, a retired yakuza underboss, now nightclub owner, who gets pulled back into the life when his old comrades demand control of his club. Meanwhile, a gang war quietly roiling behind the scenes erupts into open violence in response to a high-profile kidnapping, lending unimaginably high stakes to Egawa’s reemergence onto the yakuza scene. The result is a kinetic and stylish explosion of deception, mayhem, and death that leaves no one safe — and a masterpiece of 1970’s yakuza cinema. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Film Movement Classics … “Petite Maman” (2021), Céline Sciamma’s follow-up to “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” transcends time and space to weave a delicately emotional fable about grief, family, and connection across generations. In the wake of her grandmother’s death, eight-year-old Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) accompanies her distraught mother (Nina Meurisse) to her childhood home. There, Nelly’s encounter with another young girl (Gabrielle Sanz) brings mother and daughter together in a way neither could have ever imagined. Evoking childhood’s perpetual state of wonder through luminous, richly textured images, “Petite maman” takes viewers on a journey inward for a quietly miraculous tale of emotional time travel. On DVD, Blu-ray, from The Criterion Collection. Read more here.).

Buzzin’ the ‘B’s:

A thirsty teenager’s home video leads to a series of horrifying revelations in “V/H/S/99” (2022), starring Steven Ogg, Ally Ioannides, Keanush Tafreshi, Emily Sweet and Archelaus Crisanto. Featuring five new stories from filmmakers Maggie Levin, Johannes Roberts, Flying Lotus, Tyler MacIntyre and Joseph & Vanessa Winter, “V/H/S/99” harkens back to the final punk rock analog days of VHS, while taking one giant leap forward into the hellish new millennium. On DVD, Blu-ray, from RLJE Films … After unapologetic and fiercely loyal Inez kidnaps her six-year-old son Terry from the foster care system, mother and son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, and stability, in a rapidly changing New York City, in “A Thousand and One” (2023), starring Teyana Taylor, Aaron Kingsley Adetola and Aven Courtney. From Universal.

Foreign:

Upon the Incan empire’s fall to invading conquistadors, 16th-century Incan martial arts masters quickly hid a sacred manual containing the secrets behind their deadly fighting technique. But after centuries of careful safeguarding, the manual is again at risk of falling into the wrong hands, leaving its rightful guardian to battle the world’s greatest assassins to protect the ancient secrets within. “Fist of the Condor” (2023 — Chile), starring Marko Zaror, Eyal Meyer, Gina Aguad, Fernanda Urrejola and Man Soo Yoon, is a love letter to some of the most beloved martial arts films of the twentieth century, with a poignant story built on fam from Well Go USA.

For the Family:

Travel back to the beginning of a 20-year Swan Princess journey to see how it all began in “Swan Princess: A Fairytale Is Born” (2023). Before becoming queen, Uberta lived a humble life with her husband Maximillian when she is suddenly thrust into royalty. Through triumph and tragedy, she learns the lessons needed to become a beloved Queen, all while raising the next generation of rulers. When it’s time for Uberta to pass the royal scepter to Odette and Derek, rival Queen Wixom has plans of her own to ruin the kingdom’s greatest coronation. From Sony.

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.