From the Big Screen:
Blacklight
The Outfit
This Week’s Best Bet:
“Francis the Talking Mule” (1950-1956) includes all seven films from the hilarious film series: “Francis” (1950), “Francis Goes to the Races” (1951), “Francis Goes to West Point” (1952), “Francis Covers the Big Town” (1953), “Francis Joins the Wacs” (1954), “Francis in the Navy” (1955), all starring Donald O’Connor), and “Francis in the Haunted House” (1956), starring Mickey Rooney. Arthur Lubin directed the first six films in the series and Charles Lamont directed the final film. On Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
Buzzin’ the ‘B’s:
When a group of contestants come together to take part in a competition held in a virtual reality realm ruled by dinosaurs, shifting alliances and jockeying for victory become secondary to the ultimate goal: to survive at all costs. Welcome to “Dinosaur World” (2021)… an eye-popping place where anything can happen … and the life-and-death stakes are all too real. Stars Xing Yu, Steven He, Mike Pu, Phuong Kubacki and Billie D. Merritt. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Shout! Factory. Read more here.
Foreign Films:
In “Bloody Oranges” (2021 — France), starring Alexandre Steiger, Christophe Paou and Lilith Grasmu, a retired couple enter a dance contest, a corrupt politician, a girl eager to lose her virginity, and a young lawyer obsessed with social status – a seemingly benign look into these daily lives goes haywire in this shocking black comedy. From Dark Star Pictures … In “Gagarine” (2022 — France), starring Alseni Bathily, Lyna Khoudri, Jamil McCraven, Finnegan Oldfield, Farida Rahouadj and Denis Lavant, Yuri, 16, has lived all his life in Gagarine Towers, a vast red brick housing project on the outskirts of Paris. From the heights of his apartment, he dreams of becoming an astronaut. But when plans to demolish his community’s home are leaked, Yuri joins the resistance. With his friends Diana and Houssam, he embarks on a mission to save Gagarine, transforming the estate into his own “starship.” On DVD, Blu-ray, from Cohen Media Group.
For the Family:
In “Turning Red” (2022), with the voices of Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Ava Morse, Hyein Park, Wai Ching Ho, Tristan Allerick Chen, Lori Tan Chinn, Mia Tagano, Sherry Cola, Lillian Lim and James Hong, Mei Lee (Chiang), a confident, dorky 13-year-old, is torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence. Her protective, if not slightly overbearing mother, Ming (Oh), is never far from her daughter — an unfortunate reality for the teenager. And as if changes to her interests, relationships and body weren’t enough, whenever she gets too excited (which is practically ALWAYS), she “poofs” into a giant red panda. Disney and Pixar’s latest family animated adventure.
On DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, from Disney.
From TV to Disc:
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.