From the Big Screen:

All Quiet on the Western Front

(2022 — Germany) elix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Aaron Hilmer, Moritz Klaus, Edin Hasanovic, Adrian Grünewald, Thibault De Montalembert, Devid Striesow, Daniel Brühl. The poignant story of a young German soldier on the Western Front during World War I. Spring 1917. 17-year-old Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer) and his friends are extremely eager to go to war, to beat the French soundly and march to Paris victorious. This is how the boys imagine it. This is the war they are promised by their principal in a rousing speech. With jubilation, fanfare and song, the “youth of iron” marches off – for Emperor, God and Fatherland. The enthusiasm, however, does not last long. When they arrive at the Western Front after days of marching it’s pouring rain. The trenches are filling up and fast becoming a swamp. But the French do not wait to attack. Flares rise up, brightening no-man’s land with a surreal beauty. Until all hell breaks loose again and the French bombard the trenches. What follows portrays Paul and his comrades’ first-hand experience of how the initial euphoria of war turns into horror, suffering and fear as they desperately fight for their lives in the trenches. Based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque. Won four Oscars for International Feature, Production Design, Original Score and Cinematography. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, Digital. Extras: Audio commentary from director Edward Berger; making-of trailer, teaser. Read more here (Netflix/Capelight Pictures).

Knock at the Cabin

(2023) While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her parents are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost. Vitals: Director: M. Night Shyamalan. Stars: Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn, Rupert Grint. CC, MPAA rating: R, 100 min., Horror, North American box office gross: $35.397 million, worldwide $54.736 million, Universal. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Read more here

This Week’s Highlight:

When Golden Harvest first released “Hand of Death” (1976 — Hong Kong) in 1976, no-one paid much attention to the names of writer-director Wu Yu-sheng, third-billed actor Chen Yuen-lung or fight choreographer Hung Chin-pao in the opening credits. Within a decade, however, each of those men had changed the course of Hong Kong action filmmaking forever, under the names they are best known under to this day: John Woo, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. After a traitor of the Shaolin temple, Shih Shao-Feng (James Tien), has eliminated thousands of his former colleagues in exchange for power from the Manchus under the Qing dynasty, a surviving master of Shaolin, Yun Fei (Tan Tao-Liang), is tasked with the mission of bringing Shih to justice. In order to defeat Shih’s overwhelmingly large army — led by the ruthless Tu Qing (Sammo Hung) — Yun Fei will need to team up with a skilled blacksmith (Jackie Chan) and a reluctant swordsman to beat the odds and avenge his fallen brothers. With early signs of John Woo’s affinity for brotherly bonding amidst heroic bloodshed, and featuring one of Jackie Chan’s earliest speaking roles after proving his mettle as a stuntman, “Hand of Death” is an old school hard-hitting kung fu gem (with a dash of wuxia) that any fan of classic Hong Kong cinema needs in their collection. On Blu-ray from Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment. Read more here.

Buzzin’ the ‘B’s:

In “Children of the Corn” (2020), starring Elena Kampouris, Kate Moyer, Callan Mulvey, and Bruce Spence, 12-year-old Eden, possessed by a spirit in a dying cornfield, recruits the other children in her small town to rise up and take control. Tired of having to pay the price for their parents’ mistakes, Eden leads the kids on a bloody rampage, killing the adults and anyone who opposes her. With all the adults jailed or dead, it comes down to one high schooler who won’t go along with the plan and becomes the town’s only hope of survival. From RLJE Films … In “Space Wars: Quest for the Deepstar” (2023), starring Michael Paré, Olivier Gruner and Sarah French, life is an adventure for space scavengers Kip Corman and his daughter Taylor as they navigate their ship through a universe filled with monsters, aliens, and robots in order to reach the mythical Deepstar and collect the riches within. From Uncork’d Entertainment. Read more here … In “Unwelcome” (2022), starring Hannah John-Kamen, Douglas Booth, Colm Meaney and Kristian Nairn, a couple escapes their urban nightmare to the tranquility of rural Ireland only to hear stories of mysterious beings who live in the gnarled, ancient wood at the foot of their new garden. As warned by their new neighbors, in Irish lore the Redcaps will come when called to help souls in dire need of rescue, but it’s crucial to remember that there is always a dear price to pay for their aid. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Well Go USA … In “Toxic Zombies” (1980), starring John Amplas, Judith Brown and Claude Scales, a dangerous drug war devolves into chaos when a clash between federal agents and back woods, pot-farming hippies leads to deaths on both sides. Hoping to end things quickly, the Feds decide to spray the farm with an untested herbicide, turning everyone it touches into murderous, mutant cannibals. Now the survivors of their gore-strewn rampage must band together to try and make it out alive. On Blu-ray from Massacre Video.

Foreign:

After the brutal murder of her kid sister, Anita begins to have horrible nightmares where a ghastly monster with an iron glove torments her in “Mahakaal” (1993 — India), starring Karan Shah, Johny Lever, Archana Puran Singh and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. Once awake, she finds that the injuries suffered in her dreams have manifested into the physical world. Although her family and friends dismiss her warnings, it’s not long before people around her are picked off one by one by this hideously disfigured being. On Blu-ray from Massacre Video … “Unicorn Wars” (2022 — Spain) is a provocative and darkly beautiful animated horror comedy described as Bambi meets Apocalypse Now. For ages, teddy bears have been locked in an ancestral war against their sworn enemy, the unicorns, with the promise that victory will complete the prophecy and usher in a new era. Aggressive, confident teddy bear Bluet and his sensitive, withdrawn brother Tubby could not be more different. As the rigors and humiliation of teddy bear bootcamp turn to the psychedelic horrors of a combat tour in the Magic Forest, their complicated history and increasingly strained relationship will come to determine the fate of the entire war. On Blu-ray from GKIDS/Shout! Factory. Read more here

From TV to Disc:

“Yellowstone: Season 5, Part 1” (2022) is a four-disc set with eight episodes. Determined to protect his land and legacy at any cost, John Dutton (Kevin Costner) takes his fight to the halls of government in the most explosive season yet. But with greater power comes further scrutiny … of his family, his land, and the morally questionable measures he’s taken to protect them both. As new threats emerge and old enemies return, John, Beth, Kayce, Rip, and Jamie learn that power has a price. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Paramount.

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.