From the Big Screen:

Gran Turismo

(2023) Based on the unbelievable true story of a team of unlikely underdogs – a struggling working-class gamer (Archie Madekwe), a failed former racecar driver (David Harbour), and an idealistic motorsport executive (Orlando Bloom). Together, they risk it all to take on the most elite sport in the world. Vitals: Director: Neill Blomkamp. Stars: David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe, Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell Horner, Djimon Hounsou. CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 134 min., Action, North American box office gross: $43.622 million, worldwide $117.476 million, Sony. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray + Digital Code, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Extras: “The Plan: The True Story of Jann Mardenborough”; “The Wheels: The Fast-Acting Cast.” Blu-ray adds deleted & extended scenes; “The Engine: Driving the Visuals”; “The Pit Crew: Action and Stunts”; “The Garage: The Amazing Automobiles.” Read more here

This Week’s Best Bets:

“The Buster Keaton Collection Volume 5: Three Ages and Our Hospitality” (1923): “Three Ages” was Keaton’s first foray into feature film production after a successful string of shorts. This hilariously inventive satire of D.W. Griffith’s “Intolerance” follows the age-old story of misadventures on the road to finding love, retold in three separate eras, a structure that cleverly allowed Keaton to recut the film into three separate shorts if it failed as a feature. For this restoration, five elements were compared, with a second-generation duplicate negative being used for the majority. “Our Hospitality” is perhaps Keaton’s most nuanced comedy and again finds Buster recreating a bygone era. In it, he plays a 19th-century New Yorker who returns to the antebellum South to claim his inheritance, but finds himself also inheriting a longstanding multi-generational feud between his family and that of the woman he loves (played by Buster’s real-life spouse, Natalie Talmadge). For this restoration, a total of 17 film elements were compared, with a first-generation nitrate positive held at the Library of Congress being the main element used. On Blu-ray from Cohen Film Collection … “Jackie Chan: Emergence of a Superstar” is a four-disc Blu-ray set with six films. Originally tapped as a potential successor to Bruce Lee, Hong Kong martial-arts phenom Jackie Chan soon established his own unique screen persona, blending goofball slapstick and bone-crunching kung fu into intricate feats of supercharged athleticism. Tracing his rise from breakout star to full-fledged auteur, these six unabashedly silly, unstoppably entertaining early-career highlights find Chan refining the lovably mischievous image that would make him a global icon, while also assuming greater creative control over his projects — first as his own martial-arts choreographer, and later as a writer-director who set a thrilling new standard for daredevil action comedy. 2K digital restorations of “Spiritual Kung Fu” (1978), “The Fearless Hyena” (1979), “Fearless Hyena II” (1983), “The Young Master” (1980), and “My Lucky Stars” (1985), and high-definition digital restoration of “Half a Loaf of Kung Fu” (1968), with uncompressed monaural soundtracks. Alternate stereo and 5.1 surround Cantonese soundtracks. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection. Read more here … The classic ’90s thriller “Blue Steel” (1990), directed by Kathryn Bigelow, stars Jamie Lee Curtis as newly minted NYPD officer Megan Turner, who responds to a grocery store robbery – and kills the perpetrator – her first day on the job. But Megan’s uncorroborated story of the shooting gets her suspended from active duty when the stickup gun mysteriously vanishes. Enter a charming-but-disturbed commodities trader (Ron Silver), whose obsession with Megan threatens to destroy everything she holds dear, pushing her into a desperate fight to salvage her reputation … and save her own life. In a Blu-ray debut from Lionsgate.

Buzzin’ the ‘B’s:

“Lifetime’s A Very Merry Movie Collection: Volume 5” (2019-2022) offers 12 family films from Lifetime at a bargain price: $24.98: “Cloudy with a Chance of Christmas,” “A Show-Stopping Christmas,” “Sweet Navidad,” “Merry Textmas,” “Serving Up the Holidays,” “A New Orleans Noel,” “Merry Swissmas,” “Scentsational Christmas,” “Well Suited for Christmas,” “A Country Christmas Harmony,” “The Holiday Dating Guide,” “Merry Liddle Christmas.” From Lionsgate … “Warhorse One” (2023), starring Johnny Strong, Athena Durner, Raj Kala, James Sherrill and Siya Rostami, follows a desperate civilian rescue attempt set in motion shortly after the 2021 withdrawal of the United States military from Afghanistan. After a SEAL team helicopter is downed en route to the rendezvous point, the lone surviving operator must evade hostile insurgents and navigate treacherous terrain while guiding his one remaining charge — a traumatized young girl – to safety. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Well Go USA. Read more here … A submarine vanishing prompts a rescue operation that comes face to face with the cause – The Loch Ness Monster, in “The Loch Ness Horror” (2023), starring May Kelly, Becca Hirani and Tara MacGowran. Having escaped the Loch, it is now unleashing decades of pent-up aggression on all those it encounters. In a fight for survival, a team of rescue operatives must overcome the terrors both beneath them and within their ranks. From Uncork’d Entertainment. Read more here … “The Miracle Club” (2023), starring Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates, Agnes O’Casey and Laura Linney, is set in 1967 and follows the story of three generations of close friends, (Smith), Eileen (Bates), and Dolly (O’Casey) of Ballygar, outside Dublin, who win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes, that place of miracles that draws millions of visitors each year. Just before their trip, their old friend Chrissie (Linney) arrives in Ballygar for her mother’s funeral. The women set out on the journey that they hope will change their lives, with Chrissie, a skeptical traveler, joining in place of her mother. Along the way, old wounds are reopened, forcing the women to confront their pasts even as they travel in search of a miracle. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Sony. Read more here.

On the Indie Front:

After a devastating loss, Tana (Lily Gladstone) packs up her grandmother’s Cadillac and hits the open road to South Dakota, reconnecting with family, finding closure, and making unexpected connections along the way in “The Unknown Country” (2022). A personal reverie summoned from a beguiling mix of fact and fiction, “The Unknown Country” is an arresting debut feature from Morrisa Maltz. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Music Box Films.

Foreign Films:

“A Bullet for Sandoval” (1970 — Spain), starring George Hilton, Ernest Borgnine, Alberto de Mendoza, Leo Anchóriz and Annabella Incontrera, has been restored from a new 4K scans of the 35mm negatives. Civil War Corporal John Warner (Hilton) deserts the Army to be with the woman he loves and raise the child they’re expecting. A series of tragedies unfold, and Warner turns to vengeance against his lover’s father, Don Pedro Sandoval (Borgnine), who blames Warner for the loss of his daughter. On DVD, Blu-ray, from VCI Entertainment.

Special Interest:

“There Goes the Neighborhood” (2022): Gentrification is not a new phenomenon. In fact, New Yorkers have been talking about gentrification ever since the term was first coined in the 1960s. But over the decades, as more and more wealthy real estate developers and giant corporations have sought to reconstruct urban landscapes for economic gain, what was once a process of gradual change has turned into a nightmare of radical transformation and displacement. New York City is currently undergoing a period of hyper-gentrification unlike anywhere else in the world. This documentary presents a portrait of the communities and activists who are courageously fighting back against the powers of greed and corruption in order to preserve the diversity and culture of their city. From Indiepix Films.

From TV to Disc:

“The Good Fight: The Complete Series” (2017-2022) is an eight-disc set with all six seasons, 60 episodes and over two hours of special features, including exclusive deleted and extended scenes, gag reels and more. From Paramount … “South Park: The Complete Twenty-Sixth Season” (2023) is a single disc with all six episodes. The boys are back as South Park returns with its 26th season. Join Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny as they learn the wonders of Japanese toilets, grapple with latest developments in A.I. technology, re-open an iconic Colorado restaurant, and meet a couple who feel the need to share the importance of their Privacy with the world. For them, it’s all part of growing up in South Park. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Paramount … The town of South Park is in peril when both Part 1 and Part 2 of “South Park: The Streaming Wars” (2022), this made-for-streaming movie, comes to disc. In Part 1, Cartman locks horns with his mom in a battle of wills, while an epic conflict unfolds and threatens South Park’s very existence. In Part 2, a drought has brought the town of South Park to the brink of disaster. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Paramount … The limited edition individually numbered 54-Disc Blu-ray collection of “Star Trek: The Picard Legacy Collection” features one of a kind packaging that houses every series and film featuring Jean-Luc Picard. Along with over 35 hours of special features, films and series include “Star Trek: The Next Generation – Seasons 1-7,” “Star Trek: Picard – Seasons 1-3,” “Star Trek: Generations,” “Star Trek: First Contact,” “Star Trek: Nemesis” and “Star Trek: Insurrection.” This limited set also includes an exclusive edition of The Wisdom of Picard featuring brand new artwork and quotes, along with a one-of-a-kind deck of playing cards, a magnet sheet featuring all of Captain Picard’s badges and four custom Chateau Picard drink coasters. On 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.