From the Big Screen:

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

(2023) Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Spider-Verse saga (2018). After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders, and must redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most. Vitals: Directors: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson. Stars: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Daniel Kaluuya, Mahershala Ali, Oscar Isaac. CC, MPAA rating: PG, 140 min., Animated Action Adventure, North American box office gross: $379.2 million, worldwide $682.9 million, Sony. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Code, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Extras: Commentary; featurettes; “Obscure Spiders and Easter Eggs”; deleted scene. Read more here

This Week’s Highlights:

A high-spirited adventure that pits true love against inconceivable odds, “The Princess Bride” (1987) has charmed legions of fans with its irreverent gags, eccentric ensemble, and dazzling swordplay. A kid (Fred Savage), home sick from school, grudgingly allows his grandfather (Peter Falk) to read him a dusty storybook — which is how we meet the innocent Buttercup (Robin Wright, in her breakout role), about to marry the nefarious Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) though her heart belongs to Westley (Cary Elwes). The wedding plans are interrupted, however, by a mysterious pirate, a vengeful Spaniard, and a good-natured giant, in a tale full of swashbuckling, romance, and outrageously hilarious spoofery. Directed by Rob Reiner from an endlessly quotable script by William Goldman, “The Princess Bride” reigns as a fairy-tale classic. With a 4K digital restoration, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. From The Criterion Collection. Read more here … Two years before “The Godfather” and three years before “The Sting,” there was “Borsalino” (1970 — France), a wildly entertaining period-set gangster movie that brought together two icons of French cinema, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon. In 1930 Marseille, small-time gangster Roch Siffredi (Delon) is released from prison and finds his former girlfriend Lola (Catherine Rouvel) has moved on and is now with Francois Capella (Belmondo), another petty crook. Initially at odds, the two men form a partnership that will see them rise through the ranks of organized crime in Marseille. But how far will they go in their pursuit of power and what price will they be forced to pay? Directed by Jacques Deray (“La Piscine”), written by Jean-Claude Carriere (“Belle Du Jour”), with a score by French Jazz pianist Claude Bolling, and costumes by Jacques Fonteray (“Barbarella”), “Borsalino” is a gallic gangster classic! In a Blu-ray limited edition from Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment. Read more here.

Buzzin’ the ‘B’s:

In “Black Circle” (2018 — Sweden), starring Christina Lindberg, Felice Jankell, Erica Midfjall, Hanna Asp and Inger Nilsson, two sisters, Celeste and Isa, fall under the terrifying spell of a mysterious vinyl record from the 1970s. Used to help with stress and bring the listener to a state of calming self-hypnosis, the recording has the unfortunate side-effect of manifesting a doppelganger of the listener into our world. This “double” then grows stronger by the day to copy and take over the life of the person who played the vinyl. Seeking the help of the woman who originally created the recording, hypnotist Lena Carlsson (Christina Lindberg), Celeste and Isa try to banish the doppelgangers back to their own world before their lives are lost forever. On Blu-ray from Synapse Films. Read more here … In director Paul Schrader’s “Master Gardener” (2023), starring Joel Edgerton, Sigourney Weaver and Quintessa Swindell, Narvel Roth (Edgerton) is the meticulous horticulturist of Gracewood Gardens. He is as much devoted to tending the grounds of this beautiful and historic estate, to pandering to his employer, the wealthy dowager Mrs. Haverhill (Weaver). When Mrs. Haverhill demands that he take on her wayward and troubled great-niece Maya (Swindell) as a new apprentice, chaos enters Narvel’s spartan existence, unlocking dark secrets from a buried violent past that threaten them all. Based on Schrader’s original screenplay. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Magnolia Pictures. Read more here.

Foreign Films:

In “Goodbye Monster” (2022 — China), after disobeying orders and using an untested idea to defeat the Dark Spirit, a promising young doctor accidentally destroys his island and is banished from Kunlun Hospital, forbidden from ever practicing medicine again. But when a young boy comes to him for healing, he may have one more chance to redeem himself—and restore his home. Anime action/adventure with a new English dub. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Well Go USA.

From TV to Disc:

“NCIS: Los Angeles – The Final Season” (2022-23) is a six-disc set with all 21 episodes. In the final season, amidst the happy news about Callen and Anna’s engagement, Hetty Lange is still on a dangerous mission and will need the help of the NCIS team to save her. The NCIS team must also focus on dangers both at home and abroad, with a bombing at a military combat drone facility and shocking news about the fighting overseas. From Paramount … In the conclusion of “Star Trek: Picard – The Final Season” (2022), a desperate message from a long-lost friend draws Starfleet legend Admiral Jean-Luc Picard into the most daring mission of his life, forcing him to recruit allies spanning generations old and new. This final adventure sets him on a collision course with the legacy of his past and explosive, new revelations that will alter the fate of the Federation forever. Also available: “Star Trek: Picard – The Complete Series” with all three seasons of the hit show and over seven hours of special features. 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.