New streaming, on-demand highlights October 16-22, 2023
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A quiet week for digital releases sees an animated Mortal Kombat Legends and Justice League x RWBY leading the charge with a smattering of indie releases following close behind. However, the physical formats feature numerous notable titles including "Barbie," "Evangelion: 3.0+1.11," "The Last Voyage of the Demeter," "Haunted Mansion" "Golda," "The Crown: Season 5," and a handful of catalog releases (including a Tod Browning box set from The Criterion Collection).
Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match
Studio Synopsis:Neon lights ... Suits with shoulder pads ... Jumping from explosions in slow motion ... In 1980s Hollywood, action star Johnny Cage (Joel McHale) is looking to become an A-list actor. But when his costar, Jennifer (Jennifer Grey), goes missing from set, Johnny finds himself thrust into a world filled with shadows, danger and deceit. As he embarks on a bloody journey, Johnny quickly discovers the City of Angels has more than a few devils in its midst. He faces off against a sinister secret society plotting a nefarious scheme, but the brutal fight against the bloodthirsty warriors of the Netherrealm is just beginning. Can Johnny, alongside other Kombat legends, save humanity...and, more importantly, his career?
Also Available: 4K UHD, Blu-ray
Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two
Studio Synopsis:On the heels of successfully escaping a deadly digital trap, the members of the Justice League emerge in their own world to discover that Grimm, ravenous creatures from Remnant, have overtaken Earth! In order to defeat the monsters, they must call on their new friends – Team RWBY – for help!
Also Available: 4K UHD, Blu-ray on October 31, 2023
The Miracle Club
Studio Synopsis:Set in 1967, "The Miracle Club" follows the story of three generations of close friends, Lily (Maggie Smith), Eileen (Kathy Bates), and Dolly (Agnes 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 (Laura 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.
Also Available: Blu-ray on November 7, 2023
My Mother's Castle
Studio Synopsis:Longing to return to the hills he grew to love during a magical summer holiday, 11-year-old Marcel (Julien Ciamaca) finds happiness once again when his father, Joseph (Philippe Caubère), is provided access to a private footpath they can use to easily travel from Marseilles to Provence. Years later as an adult, Marcel purchases a castle and realizes it is the same estate his adoring mother Augustine (Nathalie Roussel) was always terrified to cross along their journey.
Also Available: Blu-ray Marcel Pagnol: 2-Film Collection with "My Father's Glory"
My Father's Glory
Studio Synopsis:At the turn of the twentieth century, 11-year-old Marcel (Julien Ciamaca) accompanies his parents, Joseph (Philippe Caubère) and Augustine (Nathalie Roussel), on a life-changing holiday to the Provence countryside. During these magical summer months, he befriends a local boy, who shares with him the secrets of the rugged hills, while learning newfound respect for his gentle schoolmaster father.
Also Available: Blu-ray Marcel Pagnol: 2-Film Collection with "My Mother's Castle"
Sri Asih: The Warrior
Studio Synopsis:Alana doesn’t understand why she is always influenced by anger. But she has always been trying to fight it. She was born during a volcano eruption which separated her and her parents. She was then adopted by a rich woman who has been trying to help her living a normal life. But as she reaches adulthood, Alana discover the truth about her origin: she’s not an ordinary human being. She may be the gift for humanity. Or a destruction, if she can’t control her anger.
Return to Dust
Studio Synopsis:Humble, unassuming Ma and timid Cao have been cast off by their families and forced into an arranged marriage. They have to combine their strength and build a home to survive. In the face of much adversity, an unexpected bond begins to blossom, as both Ma and Cao, uniting with Earth’s cycles, create a haven for themselves in which they can thrive. A story about eternal love, against the odds.
The Haunting Lodge
Studio Synopsis: In this unscripted investigative documentary, American filmmakers Kendall and Vera are asked to film a remote hunting lodge in Georgia that has been experiencing paranormal activity for over a decade. Dan, the desperate lodge owner, is searching for answers, as the hauntings are scaring hunters away and could ruin his business. Kendall and Vera move into the lodge to begin their investigation. Vera is the first to experience the hunter’s claims, but soon they both experience terrifying events, including being touched while they sleep. They call upon psychic medium Jill Morris to help them solve the case, and she reveals that the haunting is the work of an intelligent entity. The lodge's dark secrets are revealed as the paranormal activity escalates at the never-before-investigated location, and the couple find themselves in over their heads when they finally capture evidence of something otherworldly.
Also Available: Blu-ray, DVD
Blu-ray & DVD Highlights
Barbie
Studio Synopsis:To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken.
Tod Browning's Sideshow Shockers
Studio Synopsis:The world is a carnival of criminality, corruption, and psychosexual strangeness in the twisted pre-Code shockers of Tod Browning. Early Hollywood’s edgiest auteur, Browning drew on his experiences as a circus performer to create subversive pulp entertainments set amid the world of traveling sideshows, which, with their air of the exotic and the disreputable, provided a pungent backdrop for his sordid tales of outcasts, cons, villains, and vagabonds. Bringing together two of his defining works ("The Unknown" and "Freaks") and a long-unavailable rarity ("The Mystic"), this cabinet of curiosities reveals a master of the morbid whose ability to unsettle is matched only by his daring compassion for society’s most downtrodden.
Watch: Trailer at criterion.com
The Desperate Hours
Studio Synopsis:Three escaped cons, led by the ruthless Glenn Griffin (Bogart), force their way into a suburban home, intending to hide out while they await the arrival of an all-important package. But what should have been an overnight stay extends into a protracted hostage situation, pitting Glenn against the embattled family patriarch, Daniel Hilliard (March) - a man with everything to lose.
The Way We Were 4K UHD
Studio Synopsis:Set against the politicalism of pre-WWII and later McCarthyism, a diametrically opposed couple come together only to find that genuine friendship and physical attraction is not enough to overcome fundamental societal beliefs. The collapse of their relationship comes in tandem with her determination to speak to the House Un-American Acitvities Committee.
Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time 4K UHD
Studio Synopsis:Misato and her anti-NERV group Wille arrive at Paris, a city now red from core-ization. Crew from the flagship Wunder land on a containment tower. They only have 720 seconds to restore the city. When a horde of NERV Evas appear, Mari’s improved Eva Unit 8 must intercept. Meanwhile, Shinji, Asuka, and Rei (Provisional Name) wander about Japan.
Also Available: Blu-ray
Haunted Mansion
Studio Synopsis:Inspired by the classic theme park attraction, "Haunted Mansion" tells the story of Gabbie (Rosario Dawson), a single mom, who discovers that the home she and her son share is haunted by irksome ghosts. Hoping to restore domestic tranquility, Gabbie recruits a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid the house of the supernatural squatters. A nonstop blend of action, adventure and comedy featuring an all-star cast that includes LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto.
3 Days in Malay
Studio Synopsis:Inspired by historical events, "3 Days in Malay" follows a small group of dedicated soldiers who must defend an airfield for three days against the Japanese assault during the fight for Malay in WWII.
The Crown: Season 5
Studio Synopsis: Diana and Charles wage a media war. The monarchy’s role is up for debate. Welcome to the '90s — and Queen Elizabeth II's biggest challenge to date.
The Last Voyage of the Demeter
Studio Synopsis:A terrifying new addition to the Dracula legend, based on a single chilling chapter from Bram Stoker's classic novel, "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" chronicles the doomed journey of a merchant ship ferrying 50 mysterious wooden crates from Carpathia to London. As they set sail, the crew soon discover they are not alone on board: at night they are stalked by a hidden passenger whose monstrous thirst for blood turns the trip into a harrowing nightmare of tension, terror and unfathomable evil.
Golda
Studio Synopsis:Golda is a ticking-clock thriller set during the tense 19 days of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (Helen Mirren), faced with the potential of Israel’s complete destruction, must navigate overwhelming odds, a skeptical cabinet, and a complex relationship with U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (Liev Schreiber), with millions of lives in the balance. Her tough leadership and compassion would ultimately decide the fate of her nation and leave her with a controversial legacy around the world.
Titans: The Complete Season 4
Studio Synopsis:Having saved Gotham, the Titans hit the road to head back to San Francisco. But after a stop in Metropolis, they find themselves in the crosshairs of a supernatural cult with powers unlike anything they’ve faced before.
EO
Studio Synopsis:Legendary director Jerzy Skolimowski created one of his freest and most visually inventive films yet with this story of a gray donkey named EO. After being removed from an itinerant circus, EO begins a trek across the countryside, experiencing cruelty and kindness from a cast of characters including an Italian countess (Isabelle Huppert) and a Polish soccer team. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature, and featuring stunning cinematography by Micha Dymek coupled with Pawe Mykietyn’s resonant score, "EO" presents the follies and triumphs of humankind from the perspective of its four-legged protagonist on a quest for freedom.
Douglas Fairbanks Double Feature: The Three Musketeers / The Iron Mask
Studio Synopsis:Douglas Fairbanks, The King of Hollywood, stars in two action-packed spectacles featuring him in the role he was born to play: Alexandre Dumas’ D’Artagnan! In "The Three Muskateers," we are introduced to the young D’Artagnan, a naïve and ambitious farm boy whose acrobatic swordsmanship earns him the respect of King Louis XIII’s elite regiment of guards, The Musketeers. Doug reprises his role in "The Iron Mask," which finds D’Artagnan and his fellow Musketeers under threat by the sinister Cardinal Richelieu and Count De Rochefort.
Passion
Studio Synopsis:A remarkable early feature from one of today’s preeminent auteurs. Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s "Passion," his thesis project at Tokyo University of the Arts, lays the thematic foundations for what would become his internationally renowned body of work. Already trading in his recurrent themes of contemporary alienation and unrequited desire and catalyzing what would become lasting collaborations with actors such as Fusako Urabe and Aoba Kawai, ("Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy") "Passion" exemplifies the wellspring of Hamaguchi’s rich and nuanced vivisection of relationships in the 21st century. Following a couple, Kaho (Aoba Kawai) and Tomoya (Ryuta Okamoto), whose engagement announcement among friends reveals a prior infidelity, Hamaguchi infuses the pairs subsequent reckoning and devolution with characteristic emotional clarity that culminates in a devastating finale.
Shortcomings
Studio Synopsis:Ben, a struggling filmmaker, lives in Berkeley, California, with his girlfriend, Miko, who works for a local Asian American film festival. When he’s not managing an arthouse movie theater as his day job, Ben spends his time obsessing over unavailable blonde women, watching Criterion Collection DVDs, and eating in diners with his best friend Alice, a queer grad student with a serial dating habit. When Miko moves to New York for an internship, Ben is left to his own devices, and begins to explore what he thinks he might want.