New Release Tuesdays

 The battle continues from the home-front as I was able to escape for a few days and get up in the mountains and stare at some different walls for a few days.  It was really nice to have a change of scenery.  I see where home media sales had quite a spike in sales in the second quarter but unfortunately sales are back down this quarter because there are few new release titles for out there to buy.  Also, Disney recently said they have no plans for 4K releases for anymore of their movies besides Marvel and Star Wars titles so with that and this pandemic this may the final nails in the coffin for physical media from the studios anyway.  Niche companies will hopefully continue to license and put out movies on physical media.  Will we ever get True Lies or The Abyss on hi-def now?  Anyway there has been a nice mix of new and old stuff come out recently so let's check them out below.

War of the Worlds- A small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.  I have not seen this since I was a kid and it was on TV.  It is a title I have always wanted to get for the collection but had a feeling Criterion would put this out on blu one of these days and my patience has finally paid off. I picked this up from the B&N sale and I cannot wait to spin this again to rediscover its greatness.

The Day the Earth Caught Fire- When the U.S. and Russia unwittingly test atomic bombs at the same time, it alters the nutation (axis of rotation) of the Earth.  I do not recall seeing this but I have been reading a lot about this Shout Factory title and it sounds pretty solid.

Death Warrant- In a violent and corrupt prison, decorated cop Louis Burke must infiltrate the jail to find answers to a number of inside murders. What he finds is a struggle of life and death tied in to his own past.  This is a solid action flick that is fast paced being under 90 minutes with lots of ass kicking.

P.O.W. The Escape- Col. Cooper leads a group of American P.O.W.s, battling their way to freedom as Saigon falls to the Viet Cong.  This is from Cannon and is too much like Chuck Norris’ Missing in Action and Chuck Bronson did not seem to like playing in the jungle so Cannon had to find another Chuck and went with David Carradine.  He always looked cool in movie posters but when you first see him on the screen you are very under whelmed.  This was a solid action flick that has been out of print for a long time and is making its blu ray debut thru Scorpion Releasing.

Bruce Lee Set- Yeah, I have all these but Criterion always goes above and beyond so this has been ordered and received.

Mr. No Legs- Heads roll as two cops, Chuck and Andy, go against Mr. D'Angelo, the biggest drug dealer in Florida, and his ruthless enforcer Fred, who has no legs but does have two mean double barrel shotguns built into his wheelchair.  Looks too good not to watch.

Tender Mercies- A broken-down, middle-aged country singer gets a new wife, reaches out to his long-lost daughter, and tries to put his troubled life back together.  I consider Robert Duvall the best actor ever.  Back in his prime he could do it all and play practically anyone.  He is limited to his age these days but the guy is solid in everything he does.  This was a very good drama where he won the Oscar for Best Actor, highly recommended.

 

Death Before Dishonor- Gunnery Sergeant Burns reports for duty to an American Embassy in the Middle East. However due to the 'enlightened' views of the Ambassador, the marine security detachment he is in charge of is severely restricted in their functions and presence to avoid upsetting the host government. As a result, when terrorists attack the compound, they are able to kidnap hostages and escape with little opposition. Burns ignores the Ambassador's restrictions, and throws the rule books out the window, as he becomes a one man army in an attempt to rescue the hostages, and wipe out the terrorists.  I remember this from the day and I could have sworn this was a Cannon movie but it does not look like it is.  This was a solid action flick with TV’s Hunter doing a serviceable job.

The Outpost- A small team of U.S. soldiers battle against hundreds of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.  Eastwood is back, not that Eastwood, but the young one is doing well and has a good looking war movie out.