Great Movies
10 NEW TO NETFLIX
"Bad Boys"
"Blow"
"Candyman"
"Raging Bull"
"Scream 2"
"Senna"
"Sin City"
"The Squid and the Whale"
"Trainspotting"
"Troy"
7 NEW TO BLU-RAY/DVD
"Child's Play"
Who really asked for a "Child's Play" remake? Especially when the original series is actually still going pretty strong? Well, surprise surprise, this reboot of the '80s classic actually works, largely because it's going for something completely different than what the original Chucky series has become. Starting over allows the team behind this reboot to play with modern concerns like tech addiction and radicalization through seeing violence. It's a sharp piece of work that also has plenty to offer for gorehounds, as well as solid performances from Aubrey Plaza and Brian Tyree Henry. You may have written this one off in concept alone, but you should give it a shot.
Buy it here
Special Features
The Making of Child's Play
Bringing Child's Play's Chucky to Life
Soundtrack Trailer
Lee Hardcastle Claymations:
Toy Massacre
A.I. Mayhem
Theatrical Trailer
Gallery
"The Circus" (Criterion)
Charlie Chaplin's latest film to be inducted into the Criterion Collection (beloved works like "The Kid," "City Lights," "Modern Times," and "The Gold Rush" have already been released on Blu-ray) is one of his most personal and poignant. What's funny is that "The Circus" is often appreciated as one of Chaplin's best physical comedies, but there's a definite melancholy under the surface, one that emerges from the troubled production, his personal problems at the time, and the fact that this film was released on the cusp of the end of the silent era ("The Jazz Singer" had come out just a few months before). It all makes the saga of the under-appreciated clown feel particularly personal. However you read the movie, it's one of Chaplin's most rewatchable.
Special Features
New 4K digital restoration of Charlie Chaplin’s 1969 rerelease version of the film, featuring an original score by Chaplin, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
New audio commentary featuring Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance
Interview with Chaplin from 1969
New interview with Chaplin’s son Eugene Chaplin
In the Service of the Story, a new program on the film’s visual effects and production design by film scholar Craig Barron
Chaplin Today: “The Circus,” a 2003 documentary on the film featuring filmmaker Emir Kusturica
Excerpted audio interview from 1998 with Chaplin musical associate Eric James
Unused café sequence with new score by composer Timothy Brock, and related outtakes with narration by comedy choreographer Dan Kamin
Newly discovered outtakes featuring the Tramp and the circus rider
Excerpts from the original recording session for the film’s opening song, “Swing Little Girl”
Footage of the film’s 1928 Hollywood premiere
Rerelease trailers
PLUS: An essay by critic Pamela Hutchinson
"Hellraiser"
"Hellbound: Hellraiser II"
Released nearly on top of each other and using much of the same crew (with a notable replacement at director when Barker passed on the sequel), the first two "Hellraiser" movies work more as a pair than most horror classics and their sequel. So why not just pick up both recent releases from Arrow Home Video? After all, they both have that stellar Arrow transfer that doesn't over-polish movies that I always felt needed to be a little grainy and grimy (they were perfect for the days of VHS). And they both come loaded with special features. Of course, the 1987 original is the superior film, a movie that has lost none of its gory power, playing like Shakespeare with its heightened emotions and family betrayals, but filtered through the vision of Clive Barker. "Hellraiser" is a daring film even by today's standards, and I'm always startled that it became such a hit that it's produced nine sequels and counting.
Special Features - Hellraiser
Brand new 2K restoration approved by director of photography Robin Vidgeon
High Definition Blu-rayTM (1080p) presentation
Uncompressed PCM Stereo 2.0 and Lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 sound
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with writer-director Clive Barker
Audio commentary with Barker and actress Ashley Laurence
Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser brand new version of the definitive documentary on the making of Hellraiser, featuring interviews with key cast and crew members
Being Frank: Sean Chapman on Hellraiser actor Sean Chapman talks candidly about playing the character of Frank Cotton in Barker s original
Soundtrack Hell: The Story of the Abandoned Coil Score ex-Coil member Stephen Thrower on the Hellraiser score that almost was
Hellraiser: Resurrection vintage featurette including interviews with Barker, actors Doug Bradley and Ashley Laurence, special make-up effects artist Bob Keen and others
Under the Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellraiser
Original EPK featuring on-set interviews with cast and crew
Draft Screenplays [BD-ROM content]
Trailers and TV Spots
Image Gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
Special Features - Hellraiser II
Brand new 2K restoration approved by director of photography Robin Vidgeon
High Definition Blu-rayTM (1080p) presentation
Uncompressed PCM Stereo 2.0 and Lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 sound
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with director Tony Randel and writer Peter Atkins
Audio commentary with Randel, Atkins and actress Ashley Laurence
Leviathan: The Story of Hellbound: Hellraiser II brand new version of the definitive documentary on the making of Hellbound, featuring interviews with key cast and crew members
Being Frank: Sean Chapman on Hellbound actor Sean Chapman talks about reprising the role of Frank Cotton in the first Hellraiser sequel
Surgeon Scene the legendary excised sequence
Lost in the Labyrinth vintage featurette including interviews with Barker, Randel, Keen, Atkins and others
Under the Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellbound: Hellraiser II
On-set interview with Clive Barker
On-set interviews with cast and crew
Behind-the-Scenes Footage
Rare and unseen storyboards
Draft Screenplay [BD-ROM content]
Trailers and TV Spots
Image Gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
"Pan's Labyrinth"
"The Shining"
Warner Bros. has been releasing some of their most beloved catalog films in 4K editions all year and two of them dropped on October 1st, probably to build up a little buzz in time for holiday season while also maybe ending up an impulse buy for Halloween. We'll likely do a full gift guide later this year about the best Blu-rays you could get for the movie lover in your life with a 4K player, but here's a sneak preview of two of them that should definitely be considered. After all, they're both gorgeous films, enhanced by Warner Bros. 4K transfers, which are some of the best in the business. The shadows in Guillermo del Toro's masterpiece seem just a bit darker and more defined; the halls of the Overlook in Stanley Kubrick's game-changing horror film feel more imposing and cavernous. They're both the kind of films you use to show off your new 4K player and HD TV. They're essential.
Special Features - Pan's Labyrinth
Audio commentary by Guillermo del Toro
Video prologue by Guillermo del Toro
The Power of Myth
The Faun and the Fairies
The Color and the Shape
The Director's Notebook
Special Features - The Shining
Audio commentary by Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown and Stanley Kubrick biographer John Baxter
Video from the Overlook: Crafting The Shining
The Visions of Stanley Kubrick
The Making of The Shining
Wendy Carlos, Composer
"Spider-Man: Far From Home"
It was smart of the brain trust behind the MCU to follow-up their biggest film with a laid-back adventure movie, which is essentially what this is. Sure, there are some deep themes and even a bit of a look at grief, but this is an old-fashioned road movie in a lot of ways, a flick that takes our hero and his buddies and a new enemy around Europe for a series of action scenes. "Far From Home" works in large part because this cast has strengthened with each installment, particularly Tom Holland and Zendaya, who have never been better in an MCU movie than they are here. Add in the always-great Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio and you have a film that's never going to top anyone's list of their favorite Marvel movies, but certainly wouldn't land at the bottom either. It's a fun diversion that doesn't take itself too seriously, and it would be nice if we could say that about more superhero movies.
Special Features
New Original Short, Peter's To–Do-List
Teachers' Travel Tips
Stepping Up
Suit Up
Far, FAR, Far from Home
It Takes Two
Fury & Hill
The Ginter-Riva Effect
Thank You, Mrs. Parker
The Brother's Trust
The Jump Off
Now You See Me
Stealthy Easter Eggs
Select Scene Pre – Vis
Never-Before-Seen Alternate & Extended Scenes
Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.
