August 7, 2018: Here's what's hitting DVD, Blu-ray and 4K
20th Century Fox is kicking off this week in home entertainment with a new 4K edition of John McTiernan’s 1987 Predator. You can also pick up the Predator 3-Movie Collection, which also includes 1990’s “Predator 2” and 2010’s “Predators”. Not counting the extraterrestrial hunter’s two “Alien” franchise crossovers, this should be all you need to catch up before the new film, Shane Black’s “The Predator,” arrives in theaters September 14, 2018. Also getting a 4K upgrade this week from the studio is Transporter 3, starring Jason Statham. Statham can be seen on the big screen this Friday facing off against “The Meg”.
Heralding the home video release of “Deadpool 2” later this month, Fox has teamed with Wal-Mart so that the Merc with a Mouth can photobomb six additional catalogue titles. Look for Deadpool editions of Alien, The Martian, 127 Hours, The Day After Tomorrow, City Slickers and The Devil Wears Prada.
Recent big screen releases coming home this week begin with the Gabrielle Union led thriller Breaking In. If thrills are your style, also be sure to check out writer and director Coralie Fargeat’s intense Revenge. Then, rounding out the week, Melissa McCarthy headlines Life of the Party, which she also cowrote with her husband, director Ben Falcone.
Arriving directly to home video, Warner Bros. has a new animated take on The Death of Superman. The original “Death of Superman” story began on the printed page in 1992 and made headlines across the world. When Warner Bros. launched its popular series of animated DC Comics films, the storyline was adapted for the somewhat truncated “Superman: Doomsday”. Now, the epic storyline is getting a full fledged animated redo with “Death” only representing the first half. Look for “The Reign of the Supermen” to continue the storyline in 2019.
Shout! Factory is delivering something special for fans of so-bad-it’s-good filmmaking because it just doesn’t get more bad than 1988’s Mac and Me. An attempt at duplicating the success of “E.T.,” “Mac and Me” is filled with a truly unbelievable amount of product placement, including an extended dance sequence set inside a McDonalds with a cameo from Ronald McDonald himself. Never even available in its proper aspect ratio before, “Mac and Me” is now receiving the deluxe collector’s edition treatment it so clearly deserves!
From Shout! Factory‘s “Scream Factory” label, the week also brings an early, little seen John Carpenter thriller, Someone’s Watching Me. Filmed just prior to “Halloween,” the made-for-tv feature wound up debuting just over a month after audiences first fell in love with the masked serial killer that is Michael Myers. Like “Halloween,” “Someone’s Watching Me” also celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
Warner Archive this week upgrades to Blu-ray John Sturges’ 1959 Never So Few. In it, Frank Sinatra stars as an American OSS operative during World War II who is tasked with leading a mission through the jungles of Burma. Filmed in CinemaScope, “Never So Few” has been begging for an HD version for some time and now it’s finally here.
Kino has their own surprise for cinephiles with the blu-ray debut of Nicholas Meyer’s 1983 telefilm The Day After. Starring JoBeth Williams, Steve Guttenberg, John Cullum, Jason Robards, and John Lithgow, “The Day After” takes a look at the immediate aftermath of a nuclear war.
Severin Films has their own special edition take on a long awaited cult title. The Changeling (1980). Peter Medak directs George C. Scott in a ghost story that Martin Scorsese has called, “one of the scariest movies ever made.”
Rounding out the list of new-to-blu titles is Tim Robbin’s 1999 drama The Cradle Will Rock. Written and directed by Robbins, the ensemble is set in 1937 and follows Marc Blitzstein’s production of his stage play of the same name. The Blu-ray arrives this week courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment.
When it comes to small screen releases this week, the popular sitcom Happy Endings leads the charge as all three seasons arrive in HD for the first time for a complete series box set. “Digimon” fans will then want to check out the animated OVA adventure Digimon Adventure tri.: Coexistence. Finally, Shout! Factory also has a huge treat for Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers fans. The complete American series joins the 1995 feature film for a massive 20 disc set housed in four steelbooks inside a slipcase. This also marks the first time that the original “Power Rangers” movie has been available in HD.
