Forgotten Friday Flick – “High Art”
Keeping the current theme of dissecting the work of wondrous women behind the camera alive and well, this week sees yet another awesome indie with a talented female filmmaker proudly at the helm – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick! Continuing the highlighting of films with a distinctive feminine flair, the selection below was an impressive feature from a gutsy gal with serious cinematic style. Combining bold ideas like ambition, inspiration, love and their cost within the turbulent world of being an artist and then matching it with sincere performances and a stark but stripped-down camera style, this debut flick was an outing that to no surprise took Sundance by storm. True to its name in every fascinating frame, such stellar stuff is truly…High Art.
Every popular film must find itself a way to being a trilogy, right? Well, that’s the case now with the Pitch Perfect franchise. Personally, I found the first film to be charming enough and it was quite popular enough to warrant an encore performance or a victory lap of sorts. That victory lap turned into a really really awful film, but it did make money, so here with are with our third film about a zany female collegiate acapella group. And hey, it didn’t total as much money as the second film, but still made plenty enough to count your winnings take it home and bid the world adieu. This final performance of the Bellas will be making its way to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray on March 20th (The first two films will also see an upgrade on this date). Don’t be one of those lazy pitches, pre-order yourself to have it on release. 
This June, John Waters’ outrageous Female Trouble, starring the criminally beautiful Divine, will join the Criterion Collection decked out in cha-cha heels, doused in liquid eyeliner, and restored in 4K. Also appearing in a new 4K restoration is Lino Brocka’s searing urban melodrama Manila in the Claws of Light, widely recognized as one of the greatest films in Filipino cinema. Then, Víctor Erice investigates Spain’s troubled history through the eyes of a child captivated by her father in El Sur, a haunting masterpiece never before available on DVD or Blu-ray. Michael Moore will join the Collection with the Oscar-winning Bowling for Columbine, his incisive and perennially relevant documentary on the culture of fear that keeps gun-loving America locked and loaded. And there’s more: Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring, a harrowing tale of vengeance and faith, will appear on Blu-ray in a new 2K restoration.
What a wild and utterly varied week for indie films – I can honestly say it’s been a cinematic roller coaster ride for yours truly. The six films below are so interesting, unique and envelope pushing that even the few on the bottom of the list still manage to linger long. (That’s a film feat!) Dangerous digs, wacky women, tricky teens, female fighting taxi drivers, undead with a distinctive southern flair and sexual predatory behavior by women are all featured via this extremely bold edition of Encapsulated Movie Reviews. Check out the skinny on Demon House, Flower, Josie, Cold Hell, Attack Of The Southern Fried Zombies and Allure below! 
I feel like I have been waiting forever for this reincarnation of the Tomb Raider movie franchise. While we just covered the Angelina Jolie films in 4K over 
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced today that 1999’s acclaimed sci-fi action classic The Matrix will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and Digital on May 22nd. Directed by the Wachowskis (The Matrix Trilogy, Cloud Atlas, Jupiter Ascending) and starring Keanu Reeves as Neo, Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus, and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity, The Matrix is widely considered to be one of the most influential films in recent history. 
The Winchester Mansion’s sinister secrets are revealed in Winchester, arriving on Digital April 17 and on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), DVD, and On Demand May 1 from Lionsgate. Directed by The Spierig Brothers (Jigsaw,Predestination) and co-written by Tom Vaughan and The Spierig Brothers, Academy Award®-winner Helen Mirren (Best Actress, The Queen, 2006) stars as the infamous and eccentric heiress Sarah Winchester, who stops at nothing to protect her family from the evil spirits haunting them. The hair-raising thriller also stars Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty, Mudbound, Chappaquiddick), Sarah Snook (Steve Jobs, Predestination), Angus Sampson (Mad Max: Fury Road, Insidious), and newcomer Finn Scicluna-O’Prey (TV’s “True Story with Hamish & Andy”). 
Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as the future’s most fearsome warrior in the adrenaline-charged sci-fi thriller Cyborg, available on Blu-ray™ in a Scream Factory Collector’s Edition set loaded with new bonus features, on April 24, 2018. Deteriorating from a deadly vplague, 21st-Century America is descending into a barbaric nightmare. Only Pearl Prophet (Dayle Haddon), a beautiful half human/half cyborg, has the knowledge necessary to develop a vaccine. But during her quest to gather data and bring the cure to the world, Pearl is captured by cannibalistic Flesh Pirates who plot to keep the antidote for themselves and rule the world. Now, only saber-wielding hero Gibson Rickenbacker (Van Damme) can rescue her and save civilization.
He’s making the world safe…for insanity. On April 24, 2018, the cult comedy
This is the big Star Wars home video release you were waiting for this month right? No? Okay, anyway – The second season of “LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures” delivers all 12 action-packed episodes plus five bonus shorts on DVD. I covered the first season and since the show manage to land and Emmy nomination which is pretty impressive. However, two seasons is enough for this show as this DVD set concludes the adventures of the Freemakers. With this and Rebels coming to an end and only one saga film left to tell, I imagine our future Star Wars offshoots are going to be much more focused around the sequel trilogy once all of its secrets are out. This second season of the Freemaker Adventures will only be available on DVD this time, coming March 13th. 
Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you the 10th film in the Children of the Corn franchise, Children of the Corn: Runaway. This one is the 9th in the ‘canon’ storyline as the television remake doesn’t count. This series with Stephen King roots hasn’t had a theatrically released entry since 1995’s barely in theaters Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (The feature film debut of Charlize Theron). They have appeared to have thrived on straight to video features. Heck, I even kept up with them for awhile, and funnily enough, I confess, I own every one of them on Blu-ray (Eeek!). I think this film was originally scheduled to come out earlier (Maybe 2017), but its finally hitting here now. You’ll be able to check out the latest monthly Lionsgate straight to video entry of a long running horror franchise on March 13th! 
And here with go with a couple Best Picture winners from years past making their way to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray from Paramount Home Entertainment. Both are kind of in the same wheelhouse as well. Mel Gibson’s epic Braveheart, which took home the Best Picture trophy in 1996 (For 1995), and Ridley Scott’s Roman coliseum epic Gladiator, taking home the glory in 2001 (For 2000). Both films will feature upgrades in the video and audio (Braveheart utilizing Atmos, while Gladiator opts fro DTS:X), keeping the previous bonus features while adding nothing new for this release. Both are available for pre-order, so click the links below to have them primed to add to your collection on release day. 
Im a big Aquaman fan, but as the saying goes, behind every great man is a great woman. For quite some time, the one-time rival and now love interest of Arthur Curry, Mera of Xebel, gets her own comic book series. Though it is a limited series, something tells me DC is testing the waters to see if sales will allow her to get her own ongoing story. For now, I’m just excited this has come out. DC released issue #1 of the Mera: Queen of Atlantis at the end of February. Pardon me for a being a little late to the game, but as the other saying goes, better late than never. Plus, this is one title that is worth the wait.
The Justice League motion picture is finally getting its deserving shot to win over your living room on March 13th. As far as 2017 feature films going into last November I had thought of nothing else except Justice League ever since I left San Diego Comic-Con that July and attended this unforgettable superhero panel captured in all its splendor and awe right 
In keeping up with DC’s ongoing barrage of new titles this year, the latest arrival in our hands is issue #1 of The Terrifics. This compact super team is led by Mr. Terrific himself while joined by Metamorpho, Plastic Man and newcomer Linnya Wazzo. I really can’t wait to just dive in and start talking about this, but I’m wasting time and space to fill up enough dialogue so I there’s a big enough paragraph in place before you click on the title to read more. I know, cheap journalistic move, right? Yeah, guilty as charged.
Downsizing is acclaimed director Alexander Payne’s first in four years. That last one was the absolutely terrific Nebraska. This time he pairs with Matt Damon for a quirky concept of people shrinking themselves to live in a community where they are much wealthier than they would have been at normal size. The trailer for the film was pretty dynamite in my opinion, but I guess didn’t sell it well at all as the film completely bombed both in the United States and worldwide. With other studios, that would mean just putting it out on standard Blu-ray and being done with it, but kudos to Paramount as they’ve decided to stick with the times and put this one out on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. You’ll be able to catch it since you missed it in the theater on March 20th. Amazon Pre-order link available below if you’re interested. 
