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What’s New in Home Video & Pop Culture – January 13, 2026

Mike Spring

By Mike Spring

 on 

What’s New in Home Video & Pop Culture – January 13, 2026

As the new year kicks off, we’re slow rolling into bigger releases hitting shelves, but we do have one of 2025’s ,ost talked about movies out on home video this week. We also have some great graphic novels to dive into, so read on for all the details!

In This Week’s Column:

TRON: Ares (Blu-ray + Digital)

Official Synopsis:

Get ready for the electrifying action and adventure of TRON: Ares. When a highly sophisticated Program named Ares is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, it marks humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings.

The Movie: 

I’ve been obsessed with the world of TRON since I was eight years old. I have all the TRON stuff: the movies, the toys, the comic books, the soundtracks… you name it, I’ve got it. And every fifteen years or so, I get treated to another TRON movie, which is honestly more than I ever thought I would get. 

Now, the capital-I-internet – which exists solely to tear down things people love sometimes – would have you believe that TRON: Ares is some kind of disaster garbage pile of a movie that isn’t even worth your time because Jared Leto is in it. And while I will admit that the first 20 minutes or so of the movie had me wondering if this was going to be the first TRON movie I was going to dislike, I have to say that once the story starts to take shape and I realized where things were going, I truly enjoyed TRON: Ares. 

Sure, the story isn’t as strong as the first two films, but let’s be honest, the TRON films were never exactly the most narratively driven movies in the history of cinema, either. I found this outing’s story quite interesting once it got going, and that just serves to drive some of the most exciting and visually dazzling action scenes we’ve seen in years. Admittedly, the ties to the previous films aren’t as strong as some fans might have wanted, but I actually liked the subtle nods to the past two films quite a bit. 

Ultimately, I really had a lot of fun with TRON: Ares and it’s one of the best-looking films in several years. I would urge you not to listen to internet chatter and check it out for yourself because it’s a really fun ride!

The Bonus Features: 

Digital Copy Included: Yes

The Lord of The Rings: Rings of Power – Season Two Complete Soundtrack Collection (CD)

Official Synopsis:

Mutant, partnership with Prime Video, and Sparks & Shadows Records, is excited to premiere The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season Two Complete Soundtrack Collection from the Amazon Original Series) This 10xCD box set features the complete episodic scores for all eight episodes of season two of the hit series, as well as the original soundtrack album. The limited-edition, numbered set also contains a 130-page booklet featuring liner notes by composer Bear McCreary.

This 10xCD Box Set is a numbered edition of 1000. It is housed in a gold-stamped leatherette box set featuring the complete episodic scores for all eight episodes of Season 2 of The Rings of Power, the Original 2xCD Soundtrack Album, and a 130-page booklet with liner notes by composer Bear McCreary. 

The Music: 

I’ve mentioned this a few times in past columns, but unless you’re a die-hard reader you may not know that I have become a film score fanatic in recent years. One of the more niche music release genres, I’ve really started to delve into movie soundtracks recently; not the soundtracks that are compilations of pop songs, but the orchestral or electronic scores that come from composers and underscore the events of a film or a movie. 

So I could barely contain my excitement when The Lord of The Rings: Rings of Power – Season Two Complete Soundtrack Collection landed on my desk. Rings of Power is, obviously, the hit Amazon Prime series based on The Lord of the Rings books/movies, and the music is by Bear McCreary, one of the preeminent voices in film and television music. Most times, when a television score is released, it’s kind of a sampling or a greatest hits, simply due to the sheer amount of music involved. 

Mutant, however (madebymutant.com) who specializes in more upscale/collector’s edition soundtracks on vinyl and CD, has recognized that Lord of the Rings fans are a bit more die-hard than your average fan. This new 10-disc box set includes quite literally every music cue from the second season of the show. The first eight discs give you the scores for the eight episodes, one episode per disc. Then you get the official Amazon-exclusive soundtrack album included as well, which is a two-disc set that culls some choice orchestral songs as well as a number of the songs that feature some sort of guest vocals, such as tracks with frequent Bear McCreary collaborator Rufus Wainwright and actor Rory Kinnear. 

The music itself is transcendent. Bear McCreary has long been one of the best and most innovative composers in Hollywood, and the way he crafts music for the show is incredible. There are tracks that are sweeping and thematic, evoking the entire world of The Lord of the Rings. There are dark, percussive, stomping tracks that represent the darker forces in the show. There are moments that are soft and ethereal. It literally has a little bit of everything, and you’ll find just about any instrument you can think of – and several you can’t – represented here. 

Tying it all together is a 130-page book featuring writing by McCreary that goes through each episode as he shares his creative vision for the score. It’s a treasure trove for fans of Lord of the Rings or musical scores in general. 

The Details: 

Limited Edition Box Set includes:

• 8x CDs featuring the Original Orchestral Recordings for Episodes 201-208 from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season Two)

• 2x CDs featuring the Amazon Original Series Soundtrack from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season Two)

• 130-page journal featuring Bear McCreary’s episode-by-episode account and musings on the creative journey behind the writing, scoring and production of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season Two)

Splendid Outing (Blu-ray)

Official Synopsis:

Following a dream about her dead twin sister, thriving corporate tycoon Gong Do-hee (Yoon Jeong-hee, Poetry) takes a drive to the seaside. But her splendid outing becomes a nightmarish one when she is kidnapped and forced to live with a gruff island fisherman who insists that she is his runaway wife. Featuring a timely message about political oppression that evaded the stringent censors of the day, this daring modernist work from prolific Korean cineaste Kim Soo-yong (Mist) stands as one of the boldest works of Korean cinema’s darkest era — the 1970s.

The Movie: 

In the area of film that I consider myself more knowledgeable than others, I would have to say Korean films from the 1970s sounds like a Jeopardy category I would not fare well in. That said, I was curious to dive into Splendid Outing, a dark drama/thriller from 1978. The film, which sees a successful female executive (who’s haunted by dreams of her dead twin sister) get kidnapped and sold into a forced marriage with a farmer, is far from light fare, but I was curious to see what that era held. 

The film is multi-layered; on the surface it’s a melodramatic thriller, but there’s also a subtext there about oppression and victimization that I suspect was heavily influenced by the landscape of 1970s Korea (not that I’m an expert in their sociopolitical history, mind you.) The film’s leads both offer up powerful and intense performances, and while the movie leans more towards the bleak side of things than I tend to like, it certainly isn’t afraid to go to some dark places. 

If you like foreign films, and especially if you like the pessimistic, cynical vibe of many films from the 1970s, Splendid Outing is worth a watch. 

The Bonus Features: 

Digital Copy Included: No

Joe Hill’s The Cape Omnibus (Graphic Novel)

Official Synopsis:

Read all three graphic novels based on New York Times best-selling author Joe Hill’s short story “The Cape,” collecting The Cape, The Cape: 1969, and The Cape: Fallen. Every little boy dreams about putting on a cape and soaring up, up, and away…but what if one day that dream were to come true? Eric was like every other eight-year-old boy, until a tragic accident changed his life forever. The Cape explores the dark side of power, as the adult Eric—a confused and broken man—takes to the skies…and sets out to exact a terrible vengeance on everyone who ever disappointed him.

The Cape: 1969 goes back in time to the Vietnam War when Eric’s father, Captain Chase, a medevac helicopter pilot for the U.S. Army, is shot down over enemy territory. He and his crew are in a fight for their lives as they play a deadly game of cat and mouse with the Vietcong…but they soon learn that machine guns and grenades aren’t the only terrors hiding in the jungle. In The Cape: Fallen, uncover new folds in Hill’s cautionary anti-superhero tale with a story that takes place between the scenes of the original series. This critically acclaimed, Eisner Award–nominated story—written by Jason Ciaramella based on the short story by New York Times best-selling author Joe Hill, with art by Zach Howard and Nelson Dániel—smashes the classic superhero myth and wraps the bloody wreckage in a bright blue shroud: The Cape.

The Book: 

Based on a short story by bestselling author Joe Hill, The Cape Omnibus offers up three miniseries collected into one chunky tome. I had never read The Cape before, but I’m a casual Joe Hill fan, and the idea of superheroes and horror mixed together is appealing to me, so I was excited to check it out. 

And whoo boy, was I rewarded! Despite being over 300 pages, once I started reading The Cape, I literally couldn’t put it down. Jason Ciaramella isn’t an author I’m familiar with, but the way he adapted the story and the pacing he sets made the book a page-turner from the very first one. And then there’s the phenomenal artwork by Zach Howard. I’m somewhat familiar with Howard as a comic book artist but I don’t think I’d read more than occasional issues by him here and there. But his artwork on The Cape, which is reminiscent of great artists like Jason Pearson and Michael Golden, is utterly fantastic and elevates the stories. 

This Omnibus collects three miniseries: The Cape (this is the one directly based on Joe Hill’s short story); The Cape: Vietnam (a prequel which explores the origins of Eric’s father and the cape itself); and The Cape: Fallen (which acts as a sort of fill-in-the-blanks story that occurs during the original miniseries). While the first, original chapter is my favorite, all three are pulse-pounding adventures. This book is a real value with over 300 pages of superhorror to enjoy!

The Specs: 

Sidekicks: Thick as Thieves (Graphic Novel)

Official Synopsis:

Caldecott Medalist, National Book Award winner, and New York Times bestselling creator Dan Santat returns to Sidekicks with a brand-new adventure in this second series installment! Suit up for high-octane action and laughs!

There’s trouble at the Society of Superheroes! Captain Amazing, the longtime hero of Metro City, has retired, and he’s enjoying a much-needed vacation at the World’s Biggest Ball of Yarn. But while he’s away, there’s trouble at home! A massive data breech disrupts the Society of Superheroes, and a flash drive containing sensitive information about Captain Amazing and other heroes winds up in reckless hands. Meanwhile, an unannounced visitor named Whipley arrives at the captain’s house, and his pet sidekicks — Manny, Roscoe, and Fluffy — are skeptical of the stranger’s intentions. The only sidekick excited by the visit is Shifty. Could Whipley be Shifty’s loving, long-lost brother as he claims? Or is he framing the sidekicks for his own personal gain and vengeance?

The Book: 

Whenever I review kids’ books, which Sidekicks: Thick as Thieves certainly is – I always try to approach them from the perspective of how the target audience would like the book in question. Because I’m not a kid, so I can’t judge kids’ books through an adult lens. But sometimes… sometimes you get lucky, and a kids’ book is so good, you can just write about it from my own perspective. And Sidekicks: Thick as Thieves is one of those books. 

First let me go back a bit. Also available is the first book in the series, simply called Sidekicks. In it, we meet the pets of Captain Amazing, the aging superhero who protects Metro City, who take on the mantles of being superheroes themselves to protect the city when Captain Amazing isn’t available. Then we have the new book, Thick as Thieves, in which pet heroes Manny, Roscoe, Fluffy, and Shifty have to deal with a mysterious new presence in town while Captain Amazing is on vacation. 

If you haven’t read the first book and you have the ability, I would recommend picking it up first and then diving into Thick as Thieves. Not only because it introduces the characters and lays the groundwork for the series, but because they’re both such great books! Writer/artist Dan Santat does incredible work, crafting stories that are filled with superhero action and tons of humor, plus giving us characters we can get invested in. All the while, his outstanding artwork really brings the stories to life, filled with color and interesting compositions and an ability to capture any emotion, joke, or action with aplomb. 

I really enjoyed both Sidekicks graphic novels (even though they’re aimed at younger readers); they’re kind of like a cross between The Secret Life of Pets and The Justice League. I know for sure your kids will like them and I won’t be surprised at all if you, the adult reader, get pulled into them pretty quickly as well. 

The Specs: 

Cosmic Cadets: Accused (Graphic Novel)

Official Synopsis:

There’s been a brazen theft, and all signs point to the Cadets’ guilt! Blast off to a colorful adventure full of mystery and intrigue! While the crew of the ESS Khonsu is negotiating a treaty with the reclusive residents of an important nebula, someone attacks their hosts and makes off with a cultural artifact…and every piece of evidence suggests Nishika is the thief! Now it’s up to the Cadets and their new friend Rax to investigate the crime and prove her innocence, all while dodging station security. But can they find the true culprit before their diplomatic mission is ruined forever? And what if they discover that the situation in this beautiful nebula is not as perfect as their hosts would have them believe?

The Book: 

Much like Sidekicks above, Cosmic Cadets: Accused is the second book in a series of younger readers’ graphic novels. The first book, Contact, which I was also able to review, is the best place to start as it introduces all of the characters and gives you a foundation for the world the story exists in. 

In Contact, we meet Jimmil, the young son of a starship captain who is trying to live up to his mom’s legacy. He, along with a group of friends and fellow cadets, go down to a planet that’s being explored to discover a new life form and make first contact. In the new book, Accused, the starship Khonsu is on a diplomatic mission when one of the young cadets is accused of stealing an important cultural artifact, and it’s up to the other cadets to solve the mystery. 

The books, written by Ben Crane with artwork by Andy Alves, are kind of like an introduction to Star Trek for young kids. They’re NOT Star Trek books, but it’s hard not to see Trek’s influence on every page. That said, I think kids will enjoy these books a lot; there are spaceships, alien creatures, young kids forming strong friendships, bright colors, and lots of action. I personally found them a little bit less exciting as an adult reader. I can’t say Andy Alves’ art style really resonated with me, and the books occasionally feel very dialogue heavy for the age range of the target demographic. I feel like there are a few opportunities for the concept of “show, don’t tell” that were ignored. Still, overall, I think kids will really dig these books. 

The Specs: 

What’s New in Home Video & Pop Culture – January 13, 2026 – TRON: Ares, LOTR: Rings of Power, The Cape, & More!
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