Mike Spring
What’s New in Home Video & Pop Culture – January 20, 2026
In this day and age of theaters seeing less smash hits and home video physical releases a fraction of what they once were, it’s nice when you get not one but two bona fide box office hits on the same week. Couple that with several notable smaller releases that still managed to get some attention, and this is a pretty strong week overall. Check out the full slate below!
In This Week’s Column:
- Wicked For Good (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)
- One Battle After Another (4K Utra HD + Digital)
- Roofman (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)
- Shelby Oaks (Blu-ray)
- Fackham Hall (Blu-ray)
- Icefall (Blu-ray)
- Naked Ambition (Blu-ray)
- Infinite Summer (DVD)
Wicked For Good (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)
Official Synopsis:
In WICKED: FOR GOOD, Elphaba and Glinda are now estranged, each living with the consequences of their choices. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, lives in exile, continuing her fight to expose The Wizard. Meanwhile, Glinda (Ariana Grande) has become a glamorous symbol of Goodness, basking in the perks of fame and popularity. When a girl from Kansas crashes into their lives, Elphaba and Glinda must reunite and truly see each other—if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz. Bring home the adventure and prepare to be changed…for good.
The Movie:
While there’s no denying that Wicked For Good was a box office smash, grossing over $300 million at the domestic box office, it also feels quite tangibly like it was less a force of nature than the first film was. It seems like the first movie dominated the pop culture conversation for the entire holiday season in 2024. Wicked for Good, however, felt like people kind of went and saw it and then moved on pretty quickly. Maybe that’s just my perception, but it feels like it just didn’t get the same buzz as the first film.
And I’m not quite sure why. As someone who enjoyed the first movie quite a bit — biut fell short of falling in love with it and becoming obsessed with it like some people did — I found this one to be equally as good. The addition of the charcters from the original Wizard of Oz movie are a fun touch, the songs are rqually as good (while still my least favorite part of the movie), and the film is just as visaully dazzling as the first chapter. I’m not sure if it came out too close to the original or if people enjoyed the film equally to the first one but just didn’t talk about it as much, but I liked it and I think you will too.
The 4K Video/Audio:
Much like the first movie, Wicked For Good is a visual feast, and it looks and sounds outstanding on 4K Ultra HD. Colors are of course the first thing you notice, as the glitz and glamor of the land of Oz come through with sparkling vibrance. Image clarity is at a premium with an almost 3D feel to the proceedings, and the picture quality as a whole is excellent. The soundtrack makes everything blend together well: the songs, the music, the dialogue, the surround effects… everything works in perfect synch. This is the kind of movie 4K Ultra HD was made to showcase.
The Bonus Features:
- Sing-Along Version
- Six Deleted Scenes
- Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes:
- Making Wicked
- Welcome to Shiz
- A Wicked Legacy
- The Wonderful Wizard
- More Than Just a Place
- The Girl in the Bubble
- Kiamo Ko
Digital Copy Included: Yes
One Battle After Another (4K Utra HD + Digital)
Official Synopsis:
Washed-up revolutionary Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio) exists in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti). When his evil nemesis (Sean Penn) resurfaces after 16 years and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.
The Movie:
There was a time when Paul Thomas Anderson was one of my favorite filmmakers. After bringing us Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, and There Will Be Blood, I was sure he was going to enter the pantheon of the 20th/21st century’s greatest filmmakers.
And then he took a left turn. With movies like The Master, Phantom Thread, Inherent Vice, and Licorice Pizza, he became one of my least favorite filmmakers. Ranging from boring as hell to incoherent, the latter half of his filmography became an absolute slog for me to sit through.
Which brings us to One Battle Arter Another, his latest movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, that was a box office hit and received audience and critical acclaim. And somehow, it falls right in the middle of movies I like and don’t like. Honestly, there’s a lot I don’t like about the movie. It’s way too long, tjhere are too many things thrown in that are completely unnnecessary, and the lack of likable characters is palpable. There is an extended, recurring scene with Leo on the phone trying to remember a password, and not only is it drawn out way too long, but the music throughout is like three piano notes repeated over and over again for like helf an hour. It’s a bit grating. Add to that the most tedious car chase ever put to shame, and the film has some serious issues.
That said, the film at least moves things along; it may be irritating fairly often, but at least it’s never boring. It’s also pretty culturally relevant, as it deals with a group of revolutionaries protesting the American government, and a lot of scenes involving the rounding up of immigrants and the like. And while I don’t like DiCaprio’s character all that much, it’s hard to argue that his performance is quite good, as is most of the supporting cast. (Although, why Anderson feels the need to have everyone stand face-to-face about two inches apart so often is beyond me.)
I suspect if you are a PTA fan, One Battle After Another will probably emerge as one of the films you like from him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it lands near the top of your rankings. Prsonally, I liked it better than I expected to, but still much less than his earlier films.
The 4K Video/Audio:
This one of those movies that doesn’t ump out at you from an A/V perspective on 4K Ultra HD, but I believe it perectly captures Paul Thomas Anderson’s vision. At times the picture is flat and grey and at times it’s overly warm, but it never feels like an issue with the transfer and instead feels like how the film was shot. Black levels are okay, but there’s a couple of scenes whenre they’re not as deep as I’d like. But image clarity is razor sharp and overall, the picture retains its cinematic feel from start to finish. The surround soundtrack isn’t over-the-top, but dialogue is clear and crisp, and surround activity kicks in when the on-screen action ramps up. All in all, no complaints here.
The Bonus Features:
Surprisingly, there are no bonus features on the release.
Digital Copy Included: Yes
Roofman (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)
Official Synopsis:
Based on an unbelievable true story, Roofman follows Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum), an Army veteran and struggling father who turns to robbing McDonald’s restaurants by cutting holes in their roofs, earning him the nickname: Roofman. After escaping prison, he secretly lives inside a Toys “R” Us for six months, surviving undetected while planning his next move. But when he falls for Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a divorced mom drawn to his undeniable charm, his double life begins to unravel, setting off a compelling and suspenseful game of cat and mouse as his past closes in.
The Movie:
When Roofman begins, it starts with a blurb of text that states, “This is a true story,” and I’ll be honest, I didn’t really believe it. I thought that was meant to be a joke, a satirical bit to start off a comedy movie. It turns out it’s not a joke, the film actually is based on a true story, which makes the film all the more surprrising.
Channing Tatum stars as a smart guy who makes dumb decisions and ends up on the run after breaking out of prison for robbing a bunch of McDonald’s and Burger Kings. He ends up living inside of a Toys R’ Us for months and even beginning a relationship with a local woman. Throughout the film, you keep asking yourself, “How is all of this going to wrap up?” and while I’m not going to spoil it here, I will say that Hollywood apparently stayed true to the real story, and the ending is satisfying.
Tatum is terrific in the lead role, and Kirsten Dunst is eminently likable as Leigh, the woman who forms a relationship with Tatum’s Jeffrey Manchester. The supporting cast includes notable turns by Peter DInklage, Ben Mendelsohn, Uzo Adubo, and LaKeith Stanfield. It blends comedy and drama well, and while it’s not an action-packed movie, it never feels slow or dull, either. Ultimately, I enjoyed Roofman quite a bit and it’s definitely worth a watch.
The 4K Video/Audio:
Roofman is a pretty standard movie presentation on 4K Ultra HD. We get a good picture and a satisfactory surround soundtrack. Imagery is clear, the print is clean, and everything looks realistic and natural. It’s not the most vibrant color saturation I’ve ever seen, but it seems as if this is how the movie was meant to look to reflect the mundance setting and the action of the film. The soundtrack gives us plenty directional action when needed but focuses mostly on clear dialogue, which is represented well. All in all, a solid effort.
The Bonus Features:
- Based on Actual Events and Terrible Decisions
- Chasing the Ghosts: The Director’s Method
- A Good Place to Hide
- Driving Lesson
- Choir Practice
Digital Copy Included: Yes
Shelby Oaks (Blu-ray)
Official Synopsis:
From Executive Producer Mike Flanagan and Director Chris Stuckmann. This supernatural horror follows a film crew as they uncover a new lead in a woman’s obsessive search for her missing sister, which takes her into a terrifying mystery at the hands of an unknown evil.
The Movie:
Chris Stuckmann has been a popular movie critic and YouTuber for several years, so he finally decided to take a trip to the other side of the movie screen and make his own movie. Produced by horror maestro Mike Flanagan, Stuckmann wrote and directed Shelby Oaks, an effective if flawed horror movie.
The film combines found footage (but mostly in the first third of the movie) and traditional narrative, as we follow Mia Brennan, sister of Riley Brennan, a YouTuber who disappeared 12 years ago while filming an episode of her hit show Paranormal Paranoids. Of course, supernatiural forces are at work and the story quickly goes to darker and darker places.
The found footage works well here. With a few nods to movies like The Blair Witch Project, it’s used in-film as Mia is investigating her sister’s disappearance. So we watch some of her supernatural encounters in footage from her show. About a third of the way through, the film really starts to shift much more to the traditional narrative format, and the overall effect is pretty strong. That’s not enough to overcome some of the film’s flaws, but most of them are forgivable. Do I wish there wasn’t a scene where the lead character decides to visit an abandoned, haunted prison in the middle of the night ALL BY HERSELF with just a flashlight? I do. The film also starts off as a pretty standard supernatural forces horror movie, but it does go to some surprisingly dark places. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but it surprised me a bit and left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.
Overall, though, the film is tense, scary, and enjoyable. It literally gave me chills a couple of times, and it kept my attention the whole way through. Definitely worth checkng out.
The Bonus Features:
- Six Chapters of “The Making of Shelby Oaks”
- Four Episodes of “Paranormal Paranoids”
- The Final Tape
- Crime Scene Gallery.
- Director’s Commentary with Chris Stuckmann
- Trailer & TV Spots
Digital Copy Included: No
Fackham Hall (Blu-ray)
Official Synopsis:
A spoof that crosses Downton Abbey with Airplane! and Monty Python, Fackham Hall follows lovable pick-pocket Eric Noone as he lands a job at a unique English manor house. He quickly rises through the ranks, and a forbidden romance with lady-of-the-house Rose Davenport blossoms. But when an unexpected murder occurs, Eric gets framed – leaving Rose and her family’s future perilously uncertain.
The Movie:
It’s been a while since we’ve had a classic-style spoof movie, and it’s been even longer since we’ve had a good one. Fackham Hall, the brainchild of popular British comedian Jimmy Ward, satirizes popular shows like Downton Abbey and Bridgerton, and it works more often than not.
The story is fairly slight, involving a Romeo-and-Juliet styled romance and a murder mystery, but mostly the plot that exists is there to set up jokes, puns, and visual gags in rapid fire sequence. Thomasin Mackenzie, Damian Lewis, Ben Radcliffe, and Katherine Waterston are all game performers and sell the jokes every time, no matter how silly they are. I also give the film some credit for not relying solely on sex jokes. Most of the later spoof movies from the past 15 years or so are just one sex joke after another and nothing else. And hey, I like a good R-rated joke as much as the next person, but when that’s all there is, it becomes numbing. Fackham Hall works in a few, but relies more on jokes of all kinds and visual gags than just straight-up blue humor, and I appreciated that.
I wouldn’t say Fackham Hall is a masterpiece, but especially if you enjoy some of the aformentioned shows, it’s a fun enough movie that will have you chuckling throughout, and it’s hard to argue with that.
The Bonus Features:
- 15 Deleted Scenes
Digital Copy Included: No
Icefall (Blu-ray)
Official Synopsis:
A young Indigenous game warden arrests an infamous poacher only to discover that the poacher knows the location of a plane carrying millions of dollars that has crashed in a frozen lake. When a group of criminals and dirty cops are alerted to the poacher’s whereabouts, the warden and the poacher team up to fight back and escape across the treacherous lake before the ice melts.
The Movie:
Joel Kinnaman and Cara Jade Myers star in this enjoyable new action thriller that falls squarely into the good-not-great category. Don’t let that description scare you off, though; I enjoyed Icefall a good amount, but it has some flaws.
Kinnaman plays a poacher who lives off the land when he discovers a crashed plane in a frozen lake full of stolen money. Teaming up with a Native American park ranger, the two must survive when the bad guys come looking for the plane. It’s kind of a remake of Sylverster Stallone’s Cliffhanger, only with the majority of the action taking place on a frozen lake rather than a frozen mountaintop. Still, there are worse movies to copy, and the action here keeps things moving at a good pace. It’s a shame that the low budget is evident on screen, though. I get that shooting on an actual frozen lake is probably a bad idea, but there’s a little bit of a sense of fakeness to many of the shots that is a bit on the distracting side.
Still, there are some good, tense action scenes, and the characters are just interesting enough to get engaged with. Its not a masterpiece, but it’s a fun way to kill 90 minutes.
The Bonus Features:
There are no bonus features on this Blu-ray.
Digital Copy Included: No
Naked Ambition (Blu-ray)
Official Synopsis:
Bunny Yeager, the photographer behind the bikini, Bettie Page’s rise, Playboy’s allure, and the invention of the selfie, comes to life in this rediscovery of a brilliant yet overlooked artist, featuring testimonies from Larry King, Dita Von Teese, Bruce Weber, and more.
The Movie:
If the name Bunny Yeager isn’t instantly recognizable to you, that’s okay. How about Bettie Page? If you’ve heard of Bettie Page, then you are familiar with the works of Bunny Yeager, whether you know it or not. Yeager is the photographer who took most of Page’s most famous photos, as well as one of the pioneering photographers that put Playboy Magazine on the map. She also could have been a supermodel herself, which was something of a rarity for photographers in the 1960s.
Naked Ambition is a terrific documentary that chronicles the life and career of Bunny Yeager, including her working with Bettie Page, her time at Playboy, the controversy her work created, and her personal life. It’s filled with tons of footage of her and her models, and of course endless photographs that she took.
Co-directors Dennis Scholl and Kareem Tabsch have crafted a terrific love letter to Yeager that provides some hero worship but doesn’t lionize her; it’s a pretty complete portrait of Yeager that showcases her work, her art, and her life, and I enjoyed it immensely.
The Bonus Features:
- Interview with Directors
- Deleted & Additional Scenes
- Theatrical Trailer
Digital Copy Included: No
Infinite Summer (DVD)
Official Synopsis:
On a summer break, Mia and her friends try a meditation app that delivers a mind-bending experience. Police investigation reveals darker forces behind it. When one of the girls ends up in a hospital and the other one escapes, Mia is grappling with the choice to save them or join them.
The Movie:
I hate reviewing movies that traffic in the surreal and the esoteric, because that’s just not my thing. And I say. that not to condemn a movie, but to say that there is probably an audience out there for a film like Infinite Summer; I am just not it.
The film is hard to explain. A group of friends use a sci-fi VR device to try virtual dating, only to bring to life Dr. Mindfulness. From there, the film gets trippy, and I mean that both literally and figuratively. Director Miguel Llanso (Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway) is known for his films that go against the grain of traditional narratives, and here he does that exact same thing but with a higher budget and improved special effects. The film looks great and the cast is amiable, but the narrative is semi-coherent at best and frankly, it wasn’t the kind of story I really followed all that well.
Again, I think there is definitely an audience out there for a movie like Infinite Summer. If you like things that are off the beaten path, then I would definitely track this DVD down.
The Bonus Features:
- Night in the Wild Garden – A Short film by director Miguel Llanso
Digital Copy Included: No
