Mike Spring
What’s New in Home Video & Pop Culture – June 17th, 2025
We’ve got Jason Statham, an underrated theatrical thriller, an ‘80s cult classic, a new anime hit, and a couple of graphic novels to dive into this week! It’s an eclectic mix and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
In This Week’s Column:
- A Working Man (4K Ultra HD + Digital)
- Drop (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)
- Rad: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray)
- Dan Da Dan: Season One (Blu-ray)
- Missing on the Moon (Graphic Novel)
- The Hexiles (Graphic Novel)
A Working Man (4K Ultra HD + Digital)
The Movie:
If you’ve read my column for any amount of time, you know I’m THE biggest Jason Statham fan around. I love his movies, I love watching him, and I’ve seen every film he’s ever made. I am not the most critical person in the world to begin with, but when it comes to movies starring The Stath, I’m pretty generous and can forgive a lot of sins.
But A Working Man is just BAD. I’m sorry to have to say so, but it’s really just an awful film. His last movie, The Beekeeper had an effective trailer that led to it being one of his highest grossing movies, and despite some really wacky stuff happening in that one, I still enjoyed it more than not. So I had hopes that A Working Man would be a return to form. It was not.
In the film, Statham plays a former military operator who is now just, you guessed it, a working man, trying to get by as a construction worker and get his anger under control so he can spend more time with his young daughter. But when the young adult daughter of the family he works for is kidnapped by human traffickers, he’s forced to return to the line of work he left behind and go up against a vicious mobster and his family to get her back.
On paper, it sounds perfectly fine, but the film is a mess. There are story elements that are underdeveloped, but there are also story elements that feel thrown in by accident. (An early altercation at the construction site with some gangsters would be a good motive to kidnap the company owner’s daughter, no? Well… no, apparently. She’s chosen at random. Okaaaay…?) The dialogue is cringeworthy, and the fight scenes are over-the-top in how brutal they are. It’s like people forgot that you can make movies that are violent and action-packed without concurrently making you question the characters’ and the filmmakers’ humanity.
The 4K Video/Audio:
A Working Man is available on 4K Ultra HD (and other formats) and the 4K format works very well for the film. The picture is crisp and clean with razor sharp clarity, and the colors have a nice balance between realism and “pop.” Which means that things look vibrant without moving into looking unrealistic. The surround soundtrack is where things really shine, though. This is a movie with constant action, and you’ll feel like every punch, kick, and gunshot go whizzing past your head. The dialogue remains centered, and the driving music soundtrack is full of energy. It’s a very strong effort overall.
The Bonus Features:
There are no bonus features on this release.
Digital Copy Included: Yes
The Wrap-Up:
No one wanted to like A Working Man more than me, but it was a huge disappointment. The fact that the ending was clearly left open for a sequel is concerning to me. Don’t do it, Stath! Move on to greener pastures, please!
Drop (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)
The Movie:
Sometimes you watch a movie and enjoy it and forget about it. And sometimes you watch a movie and enjoy it, and then you start to marinade in it a little bit and you end up liking it even more after a few days or weeks. I feel like Drop is one of the latter movies for me. I enjoyed watching it, but the more it sank in, the more impressed I was with what it pulled off and how it did it.
The movie’s concept is simple but attention-grabbing: a woman with a tough past starts receiving photo messages – or drops – on her cell phone while she’s on a first date. The messages instruct her to kill her date or the perpetrators will kill her son, who is at home where a masked killer is clearly visible on her security camera app. How will she save her son? And will she commit murder to do it? That’s the main drive of the film.
Drop is directed by Jonathan Landon, who I didn’t realize has actually written and/or directed a lot of great thrillers, including Disturbia, several Paranormal Activity movies, and recent horror standouts Freaky and Heart Eyes. He’s clearly aiming to make a 21st century Hitchcock movie here, which is evident in the camera angles, lighting, set design, in-camera special effects, and musical score the film employs. And while 90% of the movie takes place in one location, which can get tedious in some movies, he finds a way to keep Drop engaging and intense from start to finish, with the tension ratcheting up more and more as it goes, leading to a pretty kick-ass climax. It’s not a masterpiece, but it is a fun thriller, and sometimes that’s all I want.
The 4K Video/Audio:
Drop comes to home video on 4K Ultra HD (as well as Blu-ray and DVD), and it is an absolutely impeccable A/V presentation in 4K. The imagery is stunning, with deep black levels, vibrantly saturated colors, and razor-sharp picture clarity. The surround soundtrack ekes every possible nuance out of the surround speakers, creating a truly dynamic atmosphere, even in scenes where not much is happening. At the very least, you always feel like you’re sitting in a restaurant with the characters. It’s a really impressive experience from the A/V perspective.
The Bonus Features:
- Audio commentary with writer/director Christopher Landon
- A Recipe For Thrills: Making Drop (6 minutes)
- A Palate for Panic (4 minutes)
- Killer Chemistry (3 minutes)
Digital Copy Included: Yes
The Wrap-Up:
There’s really nothing about Drop that doesn’t work. The acting is terrific, the script is strong, the suspense is powerful, and the film has a strong visual flair. It’s not an all-time masterpiece, but I have a hard time thinking most people will watch it and not enjoy it to some degree or another.
Rad: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray)
The Movie:
Long unavailable on home video (and a perennial staple of the bootleg market for decades), ‘80s BMX biking classic Rad makes its second appearance on home video in the past five years this week. A few years ago, Mill Creek gave us a Blu-ray version of the film encased in a gorgeous Steelbook case. This week, we see the movie get a new Collector’s Edition release which does not include a Steelbook, but it does include a whole second feature length film: A Rad Documentary, which is actually just as much fun to watch as the main feature!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, Rad is maybe the height of ‘80s-ish ‘80s cinema. Our hero, Cru Jones, is the best BMX racer in his town, and he’s got a shot at the gold! But his big bad mom wants him to go to college! Oh no! I kid, because this movie is so quintessentially ‘80s, but I also love it. It’s a fun movie that features some really great BMX bike races, but it also has all the ‘80s sports movies cliches, and I mean that in the best way possible. It also has a killer ‘80s soundtrack and a few familiar faces in the cast, including a young Lori Loughlin and Rocky/Godfather mainstay Talia Shire.
The Bonus Features:
- Includes the all-new feature length A RAD Documentary
- Against The Odds: Bill Allen on RAD
- Ace in the Hole: Hal Needham in the 80’s
- Breakin’ the Ice: Sam Bernard on RAD
- “RAD” Q & A Session featuring Bill Allen, Talia Shire, Bart Conner, and writer Sam Bernard. Hosted by Jorma Taccone.
- Archival Video Interviews with Cast and Crew
- Original Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
- “Break the Ice” Music Video
Digital Copy Included: No
The Wrap-Up:
I actually went to the theaters a couple of month ago for a double feature of Rad and A Rad Documentary to celebrate the movie’s 40th anniversary, and it was a ton of fun. The movie is an ‘80s cult classic, but the new documentary is also a really well-made and enjoyable movie in its own right. If you’re a Rad fan, I can’t recommend this release highly enough! I love when Mill Creek really “gets” a movie, and this is a release I think a lot of people have been waiting for. Well done, Mill Creek!
Dan Da Dan: Season One (Blu-ray)
The Show:
I was surprised when I read the synopsis for Dan Da Dan: Season One and realized there was not a character in the show named Dan. Dan Da Dan… I mean, that would make sense, no? Really, what else could that name mean? Well, it turns out, the show is about two high school friends who get wrapped up in the word of the occult and aliens, and the show’s title is a play on the musical sting that you might affect when something startling happens: “Duhn duhn DUHHHNNNN!” Dan da daaaan. I know, it’s a reach.
Regardless of the show’s name, it has become incredibly popular. In the show, we follow Momo, from a family of spirit mediums, who becomes friends with her shy classmate Okarun, an occult geek. Momo believes in ghosts but not aliens, and Okarun believes in aliens but not ghosts. After they dare each other to find out if the other’s fascination really exists, they find out that they do and that ends up leading to the pair gaining powers; naturally, they then team up to take on supernatural threats.
Based on the popular manga by Yukinobu Tatsu, I can see why the show is popular. It’s active and high energy with a slightly warped sense of humor and adult sensibilities, even though the main characters are high school students. It’s also visually frenetic, with nary a moment to breathe before the screen is vomiting colors and special effects at you. If I’m being honest, I found it all to be a bit too schizophrenic for me, but I can see why younger viewers than me would take to it.
Dan Da Dan: Season One is a 2-disc Blu-ray set that includes all 12 episodes of the first season for your viewing pleasure.
The Bonus Features:
- Interview with the Filmmakers
- Director Scene Breakdown
- Opening Credits
- Ending Credits
- Interview with Composer Kensuke Ushio
- Commemorative Interviews
- Teasers & Trailers
Digital Copy Included: No
The Wrap-Up:
Dan Da Dan is popping up more and more in the public consciousness, and I won’t be surprised if soon it’s mentioned in the same breath as One Piece and Shonen Jump. If it sounds like your kind of thing, check it out.
Missing on the Moon (Graphic Novel)
The Book:
Sometimes a book or movie’s official synopsis does a better job of summarizing the plot than I can, and Missing on the Moon is one of those books. From the official synopsis, then: “The year is 1997, and crime on the Moon runs rampant…and in the Lunar colony of Buzztown, a billionaire’s daughter has just gone missing. Washed-up private investigator Daniel Schwinn is tasked with finding the missing child, but in the process discovers a dark conspiracy stemming back decades. Schwinn will have to navigate a world of undead drug addicts, mechanized robocops, and blue-skinned Soviets known as Darksiders to discover the truth. In doing so, he’ll have to confront his own allegiances, and try to atone for past mistakes since resurfaced.”
So… a neo-noir mystery story with a sci-fi setting? Shut up and take my money! Corey Crater is a relatively new writer, having previously published a comic book on Kickstarter. But he does a good job here of creating a world that feels lived in and easy to understand, and crafting a mystery that you won’t solve two pages in. Occasionally the pacing of the story isn’t spot-on – it feels a little rushed from time to time – but overall, I enjoyed the book. With terrific art from Damian Couceiro, Missing on the Moon is a strong read, especially for people who want something outside of the superhero realms.
The Specs:
- Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
- Format: Softcover
- Page Count: 96 pages
- Cover Price: $17.99
The Wrap Up:
Missing on the Moon is a really good read and an exciting glimpse of a talent on the rise. Mad Cave does a great job of finding new talent and this book is another feather in their cap.
The Hexiles (Graphic Novel)
The Book:
Comic book superstar Cullen Bunn returns to horror with The Hexiles, a satisfyingly disturbing miniseries from Mad Cave. The story starts with a funeral, for one Jamison Kreel. Kreel was a real piece of work, apparently, as he sold his seven children’s souls as they were born (to seven different women, natch.) Now, they are manifesting demonic powers in service to demonic entities, and when one of them is seemingly killed, things really start to get crazy.
The book is a fast-paced horror tale with a thematic subtext that touches on the burden of being and angry youth and some of the more traditional challenges young people face. The horror gets sometimes gory, but it doesn’t go so far as to be a book that’s going to turn people’s stomachs, which I appreciate. Artist Joe Bocardo has a style that fits the book and knows when to dive into the horror and when to downplay it a little bit.
My biggest issue with the book is that the characters – while admittedly all snotty young people who find themselves in incredible circumstances – aren’t all that likable. They grow on you throughout the course of the six-issue series, but there’s no one that you root for right away.
The Specs:
- Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
- Format: Softcover
- Page Count: 144 pages
- Cover Price: $17.99
The Wrap Up:
Cullen Bunn is one of the more consistent writers working in comics today. While I don’t think The Hexiles is my favorite work of his, it is an engaging and original story that I enjoyed. I think if you’re a fan of horror or darker storylines, you will too.
