What’s New in Home Video & Pop Culture – November 26th, 2024 – Kevin Smith, The Grinch, Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, Reagan, King of Queens, & More!

What’s New in Home Video & Pop Culture – November 26th, 2024

With Black Friday sales upon us in the U.S., the studios have been pumping out product like crazy, and that’s never a bad thing! This week we have new movies, classic releases on 4K, holiday-themed discs, and much more! Dig in and see what’s in store!

In This Week’s Column:

– Kevin Smith’s The 4:30 Movie (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Steelbook)
– Dark Crystal and Labyrinth (4K Ultra HD + Digital Steelbooks)
– Looney Tunes: Collector’s Choice (Blu-ray)
– How the Grinch Stole Christmas (4K Ultra HD)
– The King of Queens: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
– Reagan (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital)
– Bones and All (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
– All The Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror – Vol. 2 (Blu-ray Box Set)
– Zyzzyx Road (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
– Merchant Ivory: The Documentary and Roseland (Blu-ray)
– Hollywood 90028 (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)

Kevin Smith’s The 4:30 Movie (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Steelbook)

The Movie: I’m as big a Kevin Smith fan as there is so obviously I was very excited to watch The 4:30 Movie. Not only did I like the idea of a movie set outside of his usual View Askewniverse, but the fact that it was about teenagers and a movie theater really spoke to my inner moviegoing teenager. 

The film revolves around three friends in the 1980s who have a day planned watching a couple of movies at their local movie theater, but things get upended a bit when one of them invited a girl along on a date. Add in the usual hijinks and mishaps that happen with a theater filled with zany characters, and you have the makings of a Kevin Smith movie. It is kind of like Clerks in a movie theater. 

And while I did enjoy the movie, there’s no denying that Kevin Smith’s last few films haven’t been his best, and this one sadly doesn’t buck that trend. The film is fun and it has a sentimental core, and it’s clear that the main character is a stand-in for teenage Smith himself, but the writing just isn’t as sharp as it could be. And I know it’s his stock and trade, but the constant sex jokes actually take away from the film’s charm. Like, I get that that’s what teenagers talk about, but it feels a little bit more like an older guy writing dialogue for teenagers than it used to in Smith’s movies. That said, overall I still found it a lot of fun, but it definitely could have been stronger. 

The 4K Video/Audio: The 4:30 Movie isn’t the kind of film that 4K Ultra HD was made to showcase. It’s a Kevin Smith low-fi production, and so the 4K does offer up some nice image clarity and solid colors, but it’s not like you’re watching the new Marvel movie. The surround soundtrack beings some of the background action to life and ensures that dialogue is clear and the ‘80s-music soundtrack sounds bright and poppy, and that’s really all you need for a movie like this. 

The Bonus Features: 

• Audio commentary with Kevin Smith
• Going Home Again: Making the 4:30 Movie
• Theatrical trailer

Digital Copy Included: Yes 

The Wrap-Up: If you’re a Kevin Smith fan, you’ll obviously want to check out The 4:30 Movie. It’s an enjoyable enough movie, but it’s definitely not going to rank in the pantheon of the greatest Kevin Smith films. 

Dark Crystal and Labyrinth (4K Ultra HD Steelbooks)

The Movies: This week, we have new 4K Ultra HD Steelbook releases of two Jim Henson classic movies: Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. (They are also both released as massive box sets loaded with cool collectibles, but I only received the Steelbook 4Ks for review so I can’t comment too much on the box set versions other than to say that they look awesome.)

I’ve never been the fan of Labyrinth that a lot of other people are, and I think that’s because I never saw it until I was an adult. By the time I watched it, I was viewing it through different eyes than a lot of my peers did who grew up with it. I think David Bowie is great in it and of course it introduced the world to Jennifer Connolly. But I wanted to rewatch it because it has been quite some time since I saw it originally. And I can definitely say that I appreciated it more this time around. There are still some parts that I think would have resonated with me better as a younger viewer, but I can definitely say I enjoy the movie much more than I used to. 

The Dark Crystal, however, is a movie that I appreciate more than I enjoy. I’ll be honest, as a kid, the Skeksis scared the crap out of me. And I think I’ve never really gotten over that. However, while I know the film has its die hard fans, I look at it and more appreciate the artistry and the impressive puppetry work and set design than I do actually love the film. Rewatching it after several years, I gain more appreciation for it every time I revisit it, but I don’t know if it will ever be one of my favorites. 

The 4K Video/Audio: I was really hoping that Shout Factory wouldn’t phone in the A/V portion of these releases, and I’m pleased to announce that they didn’t. Color saturation on both films really brings out the colors and the fantasy look of the films, but at the same time shadow delineation is terrific, making sure that the onscreen action is never swallowed up in the darker scenes. The surround soundtracks aren’t the most nuanced I’ve ever heard, but they do combine some decent surround effects, a thumping low end bass channel, and high-fidelity music to capture the feel of the films as they were made. These are both great A/V presentations overall.

The Bonus Features: 

Both of these discs are loaded with extras. Here’s what’s on each one:

Labyrinth – 

• NEW Q&As with Brian Henson & Toby Froud
• NEW Contact Juggling Tutorial
• Audio Commentary With Conceptual Designer Brian Froud
• “Inside The Labyrinth” Making-Of Documentary
• “Reordering Time: Looking Back At Labyrinth”
• “The Henson Legacy”
• Remembering The Goblin King
• The Storytellers: Picture-In-Picture Track
• “Journey Through The Labyrinth: Kingdom Of Characters”
• “Journey Through The Labyrinth: The Quest For Goblin City”
• Labyrinth Anniversary Q&A
• Deleted & Alternate Scenes Including Audio Commentary With Brian Henson
• Theatrical Trailer

The Dark Crystal – 

• NEW Q&A With Lisa Henson
• Commentary With Conceptual Designer Brian Froud
• “The Myth, Magic And Henson Legacy”
• The World Of The Dark Crystal
• Reflections Of The Dark Crystal
• Deleted Scenes
• Original Skeksis Language – Test Scenes
• Storyboards
• Storyboard Track
• Photo Galleries
• Teaser Trailer
• Theatrical Trailer

Digital Copy Included: No

The Wrap-Up: Both of these films are true cult classics in every sense of the word. And die-hard fans will love these Steelbook releases and — I’m sure — the collector’s box sets as well. Shout Factory has done a great job as usual of giving fans what they want! 

Looney Tunes: Collector’s Choice Volumes 1-4 (Blu-ray)

The Movie: Over the past year and a half, Warner Bros. Has released four Looney Tunes Collections called Collector’s Choice, which saw rare and unreleased Looney Tunes shorts collected onto Blu-ray via Warner’s online store, The Warner Archive. This week, the studio has collected all four volumes into one comprehensive Blu-ray collection called Looney Tunes: Collector’s Choice Volumes 1-4. Each volume collected 25 short cartoons (except Volume 1, which only includes 20) on a single Blu-ray Disc, and this set includes all four volumes on four discs, giving you almost 100 classic Looney Tunes cartoons, almost all of which have been restored and remastered. 

So all told, you get almost eleven hours of Looney Tunes cartoons, available for the first time through regular retail an not the Warner Archive. I feel like trying to explain to you why that’s a great thing seems a little unnecessary. There aren’t a lot of more famous characters in the world than Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Wile. E. Coyote, etc. and these collected cartoons from the 1930s, 40s, 50s, and 60s showcase what made the brand so beloved for so many decades. I’m not entirely sure why they’re not presented in chronological order — I suppose maybe the shorts flow better this way? — but that’s not even really a complaint, just an observation. Overall, this is a top notch collection. 

The Bonus Features: There are no bonus features on this release. 

Digital Copy Included: No 

The Wrap-Up: If you’re a Looney Tunes fan or even just an aficionado of Hollywood history, this incredibly comprehensive and restored collection of classic cartoons is a must have!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (4K Ultra HD)

The Movie: It’s hard to find ways to constantly repackage a 26-minute cartoon. Or so you would think. When it comes to the beloved Grinch, however, there’s never a shortage of new ways to package it, especially since the two theatrical movies from 2003 and 2019 have kept the worlds love of the character alive and brighter than ever. 

This week sees the 4K Ultra HD debut of the classic cartoon version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, which — as mentioned above — is only 26 minutes long. To make the disc more worthwhile, the studio has included two other Grinch animated specials: The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat and Halloween is Grinch Night. So all in all, you get about an hour and 15 minutes’ worth of content, so that’s not bad at all. On top of that, you get some nice extra features. So all in all, it’s a pretty good package, especially since you get those other two rarely-seen specials. One note; this version of the release does NOT include a digital copy, something the previous Blu-ray version did have. I don’t know why they chose to omit it this time around, but it’s kind of a bummer. 

The 4K Video/Audio: I was a little surprised by how good How the Grinch Stole Christmas looks in 4K. The Blu-ray that came out a few years ago looked fine, but the 4K treatment has breathed new life into it. The Grinch finally looks the vibrant color of green I’ve always imagined him to be in m y head, or at least the way you see him in promotional images. With deep, rich blacks and outlines and a print that’s clean and clear and devoid of any debris, it’s clear that Warner Bros. Actually put some work into this transfer. The stere soundtrack isn’t anything special, but the music sounds good and dialogue is clear, plus Boris Karloff’’s deep timbre resonates nicely. Nice job!

The Bonus Features: 

• Audio Commentary with June Foray and Phil Roman
• Dr. Seuss and the Grinch: From Whoville to Hollywood
• Songs in the Key of Grinch
• Song Selections
• “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” Special Edition
• Grinch Pencil Test

Digital Copy Included: No 

The Wrap-Up: Considering how short Dr. Seuss How The Grinch Stole Christmas is, Warner Bros. Has done a great job of crafting a release that delivers lots of bang for your buck. I just wish that digital copy was included. 

The King of Queens: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

The Show: 

I love box sets like The King of Queens: The Complete Series. Why, you may ask? Well, two reasons. First of all, this new box set from Mill Creek collects all 206 episodes of the hit Kevin James sitcom into one budget-priced collection. Seriously, just a decade ago this set would probably have cost you $200 and been the size of a microwave. Now it’s less than half that price and in a box that’s barely bigger than a typical Blu-ray release. You gotta love the bang for your buck you get with Mill Creek releases. 

The other reason I love box sets like this is because I was never a huge King of Queens fan when it was on the air. That’s not to say I didn’t like it, it just was never a show I never watched. But I’ve become something of a Kevin James fan over the years, so this set was a great way to start watching the show from the beginning, and I’ve found it pretty enjoyable. James is terrific as always, Leah Remini is fun, and the show may not win any awards for being intellectually stimulating, but it’s fun to watch and sometimes that’s all I want. 

The Bonus Features: 

• Two Audio Commentaries
• Behind the Scenes (28 minutes)
• Series Retrospective (16 minutes)
• Thanks to the Fans (5 minutes
• 200th Episode Celebration (2 minutes)
• The Writers of King of Queens (12 minutes)

Digital Copy Included: No 

The Wrap-Up: With 20 discs’ worth of comedy totaling over 75 hours worth of episodes, this is the kind of box set that makes binging a funny sitcom easy and fun. The King of Queens: The Complete Series is a terrific pick-up for fans of the show or the cast. 

Reagan (Blu-ray + DVD+ Digital)

The Movie: I’m not sure where to start with Reagan, the new biopic of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States. First of all, I should point out the all-star cast, which has a surprising number of big name stars in it: Dennis Quaid, Penelope Ann Miller, Mena Suvari, Robert Davi, Jon Voight, Kevin Dillon, Lesley Anne Down, Xander Berkeley, C. Thomas Howell, Justin Chatwin, and Nick Searcy are just some the names that appear. 

The film starts off in present-day Russia with a Russian spy recounting how Reagan apparently single-handedly defeated the USSR in the 1980s. From there, the movie jumps around in time and gives us a greatest hits of Reagan’s life, with the Russian spy referring to him as “The Crusader.” And that’s one of the main criticisms of the film that I have: it is extremely pro-Reagan. I mean, according to this movie, he basically never did a bad thing in his entire life. I didn’t expect it to rip him to shreds, but it feels like it was made more as a propaganda piece than a biopic. 

Then there’s the fact that the entire film feels like a faith-based movie. While it does touch on Reagan’s religious upbringing, the Christian messages aren’t TOO heavy handed or overused, but they are regularly present. However, the film also has a production value that feels a lot like what most modern-day faith-based movies do, with a lot of soft imagery and bright colors and soap-opera-looking visuals. At times it looks like a big-budget feature film, and at times it feels like a Hallmark movie. 

All that said, it’s interesting to learn about Reagan’s life, even if it is whitewashed. I can’t say I didn’t like the film at all, but I can’t say I loved it, either 

The Bonus Features: There are no extras on this release, which is a little surprising. 

Digital Copy Included: Yes 

The Wrap-Up: At two hours and twenty minutes, Reagan could feel much longer than it is. It moves at a pretty good clip, so as long as you can recognize that it’s not a warts-and-all breakdown of the man, it should be an interesting enough watch whether you’re into politics or not.

Bones and All (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)

The Movie: Bones and All is the kind of film I wouldn’t necessarily have paid all that much attention to, but it got a lot of buzz and positive critical reception when it came out that I became curious about it. Now, here’s where things get interesting:

If you read the description of the film on the back of the case, it reads: “Bones and All is a story of first love between Maren, a young woman learning how to survive on the margins of society, and Lee, an intense and disenfranchised drifter; a liberating road odyssey of two young people coming into their own, searching for identity and chasing beauty in a perilous world that cannot abide who they are.” 

Okay, I don’t know who wrote that or what film they were writing about, but go watch the trailer for Bones and All and then come back and re-read that description and tell me if they look like they exist in the same universe at all. Spoiler alert: they don’t. Let me clear: this is a movie about people who EAT OTHER PEOPLE. Sort of like cannibals, except instead of being a choice, it’s like vampirism where the hunger drives them. Maren and Lee are young “eaters” who meet up on the road and become close, but life is dangerous when you constantly have to eat other human beings. 

I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the film, but it was actually better than I expected it to be. Based on the novel by Camille DeAngelis, the film is dark in places and disturbing in more than a few places, but at the center of it is the relationship between these two young people as they struggle with their affliction and the ramifications of it. They are played excellently by Taylor Russell (Lost in Space, Escape Room) and current superstar Timothee Chalamet, and they are a large part of why the film works. It definitely has its flaws, though; the film is too long by about 20 minutes and the pacing is occasionally downright languid. I’m not saying it needed to be an action thriller, but the film could have used a little more energy. It’s also devoid of any humor whatsoever, which makes it a bit of a slog at times.

The 4K Video/Audio: Bones and All was not a big budget film to begin with, so the 4K Ultra HD presentation does offer up some audiovisual sparkle, but it’s not a revelation on video or anything like that. Image clarity is nice and sharp and the print is free of any blemishes or artifacts, and that’s what you would hope for. The color saturation is solid as well. The surround soundtrack focuses mostly on dialogue, which sounds very natural, and while there are a few ambient surround effects, I wouldn’t expect to find a ton of surround activities in your speakers.

The Bonus Features: 

• Luca Guadagnnino: The Vision of Bones and All
• Meet Lee
• Meet Maren
• Outsiders In Love

Digital Copy Included: No 

The Wrap-Up: Ultimately, Bones and All is a bit of mixed bag that will probably find a devoted audience with some people, and a sense of confusion and possible revulsion from others.

All The Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror – Vol. 2 (Blu-ray Box Set)

The Movies: There’s a description on the packaging for this chunky new box from the Austin Chronicle set that explains folk horror as this: “All folk horror is unified by a central theme: That contemporary society is a crust over something dark, inexplicable, other. Folk horror, like the old ways, will find you before you find it.” And that is, frankly, a pretty apt description of what kind of films you will find in All The Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror – Vol. 2, the second box set of folk horror movies from Severin, the specialty home video distributor that continues to impress. 

The set delivers 24 films on 13 Blu-ray Discs, with a running time of over 35 hours total. The films included are: To Fire You Come At Last, Psychomania, The Enchanted. Who Fears The Devil. The White Reindeer, Edge of the Knife, Born of Fire, Io Island, Scales. Bakeneko: A Vengeful Spirit. Nang Nak, Sundelbolong, Suzzanna: The Queen of Black Magic, Beauty and the Beast, The Ninth Heart, Demon, November, Titan, Blood Tea and Red String, Nazareno Cruz and the Wolf, Akelarre, From the Old Earth, The City of the Dead, and The Rites of May. 

Now, you probably haven’t heard of most of those films, and yes, most of them are foreign. Even Beauty and the Beast is from Czechoslovakia in 1978. There’s also a brand-new documentary called Suzzanna: The Queen of Black Magic from this year that tells the story of Suzanna Martha Frederika van Osch, also known as The Queen of Indonesian Horror. Most all of these films are making their Blu-ray debut in this box set, which also includes so much extra material that it’s hard to capture it all here. Wrap all of that up into a gorgeous box with really great production quality, and there’s no denying that Severin has produced another top-notch collector’s box set. 

The Bonus Features: 

First off, let me say that the set comes with over 55 hours of bonus features spread out among the 24 films. There’s also a gorgeous 250+ page hardcover book that includes all new fiction stories that fit the theme of the collection. The bonus features include the following types of materials: 

• Short Films 
• Interviews
• Audio Commentaries 
• Video Essays
• Historical Analyses
• Making-Of Featurettes
• Retrospective Featurettes
• Trailers
• And More!

Digital Copy Included: No

The Wrap-Up: Not every movie in this set is a winner, but it is a fascinating deep dive into a genre that has been tackled literally the world over. There’s even the very first Haida-Language movie from Canada, representing an indigenous people from there. With the included bonus features, books and beautiful packaging, there’s little to complain about with this comprehensive collection. 

Zyzzyx Road (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray) 

The Movie: You’ve got to give Dark Arts credit: not only have they released a movie on home video that held the distinction of being the lowest-grossing movie in US history for several years (having made $30 at a single theater where it was released for contractual reasons), but they’ve gone all in on making it a truly great home video release.

Zyzzyx Road stars Katherine Heigl (a rising star at the time the film was made in 2005) and Tom Sizemore, plus Leo Grillo who plays the main character, a man who comes under attack by a woman who may or may not be a succubus and her ex-boyfriend. In a hallucinatory state, he fights for his life in circumstances that may or may not be real. 

It is… not a great film. It’s low-budget, was shot in like two weeks, and has sat on the shelves for almost two decades. I’m sure Katherine Heigl is super thrilled that it’s being re-released into the public eye. It’s more of a curiosity than a real movie in terms of viewing experience, but I do like Heigl and she does get some decent screen time here. That’s about the best I can tell you about the film. 

The 4K Video/Audio:

The Bonus Features: 

• New Introduction by Director John Penney and Actor Leo Grillo
• Commentary Track with Actor / Producer Leo Grillo
• Commentary Track with Writer / Director / Producer John Penney
• “The Legacy of Zyzzyx Road” featurette
• 11 Archival Behind the Scenes Featurettes
• Archival Interview with Director John Penney
• Shooting Location: Then & Now Featurette
• Storyboard to Scenes Featurette
• Storyboard Slideshow
• “The Mystery of Zyzzyx Road” Music Video
• Optional English Subtitles
• Trailer

Digital Copy Included: No

The Wrap-Up: I give Dark Arts a lot of credit for making this release such a high quality one. I just wish the film itself were better. 

Merchant Ivory: The Documentary and Roseland (Blu-ray)

The Movie: There are two Merchant Ivory-related releases out this month. For those of you unfamiliar, Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in the early 1960s by producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory that led to the production of 44 films, almost all of which (or at least a good number of which) were period dramas. If you’ve heard of movies such as Howard’s End, A Room With A View, and The Remains of the Day, you’ve heard of Merchant Ivory productions. 

The first release is the terrific Merchant Ivory: The Documentary, which is exactly what it sounds like. This nearly two-hour documentary looks at the company’s founding and early years, then spends a good amount of time discussing the hit films and the making of the movies as well as their legacy. Talent such as Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Hugh Grant, and Vanessa Redgrave all contribute interviews and discuss their time in the Merchant Ivory World. It’s an excellently-produced documentary. 

Then we have Roseland, a Merchant Ivory movie (and not one of their bigger hits) that makes its Blu-ray debut this week. The 1977 film stars Christopher Walken and Geraldine Chaplin, and it is an interwoven set of three stories centered around the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. It veers into melodrama territory and isn’t necessarily one of the best Merchant Ivory films, but it’s little seen and features some notable talent, so it’s good to see it get a Blu-ray release. 

The Bonus Features: 

Both discs come with a collection of bonus features. Here are the details:

Merchant Ivory: The Documentary – 

• Interviews with Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Hugh Grant, Vanessa Redgrave, and Hiroyuki Sanada
  • Deleted Scene – Stephen Soucy
  • James Ivory and Stephen Soucy Introduction from the NY Indian Film Festival
  • James Ivory and Stephen Soucy in Conversation at the NYSWI Film Festival
  • Rich Atmosphere: The Music of Merchant Ivory Films
  • Theatrical Trailer

Roseland – 

• Conversations from the Quad: James Ivory and Larry Kardish discuss the making of Rosalind
• Restoration Trailer

Digital Copy Included: No 

The Wrap-Up: Merchant Ivory aficionados have not one but two new releases this week to keep them entertained, so that’s a win for fans of period dramas. 

Hollywood 90028 (Blu-ray)

The Movie: Hollywood 90028 is the kind of movie that is the reason that distributors like Grindhouse Releasing exist, and I mean that as a compliment. The film itself is an exploitation thriller about a pornography film cameraman who also happens to be killing young women. It’s a low-budget movie that offers titillation and thrills, but isn’t exactly a cinematic classic. 

But every movie and every genre has its fans, and a movie like Hollywood 90028 was never going to get a mainstream release that you could buy at Wal-Mart. Enter Grindhouse Releasing, which not only has released the film on Blu-ray, but made it a three-disc Collector’s Edition that includes the movie on one Blu-ray Disc, the extra features on another Blu-ray Disc, and a CD of the film’s soundtrack that features music by none other than acclaimed composer Basil Pouledoris (The Hunt for Red October, Conan the Barbarian, Robocop, and so many other great films.) I love that fans of the film can get a loaded release like this!

The Bonus Features: 

• Interviews with stars Christopher Augustine, Jeannette Dilger, Gayle Davis, editor Leon Ortiz-Gil, and Tom DeSimone
• Audio commentaries by Marc E. Heuck & Heidi Honeycutt, and Shawn Langrick
• Alternate scenes from the original X-rated version
• Experimental 16mm short films by director Christina Hornisher
• Outtakes, still galleries, theatrical trailers and radio spots
• Liner notes by cinema historians Marc E. Heuck, David Szulkin, Richard Kraft and Jim VanBebber
• Miscellaneous other short extras
• BONUS CD – Original soundtrack album by Basil Poledouris, newly remastered from the original master tapes

Digital Copy Included: No

The Wrap-Up: Hollywood 90028 offers up some which thrills and gratification, and then there are hours of extra features to dive into that are fascinating in their own right. This is a top-notch release, which is what every movie deserves, regardless of how good or bad it ultimately is.