Well I hope everyone has been enjoying this summer weather here in Ontario! Nice to finally feel some warmth. This week kicks off with the new film from Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza. In 1973 in the San Fernando Valley, 15-year-old child actor Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) has fallen for 25-year-old photographer's assistant Alana Kane (Alana Haim) on picture day at Gary’s school. What follows is an epic adventure of a day as Gary and Alana explore their town, finding their own selves and finding each other in their random encounters and experiences in the dwindling daylight.
Licorice Pizza is a warm, nostalgic love letter to the 1970s and to Paul Thomas Anderson’s childhood in the San Fernando Valley. Hoffman (son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Haim are both newcomers and both of them manage to absolutely blow you away with their authentic, funny and touching performances. Even with their 10 year difference in age, their platonic love story is tender and feels real, an examination of the relationships that we all have in our younger years that go on to define us as we get older. Anderson wraps you up in the atmosphere of Licorice Pizza and makes you understand his love for the time and place even if you’ve never been there. A wonderful trip back in time, Licorice Pizza is highly recommended.
Also of note this week is the insanely violent, gory, disturbing and entertaining horror film The Sadness, the new Bruce Willis actioner A Day to Die, and the 4K debut of the cult horror film The Craft with Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, Rachel True and Skeet Ulrich.
Until next week movie lovers, stay safe!
DVD and Blu-ray Releases for Tuesday May 17, 2022
A Day to Die (2021)
Belle (2021)
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) 4K
Blood & Treasure: Season One (2019)
De Sade (1969)*
Death Valley (2021)
Escape From New York (1981) 4K
Extreme Prejudice (1987)*
Femme Fatale (2002)*
Girls Night Out (1982)*
Hell or High Water (2016) 4K Steelbook
Infinite (2021) 4K
Kicking Blood: A Vampire Love Story (2021)
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time (2021)
Last of the Dogmen (1995)*
Licorice Pizza (2021)
Outside the Law (2010)*
Panama (2022)
Slasher: Flesh & Blood Season One
Sundown (2021)
The Boys: Season 1 & 2 Collection
The Craft (1996) 4K
The Funeral (1984)* - Criterion Collection
The Last Kingdom: The Complete Series (2015-2022)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) 4K
The Sadness (2021) Special Edition
Top Secret! (1984)*
Two Men in Town (2014)*
Violent City (1970)*
Wyrmwood: Apocalypse (2021)
*New to Blu-ray