No one has more balls than Richard Linklater, who wrote and directed the the critically-acclaimed sports comedy Everybody Wants Some!!, unless you count the film’s starTyler Hoechlin who recently played in the MLB All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game at Petco Park in San Diego. His co-stars, Glen Powell, J. Quinton Johnson and Juston Street also have balls: They, were on hand to cheer him on in support of the Blu-ray/DVD release of the fratboy frenzy film.
The film, now available on Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand, follows freshman pitcher Jake as he arrives at college in the summer of 1980 and meets his new rowdy teammates. Together, they must navigate their way between girls, parties and baseball, all in the last weekend before school begins.
Jake (Blake Jenner) puts the moves on Beverly (Zoey Deutch). Think his balls will take over?
Maybe the film is so good because two cast members have balls in their blood: Tyler Hoechlin began playing baseball at the age of seven; Juston Street is a former professional baseball pitcher.
War has always been big business. Especially when it translates to film. Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War has conquered both audiences and critics, debuting to $179.1 million—the fifth-biggest domestic opening of all time—and earning a 90% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is the highest-grossing film of 2016 domestically, internationally and globally, earning more than $1.14 billion at the worldwide box office. Oprah may have more of the green stuff in her deep pockets, but the news about Captain America: Civil War is marvelous . . . the flick also continues Marvel Studios’ winning streak as the 13th consecutive film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to debut at No. #1 at the domestic box office.
When Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War arrives early on Digital HD, Digital 3D and Disney Movies Anywhere on September 2 and on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD and On-Demand on September 13, viewers can join the nonstop action and pick their side—Team Cap, commanded by Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), or Team Iron Man, led by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.).
Rogers and Stark are joined by a star-studded lineup of beloved Marvel Super Heroes, including Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Bucky Barnes aka Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Sam Wilson aka Falcon (Anthony Mackie) Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes aka War Machine (Don Cheadle), Clint Barton aka Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Vision (Paul Bettany) and Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), along with new recruit Scott Lang aka Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and joined by two new additions to the MCU: T’Challa aka Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Peter Parker aka Spider-Man (Tom Holland).
More than 60-minutes of thrilling, exclusive bonus material includes: an inside look at the evolution of lead characters Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, a behind-the-scenes exclusive on the making of Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War,” never-before-seen deleted scenes and hilarious outtakes. Plus, home audiences can learn more about the latest additions to the MCU and get an exclusive, first look at Marvel’s “Doctor Strange,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch, coming to theaters November 4, 2016.
Downey shares a bon mot, admitting his improvised some of his lines: “When you’re standing around set for hours, you think of dumb stuff to say, and sometimes you say it when they’re rolling.”
examiner.com never allowed us to say what we really wanted to say . . . so now we say it: MVD Entertainment Group is one fucking great company and they distribute Arrow Video macabre masterpieces that are so sick and (often) so bloody they are fucking mandatory movies to see and own.
We start off with Microwave Massacre, escaping onto Blu-ray + DVD on August 16. The flick stars legendary stand-up comedian Jackie Vernon as Donald, a disgruntled construction worker whose wife’s predilection for haute cuisine drives him to cannibalism.
Donald unwittingly stumbles upon a solution to his two major problems in his life: his nagging wife and his lack of decent meals; one night, he bludgeons his better half to death with a pepper grinder in a drunken rage. Thinking on his feet, Donald dismembers the body and sets about microwaving the remains, which turn out to be rather delicious. Trouble is, now he has a taste for human flesh that needs satisfying . . .
Eschewing all notions of good taste, Wayne Berwick’s Microwave Massacre is a deliciously depraved exercise in political incorrectness that has gone on to gain a cult following thanks to a characteristically deadpan performance from Vernon, who delivers such choice lines as “I’m so hungry I could eat a whore.” Vegetarians need not apply!
DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
– Brand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative
– High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
– Original mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
– Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
– Brand new audio commentary with writer-producer Craig Muckler, moderated by Mike Tristano
– Brand new making-of featurette including interviews with Muckler, director Wayne Berwick and actor Loren Schein
– Original treatment and 8-page synopsis (BD/DVD-ROM content)
– Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Wes Benscoter
Hungry for more? The Bloodstained Butterfly flies onto Blu-ray + DVD on August 23. Directed by Duccio Tessari, The Bloodstained Butterfly melds the lurid giallo traditions popularized by Dario Argento and Mario Bava with courtroom drama, resulting in a film that is as concerned with forensic detail and legal process as it is with grisly murders and audacious set-pieces.
When a young female student is savagely killed in a park during a thunderstorm, the culprit seems obvious: her lover, TV sports personality Alessandro Marchi (played by Giancarlo Sbragia), seen fleeing the scene of the crime by numerous eyewitnesses. The evidence against him is damning . . . but is it all too convenient? And when the killer strikes again while Marchi is in custody, it quickly becomes apparent that there’s more to the case than meets the eye.
Starring openly bisexual heartthrob Helmut Berger alongside genre mainstays Evelyn Stewart and Carole André and featuring a score by Gianni Ferrio, The Bloodstained Butterfly is presented uncut and in a sumptuous new 4K restoration that allows this unique and haunting thriller to shine like never before!
BONUS MATERIALS
– Brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative
– High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
– Original Italian and English soundtracks in DTS-HD MA mono 1.0
– Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
– Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
– New audio commentary with critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman
– Murder in B-Flat Minor, a new visual essay on the film, its cast and crew by author Troy Howarth.
– Mad Dog Helmut, a new interview with actor Helmut Berger
– Exclusive introduction by Helmut Berger
– New interview with actress Evelyn Stewart/Ida Galli
– Interview with Lorella De Luca, actress and wife of director Duccio Tessari
– Original Italian and English theatrical trailers
– Gallery of original promotional images
– Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
– Limited edition 36-page booklet (first pressing only) illustrated by Tonci Zonjic, containing writing by James Blackford, Howard Hughes and Leonard Jacobs
Our dear friend Patricia Neal once told us how mean her husband Roald Dahl could be . . . regaling us with tales of terror. That was then, and we know Dahl was so beloved for his children’s classic books. Public Media Distribution, LLC has re-released Roald Dahl’s The BFG” on DVD. This film is also available for digital download. Neal would say the title stands for “Big Fucking Goon.”
It actually stands for The Big Friendly Giant; Dahl’s beloved children’s book comes to life in this classic animated feature, which debuted in 1989, about the amazing power of friendship between a little girl and a big-hearted giant.
One moonlit night, little orphan Sophie is snatched from her bed by an awesome giant who whisks her away on a magical, thrilling, and funny adventure. Unlike scary giants such as the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater, and the Bonecruncher, the BFG is a good giant who blows sweet dreams into the bedroom windows of children as they slumber.
When Sophie learns that a monstrous crew of meanies is off to England to gobble up innocent boys and girls, she sets out to stop them once and for all, with the help of her new, rather large, friend.
This DVD includes the digitally restored version of the animated film along with two special features, a never-before-seen
Dahl documentary and before/after Restoration Video. The documentary features an interview with Dahl in which he talks about several of the well-known books he has written including The BFG, The Witches and Matilda. In this video viewers gain insight into how some of these classics came to life.
Don’t expect severed heads, blood spurting from ever orifice and dazzling dismemberment.The Dove Foundation frowns on such cinematic magic. But that doesn’t mean films they approve are to be poo-pooed. Hardly. WitnessThe Martial Arts Kid, a flick awarded five Doves, the Foundation’s highest possible score. The film is Family Approved for ages 12+; won four awards in film festival competition (including a Platinum Remi Award at the 2015 WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival); and was released theatrically in 20 cities in fall 2015.
So what are chatting about? The Martial Arts Kid tells the tale of troubled teen Robbie. When he runs into trouble once again in his Ohio hometown, his beleaguered grandmother sends him to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle, who owns a martial arts school in a sleepy, Florida beach community. The defiant teen is less than pleased with the “tough love” arrangement … until he encounters a local girl named Rina. However, her boyfriend, Bo, is the town bully and, backed by a posse of tough pals, seems to run things. With things spiraling out of control and desperately wanting to prove himself to his family and Rina, Robbie reluctantly turns to his uncle for help …
The film comes to Blu-ray, DVD and digital download on July 19 from Traditionz Entertainment. Stars includeJansen Panettiere; Kathryn Newton; Don “The Dragon” Wilson (an 11-time world champion kickboxer who has scored 47 knockouts, is a European Martial Arts Hall of Famer and a veteran star of more than 30 action films); Cynthia Rothrock (who holds six black belts and is one of the first female martial arts action stars); Mathew Ziff; and T.J. Storm (a world-class martial artist). Karate masters and grandmasters from across the country also populate the flick, including Gerry Blanck, Pete “Sugarfoot” Cunningham, Jeff Smith, Olando Rivera, Christine Bannon-Rodrigues, Dewey “Black Kobra” Cooper, Glenn Wilson, Barry Broughton, Sergio Barriga, Sayed Qubadi, Jody Nolan, Ewart Chin, Dr. Richard Hill and Kevin Bergquist.
There’s also a stellar soundtrack, with music from such artists as Martin Blasick; YouTube star Megan Nicole; Jamie Slocum; The Gills; Malik Williams;and Kayley Stallings (who also plays “Katie” in the film).
Those who continue to hate the Nazis and all their terror will thrill at the true story of the American rowing team that triumphed against all odds in Nazi Germany with PBS Distribution’s DVD American Experience: The Boys of ’36. The documentary was inspired by Daniel James Brown’s critically-acclaimed book The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, which has been on TheNew York Times bestseller list for 95 weeks.
The book (and DVD) DVD is the story of nine working-class young men from the University of Washington who took the rowing world and the nation by storm when they captured the gold medal at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. These sons of loggers, shipyard workers and farmers overcame tremendous hardships—psychological, physical and economic—to beat not only the Ivy League teams of the East Coast but Adolf Hitler’s elite German rowers. Their unexpected victory, and the obstacles they overcame to achieve it, gave hope to a nation struggling to emerge from the depths of the Depression.
Featuring interviews with Daniel James Brown, historians and surviving children of the 1936 Washington team, the program will be available
The DVD will be available on August 16 in conjunction with the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro and the 80th anniversary of the miracle crew’s triumph. The documentary will also be available for digital download.
Each summer, an increasing number of polar bears are converging at Kaktovik, a tiny Alaskan town on the shores of the Southern Beaufort Sea, to feast on the remains of whales left on a nearby beach by the Inupiat tribe. Those who crave witnessing the experience can spend lot$ of money and go to the state . . . or take a gander at PBS Distribution’s DVD The Great Polar Bear Feast.
The program documents the immense struggle that polar bears face in the wild and how a unique relationship between the bears and the local village is shedding new light on the future of this iconic animal. The filmmakers accompanied the U.S. Geological Survey lead polar bear scientist, Dr. Todd Atwood, as he and his team fit one dozen female bears with satellite tracking collars to gather data on them over the several months and witness never-before-seen behaviors.
The program tells the story of Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears as they face the challenges of the Arctic summer, the time of year when the sea ice they depend on for hunting melts at an increasingly rapid pace. Using the satellite data, the film follows two female bears and their cubs as the ice begins to melt. One mother, with two cubs, travels south to Kaktovik and is able to partake in the feast of whale blubber. The other, with a single cub, stays put and then must swim several hundred miles to the north to reach the nearest ice.
He was one of Hollywood’s male heartthrobs during the ’50s. In dozens of films and on the pages of countless movie magazines Tab Hunter’s good looks and golden-boy sex appeal drove his (mostly female) fans into screaming, delirious frenzies, making him the prototype for all young matinee idols to come. Bristling against being just another pretty face and wanting to be taken seriously, Hunter was one of the few to be able to transcend pin-up boy status. He earned his stripes as an actor to become a movie star.
Hunter’s career was launched with “Island of Desire” in 1952. He was cast in a lead role opposite screen legend Linda Darnell. Both the movie and Hunter were panned by critics, but teenage girls went wild for the shirtless blond hunk with the dreamy face and the steely jaw. Overnight, with only one role under his belt, Tab Hunter erupted into a media sensation.
Suddenly, an army of photographers charts his every move as he squires glamorous actresses like Natalie Wood and Debbie Reynolds from event to glittering event. Several more low-budget films came his way, and Hunter began to taste the intoxicating perks of stardom. And the pressures. In private he began a secret affair with figure skater Ronnie Robertson, but in public he was required to date Hollywood’s most eligible starlets. Tab was deathly afraid the party could end at any moment, and equally apart by the contradictions.
But behind the scenes, Tab’s life was in turmoil. His mother Gertrude had a nervous breakdown and had to undergo electro-shock treatments. And he finally broke with agent Henry Willson–who had done surprisingly little for his career and wanted to bed the boy like mad . . . always to rejection. A furious Willson got his revenge by feeding the scandal magazine “Confidential” a story about Hunter’s arrest years earlier at a gay party. Willson provided “Confidential” with all the lurid details of Hunter’s “disorderly conduct” charge. The headline read: “The Truth About Tab Hunter’s Pajama Party” and the story mentioned “limp-wristed lads” and “queer romps”. Suddenly, everything Hunter had worked for was about to be cruelly snatched away. But an odd silence followed. The mainstream media said nothing and the scandal quietly faded away. Part of the reason may be his loyal adherence to Hollywood’s so-called “Gentleman’s Agreement”, dating women publicly and keeping his private life private.
Now, the actor’s dramatic, turbulent and ultimately inspiring life story is told in “Tab Hunter Confidential”, a documentary directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz. The film has the unique advantage of exclusive, unprecedented access to Hunter who shares first-hand, for the second time, what it was like to be a manufactured movie star during the Golden Age of Hollywood and the consequences of being someone totally different from his manufactured image. We will trace Tab’s dizzying rise to Hollywood super-stardom, his secret life in an era when being openly gay was unthinkable, and his ultimate triumph when the limelight finally passed him by.
After a year on the film festival circuit and a theatrical run across 50 cities in the United States, the acclaimed documentary, based on Hunter’s “New York Times” bestselling memoir, is available to rent or own nationwide on Digital HD. A DVD release is planned for later this summer.
Punctuating Tab’s on screen presence will be rare film clips and provocative interviews with friends and co-stars including John Waters, Clint Eastwood, George Takei, Debbie Reynolds, Robert Wagner, Noah Wyle, Connie Stevens, Lainie Kazan, Rona Barrett and Robert Osborne. “Tab Hunter Confidential” is an important piece of Hollywood’s hidden history that is more relevant than ever in today’s obsessive, star-driven, sexuality speculating media.
“Tab Hunter Confidential” concludes with Hunter and the film’s co-producer Allan Glaser living their lives in Santa Barbara, where he spends time with his horses and is “happy to be forgotten.” Now, Tab Hunter’s secret is out and he rides into the sunset a happy, healthy survivor of Hollywood’s roller coaster.
They walk. They talk. They eat. They are dead. With the end of every season comes the bittersweet knowledge that we must wait with bated breath until the next ride. To keep your “The Walking Dead” appetite satiated, Anchor Bay Entertainment proudly continues the tradition of offering fans an opportunity to relive the so satisfying series by delivering “The Walking Dead: The Complete Sixth Season” on Blu-ray + Digital HD and DVD on August 23. Welcome back new cast members and guest stars for season six including Merritt Wever as Dr. Denise Cloyd, Ethan Embry as Carter, Corey Hawkins as Heath, Thomas Payne as Jesus and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan. Watch, savor and save another date: “The Walking Dead” Season 7 premieres on AMC this October.
Just like the previous award-winning home entertainment releases, “The Walking Dead: The Complete Sixth Season” will take fans down a memory lane that refuses to be a dead end: All of the season’s most haunting and indelible moments, including never-before-heard audio commentaries, deleted scenes, six new featurettes, additional extras and the highly anticipated Alternate Negan Scene, live on Blu-ray and DVD.
Writer/producer Scott M. Gimple revealed that the sixth season would continue to remix material from the comic and explained that there would be a flashback backstory to some of the characters: “”There are other people that we’re going to see throughout the season from the comics, and I’m excited for people to see it, but I don’t want to tell them now. I think a few minor remixes, but some direct stuff from the comic as well, as far as these characters go. I think there’s a really cool aspect to the first half of the season that serves almost as a prequel to some direct comic stuff in the second half of the season. I think there’s a way that Robert did some of the story that we’re reaching that had a real past to it, where people are referring to some things in the past in the comic. And we’re able to portray some of that backstory in some ways that you didn’t get to see in the comic.”
Robert Fredrick Paulsen III has always given voice to his career. He first started out as a singer, did stage work and made a handful of films and TV shows. “I just wanted to perform,” he says, “and I didn’t care what that meant.” And perform he did and does, once he stumbled into the profession that truly had him give voice to his work. (He began his voice-over career in 1983 with “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero”, where he played “Snow Job” and “Tripwire”.)
Today, the 60-year-old actor is one of the most prolific voice actors in the industry. Paulsen has recorded thousands of different character voices for nearly 500 different films and TV series, not counting his endless work in commercial voice-overs and video games. Perhaps he’s most known for the original commercial of “Got Milk?” campaign. The famous commercial (remember “who shot Alexander Hamilton in that famous duel?”) aired in 1993, and launched the Got Milk? (in)famous campaign.
His career runs as a long as that yellow brick road: Career highlights include “Animaniacs”, “The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius”, “Pinky and the Brain”, “The Tick”, “Tiny Toon Adventures”, “Goof Troop”, “Dexter’s Laboratory”, “Histeria” and “The Mask”. In “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” Paulsen voiced both Raphael in the original 1987 animated cast; he gives life to Donatello in the more recent take on the series. And let us not forget a role he holds close to his heart: Oz’s Tin Man (and his alter ego Hickory), a role he has voiced first in “Tom and Jerry & The Wizard of Oz” and in the newly released “Tom and Jerry Back to Oz.” Both are available on DVD, thanks to Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
Chatting with the actor is an animated adventure. He has so many stories to tell about places he has gone and people he has met. We gabbed with him on a Saturday afternoon, in time away from his wife, Parrish, and their Yorkshire terriers, Pooshie and Tala. We even got to hear him sing a snatch of “If I Only Had a Heart”!
Alan W. Petrucelli: First things first: You wanted to be a hockey player. What happened? Rob Paulsen: The one big fly in the ointment was that I hadn’t the talent or temperament. I was a decent high school player and maybe so in college, but professional hockey players are bigger and more mannish.
AWP: One of your heroes was Gordie Howe. Did you ever met him? RP: Gordie was my idol. He passed away just a week ago. He was my hero. His planet on ice made him an idol of mine. When I met him and his wife, Colleen, it turned out that their grandkids were great Ninja Turtle fans. I was lucky to have Gordie in my life: At a fundraiser in Vancouver, I was sitting next to him during an autograph signing. Gordie was in early ’60s and had been signing for a couple hours. A guy my age came up to Gordie after waiting an hour for him to sign a puck, and said, ‘Mr. Howe, thank you for signing my puck.’ Your hand must be getting tired.’ Gordie looked at him, and sober as judge, he held his hand out to the man and said, ‘I worked too hard for this privilege. It’s my honor.’ What he said was like a laser beam right to my head. Gordie was a God.
AWP: You worked closely with another God, Steven Spielberg. Any stories? RP: He has not only created the world’s greatest impression of cartoons and movies, but up close and personal, Spielberg is the most delightful and kind and generous person I have met. He makes any conversation or experienced with him about you. That is important since I have met people whose goal is to be self-centered. I have zero tolerance to run into those types of people. They think they will impress me, but they never do. Spielberg is the kind of famous person who impresses people . . . without an ego.
AWP: You are another famous person who impresses people. RP: No. I am not a celebrity. A lot of the characters I voice are celebrities. but I am not a celebrity. I don’t draw or write them. I have developed a certain reputation: Casting people know to call Rob if they give me a live action job because I have developed a reputation that I can sing it, I can act it. [Pauses, then laughs] Yet I am limited by how I look, so doing voices is freeing because I can swing from the fences since I’m a 5-foot, 10½-inch white guy, as average-looking as a million other guys.
AWP: You must admit you got a great job. It must get tough changing your voice so many times. RP: No. A job is what blue-collar men do. Pouring hot tar in July is a tough job. Laying sod on a farm is a tough job. Working on a conveyor belt in a factory is hard work. My job is like freedom . . . I get to do what I want with my voice; my interpretation is only limited by my voice. I would be lying if I said I don’t like when people make a fuss over me. Sometimes when I sign a credit card receipt, a person says, “Hmm, Rob Paulsen. Are you . . .?’ Sometimes a person will listen to me and say, ‘Hmm, I know that voice.’ That’s incredibly flattering. When I was growing up, cartoons were on only three networks. And now . . . [Pauses] I am in incredible receipt of so much fan anticipation. All things considered, I love what I do so much I would do it for free.
AWP: When you made the two Oz films with Tom and Jerry, where you asked to sound like Jack Haley? RP: The people who made the movie wanted me to be really close to what he sounded like. That’s what they were definitely looking for. Haley was very light and sweet and ingenious, yet he still had a pretty thick Boston accent. When I got to sing, it’s such a thrill they wanted the Haley influence. [Begins singing in a Haley soundalike voice] “When a man’s an empty kettle he should be on his mettle . . .”
Paulsen supplies the Tinman’s voice in two Warner Bros. DVDs
AWP: Is your voice insured? RP: No. I heard and presume that Luciano Pavarotti and Richard Tucker and Kathleen Battle had their voices insured. I did think about it now that I am getting older and had an issue with laryngitis,
AWP: You’ve done commercials for Honda, Frosted Mini-Wheats, McDonalds and Taco Bell. Do you have lifetime free cars, cereal, Big Macs and Cheesy Double Beef Burritos? RP: [Laughs] No. They offered me a crazy deal on a Honda but I ended up buying one in 1974. The Honda Civic cost $4,496. When McDonald’s was doing a promotion with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a local guy was a big man and asked me to sign some Turtleblila. He gave me some free stuff . . . I think it was two burgers.
So what are chatting about? The Martial Arts Kid tells the tale of troubled teen Robbie. When he runs into trouble once again in his Ohio hometown, his beleaguered grandmother sends him to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle, who owns a martial arts school in a sleepy, Florida beach community. The defiant teen is less than pleased with the “tough love” arrangement … until he encounters a local girl named Rina. However, her boyfriend, Bo, is the town bully and, backed by a posse of tough pals, seems to run things. With things spiraling out of control and desperately wanting to prove himself to his family and Rina, Robbie reluctantly turns to his uncle for help …
