MCBASTARD'S MAUSOLEUM

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

THE BECOMERS (2023) Dark Star Pictures Blu-ray Screenshots

THE BECOMERS (2023)

Label: Dark Star Pictures

Region Code: A

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 86 Minutes 46 Minutes

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)

Director: Zach Clark

Cast: Russell Mael, Molly Plunk, Isabel Alamin, Keith Kelly, Mike Lopez, Frank V. Ross

Proving love is indeed the strangest force in the universe, Zach Clark’s oddball romance follows a pair of body-snatching aliens across America as they try to find both their place within this odd world and each other. Featuring narration by Sparks legend Russell Mael, this freewheeling science-fiction comedy is filled lo-fi effects and the heartfelt, emotionally astute exploration of what it means to find your own kind. For those familiar with Clark’s oeuvre THE BECOMERS is a smart addition; for the uninitiated, THE BECOMERS begs a deep dive into the filmography. A truly one-of-a-kind film that’ll make you feel closer to everyone in the cinema by the end.

Special features;

- Audio commentary with Zach Clark and composer Fritz Myers, moderated by filmmaker Kit Zauhar

- Deleted Scenes (2:11)

- "Happy Birthday" Short Film (1:02)

- Isolated Music Audio Track (Dolby Ditital 2.0)

- Trailers: Midnight Peepshow (1:31), Do Not Disturb (1:25), The Elderly, Property (1:42)

- 16-Page Illustrated Booklet with writing on the film by Justine Smith

Screenshots from the Dark Star Pictures Blu-ray:

Extras:

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Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment Announces Lethal Weapon on 4K UHD on June 24

LETHAL WEAPON

FROM DIRECTOR RICHARD DONNER, THE ACTION THRILLER FILM STARRING MEL GIBSON AND DANNY GLOVER WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 4K RESOLUTION WITH HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR)

AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL AND 4K UHD DISC ON JUNE 24, 2025

Lethal Weapon, the 1987 action thriller film from director Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, will be available for purchase Digitally in 4K Ultra HD and on 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc on June 24.

The box office hit was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound and spawned a franchise that includes three sequels and a television series.

The Digital and 4K UHD disc release includes both the 1987 theatrical version of the film and the 2000 Director’s Cut which features an additional 7 minutes of footage not seen in theaters.

Directed by Donner (Superman), the film stars Gibson (Braveheart) as Detective Martins Riggs and Glover (Predator) as Detective Roger Murtaugh, along with Gary Busey (Point Break). The film was written by Shane Black and was produced by Donner and Joel Silver and Silver Pictures.

Lethal Weapon will be available to purchase on Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc online and in-store at major retailers and available for purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Fandango at Home and more.

Mel Gibson stars as a one-man killing machine, a Los Angeles policeman who recently lost his wife and has been acting increasingly unstable. Danny Glover plays a by-the-book homicide detective with an impeccable record and a loving family. Now the two are stuck with each other as partners, investigating a suicide that leads to an international crime ring and ever-increasing danger in this blockbuster action thriller.

Lethal Weapon Digital release and Ultra HD Blu-ray disc contains the following new special features:

· A Legacy of Inspiration: Remembering Richard Donner

· “I’m Too Old for This…”

Lethal Weapon

Ultra HD Blu-ray Languages: English, Spanish, Parisian French

Ultra HD Blu-ray Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, Parisian French

Theatrical Version Run Time: 110 minutes

Director’s Cut Run Time: 117 Minutes

Rating: R for strong violence, strong language, brief drug use, and some nudity

Digital Street Date: June 24, 2025

Physical Street Date: June 24, 2025

Sunday, May 4, 2025

THE COFFEE TABLE (2022) Second Sight Films Limited Edition Blu-ray Review

THE COFFEE TABLE (2022)

Limited Edition Blu-ray

Label: Second Sight Films

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Cert. 18

Duration: 89 Minutes 48 Seconds

Audio: Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)

Director: Caye Casas

Cast: David Pareja, Estefanía de los Santos

Spanish film The Coffee Table (2022) aka La mesita del comedor, is directed by Caye Casas (Killing God). it starts off with married couple Jesus (David Pareja,) and Maria (Estefanía de los Santo) going through a rough patch after the birth of their son, as evidenced by the opening scene here they are discussing the purchase of a particular coffee table at a furniture store. Jesus seems very much persuaded by the pitch of the salesman (Eduardo Antuña), while his wife is not. This starts a small heated discussion about how she gets to decide everything, even naming their son Cayetano, who was apparently named after Maria's fascist bullfighter grandfather. In the end Jesus ends up purchasing the peculiar piece of furniture, against his wife's wishes, to more or less assert his male masculinity in the relationship. Struggling to carry the boxed coffee table to their upper floor apartment we meet some of the couple's neighbors, including the the apartment supers 13 year-old daughter Ruth (Gala Flores) who has a seriously obsessive crush on the much older man, who seems to be willing to accuse him of being a pedophile unless he admits he loves her. This seems like something that will definitely comes back to bite him in the ass, but he evades her and closes the door finally, and then sets about assembling his newly purchased coffee table. While doing so he discovers that he is missing one of the screws to properly secure the furnishing's glass pane, and must set aside completing it until the furniture store salesman brings the missing piece. His wife reminds him that his brother Carlos (Josep Maria Riera) and his girlfriend Cristina (Claudia Riera), and that she needs to run tot he store to pick-up dinner and drinks, leaving him alone with the baby, seemingly for the first time. While he is alone caring for the infant the unthinkable happens... I won't spoil it, but it's absolutely horrific, I was gob-smacked by it, and i think it's best to go into this one completely cold.

What follows is a terrifically tense bit of filmmaking, claustrophobically shot in the small confines of the apartment, with Jesus trying to avoid discovery of what has occurred, all the while wracked by deep guilt, the mounting pressure of when, not if, what happened while he was alone with the child is revealed, to not just his wife, but his brother and his companion as well. The film is stylishly shot and exquisitely acted, imbued with a pitch black sense of humor that is only outmatched by the searing existential dread the new father is experiencing in the wake of a horrific event, doomed by the destiny triggered by his purchase of a simple, and frankly quite tacky, living room furnishing.

Just based on the title alone I had gone into this with a certain expectation, expecting something along the lines of Death Bed - The Bed That Eats, The Mangler, The Lift, or Amityville Dollhouse, some sort of cursed object, but I am peased to say this offered something quite unexpected, and very, very dark. It's actually quite a simple and direct set-up, but the sheer amount of soul-shredding melodrama and character interplay really makes for an enthralling watch, the strained relationship is key and for their part, Pareja and de los Santo nail it. As a father and someone who has had moments when my relationship was strained by a bad choice I found it super relatable, which made the dark humor that much more effective, and the soul-shredding horror of it all even more terrifying. I found this every bit as uncomfortable a watch as something like In My Skin which I also reviewed recently, but then it has this really pitch black sense of humor as well, and I think this mix might prove difficult for some viewers, particularly as a young infant is right at the heart of it all, but for me and my weird tastes, I thought this was a stunning watch that went to some seriously places that I would have never expected.

Audio/Video: The Coffee Table (2022) gets a region-free Blu-ray from Second Sight Films, presented in 1080p HD framed in 2.39:1 widescreen. The digital shot film looks terrific, sharp and detailed, colors look solid throughout, skin tones are natural, and black levels are solid. It's a well-authored disc without any compression issues ro banding, very solid. Audio comes by way of Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles. The Spanish dialogue is always intelligible, the score sounds great, a the sound design, including some grotesque sounds during the dinner sequences that accentuate the growing guilt of Jesus, and later anguished cries, all fare quite well in the mix.

The well-stocked release has loads of extras, starting off with an Audio Commentary by Zoë Rose Smith and Amber T. then onto a series of interviews, these include the 23-min

What Scares Us the Most: Interview with director Caye Casas; the 15-min A Sensory Journey: Interview with actor David Pareja; 12-min We Are All Nuts: Interview with actor Estefanía de los Santos; and the 11-min Natural Oppression: Interview with director of photography Alberto Morago. We also get the 20-min video essay Postpartum: Rebecca Sayce on The Coffee Table; and a pair of Caye Casas Short Films: the 16-min RIP and the 16-min Nada S.A.

The single-disc Blu-ray release arrives in an oversized charcoal grey keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork by artist Luke Headland - its very minimalist but it does capture the anguish of the film quite nicely. The keepcase is housed inside a Side-Loading Rigid Slipcase with more the same artwork, plus we get a massive 120-Page Illustrated Book with new essays by Anton Bitel, Jennie Kermode, Joe Lipsett, Shelagh Rowan-Legg Josh Slater-Williams and Dolores Quintana, cast and crew information, and storyboard comparisons. This Limited Edition set also includes Six Collectors' Art Cards featuring the art of Luke Headland.

Special Features:

• NEW! Audio Commentary by Zoë Rose Smith and Amber T

• NEW! What Scares Us the Most: Interview with director Caye Casas (23:07)

• NEW! A Sensory Journey: Interview with actor David Pareja (15:21)

• NEW! We Are All Nuts: Interview with actor Estefanía de los Santos (12:33)

• NEW! Natural Oppression: Interview with director of photography Alberto Morago (11:22)

• Postpartum: Rebecca Sayce on The Coffee Table ,(19:33)

• Caye Casas Short Films: RIP (16:12) and Nada S.A (16:06)

Limited Edition Contents

• Rigid Slipcase with new artwork by Luke Headland

• 120-page book with new essays by Anton Bitel, Jennie Kermode, Joe Lipsett, Shelagh Rowan-Legg Josh Slater-Williams and Dolores Quintana plus storyboard comparisons.

• Six collectors' Art Cards

THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (2009) Second Sight Films Blu-ray Review + Screenshot Comparison

THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (2009)

Limited Edition Blu-ray

Label: Second Sight Films

Region Code: B

Rating: Cert. 18

Duration: 95 Minutes 12 Seconds

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)

Director: Ti West

Cast: Jocelin Donahue, Mary Woronov, Greta Gerwig, AJ Bowen, Tom Noonan

The House of the Devil (2009), directed by Ti West (Maxxxine), is a well-executed throwback to the terror titles of the 80s, set in 1983 we meets cash-strapped college student Samantha Hughes (Jocelin Donahue, Doctor Sleep), who after enduring being locked out of her dorm room overnight so her inconsiderate roommate can get laid, is desperate to find her own apartment. She finds a promising prospect via a sympathetic landlady (Dee Wallace, The Howling), but is desperate for money to pay the first month's rent and security deposit. To that end she spots an ad for a mysterious babysitting job on a campus job board and convinces her best friend Megan (Greta Gerwig, Baghead) to drive her out to the remote Victorian house. Arriving at the creepy house in the middle-of-nowhere she discovers her new employer Mr. Ullman (Tom Noonan, Manhunter) and his wife (Mary Woronov, Sugar Cookies) were less than truthful about the particulars of the babysitting gig, it's not for their kid, but for his elderly mother-in-law. Samantha rightfully has second thoughts about it, but when he offers to double her wage for the inconvenience and even throws in extras cash to order pizza on their dime, she agrees to stay. However, Mr. Ullman says her fried Megan cannot stay, and while Megan is wary of all of this she agrees to leave with intentions of picking up her friend after midnight.

The Ullman's leave for their night, to witness the evening's lunar eclipse which is alluded to throughout the film, and Samantha is left alone in the house with the elderly woman who is kept away in her third floor bedroom. As Samantha settles into the house for the night she begins exploring it, as babysitters are want to do, putting on her Sony Walkman headphones and dancing round the house to The Fixx's "One Things Leads To Another". As she explores the place she finds pictures that would seem to indicate that this is not actually the Ullman's home, that perhaps something sinister is afoot, and despite taking several phone calls attempting to reach her friend Megan and a former boyfriend, even dialing 911 at one point before hanging up, but she instead chooses to explore the strange sounds coming from the upper floor of the home with a butcher's knife she grabs from he kitchen. This leads to a surreal and pretty ferocious satanic hysteria as she realizes why she was really hired by the Ullman's this very night.

The House of the Devil, as with a good number of Ti West's flicks, is a very measured and purposefully paced slow-burn, the early scenes introducing Samantha are drawn out, establishing her as a likable good girl whose looking for independence, and has financial instability, which makes her suspectable to making some poor decisions in regard to the suspicious activities of the Mr. and Mrs. Ullman, and the predicament she now finds herself in. It's a painstakingly crafted retro-pastiche of a flick, well thought-out, executed with precision, stylistically it's hitting all the right notes for the era beginning with the freeze-frame title card. The early 80's fashion and decor feels lived and accurate, as the 80s were my decade, it's when I went from single to double-digits, and as someone who lived it and was a pop-culture fan I just appreciated the authenticity of it. Also, the flick is super well cast, of course Noonan and Woronov are terrific as the creepy satanists, but also Jocelin Donahue and Greta Gerwig. That slow opening allows us to spend time with both, I love the scene of the two gals gabbing over pizza and cokes, both with retro feathered hairstyles, they're both charming, and it really makes you root for both of them, and it's a bit of a shock when Greta's character exits rather unceremoniously and ultra-violently.

I will be getting into more spoilery territory here, so be warned reading ahead. I feel like the satanic panic-ness of it all is well-established, even at the time it was first released I was well-aware that there were satanic cult shenanigans afoot with this one, and knowing that did not and does not hinder my enjoyment of it. The first bit of violence comes rather unexpectedly, and it holds up. Megan alarmed that her friend is alone in a house with people who have lied to her decides to be a good friends, and while appearing to leave, pulls off on the side of the road nearby, perhaps to keep an eye her friend, She rolls down the window to have a smoke and is startled by the arrival of a stranger who strikes up a brief conversation before whipping out a handgun and blowing a hole in her face, like literally hollowing out her skull with a geyser of blood exploding onto the windshield Pulp Fiction style. Tis stranger then proceeds to get into the car, snatch the still lit cigarette from her hand and nonchalantly smoke it while disposing of the car. This same person later arrives at the house when Samantha orders pizza for delivery, using a phone number left by the Ullman's, so we know that he is in cahoots with the creepy older couple. It's while investigating the strange noises in the house that Samantha becomes woozy, suffering from the effects of the apparently drugged pizza, which she noticed tasted off at a certain point, passing out in the hallway floor and waking up to a Satanic panic nightmare, chained to the attic floor in the middle of a pentagram during the fullness of the lunar eclipse, surrounded by the Ullman's in cultist robes, and the pizza guy - who turns out to be their adult son Victor (A.J. Bowen, You're Next), and the "Mother", a witchy looking ghoul who cuts open her own wrist and draws satanic symbols on Samantha with her own blood, before pooling it into a goat's head skull and making Samantha drink her blood, ewww. I won't over-spoil the frenzied finale but it smacks of both Witchery and Rosemary's Baby, bringing this slice of satanic hysteria to a proper tone-perfect close, the tension building slow-burn paying off with a proper and bloody boil-over.

Audio/Video: The House of the Devil (2009) arrives in Blu-ray from Second Sight Films in 1080p HD framed in 1.78:1 widescreen. Shot on 16mm film stock the mages has a thick layer grain, with textures that emulate the specific look of '80s horror flicks and TV movies. The HD transfer offers accurate color reproduction of director Ti West's intentions, it has that very early 80s specificity to that is total cinematic catnip for me. I could not find any verbiage about this being a new scan of the elements, so I think it's safe to assume this is the same HD master used for the 2008 Blu-ray, which checks out when comparing it to the 2009 Blu-ray from Dark Sky Films, there's a screenshot comparison at the bottom of the review. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles. The track is clen and well-balanced, the taut sound design, dialogue and score sound terrific. The Jeff Grace score offers so wonderfully creepy piano and strings, and a main title by Mike Armstrong that sounds like The Cars jamming with John Carpenter on an creepy, alternate instrumental mix of "Moving in Stereo".

As this was shot on film I am slightly disappointed that we did not get a 4K UHD release, but second Sight go a long way towards placating me with loads of new and archival extras. They carryover most the extras from the previous Dark Sky Films Blu-ray, these include an Audio commentary with writer–director Ti West & actress Jocelin Donahue, plus a second Audio commentary with writer-director Ti West, producers Larry Fessenden & Peter Phok and sound designer Graham Reznick. Also licensed were the20-min In The House of the Devil, the 7-min Deleted Scenes, and a 2-min Trailer. The only thing not licensed is the 13-min Behind-the-Scenes, but I think that is represented on the second Sight release by a longer behind-the-scenes featurette that I believe incorporates that footage.

New and exclusive extras start off with the 19-min The Right Vibe - a new interview with director Ti West, 17-min Satanic Panic - a new interview with actor Jocelin Donahue, the 24-min This Night Changes Everything: The Making of The House of the Devil, 26-min Slowing Down is Death - a new interview with actor AJ Bowen; 24-min A Level of Ambition - a new interview with producer Peter Phok, 28-min An Enduring Title - a new interview with Larry Fessenden, 14-min It All Feels Appropriate - a new interview with Director of Photography Eliot Rockett, 16-min Hiding the Seams - a new interview with composer Jeff Grace, and 25-min Writing Through Sound - a new interview with sound designer Graham Reznick. These are all terrific interviews, able to speak about the film in the contact of Wests larger filmography and the actors expanded careers, plenty of time has transpired and allows them to talk more insightful and honest recollections, discussing the casting process, West's vision for the film, and what it's like to collaborate with West. I quite enjoyed the conversation with Fessenden who speaks a lot about Glass Eye Pix, his first meeting West, and making his West's first film The Roost with him, and how Noonan ended-up in that film.

The single-disc Blu-ray release arrives in an oversized charcoal grey keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring new artwork by Nick Charge which appears very much to homage the theatrical artwork but also somehow makes it feel even more '80s. The keepcase is housed inside a Side-Loading Rigid Slipcase with more Nick Charge art, plus we get a 70-Page Illustrated Book with new essays by Martyn Conterio, Ariel Powers-Schaub, Jerome Reuter and Julieann Stipidis plus Behind the Scenes gallery, and cast and crew credits, and a selection of behind-the-scenes pictures.

Getting into the booklet and the writing 'There's a Lot of Weirdos Out There' Satanic Panic in Suburbia by Jerome Reuter reflects on the era of Satanic hysteria and the influences that West channels here. Desperate For Money and Destined for Danger by Ariel Schaub compares the 2009 recession to the early 80's post-recession, the importance of living spaces in the film, and money as a motivator in the face of obvious threats, and how financial instability can cloud judgment What Awaits the Babysitter by Julieann Stipidis explores the urban legend of the babysitter in film, Curiosity Killed the Babysitter: The House of the Devil as Bluebeards Castle by Martyn Conterio, examines the film through the lens of the French tale of Blue Beard. This Limited Edition set also includes Six Collectors' Art Cards with more tasty Nick Charge artworks.