Ask And You Shall Receive: Streets of Fire Coming To Blu-Ray In May

With the ink barely dry on my Five Films That Still Deserve Some Love In 2017 post last Friday, Shout! Factory announced this week that they'll release Walter Hill's 1984 rock-n-roll fable Streets of Fire on Blu-ray May 2.

Released through the label's Shout Select line, the film will feature a new 2k scan and an entire second disc of bonus content.

Way to go, Shout! I can picture that opening "Nowhere Fast" sequence stretched across my widescreen in beautiful high-definition already.

One down, four to go.

Five Films That Still Deserve Some Love In 2017

With the new year comes new hopes and aspirations. For some it's that sought-after job or home. Others yearn for peace and happiness. Many want to believe that a penthouse-residing real estate billionaire will actually make a good president and deliver the country back to the working man.

For me, it's all about keeping my fingers crossed that five long-neglected catalog films will finally find new life in the 21st century. You gotta have your priorities, right?

2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the home-video revolution known as DVD. Yes, two decades ago we finally shed those cumbersome plastic videocassettes and began enjoying movies in our living rooms via crystal-clear, digitally enhanced compact discs. No more rewinding or fast-forwarding. No more fuzzy pictures. Now we could experience our favorite flicks in beautiful widescreen splendor, savor loads of extras and get to know a fun little feature called a commentary track. How on earth did we ever survive the Beta/VHS era?

Unfortunately, there are still several films that have yet to receive that deluxe treatment. Oh sure, some have actually been released on DVD, but you'd never know it with their distorted full-screen or non-anamorphic pictures and crackling sound.

You'd think after 20 years, 10 of those in the high-definition Blu-ray era, that one of the studios or specialty labels (Criterion, Kino Lorber, Twilight Time or Shout! Factory) could have rendered a halfway decent copy of all the lost little gems out there by now. Below you'll find five worthwhile titles that still need some love in 2017.

1. Matewan: I'm still waiting for a "watchable" copy of this 1987 coal-mining classic from indie maverick John Sayles. I seriously have not seen this film since I tried watching the current full-screen Artisan DVD back when Bill Clinton was president. C'mon, Criterion or Twilight Time, get this on the schedule for the film's 30th anniversary. I'm begging you.

2. Streets of Fire: Walter Hill's enjoyable 1984 rock-n-roll fable was released on disc by Universal back in 1998. Unfortunately, it wasn't enhanced for widescreen TVs. There was an anamorphic version struck back in 2007, but it was for the ill-fated HD DVD format that lasted about 10 minutes before being discontinued. This one would be perfect for Kino Lorber of Shout! Factory to finally release on Blu-ray.

3. Iceman: Fred Schepisi's moving 1984 tale of a recently thawed caveman and the Artic scientist who befriends him got a full-screen DVD release from Universal back in 2004. Not a big hit when released, but it does feature nice performances from Timothy Hutton and John Lone and deserves a widescreen edition. Another good one for Kino or Twilight Time.

4. The Hindenburg: A product of the 1970s disaster craze, Robert Wise's 1975 speculative dramatization of the infamous 1937 zeppelin crash received a non-anamorphic DVD release from Universal back in 1998. Sure it's dated and a bit heavy-handed, but it's also entertaining as hell and deserves to be seen in all its widescreen glory. This one's a perfect match for Kino.

5. The Star Wars Trilogy: Sure, the films look and sound great on Blu-ray, but I want the original, unaltered movies I grew up with in that format, not the silly special editions. We know they still exist, Disney, what better time than the franchise's 40th anniversary to finally give fans the versions that actually built the Empire.

Top 5 Films of 2016

Well, the door's about to close on another year at the movies. 2016 will go down as Hollywood's biggest, just nudging out last year's record-breaking haul, even though attendance at the nation's theaters remained flat.

Yeah, it's pretty easy to keep breaking records when all you have to do is raise ticket prices. If this keeps up, pretty soon we'll be paying $50 for a Thursday matinee.

I can tell you I visited fewer multiplexes this year, pretty much avoiding them completely from May - August, as the industry trotted out its weakest summer slate in recent memory. But as usual, things picked up considerably in the fall, and by year's end I had trouble keeping up with all the films I wanted to see. Below you'll find my Top Five Films of 2016.

1. The Lobster: Released abroad in 2015, this bizarre little gem about a society where singles have 45 days to find a mate or face being turned into an animal opened here in the States last spring and was easily the most exhilarating and original piece of cinema this year, all anchored by a wonderfully wacky script and great performances by Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz. Seek this one out.

2. La La Land: Ask anyone, I'm not a fan of musicals, but damned if this "little" Hollywood fable from Whiplash director Damien Chazelle didn't sway me with its bewitching cinematic charms. Both Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone provide undisputable proof on why they're two of the most charismatic and consistently watchable actors working today. I'm still humming "City of Stars."

3. De Palma: This fascinating documentary from Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow on virtuoso filmmaker Brian De Palma is a film geek's dream, just two hours of pure cinematic joy about a man born to tell stories visually.

4. Moonlight: Barry Jenkins' moving tale of self-discovery is subtle-yet-powerful cinema, featuring wonderful, career-defining performances from Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris and André Holland.

5. Captain America: Civil War: Not just the most entertaining popcorn movie of the year, but arguably the greatest super-hero film Marvel has ever produced. Simply two hours of great action, humor and heart. The things Saturday-matinee dreams are made of.

Rounding Out The Top 10: 6. Manchester By The Sea 7. Fences 8. Hell or Highwater 9. Loving 10. Midnight Special

Most Overrated Film of 2016: Hail, Caesar! - This unfunny, nonsensical Hollywood farce from the Coen Brothers has shown up on a lot of Top 10 lists this year. Seriously? The only thing I can remember about this self-indulgent dud is waking up at the end of it.

Happy New Year!

Remembering Carrie Fisher

I was at an early screening this morning and just got in to learn of the passing of Carrie Fisher at 60.

I was hoping for the best after her heart attack and subsequent hospitalization Friday, but in the back of my mind I was bracing for the worst. At least get her through Christmas, I thought.

Carrie Fisher was my first childhood crush. I was six in the spring of 1977 and had just experienced a bigger-than-life space adventure called Star Wars. The film had everything a young boy could love: spaceships, robots, alien creatures, dashing heroes, a terrifying villain and a beautiful princess.

In her form-fitting white robe and bun-curled hair, Leia Organa commanded your attention the moment you first saw her on screen. Striking to look at, sure, but as spunky and courageous as any of her male counterparts. From the second she starts to verbally spar with the imposing Darth Vader, you knew she was more than just a pretty face. Leia's mettle is underestimated throughout the film, but every person she tussles with - from Governor Tarkin to Han Solo - comes to eventually respect her unrelenting spirit and fortitude.

That spunkiness was on display even more in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back. As a respected leader of the Rebel Alliance, Leia can't admit she has feelings for Han Solo, no matter how hard the scruffy smuggler goads her on. Her building frustration is classic to watch unfold - looks of distain, mumbling to herself - and really is one of the main reasons Empire is considered the best of the Star Wars saga today.

I could have cared less about dolls growing up. But you better believe I had every Leia action figure released from 1978-1983. Every guy my age did, whether they admit it or not.

Fisher was always best remembered for Star Wars, but she did have a career outside of the popular space franchise, providing memorable turns in films like The Blues Brothers, Under The Rainbow, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Burbs and When Harry Met Sally.

They say you always remember your first crush. Well, rest assured, sweet princess, in that galaxy far, far away, you will never be forgotten.

Quick Flick Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

The story of how the Rebel Alliance stole the plans to the dreaded Death Star that ultimately enabled Luke Skywalker to destroy the Empire's planet-killing superstation has intrigued legions of Star Wars fans for nearly 40 years.

The brainchild of Lucasfilm visual effects veteran John Knoll, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story finally shines a light on that crucial missing chapter, the first non-episodic SW film in the franchise's five-decade-long history.

Rogue One centers around the plucky Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), the long-since-abandoned daughter of Imperial scientist Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) who the Alliance learns has dispatched a messenger to rebel extremist Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) with information on a new super weapon the Empire is close to testing. It seems Jyn and Gerrera are old acquaintances, a bond the Alliance hopes to exploit so Gerrera will share his valuable bestowment.

Jyn reluctantly agrees to act as the go-between and is teamed with rebel intelligence officer Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and the sardonic K-2S0 (Alan Tudyk), a repurposed Imperial droid who frequently can't help but convey his "bad feelings" about the mission.

Unfortunately, the reunion with Gerrera is cut short and the information lost when the Empire decides to test its new weapon on the city surrounding the extremist's compound, forcing Jyn and her companions to find a new way to retrieve the crucial data.

Of course with the Death Star lurking overhead, they've got some Imperial baddies standing in their way. There's Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), the ambitious head of weapons research, who shares a secret past with both Jyn and her father, a predominantly featured, CG-enhanced Grand Moff Tarkin (good to see a "resurrected" Peter Cushing working again) and, yes, a certain Dark Lord of the Sith of some repute, who doesn't get a lot of screen time but undeniably makes his presence "felt" in every scene in which he appears.

Speaking of appearances, several characters from the original trilogy make smile-worthy cameos (Walrus Man, anyone?), the most notable of which coming at the very end and providing a seamless transition to the initial 1977 film.

The film does throw a lot of characters (many with heavy, hard-to-follow accents) and plotlines at its audience and the narrative becomes a bit convoluted at times. Also working against the film is the fact that as much as you want to like these new heroes, you know you'll never see any of them again going forward in the saga, making it hard to establish any kind of connection or root for their success.

And while the action is consistent and swiftly paced, much of it comes off as contrived and gratuitous, especially the climatic "heist" sequence at the end of the film that feels more Mission: Impossible than Star Wars.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story serves its purpose for the most part, giving fans the backstory they've desired for years and providing enough nostalgia to remind all of why returning to a 40-year-old space saga never gets old. Grade: B-

Merry Christmas!

Dec. 30: Top 5 Films of 2016

Citizen Kane: Still Sublime After 75 Years

The wife and I screened Citizen Kane last weekend. I hadn't seen it in about five years, my wife in more than two decades.

As we sat there in the dark, I kept thinking how incredible it was that a 75-year-old black-and-white film could still seem so fresh and illicit such awe in this day of glossy, highly kinetic computer-generated entertainment.

But such is the cinematic power of Orson Welles' 1941 tale of newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane, a film highly praised at the time of its release but quickly forgotten, only to be rediscovered decades later and universally anointed the greatest film ever made.

Welles was just 25 when production began on Kane in August of 1940. He had achieved great success in radio with his Mercury Theatre company and RKO Pictures had come courting, offering the untried auteur a film contract with complete artistic freedom. Welles was both star and director, had co-written the script and cast the film with actors from his theatre troupe, all virtually unknown to Hollywood.

The film unfolds in flashbacks and follows the life of a young country boy who in 1871 is transferred into the custody of New York financier Walter Thatcher (George Coulouris) by his mother after a literal gold mine is discovered on the family's property. Mary Kane (Agnes Moorehead) wants a better life for her son, a proper education and to be free from the clutches of her abusive husband.

When we next see Charlie Kane he's 25 (now played by Welles) and in full possession of his $60 million-plus fortune. One of the assets that intrigues him is the New York Inquirer. As he writes Thatcher: "I think it would be fun to run a newspaper."

So with the help of college friend Jed Leland (Joseph Cotton), Kane begins to raise the circulation, via salacious journalism, allowing him to acquire more newspapers and slowly build an empire. Soon he's marrying the President's niece and mounting a run for governor of New York. But things take a turn for the worse when his affair with aspiring singer Susan Alexander (Dorothy Comingore) is revealed, costing Kane his marriage and derailing any political chances he once had.

Kane in turn becomes a recluse, retreating to his palatial Xandadu compound where he makes it his mission to turn the talentless Alexander into a singing superstar.

I first saw Citizen Kane in a high-school film class and was instantly taken by its masterful script (it won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay), effortless acting and exquisite photography. I saw it again in college and my affinity only grew.

Over the years I've sought out a revival screening or two (even taking my mom to one) and each time I've left the theater in a state of sheer awe, in both craft and relevance decades after its release. It's not one I revisit every year, but it is a film that unequivocally reminds me of why I love cinema every time I screen it.

You can count on one hand the films that still resonate today 75 years after their release. Citizen Kane is one that will continue to be studied and admired by generations of movie lovers: old ones like me, and new ones yet to discover its charms. I'm envious already.

Happy Thanksgiving!

American Cinematheque Lands Exclusive Exhibition Rights To 2001: A Space Odyssey

Southern California cinema fans rejoice! The L.A. Times is reporting today that The American Cinematheque has obtained an exclusive five-year exhibition deal with Warner Brothers for a newly struck 70mm print of Stanley’s Kubrick’s 1968 classic 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The deal calls for two extended runs per year, rotating between the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood and the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica.

The first screening will be this Sunday at the Egyptian as part of Beyond Fest. The next one will be an eight-day run in December, also at the Egyptian.

Hopefully this will encourage other studios to return their classics to the big screen, where they belong. Can you imagine if a film like the original Star Wars returned to theaters twice a year instead of playing on TNT? We can dream.