4K/UHD Releases of the Week 
Superman
(Warner Bros)
James Gunn has rebooted the man of steel for a new generation, but it’s pretty much the same old, with many CGI sequences that become enervating of Superman fighting various foes (even a prehistoric monster of sorts) while trying to regain his rep—he’s considered a traitor to America since he’s (of course) an illegal alien—thanks to a devious Lex Luthor (an hilariously hammy Nicholas Hoult). It’s choppy and diffuse as if Gunn makes it up as he goes along, climaxing with an anticlimax. David Corenswet is an OK if cardboard Superman/Clark Kent, while Rachel Brosnahan is a fiery Lois Lane—but even the appearance of superdog Krypto is more saccharine than saucy. The film looks great in UHD; extras are an hour-long making-of and other featurettes.
(Warner Bros)
The first HBO series that’s based on a video game, this often morbid dystopian thriller is filled with too-familiar visuals of a post-pandemic civilization destroyed by a too-familiar infection that begat hordes of too-familiar zombie-like victims. If the directing often leans into survivalist drama clichés, the often clever writing and solid performances by the likes of Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna and Isabella Merced provide the sprinkling of humanity the show thrives on. There’s an excellent UHD transfer; extras comprise making-of featurettes, interviews and on-set footage.
M3GAN 2.0 
(Universal)
Did we need a sequel to M3GAN, the forgettable evil AI doll flick from a few years ago? Writer-director Gerard Johnstone thinks so—just turn her from a program that went rogue to an ally of sorts of creator Gemma (a game Alison Williams) and teenage niece Katie (an enjoyable Violet McGraw), as reprogramming sets her up to take down a new, far more malevolent program called AMELIA. It’s pretty ridiculous and unnecessarily convoluted—its two hours could be shorn of 20 minutes—but it is kind of fun watching M3GAN become good, kind of. It all looks great on UHD; extras comprise making-of featurettes and interviews.
Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round
(Ruby Pictures Inc.)
A little-known but transformative protest at the dawn of the civil rights movement is chronicled in Ilana Trachtman’s documentary, triggered by five Black students from Howard University who decide to ride the carousel at a segregated Maryland amusement park, Glen Echo, in 1960. Trachtman (who uses a 1942 Langston Hughes poem for her evocative title) insightfully explores how local and college-student Blacks along with a group of progressive Jews from a nearby neighborhood made common cause to pressure authorities into desegregating the park. Along with illuminating interviews with those who took part and much archival footage, Trachtman also uses voiceovers from Mandy Patinkin, Bob Balaban and Jeffrey Wright on the soundtrack.
Andrea Bocelli—Because I Believe 
(Trafalgar Releasing)
This endearing 105-minute portrait by director is not exactly a hagiography, even though it shows beloved Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli as someone just short of an angel on earth—of course, with a heavenly singing voice. It’s also a thoughtful look at a man who followed his dream and his talent assiduously after a horrible accident robbed him of his sight at age 12. There are intimate glimpses of Bocelli at home, backstage and onstage with his wife, young daughter (who also sings), family and horses as well as wonderful musical interludes even nonfans might welcome.
(Vertigo Releasing)
Director-cowriter Piero Messina’s dour, self-serious exploration of grief about a company named Aeternum that lets survivors say goodbye to their dead loved ones in a way that keeps their spirits “alive” is expertly done but bafflingly distant. Sal, who’s mourning his lover Zoe’s death in a car crash, is resisting attempts by his sister Ebe (who works at Aeternum) to submit to this last interaction with the love of his life. Even such excellent actors as Gael García Bernal (Sal) and the luminous Bérénice Bejo (Ebe) can do little with a soppy script Messina and three others concocted.
My Sunshine 
(Film Movement)
In this gentle character study, mediocre young hockey player Takuya notices figure skaters at the rink and is soon paired with Sakura, a competitive skater, by her sympathetic but competitive coach Arakawa, and their relationship on and off the ice deepens. Director-writer Hiroshi Okuyama’s drama has a surfeit of acute observation, subtle humor and sentiment that doesn’t fall into sticky sappiness—even Debussy’s overplayed Clair de Lune hits the right notes—and the two leads, Keitatsu Koshiyama (Takuya) and Kiara Nakanishi (Sakura), give lovely portrayals.
(Level 33 Entertainment)
Surprisingly, ‘70s porn star Vanessa Del Rio hasn’t gotten the biopic treatment until now—maybe because it’s a difficult role for an actress to pull off, as the voluptuous, sassy and seductive New Yorker needs to be believable or it falls apart. Luckily for director-writer Thomas Mignone, Vivian Lamolli is sexy, funny, and totally persuasive—but the problem is she must carry an otherwise routine biopic, even with the vibe of the grimy ’70s sex-film industry present and decent support from Drea de Matteo, Taryn Manning and Elizabeth Rodriguez as the women in Del Rio’s life.
Blu-ray Releases of the Week 
Dakota
(Cult Epics)
The life of a Dutch pilot who flies a small plane filled with contraband in the Caribbean islands is dramatized in this intriguing 1974 film by Dutch director Wim Verstappen. There’s a lot of local color alongside humorous and tense moments in an effective if bumpy exploration of a man and his plane, centered by a nicely-shaded performance from Kees Brusse. The film’s gritty look, by cinematographers Jan de Bont and Theo van de Sande, is retained on Blu-ray; extras include a commentary and vintage featurettes.
(Opus Arte)
Sergei Prokofiev’s opera, based on Dostoyevsky’s novella, makes for riveting drama—filled as it is with the composer’s blistering orchestral barrage and memorable melodies—and its hard musical and histrionic edge matches the obsessives at the center of its story. Too bad that Peter Sellars’ 2024 Salzburg production lacks definition, stranding a formidable cast led by Asmik Grigorian as Polina and Sean Panikkar as Alexey as well as the propulsive musicmaking of the Vienna Philharmonic and Choir under Timur Zangiev’s baton. There’s first-rate hi-def video and audio.
CD Release of the Week 
Boris Papandopulo—Hrvatska Misa (Croatian Mass)
(BR Klassik)
Croatian composer Boris Papandopulo (1906-91) wrote this mass, which premiered in 1942, as a sacred work that nodded to the style of historical Croatian music as an a capella piece suitable for amateurs (and was actually composed for the Croatian Choral Society Kolo, which he led twice from the 1920s to the 40s). With the chorus and soloists singing a Croatian translation of the Roman Catholic mass, it’s a full-throated vocal work that—especially in this superlative recording by the Bavarian Radio Chorus and a quartet of Croatian soloists, all under the direction of conductor Ivan Repušić and chorus master Tomislav Fačini—is often hair-raisingly thrilling in its simplicity and power.
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