Seven new movies are available in theaters and on streaming this week. At least the seven reviewed by Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy this week. They include the latest thriller from Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cloud) and the latest wannabe thriller starring Bella Thorne (Saint Clare). TV pioneer Shari Lewis finally gets her own documentary (Shari & Lamb Chop) while a cinema-loving young woman gets a chance to mingle with the people she thought she dreamt about (Finally Dawn). Embeth Davidtz makes his directorial debut adapting a South African childhood memoir (Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight) while five dum-dums wish they did not have to revisit another season of death (I Know What You Did Last Summer). Finally, Ari Aster adds to his repertoire of anxiety-laden horror by exploring America in the early days of the pandemic (Eddington).

Physical media serves up some classics as well as some that deserve more modern classic status. Peter Sobczynski may disagree with some of them but he joins Erik Childress again this week to bring you the latest and greatest. They include a restored series from Francois Truffaut as well as some oddities involving Fred MacMurray and the “involvement” of The Three Stooges. There are sequels for Robocop and the Ghoulies as well as some more WWII hijinks for Brad Pitt. One of the great westerns of all-time is up for debate. Though there is nothing but love for one of the better low-budget sci-fi films of its day and Bill Paxton making one of the best directorial debuts ever.

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy review nine movies for you this week with four of them coming in a unique bundle. Those include a group of friends sheltering in place when they believe a nuclear missile is coming for them (Nuked), a pregnant woman confined to a house when a mysterious man threatens her safety (Push), an introvert and an extrovert confined to an apartment trying to avoid becoming one with the world (Else) and another couple on the outs stuck in an apartment complex seemingly with no way out (Brick). Beyond that there is the implication that Van Helsing was not the man he said he was (Abraham’s Boys) nor do the lucid dreams of a grieving man reflect the reality of his relationship (Daniela Forever). Steven Spielberg’s immortal masterpiece celebrates a birthday with a new documentary (Jaws@50: The Definitive Inside Story). Jacob Tremblay comes to realize his anti-government father may not be the best role model (Sovereign). Finally, Steve gets to throw in his two cents on this week’s big comic book reboot (Superman).

For years on the Movie Madness Podcast, comic book expert Erik Laws has joined Erik Childress to discuss in-depth the various superhero and graphic novel adaptation to the big screen from Marvel to DC and the heights to the very lows. In this episode they discuss how James Gunn’s long-awaited takeover and reboot of the DC Universe is not just a massive disappointment but may represent a new low. They break it all down from David Corenswet’s portrayal of Superman and Clark, the lack of genuine stakes, the reliance on an overly jokey tone and the way Krypto is utilized throughout. No stone is left unturned from Superman tropes to a screamy Lex Luthor, idiotic plot turns and right back to Gunn’s own statements about the movie that does not exist on the screen. This is not hyperbole. This is not for clicks or yuks. This is how it is from two honest takes.

There’s a lot to talk about this week in the world of physical media. Peter Sobczynski joins Erik Childress to talk about a Stanley Kubrick epic finally getting the release it deserves. Oliver Stone revisits a final cut for his own epic and there is also some epic destruction from the ‘70s. Denzel Washington looks for a serial killer, though not the one traipsing through the woods like he was Terrence Malick. They’ve got film noir with Glenn Ford, horror meeting blaxploitation and Peter offering his thoughts on Ryan Coogler’s huge 2025 success. Finally the pair discuss Mike Nichols’ now quaint adaptation of politics leading up to the Clinton years and Amy Heckerling’s teen film from the ‘90s still entertaining generations decades later.

As we head into our mid-summer holiday, Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy have seven movies for you to consider. They revisit their praise of Eva Victor’s Sundance wonder (Sorry, Baby) chosen for their Chicago Critics Film Festival along with Danielle Deadwyler trying to protect her family and farm during another cinematic apocalypse (40 Acres). Alicia Silverstone chooses the wrong sugar daddy (Pretty Thing) while Alex Ross Perry takes us through decades of video stores in movies in a three-hour cinematic essay (Videoheaven). John Cena and Idris Elba are their country’s leaders caught in an assassination plot (Heads of State) and Charlize Theron is back with her band of immortals only without her powers (The Old Guard 2). Finally, Gareth Edwards tries to do what he was called to do for Godzilla and Star Wars for the seventh film in the franchise (Jurassic World: Rebirth).

Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy wade through nine reviews this week to get you to the few standouts. A couple is presented with the possibility their daughter was switched at birth (A Stranger in My Home) while a team of nitwits try to steal a 35mm print from Quentin Tarantino (Stealing Pulp Fiction). Emma Mackey tries to use Vicky Krieps as a distraction from her invalid mother (Hot Milk) while a drug deal goes south for a sex worker (Ponyboi) and Bryan Cranston tries to keep his family and regional theater afloat (Everything Going To Be Great). Mariska Hargitay remembers her mother Jayne Mansfield (My Mom Jayne) while a woman tries not to forget the life she lived as she slides into dementia (Familiar Touch). Finally the killer A.I. robot goes T2 on us (M3GAN 2.0) and Brad Pitt goes fast in a car with other cars (F1: The Movie).

Physical Media weeks don’t get much more packed this week and there is a lot to get to with Erik Childress and Peter Sobczynski. Titles include a trio of youth tales involving the film that took back cheerleading, a slasher film getting a new updating soon and the infamous creation of the Brat Pack. There’s a Hammer mystery, sci-fi and Peter Cushing as Doctor Who. Peter talks about a somewhat forgotten film noir with Robert Mitchum as well as a musical version of The Philadelphia Story. They look back with a bit of fondness for an innocuous spoof of singing cowboy movies plus the inaugural releases of Dreamworks. All of this is wrapped in a pair of upgrades for two films that played their Chicago Critics Film Festival including the Alex Proyas sci-fi film Roger Ebert called the best film of 1998 and the William Friedkin masterpiece lost for many years but is now immortalized in the Criterion Collection.

Seven new movies are reviewed by Erik Childress and Steve Prokopy this week and most of them are documentaries. Steve takes a look at Disney’s stage version of one of their biggest films (Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical) and a tale of more than two kitties (American Cats: The Good, The Bad and the Cuddly). Erik checks out the story of sexual assault within the sports programs of a major university (Surviving Ohio State) plus a daughter trying to learn more about her photographer mother (A Photographic Memory). As for the narrative features, they warn you of one of the very worst films of the year (Bride Hard). They also go back to Disney and Pixar for their latest sci-fi comedy (Elio) and then go back to the world of the rage virus even if it might not be the world you are expecting (28 Years Later).

Erik Childress & Peter Sobczynski take you through this week in physical media. The talk includes a less-talked-about film of the screwball era as well as one of the classic rom-coms of the ‘50s. There’s another Tombstone story and a documentary about Thelonious Monk. A two decade old Charles Burnett film finally comes to light and a beloved Steve Martin comedy finally gets a Blu-ray release. There are Looney Tunes, bicyclists, underwater monsters, a whole lot of Jessica Fletcher and Christopher McQuarrie’s directorial debut all there for your libraries.