A Classic Movie Palace, Fast-Driving Ferrari, and Miranda Rights | Fast Scans

Can’t-miss movies for your queue feature a biopic of Enzo Ferrari, anti-Nazi activist Sophie Scholl, and an homage to classic picture houses.

Ferrari. 131 min. Decal-Neon. 2023. DVD UPC 843501042267. $20.99; Blu-ray UPC 843501042250. $26.99. Rated: R. BIOPIC

A year after the death of his firstborn son with wife Laura (Penélope Cruz), retired racecar driver–turned–automaker Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) finds his company in financial disarray and his marriage in trouble, thanks to the revelation of a son with his longtime mistress Lina (Shailene Woodley). Despite the distractions, Enzo is focused on having one of his drivers win a thousand-mile race across Italy. Veteran Hollywood director Michael Mann (Thief; Manhunter; Heat; Ali; Collateral) takes the indie-film route to victory. VERDICT Viewers should fasten their seatbelts.

Miranda’s Victim. 127 min. Vertical Entertainment. 2023. DVD UPC 843501042205. $17.99; Blu-ray UPC 843501042212. $19.99. DRAMA

Seventeen years removed from her Oscar-nominated supporting-actress role (at age 10) in Little Miss Sunshine, Abigail Breslin tackles the tough role of Trish Weir, a rape survivor whose attacker, Ernesto Miranda (Sebastian Quinn), was convicted but later retried when it was ruled that his self-incrimination rights were violated. The basis for the landmark 1966 “Miranda Rights” decision by the U.S. Supreme Court gets a solid dramatization from director Michelle Danner but feels like a made-for-TV movie. VERDICT The instructive value overrules any production-related objections.

Showdown at the Grand. 92 min. Studio Distribution Services. 2023. DVD UPC 826663239737. $19.99; Blu-ray UPC 826663239744. $26.99. DRAMEDY

The proprietor of an old movie palace, George Fuller (Terrance Howard) defends his family business against mob-affiliated corporate developers with the help of a past-his-prime B-movie action star (Dolph Lundgren). Stylishly making the most of his low budget, director Orson Oblowitz manages to make lighthearted fun of (while also revering) a lowly film genre, in the pursuit of a heartfelt preservation of classic picture houses. Referencing quotable film dialogue and popular movie music brings a smile. VERDICT Fans of Quentin Tarantino will appreciate this homage.

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days. 120 min. In German w/English subtitles. Zeitgeist Films, dist. by Kino Lorber. 2005. Blu-ray UPC 738329265519. $29.99. DRAMA

Based on the real-life story of Germany’s anti-Nazi activist Sophie Scholl, director Marc Rothemund’s film offers a riveting dramatization of the famous resistance fighter’s cat-and-mouse interrogation sessions with a wily yet oddly sympathetic questioner prior to her eventual show trial and execution. An incandescent Julia Jentsch (The Edukators) captures the idealistic fervor and indomitable will of a coed–cum–rebel with a cause. VERDICT Newly remastered in 4K, this superb re-creation of a vital chapter in German history earns it a place in most public and some academic library collections.

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