On the Shelf: ‘The Accountant 2,’ ‘How to Train Your Dragon,’ and More Soar onto Physical Media This Week
The two big 2025 releases on home physical media this week are Gavin O’Connor’s action sequel The Accountant 2, as well as one of the biggest films of the summer, Universal’s How to Train Your Dragon live action reboot, both arriving on 4K Blu-ray. The sequel to the 2016 action packed, surprise hit, picks up a couple of years after the events of the first film, where we find Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck), world class accountant and trained killer, is hired by an old acquaintance to find a missing person that is connected to a Mexican cartel. In my review out of SXSW from earlier this year, I described the film as “one of the most entertaining films of the year so far,” noting that “it’s a hell of a ride thanks in large part to Affleck and (Jon) Bernthal” while also containing what might be “the scene of the year” involving Affleck doing a Texas two-step at a Honky Tonk bar. It’s a fun, action packed film levels up from the original. For the repackaging, 2025 live action remake of Universal’s monster hit franchise, How to Train Your Dragon follows the familiar story of Hiccup, the inventive yet overlooked son of a Viking king, and his befriending of Toothless, a feared Night Fury dragon. Their unlikely bond reveals the true nature of dragons, challenging the very foundations of Viking society. In his review of the film earlier this summer, our own Trace Sauveur claimed the film “clutches tight” to the original film, making it hard for the film to stand on its own and justifying its existence. But even if you take those criticisms of the story and nostalgia out, there’s no denying the CGI work as well as the flying sequences in the film that remain a highlight of this franchise.
Speaking of Universal Pictures, this week marks a massive week of anniversary releases on 4K for four big titles. Starting with the oldest release, Caspermakes its way on 4K SteelBook for the first time, celebrating its 30-year anniversary. The beloved family film follows an afterlife therapist and his daughter (Bill Pullman, Christina Ricci) meeting a friendly young ghost when they move into a crumbling mansion in order to rid the premises of wicked spirits. Hilarious and spooky, it’s one of the defining children’s films of the 1990s. Moving over to the world of comedies, 2000’s Meet the Parents hits the 25-year mark, which follows Ben Stiller’s Greg Focker trying to make a good first impression with his girlfriend’s father (Robert De Niro), who is secretly a retired CIA agent, as they stay the weekend in the New York suburbs. The film’s release on 4K is just in time for film lovers to catch up with before the fourth installment lands in theaters next year, featuring all of the original cast as well as Wicked star Ariana Grande.
Hitting a 20-year anniversary is Judd Apatow’s directorial debut, The 40-Year-Old Virgin. A signature film of the Apatow comedy era as well as the film that made Steve Carell a household name, it follows Andy, and his quest to get rid of his long standing virginity as well as find true love along the way. With a cast that includes Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, and Jane Lynch, The Forty-Year-Old Virgin holds up as one of the best comedies of the last two decades and remains Apatow’s best film to date. The last anniversary release from Universal this week is the 10-year celebration of acclaimed rap, bio-pic Straight Outt Compton. In the mid-1980s, five young men translated their experiences growing up into brutally honest music that rebelled against abusive authority. They gave an explosive voice to a silenced generation. Following the meteoric rise and fall of N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton tells the story of how these artists revolutionized music and the world forever. It’s one of the best music bio-pics of recent memory, and sparked changes at the Oscars when it’s snubs for the cast and director F. Gary Gray were included in the #OscarSoWhite year that was 2015. Ten years later, and the film is still as effective as when it was released, with wonderful performances by O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Corey Hawkins.
Over at Arrow Video and Shout Factory, the renowned independent distributors each have a notable 2006 film arriving on 4K for the first time. For Arrow, Poseidon, the remake of Paul Gallico’s 1969 novel The Poseidon Adventure, dives onto shelves this week. Directed by legendary director Wolfgang Petersen, and starring an all-star cast that includes Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas, Richard Dreyfuss, Andre Braugher and Emmy Rossum, the film follows the survivors of a capsized luxury ocean liner attempting to escape their sinking boat. While the film wasn’t a box office success, Petersen’s dedication to creating immersive spectacle makes this a worthy addition to the two editions of this film, with this 4K addition packed with tons of Special Features that include brand new interviews with the film’s director of photography John Seale, production designer William Sandell, visual effects supervisor Boyd Shermis, make-up effects on-set supervisor Michael Deak, as well as an illustrated collector’s booklet containing new writing on the film. Over at Shout Factory, they are releasing a 4K from another director of spectacle, Oliver Stone, with his film World Trade Center. The film follows the inspiring true story of two New York City Port Authority policemen who were trapped in the rubble of September 11, 2001. Featuring beautiful performances from Nicolas Cage, Michael Pena, Maria Bello, and Maggie Gyllenhaal, it’s a film about the courage of others when faces in a crisis of unspeakable proportions. Pick up this film 4K this week as it features new audio commentary by Oliver Stone, as well as interviews with actor Jon Bernthal, cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, writer Andrea Berloff, and more.
For the Criterion collectors out there, Cairo Station arrives on Blu-ray showcased within a gorgeous new 4K digital restoration. The 1958 classic is a work of pure populist poetry from director Youssef Chahine, that explores the soul of an Egyptian’s place in the world in the country’s new post-revolutionary political order. Focused on a newspaper hawker whose obsession with a sultry drink seller leads to tragedy of operatic proportions, the film elegantly blends neorealism with noir to create a masterpiece; a must own from the August selection from the notable, signature physical media curator.
Other Notable Releases for the Week of August 11, 2025 include:
1923: Season Two (2025, Blu-ray, Paramount Pictures)
Confessions of a Co-Ed / Ladies of the Big House (1931, Blu-ray, Kino Lorber)
Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XXVI (1942-1949, Blu-ray, Kino Lorber)
Freaky Tales (2024, Blu-ray, Lionsgate)
Ghosts of Mars (2001, 4K Blu-ray SteelBook, Shout Factory)
It Follows (2014, 4K Blu-ray Limited SteelBook, Lionsgate)
High Tension (2003, 4K Blu-ray Limited SteelBook, Lionsgate)
The Great Gatsby (1949, Blu-ray, Kino Lorber)
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