Daytime Revolution. 107 min. Kino Lorber. 2024. DVD UPC 3832926842. $19.99.

For one week in 1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono cohosted the Mike Douglas Show, a popular daytime program with 40 million weekly viewers. They weren’t just guests; they produced it and invited guests who were considered controversial in the eyes of the mainstream U.S. It was a bonanza of countercultural viewpoints covering music, food, philosophy, comedy, and politics. Erik Nelson’s film is not in a hurry; it patiently shows long sequences, letting the people espouse ideas that were radical at the time. Witnessing Lennon and Ono in such a relaxed, lengthy forum is the real treat, as they are captured in both serious and silly moments. VERDICT The former Beatle in a cultural time capsule of 1972.

Lost in the Shuffle. 100 min. Giant Pictures. 2023. DVD UPC 4041830898. $25.99.

Canadian Shawn Farquhar is an acclaimed magician who, in a lightbulb moment, wondered if there was a mystery hidden within the art on playing cards. This film directed by Jon Ornoy follows Farquhar’s travels around the globe as he talks to other prominent magicians and numerous historians in an attempt to uncover the meaning of card design. There are a myriad of cool little stories linked to cards, and lots of 16th-century French history is delved into. Not really a mystery, the film is more a philosophical investigation of the beautiful power within the performance of magic. The magic tricks are much more watchable and interesting than talking head historians. VERDICT A fun blend of magic and history.

Miniature. 52 min. Dreamscape Media. 2019. DVD UPC 1007144785. $24.99.

Fitting nicely in the documentary subgenre of quirky subcultures, Tony Coleman and Margaret Meacher’s new film covers a wide spectrum in the miniature world across multiple countries. There’s the mind-blowing craftsmanship and meticulous detail in dollhouses, all the way up to large-scale models of villages, cities, and trains. One example in Germany includes over 13 kilometers of track with an actual working airport where small jets take flight. Miniaturists create worlds of alternate realities, and humans have been making them for thousands of years. There’s certainly an obsessive quality to these items, and looking at them inspires feelings of childlike wonder and awe. VERDICT Viewers might be disappointed this 52-minute doc isn’t longer.

William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill. 96 min. Decal Partners. 2023. DVD UPC 4350104279. $20.99.

Actor William Shatner recaps his life in an unusual, offbeat manner in this documentary. It’s not the typical bio where a famous performer goes through their life in chronological order while talking heads heap nonstop praise. Director Alexandre O. Philippe has chosen a different way to view Shatner’s life by letting him get philosophical about himself and the surrounding world. There is discussion of Star Trek and other roles, but the bulk of the film is the ninetysomething Shatner sincerely pontificating about life, death, nature, spirituality, acting, and many other subjects in a freewheeling, nonlinear structure that combines seriousness and humor in equal measure. VERDICT Boldly go deep into the mind of William Shatner.