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That Time of The Week: DVDs & Blu-ray Reviews 5/24 – 6/14

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Here we are again, with a blast of DVD and Blu-ray coverage (expect another update later this week).

There is a ton of fantastic titles in this batch, from British and cult television series to some of the best movies of the year to unnecessary sequels.

Turn on the air conditioning, fire up your queues, and get ready to fill up your shopping carts.

It’s that time of the week month!

 

 

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Universal / Released 6/7/16

Hail, Caesar!

Four-time Oscar-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen  write and direct Hail, Caesar!, an all-star comedy set during the latter years of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Starring Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Channing Tatum, Hail, Caesar! follows a single day in the life of a studio fixer who is presented with plenty of problems to fix. Extras include featurettes.

Last Word: The long awaited film Hail, Caesar! from four-time Oscar-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen is absolutely perfect. I can’t remember the last time I watched a movie and laughed till my sides hurt and tears poured out of my face. At times I laughed that laugh where no sound comes out and I nearly sent myself into an asthma attack.

Reminding me of their earlier comedies, Raising Arizona and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Hail, Caesar! is a beautiful homage to a bygone era known as “The Golden Age of Hollywood”.

Set in the 1950’s and with television all the rage, big studios like the Capitol Pictures must have the biggest, brightest, and most popular stars in their films. The sets are bigger, production values soar along with the cost and with this comes turmoil. Stars get into trouble and all sorts of predicaments occur for directors and producers.

That is where Eddie Mannix steps in.

Mannix was a real-life Hollywood executive producer and studio “fixer”. Here the Coen’s Ersatz Mannix takes center stage in a fictitious and and glorified movie land. Josh Brolin, seen previously in Coen films No Country For Old Men and True Grit, has his third outing with the brother’s Coen and is a treat to behold. He is brilliant as he tries to balance family, his job, and the problems of the world, all while trying to quit smoking.

When Baird Whitlock, the studio’s superstar, vanishes before completing work on the biggest biblical epic they’ve has ever produced, Mannix must discover how, why, and where Whitlock has disappeared to.  All this while trying to both run a film studio and putting out smaller business emergencies.

The Coen Bros have lovingly recreated a time when the studio system ruled LA and everything was larger than life. Hail, Caesar! is a love letter to Hollywood. How apt that it should be released so close to Valentine’s Day.

Pulling together a ridiculously talented and amazing cast, as always, The Coen’s don’t disappoint.

Along with Brolin is George Clooney as the hapless, Baird

Alden Ehrenreich plays the cowboy turned dramatist Hobie Doyle. He has one of the funniest scenes with Ralph Fiennes as posh English director Lawrence Laurentz.

The ensemble also includes Scarlett Johansson as the water-ballet mermaid, Esther Williams-esque, DeeAnna; Jonah Hill as the meepish “Most reliable man on the planet” and fully bonded, Joe. Coen film alum and Academy Award winning actress Frances McDormand is perfection as the chain-smoking, no-nonsense film editor, C.C. Calhoun and Tilda Swinton is hilarious in a duel role as identical and competing sister reporters, Thora and Thessaly Thacker.

Finally, Channing Tatum is sublime. He once again shows he doesn’t take himself too seriously and has slowly won a small place in my heart as the tap dancing and singing sailor who isn’t at all what he seems, Burt Gurney.

As with most Coen films, the cast of supporting characters is varied, talented and never underused. They help flesh out the world that exists in the Coen’s mind and each one is perfectly cast and riotous as well.

As I said previously, the film is a wonderful homage to Hollywood of yore. It is also a bittersweet reminder to a time when the country was on the brink of the Red Scare. McCarthyism was knocking, the shine chrome of the Donna Reed and Ozzie and Harriet era was about to tarnish and the innocence of a country is about to be shockingly torn asunder.

Never only about one thing, Joel and Ethan Coen’s films are layers and layers of filmmaking and stories. All the laughter and all the rumpus are expertly mixed with the love, fear, and criticism of a time when there wasn’t a care in the world and “the pictures” could transport you away to a perfect world. (–Benn Robbins)

 

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Kino Lorber/ Released 5/24/16

The People That Time Forgot

Prehistoric monsters and and high adventure await in this spectacular companion film to the cult favorite The Land That Time Forgot.

When the search for a lost colleague leads through the frozen Arctic, a team of explorers discover a hidden tropical oasis within the ice — and soon they’re confronted with a menagerie of dinosaurs and long-lost cave dwellers hunting for fresh meat.

It’s a rousing battle for survival in this ’70s matinee favorite starring Patrick Wayne (Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger), Doug McClure (At the Earth’s Core), and Sarah Douglas (Superman II), with special appearances by David Prowse (Star Wars’ Darth Vader) and Milton Reid (The Spy Who Loved Me).

Extras include commentary, on-camera interviews and trailer.

 

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Shout! Factory/ Released 5/24/16

Bad Influence

He got everything he wanted… and lost everything he had. James Spader (The Blacklist) and Rob Lowe (The West Wing) star as two men on a collision course with fate – and each other – in the underrated gem Bad Influence.

Quiet, unassuming financial analyst Michael Boll (Spader) lives a successful-yet-timid life, lacking in risks or rewards. When he crosses paths with the enigmatic Alex (Lowe), the two form a friendship based on ever-increasingly bold behavior.

When Michael’s new pal pushes things too far, however, Michael wants out… but the mysterious Alex has no desire to set him free from the seductively dangerous lifestyle he’s dragged him into.

A sexy and suspenseful drama in the vein of Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, Bad Influence is a crackling thriller from writer David Koepp (Death Becomes Her, Apartment Zero) and Oscar winner and director Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential). Extras include new interview with David Koepp

 

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Olive Films/ Released 5/24/16

The King & Four Queens

Clark Gable (Gone with the Wind) stars as Dan Kehoe, a smooth-talking con man in hot pursuit of a gold fortune in the Raoul Walsh (White Heat) directed The King and Four Queens.

Seeking the spoils of a heist gone bad by the McDade brothers, Dan sets about romancing each of their wives (Eleanor Parker, The Sound of Music; Jean Willes, Invasion of the Body Snatchers; Barbara Nichols, Pal Joey; and Sara Shane, (Magnificent Obsession) in hopes that one of them knows where the gold is hidden. Jealousy among the women soon turns them against one another as they pursue the less-than-scrupulous Dan, all under the watchful eye of their quick-on-the-trigger mother-in-law Ma McDade (Jo Van Fleet, East of Eden).

Written for the screen by Richard Alan Simmons and Margaret Fitts (based on a story by Fitts), The King and Four Queens, filmed in CinemaScope by the renowned Lucien Ballard (The Wild Bunch) features a rousing score by Alex North (A Streetcar Named Desire).

 

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Disney / Released 5/24/16

The Finest Hours

This heroic action-thriller is based on the extraordinary true story of the greatest small-boat rescue in Coast Guard history.

In 1952, a massive winter storm strikes off the coast of Cape Cod, ripping a T-2 oil tanker in half and trapping more than 30 sailors inside its rapidly sinking stern. When word of the disaster reaches the U.S. Coast Guard, four men led by Captain Bernie Webber (Chris Pine) set out in a 12-seat boat on a daring mission to rescue the stranded men, braving freezing cold, 60-foot waves and hurricane-force winds, and guided by Webber’s vow that “We all live, or we all die.”

The cast includes Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Eric Bana, Holliday Grainger, Kyle Gallner, and Abraham Benrubi and is based on the acclaimed non-fiction book of the same name by Casey Sherman and Michael J. Tougias. Extras include featurettes, deleted scenes and documentary.

Last Word: The rescue of the seaman on the SS Pendleton, during a furious, February Nor’Easter off the coast of Cape Cod is one of the most daring rescues in U.S. Coast Guard history.

It is the perfect subject for an all out action/disaster film, and wonderful way to immortalize the bravery of Coast Guardsmen.

For such an extraordinary story, The Finest Hours is a very ordinary.

This Hollywood-ized telling of the events follows a cookie-cutter recipe for a heartfelt film.

Director Craig Gillespie follows the “Disney formula” for success to a T.

We spend the first 15-20 minutes of the film getting to know earnest Coast Guardsman Bernie Webber, played by Chris Pine. He’s good-natured, hardworking, and by- the-book, but with a past. He labors under the constant shadow of a failed rescue. He meets future wife Miriam (Holiday Grainger), and we see their courtship unfold, setting up a movie’s worth of the tearfully worried love interest who pines away onshore, fretting her love’s return. Miriam’s story seems grafted into the larger story, its purpose to appeal to the female viewer.

Almost as an afterthought, we meet the crew of the SS Pendleton, the doomed oil tanker.

Casey Affleck’s performance as the tanker’s engineer, Ray Sybert, who holds the tanker’s quarrelsome crew together is subtle, and stands out from the rest of the performances.

Through not fault of the actors, merely the by-product of one dimensional writing, the rest of a very talented cast is reduced to caricatures.

Chris Pine delivers a disappointing performance. He spends the entire film wandering from scene to scene in a bewildered state that presumable is meant to be taken as quite strength. It does not read. At no point do I believe that Pine’s Webber has the strength, knowledge, or fortitude of the original Webber, to pull off such a daring rescue. It was if he was in a completely different film and may as well have tried to “Use the Force” to save the tanker crew.

As a side note, if you are not from New England, do not attempt the accent. The comparison of actors in the film native to Massachusetts to the those affecting an accent is glaring and took me straight out of the film. It would have been better to have Chris Pine speak in his normal accent and just be Bernie Webber. Perhaps it would be less noticeable in other parts of the country, in Boston a inaccurate Massachusetts accent sticks out like a Yankees hat in Fenway Park.

Where the film does well is showing how incredibly dangerous and near impossible such a mission was. The special effects of the storm illustrate how small and insignificant even a ship as large as an oil tanker is at sea, let along in the center of a full blown Nor’Easter. On top of that, seeing the minuscule size of the rescue boat in comparison to the waves, you’ll never look at the Coast Guard the same. I found myself holding my breath with each wave.

I was also intrigued with the tanker part of the story. Watching how the ship’s engineer found ways to keep the tanker afloat as long a possible to give the crew a fighting chance was some of the most interesting parts of the film. Unfortunately, it felt as if this part of the story was rushed in order to give the love story more screen time. I would have enjoyed more time developing the tanker’s crew. I would then have been invested in the characters and felt more of a loss when they died.

It is disappointing to me to have this noble story immortalized by such an ordinary, by the numbers film. Instead of honoring the real people and events the story is based upon, it trivializes them, reducing their accomplishments.

I wanted so much more from The Finest Hours.

I wanted to be inspired, but all I left with the passing pleasure of a standard action film. (– Elizabeth Robbins)

 

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Time-Life/ Released 5/24/16

The Wonder Years: Season 5

The Wonder Years: Season 5 finds Kevin entering McKinley High, where the social scene centers on the school cafeteria. He goes out for soccer, holds down a hardware store job and gets his driver’s license. Meanwhile, he and Winnie (Danica McKellar) are seeing other people—who end up liking each other after an ill-fated double date.

Best friend Paul (Josh Saviano) spends an R-rated evening with a college coed, and brother Wayne (Jason Hervey) has a girlfriend who might like Kevin more. Arnold parents Norma (Alley Mills) and Jack (Dan Lauria) carry on through a memorable neighborhood Christmas party, an accidental mooning by Kevin, Wayne’s plans to quit school and enlist, and a disastrous birthday dinner with Karen (Olivia d’Abo) and her live-in boyfriend—who she plans to marry. The season is bookended by Kevin’s summer vacation fling and a return trip to the lake where it all started.

Guest cast includes Heather McComb, Carla Gugino, Brice Beckham, Paul Dooley, David Schwimmer, Mark Boone Junior, Jim Caviezel, Seth Green, and Jeremy Davies.

Extras include 2015 TV Land Awards appearance.

 

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Warner Bros./ Released 5/24/16

How To Be Single

There’s a right way to be single, a wrong way to be single, and then…there’s Alice. And Robin. Lucy. Meg. Tom. David.

New York City is full of lonely hearts seeking the right match, be it a love connection, a hook-up, or something in the middle. And somewhere between the teasing texts and one-night stands, what these unmarrieds all have in common is the need to learn how to be single in a world filled with ever-evolving definitions of love. Sleeping around in the city that never sleeps was never so much fun.

How to Be Single stars Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Damon Wayans, Jr., Anders Holm, Alison Brie, Nicholas Braun, Jake Lacy, Jason Mantzoukas, and Leslie Mann. Extras include featurettes, gag reel, outtakes and deleted scenes.

Last Word: Women should know who they truly are without having to depend on somebody else to help them figure that out. How to Be Single encourages women to think this way by following the story of Alice (Dakota Johnson), a girl who is determined to figure out who she is without being under the influence of her current relationship. This film will help you feel a little more inspired to be more independent, even if you’re in a healthy relationship. However, it will leave you feeling confused on whether you actually liked the movie or not.

The film starts off with bouncing back and forth between four different women in their four different stories. We see Alice who is taking a break from her boyfriend, Meg who is a busy doctor with baby fever, Robin who is the party girl, and Lucy who is determined to find Mr. Right by using online dating sites. The beginning of the film makes you believe that we will see all four women’s stories in-depth throughout the entire film, but it actually revolves more closely around Alice. Alison Brie’s character was such a minimal role that it’s almost surprising how she is even on the movie poster.

First let’s focus on the good. Alice’s character was well done to make her relatable to a lot of women. She’s been in this long term relationship and realizes that she has hardly done anything she’s wanted to do for herself. After she takes a break from her boyfriend, she quickly realizes there’s a lot more she has to achieve, like learning how to unzip her dress by herself and learning how to properly use the remote control. As silly and miniscule as these things are, they are easy to relate to a bigger picture. Single women will be inspired to find who they really are before jumping into any relationship and women in relationships will be inspired to find their own individuality outside of their relationship.

Dakota Johnson did a great job at portraying Alice. She was quirky and quiet, but still knew what she wanted in the end. Rebel Wilson was your typical Rebel Wilson, funny and awkwardly witty. The rest of the cast seemed to fit their characters well, even if their characters weren’t given enough attention. That’s basically the biggest thing I had hoped for with this film. If you’re going to introduce different characters the way they did, I would like to really be able to dive in and understand why they are the way they are.

Overall, this film did help me feel inspired to appreciate my own individuality, even being a married woman. It also demonstrates that it is perfectly okay to lean on your friends, family, and beliefs to help you figure yourself out because you don’t have to do it alone completely. Even though the scenarios touched in this film were cliche, they’re generic enough to apply it to your own life.

How to Be Single is full of all the necessities that people look for in a rom-com. There is some romance, humor, a little bit of cheese, and the dramatic storyline. However, it fell short of being the next big thing because of how scattered the stories and characters were.

So now let’s focus on the not so good. Halfway through the film we were introduced to another character played by Damon Wayans Jr., in which we skim the surface of his story for a brief moment. A few other characters like this seemed to be thrown into the mix for no reason. Each character had a different perspective on love and where they stood with it which can be appreciated, but because of how lightly it was portrayed made it a little difficult to really get invested into their story.

The writing was lackluster for me. There were just too many things that made me think, “Yeah right”. Take for example, after Alice’s first day at her new professional job she went out drinking with a new friend in which they both showed up three hours late to work the next day without any retribution. Or the time Alice met a guy for the second time and they seemed to fall in love. I know a lot of rom-coms have those dramatic ‘yeah right’ moments, but this film seemed to have too many thrown in quickly without really delving into the situation. As a viewer I wanted to know why things are happening, not give the movie the benefit of the doubt.

I was really hoping for a film that showed closely the different ways different women deal with being single. How to Be Single tries to do this, but the other stories outside of Alice’s were never developed like they could have been. How to Be Single is inspiring enough for women to celebrate their own stories, entertaining enough to watch it without wishing for your money back, but flat enough overall to make you wish it give the audience more than it promised. (– Jacky Petters)

 

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Paramount/ Released 5/24/16

Zoolander No. 2: The Magnum Edition

When a mystery assassin starts killing the world’s most beautiful people, haute-shot Interpol agent Valentina Valencia (Penelope Cruz) learns the key to this deadly plot lies with former models Derek (Ben Stiller) and Hansel (Owen Wilson). Recruited for a top secret mission, they must return to the world of high fashion, reclaim their fame, and save the day. The only things standing in their way: the criminal mastermind Mugatu (Will Ferrell) and his evil fashion protege (Kristen Wiig). Extras include featurettes.

Last Word: Ben Stiller has always directed good comedy. Even if The Cable Guy wasn’t your cup of tea, or if Tropic Thunder didn’t float your boat, they are very well-made, original, and clever in the execution of their jokes. Zoolander the first has long been my very favorite comedy, playfully skewering the fashion industry. Although it’s absolutely, unabashedly ridiculous, Stiller was unafraid to take it to super dark places – Mugatu’s MO is to maintain lax child labor laws – all while keeping a mischievous glint in its eye.

Unfortunately, with the sequel, Stiller seems to not only have given up on the world of Zoolander, but on the fundamentals of film-making as well. Shot in shoddy close-ups like a crummy Tom Hooper film and edited like my student projects from 2007, Zoolander 2 purports to be an action comedy. However, I did not laugh for the first 50 minutes of the film, nor did I feel particularly engaged by the plot. It’s not just disappointing, it’s a little heartbreaking.

I hate writing bad reviews. I like most movies, even if most movies aren’t great. And most movies have something to say, or at least a grain of an idea that can capture imagination. I have been racking my brains to try and find something to latch onto in Zoolander 2. It’s killing me that some of my favorite filmmakers have under-delivered in such a profoundly discouraging way.

The one positive thing I can say about the film is that I finally laughed, truly laughed, once Will Ferrell’s Muguatu entered the picture. His first scene with Ben Stiller in the prison finally gives the first breath of life in the film, the first reminder that this is a sequel to a great comedy. But Ferrell has a knack for elevating bad material and making it watchable. They could have used his brand of wizardry earlier in the film.

The worst part of all is that the movie seems to know, for a moment, what it could have been. Fashion has changed considerably since the late 90s scene the original parodied. It’s simultaneously more and less conscious, focused on sustainability while still trying to project a sense of status. Kyle Mooney’s character, Don Atari, could have really been a great foil for an aging Derek and Hansel, a chance to examine what fashion means in an ironic, social-media driven culture. Instead, the four writers – four writers who have all done much better work – turn his character into a chance to laugh at hipsters. This joke was dated six months ago. When Mooney finally has a chance to play with Ferrell, which fashion past confronts the non-fashion of the present, it’s a beautiful thing. But with the movie already half-over, it was too late. I’d already been robbed.

To try and explain the plot and why it doesn’t work would require more than my poor heart can handle right now. Suffice to say, it’s a convoluted mess with no real direction. There might have been something about fatherhood, but it got lost amongst the cameos and super obvious, super flat jokes and Fred Armisen playing a crappy version of one of his worst Portlandia sketches.

At a certain point, the movie became just too boring. Probably when Anna Wintour showed up as an actual part of the film, not as the butt of a joke. The establishment had won, regardless of the outcome of the plot, so I started thinking about comedy sequels and why so few of them work.

The jokes in an original comedy are what makes us laugh, but what it’s trying to say give it staying power. I’m not saying all comedy needs to have A Message(™), but unless something has a point and purpose, it has no resonance. The first Zoolander was poking fun at the tastemakers and gatekeepers, at the idea that an industry could spring up around what is “cool” and still believe itself to be cool. It was showing how ridiculous and arbitrary something like fashion really is. That sort of punk-rock silliness, the jokes that didn’t explain themselves, is why Zoolander has managed to become a classic, even after a bum run at the cinemas. But like so many comedy sequels before it, Zoolander 2 got caught up in giving us the same jokes, only bigger and louder and with a big ugly wink. It lost sight of its message. In fact, I’m not sure it ever had one in the first place. (– Samantha Garrison)

 

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Sony/ Released 5/24/16

Outsiders: Season One

For untold generations, the Farrell family of Kentucky’s Shay Moutain have existed as a society unto themselves, living by the same laws and rituals as their pagan fathers. living off the grid and above the law on their mountaintop homestead, they’ll defend their way of life using any means necessary.

But these fiercely insular clans are about to face the gravest threats they have ever known, not only from the outside world but from within their own ranks. Asa Farrell, a black sheep who dared leave the mountain in a vain attempt at a normal life, must not try to preserve the volatile community he tried so hard to escape.

Series stars David Morse, Ryan Hurst, Kyle Gallner, Thomas M. Wright, Gillian Alexy, Johanna McGinley and Joe Anderson. Extras include deleted scenes and featurettes.

Includes the episodes:

  • Farrell Wine: When a coal company want to evict the Farrells out of their land, long-time problems emerge to the surface. The boundary between the Farrells and the town is broken when a young Farrell gets too close.
  • Doomsayer: Asa fights for his right to stay on Shay Mountain in a brutal game of survival.
  • Messengers: Big Foster and Asa find it difficult to choose different tactics to put a stop to the greedy coal company’s assault on their homestead and living off the grid way of life.
  • Rubberneck: Houghton makes a deadly trip up the mountain while the coal company attempts to spy on the Farrells.
  • Demolition: Asa and Big Foster bond during a spontaneous and destructive crime spree.
  • Weapons: Big Foster’s lust for guns blows back on him and the entire Farrell clan.
  • Decomp of a Stuck Pig: An unnerving road trip puts Asa and Houghton in closer quarters than they ever imagined.
  • It’s Good to Be King: The Farrell’s bow to a new authority.
  • Trust: Fults organizes a search to find Houghton; Asa continues to exchange moonshine for guns.
  • Day Most Blessed: Nuptials on Shay Mountain turn deadly.
  • Mortar: The struggle for guns come to a head as Houghton seeks revenge.
  • All Hell: Asa tries to stop Big Foster once and for all. By doing so he must risk everything.
  • Long Live the Bren’In: The showdown between the mountain and the town reaches it’s climax.
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Nickelodeon / Released 5/24/16

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Beyond the Known Universe

On this season of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, our heroes in a half shell have found themselves traveling through space with their newest companion, Professor Honeycutt.

Featuring the first twelve episodes of the fourth season, Beyond the Known Universe brings us the first half of season four on two discs.

Guest voices include Kevin Michael Richardson, Josh Peck, David Tennant, Peter Stormare, Michael Dorn, Keith David, Clancy Brown, Dwight Schultz, Ron Perlman, Charlie Murphy, Michael Ironside, John DiMaggio, Nolan North, Kate Micucci, Cassandra Peterson, Lucy Lawless, Cam Clarke, Townsend Coleman, Barry Gordon, Pat Fraley and Gilbert Gottfried.

Extras include featurette.

Includes the episodes:

  • Beyond the Known Universe: The Turtles experience outer space and alien life for the first time.
  • The Moons of Thalos 3: When the team crash lands on an ice moon along with an enemy, all must put their differences aside to survive.
  • The Weird World of Wyrm: Casey Jones accidentally unleashes a fourth-dimensional being called Wyrm.
  • The Outlaw Armaggon: Lord Dregg sets a fearsome bounty hunter, the shark mutant Armaggon, on the trail of the Turtles.
  • Riddle of the Ancient Aeons: The team must journey through an ancient alien temple to get a piece of the black hole generator.But they get an ancient star which marks the Aeons
  • Journey to the Center of Mikey’s Mind: When microscopic aliens invade Mikey’s mind, the Turtles have to chase them through the strange world of Mikey’s subconscious.
  • The Arena of Carnage: The Turtles are captured and thrown into the Triceratons’ battle area.
  • The War for Dimension X: The Turtles must gain the trust of the Utrom Council in order to find the next piece of the black hole generator.
  • The Cosmic Ocean: The Turtles journey through the cosmic ocean of Varuna, where they must proves themselves worthy to Hiidalra. Hiidalra is an aquatic alien queen who holds the second piece of the black hole generator.
  • Trans-Dimensional Turtles: In the most cowabunga crossover ever, the 2012 and 1987 Turtles team up to stop the Krang from tinkering with dimensions.
  • Revenge of the Triceratons: Donatello is feeling inferior to the Fugitoid, but his intellect is put to the test when the Triceratons attack.
  • The Evil of Dregg: When Raphael loses his fighting mojo, he must overcome his feelings to save his brothers from certain doom.

 

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Shout! Factory/ Released 5/24/16

Lou Grant: Season One

Ed Asner reprises the indelible character he made famous on the classic sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show in Lou Grant: Season One. Co-starring Mason Adams (Omen III: The Final Conflict), Robert Walden (All The President’s Men) and Nancy Marchand (The Sopranos), the riveting Lou Grant ran for five seasons from 1977 to 1982, winning 13 Emmy Awards and setting a high standard for all topic-oriented, serial dramas to come.

Having lost his job at WJM-TV’s news department, Grant leaves Minneapolis for the West Coast, where he takes over as the city editor for the Los Angeles Tribune. There, Grant guides his team of journalists through the constant challenges of the newspaper business.

Exploring both the inner workings of the Tribune and the societal issues that influenced its readers, Lou Grant was an acclaimed program throughout its five seasons on network television.

Notable for being a rare instance of a comedic television character making the transition to a dramatic series, Season One of Lou Grant showcases a powerhouse ensemble and writing staff that made the show one of the most intelligent and noteworthy programs of its era. Extras include new interview with Ed Asner.

Includes the episodes:

  • Cophouse: After landing the city editor job at the Los Angeles Tribune, Lou Grant’s first major story is a sex scandal concerning the LAPD and underage girls. However, in order to get it published he must deal with a reporter that is reluctant to bring down the police and Mrs. Pynchon who has a difference of opinion with him.
  • Hostages: A gunman, upset with a story about his brother who was wrongfully shot by a store-owner during a robbery, holds the newspaper staff hostage demanding a new story.
  • Hoax: When Lou gets a tip from a friend who claims to know the whereabouts of a missing millionaire, members of the staff initially have doubts about following it and dismiss it as a hoax. The man begins to gain credibility when he is able to retrieve information that only the missing man would know.
  • Henhouse: Lou clashes with a woman who is the head of the woman’s section of the newspaper over whose reporter should cover the alleged murder of a famous playwright in New Mexico.
  • Nazi: While investigating a group of Nazis, Billie comes upon information that one of their leaders used to be Jewish.
  • Aftershock: When a member of the staff passes away, Lou does everything he can to comfort the widow which causes her to depend more on him and fall in love with him. After a small earthquake hits, Rossi interviews a scientist who claims that his insects are predicting a more serious one in the upcoming days.
  • Barrio: Surprised by the paper’s lack of coverage on the shooting of a Hispanic woman by a gang, Lou allows Billie to go into the Hispanic community to write a story. While in the community, she meets the victim’s son who is fueled with anger and seems headed down the wrong path.
  • Scoop: Pressured to get the latest scoop at any cost, Lou ends up in hot water after running two of Rossi’s exclusive stories which turn out to be false. So when Billie has information about a possible fake kidnapping, Lou is reluctant to run the story.
  • Judge: When Lou goes to a courthouse to look into a report of inappropriate behavior by a senior judge, he angers the judge by trying to leave in the middle of a trial and is put in jail. Upset by this treatment, he gets the newspaper staff to further investigate the judge’s erratic behavior.
  • Psych-Out: After Lou tells him that his stories are missing first-hand experience, Rossi checks into a mental institution as a patient under a made-up name to investigate reports of abuse. Lou clashes with a lawyer at the paper because he feels that censorship and fear of possible lawsuits are limiting what the paper can publish.
  • Housewarming: Billie uses a battered woman as a source for a story on spousal abuse but has trouble following through with it when the women’s husband finds out. She later finds out that a co-worker has a problem with spousal abuse.
  • Takeover: Staff members become nervous when a multi-millionaire with a penchant for ruining the credibility of newspapers makes an attempt to take over the Tribune.
  • Christmas: Lou gets homesick with Christmas approaching. Billie does a story on a family that is homeless for the holidays and public donations begin to pour in. After Rossi improperly uses a quote, Lou punishes him by assigning him to a boring story that turns out to be a juicy story.
  • Airliner: News breaks of an airplane carrying over 300 people that is unable to land. Members of the staff scour the list of passengers aboard and find out that Charlie’s daughter is on that flight.
  • Sports: The paper faces a public backlash after Lou runs a story about an NCAA investigation into the possible recruiting violations by a popular local college football team.
  • Hero: When a man saves the governor’s life and then flees the scene, the paper launches a campaign to find his identity. When they find him and write a story revealing that he has a criminal record, he blames the paper for hurting his business and ruining his engagement. Billie is upset at the lack of support for a halfway house that is on the verge of closing due to lack of funding.
  • Renewal: The paper does a story on a senior citizen whose apartment, decorated with art that reflects his life’s work, is in danger of being torn down.
  • Sect: Charlie is devastated when his son joins a cult.
  • Scandal: Rossi gets upset when a new female reporter comes in and is given the story about a possibly corrupt politician that he had unsuccessfully been investigating.
  • Spies: When the paper finds out about the son of a wealthy businessman being secretly detained by authorities, Lou decides to have Rossi investigate. However, when a CIA agent thwarts the investigation before it begins, everyone begins to suspect there is a CIA informant working at the paper.
  • Poison: After Rossi’s friend reveals that he has damaging information about the unsafe conditions at a nuclear plant, he is “accidentally” struck and killed by a car. Eager to prove that it was no accident, Rossi continues the investigation into the nuclear plant.
  • Physical: Lou reluctantly goes for a physical and finds out that he has a thyroid condition that requires surgery. At the paper, he offers advice to an intern who wants to become a reporter. Rossi learns that he has a good chance at a Pulitzer prize for his story on mental hospitals.

 

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Shout! Factory/ Released 5/24/16

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume II

From the earliest days of DVD releases, it’s a back in print edition of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Volume 2. The features are plentiful, but the extras minimal (limited to just MST Hour wraps for Cave Dwellers and Pod People).

Titles Include:

Cave Dwellers: Wise ruler Akronas (aka “The Great One”) is the keeper of an incredibly powerful but potentially deadly device. When Zor and his soldiers come to the castle in search of the Geometric Nucleus, none but the mighty Ator can hold evil at bay!

Pod People: A group of poachers destroys a stash of mysterious eggs, unknowingly angering their mother. Meanwhile, a little boy named Tommy befriends the alien Trumpy – but Trumpy’s mother will stop at nothing to reclaim her son…even murder!

Angels Revenge: Mike and the bots semi-suffer through this ’70’s jiggle-fest while the Mads turn them into the cast of “Renegade.”

Shorts Vol. 1, Featuring:

  • The Home Economics Story: Four college girls major in home economics.
  • Junior Rodeo Daredevils:When old timer Billy Slater finds two children pulling a prank on his horses, he conscripts them to create a “Junior Rodeo”. Most of the town shows up and watches children get thrown around by bulls while the narrator advises them that “That ground is awful hard!”
  • Body Care & Grooming: A short aimed at older teens/college students explaining why bathing and good personal hygiene are things to consider.
  • Cheating: A film noir about the perils of cheating in elementary school.
  • A Date With Your Family: How to make the most out of your family time in the 50s. Cater to the father, of course, especially you gals. Sara, you’ll love this one, but this isn’t even the most offensive to women. Just wait.
  • Why Study Industrial Arts?: Joe and the Coach double-team to explain to a high-school student disparaging shop class the many and varied uses for Industrial Arts in all aspects of modern life.
  • Chicken Of Tomorrow: The many aspects of the modern chicken farming industry are shown, explaining what is being done today to weed out the chicken of the past to ensure the chicken of the tomorrow.

 

Acorn Media / Released 5/24/16

Acorn Media / Released 5/24/16

Eleventh Hour

When science threatens humanity, one man is there to save it.

Starring Patrick Stewart (X-Men, Star Trek: The Next Generation) and Ashley Jensen (Ugly Betty, Extras) and created by acclaimed sci-fi writer Stephen Gallagher (Doctor Who), Eleventh Hour offers four provocative, action-packed investigative thrillers set in the ever evolving world of contemporary science.

With mysteries involving experimental human cloning, ruthless polluters and resurgent viruses, Eleventh Hour is a treat for lovers of the sci-fi, mystery and crime genres.

Includes the episodes:

  • Resurrection: Professor Ian Hood (Patrick Stewart) and his bodyguard Rachel Young (Ashley Jensen) have been tasked with investigating cases of science abuse throughout the UK. When a police chase leads to a field where almost 30 fetuses are buried, Hood suspects that “Gepetto” – a rogue clone maker – is at work in the country. They soon discover that not only must they try to find and stop Gepetto, but they must also locate a young pregnant girl who is carrying one of the cloned fetuses, and whose life is in danger from a complication with the pregnancy. They are not the only ones searching for the girl, though. One of Gepetto’s men, a millionaire, and the girl’s abusive ex-boyfriend all have their own reasons for wanting to find her.
  • Containment: When a mysterious lethal virus claims the life of a crypt worker, Hood and Young attempt to locate the source of an outbreak of a hybrid Smallpox/Tanapox virus, but things become more complicated when Young is apparently infected and the ‘trail’ leads in the wrong direction.
  • Kryptos: Professor Hood (Patrick Stewart) meets an old friend who believes his research into global warming is being sabotaged by persons unknown. He subsequently vanishes, having apparently destroyed all his work – and a few equations are all the clues he’s left behind. The professor takes on the challenge of solving the puzzle, but he’s forced to call on Rachel (Ashley Jensen) for protection as the mystery thickens
  • Miracle: Professor Hood (Patrick Stewart) sets out to discredit a doctor’s claims that one of her patients, a young boy suffering from cancer, has been cured of cancer by drinking ordinary spring water. The area becomes a focal point for cancer sufferers desperately seeking a cure. When these victims start to experience even worse symptoms Hood becomes convinced that there must be something in the water. All of the tests prove to be negative, however, and it appears increasingly likely that the boy’s doctor has made the entire story up. But shortly after Hood reaches this conclusion, the doctor responsible for the case dies in an apparent suicide. A chance phrase in the suicide note referring to a Geiger Counter, a term the doctor would never use due to Hans Geiger’s known Nazi sympathies, leads Hood to begin an investigation into her death, and he uncovers a Government conspiracy to produce heavy water (which he is able to demonstrate is found in the spring). By blackmailing a leading government figure, Hood is able to clear the doctor’s name, but is not able to expose the secret service’s involvement in the whole affair.

 

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Well Go USA/ Released 5/24/16

Rise of the Legend

Rise of the Legend is an epic “origin story” of sorts. In the late Qing Dynasty of the mid-19th century Guangzhou is mired in corruption, poverty and crime.

The Black Tiger gang, run by the ruthless Master Lei (veteran Sammo Hung), and the North Sea gang are pitted in a war for the control of the lucrative port. Wong Fei Hung (Eddie Peng) breaks into the Black Tiger gang and his skilled fighting quickly earns the confidence of Lei and he becomes his fourth “son.”

Naturally, Wong has ulterior motives: similar thugs murdered Wong’s teacher/doctor father (Tony Leung) when he was nine. On top of that, Wong and his childhood friends Fiery (Jing Boran) and Chun (Wang Luodan) are out to destroy the gangs completely as yet another gang, the Orphans, and bring justice back to the Guangzhou.

Shot in China, Rise of the Legend was directed by Roy Chow. In Chinese with English subtitles. Extras include making of.

 

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Olive Films/ Released 5/24/16

Zapped!

When a lab accident leaves high school student Barney Springboro (Scott Baio) with telekinetic powers, it’s a comic free-for-all in Zapped!

Encouraged by his friend, the hormonally minded Peyton Nichols (Willie Aames) to put his powers to good use, Barney exacts revenge on school bullies, cheats a little at sports and improves his luck with the girls, culminating in a prom scene reminiscent of Carrie … with laughs.

Zapped! co-stars Heather Thomas as Jane, the cold-as-ice high school beauty; Felice Schachter as Bernadette, feminist class president, nerd and the girl of Barney’s dreams; and Robert Mandan as high school principal Walter J. Coolidge.

A must see!

 

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Olive Films/ Released 5/24/16

Rich Kids

Rich Kids, a romantic and heartwarming tale of young love set in New York, stars Trini Alvarado (Times Square) and Jeremy Levy (TV’s Holocaust).

Despite their upwardly mobile backgrounds, Franny (Alvarado) and Jamie (Levy) find themselves navigating universal issues including family discord, divorce and romance in the Big Apple.

Directed by Robert M. Young (Extremities) from a screenplay by Judith Ross, with Robert Altman serving as executive producer, Rich Kids is a showcase of 80’s Manhattan that co-stars John Lithgow, Olympia Dukakis, David Selby, Paul Dooley  Terry Kiser  and Irene Worth

 

 

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Olive Films/ Released 5/24/16

French Postcards

French Postcards, directed by Willard Huyck (Best Defense) from a screenplay co-written by Huyck and Gloria Katz (American Graffiti) tells the story of a group of American students attending the Institute of French Studies for a one-year stay.

The students include Joel (Miles Chapin), conflicted, by-the-book and searching for true romance; Alex (David Marshall Grant), a carefree romantic who’ll find love in the wrong place; and Laura (Blanche Baker), the unofficial narrator of the group via her postcard writing to a never-seen boyfriend back in the States.

Fellow students, friends and love interests include Debra Winger as fellow student Melanie; Mandy Patinkin as Sayyid, Laura’s dubious suitor; Valérie Quennessen as Toni, Joel’s French love interest; and Marie-France Pisier  and Jean Rochefort  as the Tessiers, teachers at the Institute – and in the case of Madame Tessier… much more.

 

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Olive Films/ Released 5/24/16

Whoopee Boys

New York street peddling isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, which explains why Jake Bateman (Michael O’Keefe, Caddyshack) and Barney Benar (Paul Rodriguez, Born in East L.A.) head for the warmer climes of Palm Beach in search of quick cash, girls, and fun.

Cupid’s arrow strikes when Jake meets the girl of his dreams, the beautiful Olivia (Lucinda Jenney, Rain Man).

Olivia is a socialite with problems of her own. If within 30 days she’s unable to find a suitable husband – someone cultured and well bred – she will lose her inheritance along with the orphanage she operates to a real estate developer, the snide Strobe (Stephen Davies, The Razor’s Edge) who just happens to be her ex-boyfriend.

With pressure from both the still infatuated Strobe as well as her uncle, Olivia’s options are running out. Could a crash course in manners and etiquette turn Jake into suitable husband material? Joining a rag-tag bunch of potential sophisticates at a charm school run by one Henrietta Phelps (Carole Shelley, The Odd Couple) might just be, well, the charm. And so begins the madcap merriment in the farcical The Whoopee Boys.

 

153501_frontDark Passage

Convicted wife-murderer Vincent Parry (Humphrey Bogart) escapes from San Quentin in the back of a garbage truck. He hitches a ride with a man named Baker, but when the announcement of his escape is broadcast over the car radio, Vincent knocks out Baker and steals his clothes.

While he is hiding the unconscious man, painter Irene Jansen (Lauren Bacall) stops her car nearby. Although Vincent does not know Irene, she knows his name and offers to help him.

At her apartment in San Francisco, Irene explains that she followed his trial carefully because her father, who died in prison, was wrongly convicted of his wife’s murder, and she believes Vincent is also innocent.

While Irene shops for new clothes for Vincent, a woman knocks on the door, and Vincent recognizes her voice as belonging to Madge Rapf (Agnes Moorehead), the shrewish friend of his dead wife whose testimony was responsible for his conviction. Irene later reveals that she is dating Madge’s former fiancé, Bob (Bruce Bennett).

That night, Vincent leaves Irene’s apartment, planning to look for evidence on the real murderer. He is picked up by Sam, a taxi driver, who recognizes him and offers to introduce him to plastic surgeon Walter Coley (Houseley Stevenson). Vincent waits for his appointment at the apartment of his only friend, musician George Fellsinger (Rory Mallinson). When the operation is over, Vincent returns to George’s, planning to stay there until his face is healed, but he discovers that George has been murdered in the meantime. Not knowing where else to go, Vincent walks to Irene’s.

Outside her apartment, he sees Baker’s car, but decides that its presence is only a coincidence. Irene and Vincent soon learn that he has been accused of George’s murder. Once his face is healed, Vincent, using the name Alan Lynell, again sets off to prove his innocence. He checks into a hotel where Baker accosts him and demands $60,000 in blackmail. When Vincent protests that he has no money, Baker informs him that Irene is wealthy and insists that Vincent drive him to Irene’s apartment. During the drive, Baker tells Vincent that he can get a fake passport at a town in Arizona. Before they get to Irene’s, Vincent overcomes Baker and questions him. He learns that he was followed to George’s apartment by someone in an orange convertible.

Then the two men struggle, and Baker falls to his death over a cliff. Vincent next visits Madge, who owns an orange convertible, and accuses her of murdering his wife and George. Madge admits that she killed Vincent’s wife because she was in love with him, and when he rejected her, she framed him for the murder. Vincent asks Madge to sign a confession, but she refuses and jumps to her death. With Madge’s death, there is no way for Vincent to prove his innocence. He telephones Irene and asks her to meet him at a certain town in Peru, and one day, much later, she does.

A film noir masterpiece, Dark Passage comes to Blu-ray via the Warner Archive. Extras include TCM featurette, trailer and Merrie Melody short, “Slick Hare”.

 

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Sony / Released 5/31/16

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

A zombie outbreak has fallen upon the land in this reimagining of Jane Austen’s classic tale of the tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England.

Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) is a master of martial arts and weaponry and the handsome Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley) is a fierce zombie killer, yet the epitome of upper class prejudice.

As the zombie outbreak intensifies, they must swallow their pride and join on the blood-soaked battlefield in order to conquer the undead once and for all. Extras include deleted scenes, featurettes, and gag reel.

Last Word: Based off of Seth Grahame-Smith’s take on Jane Austen’s classic novel, beloved literary characters Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) and Mr. Darcy, or, Colonel Darcy as he’s known here, take on the zombie apocalypse as it ravages Great Britain during the regency period. As dissonant as the idea of zombies and Jane Austen are, the film adaptation of a book, based off of another book, is decidedly not too terrible.

The film opens by explaining how the zombies have come to prevail upon England, by plague, and how wealthy families send their children to either China or Japan to learn to fight. Elizabeth (sometimes Lizzy, mostly Liz) and her sisters studied the art of Shaolin, and are seen cleaning muskets and sharpening blades in a scene early on. Mr. Bennet (Charles Dance) is proud that his daughters are trained in battle and “not in the kitchen,” but Mrs. Bennet (Sally Phillips) all but dismisses their little zombie problem and works to get her daughters married off, though all of the girls, save for Elizabeth, seem to accept this, and still kill zombies in the meantime.

Parson Collins (Dr. Who’s Matt Smith) mentions how, if he takes Elizabeth as his wife, she’ll have to hang up her sword and pick up pots and pans, as there will be no weapons in his house. One of the more delightful aspects of the adaptation is the portrayal of these women not just as five women doomed to fail if they don’t marry rich enough, but five women equal to men in not only combat, but strength and character. Liz proves she is as equal to any man and will not be told what to do, whom to marry, or how to behave. In fact, it makes her do the exact opposite. In the beginning of the film, as they are at one of the many meet-your-future-spouse balls, her sister Jane comments that for the right man, she would relinquish her sword for a ring, and she slyly replies, “the right man wouldn’t ask me to.”

This is notably a departure from the source material, although the original Ms. Bennet is not a simpering, silly girl, ready to meet her husband and fall into all that entails. She’s strong. Independent. Cynical. These still hold true for Liz, just add a dagger in the garter belt and a rifle over her shoulder, while still clad in the appropriate, corseted attire befitting a lady, heaving bosom and all.

Lily James pulls this off, and is both charming yet formidable, and it makes the scenes between her and Sam Riley’s Mr. Darcy actually fun to watch. Liz and Mr. Darcy have not only verbal but physical sparring matches, and he makes it clear that a woman should not only be skilled in music and singing, but also in the art of war. The only problem with this is Sam Riley. The chemistry between them is dull, and he doesn’t match James’ passion or intensity. Yes, he fills up the place with prejudice but that’s about it, and he gets a lot of screen time to do so.

Some of the character’s roles in the original novel are severely undermined here, or otherwise non-existent. Charles Dance was amusing in the mere minutes of screen time he had as Mr. Bennet, and Lena Heady’s Catherine De Bourgh, while a striking and welcome presence, could have been utilized a little more. Her eye patch game was strong, though, and she lent herself wholly to the depiction as a fearsome zombie slayer.

Jack Huston’s Mr. Wickham was the main antagonist of the plot, but didn’t resonate well as such. His role was probably the most different from Wickham in the original novel, and to his credit, it wasn’t so much his acting that soured things, but rather the way in which his character is dealt with, and the bleh ending and “climactic” moments surrounding it.

Toward the end is where things started to fall off and the whole thing feels tiresome and sluggish. We get it, there are zombies, we get it, you hate her you love her, she hates you she loves you. It no longer feels like a satirical take, and takes on a more serious tone, but with comical depictions of zombies being thrown around and stabbed, it’s all very confusing.

There isn’t much humor in it, and what little there is, is only enough to elicit a few chuckles or snickers. Matt Smith’s Parson Collins was arguably the only form of comic relief in the film, but what he did with it truly worked, though this too, by the end, felt weak.

Consistency was one of the bigger problems; the film failed to keep the balance between the nature of the zombie melee, the original story, and whether or not to inject any humor in to the plot. How many truly great zombie movies are out there that can really say that they were able to combine all of these things successfully? It takes a deft hand to produce a zombie movie that doesn’t come off like a joke and go straight to DVD. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies wanted to do so much, and it did try, but never struck that sweet spot. Key scenes in the novel were punctuated with action sequences, to the point where they fade to inconsequential, and what’s left standing is a cheap imitation of the beginning product.

To be fair, though, that’s what happens when something is reimagined from a reimagining, it becomes diluted, and will either stand tall or fall. I’m pleased to report that this film stumbled and fell, and then grinned sheepishly as it stood back up. (Amanda Hogan)

 

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Universal / Released 5/31/16

Triple 9

Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Aaron Paul, Norman Reedus, Casey Affleck, and Kate Winslet lead an all-star cast in an explosive, action-packed thriller critics call “a twisty, terrific ride” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone).

A bank robbery is just the tip of the iceberg when two cops in Atlanta start suspecting members of their own team are involved. Not knowing who to trust and how deep the corruption goes, time is ticking for them to uncover the truth – before they become the target for the next deadly job. Extras include featurettes and deleted scenes.

Last Word: The Russian mob, the Mexican cartel, beheadings, a bank robbery and now a kidnapping; it is all in the day and life of cops. But now imagine the lives of dirty cops. Triple 9, the movie no one’s ever heard of thanks to minimal marketing, is a crime thriller heist that breaks out of the repetitive shell of the mundane to become something more than an average action thriller. There’s quite enough action and double crossing, but at the story’s core, it questions one’s morals.

Set in the ganglands of Georgia, the movie, like its location, is seething with crime and drama happening at every corner. The movie starts with off with a bang as you witness a masterfully skilled bank robbery that goes unplanned thanks to a dye-pack, requiring a detour at the expense of other people’s lives. Ever the professionals, the action, much like these character’s tactical training, is handled with precise execution. These aren’t your average bank robbers, but former members of the military who also happen to moonlight as a gang of dirty cops.

Led by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Triple 9 stars also Anthony Mackie, Aaron Paul, Norman Reedus and Clifton Collins, Jr., as the group of cops who, after being blackmailed by Russian mob boss, Kate Winslet (who is having all types of fun with her wig and accent), must come together for that “one more heist” plot, even though they just finished a job. To make the deal even sweeter, a beloved member is killed and a child is kidnapped, sending those involved into a downward spiral of unredeemable actions.

Unlike the previous robbery seen in the opening credits, the new heist requires a larger time window, more manpower and a distraction that will drive any responding police from the robbery scene. Thus begins the planning of a 999, aka Triple 9, police code for “officer down,” where the team will ambush and kill an innocent cop. However, all is not that simple, as the events are set against the Mexican cartel battling it out.

Ejiofor, as the leader of the pack, is cold-hearted but driven, questioning the viewer what they would do to get their son back. Winslet, who revels in playing the tough Russian-Israel mob CEO, is clearly enjoying herself; she teases every word in a thick Russian accent as she stands over the severed heads of those who’ve crossed her path. Mackie slips easily between crooked cop and the rightful detective as he schools newbie Affleck after he gets into a fight with a local gang member. Harrelson eases into the cast as a fly on the wall. While he may not always be onscreen, he’s always trying to outsmart someone from a distance. Aaron Paul, a loose cannon, struggles the most with the moral complications of performing a Triple 9.

Michael K. Williams in one unforgettable scene, Teresa Palmer, Gal Gadot (giving me no hope for Wonder Woman), and Woody Harrelson round out the all-star cast. Usually, a movie with this much star power is bound to go awry but not Triple 9. The chemistry bleeds off the screen, interchanging between each character. Completely unapologetic, it is a gritty portrayal of what everyday life is for cops, coldblooded robbers, psychopaths, power-hungry opportunist and litany of merciless killings.

The movie is barrage of claustrophobic close-ups as people are packed in together under dim and sweaty lighting. If that wasn’t visual enough, the movie takes place in the downtrodden landscape of Atlanta, with decaying buildings, murky lifestyles and complicated rules of the underworld. On one block a gun battle takes place while a baby lies in a bed nearby.

The griminess of the movie is inescapable: from butchered animals to shootouts, it is a vicious cycle of the intimidation, strategy and desperation. However, much like life, the stench of greed seeps in as characters start to betray each other. While no one is safe, there is still a microcosm of hope as Chris Allen and the detective Jeffery Allen (played by Woody Harrelson) battle between “making a difference” and just doing their jobs by “out-monster[ing] the monster, and get home safe at the end of the night.” While that seems simple enough, Allen doesn’t know he’s entered into a series of tragic events that could possibly cost him his life…all because he’s a newbie with a badge.

Despite the Michael Mann-esque feel to the movie, Triple 9 is not perfect. There are moments that drag for too long, far too many characters and, while the plot could be worse, there are moments of confusion. Paul’s character seems to be the worst of them all, as he drones on and on about doing what’s right and the love of his crack-addicted girlfriend. Despite this, the movie is still quite effective, even if Winslet never nails her accent or straightens her wig. At the end of the day, Triple 9, while not perfect, is a refreshing and grateful experience with one of the most satisfying endings in recent memory. (– Dana Abercrombie)

 

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Acorn Media / Released 5/31/16

The Last Panthers

A daring diamond heist in the south of France bears the hallmarks of the supposedly retired “Pink Panthers,” a gang famed for their bold daylight raids and movie-style getaways. It seems like the perfect crime—until a young girl is killed in their escape. This sets a British insurance-loss adjuster (Oscar nominee Samantha Morton), a former MI-6 officer (Oscar nominee John Hurt), a French-Algerian cop (Tahar Rahim), and a Serbian soldier-turned-thief (Goran Bogdan) on a dangerous collision course across Europe.

What starts with diamonds leads to guns, drugs, high finance, and corruption at the heights of power. Created by Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the highly anticipated new play) and directed by Johan Renck (Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Vikings), the series features the theme song “Blackstar” written and performed by the late David Bowie especially for the series.  Extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes and a photo gallery.

Episodes include:

  • Episode 1: A daring diamond heist that has all the hallmarks of the infamous Pink Panther gang – supposed to have retired years ago, triggers a dark dive into Europe’s criminal underworld.
  • Episode 2: Tom (John Hurt) brings Naomi (Samantha Morton) back from Belgrade and vows to sniff out the jewels and the men who put her in the hospital. Naomi questions a lead who is already behind bars in Belgium.
  • Episode 3: In London, Naomi assembles a surveillance team to track a well-known diamond dealer. Khalil is ordered to turn his attention to a new case, discovering his brother is involved in a smuggling ring and Milan makes a noble decision that could have terrible personal consequences.
  • Episode 4: Milan tries to get back to Belgrade before Zlatko can harm his brother, while Khalil strikes a deal with his sibling. Elsewhere, Naomi pursues the diamonds, but when she discovers a damaging connection between the missing rocks and the airport project, she struggles to get Tom to take her findings on board.
  • Episode 5: It is 1995, and as war-torn Bosnia breathes in the uncertain safety of a delicate cease-fire, a significant link between Naomi and Milan is revealed.
  • Episode 6: Naomi desperately tries to protect Milan, who is hell-bent on revenge, but she soon experiences a betrayal of her own. When his loose-cannon sibling goes rogue, Khalil is forced to admit that despite his own best intentions they are in deep trouble.

 

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Warner Bros. / Released 5/31/16

Teen Titans Go! Season 3 P1: Eat. Dance. Punch.

Robin, Cyborg, Raven, Starfire and Beast Boy are back for the latest installment in the Teen Titans Go! Series with another season of crime fighting and gut-busting adventures.

Hilarity ensues as everyone’s favorite heroes must band together to fight crime and deal with everyday adolescent issues.

Whether their capes are on or off, the gang is always up to something!

Includes the episodes:

  • A Cat’s Fancy: Robin decides to become a cat so that Starfire will finally love him.
  • Leg Day: After being defeated due to poor leg strength, Raven and the Titans work out their lower bodies and become the League of Legs.
  • The Dignity of Teeth: Beast Boy gets a stack of cash from the Tooth Fairy, so, against Raven’s advice, the other Titans start knocking out their own teeth to get some of that sweet Tooth Fairy money.
  • The Croissant: A giant cocoon mysteriously appears in the Titans’ living room, and no one can find Beast Boy.
  • The Spice Game: Tired of Robin’s bland cooking, the other Titans try their hand at spicing up their food.
  • I’m The Sauce: Stuck inside because of bad weather, the Titans play rainy day games after Robin convinces them that indoor activites will cheer up the clouds and make the rain stop.
  • Hey You, Don’t Neglect Me In Your Memory: Robin convinces the Titans to go back to school with him so he can finally become the all-American class president-type he’s dreamed of being.
  • Accept the Next Proposition You Hear: Robin refuses to give the Titans any more orders so that they’ll learn to think for themselves. Instead, the Titans start taking their cues from fortune cookies.
  • The Fourth Wall: Control Freak informs the Titans that they are on a TV show he created and demands they earn him an award.
  • 40%, 40%, 20%: Cyborg’s real strength comes not from his robot parts, but from his favorite song.
  • Grube’s Fairytales:Robin tries to teach the Titans valuable life lessons by reading them fairytales, but the others co-opt his stories and spin them into their own twisted yarns.
  • A Farce: The Titans’ Halloween party is interrupted by the Hive Five robbing a candy factory.
    Animals: It’s Just A Word: After the other Titans are injured, Beast Boy donates his blood to save them.
  • BBBDay!: It’s Beast Boy’s birthday! Will the other Titans remember?
  • Black Friday: Starfire is visited by three ghosts and shown the true meaning of Black Friday.
  • Two Parter: Part One: The Titans visit the Hall of Justice to use the pool, but then decide to check out the inside.
  • Two Parter: Part Two: The Titans must save the members of the Justice League from the clutches of the super villain Darkseid.
  • The True Meaning of Christmas: Fed up with never getting presents from Santa, the Titans head to the North Pole to take themselves off the Naughty List … by any means necessary.
  • Squash & Stretch: The Titans learn about cartoon-style violence in order to get revenge on a snack-stealing squirrel.
  • Garage Sale: Robin makes the other Titans sell their treasured mementos from past episodes.
  • Secret Garden: When Cyborg starts to rage out, Starfire takes him to her secret garden in the backyard to relax.
  • The Cruel Giggling Ghoul: The Titans go to an amusement park to see LeBron James (voice guest star LeBRON JAMES) but instead help solve a mystery.
  • How ‘Bout Some Effort: It’s Valentine’s Day and Cyborg goes to great lengths to make it special for his girlfriend, Jinx.
  • Pyramid Scheme: Beast Boy starts making tons of cash thanks to a pyramid scheme and convinces the other Titans to join in.
  • Beast Boys St Patrick’s Day Luck and It’s Bad: The Titans – except for Beast Boy – are cursed on St. Patrick’s Day and must travel to the end of the rainbow for the cure.

 

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Disney / Released 6/7/16

Zootopia

The modern mammal metropolis of Zootopia is a city like no other. Comprised of habitat neighborhoods like ritzy Sahara Square and frigid Tundratown, it’s a melting pot where animals from every environment live together – a place where no matter what you are, from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew, you can be anything. But when optimistic

Officer Judy Hopps arrives, she discovers that being the first bunny on a police of big, tough animals isn’t so easy.

Determined to prove herself, she jumps at the opportunity to crack a case, even if it means partnering with a fast-talking, scam-artist fox, Nick Wilde, to solve the mystery. Extras include featurettes, deleted characters, deleted scenes and music video.

Last Word: Disney’s Zootopia is the latest from the main mouse studio to anthropomorphize animals and have them burrow into our hearts.  Jason Bateman stars as fantastic fox Nicholas P. “Nick” Wilde opposite the real star of Zootopia, Ginnifer Goodwin as Zootopia Police Department’s first bunny rabbit officer Judy Hopps.

In a world where predator and prey have put aside their differences and mostly live in peace side by side in the city of Zootopia, some mammals have gone missing and Judy sets out to get to the bottom of the mystery in fear of losing her job.

The resolution and detail of the best animation technology and talent in the world is on display here with Zootopia, as the Disney machine keeps on rolling. Zootopia is a funny movie but not without drama, as the city of Zootopia is revealed to us as a whole new world where animals dominate!

Cleverly, the movie sets us up with young bunny Judy in a school play that reflects the rules of the new society we are introduced to in Zootopia. If only more fantasy movies gave a wink and five minutes of exposition at the top we’d all leave the theatre a little less rattled!

Sure, that’s for the kids who will no doubt be watching this over and over on iPads in the backseats on road trips, but for an adult, the explanation serves to rationalize our own obsession with scooping up Zootopia toys from the aisles of Target. We adults will be able to say, “I love THE MESSAGE Zootopia has to teach kids, that we can all GET ALONG”, in the same breath as we snatch the last plush Judy Hopps off the shelf—leaving a snot-nosed kid in a carriage crying because we took his favorite new toy.

Moving on, Judy (Ginnifer Goodwin) is mocked by her parents and her 237 rabbit siblings that she wants to become a police officer. These jobs are typically occupied by bigger, stronger species. Through pure will and determination she trains her way through Police Academy (in a Full Metal Jacket montage) and earns her stripes to move away from her parent’s carrot farm in Bunnyburrow to the big city to be assigned to Zootopia Police Department.

Her police chief is Chief Bogo (Idris Elba), a buffalo that assigns her to parking duty instead of the missing mammals cases doled out to the other members of the squadron.

While out on parking meter duty she encounters a grift by foxy Nick Wilde (Bateman). He turns a super popsicle into hundreds of tiny popsicles for the rodent set with his tiny partner Finnick (Tom Lister, Jr.). This becomes the basis of Judy and Nick’s friendship, for when she needs help with solving a case, who better to partner up with than a sly fox that knows how to work the system?

Judy’s adjustment to the big city isn’t easy but she ends up earning her hero stripes as she learns the way of this very big world. Zootopia itself is broken up into a few different districts, all with different climates like a frozen city, a jungle city and a city-city. Nick and Judy traverse all of Zootopia proper to get to the bottom of the big conflict, the missing mammals, and meet all sorts of funny and interesting animal friends along the way.

What we’ve grown to love from Disney movies throughout the years are the great characters and personality traits of different species of animals. Cleverly, cameos and small parts are true to both animal form as well as the actors that play them in Zootopia. Alan Tudyk plays Duke Weaselton—a reference to his character Duke of Weselton from Frozen.

If you’ve caught the Zootopia previews at the movies these past months, you are already familiar with DMV worker  The joke from the preview works just as well in the feature no matter how many times you have seen it.

Dispatch Officer Benjamin Clawhauser (Nate Torrence) is great comic relief as he obsesses over pop star Gazelle (Shakira) and her dance with Gazelle phone app. Flash the Sloth (Raymond S. Persi) and his co-worker Priscilla (Kristen Bell) who are familiar from the trailers don’t disappoint.Tommy Chong makes an appearance as a chilled out yak named Yax that’s surprisingly able to provide some key answers to Judy. “Dave’s not here”!

Accomplished voice actor Maurice LaMarche  plays a big role but one that borders on being a spoiler if I go into it too much. Let’s just say that the part is equal parts Jabba the Hutt and The Godfather…on scale!

Besides the brilliant acting, the set design and overall look of this movie is amazing. It is a wonder how far animation can go these days, rendering fine detail of multiple textures on animal hair to the tiniest texture details (one close up shot in of Judy’s police badge comes to mind). Truly the best animation studio in the world outdoes itself every time. That’s not to say that I expect anything less from Disney studios or Pixar, it is just wholly satisfying to enjoy these stories even more as the years go on. We know that Disney knows heartwarming stories, but every year the animation somehow gets better and better. Bateman takes the cool fox reign from Clooney for the time being and Judy Hopp’s small town bunny becoming big city cop story is one for kids to enjoy and look up to for years. (–Clay N Ferno)

 

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Paramount/ Released 6/7/16

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

From director Michael Bay, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi is the gripping true story based on the nonfiction book 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi by New York Times bestselling author Mitchell Zuckoff and Members of the Annex Security Team.

On Sept. 11, 2012, Islamic militants attack the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, killing Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and Sean Smith, an officer for the Foreign Service. Stationed less than one mile away are members (James Badge Dale, John Krasinski, Max Martini) of the Annex Security Team, former soldiers assigned to protect operatives and diplomats in the city. As the assault rages on, the six men engage the combatants in a fierce firefight to save the lives of the remaining Americans. Extras include featurettes.

Last Word: Adapted by Mitchell Zuckoff’s 2014 book, 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi, the script (written by Chuck Hogan, with the surviving members of the Annex Security Team in Benghazi) is a firsthand account of the deadly real-life ambush on U.S. forces which occurred on the evening of the eleventh anniversary on the September 11th attacks when a group of Islamic militants attacked the American diplomatic compound and a nearby CIA Annex in Benghazi, Libya. It was on this day that CIA security contractors- military veterans- were the only line of defense for the American Ambassador and his staff within the compound.

Often referred to as “Battle of Benghazi,” the event was a clusterf**k of epic proportions which resulted in the deaths of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith, and CIA contractors Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty. Soon to follow were numerous unanswered questions, investigations where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton subsequently took responsibility for the catastrophe that could have been avoided if only the U.S. government answered their pleas for helps.

Not wasting any time, Bay opens the film during chaos and confusion, after the fall Muammar Gaddafi where tensions are high and panic attacks are inducing in the battling city. There are narrow roads controlled by men carrying guns, children play in tanks, and men crowd around a small television set to watch soccer as gunfire erupts nearby. “Welcome to Benghazi” is delivered with the same overdramatic passion as Will Smith’s Independence Day, “Welcome to Earth.” The camera jolts from left to right with smash-cuts and enough shaking to make your head spin. Why this is needed, who knows? Bay, who isn’t that skilled of a director, figures if he causes audience members to become dizzy enough, maybe they’ll never notice his ineptness. Unfortunately, this is only the beginning; Bay has more in store.

Angry with saturation and overuse of colors, the visualizations screams, “I am man, hear me roar.” Within seconds, there’s a standoff as men (two Americans and a Libyan militia) engage in a stare-down, trying to prove to each other who has a larger set of testicular fortitude. Everything about this movie screams exhaustive masculine tension, despite no one needing to question it.

In this war version of Bad Boys, Jack Silva (John Krasinski) and Tyrone “Rone” Woods (James Badger Dale), are private security contractors who have been assigned to the CIA’s Global Response Staff to protect U.S. intelligence operatives and diplomats in rubble city. They are joined by Mark “Oz” Geist (Max Martini), Kris “Tanto” Paronto (Pablo Schreiber), John “Tig” Tiegen (Dominic Fumusa) and Dave “Boon” Benton (David Denman), all of whose background is limited, aside from the spattering of conversations sprinkled throughout the movie.

The movie quickly highlights the tough decisions that landed them in this unforsaken part of the world, but gives the most screen time to Krasinski and Dale, for they hold together the film the most. In an attempt to make the audience care about these characters for no given reason whatsoever, aside from the pure hell they’re about to experience, the characters’ backstories are summed up in cheap flashbacks or by conversations with their families back at home. The sound of children’s laughter is meant to manifest a hurried sense of attachment as the writer tries to prove that, just because these men are natural born soldiers, lauded for the unflinching skills and quick thinking strategy, they are also human.

…And just like that, everything changes.

Without any warning, everyone is under attack and no one is safe, not even the audience. Invoking the Ghost of Pearl Habor’s Past, Bay uses the same detached single shot scene of a falling rocket landing on its target, as the men come under attack in a series of bullet-raging, heart-pounding scenes that never end. Whatever goodness was once rooted this film is gone, lost in the hail fire, as Bay rapes your eyes, ears and emotions with flash bangs, grenades and an assault as men storm the compound, burning it to the ground. It is here where things take a turn for the unbelievable. There are car chases that magically survive fire/bullet/rocket assaults that would leave Megatron and Bumblebee scratching their heads.

Action flows at rapid speeds and the audience has no idea who’s who or who to even root for. As your senses are over-simulated, your mind starts to shut down, much like this movie, which replaces thought with action. There’s no direction or storyline to the script. Politics are stripped away, this movie is about soldiers doing what they do best: protecting their own with guns… big guns. As you try to make sense of everything minus the politics, it becomes frustrating as you watch people begging for help that never comes, thanks to political red tape…. at least that’s what’s assumed since politics is never outright mentioned.

However, Bay is not known for movies that requires you to think, and as a result, 13 Hours becomes his playground, taking creative license of the events. The fight moves to the CIA compound where the movie makes its final transformation into the Alamo. If a car surviving multiple bombs was questionable, get ready for scenes where enemies climb over walls reminiscent of the infamous zombie scene in World War Z. Action takes place at any time from any place and when the audience is given a break, there is truly no rest for the silence is tense and haunting; you’re trapped inside a horror movie as the feeling of death drapes over you. It is here where Bay throws everything at the screen, all hope is lost, no one’s coming to rescue them and by the end of the film, your emotions are so racked with confusion, an opiate will be needed.

13 Hours drains the soul, leaving the audience dripping with exhaustion, distraught by the experience. While it’s not a movie that will create immediate change, nor is even a story that’s needed to be told (compared to other war stories), it will create conversation. For the material that was given, Bay did a great job capturing what it feels like to be a solider.

The cast is faultless as they do the best they can with a bare-bones script. Lines, while over-dramatic and clichéd, are delivered with heart. Krasinski, the anchor of the movie, balances between hardened solider and family man. Swearing this is his last mission (he’s served 12 tours), he just wants to live long enough to actually see his daughters again.

Peyman Moaadi, a Libyan aide trapped in this horrific nightmare is a gem, accidentally providing the most much- needed laughs as a translator who just wants to go home. French actress Alexia Barlier plays a CIA operative whose chief narrative purpose is set up meetings with her marks and remind everyone how much these soldiers need to protect her.

Unfortunately, the downfall of the movie lies within the writing. The script is weak and does not show or support the notion that war is complicated. Summing up its complications in a 30-second scene of Middle Eastern females crying over their dead is insulting. 13 Hours would have had an impact if there was a screenwriter who could grasp the understanding and meaning of politics, even if it’s offensive. To completely skip over this and not even have the courage to put a human face on the enemy makes this film less human and our emotions less memorable.

Bay, though clearly not perfect, did his best, despite making a Michael Bay film. While it’s not the movie we deserve, it’s the best of what we’re going to get from Bay. (– Dana Ambercrombie)

 

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Warner Bros./ Released 6/7/16

Rick and Morty: The Complete Second Season

Rick Sanchez (Justin Roiland) is still living with his daughter Beth’s (Sarah Chalke) family and causing more trouble than ever. This season the rest of the family, his son-in-law Jerry (Chris Parnell), grand-daughter Summer (Spencer Grammer) and grand-son Morty (Justin Roiland) are dragged into Rick’s intergalactic adventures, as he faces new threats and mysteries of his secret past are revealed.

Can the family survive Rick’s insanity and all the chaos the universe throws at them?

Episodes include:

  • A Rickle in Time: Having restarted time, Rick, Morty and Summer are in a quantum-uncertain state of existence. An argument leads to the creation of two alternate timelines, which need to be stitched back together fast if they are to escape quantum collapse.
  • Mortynight Run: Jerry gets left at a specialized day care center while Rick and Morty alternate between trying to kill and trying to save a gaseous being named Fart.
  • Auto Erotic Assimilation: Rick gets emotional. Beth and Jerry get into a fight.
  • Total Rickall: The Smith house is locked down after parasites threaten to take over the world by multiplying through flashbacks.
  • Get Schwifty: Rick and morty must aid Earth after a giant head disrupts the planet, demanding to see a hit song performed.
  • The Ricks Must Be Crazy: Rick is having trouble with his car and they have to fix it by traveling to the microverse.
  • Big Trouble in Little Sanchez: Rick joins in on some hijinks by transferring his consciousness into teenage “Tiny Rick”. Beth and Jerry sort out their relationship.
  • Interdimensional Cable 2: Tempting Fate: Jerry is faced with the difficult decision of losing his manhood in order to save an alien leader from imminent death. Meanwhile, Rick, Morty and Summer explore the possibilities of interdimensional television.
  • Look Who’s Purging Now: Rick and Morty arrive on an alien planet to fix their ship just as the day of the purge begins there, Jerry and Summer work on their father-daughter relationship, but his lack of employment keeps coming up.
  • The Wedding Squanchers: The whole family goes to the planet Squanch to attend the wedding of Rick’s close friend, Bird Person

 

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Paramount/ Released 6/7/16

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Director’s Cut)

It is the 23rd century. The Federation Starship U.S.S. Enterprise is on routine training maneuvers and Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) seems resigned to the fact that this inspection may well be the last space mission of his career. But Khan is back. Aided by his exiled band of genetic supermen, Khan (Ricardo Montalban) – brilliant renegade of 20th century Earth – has raided Space Station Regula One, stolen a top secret device called Project Genesis, wrested control of another Federation starship, and now schemes to set a most deadly trap for his old enemy Kirk… with the threat of a universal Armageddon!

Extras include commentaries, text commentary, featurettes, storyboards and trailer.

Last Word: The best Star Trek film ever, Wrath of Khan is inspired by Melville’s Moby Dick and serves as both a definitive take on mortality, loyalty and friendship, and as a sequel to an older episode, 1967’s Space Seed. Under the guidance of director/co-writer Nicholas Meyer, Wrath of Khan explores the Federation for the first time in depth as a military unit and reveals both the personal life of James Kirk and the consequences of the decisions he made in his youth, as well exploring the devastating self-sacrifice and loss of one his officers for the first time.

 

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20th Century Fox / Released 6/7/16

The Martian (Extended Edition)

During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney’s safe return. Based on a best-selling novel, and helmed by master director Ridley Scott, The Martian features a star studded cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Peña, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Donald Glover.

This edition features an All-New Extended Cut with over 10 minutes of footage not shown in theaters. Extras include commentary, deleted scenes, feature length documentary, featurettes and trailers.

Last Word: Matt Damon plays Mark Watney, an astronaut left behind on Mars (unfortunately presumed dead) after a giant storm forces his crew to emergency evacuate the planet.

Not knowing what to expect from this movie, I prepared myself for some really depresseing thematic elements based on other lone survivor films, such as Cast Away.

But The Martian is entirely different. Instead of focusing on the dreary nature of being alone, it centers on the brilliance of human innovation accompanied with unbreakable humor—an, “I can do it!” attitude. The Martian is not a sad, defeatist film – it is continuously funny and exciting, and not because of any spectacular action or explosive tension—like say, Gravity—but because it’s so optimistic and engaging, giddy even. Matt Damon has impeccable delivery (as usual) and invites the audience into his jovial world through video journals and his body-suit cameras.

Always checking in to make sure someone gets his latest joke or pun. This element of the film stimulates the audience, drawing us in organically, so to speak. While Watney has a great sense of humor and confidence about his ability to survive, he still has to figure out a way to eat for four more years, until the next crew arrives on Mars. Not to worry, Mark Watney is the, self-proclaimed, “best botanist on the planet.” Quickly getting to work, he manages to gather materials and machinery from various stations, and farm potatoes.

His methodology is admirable and frustrations genuine, yet brief. He doesn’t dwell. The Martian gives a great message here—that wallowing doesn’t help, but working hard and problem solving can bring rewards, physically and emotionally. Don’t weep, sow. (See what I did there?)

So as Mark has luck on his side, of course folks from NASA note movement on Mars via satellite images. Yes! Chiwetel Ejiofor enters the scene accompanied with a great team of scientists, and together, with the reluctant help from the NASA director (Jeff Daniels) they formulate a way to communicate using images and text. NASA expedites the assembly of various vessels (too much vocabulary for me) with the hope of decreasing Mark’s waiting time by almost three years. Let the excitement continue!

The scientists and various participants in Watney’s rescue mission (a great ensemble including Kristen Wiig, Donald Glover, Sean Bean, to name a few) are given impossible deadlines but all deliver their stress with appropriate comedic sighs and aspiration. Side note: I don’t know anything about astrophysics/dynamics or many other scientific subjects covered in The Martian, but the information and strategies seem authentic. And from what I’ve heard, it’s pretty spot-on. Which makes the entire thing even cooler.

I don’t want to leave out the initial crew (which featured Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, and Michael Peña) that left their fellow astronaut behind (accidentally), because while their roles were the smallest of the film, they weren’t irrelevant, or filler. Everyone did a good job in this film. The Martian is long, but it goes by quickly. Again, the power of good writing! And when Damon is hard at work, we get to see the beautiful landscape of Mars that Ripley Scott has presented. The largely 70’s soundtrack (which Watney makes fun of relentlessly) makes the unlivable planet fun and beautiful. Vast landscapes and aerial shots are just awesome.

Shout! Factory / Released 6/7/16

Shout! Factory / Released 6/7/16

IMAX: Journey To Space

Brilliantly narrated by film and television legend Sir Patrick Stewart, Journey To Space gives a sweeping overview of humanity’s accomplishments in space, as well as our ongoing activities and future plans.

Journey To Space puts into historical context the magnificent contributions made by the Space Shuttle program and its intrepid space pioneers. It uses the most spectacular space footage – including unique views of Earth and operations in space – such as deploying and repairing the Hubble Space Telescope. It then goes on to show how the shuttle launched and assembled the International Space Station (ISS). Together, these programs have taught us how to live, build and conduct scientific experiments in space.

The ISS will continue operating in space until 2024, and the film shows how it is building a foundation for the next giant leaps into space, concluding with a fascinating, realistic scenario of how astronauts will actually get to Mars, live there for long durations, and then return home after a two-and-a-half-year mission. Extras include trailers, gallery and behind the scenes footage.

 

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Paramount / Released 6/7/16

Anomalisa

Written by Charlie Kaufman, the visionary behind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich, and co-directed with stop-motion specialist Duke Johnson (“Moral Orel,” “Community”), Anomalisa received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Film and was named one of the top 10 films of the year by the New York Times, Associated Press, Newsday, The Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, and many more.

Michael Stone – husband, father and noted author – travels to Cincinnati to speak at a customer service conference. But once he’s separated from the routine of his daily life, a chance encounter helps him to realize just what, and whom, he’s been missing.

Love, laughter and loneliness align in this stop-motion work of art featuring the voices of David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Tom Noonan. Extras include featurettes.

 

HBO / Released 6/7/16

HBO / Released 6/7/16

Vinyl: The Complete First Season

From Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger and Terence Winter, this new drama series is set in 1970s New York. Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale, two-time Emmy winner, Boardwalk Empire), the founder and president of American Century Records, is trying to save his company and soul without destroying everyone in his path. With his passion for music and discovering talent gone by the wayside, and American Century on the precipice of being sold, he has a life-altering event that reignites his love of music, but severely damages his personal life. Additional series regulars include Olivia Wilde, Ray Romano, Ato Essandoh, Max Casella, P.J. Byrne, J.C. MacKenzie, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Juno Temple, Jack Quaid, James Jagger and Paul Ben-Victor. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger, Terence Winter, Rick Yorn, Victoria Pearman, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, John Melfi and Allen Coulter.  Extras include commentaries and featurettes.

Includes the episodes:

  • Pilot: In 1973 NYC, record exec Richie Finestra battles past and current demons as he and his partners are on the verge of selling their struggling label.
  • Yesterday Once More: Richie delivers a bombshell that shocks American Century’s would-be buyers–and blindsides his record-label partners, Zak and Skip.
  • Whispered Secrets: Richie trims the American Century roster; Devon tries her hand at fundraising in the suburbs.
  • The Racket: Richie charms a funk superstar; Skip looks to unload a shipment of Donny Osmond LPs. Zak and Scott ruminate on their futures. Kip and the Nasty Bits enlist a new manager to work out a favorable deal with Richie.
  • He in Racist Fire: Richie visits a close relative in order to leverage a favor to his advantage. Devon joins Richie for dinner, playing up the vixen role to keep a big client signed. Kip faces a tough dilemma. Richie tries to recruit a former employee and flame.
  • Cyclone: Devon seeks refuge at the Chelsea Hotel with a friend from her Warhol days; Richie falls into a deeper well of drugs and depravity; Andrea Zito rejoins American Century; Kip follows an unlikely path towards recruiting a new guitarist for the Nasty Bits.
  • The King and I: Looking to raise cash for his label, a newly sober Richie flies to LA with Zak, hoping to sell the company jet to a rival record exec; Richie and Zak head to Las Vegas in hopes of somehow convincing Elvis Presley to sign with American Century.
  • E.A.B.:  A desperate Richie approaches Maury about doing a deal with Galasso. Devon and Ingrid make the scene at Max’s Kansas City. Kip and the Nasty Bits get a crash course in the blues from Lester. Andrea fires a longtime American Century employee.
  • Rock and Roll Queen: Richie weighs his options as the heat surrounding the Buck Rogers murder case is turned up. Jamie crashes with Kip as the Nasty Bits finish their record and do a photoshoot. At American Century, Maury Gold pitches a ’50s compilation LP.
  • Alibi: Zak maps out a dangerous plan to bring down Richie; Kip’s excesses threaten an important Nasty Bits gig.

 

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20th Century Fox/ Released 6/7/16

The Other Side Of The Door

In this edge-of-your-seat thriller a family’s idyllic life abroad turns to tragic – then terrifying.

After her young son dies in an accident, a grieving mother (Sarah Wayne Callies) learns of a ritual that will bring him back for a final goodbye. When she travels to an ancient temple to undertake the ritual, she discovers a door that serves as a portal to the afterworld. But when she ignores a warning not to open the door, the balance between life and death is upset.

Now, an unspeakable horror is unleashed that threatens the lives of everyone she loves. It’s a thrill-ride from start to finish… for those who can handle it.

Extras include deleted scenes, trailer, gallery and featurette.

 

Mill Creek/ Released 6/7/16

Mill Creek/ Released 6/7/16

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, wrote and helped design this eccentric fantasy about a young boy, Bart Collins (Tommy Rettig) who, lulled to sleep by the monotony of his piano lessons, dreams of a castle ruled by his piano teacher the eccentric Dr. Terwilliker. Bart figures his time would be better spent playing baseball with his friends or helping his grown-up buddy Arthur Zabladowski (Peter Lind Hayes), a plumber.

One night, while fast asleep, Bart has a long and remarkable dream in which he’s trapped in the kingdom of the fearsome Dr. T, who is determined to prove that his “Happy Fingers Method” of teaching piano is the best method in the world.

Having banished all other musical instruments to the dungeon, Dr. T lures 500 reluctant little boys to perform in a colossal concert on the grandest grand piano ever built.

In his effort to escape, Bart plans a revolt that will topple Dr. T’s evil empire once and for all and he comes in contact with some of the strangest characters imaginable. Siamese twins on roller skates, a human drum and the most memorable villain since the Grinch.

Filled with surreal landscapes and tongue-twisting rhymes for which Dr. Seuss is famous, this is a movie children and their parents will love to watch again and again. The 5,000 Fingers Of Dr. T is family entertainment at its best. Filmed in Wonderama!

 

Universal / Released 6/7/16

Universal / Released 6/7/16

Mr. Right

The road to true love is paved with knives and bullets in this killer comedy starring Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell.

Unlucky in love and with terrible taste in men, Martha (Kendrick) bumps into Francis (Rockwell) and finally meets the man of her dreams.

Sweet and charming, he seems the perfect match until Martha discovers Francis is a world-class assassin whose enemies are trying to kill him and can’t quite decide as body counts rise whether to join in the mayhem or dump him.

Also starring Tim Roth, Anson Mount and the Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA, Mr. Right is a rollicking romp bursting with action and laughs! Extras include featurette.

 

 

Lionsgate/ Released 6/7/16

Lionsgate/ Released 6/7/16

Touched With Fire

From Executive Producer Spike Lee. Katie Homes and Luke Kirby star as two poets with bipolar disorder whose art is fueled by their emotional extremes.

When they meet in a treatment facility, their chemistry is instant and intense driving each other to new heights. They pursue their passion which breaks outside the bounds of sanity, swinging them from fantastical highs to tormented lows until they ultimately must choose between sanity and love.

Inspired by the film maker’s own struggles overcoming bipolar disorder, Paul Dalio wrote, directed, edited and scored his feature film debut which also includes performances by Griffin Dunne, Christine Lahti and Bruce Altman.

Extras include commentary, making of, interview, gallery and trailer.

 

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Well Go USA / Released 6/7/16

Kill Your Friends

As the twentieth century breathes its very last, with Britpop at its zenith, twenty-seven-year-old A&R man Steven Stelfox (Nicholas Hoult) is slashing and burning his way through London’s music industry.

Blithely crisscrossing the globe in search of the next megahit – fueled by greed and inhuman quantities of drugs and alcohol – Stelfox freely indulges in an unending orgy of self-gratification.

But the industry is changing fast, the hits are drying up, and the only way he’s going to salvage his sagging career is by taking the idea of “cutthroat” to murderous new levels.

Extras include interviews and trailer.

 

 

Paramount / Released 6/7/16

Paramount / Released 6/7/16

The Shannara Chronicles: Season 1

Based on the 26-volume book series by Terry Brooks, The Shannara Chronicles tells the epic story of an Elvin princess, a bandit, and a half-Elf tasked with stopping the end of the world. Created and Executive Produced by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar (“Smallville”) and Executive Produced by Jon Favreau (Iron Man), and shot against the epic landscapes of New Zealand.

Thousands of years after the destruction of our civilization, Earth is divided into what is known as the Four Lands, whose inhabitants are a mix of races including elves, dwarves, trolls, gnomes and humans. At the center is the Shannara family, whose descendants are empowered with ancient magic and whose adventures continuously reshape the future of the world.

As the story begins, dark and terrible forces thought to be confined for years, begin to escape. When Amberle, a young elven princess; Wil, the last descendant of the Shannara family; and Eretria, a human rover learn that only they have the power to stop the advancing evil, they form an uneasy alliance.

Their seemingly impossible quest to save the world becomes a voyage of self-discovery as they find the inner strength to overcome self-doubt and fear, and embrace their destinies. Shannara stars James Remar, John Rhys-Davies, Ivana Baquero, Manu Bennett, Austin Butler and Poppy Drayton.

Includes the episodes:

  • Chosen, Parts 1 & 2: Thousands of years after the fall of Humankind as we know it the Four Lands is in grave danger. The fate of the world rests on the shoulders of an unlikely trio: an Elvin Princess, a Human Rover & a Half-Elf.
  • Fury: Wil and Amberle are kidnapped by Eretria and Cephalo while returning to the palace. But the Rovers are the least of their worries -Wil must learn how to use the Elfstones before a bloodthirsty Fury kills them all.
  • Changeling: While Amberle embarks on a deadly task to prove her worth to the Ellcrys, the Dagda Mor sends the Changeling, an ancient, shape-shifting Demon, to kill her and anyone in its way.
  • Reaper: Amberle, Wil and Eretria are forced to overcome their differences to survive the perils of their quest, including the nightmarish Reaper. At the palace, Ander attempts to recruit help from an unlikely ally to find the Dagda Mor.
  • Pykon: On the run from the relentless Reaper, Amberle, Wil and Eretria take shelter in Pykon, a snowy Elvin outpost that houses a grisly secret. Meanwhile, Ander and Slanter make a devastating discovery about the Dagda Mor’s forces.
  • Breakline: Amberle and Eretria run from bloodthirsty Elf Hunters who relish in cutting off elves’ ears for fun, while Wil searches for them with the help of an unexpected friend.
  • Utopia: Wil and Amberle desperately search for Eretria to save her from the vicious elf hunters who kidnapped her. Little do they know, she’s stumbled upon a secret settlement of Humans and may finally feel like she belongs.
  • Safehold: With time running out, Wil, Amberle and Eretria must cross ancient Human ruins to reach the Bloodfire. But a nefarious evil stands in their way, testing their friendship and manipulating them against each other.
  • Ellcrys: Wil and Amberle race to reach the Ellcrys while Allanon and Ander lead the Elvin army in an epic battle against the Dagda Mor and his Demon horde. But the cost of their quest could prove too great.

 

20th Century Fox/ Released 6/7/16

20th Century Fox/ Released 6/7/16

Shrek

You’ve never met a hero quite like Shrek, winner of the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The endearing ogre sparked a motion picture phenomenon and captured the world’s imagination with…the Greatest Fairy Tale Never Told!

Once upon a time, in a far away swamp, there lived an ornery ogre named Shrek (Mike Myers) whose precious solitude is suddenly shattered by an invasion of annoying fairy tale characters. There are blind mice in his food, a big, bad wolf in his bed, three little homeless pigs and more, all banished from their kingdom by the evil Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow).

Determined to save their home–not to mention his own–Shrek cuts a deal with Farquaad and sets out to rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) to be Farquaad’s bride. Accompanying him on his mission is wisecracking Donkey (Eddie Murphy), who will do anything for Shrek… except shut up. Rescuing the Princess from a fire-breathing dragon may prove the least of their problems when the deep, dark secret she has been keeping is revealed.

Extras include featurettes, deleted scenes, commentary and karaoke dance party.

 

Acorn Media / Released 6/7/16

Acorn Media / Released 6/7/16

Detectorists, Series 2

The eccentric members of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club return in this critically acclaimed dramedy about two misfits searching for Saxon treasure in the English countryside.

Although Andy (Mackenzie Crook) has completed his archaeology degree at last, he remains unemployed and worries about providing for his wife, Becky (Rachael Stirling), and newborn son while trying to live up to the expectations of his imperious mother-in-law (Diana Rigg). Still looking for love, Lance (Toby Jones) is surprised when someone special walks into his life.

The arrival of a young German man who enlists the help of the DMDC to uncover the mystery of a crashed World War II plane proves the world of metal detecting is as tempestuous as their personal lives. Extras include Christmas special, featurette and gallery.

Includes the episodes:

  • Episode 1: Still unemployed, Andy worries about providing for his wife, Becky, and new son, Stanley. Unlucky-in-love Lance continues to pine after his ex-wife, Maggie. And a young German man enlists the help of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club to find the lost WWII plane his grandfather piloted.
  • Episode 2: Sophie and Peter begin researching the lost plane, while it appears Lance has finally gotten a date. Wanting to start anew with her family, Becky contemplates joining a volunteer program in Africa, but Andy remains oblivious to her desires.
  • Episode 3: Sophie suspects Lance may be seeing someone and follows him, reporting her findings to Andy. When the DMDC discovers that the plane may be on the mayor’s land, they are forced to help him recover his missing chain of office, which was lost under shady circumstances.
  • Episode 4: Andy anxiously prepares for his job interview. Russell and Hugh blackmail the mayor into giving them permission to detect on his land, but there may be more to the crash site than originally thought.
  • Episode 5: Andy got the job, but he’s too scared to tell Becky. Peter tells Sophie that he’s decided to leave the crash site behind, and Sophie believes him despite his suspicious behavior. When Andy and Lance find a gold coin in Peter’s wallet, they call an emergency meeting of the DMDC.
  • Episode 6: Lance worries that he may have lost his daughter forever. The DMDC holds its annual rally at the plane crash site and encounter more than one unexpected visitor. Andy must make a decision about Botswana.
  • Christmas Special: Andy takes a break from voluntary work overseas to witness Lance’s latest, possibly valuable, find – which attracts local media attention.

 

Cartoon Network / Released 6/7/16

Cartoon Network / Released 6/7/16

Steven Universe Vol. 2: The Return

Steven’s universe is expanding! Steven Universe: The Return DVD releases with 12 spectacular episodes from seasons 1 and 2 of the hit Cartoon Network series.

So what magical mission is next for Steven and the Crystal Gems? Epic battles with enemy Gems? Gem fusions? Space travel? Forming a new secret team? Discovering more amazing Gem powers?

How about ALL of those things, and then some?! Get ready for more fun and adventure when you believe in Steven!

Includes the episodes:

  • Mirror Gem (season 1, episode 25): Steven befriends a magical mirror that can mysteriously communicate with him.
  • Ocean Gem (season 1, episode 26): The ocean disappears on the first day of summer.
  • Space Race (season 1, episode 28): Steven attempts to build a spaceship to let Pearl revisit the wonders of the cosmos.
  • Lion 3: Straight to Video (season 1, episode 35): Lion won’t stop laying on Steven’s face while he sleeps.
  • Warp Tour (season 1, episode 36): Steven thinks he sees something creepy traversing the warp streams.
  • Alone Together (season 1, episode 37): The Gems try to teach Steven to use his fusion powers.
  • On the Run (season 1, episode 40): Steven and Amethyst try out life on the road.
  • Marble Madness (season 1, episode 44): Steven and the Gems encounter another droid from space.
  • Rose’s Scabbard (season 1, episode 45): Steven joins Pearl on a special mission to a place that belonged to Rose-Quartz.
  • The Message (season 1, episode 49): Steven and the Gems try to retrieve a message from the Wailing Stone.
  • The Return (season 1, episode 51): A new threat arrives in Beach City.
  • Jailbreak (season 1, episode 52): Steven teams up with a new ally.

 

Never-Back-Down-3-Poster

Sony/ Released 6/7/16

Never Back Down: No Surrender

Former MMA champion Case Walker (Michael Jai White) has kept a low profile, winning small-time regional matches after refusing to join the powerful new leagues who push performance-enhancing drugs on their fighters.

Walker is convinced by old friend and renowned fighter Brody James (Josh Barnett) to join him in Thailand and train him for a big fight against the undefeated and deadly Caesar Braga (Nathan Jones).

During training, Brody is injured. Under pressure from an unscrupulous, high-powered promoter (Esai Morales), Walker agrees to replace James and fight his toughest opponent yet- but only on his own terms.

Co-Written and directed by Michael Jai White.

 

 

 RLJ/Image / Released 6/7/16

RLJ/Image / Released 6/7/16

Monsterland

Amidst a bloody backdrop of chaos and carnage, one panicked, lowly survivor of the Monster Apocalypse takes shelter in a movie theater to buy himself a few extra moments of precious life. Little does he know, he’s taken a flying leap out of the frying pan and smack dab into the fires of hell by attending the last movie marathon he’ll ever see.

Welcome to Monsterland!

A terrifying place where savage beasts, carnivorous creatures and grotesque abominations are the new normal, and the human race is now at the bottom of the food chain.

Includes the shorts:

  • Don’t Go Into the Water (
Dir. Corey Norman)
  • The Grey Matter (
Dir. Peter & Luke McCoubrey)
  • Curiosity Kills
 (Dir. Sander Maran)
  • Hag
 (Dir. Erik Gardner)
  • Monster Man
 (Dir. Frank Sudol)
  • House Call
 (Dir. Graham Denman)
  • Happy Memories (
Dir. Jack Fields)
  • Stay at Home Dad
 (Dir. Andrew Kasch & Jonh Skipp)
  • Hellyfish
 (Dir. Patrick Longstreth & Robert McLean)

 

Anchor Bay / Released 6/7/16

Anchor Bay / Released 6/7/16

The Spoils Before Dying

The Spoils Before Dying centers on Michael Kenneth Williams as Rock Banyon, who becomes the prime suspect in the double murder of his occasional lover Fresno Foxglove (Maya Rudolph) who is found dead with another man. Panicked, Rock splits for Mexico where he reunites with his one-time big band singer Delores DeWinter (Kristen Wiig).

With 72 hours to clear his name or fry in the electric chair, Rock and Delores embark on a dangerous quest for the truth that takes them into an abyss of sex, drugs, betrayal, and of course, jazz. While his world crumbles, Rock’s hard-charging manager Alistair St. Barnaby (Haley Joel Osment) pressures him to record a mainstream jazz album.

Includes the episodes:

  • Murder in B-Flat: Legendary writer and director Eric Jonrosh (Will Ferrell) presents his lost masterpiece, The Spoils Before Dying. Jazz pianist Rock Banyon (Michael K. Williams) passes out and awakens to find he is accused of killing his one time lover Fresno Foxglove (Maya Rudolph) and scientist Wilber Stygamian. The cops give Rock three days to help solve the murder. Instead he splits town for Mexico where he runs into a washed up singer named Delores DeWinter (Kristen Wiig).
  • Blues for Barnaby: On the run in Mexico, Rock is visited by the ghost of Fresno Foxglove. She warns him not to dig deep into the murders. Rock decides to return to the U.S. to clear his name but a trip to the morgue reveals no clues. Meanwhile his manager Alistair Barnaby St. Bixby-Jones (Haley Joel Osment) hounds him to make a jazz album with strings and Delores bakes a cake.
  • That’s Jazz: The pressure of trying to solve the murders and clear his name is getting to Rock. After blowing a big TV gig he ends up in a bar where he meets Kenton Price (Michael Sheen). Kenton reveals that scientist Wilbur Stygamian was a powerful player in the underground 1950’s gay community. Meanwhile another body turns up, a sax player who went missing the night Fresno died.
  • Fear Steps In: With only two days to clear his name of now three murders, Rock pays a visit to Kenton. Before Kenton can tell him who the killer was, he is shot down, leaving Rock with no answers and only one name, Gerhart Moll. Back in his apartment he has a conversation with his cat about making a jazz album with strings. He then decides to break into the house of scientist Wilbur Stygamian and discovers an underground room with three evil people waiting for him.
  • The Trip Trap: In the hidden room beneath scientist Wilbur Stygamian’s house, Rock is drugged and left for dead. His hallucinations take him into the darkest corners of his mind. He survives what was supposed to be a lethal injection and pays a visit to Gerhart Moll. Gerhart knows what he is looking for – a modern statue once owned by Adolf Hitler. The statue will clear his name, but the clock is ticking and he’s not the only one looking for it.
  • The Biscuit Eaters: Rock finds the mysterious statue that holds the secrets to his freedom. He heads to his cabin in the woods with his manager Alistar (Osment) and Delores (Wiig). Federal agents jump Rock and there is a shoot out. Rock explains why he can never do a jazz album with strings and then goes to meet J. Edgar Hoover (Ferrell) for a final showdown.

 

Starz / Released 6/7/16

Starz / Released 6/7/16

One More Time

Beautiful aspiring rock star Jude (Amber Heard) is stuck in a rut – relegated to recording commercial jingles and lost in a series of one night stands.

When she is evicted from her Brooklyn apartment, she is forced to move into the Hamptons home of her wealthy – and selfish – father Paul Lombard (Christopher Walken), an over-the-hill, Sinatra-esque crooner angling for a musical comeback.

As the two reunite, Jude is forced to confront her problems, including troubled relationships with her father and overachieving sister (Kelli Garner), as well as her wobbly career and faltering love life.

As Jude and Paul butt heads, they unexpectedly find themselves on a journey that may redefine their lives.

 

 

 

Entertainment One / Released 6/7/16

Altered Minds

Ex-CIA psychiatrist-turned- humanitarian Nathaniel Schellner (Judd Hirsch), renowned for his work with war orphans suffering from PTSD — several of whom he and his wife (Caroline Lagerfelt) adopted.

About to succumb to cancer, Nathan welcomes the entire family – including adoptees Harry (C.S. Lee), Julie (Jaime Ray Newman) and Tommy (Ryan O’Nan) – back to their idyllic home for a final gathering before his death.

Unfortunately, the warm reunion spirals out of control when Tommy, a tormented novelist, makes a stunning accusation that his father adopted his children not out of love but for dark experiments in mind control.

Plagued by terrifying visions of secret labs, underground cells and implanted electrodes, Tommy makes a desperate bid to save his sanity by uncovering family secrets before it’s too late.

Extras include commentaries, deleted scenes and director’s logs.

 

 

Comedy Central / Released 6/7/16

Comedy Central / Released 6/7/16

Kroll Show: Season 3

From the unique mind of Nick Kroll comes the sketch-uational comedy series, Kroll Show, satirizing our television obsessed culture and the rabid fan base it breeds.

Is Bobby out of service? Can PubLIZity survive bad hair? Will Dr. Armond find love–and his wife’s killer? And can there ever be too much tuna?

Find out the answers and so much more as your favorite characters return for one last, epically twisted season.

Guest stars include Jon Daly, Chelsea Peretti, Jason Mantzoukas, Paul Scheer, Kathryn Hahn, John Mulaney, Casey Wilson, Bill Burr, Jenny Slate, Amy Poehler, Henry Rollins, Brian Huskey, Seth Rogen, Ari Graynor, Ron Funches, Adam Pally, Brett Gelman, Kate Micucci, Nathan Fillion, Kumail Nanjiani, Aziz Ansari, and Retta.

Episodes include:

  • Gigolo H-O-R-S-E: Bobby Bottleservice plays an elaborate game of H-O-R-S-E with his fellow gigolos to determine who will be kicked out of Gigolo House, and Mikey gets addicted to pills on “Wheels, Ontario.”
  • Pleep Ploop: The Too Much Tuna guys prank a doctor and decide to leave New York City, “Show Us Your Songs” returns, and Dr. Armond meets some potential new female companions and has a realization about his wife’s killer.
  • Bangs: PubLIZity’s Liz leaves town to grow out her bangs and joins a team of gold miners in the mountains, the Too Much Tuna guys hit the road and prank a trucker, and Wendy accidentally dies after the Rich Dicks try flatlining.
  • Karaoke Bullies: The “Pawnsylvania” crew travels to Maryland for Murph’s wedding where Don is upset when he isn’t asked to be the best man, and Nash Rickey takes a stand against the Karaoke Bullies with the help of Liz’s Niece Denise.
  • The In Addition Tos: Bobby Bottleservice directs an action movie in which he must rescue his mother from Eagle Wing, C-Czar goes on a date with a coworker despite his feelings for Pretty Liz, and Mikey questions his sexuality on “Wheels, Ontario.”
  • Lizards vs Penguins: PubLIZity plans a party for the Illuminati, the European offers to help an underground organization take the Illuminati down, and Fabrice Fabrice hosts a game show called “Crab Cab.”
  • Twins: Tunes is arrested for detonating a locker bomb on “Wheels, Ontario,” Farley gives lawyer Ruth Diamond Phillips a makeover, and Bobby Bottleservice decides to rebrand himself and become a country star.
  • The Commonwealth Games: ”Show Us Your Songs” travels the British Commonwealth searching for talent, Bryan La Croix and Gene Creemers have a huge fight, and Murph’s gambling problem leads him to Pittsburgh to seek out Don’s help in “Pawnsylvania.”
  • Body Bouncers: The Rich Dicks open a restaurant called Dunch, Ruth Diamond Phillips feels a strong attraction to her new client Ref Jeff, and Bobby Bottleservice enters his own body to “bounce” Farley from his heart.
  • The Time of My Life: C-Czar and Bob Ducca pitch their new invention to PubLIZity, and Dr. Armond pursues his wife’s killer in Europe and makes a stunning discovery during the finale of “Show Us Your Songs.”
  • This Has Been Such An Amazing Experience: Wendy of the Rich Dicks decides to get a bris so he can convert to Judaism, PubLIZity plans Wendy’s elaborate Bris Mitzvah, and the Too Much Tuna guys pull a glorious final prank.

 

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PBS / Released 6/7/16

Secrets Of The Dead: The Alcatraz Escape

Alcatraz. The Rock. The most secure prison in the country at that time… Or was it? It is the most iconic prison escape in American history. On June 11, 1962, bank robbers Frank Morris and brothers Clarence & John Anglin launched a raft they’d made out of raincoats into the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay surrounding Alcatraz Prison never to be seen or heard from again. Their disappearance left behind a cold case that has mystified law enforcement for more than half-a-century. Is it possible they could have survived?

Applying new science to an old mystery, Secrets of the Dead: The Alcatraz Escape follows a team of three Dutch scientists — Olivier Hoes, Rolf Hut, and Fedor Baart — as they set out to prove whether survival was truly possible.

The documentary features interviews with Jolene Babyak, who, as the daughter of an associate warden, grew up on Alcatraz and was there the night of the escape; US Marshal Michael Dyke, currently in charge of the still-open case; and Patrick Mahoney, who was an Alcatraz prison guard from 1956 until 1963, among others.

Originally, Hoes, a coastal hydrologist, was invited to San Francisco to help predict how rising sea levels may impact the city. Using start-of-the art hydraulic software, he created a sophisticated flow model of San Francisco Bay. But it was his colleague, Hut, a water resources engineer, who realized if you could use 3D-computer modeling to predict future bay conditions, you could also use the process to figure out the past.

Using old tidal charts, the scientists built a 3D model that recreated the bay’s currents on the night of the escape over 50 years ago. Determining these precise tidal movements was the first step to unraveling the mystery of what happened to Morris and the Anglin brothers. The next involved calling in an expert in particle tracking.

“Particle sounds really technical but, in this case, that would just be a raft with three people in it, and what would happen given the tides, where would it go?,” says Hut.

Taking Hoes’ computer model, Baart, a particle tracking expert and computer simulations specialist, created another model that simulated human behavior to show the effect paddling would have made. The resulting computer model made it easy for the scientists to see what would happen in dozens of scenarios if a raft launched from Alcatraz on the night of the infamous escape.

According to the documentary, what the scientists discovered is the first scientific proof the men could have survived the escape. Their work has revealed that the prisoners’ success depended on what time they left the island. “The actual finding is that they could use the tides to leave Alcatraz just on time so that they didn’t have to paddle that far,” says Hoes. “So Horseshoe Bay was the most likely destination, according to our research and not Angel Island.” Conventional wisdom has always held that the men headed for Angel Island, the nearest landmass.

Armed with their findings, the Dutchmen put their theory to the test. They construct a raft and makeshift paddles and then launch into the bay in the same tidal conditions the inmates faced in 1962.

Will they make it through the treacherous waters to safety or be swept out to sea? And can they prove once and for all what happened to the escapees? The Alcatraz Escape presents the clearest answers yet to these questions.

 

Lionsgate/ Released 6/7/16

Lionsgate/ Released 6/7/16

Casual Encounters

After Justin (Taran Killam) gets unceremoniously dumped in public by his girlfriend of 5 years,leaving him heartbroken and embarrassed after a public breakupleaves him heartbroken and embarrassed after a public breakuphis friends Sammy (David Krumholtz) and Louis (David Arquette) encourage him to sign up for the dating site Casual Encounters.

Justin embarks on a series of disastrous and hilarious hook-ups before he realizes that he likes his coworker Laura (Brooklyn Decker). Unfortunately, what happens on Casual Encounters doesn’t always stay there and the road to Justin and Laura getting together and pursuing their respective dreams isn’t as smooth as they hoped.

Extras include featurettes.

 

 

Mill Creek / Released 6/7/16

Mill Creek / Released 6/7/16

Quantum Leap – Season 1 & 2 Combo

“Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished. He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al (Dean Stockwell), an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear.And so Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home.”

Guest stars include Jennifer Runyon, Bruce McGill, Lydia Cornell, Teri Hatcher, Teri Copley, Nancy Kulp, Nick Cassavetes, Robert Costanzo, Jason Priestley, Claudia Christian, Willie Garson, Richard Riehle, K Callan, Patricia Richardson, Chubby Checker, Russ Tamblyn, Michael Madsen, William Schallert, Janine Turner, Raphael Sbarge, Marcia Cross, and Julie Brown.

Includes the episodes:

  • Genesis, Parts 1 & 2: Sam Beckett (Bakula), a brilliant scientist, takes part in the Quantum Leap experiment which lands him in 1956 as a test pilot. With the help of his holographic “Observer” (Stockwell), Sam remembers the experiment and learns that his fate is to “quantum leap” back and forth in time with the hope of returning to his own present.
  • Star-Crossed: Sam leaps into the persona of a womanizing college professor in 1972, encounters his lost love and attempts to reshape the past.
  • The Right Hand of God: Sam lands in 1974 as a young boxer caught between fight-fixing gangsters and hopeful nuns who now own his contract.
  • How the Tess Was Won: Sam finds himself on a Texas ranch in 1956 as a submissive veterinarian in love with a tough rancher.
  • Double Identity: Sam becomes a hit man in 1965 whose romance with the godfather’s girlfriend places him in danger.
  • The Color of Truth: Sam experiences racism firsthand when he leaps into the body of an elderly black man in the pre-civil rights South of 1955.
  • Camikazi Kid: Sam leaps into the life of a teen-age hot-rodder who must stop his sister from marrying a wealthy bully.
  • Play it Again, Seymour: Sam becomes a small-time detective in 1953 who is suspected of murdering his partner.
  • Honeymoon Express: Sam assumes the identity of a newlywed New York policeman who is pursued by his bride’s jealous ex-husband.
  • Disco Inferno: Sam Beckett remembers his own relationship with his older brother when Sam becomes a stuntman who must protect his younger brother from being killed while doing a stunt on a low-budget feature.
  • The Americanization of Machiko: Sam becomes a Pacific sailor returning from duty in 1953 with a Japanese war bride — much to the dismay of his friends and family.
  • Blind Faith: Sam leaps into the life of a blind concert pianist in 1964 who must prevent the death of a young woman.
  • Good Morning, Peoria: Chubby Checker guest stars as himself in 1959 as Sam becomes a radio DJ who is battling forces determined to remove rock ‘n’ roll from the airwaves.
  • Thou Shalt Not…: Sam jumps into the life of a beleaguered rabbi who is desperately trying to reunite his torn family. Teri Hanauer and Russ Tamblyn guest star.
  • Jimmy: Sam becomes a mentally challenged dock worker in 1964, harassed by co-workers, taunted by strangers and protected only by a caring brother.
  • So Help Me, God…: Sam becomes a Southern lawyer in 1957, charged with defending a black housekeeper who has willingly confessed to a murder she did not commit.
  • Catch a Falling Star: Sam becomes the understudy to the talented, if somewhat inebriated, star of “Man of La Mancha.”
  • Animal Frat: Sam leaps into the life of a college fraternity brother in the late ’60s and must prevent a radical student from bombing the chemistry lab.
  • Another Mother: Sam comes to the aid of a divorced mother whose socially awkward teen-age son may make a tragic mistake if he succumbs to peer pressure.
  • All-Americans: Sam leaps into the life of a 1962 teen-age football star who desperately tries to prevent a teammate from throwing the big game.
  • Her Charm: Sam becomes an FBI agent who is assigned to guard a woman targeted for assassination by her drug-dealing ex-boss.
  • Freedom: Sam leaps into the life of a young American Indian in 1970, outrunning the law to let his ailing grandfather die with dignity.
  • Goodnight, Dear Heart: Sam becomes a mortician in 1958 who is strangely obsessed with the suicide of a teen-age German girl.
  • Pool Hall Blues: Sam leaps into the life of an aging pool shark in 1954, faced with the match of his lifetime.
  • Leaping in Without a Net: An acrophobic Sam becomes a 1958 trapeze artist preparing for a death-defying stunt.
  • Maybe Baby: Sam is a burly nightclub bouncer who is helping a stripper rescue an infant from its abusive father.
  • Sea Bride: Sam finds himself on an ocean liner in 1954 as a desperate young man trying to win back the heart of his ex-wife.
  • MIA: Al attempts to adjust his past through Sam, who has become an undercover cop in 1969.

 

Paramount / Released 6/14/16

Paramount / Released 6/14/16

10 Cloverfield Lane

After a catastrophic car crash, a young woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes up in a survivalist’s (John Goodman) underground bunker. He claims to have saved her from an apocalyptic attack that has left the outside world uninhabitable. His theories are supported by a mysterious stranger who is in the bunker with them (John Gallagher, Jr.), but as his increasingly suspicious actions lead her to question his motives, she’ll have to escape in order to discover the truth.

Extras include commentary and behind the scenes footage.

Last Word:  10 Cloverfield Lane is 7/9ths of a good film. It would be a great film had it had nothing to do with the “Cloverfield” franchise. Or if it had everything to do with the “Cloverfield” franchise. What is certain is that it never quite knows what it wants to be and I blame that entirely on J.J. Abrams.

What began as, and continued to be, a taught psychological thriller on par with Hitchcock and Kubrick slowly but surely unravels into a schlocky “Hey look I’m J.J. Abrams, and I am wicked clever and you’ll never guess what I am up too,” half-assed attempt to be a filmmaker 100 times better than he.

I might blame the writers or first time director, Dan Trachtenberg, if there was anything said about any part of the production but secrecy and the fact that it was announced only two months prior to release and NO ONE even knew this film was being made makes fingering who is responsible on it’s shortcomings a little hard.  So I turn to it’s producer, Mr. Abrams.

Where the film is a resounding success is with the cast and the actual telling of the story.  John Goodman is a national treasure. Here is a man who is so good at what he does, he can be the most lovable cuddly teddy bear in the world (Sully in Pixar’s Monsters Inc.) and the scariest goddamned character in the world. (see any Coen Bros film he is in.) In 10 Cloverfield Lane, Goodman shines. It is definitely one of his best roles and performances and the film is worth going to see for him alone. He runs the gambit from sweet nurturing and protective overseer to psychotic crazed conspiracy theory madman like flipping a switch.

The other two main actors, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Gallagher Jr. are great as captives/survivors Michelle and Emmett. The simple narrative of three people in a fallout shelter during a possible doomsday scenario has been done to death. To sell the story the film makers must rely on the actors and the words coming out of their mouths as well as the motivations of their actions. Without that the believability goes out the window.

Ostensibly the film becomes a three person play. A Who-Done-It, psychological drama with a twist. Each one gathering information about the others to figure out who the other person really is and if what they are saying is really the truth. Basically, an elaborate cat and mouse game. The tension builds till the big reveal. The problem is, there are like three reveals in this film. Each one gets more and more outlandish and silly till you, along with one of the characters in the film literally say, “ Oh, come on.” in unison.

By making this the “a ‘blood-relative’ to the original Cloverfield”, as Abrams said, you detract from the actual good part of the film and make it more about how it ties into the 2008 monster movie. Which, in my mind, isn’t a good thing. I like the original Cloverfield. I think I would have also liked this film 100% more had if had nothing to do with the original. See it for yourself. It is highly entertaining. Maybe it was all me and I got too caught up in the whole “How does it connect to Cloverfield BS” Again, John Goodman is a god damn national treasure. Go see it for him alone as he is phenomenal. The film is a definitely good, however, Goodman should be renamed John Greatman. (– Benn Robbins)

 

 20th Century Fox/ Released 6/14/16

20th Century Fox/ Released 6/14/16

Eddie The Eagle

Inspired by true events, Eddie the Eagle is a feel-good story about Michael “Eddie” Edwards (Taron Egerton), an unlikely but courageous British ski-jumper who never stopped believing in himself – even as an entire nation was counting him out. With the help of a rebellious and charismatic coach (played by Hugh Jackman), Eddie takes on the establishment and wins the hearts of sports fans around the world by making an improbable and historic showing at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Extras include documentary and gallery.

Last Word: “The thrill of victory, ..and the agony of defeat” was the signature tag on ABC’s Wide World of Sports program depicting ski jumper Vinko Bogataj tumble in a fateful failed jump.

Eddie the Eagle tells the story of British ski jumper and famous underdog Eddie Edwards (Taron Egerton) and coach Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman) preparing for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

Produced by Fox in association with Marv Films (Matthew Vaughn), this Dexter Fletcher directed film is full of heart and the spirit of amateur athletics driving men and women to pursue their dreams to become Olympic athletes. The movie certainly has it’s moments of big screen action but for American audiences, the reverence to an underdog British sports icon might land the jump a few meters short of a qualifying distance. While the story in the biopic is mostly made up, it is partially based on Eddie’s 1988 book Eddie the Eagle: My Story. We open to see a boy with a leg brace grow up to be the first British ski jumper since 1929.

Eddie (Egerton) doesn’t meet the requirements to join the downhill ski team in 1984 so shifts focus to ski jumping which he has never done before! He borrows enough to make it to the only ski jumping training facility in Europe, Garmisch in Southern Germany. There, he meets up with the fictional Bronson Peary (Jackman), an amalgamation of some of Eddie’s real life coaches at his real life training ground, Lake Placid. Going from the smaller hill to the 70m run in the movie, Eddie gets the skiing part down but not the critical landing piece, but always seems to get back up to try again. The American groundskeeper Bronson Peary takes some persuading to help out Eddie but of course does to train him for the 70m.

The screenplay as a backbone to this story is a bit predictable, with the old drunk coach being coaxed out of retirement before the kid breaks his fool neck. There is a significant cameo with Christopher Walken playing author Warren Sharp as Eddie is learning how to ski from Sharp’s book.

I guess there comes a time in every studio filmmaker’s career where they need to make an 80s throwback winter sports montage movie — and this is that film for both Matthew Vaughn and Dexter Fletcher. From the Back To School Special and Quantum Leap synth theme score to mixed with songs from Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Thin Lizzy on the soundtrack the music captures the essence of the time. Training montage? Check. Multiple training montages? Check. This is certainly no Rocky IV, but sends a positive message to the PG-13 crowd that might go enjoy this picture. I’m not sure many will see this movie, though. It splits itself from being a very American underdog triumphing movie to a very British movie about a person that’s not in our American pop culture lexicon. It’s funny but not a comedy, it is a sports movie about…skiing.

Eddie’s parents, the ‘join the family plastering business, lad’ father and the altogether too supportive mum (Jo Hartley) do warm the heart a bit and had me choking up near the end with their pride. The unavoidable parallel to the ’93 John Candy movie Cool Runnings, also about a 1988 Calgary Olympic underdog Jamaican bobsled team is referenced in a funny way in the movie, but Eddie The Eagle is enteraining enough but won’t likely be picking up any awards as next year’s Oscar celebration. (– Clay N Ferno)

 

20th Century Fox/ Released 6/14/16

20th Century Fox/ Released 6/14/16

X-Files: The Event Series

Almost 14 years after the original series run, the next mind-bending chapter of The X-Files is a thrilling, six-episode event series from creator/executive producer Chris Carter, with stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reinhabiting their roles as iconic FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Mitch Pileggi also returns as FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner, Mulder and Scully’s boss, who walks a fine line between loyalty to these investigators and accountability to his superiors.

This marks the momentous return of the Emmy – and Golden Globe Award-winning pop culture phenomenon, which remains one of the longest-running sci-fi series in network television history. Guest stars include William B. Davis, Doug Savant, Aaron Douglas, Vik Sahay, Rhys Darby, Kumail Nanjiani, Tyler Labine, Lauren Ambrose, Robbie Amell, Bruce Harwood, Tom Braidwood, Dean Haglund and Annabeth Gish.

Extras include commentaries, featurettes and gag reel.

Includes the episodes:

  • My Struggle: Fox Mulder and Dana Scully have been approached by Tad O’Malley (Joel McHale), a popular conspiracy theorist web-TV show host, who believes he has uncovered a significant government conspiracy. With the assistance of FBI Asst. Dir. Walter Skinne, O’Malley seeks to enlist the help of former X-Files agents Mulder and Scully, who have since severed ties with the FBI. Through O’Malley, they are introduced to SVETA, a possible alien abductee who shares shocking information with them that will challenge everything that Mulder has ever believed about the existence of aliens and the government’s role in covering them up.
  • Founder’s Mutation: When a scientist suddenly commits suicide, Mulder and Scully investigate what unseen force may have driven him to it. What they uncover is a laboratory where extreme genetic experimentation has been going on for decades, breeding subjects who possess unexpected and dangerous powers – and who harbor deep resentments.
  • Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster: When a dead body is found in the woods, Mulder and Scully are called in to investigate whether it was an animal attack, a serial killer or just maybe a strange creature as described by eyewitnesses. Meanwhile, Mulder is able to confront some of his own demons about feeling disillusioned with his life’s work.
  • Home Again: Mulder and Scully are sent to investigate the murder of a city official, which it seems no human could have committed. Meanwhile, Scully deals with deep feelings about the child she gave up for adoption.
  • Babylon: When an art gallery that’s showing potentially offensive artwork is bombed, Mulder and Scully seek some way to communicate with the comatose bomber in order to prevent a future attack. Meanwhile, a pair of younger FBI agents on the case push Mulder and Scully to examine their own beliefs as Scully seeks answers from neuroscience and Mulder from mysticism.
  • My Struggle II: The investigations that Mulder and Scully previously began with conspiracy theorist and web-TV show host Tad O’Malley seem to have awakened powerful enemies. A widespread panic begins as people all over the country suddenly start falling gravely ill, and Scully must look within to try and find a cure. Meanwhile, Mulder confronts the man whom he believes to be behind it all, but another figure from Mulder and Scully’s past may prove to be the key to their salvation.

 

Sony/ Released 6/14/16

Sony/ Released 6/14/16

Hello, My Name Is Doris

When Doris Miller (Sally Field) meets John Fremont (Max Greenfield), her company’s hip new art director, sparks fly-at least for Doris.

In the cluttered house she shared with her late mother, Doris mines the Internet for information on her one-and-only, guided by the 13-year-old granddaughter of her best pal Roz (Tyne Daly). When Doris begins showing up at John’s regular haunts, she wins over his Williamsburg friends.

Her new life brings Doris a thrilling perspective, but also creates a rift between her and her longtime friends and family, who believe she’s making a fool of herself over a guy half her age.

Eager for all the experiences she has missed out on, Doris throws caution to the wind and follows her heart for the very first time. Also stars Beth Behrs, Stephen Root, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Peter Gallagher, Natasha Lyonne, Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Reaser, Kyle Mooney and Don Stark. Extras include commentary and deleted/extended scenes.

 

PBS / Released 6/14/16

PBS / Released 6/14/16

Grantchester: Season 2

James Norton (War and Peace) dons his priestly collar and Robson Green (Reckless) his rumpled raincoat for a new season as the improbable crime-fighting team, Reverend Sidney Chambers and Inspector Geordie Keating, bringing justice and spiritual nourishment to early 1950s England in Grantchester, based on the popular Sidney Chambers mystery novels by James Runcie,

Last season saw Sidney and Geordie cement a fast friendship over backgammon, ale, their war service, women problems, and obsession with solving the baffling homicides that crop up in and around Cambridge—including nearby Grantchester, where Sidney is the village vicar. They make the perfect team: Geordie is a working-class police inspector who understands the criminal mind, while Sidney studied for the ministry at Cambridge University and uses his fellow feeling for humanity to get perpetrators to own up to their misdeeds.

Still unresolved from last season is Sidney’s love life. Handsome, worldly-wise, and virtuous, he should be an ideal catch. And at least one very promising female companion turns up in the new series. But will Sidney scare her away with his unconventional taste for jazz, blood-spattered crime scenes, and a married woman?

Returning cast members include Morven Christie (Case Histories) as Amanda Hopkins, Sidney’s true love, who tired of waiting for his proposal and opted for glacial aristocrat Guy Hopkins, played by Tom Austen (Poirot). Tessa Peake-Jones (Doctor Who) returns as Sidney’s censorious, Bible-quoting housekeeper, Mrs. Maguire. Kacey Ainsworth (EastEnders) is back as Geordie’s long-suffering wife, Cathy, a harried mother of four young children. And Al Weaver (Marie Antoinette) reprises his role as novice priest Leonard Finch, who stoically faces the anti-gay hostility of the day.

The burning issues of post–World War II Britain provide the backdrop to the action: class conflict, the death penalty, homosexuality, the looming sexual revolution, the communist threat, rationing, and the persistent effects of combat on war veterans such as Sidney and Geordie, who are just trying to get on with their lives and make society safe, secure, and a bit fun.

Episodes include:

  • Episode One: Sidney is suspected of murder. But then so are a fellow priest, a photographer, and a classmate of the victim. Geordie makes up his mind about who will hang.
  • Episode Two: A professor dies in a suspicious fall. A government agent warns Geordie to back off the case. Meanwhile, Sidney is warned off an old flame but finds a new prospect.
  • Episode Three: Sidney and Geordie answer a false alarm, which turns into a real murder investigation. Amanda gets into trouble. Things get more serious with Margaret.
  • Episode Four: An apparent suicide leads Sidney to perform an exorcism. Gary goes on trial. Leonard bets on a longshot. Margaret makes her move. Amanda confronts her lost love.
  • Episode Five: Will Gary go to the gallows? Will Geordie go to prison? Are Sidney and Geordie’s crime fighting days over? The case of a suspicious death takes a surprising turn.
  • Episode Six: Sidney seeks oblivion. His friend Sam seeks forgiveness. A dead girl’s parents seek revenge. Amanda seeks Sidney. Also, Leonard finally takes a stand.

 

HBO / Released 6/14/16

HBO / Released 6/14/16

Ballers: The Complete First Season

A superstar during his football playing days, Spencer Strasmore (Dwayne Johnson) tries to find the same success as a financial manager for current players in sun-splashed Miami. Heeding his boss Joe (Rob Corddry)’s instruction to “monetize his friendships,” Spencer builds a client base of young phenoms and veteran stars alike, but his role in their lives far exceeds money management as he struggles to help them navigate the many traps that come with life as big-time “ballers.” Extras include Inside the Episodes.

Includes the episodes:

  • Pilot: A retired football star (Dwayne Johnson) looks to forge a new career as financial manager to several current and former players in Miami.
  • Raise Up: A cash-strapped Spencer struggles to close a deal when Vernon’s best friend, Reggie, refuses to step aside, while Jason works hard to renegotiate for his client. On his first day of workouts, Ricky finds that not all his new teammates are friendly.
  • Move the Chains: Hoping to attract new clients, Spencer and Joe hold a corporate event. Spencer and Reggie’s rivalry hits the boiling point. Bored by retirement, Charles lets loose for a night. Ricky learns his beef with his teammate may be due to an awkward connection.
  • Heads Will Roll: Facing pressure from Tracy, Spencer pays a visit to a neurologist. Charles is pursued by a woman he met at Spencer’s party, while Joe breaks the rules to try to bag a big client. Ricky attempts to mend the fence with Alonzo.
  • Machete Charge: Ricky tries to find common ground with Alonzo. Charles’s marriage is put to the test. Spencer and Joe step in to help Vernon with a crisis.
  • Everything Is Everything: Charles decides to be selfish for a change, while Joe negotiates with Maximo. When Ricky’s off-field activities are exposed by the press, he’s forced to open up in order to save his career. Spencer decides to face his fears after Tracy confronts him.
  • Ends: Spencer decides to take the hit for Vernon, but finds himself in even deeper trouble. Julie and Bella commiserate over their men, while Ricky lashes out. Jason is unsettled by his mother’s new boyfriend. Spencer and Charles say goodbye to Roddney.
  • Gaslighting: Spencer is forced to face up to his past to try to save Vernon, while Joe makes a very permanent commitment to his future. Charles puts his football skills to work at the car dealership. Ricky shells out the big bucks to win back Bella.
  • Head-On: Spencer tries to make amends. Joe feels slighted when he’s overlooked at work. Charles gets some life-changing news. Bella challenges Ricky to grow up. Vernon goes MIA after learning some truths about Reggie.
  • Flamingos: Spencer faces a major decision when Joe tries to sell him on a new start. Ricky is confronted by his dad. Charles gets a second chance. Jason and Spencer look to talk sense into Vernon.

 

Shout! Factory / Released 6/14/16

Shout! Factory / Released 6/14/16

Jeepers Creepers 1

On a desolate country highway, two homeward-bound teens (Gina Philips, The Sickhouse, and Justin Long, Drag Me To Hell) are nearly run off the road by a maniac in a beat-up truck… and later spot him shoving what appears to be a body down a sewer pipe.

But when they stop to investigate, they discover that the grisly reality at the bottom of that pipe is far worse than they could have ever suspected… and that they are now the targets of an evil far more unspeakable – and unstoppable – than they could have ever imagine, a flesh-eating creature in the isolated countryside that is on the last day of it’s ritualistic eating spree.

Extras include commentaries, documentary, interviews, making of, deleted/extended scenes, alternate opening and ending, gallery, trailer and radio spot.

 

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Shout! Factory / Released 6/14/16

Jeepers Creepers 2

The Creeper is back, and he’s brought his appetite with him in director Victor Salva’s sequel to his popular 2001 sleeper.

Stranded on the dreaded East 9 Highway while returning home from winning the championship game, a group of basketball players, cheerleaders, and coaches quickly realize that there’s more to fear than a broken down bus when The Creeper descends mercilessly upon them.

As his 23-day feeding frenzy draws to a close, The Creeper needs the sort of nourishment only a vital group of young athletes can provide, and to survive the night, the terrified teens will have to fight to their dying breaths.

Extras include commentaries, interviews, making of, featurettes, storyboards of unfilmed sequences, deleted scenes, trailer and gallery.

 

Lionsgate/ Released 6/14/16

Lionsgate/ Released 6/14/16

Get A Job

Life after college graduation is not exactly going as planned for Will (Miles Teller) and Jillian (Anna Kendrick) who quickly encounter the struggles millennials face in today’s highly competitive job market.

When Will’s job falls through and Jillian gets laid off, the young couple and their friends must endure public humiliation, hazing, and surprise drug tests to ultimately launch their fledgling careers.

The cast includes John C. McGinley, Bryan Cranston, Marcia Gay Harden, Greg Germann, John Cho, Bruce Davison, Jorge Garcia, Nicholas Braun, Cameron Richardson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Alison Brie.

Extras include featurette, video resume and outtakes.

 

Paramount / Released 6/14/16

Paramount / Released 6/14/16

45 Years

How well can you really know your partner—even after decades of marriage? That’s the question at the heart of this emotional tour-de-force from acclaimed director Andrew Haigh (Weekend).

Screen legends Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay star as Kate and Geoff, a couple preparing to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary. But a stunning revelation—the body of Geoff’s former lover has been discovered fifty years after she fell from a mountain in the Swiss Alps—suddenly changes everything.

Consumed with questions about her husband’s past, Kate reconsiders everything she’s known about her entire marriage and, as the anniversary party draws nearer, finds herself at a potentially life-changing crossroads.

Boasting virtuoso, career-defining performances from Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay, 45 Years is a searingly honest, emotionally stunning portrait of the mysteries that lie at the heart of every relationship.

 

Magnolia/ Released 6/14/16

Magnolia/ Released 6/14/16

Gridlocked

Former SWAT leader David Hendrix (Dominic Purcell) is down on his luck and has failed to receive medical clearance after taking a bullet on the job. Despite being highly trained and competent, his efforts have been reduced to routine tasks for the NYPD.

As if things couldn’t get any worse, he’s been forced to babysit Brody Walker (Cody Hackman), a hard partying celebrity that’s been sent on a mandatory ride along as part of his probation. Pampered and irritating, Walker is the last thing Hendrix needs. But all of that changes when a police training facility comes under attack by a team of ruthless mercenaries led by the mysterious Korver (Stephen Lang).

Now, Hendrix and Walker must band together with the remaining survivors to fight back and keep the mercenaries from overtaking the compound…. if they don’t kill each other first.

The cast also includes Danny Glover, Saul Rubinek, Vinnie Jones and Trish Stratus.

Extras include featurettes, blooper reel and deleted scenes.

 

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Shout! Factory / Released 6/14/16

Bodyguards And Assassins

Donnie Yen (Blade II, IP Man, Hero) stars in this gripping martial arts blockbuster set in the bustling metropolis of Hong Kong in 1905.

The revolutionary movement has spread throughout China, but the corrupt Qing dynasty will do anything to hold on to its power. As Chinese revolutionary hero Sun Yat-Sen prepares for a historic meeting that will shape the future of the country, a motley crew of men and women are entrusted to protect him from a group of deadly assassins who will stop at nothing to kill him.

Winner of eight Hong Kong Film Awards including Best Film, and featuring an hour-long battle sequence unlike anything attempted before.

Extras include featurettes, interviews and trailer.

 

Sony/ Released 6/14/16

Sony/ Released 6/14/16

Underground: Season One

Set in a desperate and dangerous time, Underground tells the story of revolutionaries on the Underground Railroad who use their ingenuity, power, and perseverance to attempt the greatest escape in history despite their dire consequences that awaited them on the other side. This provocative and compelling series focuses on a group of courageous men and women who band together for the fight of their lives- for their families, their future and their freedom.

Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Aldis Hodge lead the ensemble cast that includes Jessica De Gouw, Alano Miller and Christopher Meloni. Also guest starring Marc Blucas and Adina Porter.

Extras include commentaries, camera test, featurettes and gag reel.

Includes the episodes:

  • The Macon 7: Noah has returned to the Macon Plantation after his first escape attempt and begins to organize the Macon 7 escape using the “Freedom Map” he’s acquired while held by Slave Catchers. John meets William Still and begins his and Elizabeth’s journey into the Underground Railroad. August pretends to help a runaway slave escape slave catchers. Tom begins his run for Senate.
  • War Chest: The Macon 7 meet to plan their escape only to find Cato is going with them. Noah asks Rosalee to run with them. John and Elizabeth learn how the Underground Railroad works. Tom meets on the plantation with the men he needs to impress to get the nomination. Facing more desperate life on the farm, August decides to enlist the help of his son, Ben, to go after runaway slaves.
  • The Lord’s Day: John and Elizabeth receive their first “cargo” and meet her ex-fiancé, Marshal Kyle Risdin, throwing a serious wrench in their plans for the Underground Railroad. The slaves enlist Rosalee’s help to steal Tom’s official seal as they continue to prepare for the big escape.
  • Firefly: Bill is discovered barely alive in his cabin and Tom realizes Rosalee and Noah have escaped from the Macon Plantation. John and Elizabeth deal with their slave abductors, eventually overpowering them with the unwitting help of Kyle.
  • Run and Gun: The Macon slaves face questioning over their plans; at the same time, the mad dash to catch a train heading north comes with complications at every turn.
  • Troubled Water: The road takes its toll on August; at the same time, the runners are trapped in a floating coffin; and Ernestine struggles to maintain influence.
  • Cradle: Innocence is lost when children are forced to face the harsh realities of the world
  • Grave: In the face of near-certain death, the runners decide their only hope is a suicidal attempt to hide in plain sight. Meanwhile, Ernestine confronts her worst fear.
  • Black & Blue: Rescuing a member of the Macon 7 turns into a deadly mission; John and Elizabeth challenge each others’ choices.
  • The White Whale: Everyone must pay for their sins when the day of reckoning arrives.

 

Warner Bros./ Released 6/14/16

Warner Bros./ Released 6/14/16

Tarzan, Lord Of The Jungle: The Complete First Season

Based on Edgar Rice Burrough’s novels, Tarzan seeks to champion the less fortunate, to right wrongs and to protect both the animals in his jungle as well as the human visitors.  His companions in the series are N’kima, a monkey; Jad-bal-j, a golden-furred, dark-maned lion; and Tantor, an elephant.  In this incarnation, many of Burrough’s concepts including an intelligent and well spoken Tarzan, as well as the Mangani language and the various lost cities.

As the opening narration explains: “The jungle: Here I was born; and here my parents died when I was but an infant. I would have soon perished, too, had I not been found by a kindly she-ape named Kala, who adopted me as her own and taught me the ways of the wild. I learned quickly, and grew stronger each day, and now I share the friendship and trust of all jungle animals. The jungle is filled with beauty, and danger; and lost cities filled with good, and evil. This is my domain, and I protect those who come here; for I am Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle!”

Includes the episodes:

  • Tarzan and the City of Gold: Upon saving a woman named Thia from the Bulgani gorilla tribe, Tarzan learns that she is from Athne the City of Ivory and had been chased away by enemy soldiers from Zandor the City of Gold. While helping Thia back to Athne, Tarzan ends up captured by the Zandorians. While imprisoned, Tarzan meets his cellmate Phobeg who tells him of Queen Nemone who has the two of them fight in the arena. Once Fobeg is freed, Tarzan ends up incarcerated with Thia after harming her prime minister Tomos. However, Fobeg has a plan to free Tarzan and Thia.
  • Tarzan and the Vikings: A race of jungle vikings (who are descendants of the vikings that were blown to Africa by a north wind sent by Odin 1,000 years ago) capture Tarzan to be the slave to Corina, the daughter of the Viking Chieftain Erik. While learning on how the Vikings came to Africa from Corina, Tarzan discovers that she is in love with the lawman Sven’s son Bjorn much to the objection of Erik. During that time, Tarzan uncovers a plot by the viking Torvald to overthrow Corina’s father.
  • Tarzan and the Golden Lion: Tarzan comes to the aid of Ando, Coney, and the rest of the Monkey People when the Bolmangani are enslaving them. When Tarzan ends up in danger, Jad-bal-ja rallies the elephants to help Tarzan free the captives and teach the Monkey People to stand up to the Bolmangani and their Emperor.
  • Tarzan and the Forbidden City: Tarzan’s old friend Paul Gregory and his daughter return to the jungle. Paul tells Tarzan that he is here looking for his son Brian who disappeared upon finding the Forbidden City of Ushare located in the extinct volcano Tuen Baka. The next day, Tarzan finds out that three men named Magara, Castelle, and Chabalt (whom Paul encountered at the hotel) are also seeking the map to Ushare in order to steal the father of diamonds. When both groups are captured by the soldiers of Ushare, it is up to Tarzan to free them.
  • Tarzan and the Graveyard of the Elephants: Upon discovering elephant skeletons without their tusks, Tarzan discovers that soldiers led by King Aga of Novard is behind this and his armies are looking for the Graveyard of the Elephants. Tarzan discovers that the Novardians worship the woolly mammoth Bentor (whom they consider a god) and want Tarzan to take them to the Graveyard of the Elephants in order to harvest the tusks there.
  • Tarzan’s Return to the City of Gold: Upon saving a runaway boy named Orando from Buto, Tarzan learns that he is the younger brother of Thia from Athne and plans to return him to Athne. Meanwhile, Queen Nemone orders Tomos to lead her soldiers into recapturing Tarzan. Tomos plans to use Orando as bait in order to recapture Tarzan.
  • Tarzan and the Strange Visitors: Tarzan has an encounter with an anthropologist named June Bennington at the same time when aliens led by Dr. Krolar arrive in their UFO to capture animal specimens to bring to their world.
  • Tarzan and the Land of the Giants: During a drought, Tarzan finds large footprints and follows them into a hidden valley which contains large trees and vegetation. Tarzan comes to the aid of a giant named Yuri when his father Muro has been imprisoned by the tyrant King Odysseus and that the giants live in fear of Buto (who has been said to be a god in the form of a white rhinoceros). To make matters worse, a dangerous storm is heading to the giants’ village of Zoram.
  • Tarzan and the Knights of Nimmr: Upon finding a crashed balloon, Tarzan searches for its pilot which leads him to the Valley of Nimmr where he encounters knights that end up taking him to Queen Grenalda. He soon encounters the balloonist Annie Talbot who is a writer. When the queen falls ill and Sir Mallad has Tarzan imprisoned in the dungeon, Tarzan learns from the Queen’s Royal Physician Sir Ronald that Sir Mallad plans to steal the throne from Queen Grenalda.
  • Tarzan’s Rival: Mr. Senti and his scientist creates a robot duplicate of Tarzan in order to blame the real one for the animal mistreatment so that they can steal the Jewels of Opa. Before long, the jungle animals become mistrustful of Tarzan and attack him on sight. Even N’kima and Jad-bal-jah are unable to tell the difference. Tarzan must now expose the robot Tarzan and thwart the plots of Mr. Senti.
  • Tarzan and the City of Sorcery: While riding on Tantor, Tarzan saves a boy named Tuck (who mistakens Tarzan as the god Aliat since he resembles him) from Numa. He learns from Tuck that the sorceress Queen Nubia has turned Tuck’s father into a baboon causing Tarzan to go to the city of Rashid to confront Queen Nubia. Tarzan later learns that her magic is not as she claims it to be which Tarzan plans to expose.
  • Tarzan at the Earth’s Core: Tarzan and N’kima follows a boy named Kimo of Nolangi into a crater that leads him to the Land of Darkness with a plan to unite both tribes upon speaking to King Mavor. With help from King Mavor’s daughter Nina, Tarzan plans to help Kimo make peace between both tribes while evading the dangers of the prehistoric land of Pellucidar in order to get King Ovan of Nolangi and King Mavor to understand the peace between the tribes.
  • Tarzan and the Ice Creature: While working on his garden with N’kima and Tantor, Tarzan sees the mountain of ice about to erupt and has the animals get to safety. The eruption ends up freeing a Yeti-like ice creature Glakor from the volcano as it soon ends up being targeted by the poacher Norcross and his assistant Phelps.
  • Tarzan and the Olympiads: Upon investigating a strange disturbance in the jungle, Tarzan rescues two slaves named Dimitri and Logos from Grecian soldiers who come from the city of Olympus. Tarzan learns that the slaves were former tournament champions who were defeated by younger challengers and made slaves by Emperor Cronus. Now Tarzan must go up in three challenges in order to free the slaves and make Emperor Cronus see the error of his ways.
  • Tarzan’s Trial: The UFO that was previously used by Dr. Krolar returns to the jungle where the robots end up capturing Tarzan. He is brought before Commander Dumay who states that Dr. Krolar and Leera aren’t on the mission with him. Commander Dumay plans to use his computer to scan Tarzan’s memory in order to learn all of Tarzan’s abilities and transfer them to him in order to become supreme ruler of the space fleet.
  • Tarzan, the Hated: The Bolmangani Emperor returns and plans revenge on Tarzan by turning a tribe of gorillas against Tarzan. The Bolmangani then go to great lengths by having the gorilla tribe abduct a female archaeologist named Lois as bait so that the Bolmangani can rebuild their city in the Opar Region much to the objections of Lois who claims that the ground there is unsafe.

 

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20th Century Fox/ Released 6/14/16

The League: The Final Fantasy

Huddle up for the final outrageously funny season of the fantasy football comedy that’s always out of bounds. This year, the scheming smack-talkers find themselves embroiled in a string of scandals, kicking off when Pete discovers that his ex-wife Meegan ising with a fellow league member.

Next up, Taco flies into the drone zone, Kevin and Pete play chicken with their private parts, Jenny gets slot-shamed and Rafi hooks up with a watermelon. From blind-spot shenanigans to fake-boob deflategate, Season Seven hits a high point by sinking to new lows.

Guest stars include Jason Mantzoukas, Leslie Bibb, Will Forte, Nadine Velazquez, Rob Huebel, June Diane Raphael, Zach Woods, Christopher McDonald, Echo Kellum, Casey Wilson, Milo Ventimiglia, Seth Rogen, Janina Gavankar, Larry David, Jim McMahon, Ike Barinholtz, and Rob Riggle.

Extras include extended and unrated episodes, deleted scenes, featurettes and gag reel.

Includes the episodes:

  • The Other Draft: Marshawn Lynch attends the Taco Corp Annual Board Meeting, Jenny is a VIP at the big Draft in Chicago, Kevin has a run in with Seahawks GM John Schneider, and Pete bumps into his ex-wife Meegan.
  • The Draft of Innocence: Pete and Andre are not speaking to each other, everyone hates Andre’s plan for a “theme” draft, everyone in the league agrees to do an auction draft which leads to huge problems.
  • The Blind Spot: Football is back and everyone fights over where to watch the games. Ruxin has his house to himself, sort of. Taco launches EBDBPrime.
  • Deflategate: Andre gets sued by Frank ‘The Body’ Gibbiati. Jenny gets relationship advice from Green Bay wide receiver Randall Cobb.
  • The Bully: Kevin is uncomfortable with Ellie’s new sex-ed class. Taco starts a Little Eskimo Brothers program at the EBDBBnB.
  • The Beer Mile: Pete decides to run the Beer Mile with Taco as his coach. Kevin tries to figure out where the gardener goes to the bathroom. Jenny’s matchup with Andre means playing Andre and Meegan.
  • Trophy Kevin: Kevin feels threatened by Pete’s new referee friend. Andre needs to use the EBDBBnB as a farm. Taco gets a drone.
  • The Last Temptation of Andre: Kevin feels threatened by Pete’s new referee friend. Andre needs to use the EBDBBnB as a farm. Taco gets a drone.
  • The Yank Banker: Taco embraces his new day job in the banking world. Pete must decide whether or not to commit to his on-again/off again girlfriend, Libby (Arielle Kebbel). Andre¹s new patient is an old college crush.
  • The Block: Taco retires from sex due to concussions. Andre’s one night stand with an Uber driver backfires. Pete binge watched seven seasons “The Block.” Ruxin and Sofia use the internet to keep their sex life going while she is in Puerto Rico.
  • Adios y Bienvenidos: Sofia decides to get plastic surgery and Ruxin has to deal with the aftermath. The misadventures of Rafi and Dirty Randy continue as they embark on a quest to Puerto Rico.
  • The 13 Stages of Grief: When the league is kicked off their fantasy football website, Kevin has to run the league old school. Jenny deals with loss. Rafi counsels Ruxin. Andre tries to co-opt Ruxin¹s dinner reservation.
  • The Great Night of Shiva:Who will win the Shiva? Who will win the Sacko? Will Kevin or Jenny win The Snip? Ruxin has a big decision to make that will affect not only his chances of winning but whether the league will even survive.

 

Lionsgate/ Released 6/14/16

Lionsgate/ Released 6/14/16

Alaskan Bush People: Season 1 & 2

Deep in the Alaskan wilderness lives a newly discovered family who was born and raised wild. Billy Brown, his wife Ami and their seven grown children – 5 boys and 2 girls – are so far removed from civilization that they often go six to nine months of the year without seeing an outsider. They’ve developed their own accent and dialect, refer to themselves as a “wolf pack,” and at night, all nine sleep together in a one-room cabin. Simply put, they are unlike any other family in America..

Recently, according to the Browns, the cabin where they lived for years was seized and burned to the ground for being in the wrong location on public land. They were devastated, but instead of giving up and moving back to society, they decided to go deeper into the wilderness to continue their way of life.

Their new land is located in the Copper River Valley, where temperatures can drop to 60 degrees below zero. It’s a race against the clock as the winter gets closer and closer. The Browns must work together to build a new cabin that will protect them from the harsh Alaskan environment, but the falling temperatures and dwindling daylight make it harder and harder. They’ll use what the land provides to construct their small home and will also have to contend with other rogue bush people. It’ll be tough, but having lived this way for decades, the family wouldn’t have it any other way.

Includes the episodes:

  • Raised Wild: After being pushed of their land, the unique Brown family of nine travels deep into the Alaskan bush to build a small shack where they will all sleep. The Browns have lived their whole lives in the wild and often go 6 months without seeing an outsider.
  • Human Wolf Pack: The Brown brothers are forced to step up when building a one room cabin for the family. During some down time, the wolf pack of five goes into a small bush town to hunt for potential mates. It’s the first time they’ve been in public together in months.
  • Blindsided: As the Browns race to finish their cabin, temperatures plummet and an illness hits the family. Their ability to survive the winter rests on the brothers as they race to get essential supplies and complete the home.Then, the unexpected strikes.
  • Fight or Flight: A confrontation on the Browns property shuts down production and forces them to make a big decision.
  • The Wild Life: The Browns reflect on the year of living in the Alaskan Bush; revelations about the family’s lifestyle.
  • A Very Bush Christmas: The born-and-raised-wild Brown family reveals their unique Christmas traditions out in the Alaskan bush. They also reflect on the past year as well as what’s on the horizon for the family.
  • Breaking Free: After being stuck in Ketchikan for 9 months, the Brown family are ready to return to the wild; A series of emergencies continued to keep the family trapped.
  • Return to the Wild: After working hard and banding together, he Brown’s are determined to make it to their new piece of land; After avoiding disaster on the seas, the family seeks help from an old friend.
  • Welcome to Browntown: The Brown’s have set up their home site with everything they need; When the boys’ skills seem a bit rusty, they must prove to Billy that they still have what it takes and take on whatever roles they need to.
  • Birdy Get Your Gun: With their food dwindling down to the bare basics, the Brown family must venture passed the bear’s domain and hunt for food; Birdy gives Gabe a few pointers before heading out to hunt.
  • Pile It On: Matt continues to create and build himself a home; Billy and his four sons venture out to pick up the much needed lumber, to begin building their home. On the way, Billy learns of a huge storm coming their way; The Brown’s must batten down the hatches and take cover, while hoping that their lumber doesn’t fall victim to the chaos that large storms create.
  • On the Prowl: While Billy barters for new windows, Noah and Matt look for additional materials in the junkyard; the guys meet a few local ladies and invite them back home.
  • Home Alone: After discovering rogue bears near their homesite, the Browns beef up their defenses. Billy falls seriously ill and is forced to seek medical help. The kids are left to fend for themselves and build a large raft to help move lumber.
  • Now or Never: As the Browns struggle to get the walls and roof of their house built, winter arrives. While working through the snow, a series of setbacks threatens to derail all they’ve worked hard to achieve.
  • A Wolfpack Divided: The Brown family is ready to move into their new home when Ami requires immediate medical attention and must travel to a big city for surgery. Meanwhile, the pressure is on the boys to secure a wood-burning stove so the family can stay warm over winter.
  • Rise of Browntown: Members of the Brown family move into their new home; Matt decides to build his own tire house; Ami seeks the help of an Alaskan matchmaker.
  • Divide and Conquer: Nearing the end of hunting season, Matt and Bam must bring back meat for the family while the other Brown kids venture into new territory in search of egg-laying chickens. 27-year-old Bear goes out on his first official date ever.
  • Bloodlines: Ami is forced to confront her past and the life she left behind years ago, while the Brown boys work a tough demolition job to salvage goods to complete their new home.
  • A Big Gamble: After Billy is offered a deal on one-of-a-kind boat, the Brown family is faced with a life-changing decision. Meanwhile, youngest brother Noah kindles a new relationship in town.
  • Rocky Seas: Billy and three of his sons face the long journey home on the old boat they just purchased. Meanwhile, Matt and Noah work on an improvement that could electrify Browntown.
  • Sink or Swim: A snow storm puts the Brown’s first hauling job in peril, and a crucial deal threatens the freedom of the wolfpack. Meanwhile, Noah contemplates marriage as he introduces Christi to the family.
  • Never Give Up: Everything is on the line when the Browns get their first official job for the hauling business. But when serious issues arise with their boat the Integrity, the future of the family and their way of life is threatened.

 

Lionsgate/ Released 6/14/16

Lionsgate/ Released 6/14/16

Shark Week: Jawsome Encounters

For the past 28 years, Discovery Channel has captured the world’s attention with Shark Week, an annual televised event that explores the ocean’s most magnificent creatures.

Featuring 13 fintastic episodes from the 2014 season the Shark Week: Jawsome Encounters DVD is bigger than ever.

Includes the episodes:

  • Air Jaws: Fin of Fury: Using incredible new cameras and high tech underwater gadgetry, Shark Filmmaker Jeff Kurr and his team embark on a world wide mission to track down the missing mega-shark Colossus.
  • Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine: Said to be deadliest great white shark of all time, “Submarine” is a 30 foot great white that has terrorized the shores of South Africa for decades.Locals believe this shark is responsible for countless fatal attacks, but existence has never been proven.
  • Jaws Strikes Back: Marine biologist Greg Skomal and the sharkcam team travel to the remote Pacific island of Guadalupe to film the hunting behavior of the largest great white sharks on earth.
  • Monster Hammerhead: For the past 60 years reports of a monster hammerhead clocking in at over 20 feet long have circulated throughout Florida. Now, a team of scientists and anglers explore the waters of the worlds largest hammerheads to see if these stories could be true.
  • Alien Shark: Return to the Abyss: Shark researchers investigate the ocean’s darkest depths in search of shark species that have never been seen before on camera and get a glimpse of the elusive Ghost Shark.
  • Lair of the Mega Shark: Shark Experts Jeff Kerr and Andy Cassagrande head to New Zealand to investigate the sightings of a 20 foot Great White Shark which leads them to the nocturnal feeding ground of a mega-sharks.
  • Spawn of Jaws: The Birth: Dr. Michael Domeier continues his quest to unlock one of the greatest shark mysteries: the location of great white pupping grounds. This two year mission follows the journey of a pregnant great white called Gil Rakers as she prepares to give birth.
  • Zombie Sharks: Shark Diver and conservationist Eli Martinez explores a catatonic zombie-like state in sharks called tonic immobility and sets out to solve a mystery of predators using it on massive great whites.
  • I Escaped Jaws II: Shark attacks victims recount their harrowing near death experiences and reveal how they escaped with their lives.
  • Sharkageddon: Massive Tiger sharks and predatory species are invading the shores of Hawaii. After a spike in attacks including two fatalities, Hawaiian native and surf legend Kala Alexander sets out to uncover the truth behind what’s disrupting the Hawaiian food chain.
  • Megalodon: The New Evidence: Collin Drake returns to share new details of his case and present the shocking new evidence of the existence of Megalodon, an enormous prehistoric shark that could still be roaming the oceans.
  • Great White Matrix: Shark attack survivor Paul de Gelder and Andy Casagrande head deep into the shark infested waters of Australia to investigate a series of bizarre shark attacks and capture the great white bite on camera.
  • Sharksanity: A look at the most insane bites, strikes and close calls from Shark Week 2014. Plus, your picks for the 5 craziest Shark Week moments ever.
Acorn Media / Released 6/14/16

Acorn Media / Released 6/14/16

Suspects, Series 1 and 2

Suspects offers a fresh and original British procedural crime drama set in London that tackles difficult subjects with gritty authenticity. With improvised dialogue and using filming techniques and a directorial approach usually associated with factual programming, this unique procedural crime drama follows D.I. Martha Bellamy (Fay Ripley) and her team (Damien Molony and Clare-Hope Ashiteyas) they investigate hard-hitting crimes in contemporary London.

Includes the episodes:

  • S01E01: When two-year-old Hope Wilkins is abducted from her home, detectives Martha, Jack, and Charlie race to find her. The toddler’s father, his estranged wife, and their son all come under suspicion, but then a convicted child killer is connected to the case.
  • S01E02:Charlie and Jack investigate an assault on nightclub owner Kirk Hawthorne and find Kirk’s sister, Ziggy, unconscious in the cellar. The hospital reports that Ziggy suffered a brain hemorrhage and a drug overdose. When a 19-year-old student dies from an overdose of the same drug, Charlie and Jack call Martha in on the case.
  • S01E03: Martha and the team investigate a rape while also looking into two similar attacks that occurred in the area. Jack questions a serial rapist recently released from prison, and Charlie investigates the most recent victim’s husband: the station’s chief superintendent.
  • S01E04: Terence Holland, the terminally ill founder of Euthanasia Action UK, is discovered unconscious in his home. With deadly levels of morphine and sleeping pills in his bloodstream, Terence may have tried assisted suicide-or someone with a more sinister motive may have attempted murder.
  • S01E05: A young girl is stabbed but manages to flag down a taxi to the hospital. The detectives bring in the cab driver for questioning, suspicious that he didn’t call the police. Martha and Charlie later uncover nude pictures of the girl on her computer. Is her stepfather somehow involved, or were the pictures for someone else?
  • S02E01: Martha’s neighbor Jonathan Moxton is found in his home bound and gagged, with serious head injuries. The prime suspect appears to be the man who found him, Saul Hammond, a paranoid schizophrenic. But as the team uncovers more about Jonathan’s complicated life, the case becomes personal for Jack, clouding his judgment.
  • S02E02: The body of a student turns up with injuries that suggest the killer is the same person who attacked Moxton. Charlie notices that the student’s sister is on edge during questioning, while Jack continues his pursuit of Saul, who begins doubting his own innocence as his mental illness worsens.
  • S02E03: When amateur pedophile hunter Scott Freeman is attacked, Martha and her team think one of his targets may be the culprit. Jack knew Freeman and his daughter, Rose, a meth user who was raped eight years earlier. As the detectives dig deeper into the investigation, they notice potential connections between the crimes may be one and the same.
  • S02E04: After Edward Shaffer’s violent death, the detectives turn their attention to Shaffer’s widow, Tamsin. Could she have remained unaware of her husband’s activities? Then the team races to save a young boy after Charlie finds a thumb drive showing several men abusing him.

 

Kino Lorber/ Released 6/14/16

Kino Lorber/ Released 6/14/16

The Magnetic Monster

When a young scientist’s experiments with a new radioactive isotope cause it to double in size every twelve hours, a nearby town’s existence is threatened by the deadly radiation.

The Magnetic Monster was the first episode of producer and writer Ivan Tors’ (OSI – Office of Scientific Investigation) trilogy, followed by Riders to the Star (1954) and the classic 3-D film, Gog (1954).

Co-written and directed by Curt Siodmak (Bride of the Gorilla) and starring Richard Carlson, King Donovan, Strother Martin, Harry Ellerbe and Jean Byron.

Extras include commentary.

 

 

152760_front

Kino Lorber / Released 6/14/16

Gold

Re-visiting some of the themes that Fritz Lang had explored in Metropolis, Gold, is a 1930s German futuristic thriller, filled with high-tech sets, depicts the struggle between scientific progress and corporate greed.

The film is of historical interest as an example of the cinema produced during the 1930s in National Socialist Germany. It utilizes some of the key talents of the German film industry of the silent era, including production designer Otto Hunte (who had designed Fritz Lang’s futuristic fantasies Metropolis and Woman in the Moon), and cinematographer Günther Rittau (who had photographed Lang’s Die Nibelungen and Metropolis and Sternberg’s The Blue Angel).

Gold is not only a handsomely-produced drama of corporate espionage, it also reveals the ways in which English and American culture was subtly condemned in films made under the Third Reich.

Hans Albers stars as Professor Holk, an idealistic scientist developing the process of atomic fracturing, constructing an enormous electrical device to transform common lead into gold. When  the operation is sabotaged by corporate rivals, resulting in the death of Holk’s mentor (Friedrich Kayssler), Holk must accept the backing of a ruthless English businessman, John Wills (Michael Bohnen), whose interest in atomic fracturing is purely economic.

Though he makes a deal with the devil, in order to continue his research, Holk recognizes it as a golden opportunity-not for a paycheck, but for payback-and plots to destroy Wills’s titanic gold-making machinery. While Holk enacts his revenge, he captures the interest of the millionaire’s rebellious daughter (Brigitte Helm), who is enthralled by the scientist’s vision and integrity.

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