Join the
Sixties generation
DVD
Blu-ray Releases
OnVideo's Weekly Guide to Home Video Releases
Adventures in Babysitting
(2015) Sabrina Carpenter, Sofia Carson, Nikki Hahn, Mallory James Mahoney, Max Gecowets, Jet Jurgensmeyer, Madison Horcher. The 100th Disney Channel Original Movie. Re-imagined tale of the popular 1980s film of the same name. Formats: DVD. Extras: Bloopers. (Disney).
Cemetery of Splendor
(2015 -- Thailand) Soldiers with a mysterious sleeping sickness are transferred to a temporary clinic in a former school where the memory-filled space becomes a revelatory world for housewife and volunteer Jenjira, as she watches over Itt, a handsome soldier with no family visitors. Jen befriends young medium Keng who uses her psychic powers to help loved ones communicate with the comatose men. Doctors explore ways, including colored light therapy, to ease the mens' troubled dreams. Jen discovers Itt's cryptic notebook of strange writings and blueprint sketches. There may be a connection between the soldiers' enigmatic syndrome and the mythic ancient site that lies beneath the clinic. Magic, healing, romance and dreams are all part of Jen's path to a deeper awareness of herself and the world around her. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: Trailer. Blu-ray adds Deleted scenes, making-of featurette, short film: "Mekong Hotel." (Strand Releasing).
Clouds of Sils Maria
(2014 -- France, Germany, Switzerland) This multilayered, immensely entertaining drama from the great contemporary French director Olivier Assayas is a singular look at the intersection of high art and popular culture. The always extraordinary Juliette Binoche is stirring as Maria, a stage and screen icon who is being courted to star in a new production of the play that made her famous -- only this time she must assume the role of the older woman. Kristen Stewart matches her punch for punch as her beleaguered assistant, called upon to provide support both professional and emotional for her mercurial boss. And Chloë Grace Moretz is Maria's arrogant new castmate, a starlet waiting in the wings. An amorphous, soul-searching tale, filled with ethereal images of its Swiss Alps setting, "Clouds of Sils Maria" brilliantly dramatizes one woman's reckoning with herself and the world. New 2K digital master, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: New interviews with director Olivier Assayas and actors Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart; "Cloud Phenomena of Maloja," a silent 1924 documentary by Arnold Fanck that is seen in the film; trailer; an essay by critic Molly Haskell. (The Criterion Collection).
Detective Montalbano: Episodes 27 & 28
(2016) Murder, betrayal, office politics, temptation are all in a day's work for Detective Salvo Montalbano who, with intuition and a cadre of police officers, solves crimes in the fictional small city of Vigata. The work brings him across the paths of unforgettable characters who could only come from Sicily; he also wages a personal war with his own demons, which fight against his professional ideals and personal commitment to beautiful long-distance girlfriend, Livia. Yet there's always time to indulge a long-standing flirtation with his ultimate temptress, Italian cuisine. Three-disc set with two feature-length episodes. Formats: DVD. Extras: "Montalbano and Me: Andrea Camilleri" documentary about the life and work of Montalbano's creator. (MHz Home Entertainment).
Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
(1964) Stanley Kubrick's painfully funny take on Cold War anxiety is without a doubt one of the fiercest satires of human folly ever to come out of Hollywood. The matchless shape-shifter Peter Sellers plays three wildly different roles: Air Force Captain Lionel Mandrake, timidly trying to stop a nuclear attack on the USSR ordered by an unbalanced general (Sterling Hayden); the ineffectual and perpetually dumbfounded President Merkin Muffley, who must deliver the very bad news to the Soviet premier; and the titular Strangelove himself, a wheelchair-bound presidential adviser with a Nazi past. Finding improbable hilarity in nearly every unimaginable scenario, "Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" is a genuinely subversive masterpiece that officially announced Kubrick as an unparalleled stylist and pitch-black ironist. Co-stars George C. Scott, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, Peter Bull, James Earl Jones, Tracy Reed. Restored 4K digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack; new interviews with Stanley Kubrick scholars Mick Broderick and Rodney Hill, archivist Richard Daniels, cinematographer and camera innovator Joe Dunton, camera operator Kelvin Pike,and David George, son of Peter George, on whose novel "Red Alert" the film is based; excerpts from a 1965 audio interview with Kubrick, conducted by Jeremy Bernstein; four short documentaries from 2000, about the making of the film, the sociopolitical climate of the period, the work of actor Peter Sellers, and the artistry of Kubrick; interviews from 1963 with Sellers and actor George C. Scott; excerpt from a 1980 interview with Sellers from NBC's "Today" show; trailer; an essay by scholar David Bromwich and a 1962 article by screenwriter Terry Southern on the making of the film. (The Criterion Collection).
Watch the trailer.
Eye in the Sky
(2016) Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Iain Glen, Alan Rickman, Barkhad Abdi, Phoebe Fox. Col. Katherine Powell, a military officer in command of a drone assassination operation in Kenya, sees her mission escalate when a girl enters the kill zone, triggering an international dispute over the implications of modern warfare. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "Perspective" featurette in which Helen Mirren, director Gavin Hood and producer Colin Firth explain how the film serves as a mechanism for discussion on the moral conflict surrounding drone warfare; "Morals" featurette in which Mirren, Hood, and producer Colin Firth discuss the moral and ethical questions raised in the film. (Universal).
Kung Fu Panda 3
(2016) Voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Bryan Cranston, Rebel Wilson, J.K. Simmons, Kate Hudson, Wayne Knight. Continuing his "legendary adventures of awesomeness," Po must face two hugely epic, but different threats: one supernatural and the other a little closer to his home. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "Everybody Loves a Panda Party" sing-along with Po and the entire cast; "Po's Posters of Awesomeness"; "Panda Paws" exclusive animated tale with talented panda ribbon dancer Mei Mei starring with Bao; "Make a Panda Party Paper Pal" using the mystic art of paper folding; "Play Like a Panda" featurette about real baby pandas, their amazing lives, and their remarkable playful ways; The Origin of Skadoosh" in which Po reveals the extra-super-secret origin of his world-famous catchphrase; "Faux Paws Deleted Scenes." (DreamWorks/Fox).
LEGO Friends: Always Together
(2016) Three 22-minute episodes of the popular Disney Channel series follow best friends Andrea, Stephanie, Olivia, Emma and Mia through a diverse array of expeditions in their hometown of Heartlake City. From entering a talent contest, to going camping -- and even assisting in running a hotel -- the girls combine their eclectic skill sets and unique interests to seize the day. In each adventure, they're faced with adversity but quickly learn that anything is possible when you work together. Formats: DVD: $9.97. (Warner).
Margarita With a Straw
(2014 -- India) Kalki Koechlin, Revathy, Sayani Gupta, William Moseley, Hussain Dalal. Indian writer-director Shonali Bose (director of the internationally renowned film "Amu") beautifully portrays the story of a luminous Indian teenager with cerebral palsy who leaves her homeland to study in New York, falls in love with a young blind woman, and begins a remarkable journey to self-discovery and independence. Bose was inspired to write this humane story by her cousin's experience with cerebral palsy.
Formats: DVD, Digital. (Wolfe Video).
Rams
(2015 -- Iceland) Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Theodór Júlíusson,Charlotte Bøving. In a remote Icelandic farming valley, two brothers who haven't spoken in 40 years have to come together in order to save what's dearest to them -- their sheep. In a secluded valley, Gummi and Kiddi live side by side, tending to their sheep. Their ancestral sheep-stock is considered one of the country's best and the two brothers are repeatedly awarded for their prized rams who carry an ancient lineage. Although they share the land and a way of life, Gummi and Kiddi have not spoken to each other in four decades. When a lethal disease suddenly infects Kiddi's sheep, the entire valley comes under threat, and when the authorities decide to cull all the animals in the area to contain the outbreak, each brother tries to stave off the disaster in his own fashion: Kiddi by using his rifle and Gummi by using his wits. As the authorities close in the brothers will need to come together to save the special breed passed down for generations, and themselves, from extinction. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. (Cohen Media Group).
Return of the Killer Tomatoes
(1988) The killer tomatoes are back! But this time around, they're going to have to contend with late 80s George Clooney and his wicked mullet. Ten years on from the Great Tomato War, mankind lives in fear of another uprising by the waxy red menace. Meanwhile, professor Gangreen -- played with gusto by John Astin from TV's "The Addams Family" -- sets out to pursue his own evil ends by creating a burgeoning army of tomato militia men (who, somewhat conveniently, look just like regular men). Following on from the 1978 cult classic Attack of the "Killer Tomatoes," "Return of the Killer Tomatoes" came armed with a healthy sense of its own ridiculousness and would expand upon a franchise that now comprises four films, two TV series and a video game. Formats: Blu-ray. Extras: New audio commentary with writer-director John De Bello, new interview with
Two Guys and a Girl: The Complete Series
(1998-2001) Eleven-disc set with all 81 episodes from the four seasons of the series about three twentysomethings who share a Boston apartment and hang around (and work) at a pizza place. Welcome to Beacon Street Pizza, the perfect workplace and hangout for the aimless wise guy Berg (Ryan Reynolds), the neurotic Pete (Richard Ruccolo) and the campus beauty Sharon (Traylor Howard). Together, these three best friends navigate life and love in Boston. Also stars Nathan Fillion, Jennifer Westfeldt, Suzanne Crye, Jillian Bach. Includes the series' alternate finale. Formats: DVD. (Shout! Factory).
Vera, Set 6
(2015) Award-winning actress Brenda Blethyn stars as Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope in this fan-favorite mystery series inspired by the novels of Ann Cleeves. Amidst the s
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
(2016) Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton, Alfred Molina. Black comedy adaptation of Barker's memoir "The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan," which details her years as a reporter in Pakistan and Afghanistan beginning in 2002. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Blu-ray extras: "All In: The Making of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot"; "War Reporter: The Real Kim"; "Embedded in Reality" featurette on how the military played a pivotal role in bringing the movie to life; "Wedding Party" featurette on the rich Afghan culture and the joyous wedding celebration from the film; "Laughing Matters" featurette on how the characters relied on drinking, partying and other vices to cope with the constant threat of danger; deleted scenes; extended scene. (Paramount).
The Young Montalbano: Episodes 7-9 and The Young Montalbano: Episodes 10-12
(2015) Prequel series to "Detective Montalbano," featuring the genesis of the friendships, the rivalries and the romances set in the beautiful Sicilian town of Vigata. Formats: DVD. Each three-disc set contains three episodes. (MHz Home Entertainment).
Kung Fu Panda 3
When Po's long-lost panda father suddenly reappears, the reunited duo travels to a secret panda paradise to meet scores of new panda characters. But when the supernatural villain Kai begins to sweep across China defeating all the kung fu masters, Po must do the impossible-learn to train a village full of his fun-loving, clumsy brethren to become the ultimate band of Kung Fu Pandas. Vitals: Director:
Alessandro Carloni, Jennifer Yuh Nelson. Stars: Voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Bryan Cranston, Rebel Wilson, J.K. Simmons, Kate Hudson, Wayne Knight.
2016, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 95 min., Animated Family, Box office gross: $141,654 million, DreamWorks/Fox. Extras: "Everybody Loves a Panda Party" sing-along with Po and the entire cast; "Po's Posters of Awesomeness"; "Panda Paws" exclusive animated tale with talented panda ribbon dancer Mei Mei starring with Bao; "Make a Panda Party Paper Pal" using the mystic art of paper folding; "Play Like a Panda" featurette about real baby pandas, their amazing lives, and their remarkable playful ways; The Origin of Skadoosh" in which Po reveals the extra-super-secret origin of his world-famous catchphrase; "Faux Paws Deleted Scenes." 
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Based on real-life reporter Kim Barker’s revealing and funny memoir ("The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan)" about covering the war beat in the Middle East. A satirical take on combat journalists and an illuminating story of self-discovery, the film follows Kim (Tina Fey) as she decides to shake things up by taking a dangerous assignment in Afghanistan. There, in the midst of chaos, Kim discovers her true strength as she risks it all to find the next big story.
Vitals: Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa. Stars: Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton, Alfred Molina.
2016, CC, MPAA rating: R, 112 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $23.049 million, Paramount.
Blu-ray extras: "All In: The Making of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot"; "War Reporter: The Real Kim"; "Embedded in Reality" featurette on how the military played a pivotal role in bringing the movie to life; "Wedding Party" featurette on the rich Afghan culture and the joyous wedding celebration from the film; "Laughing Matters" featurette on how the characters relied on drinking, partying and other vices to cope with the constant threat of danger; deleted scenes; extended scene.
Eye in the Sky
Helen Mirren stars as Colonel Katherine Powell, a UK-based military officer in command of a top secret drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya. Through remote surveillance and on-the-ground intel, Powell discovers the targets are planning a suicide bombing, and the mission escalates from "capture" to "kill." But as American pilot Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) is about to engage, a 9-year old girl enters the kill zone, triggering an international dispute reaching the highest levels of the U.S. and British governments over the moral, political, and personal implications of modern warfare.
Vitals: Director: Gavin Hood. Stars: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Iain Glen, Alan Rickman, Barkhad Abdi, Phoebe Fox.
2016, CC, MPAA rating: R, 102 min., Thriller/Drama, Box office gross: $11.098 million, Universal.
Extras: "Perspective" featurette in which Helen Mirren, director Gavin Hood and producer Colin Firth explain how the film serves as a mechanism for discussion on the moral conflict surrounding drone warfare; "Morals" featurette in which Mirren, Hood, and producer Colin Firth discuss the moral and ethical questions raised in the film.
Elstree 1976
(2016) Documentary explores the lives of the actors and extras behind one of the most celebrated science fiction films in cinematic history, "Star Wars." From the man behind film's most iconic villain, to the actor whose character was completely cut from the final film, the documentary delves into the eccentric community these individuals have formed and how the "Star Wars" franchise -- which spans five decades -- continues to impact their lives decades later. Many of the minor characters were merely part of the set design, but eventually gained recognition as the "Star Wars" universe expanded into books, comics, etc. Fans learned the history of masked characters like Boba Fett and Greedo, but the sci-fi blockbuster also had a lasting impact on the people inside the costumes. Not all of the interviewees had minor roles in the series however. For example, David Prowse, whose six-foot-eight bulk filled out Darth Vader's suit and provided the menacing movements of film's most iconic villain, wouldn't be recognized on the street by all but the most ardent "Star Wars" fans. In the final cut of the movie, his face and voice were replaced by Sebastian Shaw and James Earl Jones, respectively. Others got to work on what would become the biggest movie of all time, but saw their characters cut entirely from the finished film. Formats: DVD. (MVD Entertainment). 
Gorilla Bathes at Noon
(1993 -- Germany) Dir.: Dusan Makavajev. Stars: Svetozar Cvetkovic, Anita Mancic, Alexandra Rohmig, Andreas Lucius. Set in Berlin, the film follows the wanderings of a Russian army officer left behind by his unit, after the collapse of The Wall. With nowhere to stay and nothing to do, he wanders around town in his major's uniform, scrounging food and making acquaintances along the way. Writer-director Dusan Makavejev ("Sweet Movie," "WR: Mysteries of the Organism," "Montenegro," "The Coca-Cola Kid") interweaves surreal vignettes with documentary scenes to whimsy effect. Makavejev began work on "Gorilla Bathes at Noon" in October 1991 as a response to East German communist leader Erich Honecker's claim that The Berlin Wall would stay as it is for 50 or even a hundred years. Ultimately, "Gorilla Bathes at Noon" examines the Soviet Union's collapse through the absurd misadventures of this Russian soldier. Unconventional, brilliant and playful, the film won the Critic's Prize at the 1993 Berlin Film Festival. The Serbian filmmaker, who rose to cinematic fame in Communist Yugoslavia in the sixties and early seventies, believed in breaking all the rules. Through collage and juxtaposition, Buñuelian absurdity and sexual confrontation, Makavejev freed narrative cinema from all oppressive norms. Influenced as much by Mickey Mouse cartoons and Laurel and Hardy as he was by Russian silent films and 1930s British documentaries, Makavejev constructed unpredictable, genre-defying works that opposed the bureaucracy and dogmatic teachings of the socialist state. "Man Is Not a Bird" (1965), his startling debut, sets a fictional character drama in a real mining complex, and is filmed with gritty realism. His subsequent films are fiction-documentary hybrids as well, and include" Love Affair, or The Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator" (1967); the whimsical found-footage farce "Innocence Unprotected" (1968); and the astonishing "WR: Mysteries of the Organism" (1971), his international breakthrough, which ultimately resulted in his indictment for being a "dissident Marxist" and his 1973 exile from his home country.Formats: DVD. (Facets).
Precious Cargo
(2016) Bruce Willis, Claire Forlani, Mark-Paul Gosselaar. After a botched heist, thieves and ex-lovers Jack and Karen (Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Claire Forlani) are targeted by Eddie (Bruce Willis), a murderous crime boss. To escape with their lives, Jack and Karen must steal a cargo of precious gems. But when that job goes down, allegiances are betrayed and lines are crossed as Jack, Karen, and Eddie face off in a fateful showdown. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: "The Making of Precious Cargo" featurette, cast and crew interviews. (Lionsgate).
Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan
(2016) The remarkable career of the movie industry's most admired and influential special-effects auteur, the legendary Ray Harryhausen, is the subject of Gilles Penso's definitive documentary. Leaving no doubt as to Harryhausen's seminal influence on modern-day special effects, the documentary features enlightening and entertaining interviews with the man himself, Randy Cook, Peter Jackson, Nick Park, Phil Tippet, Terry Gilliam, Dennis Muren, John Landis, Guillermo del Toro, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and many more. These filmmakers, who today push the boundaries of special effects movie-making, pay tribute to the Father of Stop Motion Animation and films such as "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms," "It Came from Beneath the Sea," "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad," "Mysterious Island," "Jason and the Argonauts" and "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad" -- the films that enthralled them as children and inspired them to become filmmakers in their own right. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: Interviews with Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Peter Lord, Rick Bake; 12 interview outtakes with Joe Dante, John Lasseter, Nick Park and more; "A message to Ray"; deleted scenes; "On the set of Sinbad"; Paris Cinematheque Q&A; London Gate Theater Q&A; commentary with the filmmakers; original trailer;
Ray Harryhausen trailer Reel. (Arrow Video US/MVD Entertainment Group).
star Anthony Starke, original theatrical trailer, reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin, fully-illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing by critic James Oliver. (Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment).
weeping landscapes of rural Northumberland, Vera and her assistant, Detective Sergeant Aiden Healy (Kenny Doughty), confront brutal crimes that challenge even Vera's genius for solving cases. This season Vera and Aiden investigate the deaths of a woman found on the moors, a young man who worked at a traveling fairground, a fisherman pulled from the sea, and a mysterious double murder. Four episodes. Formats: Four-disc DVD. (Acorn Media).
© 1996 -- 2016 OnVideo. All rights reserved
June 26, 2016
(ISSN 1094-3676).
|
|
