From the Big Screen:

Cocaine Bear

(2023) Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner’s plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, this wild dark comedy finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500-pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow … and blood.Vitals: Director: Elizabeth Banks. Stars: Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Christian Convery, Alden Ehrenreich, Brooklynn Prince, Isiah Whitlock Jr., with Margo Martindale, Ray Liotta. CC, MPAA rating: R, 95 min., Comedy Thriller, North American box office gross: $64.005 million, worldwide $83.125 million, Universal. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Extras: Alternate ending; deleted & extended scenes; gag reel; “All Roads Lead to Cokey: The Making of Cocaine Bear”; “UnBEARable Bloodbath: Dissecting the Kills”; “Doing Lines”: Cast and filmmakers read lines from the script, which was a work of art unto itself; feature commentary with director/producer Elizabeth Banks and producer Max Handelman. Read more here

Magic Mike’s Last Dance

(2023) “Magic” Mike Lane (Channing Tatum) takes to the stage again after a lengthy hiatus, following a business deal that went bust, leaving him broke and taking bartender gigs in Florida. For what he hopes will be one last hurrah, Mike heads to London with a wealthy socialite (Hayek Pinault) who lures him with an offer he can’t refuse … and an agenda all her own. With everything on the line, once Mike discovers what she truly has in mind, will he—and the roster of hot new dancers he’ll have to whip into shape—be able to pull it off? Vitals: Director: Steven Soderbergh. Stars: Channing Tatum, Salma Hayek Pinault, Ayub Khan Din, Jemelia George, Juliette Motamed, Vicki Pepperdine. CC, MPAA rating: R, 112 min., Comedy, North American box office gross: $26.005 million, worldwide $56.305 million, Warner. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Code, VOD, Digital.

Marlowe

(2023) Noir crime thriller set in late 1930’s Los Angeles, centers around a street-wise, down-on-his-luck detective; Philip Marlowe (Liam Neeson), who is hired to find the ex-lover of a glamorous heiress (Diane Kruger), daughter of a well-known movie star (Jessica Lange). The disappearance unearths a web of lies, and soon Marlowe is involved in a dangerous, deadly investigation where everyone involved has something to hide. Based upon the 2014 novel “The Black-Eyed Blonde” by Benjamin Black, not one of Raymond Chandler’s original Marlowe works. Vitals: Director: Neil Jordan. Stars: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, Jessica Lange, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Colm Meaney, Ian Hart, Alan Cumming, Danny Huston. CC, MPAA rating: R, 110 min., Mystery, North American box office gross: $4.350 million, worldwide $5.413 million, Universal. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Code, VOD, Digital.

This Week’s Highlight:

Based on the novel “Julia” by Peter Straub, the atmospheric supernatural thriller “The Haunting of Julia” (aka Full Circle) (1977), starring Keir Dullea, Mia Farrow, Sophie Ward and Tom Conti, has developed a cult following amongst film fans for its intelligent yet deeply chilling take on a modern ghost story. Never before available on DVD or Blu-ray in the US, this long-sought after film will be available on physical media for the first time in decades. 4K restoration from the original negative. Magnus and Julia Lofting (Dullea and Farrow) suffer a tremendous shock one morning when their daughter Kate (Ward) begins choking. Unsure what to do, Julia attempts a tracheotomy, inadvertently causing Kate’s death. The tragedy sends Julia to a hospital to recover, but when Magnus asks that she come home, she prefers to buy a new house in London to live alone. Magnus begins pondering Julia’s fragile sanity, while Julia becomes convinced that her house is haunted by the spirit of a little girl. On 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo, from Shout! Factory. Read more here.

Buzzin’ the ‘B’s:

In “Kids vs Aliens” (2021), starring Dominic Mariche, Phoebe Rex, Calem MacDonald, Asher Grayson and Ben Tector, all Gary wants is to make awesome home movies with his best buds. All his older sister Samantha wants is to hang with the cool kids. When their parents head out of town one Halloween weekend, an all-time rager of a teen house party turns to terror when aliens attack, forcing the siblings to band together to survive the night. On DVD, Blu-ray, from RLJE Films … In “Transfusion” (2023), starring Sam Worthington, Matt Nable, Phoebe Tonkin and Susie Porter, ex-special forces operative Ryan Logan (Worthington) has a sharply honed set of survival skills that have allowed him to walk the line between courage and fear. But after a personal tragedy shatters his family and sends his teenaged son, Billy, into a world of drugs and delinquency, he is pushed to the edge. Desperate to make a new life for Billy, Ryan plunges into the criminal underground for one final mission. On Blu-ray + Digital Code, from Lionsgate … In “Righteous Thieves” (2021), starring Lisa Vidal, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Brian Cousins, Sasha Merci, Paul Kreppel, David Gilchrist, Cam Gigandet and Carlos Miranda, Annabel (Vidal), a leader of a secret organization engaged in the recovery of priceless artwork, assembles a ragtag crew of art thieves to recover a Monet, Picasso, Degas, and Van Gogh stolen by Nazis during WWII and now in the possession of neo-Nazi billionaire oligarch Otto Huizen (Cousins). As the planned heist approaches, loyalties are tested when the crew learns the real reason behind Annabel’s search for the long-lost paintings. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Lionsgate.

All DVDs and Blu-rays are screened on a reference system consisting of an Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player w/SACD & DVD-Audio, a Rotel RSX-972 Surround Sound Receiver, and Phase Technology 1.1 (front), 33.1 (center), and 50 (rear) speakers, and Power 10 subwoofer.