From the Big Screen:

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

(2021) When a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather, an original Ghostbuster, left behind. Vitals: Director: Jason Reitman. Stars: Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Annie Potts, Ernie Hudson, Paul Rudd, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, J.K. Simmons. 2021, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 124 min., Comedy, North American box office gross: $120.450 million, worldwide $176.850 million, Sony.Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Code, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Extras: “Summoning the Spirit: Making Ghostbusters: Afterlife.” Blu-ray adds “We Got One! Easter Eggs Revealed,” “Ghostbusters: A Look Back,” “A Look Ahead,” “Bringing Ecto-1 Back to Life,” “The Gearhead’s Guide to Ghostbusters Gadgets,” Special Effects: The Ghosts of Afterlife,” deleted scene. Read more here

Clifford the Big Red Dog

(2021) As middle schooler Emily Elizabeth struggles to fit in at home and at school, she discovers a small red puppy — who is destined to become her best friend — from a magical animal rescuer. When Clifford becomes a gigantic red dog in her New York City apartment and attracts the attention of a genetics company who wish to supersize animals, Emily and her clueless Uncle Casey have to fight the forces of greed as they go on the run across New York City and take a bite out of the Big Apple. Along the way, Clifford affects the lives of everyone around him and teaches Emily and her uncle the true meaning of acceptance and unconditional love. Based on the beloved Scholastic character. Vitals: Director: Walt Becker. Stars: Darby Camp, Jack Whitehall, Izaac Wang, John Cleese, Sienna Guillory, Tony Hale, David Alan Grier, Paul Rodriguez. 2021, MPAA rating: PG, 96 minutes, Family, North American boxoffice: $47.686, worldwide boxoffice: $61.986, Paramount. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Blu-ray extras: “Part of the Pack” behind-the-scenes look at Clifford’s big movie with interviews from cast and crew; “Acting Is for the Dogs” featurette on the puppeteers who brought the giant red pup to life; “The Magic of Bridwell”; “Tips & Tricks for Taking Care of a 10-Foot Dog”; deleted scenes. Read more here

This Week’s Best Bet:

Douglas Sirk’s Technicolor expressionism reached a fever pitch with this operatic tragedy, “Written on the Wind” (1956), which finds the director pushing his florid visuals and his critiques of American culture to their subversive extremes. Alcoholism, nymphomania, impotence, and deadly jealousy — these are just some of the toxins coursing through a massively wealthy, degenerate Texan oil family. When a sensible secretary (Lauren Bacall) has the misfortune of marrying the clan’s neurotic scion (Robert Stack), it drives a wedge between him and his lifelong best friend (Rock Hudson) that unleashes a maelstrom of psychosexual angst and fury. Featuring an unforgettably debauched, Oscar-winning supporting performance by Dorothy Malone and some of Sirk’s most eye-popping mise-en-scène, “Written on the Wind” is as perverse a family portrait as has ever been splashed across the screen. On DVD, Blu-ray; on the Blu-ray: New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack; on the DVD: Widescreen digital transfer, enhanced for 16×9 televisions. From The Criterion Collection.

Buzzin’ the ‘B’s:

“The Spine of Night” (2021), starring Richard E. Grant, Lucy Lawless, Patton Oswalt and Joe Manganiello, is a fantasy tale about the history of a land that never was, and begins when an ambitious young man steals forbidden knowledge from a sacred plant. He falls to its darker temptations and in so doing, unleashes ages of suffering onto mankind. As his power grows over the years, it falls to people of different ilk and culture to attempt to stop him. Among those who stand against him are a daring tomb-robber, star-crossed lovers, a maniacal necromancer, winged assassins, and an undying guardian. On DVD, Blu-ray, from RLJE Films … In “Slumber Party Massacre (2021)” (2021), starring Hannah Gonera, Frances Sholto-Douglas, Alex McGregor, Schelaine Bennett and Rob van Vuuren, the daughter of the only survivor of a bloody massacre in 1993 goes on a weekend trip with her friends. After their car breaks down in the very same town where her mother once fought the Driller Killer, Dana and her friends must come face-to-face with the psychotic serial killer who has haunted her life for the past 30 years. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Universal … In “Superhost” (2021), starring Sara Canning, Osric Chau, Gracie Gillam and Barbara Crampton, Teddy and Claire are travel vloggers who run a channel called “SUPERHOST” where they travel and share their experiences in and around vacation homes, and until recently, had become successful doing it. With a dwindling subscriber count, they find the perfect opportunity to create popular content when they meet Rebecca, the host of their most recent trip. Slowly they start to realize that something isn’t right with Rebecca, and as they investigate it further, they unlock a horrifying truth. She doesn’t just want a great review, she wants something far worse. On DVD, Blu-ray, from RLJE Films … In “Deadlock” (2021), Bruce Willis. Willis stars as Ron Whitlock, a wanted criminal leading a team of mercenaries on a mission of vengeance. Convinced that the government is working against them, the merciless group brutally seizes an energy plant and holds everyone inside hostage. With a nearby town on the brink of massive flooding and destruction, it’s up to retired elite army ranger Mack Karr (Patrick Muldoon) to save thousands of innocent lives before it’s too late. From Paramount.

Foreign Films:

“Little Girl” (2020 — France) is the touching portrait of eight-year-old Sasha, who questions her gender and in doing so, evokes the sometimes disturbing reactions of a society that is still invested in a biological boy-girl way of thinking. Sasha’s family has recently accepted her gender identity, embracing their daughter for who she truly is while working to confront outdated norms and find affirmation in a small community of rural France. Realized with delicacy and intimacy, Sébastien Lifshitz’s documentary poetically explores the emotional challenges, everyday feats, and small moments in Sasha’s life. On DVD, Blu-ray, from Music Box Films. Read more here

For the Family:

Join Elmo and his friends as they learn about the wonderful people, places, and things on Sesame Street in “Sesame Street – Elmo’s World: All Around the Neighborhood”
(2021). With over two hours of Elmo’s World shorts, preschoolers will find joy in everything their neighborhood holds. Learn all about doctors, newspapers, machines, factories, ramps, sports, getting dressed, bowling, veterinarians, nighttime, maps, blocks, transportation, measuring and photographers. From Sesame Workshop/Shout! Kids.

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.