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OnVideo's Weekly Guide to Home Video Releases
All Hallows' Eve 2
(2015) Andrea Monier, Damien Monier. Alone on Halloween, a young woman finds a mysterious VHS tape on her doorstep -- a tape that shows a series of gruesome and ghastly tales that appear to be all too real (nine in all, each by a different director). A sinister,pumpkin-faced killer is using the videotape as a portal into our reality; and if he makes it through, this twisted trickster seeks only one "treat": Blood. Formats: DVD, Digital. (RLJ Entertainment).
Badge of Honor
(2015) Mena Suvari, Jesse Bradford, Lochlyn Munro, Haylie Duff, Martin Sheen. A determined Internal Affairs detective investigates two narcotics detectives after a teenager is wrongfully shot dead in a violent drug bust. Formats: DVD. (Alchemy).
Batman: Bad Blood
(2016) When Batman goes missing, it takes the entire Bat "family" -- including new additions Batwoman and Batwing -- to keep the peace in Gotham City and unravel the mystery behind the Dark Knight's disappearance. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc (includes an exclusive Nightwing figurine in a numbered limited edition gift set), Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: Sneak peek at the next DC Universe Original Movie, "Justice League vs. Teen Titans." Blu-ray adds "Putting the Fight in the Gotham" featurette that reveals the magic and strategy behind some of the best-choreographed fights in this latest animated film; "Expanding the Family of Batman" featurette; "From the DC Comics Vault, two 22-minute episodes: "Batman: The Brave and the Bold: The Knights of Tomorrow" and "Batman: The Animated Series: Avatar." (Warner).
Big Stone Gap
(2015) Ashley Judd, Patrick Wilson, Whoopi Goldberg, John Benjamin Hickey, Jane Krakowski. It's 1978 and the ever-ordinary Ave Maria Mulligan (Ashley Judd) leads a simple life. She lives with her mother, runs the pharmacy, directs The Trail of the Lonesome Pine Outdoor
Bridge of Spies
(2015) Director: Steven Spielberg. Stars: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Scott Shepherd, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda, Sebastian Koch, Eve Hewson, Eve Hewson, Will Rogers. Steven Spielberg directs a dramatic thriller set against the backdrop of a series of historic events: the story of James Donovan (Tom Hanks), a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on a near impossible mission to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "A Case of the Cold War: Bridge Of Spies": The story of James Donovan, Francis Gary Powers and Rudolf Abel encapsulates the Cold War era -- a tense political climate shrouded in propaganda, espionage and the threat of nuclear war. This piece explores the characters and the real-life people they're based on; "U-2 Spy Plane: Beale Air Force Base" showcases spectacular footage shot at the Beale Air Force Base of the U-2 plane and the scene where Powers and other pilots are instructed about their spying mission, including a cameo appearance in the film by Francis Gary Powers son, Gary Powers Jr.; "Spy Swap: Looking Back on the Final Act": Spielberg and his team stage the pivotal scene of the film at Glienicke Bridge, the very same location where the historic exchange of Soviet spy Rudolf Abel and U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers took place; "Berlin 1961: Recreating The Divide": A mix of behind-the-scenes footage with iconic archival imagery transports viewers to another place and time as the filmmakers construct the Berlin Wall, envision what it was like to cross through Checkpoint Charlie, and recreate the divide. (DreamWorks/Disney).
Extraordinary Tales
(2013) Five of Edgar Allan Poe's best-known stories are brought to life in this heart-pounding animated anthology featuring Christopher Lee, Bela Lugosi, Julian Sands, Roger Corman and Guillermo del Toro. Murderous madmen, sinister villains and cloaked ghouls stalk the darkened corridors of Poe's imagination, as his haunting tales are given a terrifying new twist. Stories include: "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valedemar."
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo. (Cinedigm).
Elmo's World: Elmo Wonders
(2016) Everyone's favorite red furry monster wonders about the exciting and adventurous world
Fight to the Finish
(2014) Shane Warren Jones, Tamara Rey, Jennifer Hale. A young amateur fighter makes an enemy with a hardened thug when he gets in-between his next-door neighbor and her abusive ex- boyfriend. As his personal life becomes threatened, he realizes he must finish the fight that he started, but this time he'll settle it in the ring. Formats: DVD, VOD, Digital. (Lionsgate).
For Better or For Worse
(2015 - TV) Opposites attract when Wendy, a wedding coordinator, and Marco, a divorce attorney, find their lives suddenly intertwined in this Hallmark Channel romance. Wendy is finally settling into the single life after struggling with the death of her husband; she's taken over the family business of coordinating the town's most beautiful and memorable
Freeheld
(2015) Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Michael Shannon, Steve Carell. After detective Laurel Hester (Moore) is diagnosed with cancer, she learns that government officials won’t award her pension benefits to her domestic partner, Stacie (Page). Refusing to accept the officials'
decision, Laurel and Stacie lead a battle for equal rights in this movie that speaks to the power of love and the pursuit of justice. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "The Making of Freeheld" featurette, "Freeheld to Freedom: Ocean County Then and Now" featurette, Oscar-winning 2007 documentary
short "Freeheld," audio commentary with director Peter Sollett and actors Moore and Page. (Lionsgate).
Home Invasion
(2016) Natasha Henstridge, Jason Patric, Scott Adkins, Kyra Zagorsky, Liam Dickinson. When a wealthy woman (Henstridge) and her stepson are targeted by a trio of expert thieves in her remote mansion, her only form of help comes from a call with a security systems specialist (Patric). But as the intruders become increasingly hostile and the connection wavers, will she trust him to be her eyes and navigate her to safety? Formats: DVD, Digital.(Sony).
How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It)
(2015) Melvin van Peebles was a pioneer of rap music, a Tony-nominated playwright, a civil rights activist, an artist and a man whose groundbreaking impact on art, politics and pop culture remains as relevant as ever. Van Peebles was never deterred by opportunity that failed to knock; he’d simply build his own door and get on with it. After Hollywood rejected his early filmmaking efforts, his self-produced Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (which he wrote, produced, financed, directed, scored and starred in) earned more than $10 million at the box office and indelibly changed independent cinema forever. This documentary chronicles the life of van Peebles and offers a wealth of archival footage stretching over the decades
Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet
(2015) Voices of Liam Neeson, Salma Hayek, Quvenzhane Wallis, John Krasinski, Frank Langella, Alfred Molina. Gorgeously animated adventure inspired by the timeless best-selling classic. In a Mediterranean seaside village, Kamila (Salma Hayek) cleans house for exiled artist and poet Mustafa (Liam Neeson), but the more difficult job is keeping her free-spirited young daughter Almitra (Quvenzhane Wallis) out of trouble. The three embark on a journey meant to end with Mustafa's return home -- but first they must evade the authorities who fear that the truth in his words will spark rebellion.
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "Animating Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet," "An Interview With the Filmmakers," feature-length animatic storyboards. (Universal).
The Last Witch Hunter
(2015) Vin Diesel, Elijah Woo, Rose Leslie, Julie Engelbrecht, Michael Caine. Vin Diesel stars as the heroic Kaulder, a legendary warrior sworn to protect the modern world from treacherous black magic. The modern world holds many secrets, but the most astounding secret of all is that witches still live amongst us; vicious supernatural creatures intent on unleashing the Black Death upon the world. Armies of witch hunters battled the unnatural enemy across the globe for centuries, including Kaulder, a valiant warrior who managed to
The Lizzie Borden Chronicles
(2015 -- TV) Christina Ricci, Clea DuVall, Cole Hauser, Andrew Howard, John Heard, Bradley Stryker, Jonathan Banks. Sequel to "Lizzie Borden Took an Ax," the successful 2014 Lifetime Original TV movie. Fictionalized account of actual events and people surrounding Borden's (Ricci) life after her controversial acquittal of the horrific double murder of her parents in 1892, when the exonerated figure lives a life awash in newfound celebrity filled with scandalous love affairs. When numerous people close to her start to mysteriously die under brutal and strange circumstances, legendary Pinkerton detective Charlie Siringo (Hauser) becomes determined to prove her involvement in their ultimate demise. Formats: DVD. (Sony).
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: The Complete Second Season
(1965-66) Ten-disc set with all 30 one-hour episodes. Top agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin (Robert Vaughn and David McCallum) use their charm, wit, and assortment of gadgets to defend the world from their international syndicate T.H.R.U.S.H. In the second season, the agents travel all over the world to take on T.H.R.U.S.H and its axis of evil Allies with guest appearances by Jill Ireland, Angela Lansbury, Kevin McCarthy, Vincent Price and George Sanders. Formats: DVD. (Warner).
Martyrs
(2016) Troian Bellisario, Bailey Noble, Kate Burton. Ten-year-old Lucie flees from the isolated warehouse where she has been held prisoner. Deeply traumatized, she is plagued by awful night terrors at the orphanage that takes her in. Her only comfort comes from Anna, a girl her own age. Nearly a decade later and still haunted by demons, Lucie finally tracks down the family that tortured her. As she and Anna move closer to the agonizing truth, they find themselves trapped in a nightmare -- if they cannot escape, a martyr's fate awaits them. Retelling of the French 2008 horror cult film written and directed by Pascal Laugier.
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc,VOD. (Anchor Bay).
Mercy Street
(2016) Two-disc set with six episodes. Set in Virginia during the Civil war in the spring of 1862, the program follows the lives of two volunteer nurses on opposite sides of the conflict: Mary Phinney (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a staunch New England abolitionist, and Emma Green (Hannah James), a naive young Confederate belle. The two collide at Mansion House, the Green family's luxury hotel that has been taken over and transformed into a Union Army Hospital in Alexandria, a border town between North and South and the longest-occupied Confederate city of the war. Ruled under martial law, Alexandria is now the melting pot of the region, filled with soldiers, civilians, female volunteers, doctors, wounded fighting men from both sides, runaway slaves, prostitutes, speculators and spies. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. (PBS Distribution).
My Boyfriends' Dogs
(2015 - TV) Bailey Daley is a hapless young bride who has run away from the altar with not one, but three dogs she adopted from past relationships. Running into a small diner one rainy evening in a soaked wedding dress with her dogs at her feet, Bailey launches into the story of her strange predicament to the restaurant owners: As each relationship ends, Bailey adopts her ex's dogs, but remains hopelessly single. A Hallmark Channel movie. Formats: DVD. (Cinedigm).
Our Brand Is Crisis
(2015) Sandra Bullock, Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie, Joaquim de Almeida. A Bolivian presidential candidate failing badly in the polls enlists the firepower of an elite American management team, led by the deeply damaged but still brilliant strategist "Calamity" Jane Bodine (Bullock). In self-imposed retirement following a scandal that earned her nickname and rocked her to her core, Jane is coaxed back into the game for the chance to beat her professional nemesis, the loathsome Pat Candy (Thornton), now coaching the opposition. But as Candy zeroes in on every vulnerability -- both on and off the campaign trail -- Jane is plunged into a personal crisis as intense as the one her team exploits nationally to boost their numbers. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "Sandra Bullock: A Role Like No Other" featurette. (Warner).
Rock the Kasbah
(2015) Director: Barry Levinson. Stars: Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson, Zooey Deschanel, Leem Lubany, Arian Moayed, Scott Caan, Danny McBride. A has-been rock manager from Van Nuys, California, stumbles upon a once-in-a-lifetime voice in a remote Afghan cave in this dramatic comedy inspired by stranger-than-fiction, real-life event. Richie Lanz (Bill Murray), dumped and stranded in war-torn Kabul by his last remaining client (Zooey Deschanel), discovers Salima Khan (Leem Lubany), a Pashtun teenager with a beautiful voice
Shelter
(2015) Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Mackie, Amy Hargreaves. A man and woman, both homeless on the streets of New York, find each other and find love. But it is the story of how they arrived there that will help them come together and strive for a better future.Formats: DVD. (Screen Media).
The Sin Seer
(2015) Isaiah Washington, Lisa Arrindell Anderson, C. Thomas Howell, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Richard Brooks. Rose Ricard has been blessed with a special gift: Looking into a person's soul, she can see the lies they try to hide. Now, using her uncanny ability, Rose works as a private investigator, solving "cold" cases the police can't unravel. With her new partner, ex-con Grant Summit, Rose takes on a deadly case that follows close on the heels of a murderer and threatens to reveal long-buried secrets from her own past. Formats: DVD, VOD, Digital. (RLJ Entertainment).
Suffragette
(2015) Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Brendan Gleeson, Anne-Marie Duff, Ben Whishaw. Powerful drama inspired by true events, about the women willing to lose everything in their fight for equality in early-20th-century Britain. Galvanized by outlaw fugitive Emmeline
Truth
(2015) Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Topher Grace, Elisabeth Moss, Bruce Greenwood, Dennis Quaid. Based on award-winning TV producer Mary Mapes' memoir, "Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power," which chronicles the story of Dan Rather (Robert Redford) and Mary Mapes' (Cate Blanchett) investigation into a sitting President's military service and one of network news' biggest scandals. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, VOD, Digital, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "The Team" featurette; Q&A with Cate Blanchett, Elisabeth Moss and James Vanderbilt; commentary with Vanderbilt, producers Brad Fischer and William Sherak. Blu-ray adds deleted scenes, "The Reason for Being" featurette. (Sony).
Uncaged
(2016) Ben Getz, Kyle Kirkpatrick, Zachary Weiner, Garrett Hendricks, Paulina Singer, Gene Jones. After nights of sleepwalking and repeatedly waking up in the woods naked with no memory of the night before, a troubled teen straps a camera to himself and discovers a sinister truth: He is the unwitting heir to a monstrous family legacy of savagery, slaughter, and unrelenting horror from which death may be the only escape. Formats: DVD, Digital.(RLJ Entertainment).
Zombie Fight Club
(2014 - Taiwan) Jessica C, Andy On, Terence Yin, Michael Wong, Jack Kao, MC HotDog. An outbreak of zombies besets a building riddled with crime in a corner of the city. When one young woman (Jessica C) witnesses her boyfriend falling victim to the zombie horde, she must team up with a police officer (Andy On) in order to stay alive and escape the building. But ratcheting up the terror, an evil organization has begun pitting humans against zombies in a malicious killing game. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, Digital. (Scream Factory).
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