(2024) The untold story of the witches of Oz: Elphaba, a misunderstood young woman who has yet to discover her true power, and Ariana Grande as Glinda, a popular young woman who has yet to discover her true heart. The two meet at Shiz University and forge an unlikely friendship – before their lives take different paths following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Their extraordinary adventures will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. Wicked is an immersive, cultural celebration. Based on the long-running Broadway musical. Vitals: Director: Jon M. Chu. Stars: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum.
CC, MPAA rating: PG, 160 min., Musical, Theatrical release date: November 22, 2024, North American box office gross: $397.8 million, worldwide $586.3 million, Universal.Formats: DVD, Blu-ray + Digital Code, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Extras: Sing along alternate feature-length version; deleted and extended scenes; "Making Wicked"; "Welcome to Shiz"; "A Wicked Legacy"; "The Wonderful Wizard"; feature commentary with director Jon M. Chu; feature commentary with stars Cynthia Erivo And Ariana Grande.
Read more here.
Juror #2
(2024) From legendary filmmaker Clint Eastwood comes “Juror #2,” which follows family man Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) who, while serving as a juror in a high profile murder trial, finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma ... one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict -- or free -- the accused killer. Vitals: Director: Clint Eastwood. Stars: Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Chris Messina, Gabriel Basso, Zoey Deutch, Cedric Yarbrough, Leslie Bibb, Kiefer Sutherland.
CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 114 min., Drama, Theatrical release date: November 1, 2024, North American box office gross: $N/A million, worldwide $15.919 million, Warner.Formats: DVD, Blu-ray + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Read more here.
A Real Pain
(2024) Mismatched cousins, David and Benji, reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. Vitals: Director: Jesse Eisenberg. Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy, Daniel Oreskes.
CC, MPAA rating: R, 89 min., Comedy Drama, Theatrical release date: November 1, 2024, North American box office gross: $6.716 million, worldwide $7.749 million, Fox Searchlight Pictures.Formats: Blu-ray + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Extras: "Beautiful Fate: Making A Real Pain."
Read more here.
Werewolves
(2024) A year after a supermoon's light activated a dormant gene, transforming humans into bloodthirsty werewolves and causing nearly a billion deaths, the nightmare resurfaces as the supermoon rises again. Two scientists attempt to stop the mutation but fail, leaving those exposed to the moonlight to once again become feral werewolves. Chaos engulfs the streets as the scientists struggle to reach one of their family homes, now under siege by the savage creatures. Vitals: Director: Steven C. Miller. Stars: Frank Grillo, Katrina Law, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jimmy Cummings, Lou Diamond Phillips.
CC, MPAA rating: R, 93 min., Horror, Theatrical release date: December 8, 2024, North American box office gross: $1.903 million, worldwide $2.056 million, Briarcliff Entertainment/Studio Distribution Services.Formats: DVD, Blu-ray + Digital Code, VOD, Digital.
Azrael
(2024) Many years following the apocalypse, a devout female-led cult of mute zealots hunts down Azrael, a young woman who has escaped her imprisonment. Recaptured by its ruthless leaders, Azrael is to be sacrificed to pacify an ancient evil that resides deep within the surrounding wilderness – yet she will stop at nothing to ensure her own survival. Azrael makes a savage bid for freedom as her escape accelerates towards a vicious showdown between the very forces of good and evil. Vitals: Director: E.L. Katz. Stars: Samara Weaving, Vic Carmen Sonne, Katariina Unt, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Sebastian Bull Sarning.
CC, MPAA rating: R, 86 min., Horror, Theatrical release date:September 27, 2024, North American box office gross: $.433 million, worldwide $.666 million, IFC.Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, Digital. Read more here.
Top Disc Releases Next Week
• Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) • A Certain Killer/A Killer’s Key (1967 -- Japan) • In the Summers • King Lear (1987) Jean-Luc Godard
All We Imagine as Light: In Mumbai, Nurse Prabha's routine is troubled when she receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband. Her younger roommate, Anu, tries in vain to find a spot in the city to be intimate with her boyfriend. A trip to a beach town allows them to find a space for their desires to manifest. (Digital sales, VOD only)
Good Bad Things: An entrepreneur with a physical disability reluctantly tries a dating app, leading him on a profound journey of love and self-discovery. (Digital sales, VOD only)
September 5: During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, an American sports broadcasting team must adapt to live coverage the Israeli athletes being held hostage by a terrorist group. (Digital sales, VOD only)
Wish You Were Here:A woman searching for a spark finds a whirlwind night of romance with a man only to discover he is terminally ill and commits to helping him spend his last days living life to the fullest. (Digital sales, VOD only)
Wolf Man:A family at a remote farmhouse is attacked by an unseen animal, but as the night stretches on, the father begins to transform into something unrecognizable. (Digital sales, VOD only)
February 7
Are You There?: When paranormal psychology student Rosa Gonzalez lights a summoning ritual candle, it ignites a life and death game of twenty questions. As the candle melts down, so does her chance of survival. She discovers some questions are best left unanswered. (Digital sales, VOD only)
Don't Say It: Pat, a down-on-his-luck restaurateur, and Lara, a diner waitress navigating life after divorce, unexpectedly cross paths. With his charm, culinary talents, and a flair for karaoke, Pat sets out to win Lara’s heart. (Digital sales, VOD only)
(2024) Samara Weaving, Vic Carmen Sonne, Katariina Unt, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Sebastian Bull Sarning. In a world where no one speaks, a devout female hunts down a young woman who has escaped her imprisonment. Recaptured by its ruthless leaders, Azrael is due to be sacrificed to pacify an ancient evil deep within the surrounding wilderness. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, Digital. (IFC). Read more here.
The Invisible Raptor
(2024) Mike Capes, David Shackelford, Caitlin McHugh Stamos, Sandy Martin, Bobby Gilchrist, Richard Riehle, Sean Astin. Spoof of "Jurassic Park" and other ‘80s classics (with a special homage to the oeuvre of Steven Spielberg). After a top-secret experiment goes wrong, a hyper-intelligent invisible raptor escapes the lab and begins wreaking havoc in the surrounding neighborhood. When the creature’s identity is uncovered, it soon becomes clear that a disgraced paleontologist —- alongside his ex-girlfriend, an unhinged amusement park security guard, and a local celebrity chicken farmer -- is the town’s only hope for surviving the raptor’s ravenous rampage. Formats: Blu-ray, VOD, Digital. (Well Go USA). Read more here
Juror #2
(2024) Director: Clint Eastwood. Stars: Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Chris Messina, Gabriel Basso, Zoey Deutch, Cedric Yarbrough, Leslie Bibb, Kiefer Sutherland. Follows family man Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) who, while serving as a juror in a high profile murder trial, finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma ... one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict -- or free -- the accused killer. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. (Warner). Read more here.
Oh, Canada
(2024) Director: Paul Schrader. Stars: Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, Michael Imperioli, Jacob Elordi, Caroline Dhavernas. Famed Canadian-American leftist documentary filmmaker Leonard Fife (Gere) was one of sixty thousand draft evaders and deserters who fled to Canada to avoid serving in Vietnam. Now in his late seventies, Fife is dying of cancer in Montreal and has agreed to a final interview in which he is determined to bare all his secrets at last, to demythologize his mythologized life. A reflective, moving masterpiece from director Paul Schrader, who reunites with Gere for the first time since "American Gigolo" (1980). Fiery but feeling his years and his illness, ailing filmmaker Fife wants to tell his life story, unfiltered, before it’s too late. As the director of lauded documentary exposés, he has much to be proud of, but his avoidance of the Vietnam War draft and his past relationships harbor thorny truths. Finally choosing to reveal all about his life and career, Leonard sits for an extended filmed interview with his former student Malcolm (Imperioli, charging ahead with candid stories about his younger self (Elordi) in the fractious 1960s and beyond. At Leonard’s insistence, his wife and indispensable partner, Emma (Thurman), hears everything. Leonard’s successes are held up against his failings -- the fibs held up against the facts -- and as the man in full is cleansed of the myth, Leonard must confront what is left. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, Digital. (Kino Lorber). Read more here
Punch-Drunk Love
(2002) Chaos lurks in every corner of this giddily off-kilter foray into romantic comedy by Paul Thomas Anderson. Struggling to cope with his erratic temper, novelty-toilet-plunger salesman Barry Egan (Adam Sandler, demonstrating remarkable versatility in his first dramatic role) spends his days collecting frequent-flier-mile coupons and dodging the insults of his seven sisters. The promise of a new life emerges when Barry inadvertently attracts the affection of a mysterious woman named Lena (Emily Watson), but their budding relationship is threatened when he falls prey to the swindling operator of a phone sex line and her deranged boss (played with maniacal brio by Philip Seymour Hoffman). Fueled by the careening momentum of a baroque-futurist score by Jon Brion, the Cannes-award-winning "Punch-Drunk Love" channels the spirit of classic Hollywood and the whimsy of Jacques Tati into an idiosyncratic ode to the delirium of new romance. Formats: 4K UHD + Blu-ray combo with 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Paul Thomas Anderson, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack. One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. Extras:Read more here. (The Criterion Collection).
A Real Pain
(2024) Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy, Daniel Oreskes. Mismatched cousins, David and Benji, reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. Formats: Blu-ray + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Extras: "Beautiful Fate: Making A Real Pain."
Extras:
(Fox Searchlight Pictures). Read more here.
The Waynes Bros.: The Complete Series
(1995-99) Twelve-disc set with 101 episodes from all five seasons. Premiering in 1995, "The Wayans Bros." quickly became a fan favorite with its hilarious mix of family dynamics, quirky characters, and memorable one-liners. Following the misadventures of two distinctly different brothers sharing an apartment in New York City, the series was a cultural touchstone for '90s television blending physical humor, clever wit, and heartfelt moments. Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans — real-life brothers and members of the prolific Wayans family — star in this hilarious and physical comedy series as Shawn and Marlon Williams, two very different brothers who live together in New York City while searching for success. As the series begins, Shawn wants to be promoted from delivery man to dispatcher to impress his girlfriend, Lisa (Lela Rochon). Marlon works in the diner operated by his and Shawn’s father, Pops (John Witherspoon). The two brothers often get into trouble with their moneymaking schemes — but it’s always entertaining to watch. The series also features numerous notable guest stars.
Formats: DVD. (Warners).
Werewolves
(2024) Frank Grillo, Katrina Law, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jimmy Cummings, Lou Diamond Phillips. Two scientists try to stop a mutation that turns people into werewolves after being touched by a super-moon the year before. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. (Briarcliff Entertainment/Studio Distribution Services).
Wicked
(2024) Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum. Elphaba, a misunderstood young woman because of her green skin, and Galinda, a popular girl, become friends at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. After an encounter with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads. Based on the Broadway play.
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray + Digital Code, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo + Digital Code, VOD, Digital. Extras: Sing along alternate feature-length version; deleted and extended scenes; "Making Wicked"; "Welcome to Shiz"; "A Wicked Legacy"; "The Wonderful Wizard"; feature commentary with director Jon M. Chu; feature commentary with stars Cynthia Erivo And Ariana Grande. (Universal). Read more here.
DVD
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