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Summer is just around the corner, movie collectors, and as the temperature increases, so does the roster of films, both recent and classic, making their way to home video. Whether you’re chilling out at the beach or just lounging in the backyard, we’d like to offer you an advance look at our picks for the most intriguing DVD and Blu-ray releases coming up in June:
Bank Shot (1974) – Out of prison and no wiser for it, master criminal Walter Ballantine (George C. Scott) wracks his brains to devise the score that’ll set him for life. When he comes upon a bank branch that’s temporarily quartered in a house trailer, he plans to make off with the cash–by making off with the whole bank! Fun take on the Donald Westlake novel co-stars Joanna Cassidy, Bob Balaban, Sorrell Booke, Clifton James.
The Bold Ones: The Senator: The Complete Series (1970) – Airing for one season as a segment of NBC’s 1969-73 series “The Bold Ones,” this Emmy-winning drama centered on U.S. Senator Hayes Stowe (Hal Holbrook), a principled D.C. lawmaker. Designed to offer a positive outlook on government amid the turmoil of the Vietnam War era, the program followed the courageous Stowe’s dust-ups with Capitol Hill colleagues and opponents. Sharon Acker, Michael Tolan co-star. All eight episodes, along with the pilot film “A Clear and Present Danger,” are featured in a three-disc set.
Chappie (2015) – In a near-future South Africa, human cops are being replaced with heavily armed robotic replacements. When the engineer (Dev Patel) who designed the constructs is kidnapped by thugs, he takes the chance of installing his untested AI programming in a broken model–and his child-like creation becomes hunted by the authorities and a ruthless corporate rival (Hugh Jackman). Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi opus co-stars Sigourney Weaver and a motion-captured Sharlto Copley as “Chappie.”
Coffy (1973) and Foxy Brown (1974) – Pam Grier is lovely to look at and deadly to know in two ’70s “Blaxploitation” favorites, each available separately. With her 11-year-old sister in a coma from a dose of tainted heroin, nurse “Coffy” Coffin (Grier) decided that the only treatment for the pushers, mobsters, and corrupt politicians poisoning the streets should be administered at the business end of a shotgun. Violent actioner co-stars Robert DoQui, Allan Arbus, Booker Bradshaw, Sid Haig. Also, When her undercover cop lover is killed by the mob, Pam as Foxy Brown doesn’t just get angry. Posing as a call girl to infiltrate the killers’ escort agency, she vows to bring down their operations from within…and when her cover’s blown, she lines up a posse of radicals for a bloody showdown. With Antonio Fargas, Peter Brown, Kathryn Loder; Jack Hill directs.
Danny Collins (2015) – Aging ’70s rocker Danny Collins (Al Pacino) was content partying like he was 20 and going through the motions on tour for his graying fanbase. The day he finally received a 40-year-old letter of encouragement from John Lennon, Danny dropped all to check into a Jersey motel and try to connect with his musical roots…as well as the road-conceived son (Bobby Cannavale) he’s never known. Jennifer Garner, Christopher Plummer, Annette Bening also star.
The Dark Horse (1932), June Bride (1948), Satan Met a Lady (1936), and Special Agent (1935) – Four vintage Bette Davis titles, each available separately, offer the Oscar-winning actress a chance to show off her comedic and dramatic chops. Davis is a political party worker who convinces her bosses that the slick-talking guy (Warren William) she’s sweet on is their best bet as their hapless gubernatorial candidate’s (Guy Kibbee) campaign manager in the satirical The Dark Horse. Bette’s a women’s magazine editor whose new assistant is none other than her former fiancé (Robert Montgomery), and a story about a small-town Indiana wedding could bring the ex-couple back together, in the romantic romp June Bride. Satan Met a Lady, loosely based on Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon (but made five years before the Bogart version), finds Davis playing the femme fatale who lures a wisecracking private eye (William again) into the search for a priceless artifact. And Special Agent features George Brent as the title T-man, who must protect a bookkeeper (Davis) from her boss, a wanted gangster (Ricardo Cortez), so she can testify against him.
The Decline of Western Civilization Collection – Unseen for years, director Penelope Spheeris’ acclaimed documentary/concert film looks at L.A.’s ’80s and ’90s hardcore music scenes are back in a four-disc set. “The Decline of Western Civilization” (1981) features performances from such infamous punk bands as Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X. Music by Alice Cooper, Megadeth, and Motorhead and interviews with Ozzy Osbourne, Paul Stanley, Steven Tyler, and others are featured in “The Decline of Western Civilization, Part II: The Metal Years” (1988). And the lives of homeless SoCal “gutter punk” teens are captured in the sobering documentary “The Decline of Western Civilization, Part III” (1998).
The DUFF (2015) – Horrified to discover that her looks and personality have branded her a DUFF–“Designated Ugly Fat Friend”–among her more popular peers, Bianca (Mae Whitman) undertakes a mission to totally revamp her image. Jock classmate Wesley (Robbie Amell) agrees to help her land a date if she assists him with his homework, but soon finds himself increasingly drawn to his nerdy tutor. Bella Thorne, Allison Janney co-star.
Eddie Cantor 4-Film Collection – After bailing from his job with a phony psychic (Charles Middleton), a young man (Eddie Cantor) lands a management job with a large bakery–and has to contend with his ex-boss’s plans to rob it, in “Palmy Days” (1931). Charlotte Greenwood, George Raft co-star. Forced by bank robbers to be their wheel man, an expelled college student (Cantor) ditches them in Mexico–and then gets mistaken for a famed bullfighter, in “The Kid from Spain” (1932). Robert Young, Lyda Roberti, Noah Beery co-star. A conk on the head sends a small-town delivery boy/history buff (Cantor) back to Ancient Rome–and the middle of an assassination plot, in “Roman Scandals” (1933). Ruth Etting, Gloria Stuart, Edward Arnold co-star. Assertiveness training takes a timid tailor (Cantor) to ownership of an amusement park–and to slot racketeers looking to strong-arm him, in “Strike Me Pink” (1936). Ethel Merman, William Frawley, Parkyakarkus also star.
Fearless Frank (1967) – Freshly arrived in Chicago, hayseed Frank (Jon Voight, in his film debut) makes the mistake of cozying up to a gun moll (Monique van Vooren), and gets plugged for his trouble. A sympathetic scientist (Severn Darden) revives him–and provides him with superpowers–that he uses to clean up the town’s corruption. Early-career comic curio from writer/director Philip Kaufman also stars Joan Darling, David Steinberg, Nelson Algren.
Fire Sale (1977) – Department store owner Benny Fikus (Vincent Gardenia) is in a bind–his business is failing, his nebbish assistant son Russel (Rob Reiner) is no help, and his other kid Ezra (Alan Arkin, who directed) quit to coach high school basketball. He’s come up with a fix, though…he’ll convince his shell-shocked brother-in-law (Sid Caesar) to torch the place for the money! Dark farce co-stars Anjanette Comer, Kay Medford, Alex Rocco.
Five Came Back (1939) – When a South American passenger plane is forced to come down in a remote Amazon jungle, the two-man crew and nine survivors have a harrowing struggle with the elements, hostile natives..and one another. Against all odds, they get the craft airworthy again…but what happens when it can’t support them all? John Farrow’s exemplary “B” adventure stars Lucille Ball, Chester Morris, Kent Taylor, C. Aubrey Smith, Wendy Barrie, Patric Knowles.
Get Hard (2015) – When a judge decides to make an example of him with a 10-year stretch in San Quentin on white-collar offenses, investment banker James King (Will Ferrell) turns to his only acquaintance that he supposes has prison experience–his African-American car washer, Darnell Lewis (Kevin Hart)–for a crash course in surviving inside. Darnell’s never so much as jaywalked, but the cash is too good to pass up, so class is in session! Outrageous comedy co-stars Alison Brie, T.I., Craig T. Nelson.
Jericho: The Complete Series (1966) – In World War II-era occupied Europe, a covert confederation of Allied military officers–American demolitions expert/tactician Franklin Sheppard (Don Francks), British ex-acrobat Nicholas Gage (John Leyton), and French munitions master Jean-Gaston Andre (Marino Mase)–pooled their considerable skills to hasten the collapse of the Axis through espionage and sabotage, in this short-lived but well-recalled historical adventure that aired on CBS. All 16 episodes are featured in a four-disc set.
Johnny Angel (1945) – New Orleans merchant seaman Johnny Angel (George Raft) watched his dad’s vessel pull into port…and then found the shot-up freighter without either cargo or crew. When the few clues point to a mysterious Frenchwoman (Signe Hasso) seen leaving the docks, the two-fisted mariner heads for the French Quarter on a dangerous quest for answers. Atmospheric entry co-stars Claire Trevor, Hoagy Carmichael, Margaret Wycherly.
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015) – Based on the comic book series “The Secret Service,” this exciting spy thriller follows Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton), a British street kid who is recruited into a secret intelligence agency by the enigmatic Harry Hart (Colin Firth). Soon, Eggsy is caught up in a mission to stop the megalomaniacal Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) from broadcasting a high-tech signal that will cause humans to become uncontrollably violent. With Michael Caine, Mark Strong, and Sophie Cookson.
Lad: A Dog (1962) – Timeless family fare based on the Albert Payson Terhune children’s novel follows the adventures of the intrepid rough collie Lad, as he befriends a polio-stricken neighbor girl (Angela Cartwright) and brings her the courage to face her affliction, and deals with a poacher out to visit tragedy upon his family. Affecting effort co-stars Peter Breck, Peggy McCay, Carroll O’Connor, Alice Pearce.
The Lazarus Effect (2015) – When affianced college researchers Frank (Mark Duplass) and Zoe (Olivia Wilde) start making inroads with their experiments in resurrecting dead animals, an appalled university shuts them down. During their rogue attempt to continue, Zoe is accidentally electrocuted–and a grief-stricken Frank subjects her to the process. The resuscitation, however, comes at a price…Zoe’s humanity. Shocker co-stars Sarah Bolger, Evan Peters, Donald Glover.
Made for Each Other (1971) – It was just your average Christmas Eve group therapy session in Manhattan where talentless performance artist Pandora Gold (Renee Taylor) first met remorseless serial womanizer Giggy Panimba (Joseph Bologna). Can their immediate attraction survive their respective neuroses, or the parents that made them nuts? Long-sought cult rom-com, co-scripted by the leads, co-stars Paul Sorvino, Olympia Dukakis, Ron Carey.
The Thing with Two Heads (1972) – “They transplanted a white bigot’s head onto a soul brother’s body!” Losing his battle with terminal cancer, brilliant but bigoted neurosurgeon Maxwell Kirshner (Ray Milland) blackmails his colleagues into applying his radical theories…by applying his living head onto another body! Imagine his dismay when the only ready and willing subject is African-American convict Jack Moss (Roosevelt Grier)–who then bolts, to try and prove he was railroaded! Exploitation classic co-stars Roger Perry, Chelsea Brown.
Unfinished Business (2015) – Dan Trunkman (Vince Vaughn) is a fed-up salesman who leaves his corporate job to start his own business, taking over-the-hill Tim McWinters (Tom Wilkinson) and young rookie Mike Pancake (Dave Franco) with him. In an effort to get their company off the ground, the trio heads to Europe to close a big deal, setting the stage for a hilariously bizarre trip that involves bar fights, a nude sauna, a fetish festival, and more. Sienna Miller, James Marsden also star in this raunchy comedy.
Welcome to Me (2015) – Kristen Wiig stars in this quirky comedy/drama as Alice Klieg, a woman suffering from borderline personality disorder who becomes a multi-millionaire when she wins the lottery. Going off her meds, Alice gives a hefty sum of cash to a struggling cable channel in exchange for her own talk show which she uses as a platform for bizarre musings on just about anything she can think of. With James Marsden, Linda Cardellini, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Joan Cusack, and Tim Robbins.
While We’re Young (2015) – Josh (Ben Stiller) and Cornelia (Naomi Watts) are married, middle-aged, and disillusioned; while Jamie (Adam Driver) and his wife, Darby (Amanda Seyfried), are hip, young, and free-spirited. Will the unlikely friendship that develops between the two couples be a learning experience for all involved or will it serve as a reminder that not all generation gaps can be bridged? Writer/director Noah Baumbach’s insightful comedy/drama also stars Adam Horovitz, Peter Yarrow, and Charles Grodin.
You can see more information on these and other upcoming titles by clicking here.