The Jungle Book and Other Exciting DVD & Blu-ray New Releases

What new DVD and Blu-rays should you check out? Here are your bare necessities for this week!

The Jungle Book

Taking its spirited animated 1967 spin on the Kipling adventure─and combining live action and CGI to deliver a visually sumptuous reimagining─Disney delivered a critical and popular sensation. Abandoned in the jungles of India and raised by a wolf pack, the feral boy Mowgli (Neel Sethi) is targeted for destruction by the domineering tiger Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba)─unless he can be shepherded back to mankind by the protective panther Bagheera (Ben Kinglsey) and the carefree bear Baloo (Bill Murray). Christopher Walken, Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong’o also provide voices. 106 min.

The Phenom

When his command of the strike zone abruptly─and completely─deserts him, heralded rookie pitcher Hopper Gibson (Johnny Simmons) finds himself returned to the minors. The desperate young hurler agrees to seek treatment with a controversial sports psychiatrist (Paul Giamatti)…and the therapy forces Hopper to face down his troubled relationship with his abusive ex-con dad (Ethan Hawke). Singular sports drama co-stars Sophie Kennedy Clark, John Ventimiglia, Yul Vazquez. 88 min.

Jane Wants a Boyfriend

Jane (Louisa Krause) is a smart twentysomething living with Asperger syndrome. When she decides it’s time she found a boyfriend, her newly engaged, highly overprotective sister Bianca (Eliza Dushku) seizes the opportunity to find Jane the perfect guy. But when Jane starts dating Bianca’s friend Jack (Gabriel Ebert), their burgeoning romance begins to put a strain on the sisters’ relationship. Amir Arison, Polly Draper co-star in this quirky comedy/drama. 101 min.

Me Before You

Bereft of a job but not her reservoir of optimism, quirky working-class lass Lou Clark (Emilia Clarke) lands a position as caregiver to scion of privilege Will Traynor (Sam Claflin), a rising star of industry until an accident left him quadriplegic. The gently eccentric helpmate gradually wears down the resistance of her embittered charge…but can she dissuade him from taking his fate into his own hands? Popular tearjerker co-stars Janet McTeer, Charles Dance, Jenna Coleman, Vanessa Kirby; Jojo Moyes adapted her bestseller for the screen. 110 min.