There’s a lot of ways to spend your summer free time. But in our (admittedly somewhat biased) opinion, the best way to relax during these sun-drenched months is to sit back, relax, and spend some time watching movies. But which ones? We can help. Here’s an overview of what great new DVDs and Blu-rays are now available.
Director Danny Boyle revisits novelist Irvine Welsh’s outrageous, drug-soaked world for this sequel that finds Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) returning to Scotland 20 years after betraying his friends and fleeing the country. As Renton tries to reconnect with pals Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller) and Spud (Ewen Bremner), he learns that the psychotic Begbie (Robert Carlyle) is apparently still holding a grudge and eager to kill him. Anjela Nedyalkova, Kelly Macdonald co-star.
In trying to conclude whether mankind is worthy of the advancements they can bestow, an eccentric klatch of space aliens decide to make a test case out of miserable schoolteacher Neil (Simon Pegg) and grant him the power to make his every desire–no matter how absurd–a reality. Whether Neil can pass their test, though, is a separate issue! Riotous fantasy farce directed and co-scripted by Terry Jones co-stars Kate Beckinsale, Rob Riggle, Eddie Izzard; with voice work from John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, and (in his last performance) Robin Williams.
They’ve owned American kidvid for a generation, and now the superheroic TV staple has received a riveting re-imagining for the big screen. Five troubled teens–Jason (Dacre Montgomery), Billy (RJ Cyler), Kimberly (Naomi Scott), Zack (Ludi Lin), and Trini (Becky G.)–come upon a secreted spaceship, where alien emissary Zordon (Bryan Cranston) and aide-de-camp Alpha 5 (voiced by Bill Hader) equip them with the armor and powers needed to take on the invading threat of Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks).
Traveling alone in Germany, Australian photojournalist Clare (Teresa Palmer) sparks with handsome and charming local Andi (Max Riemelt). Passion soon turns to terror, however, when Clare finds herself held prisoner in Andi’s apartment, located in a nearly abandoned section of Berlin, forcing her to endure devastating psychological torture as she desperately plots her escape. Matthias Habich, Lucie Aron also star in this tension-filled abduction thriller from Australia.
It was just another workday for the 80 employees at the Bogota branch high-rise of Belko Industries…or it was, until steel shutters slammed on every exit and the P.A. announced that in order to escape mass execution each individual was expected to kill two co-workers. What seemed a perverse joke soon became horrible reality, as office cliques become tenuous pacts for survival, in this violent ensemble-piece shocker directed by Greg McLean and scripted by James Gunn; Tony Goldwyn, John C. McGinley, Michael Rooker, John Gallagher, Jr., Adria Arjona, Melonie Diaz star.
Action and comedy mix in this fresh take on the hit ‘70s/’80s cop show. When rookie California Highway Patrol officer Jon Baker (Dax Shepard, who also wrote and directed) learns partner Frank “Ponch” Poncherello (Michael Peña) is actually an undercover FBI agent, the motorcycle cops team up to take down a corrupt colleague (Vincent D’Onofrio) masterminding a series of armored car robberies. Rosa Salazar, Adam Brody, Jessica McNamee, and Kristen Bell also star.