The Force is with movie lovers this week, as the latest entry in the Star Wars saga is finally available on DVD and Blu-ray! That is obviously the biggest release right now (if not this year to date), and accompanying it are some other features starring Hollywood royalty. From a galaxy far, far away to your living room, here’s an in-depth look of what movies and TV releases are now available!
Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
As an emboldened First Order runs the forces of the Resistance to ground, determined Rey (Daisy Ridley) manages to flush a reticent Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) from secluded retirement. Will his mentoring with her burgeoning grasp of the Force–or the efforts of Finn (John Boyega) to infiltrate and scuttle the enemy’s flagship, and of Poe (Oscar Isaac) to evacuate rebel command–be enough to turn the tide? Hit follow-up co-stars Adam Driver, Kelly Marie Tran, Andy Serkis, Laura Dern, and–in her series farewell–Carrie Fisher.
In idle retirement in L.A., his days as an A-list draw well in the rearview mirror, movie icon/senior Vic Edwards (Burt Reynolds) reluctantly agreed to attend a Nashville film festival and pick up a lifetime achievement award. The weekend spent revisiting long-ago glories–and dealing with the mouthy millennial (Ariel Winter) assigned as his gofer–makes for surprising revelations in this wistful, elegiac effort; Clark Duke, Nikki Blonsky, and Chevy Chase co-star. AKA: “Dog Years.”
A groom-to-be (Ashton Holmes) turns to his military-trained brothers (Cole Hauser and Shawn Ashmore) for help in rescuing his fiancée (Melissa Bolona) from a human trafficking operation run by a vicious crime lord (Mike Epps). Meanwhile, a veteran police detective (Bruce Willis) tries to dissuade them from taking the law into their hands, even as he finds his attempts to go through official channels hitting dead ends. Sophia Bush co-stars in this gripping actioner.
Over five wrenching years since the Syrian Civil War’s inception in 2011, Aleppo–once the nation’s largest city–was visited with widespread destruction and over 30,000 casualties as the bulk of its populace fled. This remarkable documentary follows the lives and efforts of a trio of the region’s celebrated “White Helmets”–local civil defense volunteers–as they engage in search and rescue efforts against seemingly overwhelming odds.
That’s what they called popular ‘20s bandleader Paul Whiteman, and he and his orchestra take center stage in this long-demanded and lavish early Technicolor revue splicing together songs, skits, and animation from Walter Lantz. Score includes “Rhapsody in Blue,” “It Happened in Monterey,” “Song of the Dawn,” “Happy Feet,” more; with John Boles, Laura La Plante, Walter Brennan, and, in his screen debut, as one of Whiteman’s Rhythm Boys, Bing Crosby.
KGB agents pose as terrorists and threaten to contaminate half of the world’s oil supply in an attempt to force Israel to vacate the West Bank. Disavowed by his own government and framed for murder, a highly trained CIA operative known only as the Soldier (Ken Wahl) leads a small team on a dangerous mission to take down the bad guys and prevent the U.S. and Israel from going to war. Thrilling Cold War action saga also stars Alberta Watson, Jeremiah Sullivan, Steve James, and Klaus Kinski.
Notable for depicting a self-sufficient single mother, this pioneering 1975-84 sitcom starred Bonnie Franklin as Ann Romano, a divorced woman trying to raise two teenage daughters (Mackenzie Phillips, Valerie Bertinelli) in Indianapolis while pursuing a career. Orbiting Ann’s world are David Kane (Richard Masur), Ann’s marriage-minded love interest; her mother, Katherine (Nanette Fabray); and Dwayne Scneider (Pat Harrington), the building’s ever-present super. Glen Scarpelli, Michael Lembeck, Shelley Fabares co-starred. All 24 episodes from the third season are featured in this three-disc set.
Which of these will you be checking out?