You’d be hopping mad if there weren’t great new releases this week, so it’s a good thing that there are! This time around, we’ve got everything from killer rabbits to a Doctor Who fan favorite’s debut season to new Criterion Collection releases. Take a look at what’s now available!
More horrifying than “Harvey”! This is the unforgettable sci-fi shocker in which an experiment to control the wild rabbit population in the Southwest results in the creation of gigantic, bloodthirsty bunnies who hop a path of destruction across an Arizona community. Includes the classic line “Ladies and gentlemen, attention! There is a herd of killer rabbits headed this way.” Rory Calhoun, Janet Leigh, Stuart Whitman, DeForest Kelley star; based on Russell Braddon’s novel “The Year of the Angry Rabbit.”
Doctor Who: Tom Baker: Season 1
Would you like a jelly baby? Tom Baker assumed the role of the Doctor’s fourth incarnation in the series’s 12th season (after a brief appearance in season 11). Fresh from his latest regeneration, the Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen), and new companion Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) must defeat a giant mechanical menace, in “Robot.” “The Ark in Space” finds the Time Lord and his friends in the distant future, where the last survivors of Earth are threatened by insect-like aliens who take control of human hosts. Next, the Doctor and his companions help would-be settlers of an abandoned future Earth overcome the menace of “The Sontaran Experiment.” The Doctor is sent to the war-ravaged planet Skaro’s distant past in an attempt to alter history and disrupt the “Genesis of the Daleks.” And, the Doctor, Sarah Jane, and Harry travel to the far future, where they try to free a manned space station from tyranny, in “Revenge of the Cybermen.” 20 episodes on 6 discs.
Three American youngsters (Dennis Christopher, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Martin Hewitt) on an RV getaway through Spain make a rest stop in a picturesque little town. Unfortunately, the travel guide never mentioned that the village was hit by a chunk of Skylab…or that the debris was contaminated with alien microbes that turn humans into rampaging mutants! Luis Prendes, J.O. Bosso also star. AKA: “Alien Predator,” “The Falling.”
Bowling for Columbine (The Criterion Collection)
Michael Moore’s Academy Award-winning, in-your-face examination of America’s trigger-happy way of life examines the gun control issue with his trademark brand of sardonic humor mixed with drama. Moore interviews survivors of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, shock rock icon Marilyn Manson, Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols’ brother, NRA president Charlton Heston and others as he tries to learn where–if anywhere–the blame for the country topping the world in gun-related deaths can be placed.
El Sur (The Criterion Collection)
Growing up in the North of Spain in the 1950s, young Estrella Arenas (Sonsoles Aranguren) had nothing but affection and reverence for her physician father Agustín (Omero Antonutti). Still, he would never speak of his youth in the Civil War-era South…and as a teenager (Icíar Bollaín), her wishes to delve into his past led to stunning revelations. Lyrical effort from director Víctor Erice (”The Spirit of the Beehive”) co-stars Aurore Clément, Lola Cardona, Rafaela Aparicio.
Stephen Curtis (John Carroll), an American fighter pilot stationed in France during World War II, leaves French war bride Annette (Vera Ralston) behind when he returns to the States. And with good reason, as it seems he’s already married. When Annette tracks Stephen down and kills him, she stands trial for murder. Her defense attorney? None other than Stephen’s wife, Eve (Ruth Hussey). Offbeat drama also stars Gene Lockhart, John Howard.
A decade after humans–and their enormous armored Jaeger mechas–defeated the monstrous Kaiju attackers from another dimension, the people of Earth are enjoying an era of peace. When second-generation Jaeger jock Jake Pentecost (John Boyega) is recruited to train a fresh batch of pilots, he soon finds himself on the front lines of a desperate battle as a new and dangerous Kaiju threat reveals itself. Action-packed sequel also stars Scott Eastwood, Cailee Spaeny, Rinko Kikuchi, and Charlie Day.
Moscow, 1953: After a stroke ended the life and iron-fisted reign of Josef Stalin, the jockeying to fill the power void atop the Soviet Union was both instantaneous and brutal…and ultimately came down to a war of wit and will between cunning minister Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi) and secret police chief Lavrenti Beria (Simon Russell Beale). Caustically funny geopolitical snapshot from Armando Iannucci co-stars Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Palin, Rupert Friend, Andrea Riseborough, Jason Isaacs.
Finding a rare need for emotional connection, promiscuous and nihilistic teen Erica (Zoey Deutch) felt obliged to get on the good side of damaged, out-of-rehab stepbrother-to-be Luke (Joey Morgan). Her perverse notion of bonding activity, however, involves the stalking, set-up, and shakedown of the local teacher (Adam Scott) who Luke claims molested him as a kid. Darkly farcical character study also stars Kathryn Hahn, Tim Heidecker, Dylan Gelula, Eric Edelstein, Maya Eshet.