From Oscar-winners to classics from the vaults, there’s an incredible amount of new releases this week. We’ve got a little bit of everything hitting Blu-ray and DVD this week. Check out what you’ll be watching next!
Jason Momoa returns to his “Justice League” role as DC Comics’ Sea King in this starring vehicle, as Arthur Curry–scion of an Atlantean princess (Nicole Kidman) and a human lighthouse keeper (Temuera Morrison)–must reconcile his heritage, and embrace his destiny, when his half-brother regent Orm (Patrick Wilson) seeks to rally the undersea races for a vengeful conquest of the surface world. Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Djimon Hounsou, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II also star.
In ‘70s Harlem, young Tish Rivers (KiKi Layne) and Fonny Hunt (Stephan James) found their lifelong friendship blossoming into something more. Their tomorrows get compromised, however, when Fonny gets sent to prison on a trumped-up rape charge–and a pregnant Tish pushes every resource towards his exoneration and keeping their hopes alive. Barry Jenkins’ acclaimed and resonant take on the James Baldwin novel co-stars Best Supporting Actress Oscar-winner Regina King, Teyonah Parris, Coleman Domingo.
Comedy mixes with romance in this wacky spy spoof starring Doris Day as Jennifer Nelson, a public relations specialist working for NASA. When her boss (Rod Taylor) recruits her to write his life story in an effort to get close to her, Jennifer finds herself thrust into a world of zany espionage and mistaken identity as she’s suspected of being a secret Soviet agent. John McGiver, Paul Lynde, Dom DeLuise, and Arthur Godfrey also star.
In 1953, Stan Laurel (Steve Coogan) and Oliver Hardy (John C. Reilly)–aging, ailing, their day as cinema’s eminent comedy duo well behind them–sought to reverse their fortunes with a music-hall tour of the U.K. For the veteran slapstick partners, the grind of the road causes the surfacing of old resentments as well as the burnishing of their bond, in this affectionate effort wonderfully played by the leads; Shirley Henderson, Nina Arianda, Danny Huston, Rufus Jones also star.
Due to her lack of higher education, middle-aged Maya (Jennifer Lopez) is passed over for a promotion at the Queens big box store where she’s worked for 15 years. She gets an unexpected shot at a new career, however, when a fake online résumé created by her best friend’s (Leah Remini) son lands her a job at a giant cosmetics company. Is Maya’s brand of sassy street smarts enough to make her a success in the corporate world? Milo Ventimiglia, Vanessa Hudgens, Treat Williams co-star in this charming comedy.
At first planned as a vehicle for Fred MacMurray and Jack Oakie, this light-hearted adventure was the first screen pairing for Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Fleeing their respective romantic entanglements, American playboys Josh (Crosby) and Ace (Hope) head to Singapore where they find their friendship tested as they almost immediately begin feuding for the hand of gorgeous dancer Mima (Dorothy Lamour). With Anthony Quinn, Charles Coburn.
Stranded in Africa, carnival con men Chuck Reardon (Bing Crosby) and “Fearless” Hubert Frazier (Bob Hope) find themselves outswindled on a safari scheme by the beautiful Donna Latour (Dorothy Lamour). The locals mistake the boys for gods, but after Fearless loses a wrestling match to a gorilla, they end up left to stew in some cannibals’ pots. The second “Road” movie also stars Una Merkel, Eric Blore, Lionel Royce.
Bob Hope and Bing Crosby lead the rush for gold and laughs in the fourth “Road” howler. This time, they play a pair of vaudevillians who get into one wacky adventure after another after they find a map to an Alaskan mine. Perennial co-star Dorothy Lamour joins the boys as the mine owner’s daughter, who’s also trying to get her hands on the map. With Douglass Dumbrille, Hillary Brooke, and narrator Robert Benchley; look for a cameo by Jim Thorpe.
Shipwreck survivors Orville (Bob Hope) and Jeff (Bing Crosby) wind up on the Mediterranean coast and take a camel ride into a comedic Arabian Nights-style adventure, as the pair wind up fighting with desert warrior Mullay Kasim (Anthony Quinn) for the lovely Princess Shalmar (Dorothy Lamour). Dona Drake, Vladimir Sokoloff co-star; among the songs featured is the Crosby standard “Moonlight Becomes You.”
In the lush Brazilian jungle, beautiful Alice Parker (Rhonda Fleming) embarks on a search for her fiancé, Richard Denning (Jerry Russell), who’s disappeared in treacherous Jivaro headhunter territory while looking for gold. But when the sparks start to fly between Alice and handsome local trader Rio Galdez (Fernando Lamas), will she even remember why she was trying to find Richard in the first place? With Brian Keith, Rita Moreno, and Lon Chaney, Jr. AKA: “Lost Treasure of the Amazon.”
Men of the North
When a gold mine’s outgoing shipment went missing, the RCMP was quick to cast a wary eye on roguish trapper Louis La Bey (Gilbert Roland). As he tried to stay one step ahead of the Mounties, he fell into a flirtation with the mine owner’s beautiful daughter (Barbara Leonard)…and got to prove both innocence and heroism in the face of a devastating snowslide. Early talkie adventure directed by Hal Roach also stars Robert Elliott, Arnold Korff, Nina Quartero.
Flirtatious Southern belle Norma Besant (Best Actress Oscar-winner Mary Pickford) could have had her pick of the town’s elite, but she lost her heart to the poor but proud Michael Jeffrey (Johnny Mack Brown). Her domineering physician father (John St. Polis), however, wouldn’t have the match–and the vicious gossip that ensued would tee up a string of tragedies. Pickford’s talkie debut, adapted from a Broadway hit, also stars Matt Moore, William Janney, Henry Kolker, Louise Beavers.
Betty Braley (Bernice Claire) only had eyes for the dashing Steve Alden (Lawrence Gray), much to the consternation of shy and smitten Terry Clayton (Alexander Gray). Will some coaching from Betty’s sympathetic sister (Inez Courtney) turn the situation around? Screen take on the Rodgers and Hart stage favorite co-stars Ford Sterling, Louise Fazenda, Frank Albertson, Natalie Moorhead; score includes “With a Song in My Heart,” “Yours Sincerely,” and the title tune.
West End diva Elsie Hilary (Ruth Chatterton) was vigorously pursued by young noble Lord Teylesmore (Ralph Forbes)…and he went public with a nonexistent engagement. His appalled family determined to buy her off–which resulted in her resolve to accept his proposal. Cooler heads had them agree to wait–but what happens when she falls for the charming cousin (Basil Rathbone) who’d been her only champion? Charming drawing room farce co-stars Nance O’Neil, Herbert Bunston, Frederick Kerr.
Their food sources eradicated by pesticides, thousands of tarantulas descend upon a small Arizona community looking to feast on the locals. Now, it’s up to veterinarian Dr. Rack Hansen (William Shatner) and arachnologist Diane Ashley (Tiffany Bolling) to crush the army of angry eight-legged eating machines before the whole town is wiped out. Woody Strode, David McLean, Lieux Dressler co-star in this creepy-crawly cult classic.
In 19th-century Scotland, avuncular cabman John Gray (Boris Karloff) enjoyed a comfortable side income robbing graves and delivering the corpses to the lecture hall of medical professor Wolfe Macfarlane (Henry Daniell). When Gray chooses to push the terms of the arrangement too far, however, the bargain ends on most unholy terms. Frightening take on the Robert Louis Stevenson tale from producer Val Lewton and director Robert Wise co-stars Bela Lugosi, Russell Wade, Edith Atwater.
Facing five years in jail for an act of violence, 12-year-old Beirut slum kid Zain (Zain Al Rafeea) declares to the judge his stunning intentions to bring civil suit against his indifferent parents (Kawsar Al Haddad, Fadi Kamel Yousef) over their neglect. The sordid circumstances of his life, and his bid to carve a new one with an undocumented Ethiopian woman (Yordanos Shiferaw), are stunningly drawn in Nadine Labaki’s acclaimed effort. Alaa Chouchnieh co-stars.
Fast-talking grifter Windy (William Haines) usually knew when to pack his rigged roulette wheel and skip town…but this time, the cowhands he snookered dragged him back to the ranch for a necktie party! Their levelheaded boss (Charles Middleton) decided he should get in the saddle and work off his debts–but will he waste time trying to corral the honcho’s pretty but disinterested sister (Leila Hyams)? Fun Haines vehicle co-stars Polly Moran, Cliff Edwards, Francis X. Bushman, Jr., Vera Marshe.
Hapless plumber Kempy (Elliott Nugent) thought he was coming to the posh Bence estate to address a leak. However, spoiled daughter Kate (Norma Lee) wanted to annoy her pops (J.C. Nugent) and makeher off-again lawyer ex Duke (Roland Young) jealous–so she wrangled a proposal out of the perplexed pipesmith on the spot! Engaging early talkie, adapted from the Nugents’ Broadway farce “Kempy,” also stars Clara Blandick, Marion Shilling, Leora Spellman, James Donlan.
For the hope-drained habitués of the Last Chance Saloon, drinking buddy Hickey’s (Lee Marvin) annual visit means laughs and a free round of drinks, but this year’s stop adds a sobering shot of reality for the patrons and bar owner Harry (Fredric March, in his last film). Director John Frankenheimer’s compelling version of the Eugene O’Neill tale also stars Jeff Bridges, Robert Ryan.
I Wanna Hold Your Hold (Criterion Collection)
It’s 1964…and The Beatles are about to make their first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Six teenagers from New Jersey–with motivations ranging from obsessed fandom to all-out sabotage–embark on a hilarious, trouble-filled pilgrimage to New York City in an attempt to get close to the Fab Four. Breezy Beatlemania comedy from co-writer/director Robert Zemeckis stars Nancy Allen, Wendie Jo Sperber, Marc McClure, and Eddie Deezen; soundtrack includes 17 Beatles songs.
William Faulkner’s novel “Pylon” was the basis for this glossy and atmospheric Douglas Sirk drama. In the 1930s, once-great World War I pilot Roger Shumann (Robert Stack) performs as a daredevil barnstorming pilot at aerial stunt shows while his wife, LaVerne (Dorothy Malone), works as a parachutist. When newspaper reporter Burke Devlin (Rock Hudson) arrives to do a story on the Shumanns’ act, he quickly falls in love with the beautiful–and neglected–LaVerne. With Jack Carson, Robert Middleton.
Japón (Criterion Collection)
A world-weary artist (Alejandro Ferretis) departs his home in Mexico City for the rural country to prepare for his suicide. After arriving in a remote canyon, he finds lodging in the rickety home of an elderly Indian widow (Magdalena Flores). Through learning about the compelling life of his host, the depressive begins to once again appreciate the wonders of existence, in this life-affirming effort from director Carlos Reygadas.
The Squeeze
Eccentric and less than successful NYC modern artist Harry Berg (Michael Keaton) decided to do a make-good for his ex by retrieving a nondescript parcel. The package would prove to have its strings, as he found himself pursued across town, first by cute P.I. Rachel Dobs (Rae Dawn Chong), and then by a murderous cadre of lottery-rigging racketeers with far less gentle means of persuasion. Colorful comedy-thriller co-stars Joe Pantoliano, Meat Loaf, John Davidson, Danny Aiello III.
For a complete overview of all of this week’s new releases, click here.