“Escape Plan: The Extractors” and Other Explosive New Blu-ray and DVD Releases

With Fourth of July week upon us, the fireworks aren’t confined to the sky. There’s a number of explosive new DVD and Blu-ray releases making their home video debuts this week. So set aside some time in the coming days to check out some of these wonderful films that are all worth celebrating!

Escape Plan: The Extractors

Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) was looking at–for him–another day at the office, as he was tasked to free a kidnapped Hong Kong heiress from the Latvian prison where she’s being held. Unfortunately, it’s all been set up by a rival’s vengeful son, who’s grabbed his lady Abigail (Jaime King) for good measure. Now that it’s personal, will this be the mission that Breslin, DeRosa (Dave Bautista), and Hush (50 Cent) won’t come back from? Devon Sawa, Russell Wong, Harry Shum, Jr., Malese Jow co-star.

A Summer to Remember

Between workplace pressure and single motherhood, widowed ER doctor Jessica Martin (Catherine Bell) wanted some quality time for herself and her teen daughter Ava (Samantha MacGillivray), and decided a getaway to Fiji would provide it. Is the paradise only temporary…or will their resort’s attentive and attractive owner (Cameron Mathison) give Jessica a new prognosis for life? Scenic Hallmark romcom also stars Paul O’Brien, Kirk Torrance, Simone Annan.

Bob le Flambeur (Bob the Gambler)

A seminal entry in the French New Wave, director Jean-Pierre Melville’s noir-flavored crime drama stars Roger Duchesne as Bob Montangé, a retired bank robber who now makes a living as a professional gambler. But his recent bad luck at gaming leads Bob to form a gang for one last caper: a daring heist at the Deauville casino. Daniel Cauchy, Isabelle Corey, Guy Decomble also star.

Léon Morin, Priest

In Jean-Pierre Melville’s stirring drama set in occupied France during World War II, atheist, leftist-leaning widow Barny (Emmanuelle Riva) strikes up an unlikely friendship with young priest Léon Morin (Jean-Paul Belmondo). Their relationship, which evolves from confrontational to one of intellectual discourse, becomes complicated by Barny’s undeniable attraction to Leon. With Irène Tunc, Nicole Mirel, Gisèle Grimm.

Le Doulos (The Finger Man)

Fresh from a stint in prison, professional burglar Maurice Faugel (Serge Reggiani) wastes no time planning his next job with help from friend and fellow criminal Silien (Jean-Paul Belmondo). But can Silien really be trusted or is he feeding information to the cops to serve his own unscrupulous ends? Based on the novel by Pierre Lesou, Jean-Pierre Melville’s taut, surprise-filled crime thriller also stars Jean Desailly, René Lefèvre, Marcel Cuvelier.

FM

At a popular L.A. progressive radio station, shrewd program director Jeff Dugan (Michael Brandon) had his hands full keeping his eccentric DJs focused…but when a clash over content with management put his job on the line, the jocks embarked on a rebellious rally for their independence. Energetic, soundtrack-driven comedy co-stars Martin Mull, Cleavon Little, Eileen Brennan, Alex Karras, and Norman Lloyd, with concert appearances by Linda Ronstadt and Jimmy Buffet.

An Acceptable Loss

When she obtained a professorship at a Chicago college, Elizabeth Lamm (Tika Sumpter) expected campus blowback from her controversial stint as a national security adviser to hawkish U.S. VP–and now President–Rachel Burke (Jamie Lee Curtis). As a grad student (Ben Tavassoli) starts to demonstrate an odd fixation with her, she might have an insurmountable challenge outrunning the ghosts of her past. Charged thriller from writer/director Joe Chappelle co-stars Jeff Hephner, Deanna Dunagan.

The Public

For Cincinnati library supervisor Stuart Goodson (Emilio Estevez, who wrote and directed), his routine included smoothing tensions between public, staff, and the homeless who drifted through for temporary shelter. On a day when a predicted Arctic chill had the homeless refusing to leave at closing, he’d need his experience to stave off a confrontation with the authorities. Challenging ensemble piece co-stars Alec Baldwin, Christian Slater, Taylor Schilling, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, Gabrielle Union.

The Best of Enemies

By 1971 in Durham, North Carolina, civil rights activist Ann Atwater (Taraji P. Henson) had known for a decade that she had a determined and hostile opponent to her agenda in local KKK leader C.P. Ellis (Sam Rockwell). When the city’s sole school for blacks was torched, local government asked both to co-chair a community resolution on desegregation…and put them on an unlikely path to mutual understanding. Fact-based drama co-stars Ann Heche, Wes Bentley, Bruce McGill, Babou Ceesay.

Putney Swope

After the chairman of a Madison Avenue firm abruptly died, the in-house vote for his replacement overwhelmingly went to the board member no one thought would win–African-American Putney Swope (Arnold Johnson). As he re-brands the company into the ultra-hip and brutally honest Truth and Soul, Inc., their outrageous ads start drawing some unwanted government attention. Robert Downey’s acclaimed, nothing-is-sacred spoof co-stars Allen Garfield, Stan Gottlieb, Antonio Fargas, and Mel Brooks.