“Onward,” “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Downhill” and Other New Releases!


We are rapidly approaching June, and as May winds down the new releases are revving up. This week the sheer variety of DVDs and Blu-rays making their debut include family favorite blockbusters, critically acclaimed dramas, cult films from the vaults, and rare studio titles making their high-definition premiere. It’s all a bit overwhelming…in the best possible way. There’s so many fantastic films and TV selections that are now available that we think you’ll have a great time browsing through these titles. So with that in mind, please enjoy the following new release offerings!

Onward (2020)

In a fantasy realm that evolved into a contemporary suburbia, teen elf brothers Barley and Ian Lightfoot (voiced by Chris Pratt, Tom Holland) got a stunning gift from their mom (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) when Ian turned 16: an heirloom spell that would return their late father to life for one day. The novice conjurers, though, only brought him back from the waist down–and their road trip for a mystic fix propels this funny and poignant Pixar opus. With the voices of Octavia Spencer, Mel Rodriguez, Ali Wong.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

After nearly three decades of whizzing across the videogame landscape, the spiny speedster streaks onto the big screen in this engaging mix of live action and animation. Having breached the barrier into our universe–specifically, small-town Montana–Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) gets the help of a sympathetic cop (James Marsden) in outrunning the pursuing feds and their hired gun, crackpot scientist Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey). Tika Sumpter, Adam Pally, Neal McDonough also star.

Downhill (2020)

Pete Staunton (Will Ferrell) wanted to show himself the alpha provider when he took spouse Billie (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and their two sons on vacation to an Alpine ski lodge. However, when his gut response to a controlled avalanche was to rescue his phone rather than his family, all he provided were reasons for her to question continuing their relationship. Redo of the 2014 Swedish dark farce “Force Majeure” co-stars Zach Woods, Zoë Chao, Miranda Otto, Kristofer Hivju.

The Way Back (2020)

This powerful, inspirational drama follows Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck), a once-great high school basketball star who years earlier rejected a scholarship and passed on what would have likely been a terrific career. These days, as Jack struggles with alcoholism in the wake of a failed marriage, he gets an unexpected chance for redemption when he’s recruited to coach at his old school. With Al Madrigal, Michaela Watkins, Janina Gavankar, Glynn Turman.

Emma (2020)

Lavishly rendered read on the Jane Austen classic from director/co-scripter Autumn de Wilde casts Anya Taylor-Joy as self-determined (if self-serving) 19th-century lass Emma Woodhouse, certain that only she knows best for her social circle regarding their romantic entanglements, and Johnny Flynn as gadfly neighbor George Knightley, ever ready to rub it in as her matchmaking schemes backfire. Pleasing take also stars Mia Goth, Josh O’Connor, Bill Nighy, Callum Turner, Rupert Graves.

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020)

What’s left of the Earth’s superhero teams must band together when the planet is left ravaged in the wake of a war with ruthless alien Darkseid. Now, can heroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Cyborg, Raven, and John Constantine–plus apparently reformed supervillain Lex Luthor–stop Darkseid once and for all? Jerry O’Connell, Rosario Dawson, Tony Todd, Jason O’Mara, Matt Ryan supply voices for this adult-oriented animated sequel to “Justice League Dark.”

Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season (2019)

All 16 episodes from the fifth season are included in this collection.

Alice in Wonderland (1933)

The surreal first sound filming of Lewis Carroll’s classic tale follows young Alice (Charlotte Henry) through the looking glass into a bizarre fantasy world, populated by a heavily made-up array of Paramount Pictures stars that includes Gary Cooper as the White Knight, W.C. Fields as Humpty Dumpty, Cary Grant as the Mock Turtle, Edward Everett Horton as the Mad Hatter, Edna May Oliver as the Red Queen, and many more.

Sunday in New York (1963)

Small-town good girl Eileen Tyler (Jane Fonda) comes to Manhattan to get advice from her pilot older brother Adam (Cliff Robertson) when her fiancé tries to “go too far” before their wedding. But when Eileen learns of Adam’s playboy ways, she decides to have her own fun too. After meeting a handsome hunk (Rod Taylor) on the bus, hilarious mix-ups involving brother, fiancé, hunk, and Eileen follow. Breezy romantic comedy, based on Norman Krasna’s play, also stars Robert Culp

Love to the Rescue (2019)

What’s to be done when single mom Kate (Nikki Deloach) and single dad Eric (Michael Rady) both want rescue dog Bruce for their kids? Share custody, of course. But the lucky pooch may wind up with just one family after all when, despite their vastly different personalities, Kate and Eric begin to hit it off. Delightful Hallmark Channel original for the whole family also stars Michaela Russell, Max Ivutin, Amanda Ayres.

Forever in My Heart (2019)

Jenna (Merritt Patterson) and Charlie (Jack Turner) fell in love working together at his family’s quaint Irish inn…but when a dream hotel management job opened up in the States, he didn’t stand in her way. Five years later, she’s got an inattentive boyfriend (Blake Berris) , an invite from her bosses to open an Ireland property…and maybe a chance to rekindle something lost. Scenic Hallmark offering also stars Roisin O’Donovan, Emmet Byrne, David Herlihy.

American Madness (1932)

Frank Capra’s heralded, little-seen drama stars Walter Huston as Thomas Dickson, a bank president who gets in trouble with his board of directors for making loans to working-class depositors without sufficient collateral. When a crooked teller’s antics cause a run on the bank, Dickson’s devoted employees and the small businessmen he’s helped out come to his aid. With Kay Johnson, Pat O’Brien, Constance Cummings.

Danger: Diabolik (1968)

Colorful adaptation of the popular series of Italian comics stars John Phillip Law as Diabolik, a brilliant thief who, along with sexy partner/girlfriend Eva Kant (Marisa Mell), enjoys pulling off such crimes as detonating tax offices and stealing priceless gold ingots. But can Diabolik stay one step ahead of gangster Ralph Valmont (Adolfo Celi), who’s been recruited by Inspector Ginko (Michel Piccoli) to put the cuffs on the master criminal? Terry-Thomas also stars; Mario Bava directs.

Creepshow: Season 1 (2019)

Continuing the tradition of the popular movies, this horror anthology series that debuted in 2019 combines scares and laughs as it tells tales of terror in the unmistakable style of the classic E.C. Comics. Features appearances by Adrienne Barbeau, David Arquette, Jeffrey Combs, Tobin Bell, Giancarlo Esposito, Tricia Helfer, Bruce Davison, and more, with Tom Savini and Greg Nicotero among the segments’ directors. All six episodes from the series’ debut season are featured in this three-disc set.

Last Moment of Clarity (2020)

After witnessing his girlfriend (Samara Weaving) getting gunned down in Brooklyn by Eastern European mobsters, Sam (Zach Avery) fled to Paris…and spent the next three years looking over his shoulder. That ended when he went to a movie featuring an actress (Weaving) who was the image of his lost love–and he journeyed to Los Angeles in search of answers he may regret learning. Stylish suspenser also stars Carly Chaikin, Brian Cox, Udo Kier.

The Night My Number Came Up (1955)

The night before he was to fly out of Hong Kong to Tokyo, Air Marshal Sir John Hardie (Michael Redgrave) was regaled by a colleague (Michael Hordern) about a recent vivid dream–wherein a plane bearing Hardie and seven companions went down in the Pacific. Sir John laughed it off, until the circumstances of his flight started matching the details of his friend’s premonition…up to and including the engine failure. Fact-inspired suspense classic co-stars Sheila Sim, Alexander Knox, Denholm Elliott.

The Long and the Short and the Tall (aka Jungle Fighters) (1961)

During a rainstorm In Japanese-held Burma, a detachment of seven British soldiers loses radio contact with their command post. Hunkered down in a shack, the mutually contemptuous servicemen face fateful decisions about how to reach safety–and what to do with the lone enemy scout that they capture. Intense World War II drama adapted from the Willis Hall play stars Richard Todd, Laurence Harvey, Richard Harris, Ronald Fraser, David McCallum, John Meillon.

Dance, Girl, Dance (Criterion Collection)(1940)

With no takers for her craft, would-be ballerina Judy O’Brien (Maureen O’Hara) wound up plying her high-brow dance training in a low-brow burlesque house in Akron. Finding herself in competition with brassy chorine Bubbles (Lucille Ball) for the attentions of divorced playboy (Louis Hayward)…and perhaps at the expense of her career aspirations. Offbeat musical tale, helmed by Dorothy Arzner, also stars Ralph Bellamy, Maria Ouspenskaya, Virginia Field, Mary Carlisle.

Call the Midwife: Season Nine

All nine episodes from the ninth season are included in this three-disc set.

The Postcard Killings (2020)

On learning that his daughter and son-in-law had been savagely slain on their London honeymoon, New York cop Jacob Kanon (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) flew over in search of answers. Discovering a string of serial murders across Europe–each preceded by a postcard sent to a journalist–he teams with reporter Dessie Leonard (Cush Jumbo) to corner those responsible. Gripping take on the Liza Marklund-James Patterson thriller, co-scripted by Marklund, co-stars Famke Janssen, Joachim Król.

Lonely Are the Brave (1962)

Classic “new style” western stars Kirk Douglas as Jack Burns, a noble cowboy who finds himself struggling to adjust to the times as the Old West fades away. After learning that one of his friends is in jail, he gets himself locked up in order to be closer to his pal. But when his buddy doesn’t want to join him on the road, Burns busts out and becomes a fugitive dogged by a disenchanted sheriff. With Gena Rowlands, Walter Matthau, Michael Kane, and Carroll O’Connor.

Brahms: The Boy II (2020)

After a traumatic home invasion that left his wife Liza (Katie Holmes) assaulted and his young son Jude (Christopher Convery) mute, Sean (Owain Yeoman) believed a change of scenery would be best for the family. Unfortunately, they chose to move into the abandoned home of the Heelshires…and after an exploring Jude unearths their eerie effigy Brahms, he’ll find his torments are only beginning. Fearsome follow-up to the 2016 shocker also stars Ralph Ineson, Anjali Jay, Oliver Rice.

The Captive Heart (1946)

In 1940, Czech army captain Karel Hašek (Michael Redgrave) broke out of Dachau, assumed the identity of a dead British officer, and fell in with thousands of English soldiers being marched to a POW camp. To maintain the facade, he went as far as to maintain a correspondence with the late serviceman’s estranged wife (Rachel Kempson)…which would stir feelings within them both. Fine fact-inspired World War II drama also stars Basil Radford, Mervyn Johns, Gordon Jackson.

The Evil of Frankenstein (Collector’s Edition)(1964)

After 10 years in exile, Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) returns home to the village of Karlstaad to continue his work. He finds the creature (Kiwi Kingston) he once built (you know, the one that got him run out of town in the first place) frozen in ice and enlists hypnotist Zoltan (Peter Woodthorpe) to aid in fully reanimating it. But Zoltan has his own sinister plans for the monster, using it do exact revenge on his enemies. Duncan Lamont, Sandor Elès co-star in this stylish Hammer horror tale.

The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection

Think pink with that star of screens both big and small, the Pink Panther, with an animated potpourri of crazy capers in which the felicitous feline always gets the upper paw. First created by DePatie-Freleng for the opening title sequence of the 1964 film comedy, the colorful cat slinked on to Saturday morning TV in 1969.

Includes “The Pink Phink,” “Pickled Pink,” “The Pink Blueprint,” “Pink Panic,” “Jet Pink,” “Pinkadilly Circus,” “Prehistoric Pink,” “Think Before You Pink,” “Extinct Pink,” “Gong with the Pink,” “Pink Plasma,” “Pink Campaign,” “Therapeutic Pink,” “Pink Pictures,” “Pink Arcade,” “Pink in the Drink,” “Pink Breakfast,” “Supermarket Pink,” and more. 124 cartoons on 6 discs.

The Good Place: The Complete Series

Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) wakes up in a Utopian afterlife called “the Good Place” after she’s killed by a tractor trailer. Realizing she was sent there by mistake, Eleanor must not only hide the truth about the less-than-perfect life she led, but she’ll also have to learn how to be a better person–with help from assigned soulmate Chidi (William Jackson Harper)–if she hopes to avoid eternal damnation. Premiering in 2016, this darkly funny NBC sitcom co-stars Jameela Jamil, D’Arcy Carden, and Ted Danson. All 50 episodes of the series are included in this nine-disc set.

Click here for an overview of all of this week’s new releases.