This week’s new releases are a fantastic bunch! You’ll find Blu-rays, DVDs, and 4K Ultra HD titles from every genre — including recent theatrical hits, TV show sets and classic films — that are making their most welcome physical media debuts. So take a look at these titles and plan what you’ll want to be watching in the days ahead!
Old (2021)
As Guy (Gael García Bernal) and Prisca (Vicky Krieps) treated their three young kids to a tropical vacation, they opted for a day enjoying a beautiful seaside cove. However, they and the beach’s other occupants would discover to their horror that they were aging a year every half hour–and that there was no escape back. M. Night Shyamalan’s chilling adaptation of the graphic novel “Sandcastle” co-stars Rufus Sewell, Ken Leung, Nikki Amura-Bird, Alex Wolff, Embeth Davidtz.
Mad Love (1935)
When concert pianist Stephen Orlac (Colin Clive) suffered career-threatening injuries in a train wreck, his actress wife Yvonne (Frances Drake) ruefully turned to an obsessed fan–the brilliant if creepy surgeon Dr. Gogol (Peter Lorre). The mad medico’s solution was to graft the hands of a just-executed murderer onto his patient…leaving the musician to fear he was succumbing to his donor’s deadly impulses. Shocking, stylish take on “The Hands of Orlac” co-stars Ted Healy.
Change of Habit (1969)
This compelling musical drama stars Elvis Presley (in his final film role) as a doctor practicing in an inner city clinic. While dealing with the various woes of his patients, he has his life complicated when he falls for a new co-worker (Mary Tyler Moore)…unaware that she is actually a nun who is working at the clinic while she prepares to take her final vows at her convent. Barbara McNair, Ed Asner co-star. Songs include “Rubberneckin’,” “Let Us Pray,” the title track, and more.
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins (2021)
The origins of the Joes’ unseen, unspeaking, and undeniably most popular member have been shrouded in mystery–until now. Proved worthy of recruitment into the Arashikage ninja clan, the man called Snake Eyes (Henry Golding) swiftly forges a bond with heir apparent Tommy “Storm Shadow” Arashikage (Andrew Koji)…but will the truth of his past convert it to lifelong enmity? Samara Weaving, Úrsula Corberó, Iko Uwais, Peter Mensah co-star. AKA: “Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins.”
Christmas by Starlight (2020)
With her parents looking to lose their neighborhood cafe’s lease during the holidays, Chicago family lawyer Annie Park (Kimberley Sustad) went to the landlord to give them what for. Turns out property manager William Holt (Paul Campbell) is a shiftless boss’s son who hires her as counsel just to get Dad off his back…but as they bond over a fundraiser, will he break his promise to let her folks’ business alone? Hallmark effort co-scripted by its leads also stars Darren Martens, Rebecca Staab.
The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations, Vol. 3
A must-have for any true Our Gang fan, Volume 3 features the talents of Dickie Moore, Bobby “”Wheezer”” Hutchins, Dorothy DeBorba, Matthew “”Stymie”” Beard, Kendall “”Breezy Brisbane”” McComas, and of course, George “”Spanky”” McFarland. This volume also includes a special treat with Our Gang alums Mickey Daniels, Mary Kornman, Joe Cobb and Allen “Farina” Hoskins featured in Fish Hooky (1933)!
Dirty Laundry (1987)
Hapless concert sound man Jay (Leigh McCloskey) thought he was walking out of the L.A. laundromat with the socks and undies–but the duffel bag he grabbed was actually stuffed with a million bucks, courtesy of a botched drug drop. Now, he’s got to get back on the road–for his life–as he’s chased by hit men from the mob kingpin (Frankie Valli) who’s out the money! Riotous Reagan-days romp also stars Sonny Bono, Carl Lewis, Greg Louganis, Robbie Rist.
The Survivalist (2021)
A year and a half after a raging epidemic precipitated societal collapse, ex-FBI agent Ben (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) had holed up alone in his remote ranch–until young runaway Sarah (Ruby Modine) came knocking. It seems that her system might have the key to reversing the plague…and that fact isn’t lost on the fanatical Aaron (John Malkovich), who’s leading a pack of goons set on abducting her.
Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season (2021)
Premiering in 2021, The CW’s take on the Man of Steel finds married couple Clark Kent and Lois Lane (Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch, reprising their Arrowverse roles) moving with twin teenage sons Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) and Jordan (Alex Garfin) to Clark’s hometown of Smallville. As Jordan hones the powers he’s inherited from his super dad, Clark has his hands full with mysterious new enemy Captain Luthor (Wolé Parks). With Emmanuelle Chriqui, Erik Valdez, Inde Navarrette. 15 episodes on 3 discs.
First, in Demons, horror erupts in a movie theater as the patrons of a film about 16th-century French astrologer Nostradamus begin to transform into slavering, bloodthirsty things from the depths of hell. Gore-drenched effects and a great heavy metal score mark this shocker from producer Dario Argento, who co-scripted with director Lamberto Bava. Urbano Barberini, Natasha Hovey star. Then, in Demons 2 (1986), what begins as an ordinary birthday party in a typical urban apartment building soon becomes a nightmare when hellish creatures appear from a TV set showing a horror film. Tenants are attacked, a dog turns into a zombie canine, and director Lamberto Bava shocks and impresses with his stunning technique. Dario Argento production stars Bobby Rhodes, Asia Argento.
Injustice (2021)
In a parallel universe, Superman (voiced by Justin Hartley) is duped by the Joker (Kevin Pollak) into triggering a mass tragedy–and then vows to end criminality by forming a global totalitarian regime under his control. It falls to Batman (Anson Mount) to rally a dissenting faction of the Justice League (and their interdimensional counterparts) to fight back. Animated feature based on the 2013 videogame also features the voices of Gillian Jacobs, Anika Noni Rose, Oliver Hudson.
A Christmas Tree Grows in Colorado (2020)
Welcome to Brooklyn–Brooklyn, Colorado–where mayor’s daughter Erin Chambers (Rochelle Aytes) must find the ideal tree for the town’s Christmas festival. She spotted it in the yard of fireman/single dad Kevin Snyder (Mark Taylor)…and, for reasons of his own, he was unwilling to give it up. Will she be able to make her case before it’s time for the lighting…and will she kindle something between them? Winning holiday effort also stars Peter Bryant, Jason McKinnon, Matt Hamilton.
Five Star Christmas (2020)
Stopping back home for the holidays, ad exec Lucy Ralston (Bethany Joy Lenz)–like the rest of her clan–was stunned to find that her widowed dad (Robert Wisden) turned the family home into a B&B, but agreed to help him make a go of it. Believing that a noted travel writer registered incognito, they all pretend to be impressed guests…but does the flirty stranger (Victor Webster) who checked in know more than he’s telling? Laura Soltis, Jay Brazeau, Grace Beedie, Sarah Edmondson also star.
Broken Diamonds (2021)
Stressed twentysomething Scott (Ben Platt) had it all mapped out–an imminent move to Paris, so he could write the great American novel. It all abruptly caved in with his father’s sudden passing–and with his now having to take the familial lead seeing to the welfare of his schizophrenic sister Cindy (Lola Kirke). The new strains on an already well-worn bond are explored in this richly drawn character study also starring Yvette Nicole Brown, Alphonso McAuley, Lynda Boyd.
Needle in a Timestack (2021)
Nick (Leslie Odom, Jr.) and Janine (Cynthia Erivo) shared a blissful marriage and the belief they were soulmates. Somebody who wasn’t happy for them, though, was Janine’s bitter ex (Orlando Bloom)–and, by using time travel, was working to scuttle what they had by changing the course of Nick’s past with his college girlfriend (Freida Pinto). Writer-director John Ridley’s moving fantasy-romance, based on a Robert Silverberg short story, also stars Laysla De Oliveira.
The Night House (2020)
Schoolteacher Beth (Rebecca Hall) was stunned when her architect husband Owen (Evan Jonigkeit) rowed out from the lakefront home he’d just completed for them, and shot himself. Trying to piece together her life as well as what happened, she’ll find evidence that her spouse was hiding something as he completed the abode…as well as a spectral presence pushing her to the edge of sanity. Creepy effort co-stars Sarah Goldberg, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Stacy Martin.
Ratcatcher (Criterion Collection)(1999)
This striking drama from Lynne Ramsey is set in a tough section of Glasgow during a 1973 garbage strike. The focus is on a 12-year-old boy who accidentally drowns his best friend, but decides to keep quiet because he can’t relate to family members. He eventually makes friends with another boy–who has an affection for animals–and a girl who has been sexually exploited by a gang. William Eadie, Tommy Flanagan and Mandy Matthews star.
Joe Bell (2020)
Oregonian small-town dad Joe Bell (Mark Wahlberg) didn’t offer much beyond grudging acceptance to his gay teenager Jadin (Reid Miller) after he came out. After persistent bullying at school and online drove Jadin to suicide, however, his conscience-stricken father resolved to take a cross-country walk to New York City, looking to engage individuals and communities with a message of tolerance. Fact-inspired tale co-stars Connie Britton, Gary Sinise; co-scripted by Larry McMurty.
Smallville: The Complete Series (20th Anniversary Edition)
Debuting on the WB network in 2001, this imaginative revamping of the Superman legend stars Tom Welling as teenager Clark Kent, struggling to come to terms with the strange abilities developing within him and to discover the truth behind his origin. Kristin Kreuk is Lana Lang, Clark’s classmate and unrequited love interest, and Michael Rosenbaum is mysterious millionaire scion Lex Luthor. Sam Jones III, Allison Mack, Annette O’Toole and John Schneider also star. All 218 episodes are featured in this 41-disc set.
No Man of God (2021)
In 1984, with offender profiling becoming accepted practice, FBI analyst Bill Hagmaier (Elijah Wood) arranged a Florida Death Row sit-down with Ted Bundy (Luke Kirby), the charismatic sociopath who’d confessed to 30 homicides committed during his infamous ‘70s spree. The multiple interviews and strange bond with his subject that would follow–right up to the eve of Bundy’s 1989 execution–form the basis of this chilling study; Robert Patrick, Aleksa Palladino co-star.
Corridor of Mirrors (1948)
Mifanwy Conway (Edana Romney) had been charmed by the attentions of wealthy if eccentric artist Paul Mangin (Eric Portman). That would change after she learned that he was obsessed with a Renaissance painting of a young woman…as well as the belief that the two of them were the portrait’s subject and her lover reincarnate. Co-star Christopher Lee and director Terence Young (“Dr. No”) both made their debuts with this romantic gothic thriller from the UK. With Hugh Sinclair.
The Protege (2021)
Years ago, when high-end assassin Moody Dutton (Samuel L. Jackson) found an infant girl in the wake of a Saigon massacre, he chose to raise her as his own…and school her in his craft. Today, Anna (Maggie Q) has proven the apt pupil–and, after Moody is brutally slain, the vengeance trail takes her back to Vietnam and into violent conflict with the enigmatic criminal Rembrandt (Michael Keaton). Slam-bang actioner from Martin Campbell co-stars Robert Patrick, Ori Pfeffer.
Land Girls: The Complete Collection
Set in England during World War II, this moving BBC series follows four young women whose lives are dramatically altered when they join the Women’s Land Army. As they work the land while their men are overseas, Annie, Bea, Joyce, and Nancy are brought together by the life-changing challenges they face on the home front. Christine Bottomley, Becci Gemmell, Summer Strallen, Jo Woodcock, and Sophie Ward star.
The Incredible Shrinking Man (Criterion Collection)(1957)
Classic sci-fi thriller stars Grant Williams as the title protagonist who, after exposure to radioactive fallout and chemicals, slowly but inexorably diminishes in size. Great special effects–including a fight to the death against a spider–and Richard Matheson’s literate screenplay (from his novel “The Shrinking Man”) mark this landmark genre entry; with Randy Stuart, April Kent.
Come September (1951)
Colorful comedy stars Rock Hudson as Robert Talbot, an American businessman who arrives early for his annual September stay at his Italian villa with his sexy mistress Lisa Fellini (Gina Lollobrigida) and is shocked to find that his caretaker has been renting it out to vacationers, a group of teenage girls. A series of romantic entanglements ensue involving Robert, Lisa, and some raging-hormone teens. With Sandra Dee, Bobby Darin, Brenda De Banzie, Walter Slezak, Joel Grey; directed by Robert Mulligan.
Click here for a complete overview of all of this week’s new releases!