This week’s DVD and Blu-ray new releases come roaring to life thanks to the arrival of the latest entry in the Jurassic Park franchise…but that’s hardly the only new title available worthy of your attention. From a retelling of a literary masterpiece to some cult favorites that are finally available, these offerings will thrill and entertain you. They are all, if you’ll forgive us, dino-mite! Take a look for yourself.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
A looming volcanic event threatens the dinos who remain on the island where the now-abandoned Jurassic World theme park sits. When Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard)–the facility’s former operations manager who now works as an activist for dinosaur rights–and ex-velociraptor trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) undertake a dangerous mission to save the creatures from certain doom, they discover a conspiracy that could have global repercussions. Rafe Spall, Justice Smith, and Jeff Goldblum also star.
In an oppressive future where the only information allowed is government-controlled and designed to keep the population blissfully unaware, Guy Montag (Michael B. Jordan) is a “fireman” assigned to burn any and all books. Montag begins to question his role in this society, a feeling that’s reinforced when he meets the rebellious Clarisse (Sofia Boutella) and her growing resistance movement. Airing on HBO, this stylish filming of the Ray Bradbury classic also stars Michael Shannon, Khandi Alexander, Lilly Singh.
American diamond broker Lucas Hill (Keanu Reeves) flew into St. Peterburg to close a deal with a very dangerous oligarch (Pasha D. Lychnikoff)–only to learn that Pyotr (Boris Gulyarin), his local partner in possession of the merchandise, was nowhere to be found. With two days to deliver–or else–he heads for Pyotr’s remote hometown, where a dalliance with a beautiful barkeep (Ana Ularu) might prove a deadly distraction. Scenic thriller co-stars James Gracie, Eugene Lipinski, and Molly Ringwald.
Vietnam, 1972: Hard-nosed Air Force strategist Lt. Colonel Iceal Hambleton (Gene Hackman) gets his first taste of real carnage when he is shot down in enemy territory. Stranded and alone in the jungle, his only chance for survival lies with Capt. Bartholomew Clark (Danny Glover), a light aircraft pilot who must guide him to safety from the sky. Based on William C. Anderson’s novel and the actual events that inspired it, this spellbinding wartime drama co-stars Jerry Reed, David Marshall Grant.
Foppish finishing school graduate Nathaniel Mayweather (Chris Elliott) thought he’d be taking a cruise to Hawaii…and accidentally boarded a scummy fishing boat called “The Filthy Whore.” Forced to earn his keep with a motley crew that hates him, the “fancy lad” achieves his manhood with a series of fantastic adventures on the high seas. Outrageous farce co-scripted by Elliott also stars Melora Walters, Brian Doyle-Murray, James Gammon, Ann Magnuson, Andy Richter, and David Letterman.
In the wake of her mother’s hospitalization, Jennifer (Meg Tilly) begged her boyfriend Stuart (Tim Matheson) for a car trip out to her small, peaceful hometown out in the boonies. Not long after their arrival, however, they slowly discovered that some unknown force was causing the idyll’s residents to lose all inhibition and act on their repressed sexual–and brutally violent–desires. Bizarre, compelling suspenser also stars Hume Cronyn, Bill Paxton, John Karlen, Amy Stryker.
In early-‘80s Los Angeles, prep school grads Joe Hunt (Ansel Elgort) and Dean Karny (Taron Egerton)–long on privilege, short on business experience or acumen–founded an investment club promising remarkable returns for its participants. The can’t-miss opportunity turned out to be a Ponzi scheme, and its caretakers would turn to murder to keep it afloat. Feature film take on a signature true crime tale of its day co-stars Kevin Spacey, Emma Roberts, Jeremy Irvine, Billie Lourd, and Judd Nelson.
Lonely teenager Michael (Edward Furlong) is thrown into a world of horror when he plays an interactive video game called Brainscan in which he commits all sorts of murderous deeds at the behest of the computer-generated Trickster (T. Ryder Smith). When it appears as though Michael’s in-game exploits may have real world consequences, can he escape the Trickster’s influence before it’s too late? Frank Langella, Amy Hargreaves, Jamie Marsh co-star in this sci-fi shocker.
My Man Godfrey (The Criterion Collection)
Carole Lombard and William Powell dazzle in this definitive screwball comedy, directed by Gregory La Cava -— a potent cocktail of romantic repartee and Depression-era social critique. Irene (Lombard), an eccentric Manhattan socialite, wins a society-ball scavenger hunt after finding one of the “items” on the list, a “lost man” (Powell), at a dump. She gives the man she believes to be a down-and-out drifter work as the family butler, and soon falls head over heels in love. Her attempts to both woo Godfrey and indoctrinate him in the dysfunctional ways of the household make for an unbeatable series of madcap hijinks. La Cava’s deft film was the first to garner Oscar nominations in all four acting categories, and it is one of Hollywood’s greatest commentaries on class and the social unrest of its time.