From classics unearthed from the Disney vaults to TV favorites and more, here’s a look at the great new titles that are being released this week.
A pampered Parisian cat named Duchess and her three children are in line to inherit a fortune from their owner, but a scheming butler has other plans. It takes some help from a pair of detective dogs and an alley cat named O’Malley to save Duchess and her brood, in this tune-filled Disney cartoon outing. Eva Gabor, Phil Harris, Pat Buttram, and Scatman Crothers are among the voice talents.
Based on the classic board game, this sci-fi actioner concerns an alien armada from an Earth-like planet that arrives on our world in response to a NASA signal. After one of the ships crashes, the remaining four land in Hawaiian waters and quickly become engaged in battle with naval forces. Surrounded by an impenetrable force field, the fleet–led by Admiral Terrance Shane (Liam Neeson)–fights to ensure the survival of mankind. With Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgard, Rihanna, and Brooklyn Decker.
When locally beloved Texas funeral director Bernie (Jack Black) befriends a much older, wealthy widow (Shirley MacLaine), nary a suspicious eyebrow is raised when she makes him the chief beneficiary in her will. His upstanding reputation proves to be the perfect cover for murdering her and then using his unique skill set to convince the unsuspecting that she’s still alive. Writer/director Richard Linklater’s dark farce, based on a true story, co-stars Matthew McConaughey, Rick Dial.
A former intelligence officer (Alan Ladd) returns to post-WWII Italy to find the traitor who divulged a secret OSS mission to the Nazis, resulting in the deaths of his men and the Italian resistance fighter (Wanda Hendrix) he loved. Shocked to learn she is alive and married to a local nobleman, Ladd undertakes a deadly quest to learn the truth. Exotic suspenser, which also marked the Oscar-winning debut of song “Mona Lisa,” co-stars Francis Lederer, Joseph Calleia.
After his policeman father is slain in the line of duty, Malo (50 Cent) joins the ranks of the NYPD and is quickly recruited by a vice squad leader (Robert De Niro) who insists on absolute loyalty. Placed next to his father’s longtime partner (Forest Whitaker), Malo makes a shocking discovery about his dad’s fate that makes him an isolated man in the department. Slick, brutal crime thriller co-stars Dana Delany, Michael McGrady.
All 22 episodes from the eighth season–including “Twenty Vicodin,” “Parents,” “Love Is Blind,” “We Need The Eggs,” and the series finale “Everybody Dies”–are featured in a five-disc set.
A Tehran housewife (Leila Hatami), desirous of a better future for her 11-year-old daughter, seeks to emigrate. While her husband (Peyman Moadi) is sympathetic, he can’t bring himself to leave his Alzheimer’s-afflicted father. As they start to divorce out of necessity, the husband hires an impoverished woman (Sareh Bayat) as a caregiver, and the stage is set for a complex tragedy to play out in open court. Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Film co-stars Shahab Hosseini, Sarina Farhadi.
Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure
The canine clan from Disney’s beloved 1955 film returns for an all-new animated feature. Lovable, mischief-causing Scamp leaves his parents and sisters to find some fun on his own, and winds up falling in with a feisty stray named Angel and her pals, the Junkyard Dogs. Voices by Scott Wolf, Alyssa Milano, Chazz Palminteri, and Mickey Rooney.
Mike & Molly: The Complete Second Season
All 23 episodes from the second season–including “Goin’ Fishin’,” “Mike In The House,” “Molly Needs A Number,” “Surprise,” and “The Wedding”–are featured in a three-disc set.
NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: The Ninth Season
All 24 episodes from season nine–including “Nature of the Beast,” “Thirst,” the two-part “Engaged,” “Rekindled,” and “Till Death Do Us Part”–are featured in a six-disc set.
NCIS: Los Angeles: The Third Season
All 23 episodes from the third season–including “Lange, H.,” “Lone Wolf,” “Exit Strategy,” “Touch of Death,” and “Sans Voir”–are featured in a six-disc set.
Pocahontas/Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World
The true story of the Native American girl who became a peacemaker between her people and English settlers in the early 1600s is the basis for “Pocahontas,” Disney’s moving animated mix of drama, adventure, and romance. With the voices of Irene Bedard as Pocahontas and Mel Gibson as Captain John Smith; songs include “Colors of the Wind.” Next, “Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World” follows her on a voyage across the ocean to London, where she hopes to win fair treatment for her people from the king of England. With the voices of Bedard, Billy Zane, Donal Gibson.
The investigation into a Los Angeles drugstore robbery leads a pair of veteran policemen (Steve Cochran and Howard Duff) to a fortune taken in an earlier heist. Cochran, egged on by his lounge singer girlfriend (Ida Lupino, who co-scripted), convinces Duff to stash away part of the money for themselves, but will a mix of greed and guilt be their undoing? Director Don Siegel’s taut noir drama also stars Dean Jagger, Dorothy Malone. AKA: “Baby Face Killers.”
Revenge: The Complete First Season
All 22 episodes of the first season–including the “Pilot,” “Duplicity,” “Charade,” “Chaos,” and “Reckoning”–are presented in a five-disc set.
The Closer: The Complete Seventh Season
All 21 episodes from season seven–including “Unknown Trouble,” “To Serve With Love,” “Star Turn,” “Road Block,” and “The Last Word”–are featured in a five-disc set.
Sacha Baron Cohen co-wrote/stars in this comedy as Admiral General Shabazz Aladeen, a North African dictator who travels to New York City to address the United Nations. After his scheming uncle arranges to have him kidnapped and his beard shaved, the despot is left unrecognizable in the Big Apple. Stripped of his power, Aladeen befriends activist Zoey (Anna Faris) and plots to return home. With Ben Kingsley, John C. Reilly, Jason Mantzoukas.
Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman play a wealthy couple taken hostage by vicious intruders with a brutal agenda. Fearing for not only his life but for the lives of his wife and teenage daughter, Cage makes the fateful decision to refuse their demands and fight back. Director Joel Schumacher’s suspenseful thriller co-stars Liana Liberato, Cam Gigandet, and Jordana Spiro.
The Rescuers/The Rescuers Down Under
A Disney animated favorite, the fun-filled adventure “The Rescuers” follows heroic mice Bianca and Bernard and their albatross ally Orville as they set out to save young orphan Penny from the nasty Madame Medusa, who needs the girl to steal a priceless gem. Songs include “Tomorrow Is Another Day” and “Someone’s Waiting for You”; voices are supplied by Eva Gabor, Bob Newhart, Geraldine Page, and Joe Flynn. Next, intrepid Rescue Aid Society rodents Bernard and Bianca are off to Australia to free a young boy and his eagle pal from the clutches of a villainous poacher in “The Rescuers Down Under.” With the voices of Newhart, Gabor, George C. Scott, and John Candy.
The “bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy” stuffed cat from the Hundred Acre Wood hops his way into his very own, song-filled feature-length adventure. After years of assuming that he’s “the only one,” Tigger sets out on a quest to find others of his kind, with some help from Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Roo, and company.
The first 15 episodes from the seventh season–including “The Case of the Nebulous Nephew,” “The Case of the Reluctant Model,” “The Case of the Bigamous Spouse,” “The Case of the Accosted Accountant,” and “The Case of the Capering Camera”–are featured in a four-disc set.
For details and availability of all of this week’s new releases, click here.
Here’s a look at last week’s DVD & Blu-ray releases.