Even though it’s a holiday week, there’s plenty of huge new releases hitting DVD & Blu-ray this week. Here’s a look at what terrific titles are now available!
In feudal Japan, one-eyed, 11-year-old Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson) had the uncanny ability to bring origami to life by playing his lute…and a shrouded past that his infirm mother kept from him. When he finds himself determinedly chased by malevolent mystic beings, he joins with sardonic simian Monkey (Charlize Theron) and bumbling samurai Beetle (Matthew McConaughey) on a quest to explain his uncanny origins. Remarkable stop-motion animated fable from Laika studios also features the voices of Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, and George Takei. 101 min.
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years
Ron Howard directs this electrifying documentary that focuses on The Beatles’ time spent touring between 1962 and 1966. Through the use of fantastic concert footage–some rarely, if ever, seen–new and archival interviews, and vintage photos, the film chronicles an important era of the band’s career, following them from their early performances at the Cavern Club to their famed 1965 show at Shea Stadium to their final concert at Candlestick Park. Features appearances by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Elvis Costello, Whoopi Goldberg, Sigourney Weaver, and more. 106 min.
Across a stretch of West Texas, a chain of banks is subjected to meticulously planned, small-bills-only armed holdups by divorced dad Toby Howard (Chris Pine) and his violent, ex-con older brother Tanner (Ben Foster). Assigned to the oddball case, cagey, cusp-of-retirement Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) has to figure out what’s underlying the siblings’ agenda…and deal with a lender-wary public embracing them as folk heroes. Flavorful contemporary Western co-stars Gil Birmingham, Katy Mixon, Dale Dickey. 102 min.
Having faked his own death, Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) settled down in Rio with the belief he could leave his past as a notorious contract killer behind. It proves not to be the case, as an old rival (Sam Hazeldine) kidnaps his lost love (Jessica Alba)…and Bishop’s only recourse for saving her is to criss-cross the globe and pull off a trio of elaborate assassinations. Slam-bang sequel also stars Tommy Lee Jones, Michelle Yeoh. 98 min.