If you are the type of movie fan who is currently suffering from post-Oscars seasonal affective disorder, we have got some great news for you. This week a bunch of hugely entertaining films are making their home video debut. From Asgard to Sacramento, these stories showcase tales both large and small of characters trying to make their way through the problems that life throws at them. Movies are always magical, and this week’s batch even more so. Check out what flicks are now available this week!
In his quest to find his vanished father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) with the coerced aid of treacherous brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) finds himself waylaid in space and conscripted into the gladiatorial pens of the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). Even if he survives an arena confrontation with old frenemy Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), can he halt Asgard’s foretold destruction at the hands of his half-sister Hela (Cate Blanchett)? Action-packed, laugh-leavened Marvel entry co-stars Tessa Thompson, Idris Elba, Karl Urban.
It’s 2002, and willful Sacramento Catholic high schooler Christine (Saoirse Ronan)–or, to use her preferred affectation, “Lady Bird”–is just trying to get through the turbulent social waters of her senior year, and what she hopes are the last complicated, contentious months at home with her overworked, tough-loving hospital orderly mom (Laurie Metcalf). Writer/director Greta Gerwig’s acclaimed coming-of-age opus co-stars Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein.
Set in the 1950s, Woody Allen’s offbeat drama stars Kate Winslet as Ginny, the put-upon wife of Humpty, a loutish Coney Island carousel operator (Jim Belushi). Sparks fly between Ginny and handsome and charming lifeguard Mickey (Justin Timberlake), but things get complicated when Mickey catches the attention of Carolina (Juno Temple), Ginny’s stepdaughter who’s on the run from her mobster husband. Debi Mazar, Tony Sirico, Steve Schirripa also star.
In early-2000s Afghanistan, with her educated father dragged off by the Taliban, 11-year-old Parvana (voiced by Saara Chaudry) didn’t see any hope for their impoverished family…until she dared to cut her hair, dress in her late brother’s clothes, and pose as a boy in order to leave the house and do whatever she could to provide. Remarkable, beautifully animated adaptation of the Deborah Ellis youth novel also features the voices of Ali Badshah, Laara Sadiq, Soma Bhatia.
Eddie Krumble (Ed Helms) is a professional clapper. That is, he sits in infomercial audiences and well, claps, mostly. When a clip of Eddie goes viral, he gains instant celebrity…whether he wants it or not. Is it too late for the reluctantly famous Eddie to get his normal life back and win the heart of a pretty and sweet gas station attendant (Amanda Seyfried). Director Dito Montiel adapted his own novel for this smart satire that also stars Tracy Morgan, Leah Remini, Brenda Vaccaro, and Alan Thicke as himself.
Return to the majestic depths of the planet’s underwater realms with this documentary series, presented by the BBC as a follow-up to 2001’s “The Blue Planet: Seas of Life.” Four years in the making, the show provides another fantastic glimpse into the fascinating worlds that exist beneath the waves and examines the effects mankind’s actions have had on ocean life. David Attenborough narrates. All eight episodes from the series are featured in this three-disc set.