The end of January is a blah time of year, but fortunately there are always movies to offer up endless entertainment! There’s an impressive array of new releases available for any kind of film fan hitting Blu-ray and DVD this week. Take a look at what titles are now available!
Parasite (2019)
In the Seoul slums, teenager Kim Ki-Woo (Choi Woo-Shik), his parents, and sister were just scraping by before he lucked into a position as English tutor to the daughter (Jung Ji-So) of the wealthy and flighty Park family. It isn’t long before he’s able to connive three more household positions for his clan…but the fates conspire to derail their gravy train in unexpected and shocking ways. Bong Joon-Ho’s stunning social satire co-stars Song Kang-Ho, Lee Sun-Kyun, Jo Yeo-Jong.
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes) didn’t know why she was being hunted by a shape-shifting killing machine (Gabriel Luna) from the future. She just knew that her survival rested with time-tossed cyborg warrior Grace (Mackenzie Davis), veteran robot fighter Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), and aging, assimilated T-800 “Carl” (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Return to the storied sci-fi franchise for producer/co-writer James Cameron co-stars Diego Boneta, Steven Cree, Edward Furlong; Tim Miller directs.
Harriet (2019)
Born into slavery as Araminta Ross, the woman who would come to be known as Harriet Tubman is the subject of this powerful historical drama. After escaping to Philadelphia in 1849, Harriet (Cynthia Erivo) repeatedly put her own life in jeopardy as she helped other slaves make their way to freedom as part of the Underground Railroad. Leslie Odom, Jr., Joe Alwyn, Jennifer Nettles, Vanessa Bell Calloway, and Janelle Monáe also star.
Bell, Book and Candle (1958)
Soon-to-be-married publisher Shep Henderson (James Stewart) finds himself smitten with beautiful neighbor Gillian Holroyd (Kim Novak), a witch who’s cast a love spell on him after she learns his fiancée (Janice Rule) is an old college rival. Will Gillian wind up actually falling for Shep, even if it means giving up her powers? Based on the hit Broadway play, this enchanting comedy–an indirect inspiration for TV’s “Bewitched”–co-stars Jack Lemmon, Hermione Gingold, and Ernie Kovacs.
Two on a Guillotine (1965)
Following the death of eccentric magician Duke Duquesne (Cesar Romero), his daughter Cassie (Connie Stevens) stands to inherit his considerable estate. All she has to do is spend seven nights in his creepy mansion. Joined by a curious reporter (Dean Jones), Cassie experiences a series of unspeakable terrors. Is the old house haunted or is it part of a twisted game being played by a not-so-dead Duke?
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971)
After being released from an institution, a young woman (Zohra Lampert) is brought by her husband (Barton Heyman) to a Connecticut farmhouse for a therapeutic change of scenery. However, starting with the odd young woman (Mariclare Costello) they find squatting within–and allow to stay–disturbing phenomena crop up that threaten to break her tenuous grip on sanity. Kevin O’Connor, Alan Manson co-star in this chiller directed by John Hancock (“Bang the Drum Slowly”).
Underwater! (1955)
Broke Florida newlyweds Theresa and Johnny Gray (Jane Russell, Richard Egan) were all ears when adventurer pal Dominic Quesada (Gilbert Roland) claimed a lead on a treasure-laden galleon sunk off of Cuba. Their expedition determined he was right–but retrieving the precious cargo is another matter, between the boat’s position on a precipice, shark-laden waters, and some two-legged predators tracking their course. Long-sought maritime thriller co-stars Lori Nelson, Robert Keith, Joseph Calleia.
Motherless Brooklyn (2019)
In 1950s New York, orphanage-raised, Tourette’s-afflicted gumshoe Lionel Essrog (Edward Norton, who wrote and directed) wanted answers after his boss and mentor (Bruce Willis) was ambushed and slain. He may regret it after the trail leads to a connected urban developer (Alec Baldwin) as ruthless as he is ambitious. Norton’s atmospheric, long-in-development take on the Jonathan Lethem whodunit co-stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Willem Dafoe, Bobby Cannavale, Ethan Suplee, Cherry Jones.
All About My Mother (Criterion Collection)(1999)
When her teenage son is run over and killed, a Madrid nurse (Cecilia Roth) sets out to fulfill the boy’s wish to find the father he never knew. Her quest to locate the father-who’s now living as a transvestite prostitute in Barcelona-brings her into the lives of a variety of fellow “lost souls,” from an old friend and transsexual hooker to a pregnant nun. Winner of the Best Foreign Film Academy Award, Pedro Almodóvar’s “screwball drama” also stars Penélope Cruz, Antonia San Juan.
Fail-Safe (Criterion Collection) (1964)
Tense Cold War drama about a squad of American bombers, that, through an erroneous radio transmission, is sent to deliver a nuclear payload on the Soviet Union…and is unable to be called back. Racing against time, the U.S. president (Henry Fonda) and his advisors must try to stop the attack, and, in turn, the commencement of World War III. Walter Matthau, Dan O’Herlihy, and Edward Binns co-star in Sidney Lumet’s adaptation of the novel by Walter Bernstein and Eugene Burdick.
Crossword Mysteries: Proposing Murder (2019)
Crossword editor Tess Harper (Lacey Chabert) thought she’d be playing Cupid when she worked an old friend’s marriage proposal to his lady into her Sunday puzzle. However, on the day it was published, he was found stabbed in his apartment–leaving Tess and Detective Logan (Brennan Elliott) with a challenge that they’d better not do in pen. Brain-teasing series entry also stars Kyle Buchanan, Alex Paxton-Beesley, Lara Jean Chorostecki, Barbara Niven.
Black Angel (1946)
Complex film noir from Cornell Woolrich’s novel stars Dan Duryea as Martin Blair, an alcoholic songwriter whose ex-wife, Mavis (Constance Dowling), is found murdered. When Mavis’ lover is tried and sentenced to death, the wrongly convicted man’s estranged wife (June Vincent) coaxes Blair, who was himself cleared of the crime, to help her search for the real killer. With Peter Lorre, Broderick Crawford.
The Molly Maguires (1970)
The personal and professional hardships of Pennsylvania mineworkers in the late 19th century are explored in director Martin Ritt’s filming of the novel by Arthur H. Lewis. Sean Connery stars as the leader of the Molly Maguires, a secret society of Irish immigrant coal miners dedicated to battling exploitation. When a Pinkerton detective (Richard Harris) is hired to infiltrate the group, it leads to a violent confrontation. Samantha Eggar, Frank Finlay also star.
Mob Town (2020)
In November 1957, Vito Genovese (Robert Davi) convened a historic Mafia summit at the Apalachin, N.Y., home of Joe Barbera (Danny Abeckaser, who directed) to consolidate his power. As a hundred crime figures converged on the quiet village, the flow of suspicious vehicles wasn’t unnoticed by state trooper Ed Croswell (David Arquette)…and the authorities would box in Barbera’s property for a remarkable raid. Fact-inspired story co-stars Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Jennifer Esposito, P.J. Byrne.
Click here for a complete rundown of all of this week’s new releases!