New to On Demand & DVD

After the success of 2013’s Olympus Has Fallen, the idea of a sequel was probably not unexpected. But, the team involved in making the film didn’t want to simply rehash that which had worked before. Producer Les Weldon says, of the follow-up London Has Fallen, “to make the sequel, we had to take a step back because we didn’t want to just do the same thing again. The idea was to open it up, since the first movie was focused in and around the White House. We wanted to increase the scope of a second movie to make it a […]

On Demand DVD New Releases June 13-19 10 Cloverfield Lane Michelle awakens in what seems to be a bunker. The owner, a mysterious man named Howard, claims that after she had a car accident, he found her and brought her here to save her from a chemical attack outside. But as time passes, Michelle wonders how long they must stay here, and how true is the story that she has been told? Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr. (PG-13, 1:43) 6/14 45 Years Best Actress Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay are a couple celebrating their 45th […]

Can predator and prey truly live together in harmony? They can and do in the Walt Disney release Zootopia. Judy Hopps is a rabbit, and Zootopia’s police department has never had a bunny for an officer. Her family is both proud and terrified to send her from the sleepy Bunnytown to the dangerous big city of Zootopia. It is there that Judy will fulfill the dream that everyone said she couldn’t have: to be the first rabbit to become a police officer. The road isn’t easy for Officer Hopps. Her boss has sent everyone on the force to track down […]

On Demand DVD New Releases June 6-12 13 Hours Based on the 2014 book by Mitchell Zuckoff, this action-thriller follows the true story of the six members of a security team who fought to defend the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, after a terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2012. John Krasinski, Pablo Schreiber, Toby Stephens (R, 2:24) 6/7 The Automatic Hate Davis and his newly discovered cousin Alexis try to uncover the source of the grudge that tore their family apart while wrestling with a taboo attraction to each other. Joseph Cross, Adelaide Clemens (NR, 1:37) 6/7 Careful What […]

On Demand DVD New Releases May 30-June 6 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (pictured below) Literary great Jane Austen would have never seen this one coming. Her classic tale of lovers from different social classes in 19th-century England gets a most unusual retelling when zombies enter the picture. Lily James, Sam Riley, Bella Heathcote (PG-13, 1:47) 5/31 Race This historical biopic is the story of American track and field athlete Jesse Owens, who was thrust onto the world stage at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Owens not only raced against other competitors on the track, but he also ran […]

Of course, Disney’s The Finest Hours begs instant comparisons to 2000’s Oscar-nominated George Clooney film The Perfect Storm. Hours, too, is based on a real-life nautical nightmare. It, too, features a bleak New England setting. Deadly storm. Handsome hero. Swarthy, seafaring types barking brave declarations. A pretty, plucky woman back home refusing to give up hope. And dazzler special effects that may leave you a landlubber for life. But where Storm’s seafarers were fisherman caught unawares, The Finest Hours doubles the jeopardy, focusing its story on the converging fates of two imperiled vessels and the men aboard them. The larger […]

On Demand DVD New Releases May 23-29 Risen After crucifying a Jewish man, Pilate is worried by stories that the man has risen from the dead. He dispatches his tribune, Clavius, to search for the body. Clavius, who doesn’t believe the reports he’s hearing, may be confronted by the facts and need to decide if the man is the risen Messiah. Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Peter Firth (PG-13, 1:47) 5/24 Zoolander No. 2: The Magnum Edition (pictured) Derek Zoolander — the mugging model who made Blue Steel a thing — and his fellow man-mannequin Hansel find themselves on a mission […]

“Did ye make an unholy bond with that goat?” This line is among the sometimes-tricky-to-listen-to Puritan-ese spoken in The Witch that, out of context, may seem ridiculous. But within the world of writer/director Robert Eggers’ frightening film, viewers will take it in with a shuddering seriousness (a footnote to the film indicates that much of such dialogue was taken straight from source material of the time). That is part of what makes Eggers so successful in his presentation of his self-described “New England folk tale” — his willingness to fully immerse us in the world of 1630 America (or, what […]

There are numerous genres of movies. Dirty Grandpa, starring Robert De Niro and Zac Efron, falls in the disturbingly pathetic genre — even though I found myself chuckling throughout the movie. While watching this train wreck, I kept asking myself, “Why, Bob, why?” Maybe Mr. De Niro is trying to make the point that even he can make bad decisions. Life is looking pretty good for Jason Kelly (Efron), even though his grandmother just died. He is a lawyer at his father’s firm in Atlanta. He’s getting married to his beautiful yet controlling fiancée Meredith (Julianne Hough). That’s why Jason […]

On Demand DVD New Releases May 16-22 Dirty Grandpa (pictured) After Dick Kelly’s wife is laid to rest, he wants to do one thing — travel to Florida. It was normal for him and his late wife to spend spring in the sunny southern haven. But with the passing being so fresh, his grandson Jason agrees to take him on a trip that becomes less about hanging out at the retirement community and playing golf and more about partying at spring break in Daytona. Robert De Niro, Zac Efron, Aubrey Plaza (R, 1:45) 5/17 The Witch This chilling tale is […]