New to On Demand & DVD

On Demand DVD New Releases: April 13-19 Just Mercy (pictured above) Based on a true story, this powerful legal drama follows Harvard grad Bryan Stevenson, who heads to Alabama to defend the wrongly convicted. His first case is that of Walter McMillian, whose 1987 death sentence he tries tirelessly to overturn amid racism and corruption. Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson (PG-13, 2:17) 4/14 Underwater A crew of underwater researchers must scramble to safety after an earthquake devastates their subterranean laboratory. Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel (PG-13, 1:35) 4/14 Agent Toby Barks In this hilarious family adventure starring Dean Cain, […]

By Stephen Whitty The newest film version of Little Women takes a few liberties with the book. But it is absolutely loyal to its author. Over the last 150 years — and more than half a dozen other film adaptations — Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel has become a beloved young-adult classic, seen as an Americanized “Dickens Lite” of Victorian Christmases and plucky protagonists. Yet the real Alcott, like Dickens, was made of sterner stuff. And Greta Gerwig’s new film adaptation addresses that, by reemphasizing Alcott’s real passions, and adult concerns. Of course, they were always there to begin with, […]

On Demand DVD New Releases April 6-12 Cats A ridiculously brilliant cast, dazzling costuming and emotionally fueled songs and dance sequences make up this film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s beloved musical. At the heart of the story is a tribe of cats and one cat’s decision on who gets to ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life. James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson (PG, 1:50) 4/7 Little Women This is the beloved story of the March sisters as told by director Greta Gerwig, the writer […]

Fun and frivolity are usually right at home in animated films. While many of these offerings lean on a throwaway, light plot to deal with the youngest moviegoers in attendance, the film Onward from Disney and Pixar deals with death, growth and familial love during the awkward teenage years and allows the older kids a moment to connect. Ian (voice of Tom Holland) is an elf ready to celebrate his 16th birthday. He’s shy and has always been a kid who internalizes his feelings. But as he prepares to face his new life as a 16-year-old, he yearns to do […]

By Stephen Whitty A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a band of plucky rebels picked up a lightsaber or two and went to war against an empire. And they’re still at it. But is the Force still with them? Are we? The latest and last film in the Star Wars triple-trilogy works really hard for fans. It brings back just about every franchise character that ever lived. Ever died, too (that’s what flashbacks and hallucinations are for). It even invites back a few you hoped they wouldn’t, like the Ewoks. The film’s not just a nostalgia […]

On Demand DVD New Releases March 31-April 6 The Current War: Director’s Cut This film shines light on the rivalry between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse as they race to power the nation. Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon (PG-13, 1:43) 3/31 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker The final chapter in the Skywalker saga is set just one year after the events of The Last Jedi and finds Rey and Kylo Ren in an epic clash of unresolved business, still trying to understand the dual nature of the Force. Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega (PG-13, 2:22) 3/31 VFW-20 […]

By Stephen Whitty 1917 isn’t just an anti-war film. It’s anti “war film.” Like Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, it looks at a not traditionally heroic moment — a harried evacuation in Nolan’s film; here, a desperate warning not to attack. It features recognizably flawed and frightened characters, and tells their story in a novel, and sometimes challenging, way. And its avoidance of the usual war-movie clichés makes it all the more powerful. Director Sam Mendes has said his film was inspired by stories his grandfather once told him about his own wartime service. Set during some of the darkest days of […]

On Demand DVD New Releases March 23-31 Clemency As she prepares to execute another inmate, prison warden Bernadine Williams (Alfre Woodard) must confront the psychological and emotional demons her job creates. Alfre Woodard, Richard Schiff (R, 1:53) 3/24 Stray In a cold and remote landscape, two strangers struggle to repair their broken pasts. Hailed by critics as one of the best New Zealand films ever made. Arta Dobroshi, Kieran Charnock (TV-14, 1:44) 3/24 The Song of Names Tim Roth and Clive Owen star in an emotional detective story spread over two continents and a half century. Beneath musical revelations burns the […]

By Stephen Whitty You can’t judge a kook by his cover. That’s the lesson of Richard Jewell, the true story of the security guard who pointed cops to a suspicious package at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics — a package that later exploded. Jewell was hailed as a hero who’d helped save lives. Then people took a second look. And saw a chubby, eccentric loner who lived with his mom. Who played violent video games, wore camo and collected guns. Who so desperately wanted to be a cop that he’d once impersonated one. And instead of a hero, people saw a […]

On Demand DVD New Releases March 16-22 Richard Jewell (pictured above): You can’t judge a kook by his cover. That’s the lesson of Richard Jewell, the true story of the security guard who pointed cops to a suspicious package at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics — a package that later exploded. Jewell was initially hailed as a hero, but later interrogated as a suspect. That rush to judgement, by the FBI and the media and most of America, is at the heart of Clint Eastwood’s coldly critical drama. Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde (R, 2:11) […]