New on DVD and Blu-ray Week of January 2 - January 8

By Harley Lond - 01/02/18 at 03:41 AM CT

FROM THE BIG SCREEN:
Doug Liman's latest action adventure film, here with Tom Cruise, is the fast-paced and fun actioner "American Made." Cruise is delightfully brash as Barry Seal, a TWA pilot recruited by the CIA to provide reconnaissance on the burgeoning communist threat in Central America; he soon finds himself in charge of one of the biggest covert CIA operations in the history of the United States. The operation spawns the birth of the Medellin cartel and almost brings down the Reagan White House when the clandestine operation was exposed as part of the Iran-Contra Affair. Co-stars Caleb Landry Jones, Domhnall Gleeson, Jesse Plemons, Sarah Wright, Jayma Mays, Lola Kirke, Connor Trinneer, Benito Martinez, Jed Rees, April Billingsley, Mickey Sumner, Juan Gaspard, Mike Pniewski and Jonnah-Blaine Bowling. Extras for American Made include deleted scenes; "American Storyteller"; "Cruise and Liman: A Conversation"; "In the Wings": Sarah Wright Olsen, Caleb Landry Jones, and Domhnall Gleeson discuss their characters; "Shooting American Made"; "Flying High": Tom Cruise and Doug Liman discuss the aerial stunts in the movie; "The Real Barry Seal." From Universal.

At the peak of the sexual revolution and the rise of the women’s movement in 1973, the tennis match between women’s world champion Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and ex-men’s-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) was billed as the "Battle of the Sexes" and became one of the most watched televised sports events of all time, reaching 90 million viewers around the world. This slick, crowd-pleasing film from Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who previously took on kid beauty pageants ("Little Miss Sunshine") and the travails of creativity ("Ruby Sparks"), explores the lives of the people behind the persona that captivated not only sports fans but culture mongers the world over. Stone and Carell turn in some of their best performances yet, sliding seamlessly into their roles. A sophisticated exploration of gender politics still relevant today. Co-stars Andrea Riseborough, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming and Elisabeth Shue. From Fox.

Ben Stiller stars as the titular character of "Brad's Status," a man whose satisfying career, sweet wife and comfortable life in suburban Sacramento aren't quite what he imagined during his college glory days. When he accompanies his musical prodigy son on a university tour back East, he can't help comparing his life with those of his four best college friends who seemingly have more wealthy and glamorous lives. But when circumstances force him to reconnect with his former friends, Brad begins to question whether he has really failed or if their lives are actually more flawed than they appear. A fine-honed look at the human condition, with Stiller at his best playing a neurotic dad. Co-stars Jenna Fischer, Michael Sheen, Luke Wilson, Shazi Raja and Austin Abrams. From Universal.

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET:

What better way to start the New year than having a meal with "The Breakfast Club" (1985)? What happens when you put five strangers in Saturday detention? Badass posturing, gleeful misbehavior, and a potent dose of angst. With this exuberant film, writer-director John Hughes established himself as the bard of American youth, vividly and empathetically capturing how teenagers hang out, act up, and goof off. "The Breakfast Club" brings together an assortment of adolescent archetypes -- the uptight prom queen (Molly Ringwald), the stoic jock (Emilio Estevez), the foul-mouthed rebel (Judd Nelson), the virginal bookworm (Anthony Michael Hall), and the kooky recluse (Ally Sheedy) -- and watches them shed their personae and emerge into unlikely friendships. With its highly quotable dialogue and star-making performances, this film is an era-defining pop-culture phenomenon, a disarmingly candid exploration of the trials of adolescence whose influence now spans generations. On DVD and Blu-ray, with 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray and alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray. Extras include audio commentary from 2008 featuring actors Anthony Michael Hall and Judd Nelson; new interviews with actors Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy; new video essay featuring director John Hughes’s production notes, read by Nelson; documentary from 2008 featuring interviews with cast and crew; 50 minutes of never-before-seen deleted and extended scenes; rare promotional and archival interviews and footage; excerpts from a 1985 American Film Institute seminar with Hughes; 1999 radio interview with Hughes; segment from a 1985 episode of NBC’s "Today" show featuring the film’s cast; audio interview with Molly Ringwald from a 2014 episode of "This American Life"; trailer; an essay by critic David Kamp. From The Criterion Collection.

BUZZIN' THE 'B'S:

In "The Adventurers" (2017), starring Andy Lau, Tony Yang, Shu Qi and Jean Reno, Hong Kong superstar Lau plays a charismatic thief pursued by French icon Reno as a tenacious detective in this globetrotting caper film. The infamous and charismatic Cheung (Lau), who has recently been released from prison, his former partner in crime, Xiao (Yang), and beautiful chameleon Ye (Qi), join forces to pull off the heist of a lifetime. But when they find themselves pursued across Europe by a legendary French detective (Reno), they have to take their game to the next level. On Blu-ray from Well Go USA ... In the fantasy film "Babes with Blades" (2018) Cecily Fay , Lauren Okadigbo, Yennis Cheung and John Robb, Azura, the last of a fearsome warrior race known as the Sarnians, lives on the dark streets of Draiga, a mining colony occupied by the Visray Empire. After witnessing her once beautiful home world turn into a lifeless husk, Azura must fight to the death in the gladiatorial ring to stay alive. Meanwhile, a group of human freedom fighters form a resistance, seeking to try and protect their families from the oppressive and cruel rule of the Visray Section Commander Sorrentine. Unbeknownst to Azura, the fate of all humans on Draiga is about to rest in her hands. From Breaking Glass Pictures ... In "The Stolen" (2017), starring Alice Eve, Graham McTavish and Jack Davenport, Charlotte Lockton (Eve) has settled in the South Island of New Zealand with her wealthy British husband, David, but her dreams of a new life and prosperous future are shattered when David is murdered and her baby son is kidnapped. When a ransom note arrives, she realizes her only option is to track him down on her own. Charlotte's quest forces her on a dangerous journey of survival through an untamed world to fight to the death for what she holds most dear. On DVD, Blu-ray Disc, Digital from Universal ... Scream Factory has the Blu-ray debut of "Hell Night" (1981) available this week. As an initiation rite into Alpha Sigma Rho fraternity, four pledges must spend a night in Garth Manor, 12 years to the day after the previous resident murdered his entire family. Two of the pledges, Marti and Jeff, ignore the rumors that the now-deserted mansion is haunted by a crazed killer, until one by one, members of their group mysteriously disappear. Could this be a part of a fraternity prank -- or is a demented former occupant seeking revenge? NEW 4K scan of the film taken from the best surviving archival print. Stars Linda Blair, Peter Barton, Vincent Van Patten, Kevin Brophy, Jenny Neumann, Suki Goodwin and Jimmy Sturtevant ... The actioner "Shock Wave" (2017 -- China), starring Andy Lau and Jiang Wu, is set on the busy streets of Hong Kong. Cheung Choi-san is a bomb disposal expert working to protect his city from attack. When a terrorist who specializes in explosives, Hung Kai-pang, takes hold of the busy Cross-Harbor Tunnel, he threatens to kill hostages if his demands are not met. On Blu-ray/DVD Combo, Digital from Cinedigm ... "The Houses October Built 2" (2017) is a sequel to the 2014 cult film. Recovering from the trauma of being kidnapped last Halloween by the Blue Skeleton -- a group who take “extreme haunt” to another level-- five friends decide they must face their fears in order to move on. Heading back out on the road to visit more haunted house attractions, signs of the Blue Skeleton start appearing again and a new terror begins. Stars Brandy Schaefer, Mikey Roe and Jeff Larson. On DVD, Blu-ray Disc from RLJE Films ... "Lucky" (2017) was Harry Dean Stanton's last film. It Follows the spiritual journey of a 90-year-old atheist(Stanton) and the quirky characters that inhabit his off the map desert town. Having out-lived and out smoked all of his contemporaries, the fiercely independent Lucky finds himself at the precipice of life, thrust into a journey of self-exploration, leading towards that which is so often unattainable: enlightenment. Stars David Lynch, Ron Livingston, Ed Begley Jr., Tom Skerritt, Beth Grant and James Darren. On DVD, Digital from Magnolia Home Entertainment ... "No Solicitors" (2015), starring Eric Roberts, Kim Poirer, Felissa Rose, Justin Beahm and Joshua Benton, is campy horror with political satire. Lewis Cutterman is a well respected brain surgeon and happily married with two beautiful children who run the family business. They are model citizens within the community. A simple visit to their home by a solicitor is greeted by an invitation to dinner; except dinner takes a macabre turn when the solicitor finds himself drugged by the family. Waking up, the solicitor soon discovers he will slowly be eaten piece by piece and that the kids family business is to farm out internal organs to needy patients. On DVD, Digital from Cinedigm.

SPECIAL INTEREST:

"Shadowman" (2017): In the 1980s, Richard Hambleton was the Shadowman, a specter in the night who painted hundreds of startling silhouettes on the walls of lower Manhattan and, along with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, sparked the street art movement. After drug addiction and homelessness sent him spinning out of the art scene for 20 years, the Shadowman gets a second chance -- but will he take it? This documentary plunges the viewer into the chaotic life of a forgotten artist, from early fame as a painter and denizen of the Lower East Side, through his struggles with heroin, to his surprising comeback as street art exploded to become one of the most popular and lucrative art movements in the world. Before Banksy, there was Hambleton. From Film Movement.

Check out other new DVD/Blu-ray releases, streaming films, and information and reviews at OnVideo.

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