Check out the Holiday video releases and those that are becoming available in January. Some are the hottest blockbusters from 2015 now on Blu-ray and DVD. The genre’s range from action thriller, horror to comedy and include some long awaited theatrical hits. We will be reviewing select titles so check back to get opinions from our writing staff. You might also discover an indie gem that you didn’t know existed or a hilarious comedy to brighten your day. Whether you’re on the lookout for horror, action-adventure, drama, comedy, crime or lifestyles— the list below has a lot to offer.
DECEMBER
December 1, 2015
Toyko Tribe- Blu-ray/DVD
TOKYO TRIBE In a futuristic Japan, territorial street gangs form opposing factions collectively known as the Tokyo Tribes. When one of the gang leaders breaks the fragile peace, it triggers a brutal street war for supremacy. Based on a popular Manga series and told almost entirely in rap verse, TOKYO TRIBE is an ingenious mash-up of Yakuza gang violence, martial arts action and hip-hop musical.
Where Children Play- DVD
WHERE CHILDREN PLAY Belle is a beautiful young woman who never found a bright future because she was too busy running away from a heartbreaking past. But news of her mother passing away brings Belle back home to her family and the painful memories she tried to leave behind. Only when she finds the strength to confront her family’s shameful history, does Belle learn that forgiveness has the power to heal the scars of a broken childhood and unlock her heart to the possibility of love.
Death Note: The Complete Series- Blu-ray
DEATH NOTE Light Yagami is a genius high school student who is about to learn about life through a book of death. When a bored shinigami, God of Death, named Ryuk drops a black notepad called a Death Note, Light receives power over life and death with the stroke of a pen. Determined to use this dark gift for the best, Light sets out to rid the world of evil… namely the people he believes to be evil.
Momentum- Blu-ray/DVD
MOMEMTUM Alex, a mysterious thief, is pulled in by her former partner for one last heist. She quickly finds it was never just about the diamonds. A brutal murder sparks a cat and mouse chase between Alex and a master assassin. Now she must uncover the lies behind the heist and discover the secrets behind the men who have made her a target.
Mistress America- Blu-ray/DVD
MISTRESS AMERICA Tracy (Lola Kirke) is a lonely college freshman in New York, having neither the exciting university experience nor the glamorous metropolitan lifestyle she envisioned. But when she is taken in by her soon-to-be stepsister, Brooke (Greta Gerwig) – a proud resident of Times Square and adventurous gal about town – she is rescued from her disappointment and seduced by Brooke’s alluringly mad schemes. This modern screwball comedy is about dream-chasing and score-settling, make-shift families and cat stealing.
Amy- Blu-ray/DVD
AMY By the time Amy Winehouse was 27 years old, the singer/songwriter was a star. She soon became a legend after her death on July 13, 2011. ‘Amy’ explores Winehouse’s thoughts about her life and success through never-before-heard tracks and never-before-seen archival footage, including studio and personal videos. It also contains past interviews with Winehouse and current ones with her family, friends, colleagues and physicians.
90 Minutes in Heaven- Blu-ray/DVD
90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN Don Piper is a Baptist minister on his way home after a minister’s conference when tragedy strikes in the form of a collision with a semi-trailer. When paramedics arrive on the scene, Don is pronounced dead immediately from the severity of the wreckage. For an hour and a half after he’s pronounced dead and the paramedics clean up the wreckage, something strange happens to Don Piper. He finds himself in Heaven, meeting with old friends and family who have passed away, experiencing the reward he knew awaited him at the end of his life and joining in with the faithful followers as he now belongs with them. Then Don miraculously wakes up in the emergency room, forever changed by his experience.
Lost in the Sun- Blu-ray/DVD
LOST IN THE SUN The story of John, a small time crook, who finds an unlikely accomplice in Louis, a newly-orphaned teenage boy. As their open-road adventure progresses and John drags the kid on a string of robberies, the pair forge an unexpected and powerful bond.
December 8, 2015
The Transporter Refueled- Blu-ray/DVD
THE TRANSPORTER REFUELED Frank Martin (Ed Skrein) is the best driver money can buy, willing to deliver anything for a price. But when his father (Ray Stevenson) is kidnapped by a gorgeous gang of thieves, Frank must shift his skills into overdrive to rescue him. Loaded with nonstop action and excitement the film is a turbo-charged thrill ride full of hairpin twists and dangerous curves!
Minions- Blu-ray/DVD
MINIONS Stuart, Kevin and Bob are recruited by Scarlett Overkill, a super-villain who, alongside her inventor husband Herb, hatches a plot to take over the world.
Ant Man- Blu-ray/DVD
ANT-MAN The next evolution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduces the newest member of the Avengers: Marvel’s Ant-Man. Armed with the amazing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang joins forces with his new mentor Dr. Hank Pym to protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from ruthless villains! With humanity’s fate in the balance, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a daring heist against insurmountable odds. Filled with humor, awesome special effects and exclusive bonus features, this action-packed adventure takes you to new levels of pulse-pounding excitement!
December 15, 2015
Mission: Impossible 5 Rogue Nation- Blu-ray/DVD
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 5 ROGUE NATION Ethan and team take on their most impossible mission yet, eradicating the Syndicate – an International rogue organization as highly skilled as they are, committed to destroying the IMF
He Named me Malala- DVD/VOD
HE NAMED ME MALALA tells the remarkable true story of teenage Malala Yousafzai, who was attacked by Taliban gunmen in Pakistan for advocating for girls’ education. Rather than be silenced, Malala emerged as a global voice for the education rights of all children, and in 2014, she became the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize recipient. The documentary offers an intimate look into Malala’s life both before and following the attack. The then 15-year-old (she turned 18 this past July) was singled out, along with her father, for advocating for girls’ education. The shooting sparked an outcry from supporters around the world. Malala miraculously survived and is now a leading campaigner for girls’ education globally as co-founder of the Malala Fund.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials- DVD/Blu-ray
MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS The Maze was just the beginning. After the harrowing adventure of escaping the maze, the Gladers find themselves right in the center of an epic mystery Mysteries deepen and stakes are raised as the Gladers must survive “The Scorch” in this bigger, even more suspenseful and action-packed chapter of the Maze Runner phenomenon. They may have escaped from the Maze, but Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) and his fellow Gladers now face a greater challenge: searching for clues about the secret organization known as WCKD. Their journey leads them to the Scorch, a desolate wasteland filled with unimaginable dangers. The mystery deepens at every turn as the Gladers work together to discover their purpose and battle to survive in this must-see, electrifying adventure!
December 29, 2015
Bone Tomahawk- Blu-ray/DVD
BONE TOMAHAWK When a group of cannibal savages kidnaps settlers from the small town of Bright Hope, an unlikely team of gunslingers, led by Sheriff Franklin Hunt (Kurt Russell), sets out to bring them home. But their enemy is more ruthless than anyone could have imagined, putting their mission – and survival itself – in serious jeopardy. Kurt Russell leads an all-star cast, including Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox and Richard Jenkins in this gritty, brutal adventure chronicling a terrifying rescue mission in the Old West.
JANUARY 2016
January 5, 2016
Lyfe’s Journey- DVD
LYFE’S JOURNEY A family man makes a mistake that changes his life forever. With help he starts the journey to forgiveness, hopefully it will bring him back to his family. TV Movie
Stock Options- DVD
STOCK OPTIONS A down-on-his-luck stock broker becomes homeless and takes refuge in front of an office building where a famous print model works. After he heroically rescues her from a robbery attempt one night, she takes him home as an act of gratitude. Upon cleaning him up, sparks fly and she questions her current relationship in this romantic comedy. TV Movie
Sleeping with Other People – DVD/Blu-ray
SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE n 2002 Lainey causes a scene in a dorm. Taking pity on her as she is about to be kicked out by security, Jake claims her as his guest. He learns that Lainey was there in order to lose her virginity to her T.A. Matt who Jake thinks is the most boring guy in the world. Lainey eventually realizes that Jake is also a virgin. So begins a relationship headed for disaster.
The Visit – DVD/Blu-ray
THE VISIT Two children are sent to their grandparents house to spend a week with their grandparents while their single mom goes on a relaxing vacation with her boyfriend. One of the kids, Becca, decides to film a documentary about her grandparents in order to help her mom reconnect with her parents and also find out some things about her parents as well. While filming the documentary, however, Becca and her little brother, Tyler, discover a dark secret about their grandparents.
The Walk – DVD/Blu-ray
THE WALK Twelve people have walked on the moon, but only one man – Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) – has ever, or will ever, walk in the immense void between the World Trade Center towers. Guided by his real-life mentor, Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), and aided by an unlikely band of international recruits, Petit and his gang overcome long odds, betrayals, dissension and countless close calls to conceive and execute their mad plan. Robert Zemeckis, the director of such marvels as Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Back to the Future, Polar Express and Flight, again uses cutting edge technology in the service of an emotional, character-driven story. With innovative photorealistic techniques and IMAX 3D wizardry, The Walk is true big-screen cinema, a chance for moviegoers to viscerally experience the feeling of reaching the clouds. The film, a PG-rated, all-audience entertainment for moviegoers 8 to 80, unlike anything audiences have seen before, is a love letter to Paris and New York City in the 1970s
Sicario- DVD/Blu-ray
SICARIO When drug violence worsens on the USA Mexico border, the FBI sends an idealistic agent, Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) on a mission to eradicate a drug cartel responsible for a bomb that had killed members of her team.
Wrecker – DVD
WRECKER Best friends Emily and Lesley go on a road trip to the desert. When Emily decides to get off the highway and take a “short cut,” they become the target of a relentless and psychotic trucker who forces them to play a deadly game of cat and mouse.
Robo-Dog – DVD (Family/Kids)
ROBO-DOG He sits, plays fetch and he can move at super speed, bark at incredible volume and speak like a human being! He’s Robo-Dog, the most amazing mechanical mutt ever invented. When genius scientist Tom Austin sees that his son, Tyler, needs a new best friend, he locks himself in the garage, tinkering with spare parts, and creates the most incredible canine the world has ever seen! But Tom’s greedy ex-boss, Mr. Willis of Epic Industries, finds out that Robo-Dog is powered by a technologically advanced super battery, and he plots to steal it for himself. If the Austin family and Robo-Dog can’t stop him, Mr. Willis could accidentally blow up the whole town. It’s up to a hairy, hardwired little hero to save the day!
Condemned- DVD/Blu-Ray
CONDEMNED Fed up with her parents’ bickering, poor-little-rich-girl Maya (Dylan Penn) moves in with her boyfriend who is squatting in an old, condemned building on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. With neighbors that are meth heads, junkies and degenerates, this depraved hell hole is even more toxic than it appears: After a virus born from their combined noxious waste and garbage infects the building’s residents, one by one, they succumb to a terrifying pathogen that turns them into bloodthirsty, rampaging killers and transforms their building into a savage slaughterhouse.
Close Range- DVD/Blu-ray
CLOSE RANGE :After rescuing his kidnapped niece from a powerful drug cartel, Colton MacReady (Scott Adkins) begins a relentless fight to save his family. The cartel has descended upon his secluded ranch with a thirst for revenge. In tow are a corrupt local sheriff and his crew of deputies, ensuring that help won’t be coming any time soon. What ensues is a non-stop assault on the ranch, a blow-by-blow survival marathon for Colton to protect his loved ones and save his life.
Adulterers – DVD
ADULTERERS On a steamy New Orleans afternoon, Sam Deuprey (Sean Faris, “Pretty Little Liars”) decides to surprise his beautiful wife, Ashley (Danielle Savre, “Heroes”), for their anniversary and comes home early. But Ashley is not alone in the bedroom. She and her lover, Damien (Mehcad Brooks, “True Blood”) are about to learn how far a jealous husband will go in this twisted psychological drama about dirty little secrets and uncontrollable passions.
The Green Inferno-Blu-ray/DVD
THE GREEN INFERNO New York college student Justine (Lorenza Izzo) meets student activist Alejandro (Ariel Levy) when he goes on a hunger strike on behalf of underpaid janitors. Smitten, she agrees to help Alejandro undertake his next project: rescuing an Amazon village from destruction by a greedy multinational corporation. But Justine soon comes to regret her decision when their plane crashes in the Peruvian jungle and the students realize they are not alone. No good deed goes unpunished as the well-meaning students are captured by the cannibalistic tribe they came to save.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 10- DVD
IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA SEASON 10- Celebrate a decade of debauchery with Season Ten of TV’s most outrageously funny comedy. Join your favorite demented bar owners for a new round of misguided dreams and blundered schemes. This time around the gang tackles their most hilarious challenges yet, like besting the legendary beer drinking record of baseball’s Wade Boggs and conquering the wacky world of online dating. Plus, Mac and Charlie join a cult, Psycho Pete returns from the loony bin and the gang struggles to keep their weirdness under wraps while competing on a TV game show.
January 8, 2016
Diablo- VOD
DIABLO a young Civil War veteran named Jackson (Scott Eastwood) wakes up to find his beautiful wife kidnapped by a band of ruthless bandits. With killers around every corner, the lines begin to blur between who the good and the bad are, including Jackson. As a final gunfight looms for our hero and he is asked to risk it all to save the woman he loves, this action-packed western takes twists and turns that will break even the hardest of hearts.
January 12, 2016
The Devil Wears Prada- Blu-ray
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA Based on the hilarious best-selling novel, this sinfully funny movie stars Oscar® winners Meryl Streep* as fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly and Anne Hathaway** as Andy, the young woman who lands a job “to die for” as Miranda’s assistant — a job that might, in fact, be the death of Andy!
Hotel Transylvania 2 – DVD/Blu-ray (Family/ Kids)
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 The Drac pack is back for an all-new monster comedy adventure in Sony Pictures Animation’s Hotel Transylvania 2! Everything seems to be changing for the better at Hotel Transylvania… Dracula’s rigid monster-only hotel policy has finally relaxed, opening up its doors to human guests. But behind closed coffins, Drac is worried that his adorable half-human, half-vampire grandson, Dennis, isn’t showing signs of being a vampire. So while Mavis is busy visiting her human in-laws with Johnny – and in for a major cultural shock of her own – “Vampa” Drac enlists his friends Frank, Murray, Wayne and Griffin to put Dennis through a “monster-in-training” boot camp. But little do they know that Drac’s grumpy and very old, old, old school dad Vlad is about to pay a family visit to the hotel. And when Vlad finds out that his great-grandson is not a pure blood – and humans are now welcome at Hotel Transylvania – things are going to get batty!
The Martian- DVD/Blu-ray
THE MARTIAN During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead- DVD/Blu-ray
ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD is based on Tom Stoppard’s award-winning play. It’s the inventive tale of Hamlet as told from the viewpoint of two of the work’s supporting, but certainly more outrageous, characters. In this cleverly inspired version, however, the Shakespearean equivalents of Laurel and Hardy get a chance to take the lead roles in a dazzling setting where illusion and reality overlap! Critically acclaimed and featuring witty performances by Richard Dreyfuss, Tim Roth and Gary Oldman, this brilliant motion picture delivers exceptional one-of-a-kind entertainment!
Painkillers- DVD
PAINKILLERS A squad of marines sent on a classified mission deep in the war-torn mountains of Afghanistan finds the mysterious item they were sent for…but it’s not what they were expecting. The next thing they know, Major Cafferty (Tahmoh Penikett, Battlestar Galactica) and the surviving squad members wake-up in a military medical facility with no memory of what happened or even who they are. Using an experimental drug, doctors try to “reboot” the soldiers’ memories, but one by one they fall prey to bizarre hallucinations and homicidal fits of rage. Only through snatches of resurfacing memories does Cafferty begin to question the true motives of the hospital staff and discover the shocking, deadly reality behind the otherworldly artifact they found.
January 19, 2016
The Diary of a Teenage Girl – DVD/Blu-ray
THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL The setting of the 70’s includes hippies in bloom in nearly every park in Frisco, Patty Hearst pointing guns at bank tellers and parties brimming with young people wanting to get a quick high out of life. Even the location’s perfect for this story about Minnie Goetze (Bel Powley) a 15-year-old coming of age virgin who’s got her sights set on being a cartoonist in this free love atmosphere. Every day she draws in her diary or on whatever’s close by and with her hormones raging even her mind paints pictures of her sexual rage. Conveniently for her there’s a solution to her dreams, her mother Charlotte’s (Kristen Wiig) new handsome boyfriend Monroe (Alexander Skarsgård) and she’s about to seduce him.
Everest – DVD/Blu-ray
EVEREST On the morning of May 10, 1996, climbers from two commercial expeditions start their final ascent toward the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. With little warning, a violent storm strikes the mountain, engulfing the adventurers in one of the fiercest blizzards ever encountered by man. Challenged by the harshest conditions imaginable, the teams must endure blistering winds and freezing temperatures in an epic battle to survive against nearly impossible odds.
The Intern – DVD/Blu-ray
THE INTERN 70-year-old widower Ben Whittaker has discovered that retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site, founded and run by Jules Ostin.
Straight Outta Compton – DVD/Blu-ray
STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. Taking us back to where it all began, Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of how these cultural rebels-armed only with their lyrics, swagger, bravado and raw talent-stood up to the authorities that meant to keep them down and formed the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A. And as they spoke the truth that no one had before and exposed life in the hood, their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today
January 26, 2016
The Wannabe – DVD/Blu-ray
THE WANNABE Obsessed with mob culture, and desperate to fit in, Thomas sets out to fix the 1992 trial of John Gotti. He believes if the plan is executed, it will put him at the center of all that he idolizes. The plot is foiled, setting off events worthy of mob lore. The Wannabe intertwines real people and true events, past and present, with fantasy.
Goosebumps – DVD/Blu-ray (Family/ Kids)
GOOSEBUMPS Upset about moving from a big city to a small town, teenager Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) finds a silver lining when he meets the beautiful girl, Hannah (Odeya Rush), living right next door. But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zach’s comes when he learns that Hannah has a mysterious dad who is revealed to be R. L. Stine (Jack Black), the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series. It turns out that there is a reason why Stine is so strange… he is a prisoner of his own imagination – the monsters that his books made famous are real, and Stine protects his readers by keeping them locked up in their books. When Zach unintentionally unleashes the monsters from their manuscripts and they begin to terrorize the town, it’s suddenly up to Stine, Zach, Hannah, and Zach’s friend Champ (Ryan Lee) to get all of them back in the books where they belong.
FEBRUARY 2016
February 2, 2016
Badge of Honor- DVD
BADGE OF HONOR On her first day of the job, brand new Internal Affairs detective, Jessica Dawson (Mena Suvari), gets caught up in the aftermath of a violent drug bust that includes an officer shooting of an innocent young teenager. The facts, as reported by the two narcotic detectives, just don’t seem to add up. As she struggles to find the truth, the ramifications of a single lie reverberate throughout the whole precinct. Soon she finds she can’t trust anyone, including the precinct captain (Martin Sheen). In this gritty crime thriller that could be ripped from today’s headlines, it’s cop vs. cop in a deadly fight for honor.
Martyrs-DVD/Blu-ray
MARTYRS Ten-year-old Lucie flees from the isolated warehouse where she has been held prisoner. Deeply traumatized, she is plagued by awful night terrors at the orphanage that takes her in. Her only comfort comes from Anna, a girl her own age. Nearly a decade later and still haunted by demons, Lucie finally tracks down the family that tortured her. As she and Anna move closer to the agonizing truth, they find themselves trapped in a nightmare – if they cannot escape, a martyr’s fate awaits them…
Uncaged-DVD
UNCAGED Orphaned as a child in the wake of a grisly tragedy, Jack was raised alongside his cousin and best friend, Brandon. At age 18, however, Jack’s otherwise uneventful life takes a sinister turn when he’s suddenly plagued by a series of bizarre sleepwalking episodes. After repeatedly waking up in the woods naked with no memory of the night before, Jack straps a camera to himself to document his behavior—and discovers a shocking truth: He is the unwitting heir to a monstrous family legacy of savagery, slaughter, and unrelenting horror from which death may be the only escape!
Disney’s original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs- DVD/Blu-ray Combo
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS follows princess Snow White who gets taken to the woods by the Huntsman as ordered by the wicked Queen. She makes her way to a cottage where she meets the seven dwarfs.
Rock the Kasbah- DVD/Blu-ray
ROCK THE KASBAH A down-on-his-luck music manager discovers a teenage girl with an extraordinary voice while on a music tour in Afghanistan and takes her to Kabul to compete on the popular television show, Afghan Star.
Suffragette – DVD/Blu-ray
SUFFRAGETTE A drama that tracks the story of the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement, women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an increasingly brutal State. These women were not primarily from the genteel educated classes, they were working women who had seen peaceful protest achieve nothing. Radicalized and turning to violence as the only route to change, they were willing to lose everything in their fight for equality – their jobs, their homes, their children and their lives. Maud was one such foot soldier. The story of her fight for dignity is as gripping and visceral as any thriller, it is also heart-breaking and inspirational.
February 9, 2016
Spectre- Blu-ray/DVD
SPECTRE a cryptic message from the past sends James Bond (Daniel Craig) on a rogue mission to Mexico City and eventually Rome, where he meets Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci), the beautiful and forbidden widow of an infamous criminal. Bond infiltrates a secret meeting and uncovers the existence of the sinister organisation known as SPECTRE.
