Article by Ryan M Painter

This week’s tour through the digital and physical releases includes a fantastic popcorn adventure, some independent sleepers, and a bevy of classics coming to 4K UHD for the first time.

Digital

Babes (Decal)

Synopsis: BABES follows inseparable childhood best friends Eden (Ilana Glazer) and Dawn (Michelle Buteau), having grown up together in NYC, now firmly in different phases of adulthood. When carefree and single Eden decides to have a baby on her own after a one-night stand, their friendship faces its greatest challenge. BABES delves into the complexities of female friendship with a blend of laughter, tears, and labor pains.
Available on Blu-ray August 6, 2024

The Fall Guy (Universal)

Synopsis: He’s a stuntman, and like everyone in the stunt community, he gets blown up, shot, crashed, thrown through windows and dropped from the highest of heights, all for our entertainment. And now, fresh off an almost career-ending accident, this working-class hero has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job. What could possibly go right?
Available on Blu-ray July 23, 2024

Free Time (Film Movement)

Synopsis: Drew is approaching the end of his twenties and, with it, his relative youth. Looking to make a sudden change, he decides to quit his cushy desk job and “embrace life.” Cycling quickly through friends, hobbies, and goals, it’s not long until Drew realizes he has no idea what to do with his newfound freedom.

Fresh Kills (Quiver Films)

Synopsis: In her debut as a writer-director, actress Jennifer Esposito (Blue Bloods, Summer Of Sam, Crash) brings late 1980s Staten Island to vivid life through the lens of Rose Larusso (Emily Bader), an inquisitive young girl who discovers her father (Domenick Lombardozzi) is an emerging mafia kingpin. Rose’s growing desire to break free from the path set before her soon threatens her existence and alienates her from her closest allies: her mother Francine (Esposito), her sister Connie (Odessa A’zion), and her aunt Christine (Annabella Sciorra).

Last Night on Earth (Uncork’d)

Synopsis: After learning of the impending destruction of Earth by a planet-killing asteroid, Holly and Ryan plan to spend their final days living in harmony with nature in the tranquil mountains of Tennessee. But as society breaks down around them, religious zealots try to recruit them, and newcomers Gene and Gabby aim to flame out in a final crime spree that spoils Ryan and Holly’s peaceful plans.

Unsung Hero (Lionsgate)

Synopsis: Based on a remarkable true story, Unsung Hero follows David Smallbone as he moves his family from Down Under to the States, searching for a brighter future after his successful music company collapses. With nothing more than their seven children, suitcases, and their love of music, David (for KING + COUNTRY’s Joel Smallbone) and his pregnant wife Helen (Daisy Betts) set out to rebuild their lives. Helen’s faith stands against all odds and inspires her husband and children to hold onto theirs. With their own dreams on hold, David and Helen begin to realize the musical prowess in their children, who would go on to become two of the most successful acts in Inspirational Music history: five-time GRAMMY Award®-winning artists for KING + COUNTRY and Rebecca St. James.
Available on Blu-ray July 9, 2024

Blu-ray & DVD

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) 20th Anniversary 4K UHD [Paramount Pictures]

Synopsis: There was a time before cable when the local anchorman reigned supreme….Enter the hard-hitting world of the 1970s local TV news, where Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) and his loyal Channel 3 New Team are San Diego’s #1 rated news source.  All is well in their male-dominated world of news until beautiful, rising-star reporter Veronica Corningstone turns it all upside down.  Sparks don’t just fly, they ignite an all-out war between the two perfectly coiffed anchorpersons.  In a job where it pays to keep a straight face, Anchorman is the comedy that makes it almost impossible to stop laughing.

Blown Away (1994) 4K UHD [Kino Lorber]

Synopsis: The fuse has been lit! Screen legends Jeff Bridges (Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Winter Kills) and Tommy Lee Jones (Black Moon Rising, The Package) light a fuse under this action-packed, tension-filled, edge-of-the-seat thriller that will hold you hostage for 120 electrifying minutes. Fueled with dynamic support by Lloyd Bridges (High Noon), Forest Whitaker (Jason’s Lyric), Ruben Santiago-Hudson (TV’s Castle) and Suzy Amis (The Usual Suspects), Blown Away is the action film you don’t want to miss… when an explosion jolts Boston, bomb squad expert Jimmy Dove (Bridges) is thrust into the most harrowing work of his career. Evidence points to a bomber more dangerous and skilled than any he’s ever faced – except one. The possibility that the terrorist is his former mentor (Jones) increases the stakes – and as his friends and family are unsuspectingly drawn into the action, Jimmy is forced to face not only his bitter enemy… but also his haunting past. Stylish and suspenseful direction by Stephen Hopkins, the director of Predator 2, Judgment Night and The Ghost and the Darkness.

Housekeeping for Beginners (2023) [Universal Studios]

Synopsis: HOUSEKEEPING FOR BEGINNERS explores the universal truths of family, encompassing both the bonds we inherit and those we create. The narrative revolves around Dita, who, despite never aspiring to be a mother, finds herself compelled to raise her girlfriend’s two daughters—Mia, a tiny troublemaker, and Vanesa, a rebellious teenager. As their individual wills clash, a heartwarming story unfolds about an unlikely family’s struggle to stay together.

Icons Unearthed: The Simpsons (2022) [Mill Creek Entertainment]

Synopsis: Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie Simpson are household names around the world thanks to the longest-running scripted primetime television series of all time – The Simpsons. ICONS UNEARTHED: THE SIMPSONS highlights who and what has kept this beloved series rolling for so long, unpacking backstage stories and the continual comedy gold that has made this series the ultimate animation juggernaut!

Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara (2023) [Cohen Media Group]

From one of Italy’s most revered directors, Marco Bellocchio, comes Kidnapped, the true story of Edgardo Mortara. Mortara was a young Jewish boy living in Bologna, Italy, when in 1858, after being secretly baptized, was forcibly taken from his family by the Pope, to be raised Catholic. His parents’ struggle to free their son became part of a larger political battle that pitted the papacy against forces of democracy and Italian unification.

Natural Born Killers (1994) 4K UHD SteelBook [Shout! Factory]

Three-time Academy Award® winner Oliver Stone (JFK, Platoon) delivers a powerful movie unlike any other! As fugitive serial killers Mickey and Mallory, Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis play two crazy, mixed-up kids that’d give a demon nightmares. The amazing supporting cast, including Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, Tom Sizemore and Rodney Dangerfield, set the screen ablaze in this wild ride that will rattle your senses.

Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid (1973) 4K UHD [Criterion Collection]

Synopsis: Sam Peckinpah’s cycle of genre-redefining westerns came to a close with this blood- and dust-caked elegy for the American West, which marries his renegade style with a fatalistic sense of finality. As newly minted lawman Pat Garrett (James Coburn) stalks the outlaw Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson) across the plains, their old friendship is twisted into rivalry, and mythic ideals of freedom come up against an emerging ruling-class order—all to the strains of a haunting soundtrack by Bob Dylan (who also appears as the mercurial Alias). Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid—presented here for the first time in three separate versions—stands as perhaps the maverick auteur’s richest, most mature work, a world-weary ballad that bears the solemn weight of history passing into legend.

Taxi Driver (1976) 4K UHD [Sony Pictures]

Synopsis: Martin Scorsese directed this disturbing portrait of a New York cabby, written by Paul Schrader. The cab driver is driven to madness by urban decay and becomes a one man vigilante killing several hoodlums to free a sub-teen hooker.

Point Break (1991) 4K UHD SteelBook [Shout! Factory]

Hang ten and hang tough, Johnny. Rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah is learning to ride the waves. His mission: infiltrate a group of extreme surfers who may be the bank robbers known as the Ex-Presidents, and whose MO includes wearing masks of former White House denizens. Keanu Reeves portrays Johnny, Patrick Swayze plays charismatic thrill seeker Bodhi, and Oscar®-winning* director Kathryn Bigelow delivers an adrenaline rush of gnarly rides, skydives and danger in Point Break!

UHF (1989) 4K UHD [Shout! Factory]

In the cult classic UHF, “Weird Al” Yankovic is George Newman, a daydreamer who becomes the manager of a small TV station that’s losing money as quickly as it’s losing viewers. Before long, he’s programming shows like “Stanley Spadowski’s Clubhouse,” “Wheel Of Fish” and “Raul’s Wild Kingdom.” But can Channel 62’s new popularity save it from sinister forces? To find out … don’t touch that dial!

Who’s That Girl (1987) [Shout! Factory]

Four years of unjust jail haven’t dampened the spirits or determination of Nikki Finn. The spunky parolee sets out to clear her name — and sets the Big Apple spinning in deliriously funny ways.

Walmart SteelBook Exclusives

Angel Has Fallen (2019) [Lionsgate], Cocaine Bear (2023) [Universal], Diary of the Dead (2007) [Lionsgate], Escape Plan Tripple Feature (2013-2019) [Lionsgate], Forrest Gump (1994) [Paramount], The Meg (2018) [Warner Bros.], Saw X (2023) [Lionsgate]

 

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