This week’s releases include a deep dive into a hero’s past; a new, better (and longer) cut of an action movie; a fun animated adventure; a story born on social media; a gritty detective series; a new animated mystery; a horror docuseries; and a sci-fi movie collection.
Black Widow (Blu-ray & Digital copy)
Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) — a.k.a. Black Widow — confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.
The Marvel movies tend to include three elements in varying doses: action, humour and character development. While only a small section of the film consists of flashbacks to Natasha’s childhood, she spends most of the picture working out historical trauma with her estranged sister and the Black Widow program that shaped both their lives. The humour comes from the domestic banter between the reunited family. The sibling rivalry manifests in witty debates over strategy and technique, including Natasha’s sister questioning the purpose of her fight pose. The pair have excellent chemistry and are simultaneously each other’s opposite and perfect counterpart. Finally, the action is top-notch as the narrative takes the pursuit across Europe. The sisters expectedly have similar skills and combat styles, presenting two awe-inspiring women who can handle any situation — a fact repeatedly put to the test by hit squads and mid-air battles. This movie felt long overdue — but also too late within the MCU’s timeline since it’s going back to events that happened five years ago and so much has transpired since then.
Special features include: introduction by director Cate Shortland; deleted scenes; “Sisters Gonna Work It Out”; “Go Big If You’re Going Home”; bloopers. (Marvel Home Entertainment)
The Boss Baby: Family Business (4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & Digital copy)
The Templeton brothers — Tim (James Marsden) and his Boss Baby little bro Ted (Alec Baldwin) — have become adults and drifted away from each other. Enter new boss baby Tina (Amy Sedaris) with a cutting-edge approach and can-do attitude that is determined to bring them together again…and inspire a new family business.
The concept for this franchise was novel and cute, but it’s possible this sequel is better because it’s easier to relate to adults in children’s bodies rather than children with sophisticated brains. The film opens with stay-at-home dad Tim using his still active imagination to raise his two kids, though his eldest daughter is reaching an age where she’d prefer less attention. In the meantime, Ted is unsurprisingly a busy CEO who’s forgotten about his childhood adventures. Continuing the tradition of T-named offspring, Tina is adorable and sassy with a pretty good handle on matters, including running a covert operation while in the presence of unsuspecting adults. The culprit and their endgame is strange and over-the-top, but it works for this already silly narrative.
Special features include: commentary with director/executive producer Tom McGrath, producer Jeff Hermann and production designer Raymond Zibach; deleted scenes; “Precious Templeton: A Pony TALE” short; “Never Grow Up: The Big Babies Behind The Boss Baby: Family Business”; “Roll Call”; “Creative Experiment Lab”; “Boss Baby Art Class: How to Draw”; “Together We Stand” lyric video; and gag reel. (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
Eli Roth’s History of Horror: Season 2 (Blu-ray)
Award-winning horror film director, writer, producer and actor Eli Roth further explores the dark power and wicked fun of scary movies, the craft that went into making them and the ways that horror films reflect the anxieties of their times. Covering horror themes, including “Houses of Hell,” “Monsters,” “Witches,” “Body Horror,” “Chilling Children” and “Nightmares,” season two features interviews with Stephen King, Quentin Tarantino, Bill Hader, Greg Nicotero, Piper Laurie, Nancy Allen, Slash, Rob Zombie and more.
With slightly less prominent themes for this season’s episodes, it’s not quite as strong as the debut year. It felt as if the opening “Houses of Hell” episode could have dug a little deeper into The Amityville Horror, though it was interesting to hear James Brolin talk about his iconic role. “Body Horror” is probably the most in-depth exploration of the season, looking at David Cronenberg’s well-known work in the area, though giving less attention to other accomplished pictures. The incorporation of cannibal films feels as if it could’ve been the subject of its own episode in a later season. Rob Zombie’s Firefly Trilogy sparks a discussion about his dysfunctional family, though it fails to tease out any tidbits about his inspiration or music selection. Overall, the themes are still interesting, but they frustratingly fail to dig any deeper than the surface of any particular film.
Special features include: “CGI vs. Practical Effects”; “The Chilling Children of Horror”; and “Movies that Scared my Pants Off.” (AMC Studios)
Mare of Easttown (DVD)
As life crumbles around her, Mare Sheehan (Kate Winslet) the sole detective in a small Pennsylvania town investigates the murder of a teen. She is a worn-down, brutally honest, beer-swilling, local basketball legend who must cope with the loss of her son while dealing with her nosy mother (Jean Smart), rebellious teenage daughter (Angourie Rice) and grandson at home, and an ex-husband (David Denman) who lives a stone’s throw away with his new fiancée. Just as the case of a missing young girl has grown cold, the murder of a teen adds immense pressure on Mare to find the killer in a town where everyone is a potential suspect.
Mare has a gritty quality that Winslet flawlessly captures, finding the balance of someone who is both emotionally closed off but wholly invested in her family. The mystery surrounding the young woman’s murder is very broad as it’s discovered a quiet girl harbours a lot of secrets and can have a surprising number of enemies. However, Mare is basically investigating two cases at once, even though this one doesn’t appear to have much in common with a year-old missing person case. Mare noticeably carries a heavy weight on her shoulders, constantly putting herself under pressure to solve the case, no matter how difficult. Her relationship with her mother is lovingly antagonistic with award-winning actress Smart acting as the perfect complement to Mare’s own acerbic personality. There are a number of twists in the story — a couple even unexpected — making it a captivating miniseries.
Special features include: “Invitation to the Set”; “Mare of Easttown: A Closer Look”; “Welcome to Easttown”; and “Making Mare of Easttown.” (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
Star Trek: The Original 4-Movie Collection (4K Ultra HD & Digital copy)
The human adventure is the just the beginning when Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) returns to the helm of a newly transformed U.S.S. Enterprise in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, an adversary from Kirk’s past returns with a vengeance. The crew is forced to defy Starfleet regulations in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. And in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, a time-travel adventure places Earth on the brink of disaster.
As Star Trek: The Original Series proved so wildly popular in syndication, 10 years after it ended the studio opted to make a movie starring the original cast. Captain Kirk is promoted to Admiral, but all of the films would still have specially edited TV versions. Kirk’s rebellious nature endures as he steals the Enterprise to save a friend and then avoids a court martial by once again saving the planet in the third and fourth films. Leonard Nimoy would also take the opportunity to take a bigger role behind the camera, directing two of the films and co-writing another. The Wrath of Khan is one of the most memorable pictures of the franchise as it involved the return of a formidable enemy that had a significant impact on the crew.
Includes all previously released special features. (Paramount Home Entertainment)
Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog (DVD)
Comedy is unleashed when Scooby-Doo, your favorite mystery-solving mutt, teams up for the first time with Courage the Cowardly Dog. The canine colleagues sniff out a strange object in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas, the backwoods hometown of Courage and his owners, Eustace and Muriel Bagge. Soon, the mysterious discovery puts them on the trail of a giant cicada monster and her wacky winged warriors. Fred, Velma, Daphne and Shaggy know that this job is too big for a flyswatter. They’ll need the help of the doggy duo to piece together the puzzle. Can Scooby and Courage overcome their jitters and defeat the insect army before the whole world bugs out?
It’s no secret Scooby-Doo and Shaggy lack a sense of bravery and now they’ve upgraded their duo to a trio of scaredy-cats… though Courage’s tiny stature makes his anxiety more acceptable. When Scooby is unavoidably drawn by a mysterious sound, he’s literally pulled to the middle of Nowhere where he meets Courage. Luckily Scoob’s friends low-jacked his collar and they’re able track him down. As if ghosts aren’t bad enough, this time they’re being tormented by giant insects. The Bagges are so nice, the gang insists on helping them get to the bottom of this caper. Their investigation takes them to a very large house that allows for some good ole hide-and-seek, including the classic hallway-door chase.
Special features include: Scooby Doo, Where Are You! “Decoy for a Dognapper”; The Scooby Doo/Dynomutt Hour, “The Gruesome Game of the Gator Ghoul”; and The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, “Chiller Diller Movie Thriller.” (Warner Bros. Animation)
Zack Snyder’s Justice League (4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & Digital copy)
Determined to ensure Superman’s (Henry Cavill) ultimate sacrifice was not in vain, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) aligns forces with Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) with plans to recruit a team of metahumans to protect the world from an approaching threat of catastrophic proportions. The task proves more difficult than Bruce imagined, as each of the recruits must face the demons of their own pasts to transcend that which has held them back, allowing them to come together, finally forming an unprecedented league of heroes. Now united, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) may be too late to save the planet from Steppenwolf, DeSaad and Darkseid and their dreadful intentions.
There’s no denying the theatrical cut of the film, completed by Joss Whedon when Zack Snyder was called away for a family emergency, was a mess. At twice the runtime, Snyder attempts to fix the picture by adding back in a lot more movie in the hope that it will improve the flow and make the narrative seem less fractured — and it does just that. The story has an entirely different structure that works infinitely better than its predecessor. In particular, Cyborg’s and Flash’s characters are better developed with follow-through on Snyder’s previous pledge that Cyborg is the heart of the film. Similarly, Darkseid has a greater presence, including an epic battle sequence that pits him against Zeus, Ares and a united hero front. This movie returns to the darker tone of Batman v. Superman, adding more blood, outfitting Superman in his black suit, and removing Batman’s and Aquaman’s off-the-cuff quips — though Flash still gets to lighten the mood with his charming naivete. At four hours, it’s a bit of a chore to watch, but the improvements are irrefutable.
Special features include: “Road to Justice League.” (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
Zola (Blu-ray & Digital copy)
“Y’all wanna hear a story?” Thus began the odyssey of one A’Ziah King, a.k.a. Zola (Taylour Paige). Zola, a Detroit waitress, is seduced into a weekend of partying in Florida by her new acquaintance, Stefani (Riley Keough). Her trip turns into a wild saga involving a pimp, an idiot boyfriend, and Tampa’s finest strip clubs in this film based on the greatest Twitter story ever told.
It’s been said writing and filmmaking have been forever changed by the internet as creators can make their work publicly available and let users decide if it has a profitable future. In this case, it was taken one step further as Zola’s tale was first told in a tweetstorm as she tried to unburden herself of this wild, dangerous weekend that went horribly wrong. Zola and Stefani seem similar on the surface, but the former actually has a much better grip on reality… and her self-worth. It’s better none of the events of this crazy adventure are spoiled, but everyone involved is quite the character. The pimp has a fluid accent that gets thicker when he wants to be more intimidating and the boyfriend is truly dense with no comprehension of anything that’s happening. One of the most amusing scenes is when Stefani relays her version of events, which emphasizes how insane it all really was.
Special features include: commentary with writer/director Janicza Bravo and editor Joi McMillon; deleted scenes with optional audio commentary; and making-of featurette. (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
