New DVDs: October 2020

THE SECRET GARDEN

Set in England during 1947, The Secret Garden follows a young orphan girl who, after being sent to live with her uncle, discovers a magical garden on the grounds of his estate.

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

“Metaphors abound in The Secret Garden if you are so inclined. But the beauty of the story on its surface is enough.” – Karen Gordon, Original Cin

“The deliberate use of CG effects, Dixie Egerickx’s performance, and its keen understanding of the true heart and message of the story make The Secret Garden worth watching and may find itself given the title of ‘classic.'” – Alan Ng, Film Threat

“This recent The Secret Garden both respects and admires children’s imagination as its young characters discover their own way to grapple with loss, isolation, and loneliness.” – Tomris Laffly, RogerEbert.com

Available Formats [10/6]:

Blu-ray


I USED TO GO HERE

Following the lackluster launch of her debut novel, 35-year-old writer Kate Conklin (Gillian Jacobs) receives an invitation from her former professor and old crush (Jemaine Clement) to speak at her alma mater. With her book tour canceled and her ego deflated, Kate decides to take the trip, wondering if returning to her old college as a published author might give her the morale boost she sorely needs. Instead, she falls into a comical regression – from misadventures with eccentric twenty-year-olds to feelings of jealousy toward her former professor’s new favorite student. Striking the balance between bittersweet and hilarious, Kate takes a journey through her past to redefine her future.

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

“Rey prods at the mundane indignities of adulthood with a keen eye and a gentle touch, creating a movie that is daffy but not dumb and a heroine who is complicated but not a lost cause.” – Kristy Puchko, The Playlist

“Armed with her funniest material to date and a winning performance from Gillian Jacobs, the filmmaker finds new dimensions for both her work and the millennial ennui that has always inspired it.” – Kate Erbland, Indiewire

“A smart, sweet gem of a comedy.” – Josh Larsen, Larsen On Film

Available Formats [10/6]:

Blu-ray | DVD


THE TAX COLLECTOR

David (Bobby Soto) and Creeper (Shia LaBeouf), are “tax collectors” for the crime lord Wizard, collecting his cut from the profits of local gangs’ illicit dealings. But when Wizard’s old rival returns to Los Angeles from Mexico, the business is upended, and David finds himself desperate to protect what matters more to him than anything else: his family.

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

“Bolstered by a diverse and interesting cast of a kind we don’t see nearly enough, it paints a vivid portrait of the seedier side of the Los Angeles underworld.” – Zaki Hasan, IGN

Available Formats [10/6]:

Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack


SAVE YOURSELVES!

Jack (John Reynolds) and Su (Sunita Mani) are a hip Brooklyn couple who, like many of their friends, find themselves dependent on technology and unable to put down their phones. Fearing their mindless scrolling may impact their connection with each other, they seize the chance to head to an isolated cabin in the woods, vowing to unplug from the outside world for a week. Sheltered from texts and push notifications, they are blissfully unaware that the planet is under attack. As strange events unfold, the couple must figure out a way back to civilization—or what’s left of it.

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

“A delightfully modern-day comedy of (Internet-related) manners with authentic, honest insights into 21st-century romance as the next combo lo-fi sci-fi rom-com.” – Mel Valentin, ScreenAnarchy

“There’s only one joke in Save Yourselves! – this hapless generation is doomed! – but the survival comedy is delightful from start to apocalypse.” – Amy Nicholson, Variety

“A slapstick apocalypse with two sharp comic leads.” – John DeFore, The Hollywood Reporter

Available Formats [10/6]:

Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack


THE 2ND

While picking his son up from college, Secret Service Agent Vic Davies finds himself in the middle of a high stakes terrorist operation and now must use his entire set of skills against the armed faction.

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

Available Formats [10/6]:

Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack


STAR TREK: PICARD: SEASON 1

Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) leaves behind the Starfleet to begin a new life.

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

“This is a show that is more complicated and mature than what came before, but in the best ways, ways which do not discredit the past, but show it’s always possible to change and grow — whether you’re a 79-year-old man, or a 54-year-old franchise.” – Liz Shannon Miller, Paste

“Stewart’s just lovely in this. He has spent his post-Next Generation and post-X-Men career staking out various corners of the indie and studio film world, to mixed success. Picard suits him wonderfully, still. Just as the first round of Star Trek movies, the ones with William Shatner and the gang, made hay on the old idea of old dogs learning new tricks, Picard too has some of that in its synthetic DNA. And it works, because the actors are the right actors, and it’s treated seriously but without a crushing sense of solemnity.” – Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

Picard is a delight… Slipping back easily into the role (although not often into the actual uniform), Stewart makes a seamless transition to an older, weathered Jean-Luc, and remains the Federation’s most valuable player… Picard explodes with heart, using its sci-fi trappings to tell a deeply human story about love lost and potentially found.” – Kelly Lawler, USA Today

Available Formats [10/6]:

Blu-ray


ELI ROTH’S HISTORY OF HORROR: SEASON 1

Masters of horror — icons and stars who define the genre — explore its biggest themes and reveal the inspirations and struggles behind its past and present.

Description provided by Rotten Tomatoes.

“Each installment of History of Horror felt like I was sitting down with a bunch of old friends, nerding out about horror movies – and it was magical.” – Sezín Koehler, Black Girl Nerds

“A fantastic documentary…” – Kiko Vega, Espinof

Eli Roth’s History of Horror is unlikely to tell die-hard horror fans anything they didn’t already know, but seeing an all-star ensemble of talented performers and creators talk so lovingly about scary movies is worth the time alone.” – Alex Maidy, JoBlo’s Movie Network

Available Formats [10/6]:

Blu-ray | DVD


BEFORE THE FIRE

A TV actress escapes to her rural hometown following a global pandemic.

Description provided by Rotten Tomatoes.

“A timely setting adds some appeal to this quiet survival drama.” – John DeFore, The Hollywood Reporter

“The latter part of the film descends into familiar cinematic territory… [but] there’s still a lot to admire en route to this.” – Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film

Available Formats [10/6]:

DVD


THE CUBAN

When a pre-med student gets her first job in a nursing home, an unexpected friendship with Luis (Louis Gossett Jr.), an elderly Cuban musician, reignites her love of music and changes her life forever.

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

The Cuban does not develop everything in its screenplay to complete satisfaction. But what’s there is very good and believable. Combine that with the jaw-dropping directing and visual style, along with the pitch-perfect cast, and you are left with a compelling drama that is well worth it, flaws and all.” – Bobby LePire, Film Threat

“Golja and Gossett’s joint appeal—his rascally charm, her coltish earnestness—gives The Cuban soul, shining light through the gloom of brain decline and the horrors of an ambivalent healthcare system. Who needs validation when you have heart?” – Andrew Crump, Paste

The Cuban pulls together music, romance, loss, and memory into an emotional tale that spans cultures and generations. One thing connects them all: Cuban music.” – Monica Castillo, RogerEbert.com

Available Formats [10/6]:

DVD


THE DOORMAN

A woman returns from combat and befriends a family in NYC. When a gang of thieves plot to take the family’s valuables, she is all that stands between them and their lives.

Description provided by IMDb.

Available Formats [10/13]:

DVD


CATS & DOGS 3: PAWS UNITE!

Gwen the Cat and Roger the Dog are secret agents who covertly protect and save the world without humans ever finding out. Their partnership is due to the Great Truce, which has stopped dog and cat hostility for a decade. But the long-standing peace is threatened when a supervillain parrot discovers a way to manipulate wireless frequencies that only dogs and cats can hear. Will the heroes be able to stop the foul fowl, or will he cause a cat-a-strophe between the species?

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

Available Formats [10/13]:

Blu-ray


BROIL

After troubled 17-year-old Chance goes to live at her draconian grandfather’s estate, she uncovers a dangerous family secret. Her only hope for survival may come from a killer-for-hire who has a fortuitous stroke of culinary genius.

Description provided by Rotten Tomatoes.

Available Formats [10/13]:

Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack


FLEABAG: SEASON 2

A priest (Andrew Scott) helps Fleabag change the ways she looks at the world in the second season of the comedy from Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

“It is, in short, an immaculately scripted (by Waller-Bridge) and performed (by everyone) half-hour – certainly up there with the best of the first series, and probably up with the best of TV comedy-drama entire.” – Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“It’s one of the best seasons of TV I’ve seen in ages.” – Emily VanDerWerff, Vox

“What could’ve been a cash-in from Waller-Bridge, the writer and producer behind BBC America’s sleeper hit Killing Eve, turns out to be a masterpiece.” – Judy Berman, TIME

Available Formats [10/13]:

DVD


GRANT

The six-hour documentary about the life and career of President and General Ulysses S. Grant was executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson.

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

“[Grant] follows the standard formula for historical specials: expert testimony, dramatic re-enactments, period photography, maps and montages. But it is all executed at a much higher level than viewers are used to… For all its warfare and violence, eloquent interviews and gorgeous photographs, viewers will discover that the real star of Grant is the character of the subject himself.” – John Anderson, Wall Street Journal

“As a viewing experience, Grant is often engaging. While the docudrama dialogue can be clunky — the common fault of these things — the battle scenes are much better… Salinger’s Grant is good too. His eyes capture what Grant must have felt: Unbearable sadness yoked to ironclad resolution. A winner.” – Verne Gay, Newsday

Available Formats [10/13]:

DVD


BAD MOTHERS: SEASON 1

Sarah’s (Tess Haubrich) seemingly perfect life in the suburbs of Melbourne is broken when she learns her husband was sleeping with her best friend, Charlotte (Melissa George). Sarah befriends a new group of mothers that include Danielle (Jessica Tovey), Maddie (Mandy McElhinney) and Bindy (Shalom Brune-Franklin) in this Australian drama series.

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

“If the lockdown has given you a hankering for imported cheese, take a dip into Bad Mothers. This soapy Australian suspense series is being compared with Desperate Housewives, but it’s also a lot like Big Little Lies, without the superstar cast or the pearl-clutching sociology. Which makes it more fun, of course… Ms. Haubrich is highly engaging, but so is the rest of the principal cast.” – John Anderson, Wall Street Journal

“Yes, Bad Mothers feels like a bit of a rehash of the first season of Desperate Housewives, including a murder mystery. But the sharp dialogue and excellent cast make the show a fun watch, despite the fact that it doesn’t quite feel fresh.” – Joel Keller, Decider

Available Formats [10/13]:

DVD


THE GREAT: SEASON 1

The comedy series created and written by Tony McNamara follows Catherine the Great (Elle Fanning) as she marries Peter III of Russia (Nicholas Hoult) and rises in power.

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

“It’s strange and wonderful and a fantastically funny ride. But it will also leave you pondering the nature of sacrifice and real change, and the courage it takes to overthrow a despot. Huzzah.” – Allison Keene, Paste

“Complex characters, witty dialogue, a precarious play for power and just the right touches of humor make for riveting television.” – Terry Terrones, The Gazette

“Beautifully made and complex, and unflinching when it needs to be, The Great at times feels like a light meal, but then reveals its surprising density. It’s a show that’s easy to underestimate, but promises to be unforgettable.” – Liz Shannon Miller, Collider

Available Formats [10/20]:

DVD


THE OWNERS

A group of friends think they found the perfect easy score – an empty house with a safe full of cash. But when the elderly couple that lives there comes home early the tables are suddenly turned. As a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues the would-be thieves are left to fight to save themselves from a nightmare they could never have imagined.

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

“Loosely based on the graphic novel Une Nuit de Pleine lune, The Owners doesn’t feel new or groundbreaking by any measure. Still, this increasingly bizarre film is grisly and absurd in all the right, self-aware ways; qualities that the comparable (and far superior) Don’t Breathe also possessed as another recent horror film that turned the tables against its lowlife aggressors.” – Tomris Laffly, RogerEbert.com

The Owners is tense, uneasy and brutal, escalating from the creepy to the ludicrous over the course of 92 deliberately unpleasant minutes.” – Steve Pond, The Wrap

The Owners proves itself a smart and violent entry in the home invasion genre that serves as a potent reminder to never judge a book by its cover.” – Ryan Larson, Ghastly Grinning

Available Formats [10/20]:

Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack


SPREE

Meet Kurt (Joe Keery), a 23-year-old rideshare driver for Spree, who is so desperate for social media attention that he’ll stop at nothing to go viral. He comes up with a plan to livestream a rampage as a shortcut to infamy – coining his evil scheme “#thelesson”, he installs a set of cameras in his car and begins streaming his rides. Wildly miscalculating the popularity that would come from his lethal scheme, Kurt’s desperation grows as he tries to find a way to overcome the plan’s flaws. In the middle of all this madness, a stand-up comedian (Sasheer Zamata) with her own viral agenda crosses Kurt’s path and becomes the only hope to put a stop to his misguided carnage.

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

“An equal parts terrifying, thrilling, and satirical look at how social media can warp the mind.” – Joshua Encinias, The Film Stage

“I have to say I went along with it, more amused by the craft and bursts of wit and gripped by a bit of tension, here and there, than appalled by the inhumanity. It taps into our shared phobia about ridesharing and ‘over-sharing,’ not that EVERYbody is alarmed by these phenomena.” – Roger Moore, Movie Nation

“You do know exactly where this film is going to head, but I was on board. Even the detours were fun for me.” – Amy Nicholson, FilmWeek

Available Formats [10/20]:

Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack


QUIZ

The three-part limited series based on the cheating scandal where Charles Ingram (Matthew Macfadyen), his wife (Sian Clifford) and Tecwen Whittock (Michael Jibson) worked together to cheat on the British version of the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? game show in the 2001.

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

“A remarkably uncynical version of events around the Coughing Major, which shows several points of view with clarity and empathy… Quiz is an entertaining, well-constructed and big-hearted romp through a story most will think they know well, with sympathetic performances by both leads, an amusing turn by Michael Sheen as Chris Tarrant, and an entertaining supporting cast of quiz fanatics.” – Ed Cumming, The Independent

“A superb drama… Quiz is everything McMillion$ should’ve been: propulsive, efficiently told drama that boils down a lorry full of facts to the simple 50:50 question: Did they or didn’t they?” – Aaron Barnhart, Primetimer

“Given how entertaining it is, there’s a much better than 50-50 chance that those who watch won’t feel the least bit cheated.” – Brian Lowry, CNN

Available Formats [10/20]:

DVD


AMULET

Following an accident that leaves him homeless in London, former soldier Tomaz is brought to the rotting home of Magda, a lonely woman in desperate need of help as she looks after her dying mother. Though at first resistant, Magda eventually welcomes him into their lives and allows him to help her care for them. But as he worms his way into their routine and begins to fall for Magda, Tomaz starts to notice strange, unexplainable, and ugly phenomena. Something seems very wrong with the mysterious old woman who never leaves the top floor, and Magda may in fact be enslaved to do her otherworldly bidding.

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

Amulet is deeply, deliberately mysterious, and all the more fun for it; the less viewers know going in, the more ferocious the ride.” – Fionnuala Halligan, Screen Daily

Amulet elevates these themes of repentance and sin through deft editing, strong performances, and a chilling score. It’s an evocative, confident debut, recalling the metaphorical horror of Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook or Babak Anvari’s Under The Shadow, even as it announces the arrival of a singular new voice.” – Toussaint Egan, The A.V. Club

Amulet is a horror movie which baits-and-switches cleverly—and angrily—about who is the horror’s innocent victim, and who’s its guilty cause. And as a haunted house film, its ornate mythology pulls the dingy rotting rug out several times from under our initial idea of who is the haunter and who the hauntee.” – Jessica Kiang, The Playlist

Available Formats [10/20]:

DVD


HIDDEN: SEASON 2

Picking up nine months after season one, DCI Cadi John (Sian Reese-Williams) and Detective Sergeant Owen Vaughan (Sion Alun Davies) investigate another death, this time it is an old man who died weeks before.

Description and score provided by Metacritic.

“An exceptionally compelling bilingual drama… A complex work gripping from start to finish thanks to stellar writing, impressive performances, and, not least, perhaps, the ambition that comes shining through.” – Dorothy Rabinowitz, Wall Street Journal

Available Formats [10/27]:

DVD


WOLFMAN’S GOT NARDS

This heartfelt documentary explores the power of cult film told through the lens of the 1987 classic The Monster Squad and the impact it has on fans, cast and crew, and the industry.

Description provided by IMDb.

Wolfman’s Got Nards is hugely entertaining and surprisingly moving.” – Joey Keogh, Wicked Horror

“A cult classic and its fanbase get the documentary they deserve.” – Scott Wampler, Birth.Movies.Death.

“Watching these films – and this documentary – generates the type of joy we only felt as kids, as well as evoking the warm fuzzy feeling that nostalgia brings.” – Katie Driscoll, Starburst

Available Formats [10/27]:

Blu-ray

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