Get Ready for the Chase with "S.M.A.R.T. Chase"

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment recently send us over information for their upcoming DVD & Blu-Ray release of "S.M.A.R.T. Chase". The film stars Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Lord of the Rings trilogy), Simon Yam (Laura Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, PTU), Lynn Hung (IP Man trilogy), Hannah Quinlivan (Skyscraper), and Lei Wu (“Far Away Love”).

No special features were announced at this time.

"S.M.A.R.T. Chase" hits retail on October 2nd.

Press Release:

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Content Group brings you S.M.A.R.T. CHASE. Written by Kevin Bernhardt (Elephant White) and directed by Charles Martin (“Skins”), the action, thriller stars Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Lord of the Rings trilogy), Simon Yam (Laura Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, PTU), Lynn Hung (IP Man trilogy), Hannah Quinlivan (Skyscraper), and Lei Wu (“Far Away Love”). S.M.A.R.T. CHASE will be available on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States and Canada for a SRP of $22.98 USD for Blu-ray and $19.98 USD for DVD and $26.99 CAD for Blu-ray and $22.99 CAD for DVD respectively on October 2, 2018.

A washed-up private security agent has to escort a valuable Chinese antique out of Shanghai but is ambushed en route.

Arron Sorkin's "Molly's Game" Heads to Home Entertainment

STX Films and Universal Home Entertainment send us information for the upcoming home entertainment release of Arron Sorkin's Upcoming film "Molly's Game". The film stars Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong and Chris O'Dowd.

Special features on the DVD & Blu-Ray includes Building an Empire - Writer/Director Aaron Sorkin and star Jessica Chastain comment on Molly Bloom and her remarkable story.

"Molly's Game" hits VOD on March 27th and retail on April 10th.

Press Release:

From Aaron Sorkin, the mind behind The Social Network, Moneyball, and The West Wing, comes the astounding true story of 26-year-old Molly Bloom, who through sheer nerve, wits, and acumen builds an empire and takes over the ultimate boys club: exclusive high-stakes poker in Molly's Game, arriving on Digital March 27, 2018 and on Blu-rayTM, DVD, and On Demand April 10, 2018 from STXfilms and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Adapted Screenplay, this sensational film is "one of the most radically entertaining things Aaron Sorkin has ever written" (David Ehrlich, Indiewire) and "Unendingly satisfying" (Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair). Molly's Game on Blu-rayTM, DVD and Digital comes with special bonus content that takes viewers deeper into the life of Molly Bloom and the making of the film.

Two-time Academy Award® nominee, Jessica Chastain (The Help, Zero Dark Thirty), delivers a powerhouse performance as the tenacious Molly Bloom and is joined by an outstanding cast including Golden Globe® winner Idris Elba (Star Trek: Beyond, Beasts of No Nation), Academy Award® nominee Kevin Costner (Hidden Figures, Man of Steel), Michael Cera ("Arrested Development," Superbad) Jeremy Strong (The Big Short, Detroit), Chris O'Dowd (Bridesmaids, "Girls") and Bill Camp ("The Night Of," Hostiles).

Written and directed by Academy Award® winner Aaron Sorkin, Molly's Game is based on the true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before becoming a target of the FBI. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans and, unbeknownst to her, the Russian mob. Her only ally was criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey (Idris Elba), who learned that there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led us to believe.

Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver" Races to DVD & Blu-Ray

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment recently send us over information for the upcoming DVD and Blu-Ray release of Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver". The film stars Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars), Kevin Spacey (TV's "House of Cards"), Lily James (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), Jon Bernthal (TV's "The Walking Dead"), Eiza González (TV's "From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series"), with Jon Hamm (TV's "Mad Men") and Oscar® winner Jamie Foxx (2004, Best Actor, Ray Charles).

Special features on the DVD and Blu-Ray includes I Need A Killer Track: The Music, That's My Baby: Edgar Wright, Meet Your New Crew: Doc's Gang, Devil Behind The Wheel: The Car Chases, Mint Royale - "Blue Song" Music Video, Director Commentary and Filmmaker Commentary (Edgar Wright and Director of Photography Bill Pope).

Features exclusive to the blu-ray includes Extended/Deleted Scenes, Mozart In A Go-Kart: Ansel Drives,Find Something Funky On There: The Choreography, Animatics, Ansel Elgort Audition, Annotated Coffee Run Rehearsal, Hair, Make Up & Costume Tests and Complete Storyboard Gallery.

"Baby Driver" hits retail on October 12th.

Press Release:

Fasten your seat belts as the year's must-own action-packed thrill ride, BABY DRIVER, which just sped past $100 million at the box office, accelerates home on digital September 12 and on 4K Ultra HD™/Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, Blu-ray & DVD October 10 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), this fast-paced and furiously stylish heist movie stars Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars) as a young getaway driver who steers to the beat of his own playlist. With an all-star cast that includes Kevin Spacey (TV's "House of Cards"), Lily James (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), Jon Bernthal (TV's "The Walking Dead"), Eiza González (TV's "From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series"), with Jon Hamm (TV's "Mad Men") and Oscar® winner Jamie Foxx (2004, Best Actor, Ray Charles), BABY DRIVER pulls up on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray and digital with over two hours of tricked-out bonus features, including over 20 minutes of deleted and extended scenes.

Go behind the wheel of this summer's biggest surprise box office hit with extensive bonus materials exploring its unique driving and music-infused production, including making-of featurettes on stunt driving with the cast, music, choreography, and orchestrating some of the best car chases in cinematic history. Additional bonus materials include animatics, cast auditions and rehearsals, director commentary with Edgar Wright, and more!

Synopsis: Baby (ANSEL ELGORT) - a talented, young getaway driver - relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. When he meets the girl of his dreams (LILY JAMES), Baby sees a chance to ditch his criminal life and make a clean getaway. But after being coerced into working for a crime boss (KEVIN SPACEY), he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom.

From TriStar Pictures and MRC, BABY DRIVER was produced by Nira Park (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead), Tim Bevan (Hail, Caesar!, The Theory of Everything) and Eric Fellner (Hail, Caesar!, The Theory of Everything). Executive producers are Edgar Wright, Adam Merims, Rachael Prior, Liza Chasin and Michelle Wright.

Sofia Coppola's "The Beguiled" Lands on DVD and Blu-Ray

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment recently send us information their upcoming DVD/Blu-Ray release of Sofia Coppola's "The Beguiled". The film stars Colin Farrell (In Bruges), Academy Award® winner Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies) Golden Globe Award® nominee Kirsten Dunst (Fargo) and Elle Fanning (Maleficent).

Special features on the DVD and Blu-Ray includes A Shift in Perspective (Filmmakers and cast discuss how this version of The Beguiled is a departure from the novel of the same name and its earlier film adaptation. Screenwriter/director Sofia Coppola describes how the talented cast helped bring her vision to life.) and A Southern Style (Discover how costumes, hair, and many other elements came together to create an immersive experience not only for the audience but also for the actors.).

"The Beguiled" hits VOD on September 26th and retail on October 10th.

Press Release:

AcademyAward® winner Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation) unleashes the atmospheric thriller The Beguiled, coming to Digital on September 26, 2017, and Blu-ray™, DVD and On Demand on October 10, 2017, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The winner of the Best Director award (Sofia Coppola) at the 2017 Cannes International Film Festival, the Focus Features film showcases exceptional performances by the outstanding ensemble cast of Golden Globe Award® winner Colin Farrell (In Bruges), Academy Award® winner Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies) Golden Globe Award® nominee Kirsten Dunst (Fargo), Elle Fanning (Maleficent), Oona Laurence (Bad Moms), Angourie Rice (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Addison Riecke (The Thundermans), and Emma Howard (Transparent).

The Beguiledunfolds during the Civil War, at a Southern girls' boarding school. Its sheltered young women take in an injured enemy soldier. As they provide refuge and tend to his wounds, the house is taken over with sexual tension and dangerous rivalries, and taboos are broken in an unexpected turn of events.

Featuring never-before-seen content, The Beguiledon Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital comes packed with exclusive featurettes taking viewers behind the scenes of the alluring and intense drama and exploring Sofia Coppola's unique vision.

"Don't Think Twice" Blu-Ray Review by Anthony T

This year has been a difficult one for me, as I haven’t done many mainstream film reviews, as it’s been mostly low budget or foreign films that nobody has heard of. When I had the chance to review “Don’t Think Twice, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity as I’ve heard great things about it.

The film is about comedic improve troupe who performs on a weekly basis to small crowds. Everything is well and good until one of the team makes it big and joins a late night TV show. The rest of the members begin rethink their lives and wonder if it’s all worth it to play in front of small crowds realizing that they may never make it to the big time. The film stars Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs and the film’s writer/director Mike Birbigia.

From time to time, you come across an independent film that doesn’t get the big theatrical release and catches your eye. “Don’t Think Twice” is one of those films where I was into the characters its entertaining story.

The reason why the film succeeds was its direction from writer/director Mike Birbiglia. It was very well directed. He does a very good job making sure everything keeps moving at an entertaining pace. From the way that he directs the scenes to making sure he get the technical aspects that he needs to make everything work, it’s done in a flawless way that you’re into the film and the characters. If those directing aspects aren’t there, it comes down a couple of notches. Thankfully, it’s not the case as Birbiglia’s direction was great. The other thing that I liked about his direction was the way that he handles the performances. I thought, the performances were great as everyone in the main characters gelled very well with each other as the chemistry was there. Birbiglia does a very good job in making sure the performances stand out from each other. It made me interested in the performances and the characters. Speaking of performances, I really enjoyed Keegan-Michael Key and Gillian Jacobs in this. They both made sure that their characters had personality to them in comedic and dramatic scene. Whether it was in the improve scene to the scenes that they had with each other, I was entertained and interested in those characters and everyone around them. Those performances helped anchored this film as they were both great and made the film even more entertaining.

The screenplay also written by Birbiglia was also great. One of the things that I liked about it was the fact that it focuses on the characters and the ups and downs that these characters go through. It made me interested with the film story as it didn’t feel forced which made it more interesting to watch. The other thing that this screenplay does well is it balances the humor with the dramatic aspects. By doing this, it kind of gives you a realistic feel that is the film’s charm. Birbiglia does this very well as I was into this film and its characters from start to finish.

The Blu-ray extras include a deleted scene, “The Creative” which talks about the creative team behind the film, “Don’t Think Twice: “The Art of Improv” which goes into the improve aspect of the film, “The Commune” which talks about the characters in the film. All of them are short featurette as it goes into the making of the film and each of the film’s characters. Overall, it was okay but it doesn’t go in depth into the making of this film. This was one of those releases where there should’ve been a commentary track, as I would’ve liked to have known more in detail

This is truly the best film I’ve seen this year. I suggest you find the time and see this film as it’s both entertaining and emotional. With its great performances and its excellent direction, “Don’t Think Twice” is a great film from start to finish.

Review Rating: Five Stars
Extras Rating: Two Stars

Critically Acclaimed "Don't Think Twice" Heads to DVD & Blu-Ray

Universal Pictures recently send us information for the upcoming DVD & Blu-Ray release of the indie hit "Don't Think Twice". The film stars Keegan-Michael Key ("Key & Peele," Keanu), Gillian Jacobs ("Girls," "Community"), Mike Birbiglia (Sleepwalk with Me, Trainwreck), Kate Micucci ("The Big Bang Theory," When in Rome), Chris Gethard ("Inside Amy Schumer," "The Chris Gethard Show") and Tami Sagher ("Broad City," "Girls").

Special features on the DVD and BluRay includes deleted scenes and exclusive behind the scenes featuring the cast and filmmakers discussing the creative process of bringing this film to life.

"Don't Think Twice" hits DVD and Blu-Ray on December 6th.

Press Release:

A member of a popular New York City improv troupe catches their big break forcing the group to reevaluate their success and confront their fears in the hilariously honest film, Don't Think Twice. The bittersweet behind-the-scenes look into the lives of six best friend comedians comes to Digital HD on November 22, 2016 and Blu-ray™, DVD and On Demand on December 6, 2016 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Hailed by critics as "one of the best films of the year" (Michael Phillips, Chicago Trbune) and "this summer's funniest movie" (Alan Scherstuhl, The Village Voice), Don't Think Twice is "the perfect movie about the cost of chasing dreams" (Peter Hall, Fandango). The Blu-ray™ and DVD are packed with never before seen deleted footage and exclusive behind the scenes featuring the cast and filmmakers discussing the creative process of bringing this film to life.

From Mike Birbiglia, the director of Sleepwalk With Me, and Ira Glass, the creator of "This American Life", comes this smart and hilarious comedy about the lives of professional funny people starring Keegan-Michael Key ("Key & Peele," Keanu), Gillian Jacobs ("Girls," "Community"), Mike Birbiglia (Sleepwalk with Me, Trainwreck), Kate Micucci ("The Big Bang Theory," When in Rome), Chris Gethard ("Inside Amy Schumer," "The Chris Gethard Show") and Tami Sagher ("Broad City," "Girls"). For 11 years, the six-person comedy team known as The Commune has killed it onstage while waiting for their big break. Suddenly, the team finds itself at a crossroads when one of the members becomes a solo success and the rest of the group realizes they may not make it big after all.

Action Crime Thriller "Triple 9" Blasts its Way to DVD & Blu-Ray

Universal Home Entertainment recently release information for the upcoming DVD & Blu-Ray release of "Triple 9". The film is the latest from director John Hillcoat (Lawless) and stars Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie, Aaron Paul, Norman Reedus, with Woody Harrelson and Kate Winslet.

Special features on the DVD & Blu-Ray includes Deleted Scenes, Under the Gun (The acclaimed cast of Triple 9 offers an in-depth look at its characters and the pulse-pounding twists and turns at the heart of the film.) and Authentic World (Director John Hillcoat and the cast of Triple 9 discuss how their grounded approach to filmmaking helped highlight the film's gritty, authentic look and feel.).

"Triple 9" hits retail on May 31st.

Press Release:

When a veteran cop and his rookie nephew discover a shocking conspiracy that leads dangerously close to home, they'll stop at nothing to get to the truth in Triple 9, an action-packed tale of corruption and betrayal coming to Digital HD on May 17, 2016, and Blu-ray™, DVD and On Demand on May 31, 2016, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Propelled by John Hillcoat's (The Road, The Proposition) ferocious directorial style and a top-notch cast, Triple 9 races through a world where no one can be trusted in a "crime caper like no other" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone). Triple 9 on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital HD includes deleted scenes and a peek backstage at the making of the most original cop thriller in years.

Woody Harrelson ("True Detective," The Hunger Games series), Anthony Mackie (Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Hurt Locker), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, The Martian), Aaron Paul ("Breaking Bad," Need for Speed), Norman Reedus ("The Walking Dead," The Boondock Saints), Casey Affleck (Out of the Furnace, Gone Baby Gone) and Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs, Titanic) star in an explosive, action-packed thriller critics call "a twisty, terrific ride" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone). A bank robbery is just the tip of the iceberg when two cops in Atlanta begin suspecting that members of their own team are involved. Not knowing whom to trust and how deep the corruption goes, the clock is ticking as they try to uncover the truth — before they become the target for the next deadly job.

Clifton Collins Jr. (Pacific Rim, "Westworld"), Teresa Palmer (Warm Bodies, The Choice), Michael K. Williams (12 Years a Slave, The Road) and Gal Gadot (Furious 7, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) also star in what critics call "a modern-day heist thriller with a diverse, high-wattage cast" (Justin Chang, Variety).