Brace your bank accounts, it’s time to see what’s Now Available to Own for the week of January 19, 2016. Every Tuesday we run down new movie and television releases that you can enjoy in the comfort of your own home, as well as some slick deals that can help save you some coin. New on shelves this week are Straight Outta Compton, The Intern, Everest, Jem and the Holograms, and more.
Movies on Blu-ray
Straight Outta Compton (F. Gary Gray) Rated R [147 min] – The group NWA emerges from the streets of Compton, California in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood. Starring O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr., and Paul Giamatti
Knowing next to nothing about The NWA’s history, watching Straight Outta Compton was quite the eye-opening experience. As someone who did not know how the timeline of the artists’ lives played out before watching the film, I felt the run time wearing on me as I wondered how this biopic would end. All of the characterizations and behind the scenes moments were gripping and emotional though. As much as I loathe sitting through biopics, Straight Outta Compton has so much depth that the narrative felt cut short. I know that is kind of conflicting despite me hating on the film’s run time, but I was left feeling there is so much more story to tell, especially seeing how Dr. Dre’s and Ice Cube’s lives turned out.
Special features include:
- Deleted Scenes (BD Exclusive)
- Becoming N.W.A. (BD Exclusive)
- Never Before Seen Performance (BD Exclusive)
- N.W.A. The Origins
- Impact: An exploration of the impact N.W.A. and specifically their breakout album that changed everything.
- Director’s Journey
- The Streets – Filming in Compton
- N.W.A Performs in Detroit
- Feature Commentary with director/producer F. Gary Gray
Everest (Baltasar Kormákur) Rated PG-13 [121 min] – A climbing expedition on Mt. Everest is devastated by a severe snow storm. Starring Jason Clarke, Ang Phula Sherpa, Thomas M. Wright, and Martin Henderson
It’s hard to watch a survivor story when the subjects are rich folks who put themselves in this kind of dangerous situation knowing very well it could end their lives. They make a fair attempt at differentiating the characters by giving us their reasons for climbing, but when they all hide behind their gear and continually have take it off to let us know who’s behind the masks, it removes you from the experience. There’s not enough here to believe in their cause or to root for their survival, which makes the two hour run time almost as difficult as climbing Everest itself. The use of 3D is also wasted with so much white on screen that it brings little depth of field to make the mountain landscape feel immersive.
Special features include:
- Learning To Climb: The Actor’s Journey (Blu-Ray Exclusive)
- A Mountain Of Work: Recreating Everest (Blu-Ray Exclusive)
- Race To The Summit: The Making Of Everest
- Aspiring To Authenticity: The Real Story
- Feature Commentary With Director Baltasar Kormákur
The Intern (Nancy Meyers) Rated PG-13 [121 min] – 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. Starring Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Rene Russo, Adam DeVine, and Anders Holm
As much of a facade The Intern puts on in its attempt to come across as a progressive, feminist movie, the whole strength of the story falls apart in its third act. Not only does it weaken Hathaway’s character strength, but you feel she is betrayed from the agenda the movie sets itself up with. Introducing the unnecessary road bump into the plot stirs up too much drama for the Nancy Meyers to tackle in a coherent and satisfying way. It’s a very disappointing movie that should not be celebrated in any way.
Special features include:
- Learning From Experience
- Designs on Life
- The Three Interns
Jem and the Holograms (Jon M. Chu) Rated PG [118 min] – As a small-town girl catapults from underground video sensation to global superstar, she and her three sisters begin a journey of discovering that some talents are too special to keep hidden.Starring Aubrey Peeples, Stefanie Scott, Aurora Perrineau, Hayley Kiyoko, Molly Ringwald, and Juliette Lewis [Watch the Trailer]
With all the right themes and messages for today’s youth, Jem and the Holograms is such a paint by numbers film that it struggles to capture the energy of its source material nor does it resemble it. The movie never embraces the original Jem cartoon aside from the completely bonkers mid-credits stinger. Everyone feels like they’re a part of a completely different movie with its lack of consistent tone and personality. The only redeeming quality is the musical numbers. I was hooked on the songs and the cast is full of potential, but the direction, story, and everything else is a disaster.
Special features include:
- Gag Reel
- “Youngblood” Music Video
- Glam, Glitter, Fashion, and Fame: The Reinvention of Jem
- Feature Commentary with Producer/Director Jon M. Chu
The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Marielle Heller) Rated R [102 min] – A teen artist living in 1970s San Francisco enters into an affair with her mother’s boyfriend. Starring Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Kristen Wiig, and Christopher Meloni
I was never aware of the graphic novel (written by Phoebe Gloeckner) that this film is based on, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a good read. The Diary of the Teenage Girl is a darling coming-of-age story that explores female sexuality and love in a very honest way. Through Minnie, we as the audience are given so much through Bel Powley’s performance that we feel every emotion she is dealing with. It’s not the most comfortable of subject matter to sit through, but it’s a movie you should experience at least once in your life.
- Deleted Scenes
- Marielles Journey: Bringing The Diary To Life A Making-of Featurette
- LA Film Festival Q&A with Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, and Marielle Heller
The Condemned 2 (Roel Reiné) Rated R [90 min] – A former bounty hunter who finds himself on the run as part of a revamped Condemned tournament, in which convicts are forced to fight each other to the death as part of a game that’s broadcast to the public. Starring Randy Orton, Eric Roberts, and Wes Studi
As I cackled with pure glee over the first of what is now apparently franchise, my interest was sparked when I heard Randy Orton would be stepping in as the lead for The Condemned 2. Sadly, there is little resemblance to The Condemned, which starred Stone Cold Steve Austin, sucking out all of the fun the premise contains. It’s almost as if everyone involved tried to make up for the sharp turn away from the original with more explosions, terrible dialogue, and shoddy action. Nothing really stands out from all the mess to make this lackluster actioner a promising franchise builder. The movie RKOs itself.
Special features include:
- “Drones” Featurette
- “Fight for Your Life” Featurette
DVD Only
Little House on the Prairie: The Complete Eighth Season (Blanche Hanalis) Rated TV-PG [60 min] [DVD Only] – The life and adventures of the Ingalls family in the 19th century American West. Starring Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon, Lindsay Greenbush, Sidney Greebush, Karen Grassle, and Melissa Sue Anderson
The penultimate season of Little House is a pretty monumental one as it is the last we’ll see of Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Sidney Greenbush, Lindsay Greenbush, and Wendi Turnbaugh. It was a bitter sweet ending to the characters. The season does a pretty good job at establishing their exits and building up to their final farewells. The toll on the series as a whole is present though, being its eighth season. But the show still remains somewhat strong heading into its final season.
Special features include:
- “Look Back to Yesterday” Movie Special
- “The Last Farewell” Movie Special
Additional Blu-ray Releases this Week
- 12 Monkeys (Season 1)
- Continuum (Season 4)
- Forever: The Complete Series
- Love 3D
- Sister, Sister: The Complete Series (DVD Only)
Blu-Ray Deals and Steals
- The Martian – $15
- Birdman – $7.99
- Gone Girl – $7.99
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – $7.99
- Magic Mike XXL – $14.99
- The Leftovers (Season 1) – $19.49
- Big – $5.99
- Puss in Boots – $9.99
- The Devil Wears Prada – $7.99
- The Descendants – $5.99
- Pitch Perfect (Aca-Awesome Edition) – $10
- A Serious Man – $6.75
- Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – $5
All prices from Amazon.com. Best Buy, Frys, and Target all price match online prices.
What will you be taking home this week? Tell us in the comments section below!
All plot synopses come courtesy of IMDb.com