DVD/Blu-ray Release Calendar: February 2015
February 3
All movies are 2014/15 releases unless otherwise noted. Availability:
DVD |
Blu-ray |
Both Blu-ray and DVD
Dear White People 79 Watch Trailer
Justin Simien's debut feature is a Sundance-approved satire examining the state of race relations on the campus of Winchester University through the lives of four black students played by Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson, Teyonah Parris, and Brandon P. Bell. The title comes from the beginning of biracial student Samantha White’s (Thompson) radio show. She’s the president of the all-black residential hall whose existence is facing extinction in the name of diversification. A TV reality show "Black Face/White Place" invades the campus looking for controversy, and black misfit Lionel Higgins (Williams) is asked to join the school's white newspaper staff to cover the story, even though he secretly knows little about black culture.
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby Watch Trailer
The debut films from writer-director Ned Benson, Rigby offers a look at the impact of a traumatic event on a marriage from the dual perspectives of both the wife (Jessica Chastain) and the husband (James McAvoy). We use the plural because Rigby was released as three distinct films last fall. The home video release will include the separate Her 67 and Him 63 films that originally impressed some critics when they debuted as a double feature at 2013's Toronto festival, as well as the inferior, Weinstein-mandated combined edit (Them 57) that pares the twin films down to a mere 122 minutes, interweaving them in the process.
John Wick 67 Watch Trailer
This stylish action tale stars Keanu Reeves as a former hitman who comes out of retirement to take revenge against the gangsters who stole his car and killed his dog. Simple, yes; boring, no, and critics had surprisingly good things to say about John Wick when it debuted in the fall. Chad Stahelski, the stunt man who doubled for Reeves in The Matrix, makes his directorial debut.
The Overnighters 89 Watch Trailer
One of 2014's best-reviewed documentaries, Jess Moss’ film (winner of a special award for "intuitive filmmaking" at last year's Sundance festival) focuses on pastor Jay Reinke of Concordia Lutheran Church in the small town of Williston, North Dakota. As unemployed men come through the town seeking work in the oil fields, Reinke converts his church each night into a shelter and counseling center. But fear of these overnight guests comes to grip the town, testing the pastor’s strength and compassion.
Starred Up 81 Watch Trailer
(also streaming for free on )
This well-reviewed British prison thriller stars Jack O'Connell (whose strong 2014 also included the lead role in Angelina Jolie's Unbroken) as a young inmate who is transferred to the same facility as his estranged father (Ben Mendelsohn), who may or may not be on his side. The result is a "richly nuanced" and realistic story laced with "brutal" violence. Rupert Friend also stars.
More movie releases on February 3, 2015
54
ABCs of Death 2 HORROR
29
The Best of Me DRAMA | James Marsden, Michelle Monaghan
50
Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain DRAMA | Kal Penn, Mischa Barton, Martin Sheen
Coffee Town (2013) COMEDY | Glenn Howerton, Ben Schwartz
86
Diner (1982) DRAMEDY | Kevin Bacon, Mickey Rourke, Steve Guttenberg
40
Dracula Untold HORROR/ACTION | Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon
Every Man for Himself (1980) Criterion Collection release
22
Exists HORROR | Roger Edwards
62
Food Chains DOCUMENTARY
29
Hector and the Search for Happiness ADVENTURE/COMEDY/DRAMA | Simon Pegg
70
Love & Basketball (2000) DRAMA | Omar Epps, Sanaa Lathan
Lust for Life (1956) DRAMA | Kirk Douglas
38
Ouija HORROR/THRILLER | Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto
Porco Rosso (1992) ANIMATION [Disney English-language dub]
75
The Retrieval DRAMA | Ashton Sanders
49
Starry Eyes HORROR | Alex Essoe
47
Tales From Earthsea (2006)ANIMATION [Disney English-language dub]
47
Thunder and the House of Magic ANIMATION/FAMILY
61
Tricked DOCUMENTARY
40
Video Games: The Movie DOCUMENTARY
48
The World Made Straight DRAMA | Jeremy Irvine, Noah Wylie
TV on DVD/Blu-ray
The Big Burn PBS documentary
The Bob Newhart Show Season 5
The Bob Newhart Show Season 6
75
Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic Showtime documentary
The Saint Set 2
The Wonder Years Season 2
February 10
Force Majeure 87 Watch Trailer
One of last year's best films in any language, Ruben Östlund's beautifully filmed and incisive black comedy follows a Swedish family on a ski vacation in the French Alps. There, a near-encounter with an avalanche (and the family members' various reactions to the event) threatens to tear apart the family. Despite winning the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at last year's Cannes and appearing on numerous year-end top 10 lists, Force Majeure was inexplicably snubbed for a foreign-language Oscar nomination.
Nightcrawler 76 Watch Trailer
The directorial debut of writer Dan Gilroy (Real Steel, The Bourne Legacy) tells the story of Lou Bloom, a driven loner who is high on self-help books and desperate for work. He soon finds his calling in the high-speed world of L.A. crime journalism. Though the film as a whole and stars Jake Gyllenhaal (who plays Bloom) and Rene Russo (portraying a local TV veteran who works with Bloom to boost ratings) were neglected by Oscar voters, they picked up numerous honors elsewhere on the awards circuit.
Olive Kitteridge 89
HBO's four-hour miniseries adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Elizabeth Strout is a passion project for star Frances McDormand, who optioned the book herself and brought Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right) on board to direct. Good choices all around: Olive Kitteridge was universally praised by critics and will almost certainly contend for multiple Emmy Awards later this year. Strout's Kitteridge is not a conventional novel but rather a series of 13 interconnected short stories that take place across 25 years in a Maine coastal town, and the miniseries doesn't attempt to include all of the book's plots and characters, though many are here at least briefly, brought to life by a large and talented ensemble that includes Peter Mullan, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Murray, Ann Dowd, Zoe Kazan, Jesse Plemons, and Martha Wainwright. But much of the focus is on McDormand's Kitteridge, a gruff middle-school math teacher married to a warm, caring pharmacist (Richard Jenkins).
Rosewater 66 Watch Trailer
Daily Show host Jon Stewart made his directorial debut last year with this adaptation of journalist Maziar Bahari’s 2011 memoir recounting his 118-day imprisonment following Iran’s riot-inspiring 2009 presidential election. The film is uniquely personal for Stewart because Bahari (played here by Gael García Bernal) was thrown into prison after appearing in a taped interview with The Daily Show’s Jason Jones, an interview his (apparently humor-challenged) interrogators used against him during his confinement. While Stewart may need to stick to his day(-ly) job for a bit longer—Rosewater grossed just $3 million—critics mostly found his first film to be a solid effort, if a bit short of greatness.
More movie releases on February 10, 2015
The Activist THRILLER | Michael Spears
32
Addicted THRILLER | Boris Kodjoe, John Newberg, Sharon Leal, Tyson Beckford
54
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day FAMILY/COMEDY
A Day in the Country (1936) Criterion Collection release
Don't Look Now (1973) Criterion Collection release
61
Exposed DOCUMENTARY [out Friday 13 Feb]
52
Felony THRILLER | Tom Wilkinson, Joel Edgerton
60
Kill the Messenger DRAMA/THRILLER | Jeremy Renner
67
Kink DOCUMENTARY
63
Laggies DRAMEDY | Chloë Grace Moretz, Keira Knightley, Sam Rockwell
61
Lilting DRAMA | Ben Whishaw
The Lookalike DRAMA/THRILLER | Gillian Jacobs, Jerry O’Connell, John Savage, Justin Long
One Small Hitch ROM-COM
68
Predestination ACTION/SCI-FI/THRILLER | Ethan Hawke, Noah Taylor
Race for Your Life Charlie Brown (1977) ANIMATION/FAMILY
The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966) COMEDY | Carl Reiner, Alan Arkin
42
The Song DRAMA | Alan Powell, Ali Faulkner, Caitlin Nicol-Thomas
84
Stray Dogs FOREIGN/DRAMA
64
Through a Lens Darkly DOCUMENTARY
TV on DVD/Blu-ray
Atlantis Season 2 Part 1
Batman Season 2 Part 1
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons Complete series
Earth: A New Wild PBS miniseries
Hart to Hart Season 4
Mama's Family Season 6
64
Nurse Jackie Season 6
Sailor Moon Season 1 Part 2
48
Z Nation Season 1
February 17
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) 88 Trailer
Nominated for nine Academy Awards, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s widely praised dramedy offers a look at a few hours in the life and mind of Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton), a washed-up actor famous for portraying an iconic superhero who attempts to revive his career by adapting Raymond Carver’s short story "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" into a Broadway play. Emma Stone co-stars as Thomson’s daughter, who has recently left rehab and becomes his assistant, and Naomi Watts and Andrea Riseborough play actresses with personal connections to the ex-star. Zach Galifianakis is his friend and producer, and Edward Norton is the egotistical lead actor threatening the production. Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity) takes his trademark long takes to the extreme in creating a film that appears to have no cuts whatsoever.
The Homesman 68 Watch Trailer
Tommy Lee Jones’ first feature directorial effort, 2005’s The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, won him the best actor prize and Guillermo Arriaga the best screenplay award at Cannes. Nearly a decade later, he returned with this offbeat, genre-defying adaptation of Glendon Swarthout's novel about a claim jumper (Jones) who joins a pioneer woman (Hilary Swank) in transporting three troubled women (Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, and Sonja Richter) from Nebraska to Iowa. Critics greatly admired the lead performances in this rather under-the-radar film.
The Interview 52 Watch Trailer
So this is what all the fuss was about? Critics weren't exactly wowed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's follow-up to the solid This Is the End. Their latest comedy stars James Franco (alongside Rogen and Lizzy Caplan) as an American talk show host who is recruited by the CIA to take out North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un (Randall Park). Still, The Interview grossed an impressive $40 million (or more) in VOD sales and rentals after the film's theatrical release was infamously canceled (and then slightly uncanceled).
Life Itself 87 Watch Trailer
Another notable Oscar snub, this adaptation of Roger Ebert’s best-selling memoir of the same name finds documentarian Steve James examining the life and career of one of the world’s best-known film critics, chronicling his early days at the Chicago Sun-Times, his on- and off-air relationship with Gene Siskel, his love for his wife Chaz, and his battles with alcoholism and, ultimately, cancer. The fact that film critics are raving about a film focusing on one of their own is not exactly a surprise, but this is certainly a documentary that should appeal to any fan of the movies.
St. Vincent 64 Watch Trailer
In a role tailored to his strengths, Bill Murray stars as the titular Vincent, a cantankerous retiree with a fondness for booze and gambling. Moving in next door is Maggie (Melissa McCarthy), a single mother of a 12-year-old boy named Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher). When Maggie’s job keeps her away from home, Vincent offers to watch the boy, resulting in an odd friendship that finds him taking Oliver to the track, the local dive bar, and the strip club where his pregnant Russian girlfriend Daka (Naomi Watts) works. This crowd-pleasing (if a bit formulaic) dramedy is the debut feature from longtime commercial director Theodore Melfi, who also wrote the screenplay.
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya 89 Watch Trailer
This 2013 Studio Ghibli production from the 78-year-old co-founder of the studio, Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies), is nominated for a best animated feature Oscar for its American release last year, which featured an English-language vocal cast that includes Chloë Grace Moretz, James Caan, and Mary Steenburgen. The story (based on a 10th century fairy tale) begins as a bamboo cutter splits open a stalk and discovers a tiny creature. When he takes it home to his wife, the creature becomes a baby girl who quickly grows into an exquisite young lady who enthralls all who encounter her. As suitors come calling, she gives them impossible tasks to accomplish, all the while protecting her own secret. Critics admired the film's gorgeous hand-drawn visuals.
The Theory of Everything 72 Watch Trailer
Eddie Redmayne stars as Stephen Hawking in this look at the theoretical physicist’s early years at Cambridge, where he met his first wife, Jane Wilde (played by Felicity Jones), and was diagnosed with motor neuron disease. Based on Jane’s memoir, Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, scripted by Anthony McCarten, and directed by James Marsh, who is known more for his documentaries (Man on Wire, Project Nim) than his narrative films (Shadow Dancer, The King), the film earned mostly favorable reviews and five Academy Award nominations, including best picture and best actor for Redmayne (who has a decent chance at winning).
More movie releases on February 17, 2015
1969 (1988) DRAMA | Robert Downey, Jr., Kiefer Sutherland, Bruce Dern
An Autumn Afternoon (1962) Criterion Collection Blu-ray release
Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) MUSICAL/COMEDY | Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello
Caveman (1981) COMEDY | Ringo Starr, Barbara Bach, Dennis Quaid
Cult of the Damned (1969) aka Angel, Angel, Down We Go
36
Dumb and Dumber To COMEDY | Jeff Daniels, Jim Carrey
31
Dying of the Light DRAMA/THRILLER | Nicolas Cage, Anton Yelchin
How to Murder Your Wife (1965) COMEDY | Jack Lemmon, Virna Lisi
Kiss Me Stupid (1964) COMEDY | Dean Martin, Kim Novak, Ray Walston
Le Pont du Nord (1981) FOREIGN/DRAMA
Muscle Beach Party (1964) MUSICAL/COMEDY | Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello
Purgatorio: A Journey Into the Heart of the Border DOCUMENTARY
Road to Hong Kong (1962) COMEDY | Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Joan Collins
68
Terms and Conditions May Apply (2013) DOCUMENTARY
31
V/H/S: Viral HORROR
85
Watchers of the Sky DOCUMENTARY
The Wild Angels (1966) DRAMA | Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra
TV on DVD/Blu-ray
Breaking Amish: LA Season 1
70
The Chair Season 1
Doctor Who "Last Christmas" special
94
Game of Thrones Season 4
64
The Sixties CNN miniseries
84
Sleepless in America Nat Geo documentary
Wahlburgers Season 2
February 24
Beyond the Lights 73 Watch Trailer
The director of Love & Basketball returned last fall with a well-reviewed romance that finds a rising music star (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) unable to deal with the pressures of stardom until she meets a cop (Nate Parker) who gives her a reason to succeed. Most critics found it entertaining, intelligent, and well written.
Big Hero 6 74 Watch Trailer
This story of robotics genius Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter) and his brother Tadashi’s creation, Baymax (Scott Adsit), a Healthcare Companion robot whom Hiro tweaks to become a superhero, is the first Disney animated movie based (loosely) on a Marvel comic book. When a mysterious supervillain threatens the metropolis of San Fransokyo, Hiro and the balloon-like Baymax team up with friends Go Go Tamago (Jamie Chung), Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr.), Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez) and Fred (T.J. Miller) to form a superhero team without any superpowers to speak of (though they do have a few really cool robotic suits). Directed by Don Hall (Winnie the Pooh) and Chris Williams (Bolt), the film was yet another Oscar-nominated hit for Walt Disney Animation following 2012’s Wreck It Ralph and 2013’s Frozen.
Horrible Bosses 2 40 Watch Trailer
The hapless trio of 2011’s Horrible Bosses—Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis—try to go into business for themselves in this inferior 2014 sequel, but when they get swindled by the father-and-son team of Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine, they devise a plan to recoup their money. (Hint: it involves kidnapping the son.) The twist comes when Pine’s Rex wants in on the ransom scheme. Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx, and Kevin Spacey also return for new director Sean Anders (That’s My Boy).
Whiplash 88 Watch Trailer
The recipient of both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at last year's Sundance festival, Damien Chazelle’s debut feature is also one of eight Academy Award best picture nominees this year. Whiplash's simple but intense story follows the contentious relationship between Miles Teller’s Andrew Neiman, an aspiring jazz drummer at a renowned music conservatory, and J.K. Simmons’ Terence Fletcher, the demanding conductor who doesn’t hesitate to use face-slapping and chair-throwing to get the best out of his students. Simmons picked up his first career Oscar nomination for his supporting performance, and is widely expected to win.
More movie releases on February 24, 2015
52 Pick-Up (1986) THRILLER | Roy Scheider, Ann-Margret
77
Code Black DOCUMENTARY
Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) FOREIGN/DRAMA | Directed by Ang Lee
Fellini Satyricon (1969) Criterion Collection release
The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) COMEDY | Jason Robards, Elliott Gould
Watership Down (1978) Criterion Collection release
Wild Orchid (1990) DRAMA | Mickey Rourke, Carre Otis
TV on DVD/Blu-ray
78
The Game Season 1 [BBC America series]
.hack//SIGN Complete series set
The Italian Americans PBS miniseries
Midsomer Murders Set 25
Mountain Men Season 3
68
Sons of Anarchy Season 7
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