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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAn Acceptable Loss<\/em> – A former top security advisor\nfor the US\ngovernment finds herself pushed into a regrettable decision after following the\nadvice of seasoned political official. Disturbed by the bill passed, the lead\ndecides to go public about her concerns, knowing that these actions could bring\ndown the government. Unfortunately, no one around wants the protagonist to\nspeak the truth, accusing her or treason and threatening violence to stop her\nefforts. This independent effort didn’t earn many votes from the press. A few\ncommented that the villainess was an entertaining foil, but suggested that the\nstory and events presented aren’t as thrilling to watch as they should be. It\nstars Tika Sumpter, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Tavassoli and Deanna Dunagan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Best of Enemies<\/em> – Based on the work of civil\nrights activist Ann Atwater, this biopic follows her experiences in North\n Carolina over the summer of 1971. When local Ku Klux\nKlan leader C.P. Ellis is forced into co-chairing a community summit on\ndesegregation, the two go head to head with Atwater\ntrying to change Ellis’ perspective. Response towards this drama was\nmixed-positive. Those who had issues wrote that while the intent and\nperformances were good, the production spoon-fed the story to viewers and was a\nlittle too sympathetic towards Ellis. Positive notices said that the story was predictable,\nbut that the actors were excellent and essentially made up for the film’s\nflaws. The cast include Taraji P. Henson, Sam Rockwell, Babou Ceesay, Anne\nHeche and Wes Bentley. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Combat Obscura<\/em> – This documentary was shot and put\ntogether by a young man who enlisted in the US Marine Corps. The 18-year-old\nwas designated as his unit’s official videographer and was transferred to the\nfront lines of Afghanistan.\nOnce there, he was told to shoot and assemble footage for a recruitment video.\nInstead, the filmmaker followed the soldier’s daily routines of soldiers. The\npress information states that “the edit ingeniously repurposes the footage\nto reveal the intensity and paradoxes of an ambiguous war from an unvarnished\nperspective.” Reviews were exemplary, noting that the feature was a\nharrowing and messy look at what soldiers have to go through in the trenches\n(as well the nasty actions a few partake in). \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dead Trigger<\/em> – If you’re stuck in a post-apocalyptic\nwasteland filled with ravenous zombies, I suppose there are worse people you\ncould be stuck with than action hero Dolph Lundgren. The actor stars as leader\nof a specially trained unit fighting to wipe out the undead. Of course, with so\nmany soldiers being eaten, the team also embark on a search for new recruits.\nThis one hasn’t been officially reviewed yet, but there are a few online\nwrite-ups that are less than complimentary. In fact, many have suggested that\nit makes the efforts of low-budget, bad-movie production company Asylum (responsible\nfor the Sharknado<\/em> series) look great in comparison. Be warned that this\nmay not be among the actor’s best films. Autumn Reeser, Romeo Miller and Isaiah\nWashington take on supporting roles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Escape Plan: The Extractors<\/em> – While 2013’s Escape\nPlan<\/em> was hardly a blockbuster success, the action picture has managed to\nspawn some direct-to-DVD sequels. The third\nentry features a Hong Kong tech mogul who hires the team\nof heroes to rescue his daughter from a group of criminals holed up in a\nLatvian prison. After the hero’s own girlfriend is also taken hostage, the leads\ngo all out in trying to eliminate the threat. As mentioned, this title is\npremiering on disc. However, a few early write-ups haven’t been all that bad.\nApparently, this follow-up is an improvement on the previous entry, providing a\nfew B-movie thrills as well as a surprise or two. The movie stars Sylvester\nStallone, Dave Bautista, Curtis Jackson aka 50 Cent, Jin Zhang, Harry Shum Jr.,\nDevon Sawa and Jaime King. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mia and the White Lion<\/em> – This interesting family film\nis about a 10-year-old girl from London\nwhose parents buy a lion farm in South Africa.\nIt’s a rough transition, but the girl finds some happiness after befriending a lion\ncub. A few years later, the she discovers that her father is going to sell her\nfavorite animal to trophy hunters. Naturally, she and the adult lion go off the\nproperty and try to escape. Apparently, this English-language,\nFrench\/German\/South African production was shot over four years, meaning that\nviewers literally see the cat and the girl grow up as the story progresses. Critics\ndidn’t mind the end product. A small group thought that the script and editing\nwere clunky, but most described the movie as being sweet-natured and gorgeous\nto look at. It features Daniah De Villiers, Melanie Laurent, Langley Kirkwood\nand Ryan McLennan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Public<\/em> – A cold snap in downtown Cincinnati\nforces the homeless to look for shelter. After arriving at a public library,\nthey take refuge and stage a sit in, attracting the attention of the police and\nmedia. Tension rise as the stand-off continues between overwhelmed staff, suffering\nprotestors and outside entities. Reaction towards this drama was generally\nupbeat. A percentage did comment that the movie was overstuffed and tried to\ndeal with so many issues that it eventually lost its focus. Still, more admired\nthe efforts of the cast and crew, thought the movie made good points and\nbelieved that it would start discussions between viewers on important issues.\nThe cast includes Alec Baldwin, Taylor Schilling, Emilio Estevez (who also\ndirected the film), Jena Malone, Christian Slater, Jacob Vargas, Gabrielle\nUnion and Geoffrey Wright. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The River and the Wall<\/em> – In this documentary, five\nfriends decide to take a lengthy trip through the Texas\nwilderness along the US\/Mexico border from El Paso\nto the Lower Rio\n Grande Valley.\nOver the course of their 1200 mile trip (using horseback riding, canoeing and\nmountain biking as transportation) they look at the potential impact of a new\nborder wall and discuss the current state of immigration in the country. All\nreviewers praised the movie. They wrote that this was a subtle, soft-spoken and\nhopeful effort with gorgeous photography of incredibly scenic locals.\nAdditionally, they believed that it cleverly and sharply displayed the negative\nenvironmental and human impact of the wall proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Styx<\/em> – A successful emergency\nroom doctor from Europe decides to fulfill her dream of\nsailing to Ascension Island in the Atlantic\n Ocean. After a terrible storm, the woman comes across a damaged\nfishing boat filled with drowning immigrant passengers. After radioing\nauthorities, she realizes that no one is going to help, leaving her with the\nchoice of whether or not to break maritime law and rescue them. Reviews were\nstrong for this title from Germany\/Austria. While a few thought the filmmakers\ndidn’t quite nail the ending, the consensus was that this is an otherwise tense\nthriller with important points to make about the migrant crisis. Susanne Wolfe\nplays the lead. It appears that this particular release is DVD\nonly for the time being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zulu Summer<\/em> – Ever received an email from an African\nprince asking for your assistance in a financial matter and promising great riches\nif you participate? Most of us have, including a radio DJ from a small town in Montana.\nThis documentary follows his exploits as he decides to investigate these strange\nemails and claims; his journey takes him all the way to Nongoma,\n South Africa. According\nto the press release, the man ultimately forges an international friendship\nthat changes the lives of all participants. It certainly sounds like an\ninteresting concept for a non-fiction feature. The movie is debuting on disc,\nso there haven’t been any official reviews posted just yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blasts from the Past!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There are also some interesting older titles hitting Blu-ray\nthis week. Arrow Video have a Special Edition Blu-ray of the cult film, FM<\/em>\n(1978). It’s about a group of radio DJs who become frustrated when new\nmanagement decides to force lengthy commercial breaks into their programming,\nwith a particular emphasis on military recruitment ads. The leads protest,\nlocking the doors and playing rock tunes non-stop. Michael Brandon, Eileen\nBrennan, Alex Karras, Cleavon Little, Martin Mull and James Keach star, and the\nflick features appearances by musicians Linda Ronstadt, Tom Petty, Jimmy Buffet\nand REO Speedwagon. In some respects, it bears a bit of similarity to the TV\nseries WKRP in Cincinnati<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyway, it definitely has a following and the disc comes\nwith plenty of extra features. They include newly filmed interviews with star Brandon,\nas well as the screenwriter. It also includes a video appreciation of radio\nstations from the late 70s that includes discussions with a rock music critic\nand a study of the film’s platinum-selling soundtrack. You’ll also get a wealth\nof stills, promotional images and soundtrack images and some original trailers\nfor the movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kino is preparing a series of French, foreign-language\ntitles for release on Blu-ray. The first is a Special Edition of Bob le\nFlambeur<\/em> (1956), which depicts a casino heist. The movie has received a 4K\ntransfer and comes with a film critic commentary, a documentary on the film’s\nvillain, and a trailer. They also have the crime film, Le Doulos<\/em> (1963)\naka The Finger Man<\/em>. Like the previous title, it’s a Special Edition with\nsimilar extras. You can also get L\u00e9on Morin, Priest<\/em> (1961) which comes\nwith very similar specs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n More recent French titles arriving from Kino include The\nOutsider<\/em> (1983) aka Le Margina<\/em>l. This flick is about a rogue\ndetective in Marseille trying to take down drug traffickers, and it co-stars\nHenry Silva. The Blu-ray release includes a film historian commentary track and\na trailer. They also are delivering The Professional<\/em> (1981). This isn’t\nthe Luc Besson film, but rather an earlier action film about a secret agent who\nis double crossed by the government and seeks revenge against those who set him\nup. The disc arrives with the same bonuses as the previous title. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, Vinegar Syndrome are releasing a series of small\nB-movies as Blu-ray\/DVD combo packs. They include the modern day vampire story,\nNight Owl<\/em> (1993) as well as the sci-fi flick The Passing<\/em> (1984).\nThe latter is about a man who tries to take over the body of an unwilling\nvictim and have his mind implanted in it. Both titles are getting 2K\nrestorations from the original 16 mm camera negative and come with director\ncommentaries and several other extras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The same distributor also have a combo-package of the counter-culture advertising satire, Putney Swope<\/em> (1969), which follows an agency that starts creating radical publicity campaigns, eventually drawing the ire of the President. The film has been newly scanned and restored in 4K from 35 mm pre-print elements. It comes with two audio commentaries (one from the director and another from a film critic), as well as so many other extras that they can’t all be listed here. I’ve never seen it, but have heard interesting things about this flick from Robert Downey Sr. (father of Robert Downey Jr.). A trailer is included below to give you an idea of what kind of jingles and parody commercials to expect. Finally, you can also pick up Taking Tiger Mountain<\/em> (1983). It’s a thriller about a draft-dodger (Bill Paxton in his debut film role) who becomes part of a mind-control experiment. Sounds like some interesting stuff. The transfer and extras for the latter release are almost the same as for the previously mentioned title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You Know, For Kids!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some releases that kids might be interested in. If\nyou’re a fan of Batman animated films, you’ll be happy with the selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4 Kids Favorites: Batman Beyond<\/em> On the Tube!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And these are the week’s TV-themed titles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Day Henry Met…?<\/em>: Season 2 ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/DVD-Best-of-Enemies-Henson-CU-1024x556.jpg\")
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Batman Beyond Triple Feature<\/em>
Batman Dark Knight Returns Triple Feature<\/em>
Batman Unlimited Triple Feature<\/em>
Batman Year One Triple Feature<\/em>
The Day Henry Met…?<\/em>: Season 2
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FRONTLINE: The Abortion Divide<\/em> (PBS)
Heroes<\/em>: The Complete Series (2006 – 2010)
Hostile Planet<\/em> (National Geographic)
Apollo 11: Landing the Eagle<\/em> (Discovery)
Rhythm of the Dance<\/em> (PBS)
A Summer to Remember<\/em> (Hallmark TV-movie) <\/p>\n\n\n\n