{"id":19714,"date":"2019-12-22T21:34:03","date_gmt":"2019-12-23T05:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=19714"},"modified":"2019-12-22T21:34:03","modified_gmt":"2019-12-23T05:34:03","slug":"blu-ray-dvd-roundup-for-december-24th-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=19714","title":{"rendered":"Blu-ray\/DVD Roundup for December 24th, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The holidays are here, which means this edition of Blu-ray\nand DVD highlights isn\u2019t as packed as usual. Still, there is a big release and\na couple of smaller features coming your way that may be of interest. So, if\nyou can\u2019t make it out to the movies this week, be sure to give one of these\ntitles a try!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big New Releases!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Adopt a Highway<\/em> \u2013 This independent drama follows a\nman who is released from prison after 21 years behind bars. He manages to secure\na job as a dishwasher at a fast-food restaurant and attempts to catch up on the\nworld that he has missed. When the lead discovers an abandoned baby in a\ndumpster, he sees it as an opportunity for redemption and debates whether or\nnot to keep it. Reviews were good overall for this effort. A group of critics\ndid complain that there wasn\u2019t much of a story and that it didn\u2019t develop its\nlead character well enough. However, more complimented the approach, calling\nthe film a caring portrait of a man trying to do the right thing that benefits\nfrom a great lead performance. It stars Ethan Hawke, Elaine Hendrix and\nChristopher Heyendahl.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After Party<\/em> \u2013 After a Hollywood event, a group of\nsocial media celebrities and influencers are invited to the titular function at\na mansion in the hills. Shortly after showing up, the attendees realize that\nthey have been targeted by a masked killer and must escape before being\neliminated. Seems like an unusual release date for a gnarly indie horror\npicture, so perhaps it is intended to serve as counterprogramming to holiday\nfare. Unfortunately, there haven\u2019t been any official reviews posted by the\npress when it played in limited release under the title, Slasher Party<\/em>.\nA few have appeared online and they have been anything but complimentary,\nstating that everything from the acting to the story was utterly terrible. The\ncast includes Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, Antonio Ramos, Simona Shyne and Timothy\nDeLaGhetto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Drag Kids<\/em> \u2013 Drag queen competitions are at the center of this documentary. It follows four preteen drag entertainers from around the world preparing to put on a show for the very first time at the Montreal Pride celebrations. The kids must face off against opposition groups as they make their final preparations. They also meet each and share their personal experiences with each other as the event progresses. There aren\u2019t a lot of reviews out there, but the feature played at a few film festivals (like Hot Docs in Toronto) and received a great deal of positive response. According to several write-ups, the subjects are charming and upbeat as they set out to perform and follow their dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Gallows Act II<\/em> \u2013 This sequel to the found-footage\nfilm about a group of theater students being terrorized by a mysterious and\ndeadly figure (known as the Hangman) takes place some years after the original.\nAn aspiring actress goes online, reads the cursed play from the first movie and\ntakes up the Hangman\u2019s challenge of attempting to perform it. One assumes her\nrendition doesn\u2019t go well. Critics absolutely hated this follow-up and have yet\nto give it a recommendation. They complained that the film borrowed its cues\nfrom other, better horror pictures and that the screenplay didn\u2019t offer\nanything close to thrills or excitement, hiding most of the supernatural\nelements until the final act. It features Ema Horvath, Chris Milligan and\nBrittany Falardeau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Ghost Who Walks<\/em> \u2013 A convict desperately wants to\nreturn home to his family, which includes a child whom he has never met. To do\nthis, he makes a deal with prosecutors to rat out his former boss. Naturally,\nhis employer is none-too-pleased about the situation. With enemies closing in,\nthe protagonist must locate his ex and daughter before the bad guys and get\nthem out of town in order to try and start a new life. As of this writing,\nthere aren\u2019t many newspapers or online movie sites that have reviewed this\npicture, although it did win a few prizes at some small film festivals. Interested\nviewers will ultimately have to go in cold and hope for the best. Garland\nScott, Frank Moseley and Alexia Rasmussen headline the feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Judy<\/em> \u2013 Judy Garland is the subject of this biopic which\nfocuses on her later years as an entertainer. As the story begins, she\u2019s financially\nstrapped with a weakening voice and a penchant for drinking and fighting with\nmanagement, as well as those surrounding her. In need of cash, the star takes\non a five-week engagement in London. The press gave the drama favorable\nreviews. There was a small contingent who didn\u2019t think that they learned enough\nabout the performer or got a truly accurate picture of the woman. However, most\nadmitted that while flawed, the movie benefitted from an incredible lead performance,\nwho they said looked and sounded exactly like the real person. It stars Ren\u00e9e\nZellweger, Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock, Rufus Sewell and Michael Gambon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Kill Team<\/em> \u2013 Based on the 2013 documentary of the\nsame name, this biopic tells the story of a soldier stationed in Afghanistan. After\nhis arrival, he witnesses his commanding officer and other recruits killing\ninnocent civilians and ponders reporting their crimes to authorities. However,\nthe unit begins to hear that someone within their ranks isn\u2019t pleased about\ntheir actions, and the lead character begins to fear that he may be eliminated\ntoo. Reviewers generally liked this war drama. Some did comment that while\nwell-intentioned, the movie didn\u2019t end up making an emotional impact and\ncouldn\u2019t top the original documentary. Still, more thought that it was a\nwell-acted and quickly paced film that efficiently gets its message across to\nviewers. The cast includes Nat Wolff, Alexander Skarsgard and Rob Morrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Love Possibly<\/em> \u2013 This independent romantic comedy from\nthe UK is about a documentary crew chronicling the life of a quirky hopeless\nromantic who is looking for true love. He meets a Moldovan mail-order bride\nonline and finds her to be more than he bargained for when she arrives at his\nfront door. This movie has been playing the festival circuit for some time and\nis now making its debut on disc in North America. There aren\u2019t detailed any\nwrite-ups available for it, but it has earned plenty of praise at these film\nscreenings, where it has won 33 prizes \u2013 so it definitely has its followers. It\nfeatures Steve Hodgetts, Anna Danshina and Julie Nesher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blasts from the Past!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alas, last week was so busy for high definition upgrades of\nolder titles that there\u2019s nothing arriving for inclusion in this edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You Know, For Kids!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you enjoy watching animated Batman adventures, then this\nis your week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Batman Beyond<\/em> (1999 \u2013 2001)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Tube!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same goes for older TV enthusiasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Batman Beyond<\/em> (1999 \u2013 2001)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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