{"id":21851,"date":"2020-12-28T13:41:34","date_gmt":"2020-12-28T21:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=21851"},"modified":"2020-12-28T13:41:34","modified_gmt":"2020-12-28T21:41:34","slug":"blu-ray-dvd-roundup-for-december-29th-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=21851","title":{"rendered":"Blu-ray\/DVD Roundup for December 29th, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to another look at Blu-ray and DVD highlights. Hope\nthe holiday season is treating all readers well and that they are looking\nforward to the New Year. While this isn\u2019t an overly busy edition, there are few\nnotable flicks to watch out for. So, since you can\u2019t or likely shouldn\u2019t head\nout to the movies this week, be sure to give one of these titles a try!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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Blackjack: The Jackie Ryan Story<\/em> \u2013 This\nindependently-produced biopic tells the story of Jackie Ryan, who is considered\nby some to be a street basketball legend. The plot depicts the young man\ngrowing up in Brooklyn, learning to play at his dad\u2019s construction site and\nthen his attempts to be recruited by the NBA\u2019s New Jersey Nets (who are now\nknown as the Brooklyn Nets). Unfortunately, the young man\u2019s vices end up\nthreatening to ruin his big opportunity. This picture has been available on\nstreaming platforms and is now arriving on disc. There aren\u2019t many reviews\navailable for it and the few that have appeared have been critical. They state\nthat the lead character comes across as irritating and suggest that audiences\nwill have a hard time feeling empathy for him. It features Greg Finley, David\nArquette, Ashley Greene and Robert Davi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dating Amber<\/em> \u2013 A teen living in Ireland during the\n1990s comes to the conclusion that he is gay. When he meets a neighborhood girl\nwho happens to be a lesbian, the two form a plan in order to avoid scorn from\ntheir families and the community. It involves dating each other and carrying on\na phony romance for the sake of those around them. However, the two realize\nthat they can only keep their ruse going for so long and must decide if they\nshould come clean. Response was very positive towards this Irish coming-of-age\ncomedy\/drama. One or two thought that the story got too heavy handed by the\nclose, but almost all of the write-ups suggested that this was a sweet and\ncharming little picture with great performances. For the time being, this title\nis arriving exclusively on DVD. Fionn\nO’Shea, Lola Petticrew, Sharon Horgan and Barry\nWard headline the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Honest Thief<\/em> \u2013 The big release of the week is this\naction picture that follows a very successful criminal who has stolen over $9 million\nfrom small town banks without being caught or having given away his identity.\nAfter falling for an honest woman, he decides to turn himself in to the FBI in\nthe hopes of returning the money and cutting an acceptable probation deal.\nUnfortunately, the two agents he approaches decide to double-cross and steal\nfrom him, leading to a showdown. The press had a mixed-negative response\ntowards this effort. A percentage did appreciate the cast and the film\u2019s sense\nof humor, suggesting it was an effective action feature. However, many\ncomplained that this wasn\u2019t as strong as some of the star\u2019s other vehicles and that\nthe story was predictable and unexciting. It stars Liam Neeson, Kate Walsh, Jai\nCourtney, Jeffrey Donovan and Robert Patrick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Last Shift<\/em> \u2013 Two employees at a fast-food\nrestaurant spend a graveyard shift together in this dramedy. One is an old\nwhite man serving out his final shift before retirement, while the other is a\nyoung African-American hoping to quickly move on to bigger and better things.\nAs they go about their duties, these two men from very different backgrounds\nshare their experiences, discussing and arguing their different takes on the\nworld. Critics were more positive than negative about the feature. Those who\ndidn\u2019t like it said the performances were strong but the story didn\u2019t delve\ndeep enough into the topics being discussed and that the drama fell flat.\nHowever, slightly more enjoyed the cast and said that even if it didn\u2019t all\nwork, there were some small but interesting thoughts being addressed. Richard\nJenkins, Shane Paul McGhie, Ed O\u2019Neill and Da’Vine Joy Randolph headline the\nfilm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Last Warriors<\/em> \u2013 Also known as The Northlander<\/em>,\nthis adventure picture was actually produced a few years back north of the\nborder in Canada, but was never released on disc in the US – it\u2019s finally\nhitting the market this week. The movie is set nearly 1000 years in the future,\nwhen the modern world has eroded away and groups of survivors have reverted\nback into tribes living off the land. When his people come under attack from\nviolent heretics, a heroic hunter must protect them and fend off their enemies.\nThis film boasts a mostly First-Nations cast and is said to be more of a\npersonal story about finding one\u2019s identity than it is a futuristic action\npicture. There aren\u2019t many reviews available at present, so those interested\nwill just have to take a chance on it. It features Corey Sevier, Roseanne Supernault, Michelle Thrush\nand Julian Black Antelope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The One You Feed<\/em> \u2013 In this thriller, a stranger finds\nhimself injured in the middle of nowhere. Lost and in trouble, he\u2019s rescued by\na mysterious man and woman who live in a secluded house that looks like it might\nbe from another era. While the protagonist is happy to be taken in and treated,\nthings become more threatening as the couple begin to play strange games on the\nnew arrival that ultimately push him to the brink of madness. It appears that\nthis independent feature is premiering on all platforms this week and has yet\nto be previewed for the press or any other audience. As such, it\u2019s a complete\nenigma as to how effective the movie may be or what exactly it is setting out\nto accomplish. The cast includes Gareth Koorzen, Rebecca Fraiser, Drew Harwood\nand Richard Watson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Triggered<\/em> \u2013 A large group of high school friends decide\nto reunite for a fun weekend reunion… but choose to do this by taking a trip\nto a remote forest and camping in the woods. After a crazy party they fall\nasleep, only to wake up with bombs strapped to their chests and varying times\non a countdown clock. It seems that their resentful and psychotic high school\nscience teacher is behind the plot. The ex-students learn that they can extend\ntheir time by killing one another, making their reunion all the more awkward.\nThe opinions were divided on this South African indie horror flick. Half said\nthat it wasn\u2019t dull and that the wildness on display made for a fun B-movie.\nStill, just as many complained were poorly written and bland, leaving no one\nfor audiences to care about. For the time being, this feature will not be\navailable on Blu-ray and only be released on DVD. It stars Reine Swart, Liesl\nAhlers and Cameron Scott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Two Ways Home<\/em> \u2013 A woman with bipolar disorder is\nreleased from prison. Wanting to fulfil the wishes of a beloved grandparent,\nshe heads back to attempt to reconcile with her estranged daughter and restart\nher life. However, the rest of the family still resents her for her previous\nacts. The stressful return causes more issues and forces her to come to terms\nwith her diagnosis. It appears as if this independent feature is making its\ndebut on disc and so there aren\u2019t any write ups available, so interested\nviewers don\u2019t have much to go on right now. However, it looks like the movie\nhas received an endorsement from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The\ncast includes Tanna Frederick, Tom Bower, Joel West and Shanda Lee Munson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

It appears that distributors are taking a break from\nreleasing new Blu-rays of older titles this week. However, rest assured that\nthey\u2019ll be making up for it next week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

It\u2019s also a quiet edition for kid\u2019s releases, but the New\nYear will be bringing plenty of new family-friendly discs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

And there is only one TV-themed disc hitting shelves this\nweek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Country for Old Men: Cornwall, Carmarthenshire and Herefordshire<\/em> (History)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since there aren’t many clips available, here are some holiday spots and ads for flicks set during New Years Eve. Happy holidays!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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