Wolfe Picks Sept. 11 For The DVD Debut Of Director Eisha Marjara's Venus

Wolfe announced this past week that award-winning Canadian filmmaker Eisha Marjara’s first foray into feature-length narrative films, Venus, will be making its domestic DVD debut on Sept. 11.

Sid (Debargo Sanyal — Pottersville, The Magic of Belle Isle, etc.), a Montreal native, notices one day that he is being stalked by a teenage kid named Ralph (Jamie Mayers — as Seth in the Game On TV series).   Meanwhile, his mother, Mamaji (Zena Darawalla) — a very traditional Punjabi mom — sees her son as having something of an expiration date … a thirtysomething and not yet married (all the prime Punjabi women will certainly be taken).

This mix is the story that unfolds in Marjara’s Venus, and it takes the superb acting abilities of all three to walk a delicate line between drama and comedy, and at the same time avoid the narrative pitfalls of being stereotypical and farce. 

When in high school Sid had a fling, it wasn’t your typical boy meets girl, boy beds girl, but boy meets girl … to meet the girl’s smoking hot brothering.   Nature took care of the rest, which brings us to the 14 year-old teen who has been following Sid around.   Ralph is his son!   Oops!!

The reason Sid isn’t yearning for a Punjabi bride is that he has made a major decision in his life, he’s transgender and has decided to make the transition, which will be news to his parents.   

You can see how this little development could easily take the entire film off the tracks in the first act, but both Sanyal and Mayers — as reluctant father (mother to be) and inquisitive son — nail the personas that writer Eisha Marjara has crafted for them.   

Things are not going that well at home for Ralph, as his mother, Kirsten (Amber Goldfarb) and his new stepfather have created something of a riff between mother and son.   This is the motivation behind his sudden interest in who his biological father is.

And now the good part … the coming out to Mamaji and the introduction of her grandson.   If you enjoyed director Michael Showalter’s The Big Sick, you witnessed the hell that Kumail (Kumail Nanjiani) went through when he announced that he was in love with Emily (Zoe Kazan) and was not at all interested in an arranged marriage.   His family disowned him!

The mood shifts back and forth between comedy and drama at the speed of light.  It is only the deft performance of Zena Darawalla as Mamaji, who is heartbroken that her son is not going to be her son any longer, but is also unsure of what kind of a grandson this teenager might be.   It’s a lot to throw at mother all at once.

Filmmaker Eisha Marjara makes all of these diverse forces (elements) work so marvelously well in the film tapestry that emerges.  Venus is ultimately a heartfelt tale of love, acceptance and family, even if traditions have to be tossed out the window!

Paramount Home Media Teams With CBS Home Entertainment For End Of August/Labor Day TV-On-DVD Blitz

Paramount Home Media announced this past week that four popular CBS television series will bracket the end of summer Labor Day period. 

Kicking off the hit parade on Aug. 28 is a six-disc collection of Criminal Minds: The Thirteenth Season.   The FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) got a new agent during the 13^th season with the addition of ex-Delta soldier Matthew Simmons (Daniel Henney — X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Last Stand).   His casting breathed new life into the venerable series, along with a slew of special guest appearances that included Kim Rhodes, Bodhi Elfman, Jamie Kennedy, Lou Diamond Phillips, James Urbaniak and more.

Paramount Home Media Distribution and CBS Home Entertainment street all 22 episodes of the dark crime series with bonus features that include audio commentary for select episodes, a gag reel, deleted scenes, cast and crew interviews and more. 

Additionally, the same Aug. 28 street date brings the release of NCIS: Los Angeles: The Ninth Season (also a six-disc collection).  All 24 episodes featuring the SoCal team of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are featured … from the introduction of a new leader of the unit (Nia Long — Boyz n the Hood, Big Momma's House, The Best Man Holiday, etc.) to massive partnerships with the FBI and LAPD across multiple episodes, the ninth season showed why this spinoff NCIS show (thank you, LL Cool J) still has legs.

On Tuesday, Sept. 4 (the day after Labor Day), Michael Weatherly (NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service) returns as Dr. Jason Bull in Bull: Season Two, bringing back the excellent trial drama stories based on the real-life career of trial consulting firm expert Dr. Phil McGraw.

The second season sees the Trial Analysis Corp. tackle the case of a trophy wife (Minka Kelly — Friday Night Lights, Parenthood) accused of killing her billionaire husband; a sticky situation when a college kid is accused of murdering someone on a Native American reservation; and the defense of a doctor who violates the law by crossing state lines to help treat patients with marijuana-derived oil.

Also Sept. 4, look for Hawaii Five-O: The Eighth Season, with another 25 episodes of the hit remake of the classic crime-fighting series (in paradise).  The latest season features new recruits, a hunt for a hitman, a Russian spy ring (complete with nuclear implications), and even the mob!

Icarus Films Selects July 24 For The Domestic DVD Debut Of Writer/Director Nicholas Pariser's The Great Game

Icarus Films will be delivering the next Distrib Films release — the company’s exclusive distribution deal with the French film producer — to the domestic marketplace on July 24 with the DVD debut of writer/director Nicolas Pariser’s The Great Game (Le Grand Jeu).

The chilling words are spoken, “Disappearing is tricky business … it can even attract attention,” by a power broker by the name of Joseph Paskin (Andre Dussollier).   These are the kind of words that can get one to thinking.   Words that create tension; anxiety ... and perhaps more, but they are delivered with such eloquence that the true terror is masked.

The thriller gets going when Paskin has a chance and friendly meeting one evening with a man by the name of Pierre (Melvil Poupaud).   Later, when this one-time novelist discovers that the meeting was not by chance he becomes intrigued with (or, if you like, “seduced by”) an offer put forth by this clever manipulator.

Pierre as it turns out was once a promising writer, but when his first novel was not well received he lost the spirit; the drive.   Paskin offers him a potentially lucrative path back to both fame and a chance to practice his skill-set … he’s very upfront about what he wants the writer to write about.   

It’s political in nature, a call to revolution (based loosely on “The Tarnac Nine” conspiracy in France that unfolded in November of 2008).   He can even be anonymous if he likes.   But once the book is finished, Pierre discovers that he has become a target and the terror of Paskin’s words suddenly become clear.   He is a “nobody” that will not be missed.

He escapes to the countryside and meets an attractive — and very political — woman by the name of Laura (Clémence Poésy).   Her connection to the underlying political intrigue brings the events full circle.

The Great Game is presented in French with English subtitles. 

Indican Pictures Tabs July 24 For The DVD Debut Of Director Jonathan Zuck's Within The Darkness

Indican Pictures has tabbed July 24 as the DVD debut date for director Jonathan Zuck’s haunted house thriller, Within the Darkness.

Austin Barnett (Dave Coyne — V/H/S/2, Malice: Metamorphosis) is a promoter, a hustler and he thinks that he might be able to hit it big with a cable series that is going to be titled The Paranormal Dimension with Austin Barnett.   It’s a ghost-hunter anthology, which isn’t a problem for him, since he doesn’t believe in such nonsense.   A little camera work, some spooky this and that and the subtle approach of a used car salesman in promoting it … it will be a hit!!

One thing going for Austin, besides being a shameless self-promoter, is that he has a close-knit crew (read that as the “victim pool) that is pretty good technically.   They are, Lucy (Erin Cline — The Housewife Slasher, Sanctuary; Quite a Conundrum) his main squeeze, his cousin Bruce (John C. Bailey), Jesse — his childhood friend (played by Tonya Kay — as Versnatchy in Evil Bong 666 and Evil Bong 777, plus The Amityville Terror, Nightmare Code, etc.) and the Elvira-like Megan (Shanna Forrestall (The Last Exorcism, Olympus Has Fallen, etc.), who serves as the show’s “Medium” (she may actually be the real deal).

There sits the infamous Hewit House — an architectural beauty, none of that creepy old, dilapidated Victoria mansion.   This place is nice, but it’s currently empty and has a nasty backstory about why no one wants to live there.

This is perfect of Austin and being a total fake and fraud he knows that he can turn the Hewit House into paranormal gold.   There’s just one little problem, the place might actually be haunted.

The first night of the production yields some thing-go-bump-in-the-night, so Austin is all-in.  Megan is more cautious and suggests that what they experienced might be malevolent, but when you’re dealing with Austin, that’s like waving a red flag in front of a bull.   

The second night in the Hewit House could be a “closing” night for the production of The Paranormal Dimension with Austin Barnett!!!   Filmmaker Jonathan Zuck keeps Within the Darkness fresh, even though all of the familiar genre elements are in place … haunted house, victim pool (with a very attractive cast) and something wicked that this way shall come.   Sweet!

AGFA's 2K Restoration Of Director James Bryan's Lady Street Fighter On Blu-ray This Coming Aug. 14

Attention, it’s time to toss those old VHS copies that you’ve been coveting over the years as news arrived this past week that the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), with sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has a new 2K restoration (from the only surviving 35mm theatrical print!) of director James Bryan’s Lady Street Fighter.    

AGFA has selected Aug. 14 as the street date for the Blu-ray release, which includes the virtually unseen Revenge of the Lady Street Fighter (2K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative).

Renee Harmon (Frozen Scream, Cinderella 2000) stars as Linda Allen, a kick-ass kung-fu expert — with an eye for “fashion” — who arrives in Los Angeles to find out who was responsible for the death of her twin sister.   Sex, fashion and martial arts … Renee Harmon is the complete package!!

Bonus goodies include commentary from director James Bryan (Don't Go in the Woods, Hell Riders, etc.).

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Preps DVD And Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Editions Of Director James McTeigue's Breaking In For Delivery On Aug. 7

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment looks to the first Tuesday street date in August (the 7th) for the release of DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack editions of director James McTeigue's home invasion thriller, Breaking In, starring Gabrielle Union (The Birth of a Nation, Bring it On, etc.) as a mother of two faced with a life and death struggle against four armed thieves.

The ARR is 88 days and domestic box receipts currently stand at $41.3 million.

Bonus features include commentary from director James McTeigue and screenwriter Ryan Engle, deleted and extended scenes, an alternate opening and a quartet of production featurettes — “One Bad Mother,” “A Filmmaker's Eye,” “A Lesson in Kicking Ass” and “A Hero Evolved.”

The Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack includes two viewing options — the PG-13 theatrical cut and an unrated “Director’s Cut” of the film.

20th Century-Fox Home Entertainment Picks July 17 For Isle Of Dogs And Super Troopers 2

20^th Century-Fox Home Entertainment just made July 17 the most popular street-date Tuesday of the year for important new theatrical releases with the announcement this week that director Jay Chandrasekhar’s Super Troopers 2 and Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs will both be available on that date as DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Product offerings.   

Already in place on this mid-July date are Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s Rampage and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment’s Truth or Dare and I Feel Pretty.

Everyone must be terrified of Paramount Home Media’s A Quiet Place, which has July 10 all to itself!

As to writer/director Wes Anderson’s animated stop-motion production of Isle of Dogs, it arrives on July 17 with an ARR of 116 days and domestic ticket sales of $31.4 million.

Bonus features for this futuristic tale of dogs being banned from Japan to “Trash Island” and a young boy’s quest to find his friend include a half-dozen production featurettes — “Animators,” “Isle of Dogs Cast Interviews,” “Puppets,” “An Ode to Dogs,” “Magasaki City and Trash Island” and “Weather and Elements.”

Joining Isle of Dogs on July 17 is the director Jay Chandrasekhar’s Super Troopers 2.   The ARR comes in at 88 days and the box office take was $30.3 million.

Bonus goodies include extended and deleted scenes, a “Making Of” featurette and the featurette titled “Kevin Heffernan: Method Actor.”