MVD Entertainment Group Selects Director Albert Pyun's Crazy Six For Marquee Collection Blu-ray Status On Aug. 28

MVD Entertainment Group has tabbed Aug. 28 for the Blu-ray debut of director Albert Pyun’s 1997 all-star post-Soviet Union collapse crime thriller, Crazy Six.

This new Hi-Def presentation will be the next addition to the company’s newly-launched “Marquee Collection” series, which includes Autumn in New York and Pyun’s Blast! both on Aug. 28, as well as Dwayne Johnson starring in the remake of Walking Tall on Aug. 14.

With the fall of the Soviet Union and the sudden “freedom” of the Warsaw Pack countries of Eastern Europe, organized crime elements see an opportunity to move into the “Wild East.”   Crazy Six brings three separate mob crime groups to Czechoslovakia (filmed in and around Bratislava and the Danube River) where they find themselves immediately in conflict.

One loosely-knit group is headed by the drug-addicted Billie, who is best known to his criminal associates as “Crazy Six” (played by Rob Lowe), while another syndicate is run by Dirty Mao (Mario Van Peebles) and yet a third is headed up by the devious Raul (Ice-T), who is the post powerful of them all.   

Basically it breaks down to “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” sort of thing, and an uneasy alliance is formed between Crazy Six and Dirty Mao to push Raul and his thugs out of this new, and potentially very lucrative market.   

OK, got the picture … now slowly count to ten.   Once you reach ten, which is about how long it takes for everyone to turn on each other, the bloodbath begins.  Toss in some stolen plutonium and that gets the Feds involved, including an agent by name of Dakota (played by none other than Burt Reynolds).

While filmmaker Albert Pyun makes Crazy Six more or less an all-action shoot’em-up, the basic story — and criminal intrigues in the post-Soviet era — turned out to be pretty insightful.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Looks To Aug. 7 For The Home Entertainment Rollout Of Melissa McCarthy's Life Of The Party

The husband and wife team of Ben Falcone and Melissa McCarthy have come up with yet another fun comedy, Life of the Party, which is all built around the ability of McCarthy to play against whatever stereotype the pair (who co-wrote) can conjure up.  

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced this past week that Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack and stand-alone DVD editions of Life of the Party will be ready for fans to enjoy on Aug. 7.

That street date yields an ARR of 88 days and domestic box office receipts currently stand at $50.3 million. 

After Tammy and The Boss — and now Life of the Party — the duo can bank just about any funny idea that they can come up with.   Indeed, the combo of Falcon directing and McCarthy starring in will be back during the Christmas season of 2019 with a little something titled Superintelligence.

Until then, we have Life of the Party, where McCarthy plays an unfulfilled middle-aged housewife by the name of Deanna, who gets dumped for a younger woman by her husband Dan (played by Matt Walsh) as their daughter, Maddie (Molly Gordon), heads off to her senior year in college.

It’s the perfect role for McCarthy as a comedian.   In the early scenes she is a frump, stuck in a rut and seemingly with no future, other than just getting older and doing the same thing over and over again.   Which is more or less the definition of insanity.

The break from Dan, who really rubs it in — everything is in his name and he’s selling their home (filmed in Georgia, property owned prior to marriage is not considered community property) — gives her a nothing-to-lose sense of freedom.   In the backstory we learn that she became pregnant with Maddie during her senior year at college and was forced to drop out.

Bingo!   Back to college and get that degree.   Melissa McCarthy turned loose in a college atmosphere … from middle age frump to party animal (with a really cool twist).   Life of the Party is a terrific idea and very, very funny!!

The bonus feature common to both SKUs is the featurette titled “’80s Party.”   Exclusive to the Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack are deleted scenes, a gag reel, the featurette titled “Mom Sandwich” and two other gadgets — “Line-o-Rama” and “Bill Hate-o-Rama.”

Wild Eye Releasing Targets Aug. 14 For The DVD Debut Of Writer/Director Joe McReynolds' Inhumanity

Wild Eye Releasing, with sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, looks to Aug. 14 for the DVD debut of writer/director Joe McReynolds’ Inhumanity.

The streets of Austin, Texas are the private killing grounds of a serial killer known to the locals as Six Pack Sam (played by Leviticus Wolfe).   Why “Six Pack Sam” you might ask?   Easy answer, five college co-eds have been raped and murdered … and each murder location includes his signature, six empty beer bottles.

So Inhumanity is a crazed killer flick, right?   Maybe.

Six Pack Sam’s next victim is Jessa (Darcel Danielle), who just happens to be the daughter of the detective assigned to the case.   But this time he misses his mark and Jessa escapes, only to awaken from a coma in the hospital.   So this little mystery is going to be solved real quick, right?   

Consider this, you’ve got the daughter of the detective in charge as a witness — she was a pick up at a local bar, perfect description of the guy.  Piece of cake, except for one little thing; just a minor thing … while Jessa was recovering in the hospital her father decided to kill himself.

Nothing makes sense to Jessa.   There’s not a chance in the world that her father would take his own life.   Six Pack Sam is free to murder again, but there’s more going on with Inhumanity than just it being a crazed killer flick.

Indie filmmaker Joe McReynold’s turns the story upside down and gives it a good shake as Jessa, the potential victim, decides to solve the case.   Jessa is quickly warned off by officials, so she turns to a former colleague of her father’s, who just happens to be a total hick, by the name of Sergio (Ford Austin) … but he’s the only one she can trust.

Inhumanity is a slick micro-budget thriller, featuring a sinister killer … and an even more sinister killer in the form of the mysterious Dr. Campbell (Diana Rose) and her corporate cohorts, which includes members of the police.   Serial killers are being weaponized and Jessa and Sergio are an overmatched Holmes and Watson, with Dr. Campbell as a deadly “Moriarty” with an agenda that makes Six Pack Sam’s brutal killings a mere warm-up. 

The Criterion Collection Reveals Its September Of 2018 Release Calendar

The Criterion Collection announced its September DVD and Blu-ray release calendar this past week, which includes a terrific screwball comedy, the film adaptation of a Lorraine Hansberry’s celebrated play, A Raisin in the Sun, two extended versions of major foreign-language works and the domestic home entertainment debut of French filmmaker Olivier Assayas’ Cold Water.

The screwball comedy getting a restoration from Criterion in September is director Gregory La Cava’s 1936 gem My Man Godfrey, starring William Powell and Carole Lombard (both nominated Best Actor and Best Actress respectively … as was La Cava for his direction and Eric Hatch and Morrie Ryskind for their screenplay).   The street date for DVD and Blu-ray selections is Sept. 18.

Bonus features include outtakes, newsreels from the period, the 1938 Lux Radio Theatre recreation with William Powell, Carole Lombard, Gail Patrick and Mischa Auer (who nominated Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Carlo in the theatrical release) and two newly-prepared video sessions — one with Village Voice film critic Gary Giddins (discussing the jazz elements of the film) and the second features film critic Nick Pinkerton’s insights on filmmaker Gregory La Cava.

Getting a new 4K film restoration on Sept. 25 is director Daniel Petrie’s 1961 film adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry’s Broadway Play, A Raisin in the Sun, starring Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and Claudia McNeil.

Bonus features for the Blu-ray and DVD release include a vintage (circa 1961) interview with Lorraine Hansberry, two newly-prepared video sessions — one with author Imani Perry (“Looking for Lorraine”) and the second featuring film scholar and author of “Poitier Revisited” — and an excerpt from documentary filmmaker Woodie King, Jr.’s 1978 documentary, Black Theatre: The Making of a Movement.

Rounding out the September release calendar from Criterion are Blu-ray and DVD editions of Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage (both the TV mini-series and domestic theatrical release versions are included … street date is Sept. 04), Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1966 film release of Andrei Rublev (both the original Russian theatrical version and Tarkovsky’s preferred cut of the film on Sept. 28) and the aforementioned debut Cold Water (Sept. 11).

20th Century-Fox Home Entertainment Goes DVD-Only For Director Sean McNamara's The Miracle Season On July 31

Director Sean McNamara’s inspirational tale of the Iowa City’s West High School girl’s volleyball team overcoming their grief after the tragic death of their team leader, Caroline “Line” Found (played by Danika Yarosh), plays out in the film release of The Miracle Season.

20^th Century-Fox Home Entertainment announced this past week that a DVD-only edition will be retailer-ready on July 31.   That date yields an ARR of 116 days and ticket sales for this not-a-dry-eye-in-the-house story were a little light at $10.2 million.

McNamara previously teamed with Helen Hunt in the 2011 film release of Soul Surfer — another based on actual events story.   Here she plays the coach of the team, with Erin Moiarty (Captain Fantastic) as Caroline’s best friend and dispirited teammate and William Hurt as the girl’s heartbroken father.   

You’ve seen the story before … girl dies, team falls apart (losing heart), gets crushed, but then finds the will to go on, etc., etc.    The Miracle Season delivers the emotional punch that one would expect from such a story, with Hunt, Hurt and Moiarty all “serving” up terrific performances.

Bonus features are limited to the featurette titled “Star Player.”

Lionsgate Home Entertainment Tabs July 31 For The Release Of DVD And Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Editions Of Director Rob Greenburg's Overboard

When the “Hollywood” studios run out of ideas they simply remake something.  Back in 1987, writer Leslie Dixon (Mrs. Doubtfire) and director Garry Marshall delivered Overboard (with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell).   

It was conjured up this year by director Rob Greenburg, with the Hawn/Russell roles reversed in presentation of Overboard … Eugenio Derbez is rich, suffering from amnesia and overboard, while Anna Faris is the hired help who does the old switcheroo.   

Lionsgate Home Entertainment announced this past week that DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack editions will be ready for summertime viewing enjoyment on July 31.    

The ARR is a swift-to-market 88 days and multiplex activity generated $47.6 million in ticket sales during May and June.

Bonus features include commentary from writer/director Rob Greenberg (three Emmys for his work on the Frasier comedy series), who is joined by producer/writer Bob Fisher (We’re the Millers, Wedding Crashers) and producer Benjamin Odell, plus three featurettes — “Culture Clash,” “Captains of the Ship: Bob & Rob” and “Chemistry is Comedy.”

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment's Avengers: Infinity War Heads Home On Aug. 14

If you thought the political landscape these days was dominated by leaks about this and that — and that such things were exclusive to politics — you would be only be half right.   

The home entertainment business, when it comes to news about blockbuster theatrical releases making the transition from their local multiplex venues to the home entertainment marketplace, can be just as sieve-like. 

Directors Anthony and Joe Russo’s Avengers: Infinity War will arrive on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD on Aug. 14, but Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has yet to make that official.   No matter, orders are being taken, including for those “exclusive” special editions over at Target and Best Buy.

You would think that one of the most expensive films to be made in the history of cinema would get some special attention, especially one coming from the Disney/Marvel universe.   There should be actors, filmmakers, studios brass, press and cocktails, with an appropriate studio backdrop to top off a big, showy formal announcement, but it’s not happening.

Sure, you can point fingers here and there, but Disney did get blindsided by Comcast last week and had to scramble to sweeten its offer for Fox, so that likely sucked all of the air out of the room.  And retailers — being what they are — are more than eager to get the jump on Amazon.com these days so that they can log “their fair share” of the business.   The result is, sadly, business as usual and ballyhoo be damned!

For the record, the ARR comes in at 109 days and ticket sales currently stand at an eye-popping $655.1 million.

Bonus features … well, those are in the works.