It’s the first Tuesday of 2014, and for the first time ever, I’m presenting a rundown of the week’s top new releases on Blu-Ray and DVD “For Grownups” here on The Rock Father. These titles are probably not family-friendly (though I have a list of those here), and would probably be best-viewed when you’re enjoying some “YOU” time… here’s what’s hot for January 7, 2014…
Please Note: These are Amazon affiliate links, purchases through which help to support this site. In many cases descriptive text has been provided, and these are not to be considered reviews unless noted as such.
NEW TELEVISION RELEASES
DUCK DYNASTY Season 4 (Lionsgate)
Have you heard anything about The Robertson clan lately? Seems to have been a quiet month for the stars of A&E’s biggest series, but now you can relive the fourth season of the popular show in this new collection. Despite the lack of news (yes, I’m being sarcastic), this is the most-pre-ordered title of the week, proving that folks still love their DD.
And, while Season 4 is new to both Blu-ray and DVD this week, DUCK DYNASTY Season 1, Season 2, and Season 3 are getting Blu-ray reissues.
ARCHER: THE COMPLETE SEASON 4 (20th Century Fox)
Swing back into action with Sterling Archer – the world’s greatest spy – and the agents of ISIS for another hilarious season of cocktails, carousing and animated awesomeness! Follow the team around the globe, from the mysterious Bermuda Triangle all the way to the Vatican, as they bicker, backstab and bumble their way through assassination plots, an ill-advised marriage, an unexpected pregnancy, and a venomous snake bite in a very, very bad place! Packed with terrorist threats, sexual shenanigans, and all things inappropriate, Archer Season Four comes fully loaded with outrageous top-secret extras!
BEING HUMAN: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON (eOne)
BEING HUMAN is not getting any easier for four twenty-something, supernatural roommates vampire Aidan,(Sam Witwer), ghost Sally,(Meaghan Rath)and werewolves Josh (Sam Huntington) and Nora (Kristen Hager). Together, they struggle to keep their dark secrets hidden from the world, while helping each other navigate the complexities of their double lives. Bonus Features: Behind-the-Scenes Featurette, Being Human Panel from San Diego Comic-Con 2013, The Cast on Cliffhangers.
COPPER: SEASON 2 (BBC Home Entertainment)
Created by three-time Emmy® Award-winner Tom Fontana, Academy Award®-nominee Will Rokos, and executive produced by Barry Levinson, BBC AMERICA’s highest-rated original drama series returns for a second season. Veteran actor Donal Logue (Sons of Anarchy, Max Payne) joins the COPPER cast this season as a General who has recently returned from the battlefields of the Civil War to his station in Five Points. The political boss of the Sixth Ward is reasserting himself as one of the most influential and powerful men in the city’s political machine. Meanwhile, Detective Kevin Corcoran struggles to keep the untamed, post-war city in line while dealing with the horrible truth about what happened to his wife and child – and his best friend’s betrayal. As he attempts to rebuild his life, those around him strive to find their place in the American saga – be it for good or evil.
THE FOLLOWING: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (Warner Home Video)
Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Kevin Bacon and UK’s James Purefoy (Rome) star in this terrifying new thriller from Kevin Williamson (The Vampire Diaries, Scream). When notorious serial killer Joe Carroll (Purefoy) escapes from death row and embarks on a new killing spree, the FBI calls former agent Ryan Hardy (Bacon), a psychologically scarred veteran who captured Carroll nine years earlier, after Carroll murdered 14 female students on a college campus where he taught literature. Knowing Carroll better than anyone and close with Carroll’s ex-wife, Claire, Hardy works closely with an FBI team, which includes no-nonsense agent Jennifer Mason and sharp upstart Mike Weston, and soon discovers that Carroll was not only communicating with a network of killers in the outside world, but has much more planned than just a prison escape-and there’s no telling how many additional killers are out there.
STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE – SEASON THREE (Paramount)
Countdown to Zero Hour. After a surprise attack on Earth leaves over seven million people dead, Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and the crew of the Enterprise swear to find those responsible – the Xindi. Taking off into the uncharted region known as the Delphic Expanse, the crew of the Enterprise must hunt down the Xindi and stop them from enacting their ultimate plan: the total destruction of humanity. Along the way they travel to the year 2004 to prevent a bioweapon attack, fend off the mysterious Sphere-Builders, and even meet their own descendants due to a wormhole mishap – all leading up to a desperate race back to Earth to prevent its destruction.
NEW MOVIE RELEASES:
RUNNER RUNNER (20th Century Fox)
Most Pre-Ordered Movie this Week!
Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck star in this high-stakes crime thriller where the lure of easy money is the riskiest bet of all. When Princeton grad student Richie Furst (Timberlake) believes he’s been swindled by an online poker site, he heads to Costa Rica to confront gambling tycoon Ivan Block (Affleck), the man he thinks is responsible. But Richie will soon face the ultimate power play as he finds himself caught between Block’s promises of unlimited wealth and the zealous FBI agent (Anthony Mackie) trying to bring him down.
BIG ASS SPIDER (Epic Pictures)
An exterminator (Greg Grunberg) and his Hispanic sidekick (Lombardo Boyar) are caught in an epic battle when a military assault fails to contain a giant alien spider rampaging through the city of Los Angeles.
BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD (First Run Features)
In 1968 a young college drop-out named George A. Romero directed Night of the Living Dead, a low budget horror film that shocked the world, became an icon of the counterculture, and spawned a zombie industry worth billions of dollars that continues to this day.
Birth of the Living Dead shows how Romero gathered an unlikely team of Pittsburghers policemen, iron workers, teachers, ad-men, housewives and a roller-rink owner to shoot a revolutionary guerrilla style film that went on to become a cinematic landmark, offering a profound insight into how our society worked in a singular time in American history.
CLOSED CIRCUIT (Universal)From the producers of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy comes a riveting and suspenseful mystery starring Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall. A high-profile terrorism case unexpectedly brings two exceptional lawyers (Bana and Hall) with a romantic past together on the defense team. They soon realize they’ve stepped into a dangerous web of cover-ups and lies, and their knowledge of the government’s top-secret classified evidence has put their reputations and lives at stake. Co-starring Ciar n Hinds, Julia Stiles and Jim Broadbent, it’s a non-stop, heart-racing guessing game that critics call ‘an entertaining conspiracy thriller.’ (Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press)
THANKS FOR SHARING (Lionsgate)
Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins, Josh Gad and Alecia “Pink” Moore shine in an unconventional romantic comedy that follows the topsy-turvy lives and loves of three obsessive characters: an overachieving environmental consultant (Ruffalo), a stubborn small- business owner (Robbins) and a wisecracking ER doctor (Gad). They meet in a support group- and set into motion a life-changing journey filled with laughter and surprises.
THE WICKER MAN (1973, Lionsgate)
When a young girl mysteriously vanishes, Police Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) travels to a remote Scottish island to investigate. But the seemingly quiet community is not as it appears, as the detective uncovers a secretive pagan society led by the strange Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee). While the townsfolk tempt and threaten him with bizarre rituals and wanton lust, Howie must race to discover the truth behind the girl’s disappearance before his clash with Lord Summerisle builds to a terrifying conclusion – one that has cemented this cult shocker as a modern horror masterpiece.
Want a glimpse into the future? Check out The Rock Father’s Pop Culture Shopping Lists (Family Movies | Family Music | Grownup Movies) for a look at what new releases are coming in the weeks and months ahead!
