This week, we’ve got an Oscar-winning musical, the latest in a fantasy action franchise, a handful of smaller films well worth a watch, and a couple of classics newly reissued by the Criterion Collection. Read on for the full list!
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone star in Damien Chazelle’s romantic musical about a jazz pianist and a struggling actress who fall in love while pursuing their dreams in Los Angeles. Also available in 4K Blu-ray, this release comes with a commentary track featuring Chazelle and composer Justin Hurwitz, almost two hours of featurettes, demo footage of Chazelle and Hurwitz singing, and more.
This South Korean drama by Hong Sang-soo follows a film director and an artist who meet and begin to fall for each other — and then plays the whole story out a second time, with adjustments. Special features include a short film by Hong, a press conference featuring Hong and star Kim Min-hee (The Handmaiden), and a video introduction by critic Dan Sallitt.
Sennia Nanua, Gemma Arterton, and Paddy Considine star in this horror drama that explores the moral quandary posed by sentient child zombies. The only bonus feature is a 20-minute-long making-of featurette.
This documentary offers a look at the wildly popular band X Japan on the eve of a long-awaited reunion. It comes with a commentary track featuring director Stephen Kijak and extended interviews.
Anne Heche and Sandra Oh star in this dark comedy about former college friends who reunite by chance years later and initiate a brutal rivalry. Extras include a commentary track with Heche and director Onur Tukel, a look at the film’s fight choreography, deleted scenes, and an art slideshow.
Inspired by the 2010 Australian film of the same name, this TNT drama centers on the lives of a California crime family headed by a tough matriarch played by Ellen Barkin. The first season set comes with featurettes on the making of the film, the stunts, profiles of the actors, and more, plus deleted scenes.
Kate Beckinsale returns in this fifth installment of the fantasy action franchise as Selene, who sets out to stop an impending war between werewolves and vampires. The release includes a digital graphic novel and inside looks at the cast, the villains, the character of Selen, and the making of the film.
Again, we close with a pair of releases from the Criterion Collection, beginning with Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s novel about a pair of rebellious brothers trying to reconcile their lives. The new Blu-ray comes with restored and remastered video and audio; Coppola on commentary; interviews from 1983 with stars Matt Dillon and Diane Lane, among others; deleted scenes; excerpts from various media; and more.
Finally, we have Japanese director Juzo Itami’s near unclassifiable comedy about the art of making ramen and our relationship with food, centering on a truck driver who helps a lonely ramen cook find the secrets to success. Available on Blu-ray for the first time, it comes with a feature-length making-of doc from 1986; new interviews with star Nobuko Miyamoto, food stylist Seiko Ogawa, and various ramen scholars; Itami’s 1962 debut short film; and more.
