‘Jack Reacher’ Sequel, Punk Rock Docs, More on Home Entertainment … plus giveaways!!!

JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK. (DVD Artwork). ©Paramount

By ANGELA DAWSON
Front Row Features

The Tom Cruise action-thriller “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” hits the road on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand Tuesday Jan. 31 from Paramount Home Media Distribution.

It also is available on Digital HD. Jack Reacher (Cruise) returns to enforce his bold brand of justice in the action-packed sequel based on author Lee Child’s best-selling series. When Army Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders) is framed for treason, Reacher discovers she’s the target of a massive government conspiracy. With help from Turner and a mysterious new ally, Reacher risks everything to take down a powerful organization that will stop at nothing to protect its secrets.

The “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Combo Packs are loaded with more than 80 minutes of bonus content, including in-depth interviews with the cast and crew, plus detailed explorations of Child’s iconic character, filming on location in Louisiana, the intense action sequences and more.  For a limited time only, the “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” Blu-ray Combo Pack includes an exclusive illustrated version of Child’s short story “Everyone Talks.”  The film also boasts a Dolby Atmos soundtrack remixed specifically for the home theater environment.

From award-winning filmmaker Jim Jarmusch (“Only Lovers Left Alive”), comes the electrifying music documentary chronicling the rise and fall of legendary punk rock band The Stooges, “Gimme Danger,” available on DVD and Digital Tuesday Jan. 31, from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. This comprehensive documentary features revealing new interviews with the band’s members, including rock icon Iggy Pop, thrilling live performances and a soundtrack packed with wall-to-wall Stooges classics. “Gimme Danger” is a comprehensive and energizing tour through punk rock history.

Emerging from Ann Arbor, Michigan amidst a countercultural revolution, The Stooges’ powerful and aggressive style of rock-n-roll blew a crater in the musical landscape of the late 1960s. Assaulting audiences with a blend of rock, blues, R&B, and free jazz, the band planted the seeds for what would be called punk and alternative rock in the decades that followed. Jarmusch presents the context of the Stooges emergence musically, culturally, politically, historically, and relates their adventures and misadventures while charting their inspirations and the reasons behind their initial commercial challenges, as well as their long-lasting legacy.

Another rock documentary available Tuesday Jan. 31 is “Danny Says,” centered on the life and times of punk rock pioneer Danny Fields. Since 1966, Danny Fields has played a pivotal role in music and culture of the late 20th century: working for the Doors, Lou Reed, Nico, Judy Collins and managing groundbreaking artists like the Stooges, the MC5 and the Ramones. Danny Says follows Fields from Harvard Law dropout, to the Warhol Silver Factory, to Director of Publicity at Elektra Records, to “punk pioneer” and beyond. Danny’s taste and opinion, once deemed defiant and radical, has turned out to have been prescient. Danny Says is a story of marginal turning mainstream, avant garde turning prophetic, as Fields looks to the next generation. Bonus features include interview footage of Fields at various events including one with Byron Coley, an audio recording of him with Lou Reed from 1975, outtakes including Henry Rollins, a promo film by Nico called “Evening of Light” featuring The Stooges, and an interview with director Brendan Toller.

From director Park Chan-wook (“Oldboy”), comes the critically acclaimed crime drama “The Handmaiden,” debuting on DVD and Digital HD Tuesday available now, from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Based on the Sarah Waters novel “Fingersmith,” this tale of deception and romance relocates Waters’ story from Victorian-era England to Japanese-occupied 1930s Korea. A Korean street thief (newcomer Kim Tae-ri) poses as a maid as part of a con man’s (“The Chaser’s Ha Jung-woo) plot to defraud a wealthy Japanese heiress (“Right Now, Wrong Then’s” Kim Min-hee).

“The Handmaiden” was adapted for the screen by Park and Chung Seo-kyung. He also served as a producer on the film, which is in Korean with English subtitles.

Calling all romantics: Front Row Features is giving away a copy of the romantic drama “The Light Between Oceans” on Blu-ray to one lucky reader. To enter, simply email socalmovieeditor@aol.com by Jan. 31 for your chance to win.

Front Row Features wants you and your family to experience the magical Land of Oz like never before. That’s why we’re giving away a DVD copy of “Guardians of Oz” to one lucky reader so that they can enjoy the charming animated tale with their kids. To enter, simply emailsocalmovieeditor@aol.com by Jan. 31 for your chance to win.