By ANGELA DAWSON
Front Row Features
Disney’s “The Finest Hours,” a high-seas drama released in theaters earlier this year, is available Tuesday, May 24 in a Blu-ray Combo Pack, Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere.
Chris Pine (“Star Trek”) plays real-life hero Bernie Webber, a Coast Guard coxswain, who bravely led a small crew into a New England storm in hopes of rescuing the survivors of a wrecked oil tanker off the coast of Chatham, Mass., in February 1952.
Despite a raging blizzard and rough seas, Webber and his three fellow rescuers boarded a 36-foot motorized wooden lifeboat and set off on the perilous mission with bleak prospects. Before even clearing the Chatham Harbor, the small boat’s windshield and compass broke away and were lost. Yet the men persevered, and despite hurricane-force winds, 60-foot waves, zero visibility and freezing temperatures, they boldly headed towards where they suspected the wrecked ship was sinking.
Directed by Craig Gillespie (“Lars and the Real Girl,” “Million Dollar Arm”), Disney’s action thriller also stars Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Holliday Grainger, John Ortiz, Kyle Gallner, John Magaro and Eric Bana. “The Finest Hours” is based on Casey Sherman’s non-fiction book of the same name.
The Blu-ray Combo features an all-new documentary “Against All Odds: The Bernie Webber Story,” in which real-life residents of Chatham recall the events that set the stage for the film’s historic rescue mission; four making-of featurettes highlighting cast members experiences and reflections by members of the U.S. Coast Guard as well as two never-before-seen deleted scenes.
Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell reprise their iconic roles in “Zoolander No. 2: The Magnum Edition, which arrives in a Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand Tuesday May 24 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. It also is available on Digital HD.
Featuring Penelope Cruz, Kristen Wiig and a host of celebrity cameos including Justin Bieber and Billy Zane, the hilarious comedy tops the original with even more wild and outrageous situations. When a mystery assassin starts killing off the world’s most beautiful people, haute-shot Interpol agent Valentina Valencia (Cruz) learns the key to this deadly plot lies with Derek (Stiller) and Hansel (Wilson). Recruited for a top-secret mission, they must return to the world of high fashion, reclaim their fame, and save the day. The only things standing in their way: the criminal mastermind Mugatu (Ferrell) and his evil fashion protégé (Wiig).
The Blu-ray Combo Pack includes a Digital HD version of the film and behind-the-scenes featurettes. Go on location to Rome with Ben Stiller and the all-star cast as they discuss the legacy of Zoolander and reveal the secrets behind the sequel. Plus, discover the origins of the iconic character Derek Zoolander, and watch as Kristen Wiig’s Alexanya Atoz introduces her revolutionary Youth Milk beauty product. And for a limited time only, get a bonus digital copy of the original “Zoolander” with the Blu-ray Combo Pack.
The first two series (seasons) of the acclaimed British detective series, “The Suspects,” is available Tuesday June 14 in a 3-disc DVD set. Three detectives work together to solve a variety of brutal and chilling crimes in London. DI Martha Bellamy (Fay Ripley, “Cold Feet”) leads her team with a calm, fierce determination. Meantime, her underlings DS Jack Weston (Damien Molony, “Being Human”) relies on his emotions and DC Charlie Steele (Clare-Hope Ashitey, “Children of Men”) brings a sharp intellect to the group. Nine episodes comprise this box set.
Filmed with a fly-on-the-wall documentary style and improvised dialogue, this gritty police procedural delves into the dark side of England’s capital, while exposing the rigors of police work and the complicated rapport among investigators.
“Suspects” Series 3 and 4 premieres in the U.S. Monday, June 6 on the streaming service Acorn TV.
The re-issued British miniseries “Eleventh Hour,” which originally aired in the U.K. in 2006, is available Tuesday May 24 in a DVD box set. Starring Patrick Stewart (“X-Men,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation”) and Ashley Jensen (“Ugly Betty”) and created by acclaimed sci-fi writer Stephen Gallagher (“Doctor Who”), “Eleventh Hour” offers four provocative investigative thrillers set in the ever-evolving world of contemporary science. With mysteries involving experimental human cloning, ruthless polluters and resurgent viruses, the British series combines the sci-fi, mystery and crime genres.
Stewart plays Ian Hood, a special scientific troubleshooter for the British government. A brilliant professor with a taste for danger, Hood has the technical acumen, analytical skills and passion for justice that make him the ideal expert to call in a crisis. Backed by his tough-minded, wisecracking bodyguard, Rachel Young (Jensen), Hood takes on rogue cloners, ruthless polluters, resurgent viruses and other menaces at the frontiers of modern science.
The 2-DVD set is available for a suggested retail price of $29.99. It also is available on the streaming service Acorn TV.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment brings Season Four of TNT’s popular police procedural “Major Crimes” to DVD Tuesday May 24. “Major Crimes: The Complete Fourth Season” features all 23 episodes of the series’ fourth season, plus never-before-seen extras including deleted scenes and a gag reel.
The show that began as the highly anticipated continuation of the critically acclaimed, award-winning series “The Closer,” has now become one of TNT’s most-watched programs and one of cable TV’s top programs. During season four, Major Crimes ranked as TNT’s second highest rated show and as the fifth most popular scripted drama on basic cable television. The five-disc DVD has an SRP of $44.98.
This season finds the elite team of investigators facing some of their most challenging criminal cases yet. Captain Sharon Raydor, portrayed by Oscar nominee Mary McDonnell (“Dances with Wolves”) leads the department. The unit is comprised of Lieutenant Provenza (G.W. Bailey), Lieutenant Andy Flynn (Tony Denison), Lt. Mike Tao (Michael Paul Chan), Detective Julio Sanchez (Raymond Cruz), Detective Amy Sykes (Kearran Giovanni), tech expert and reserve police officer Buzz Watson (Phillip P. Keene), Dr. Morales (Jonathan Del Arco) and Assistant Chief Russell Taylor (Robert Gossett). Deputy Chief Fritz Howard (recurring guest star Jon Tenney) also lends a hand as head of the Special Operations Bureau.
The detectives are put in charge of solving a series of new cases. The unit investigates a double homicide that’s related to an ongoing string of home invasions in the Hollywood Hills; a dead body that comes out of the trunk of a crashed car at the end of a police chase; the murder of a super model; a YouTube video of a bloody, partially naked man walking down a street which goes viral; the deaths of four wealthy people who are killed during a high-stakes poker game; a murder that happens during the taping of a reality competition show; the death of a young man who was pushed off the top of a parking structure and several other cases.
As season four unfolds, Captain Raydor’s adopted son, Rusty Beck (Graham Patrick Martin), finds a passion that drives him, investigative journalism, as he works to uncover the identity of a murdered runaway. It’s an exciting season filled with captivating cases and engaging stories about the lives of the officers and prosecutors whose job is to deal with L.A.’s most high profile and sensitive crimes.
The Shephard/Robin Company and Walking Entropy, Inc., in association with Warner Bros. Television produces “The Closer. James Duff, who also created both “The Closer” and “Major Crimes,” executive produces the series, alongside Greer Shephard, Michael M. Robin, Rick Wallace, Adam Belanoff and Leo Geter.
The debut of WGN America original scripted drama “Outsiders,” arrives on DVD Tuesday May 24 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and WGN America. It also is available on digital platforms.
The gritty 13-episode series is set in the rural mountains of present-day Kentucky and revolves around the story of the Farrells, Shays and McGintuks, three families who have lived for generations on the outskirts of modern civilization with their society intact. That is until threats from both the outside world and within their community begin to create internal tension. It is an epic story of power, control, and greed as one man returns to the family and way of life he tried so desperately to leave behind.
The series stars David Morse (“The Green Mile”) alongside Joe Anderson (“Across The Universe”), Gillian Alexy (FX’s “The Americans”), Ryan Hurst (FX’s “Sons of Anarchy”), Kyle Gallner (“American Sniper”), Christina Jackson (HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”), and Thomas M. Wright (BBC Two’s “Top of the Lake”).
“Outsiders” was created by Peter Mattei (“Love in the Time of Money”), who also serves as an executive producer alongside Adam Bernstein (AMC’s “Breaking Bad”), Dan Carey (“John Dies At The End”), Paul Giamatti (Showtime’s “Billions”), Michael Wimer (“2012”) and Peter Tolan (FX’s “Rescue Me”).
The DVD release includes never-before-seen deleted scenes; the “Up on the Mountain: The First Season” featurette, which gives viewers a glimpse into the making of Shay Mountain and the world around the hills of the Appalachia; and “Meet the Farrells” featurette, which introduces the cast and writers behind the family on top of the mountain.
With the Summer Olympic Games just around the corner, everyone has competition fever, even Mickey Mouse. Join referee Goofy, along with Mickey and all of his Clubhouse pals, as they compete in the first-ever Sport-Y-Thon, an action-filled sports tournament. “Mickey’s Sport-Y-Thon” is available Tuesday, May 24 and contains all six episodes of the Disney Junior series.
Viewers can the excitement and a sky-high view of the animated action as sportscasters Pete and Donald Duck broadcast live from above in the Sport-Y-Thon Blimp as athletes compete for the coveted Golden Mickey medal. In the course of the competition, they discover that with teamwork and good sportsmanship, everybody wins. The DVD is packed with more than two hours of song-filled episodes.
Directed by Donovan Cooke (“Return to Never Land”), “Mickey’s Sport-Y-Thon” features the voices of Bret Iwan as Mickey Mouse; Russi Taylor as Minnie Mouse; Bill Farmeras Goofy and Pluto; and Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck. Each package includes an exclusive Golden Mickey medal.