THE CATCHER WAS A SPY. (DVD Artwork). ©Paramount.
By ANGELA DAWSON
Front Row Features
The Catcher was a Spy
The stranger-than-fiction espionage thriller “The Catcher was a Spy” is available Tuesday Oct. 2 on DVD and digital formats. Paul Rudd stars as Moe Berg in the incredible true story of how a professional baseball player became a World War II spy. A Jewish, Princeton-educated, multilingual catcher for the Boston Red Sox with a closely-guarded private life, the enigmatic Berg was already a man of mystery when, in 1944, the U.S. government’s wartime intelligence agency enlisted his services. His mission: go behind enemy lines in Europe to assassinate the Nazi’s chief nuclear scientist before the Germans develop an atomic bomb. Trading in his catcher’s mitt for a trench coat, Berg must rely on his formidable, steel-trap intellect in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse—with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Mark Strong, Sienna Miller, Jeff Daniels, Guy Pearce and Paul Giamatti co-star in this remarkable slice of forgotten history.
“The Catcher was a Spy” will be available on DVD with deleted scenes.
Sleep No More
RLJE Films will release the horror film “Sleep No More” on VOD, Digital and DVD Tuesday Oct. 2. Written by Jason Murphy (“The League of Extremely Ordinary Gentlemen”) and directed by Phillip Guzman (“Dead Awake”), the horror flick stars Keli Price (“Side Effects”), Lukas Gage (“Assassination Nation”), Yasmine Aker (“12 Strong”), Brea Grant (“The Arrangement”), Stephen Ellis (“You’re the Worst”) and Christine Dwyer (“Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert”).
Five graduate students are conducting a study to prove the theory that once you’ve passed 200 hours without sleep, you will never need sleep again. As the hours tick by and their struggle to stay awake intensifies, they each start to have strange and unsettling experiences. Visions from the past, violent impulses and terrifying waking nightmares begin to take hold and turn this experiment into a desperate fight for survival. RLJE Films will release “Sleep No More” on DVD for an SRP of $27.97.
Afraid
Director Jason Goldberg, who co-created the TV series “Punk’d,” helms his first feature film “Afraid,” which is set to debut on digital and DVD Tuesday Oct. 2 from Well Go USA Entertainment.
Alanna Masterson (“The Walking Dead”) and noted photographer and film newcomer George Byrne star as a couple on a romantic getaway at a secluded cabin that takes a frightening turn in the horror-thriller. Shortly into their vacation, the young couple realize that the cabin isn’t nearly as secluded as they thought and their every move is being watched by the cabin’s creepy owner.
Smart Chase
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Content Group brings you “S.M.A.R.T. Chase” on Blu-ray and DVD Tuesday Oct. 2. A washed-up private security agent has to escort a valuable Chinese antique out of Shanghai but is ambushed en route.
Written by Kevin Bernhardt (“Elephant White”) and directed by Charles Martin (“Skins”), the action, thriller stars Orlando Bloom (“Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, “Lord of the Rings” trilogy), Simon Yam (“Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life,” “PTU”), Lynn Hung (“IP Man” trilogy), Hannah Quinlivan (“Skyscraper”), and Lei Wu (“Far Away Love”). “S.M.A.R.T. Chase” will be available on DVD and Blu-ray in the U.S. and Canada for a SRP of $22.98 for Blu-ray and $19.98 for the DVD in the U.S., and $26.99 for the Blu-ray and $22.99 for DVD in Canada.
Front Row Features is getting into the Halloween spirit, that’s why this week we’re giving away a movie no one should watch alone: “Afraid.” Five lucky readers will win a copy of the voyeuristic horror-thriller on DVD just by emailing socalmovieeditor@aol.com by Oct. 8. Good luck!
