The Night Of (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet) Details: 2016, HBO Home Entertainment Rated: TV-MA, language, violence The lowdown: This compelling HBO miniseries offers an unflinching look at the criminal justice system. The story deals with a murder of Manhattans Upper West Side. The main suspect is a college student who is the son of immigrants. He and his parents find themselves thrown into the belly of the New York City criminal, penal and judicial systems after the young man’s arrest. The series was written by Oscar-winner Steven Zaillian and Richard Price. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 (16x9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and Spanish 2.0 DTS digital surround; English SDH, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish subtitles.
Guilt: Season One (DVD + Ultraviolet) Details: 2016, Lionsgate Home Entertainment Rated: Not rated The lowdown: A young woman is murdered in her London apartment, setting off an investigation and scandal that goes from underworld sex clubs to the possibility of the involvement of a member of the royal family. The multidisc set features all 10 episodes of the first season, which stars Daisy Head as Grace Atwood, an American exchange student who was the roommate of the murder victim. Grace, though, is not above being suspected of the killing. The series airs on Hulu as well as online options. Technical aspects: 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby Digital; English SDH subtitles. Don’t miss: Deleted scenes and a featurette looking at the first season comprise the major bonus components.
The Infiltrator (Blu-ray) Release date: Oct. 11 Details: 2016, Broad Green Pictures Rated: R, graphic violence, language, sexual content, drug use The lowdown: Bryan Cranston stars in this true story based on the career of federal agent Robert “Bob” Mazur, who goes deep undercover to infiltrate Pablo Escobar’s drug trafficking empire. The story, set in 1986, follow Mazur as he poses as a slick, money-laundering businessman named Bob Musella. Mazur is teamed with a younger, more impulsive and streetwise agent, Emir Abreu (John Leguizamo) as well as rookie agent Kathy Ertz (Diane Kruger) posing as Mazur’s fiancée. Mazur befriends Escobar’s top lieutenant, Robert Alcaino (Benjamin Bratt), to help bring down Escobar, other drug lords and the corrupt bankers who clean their dirty money. The movie is enjoyable, but not as suspenseful or compelling as it could have been. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and Spanish 5.1 DTS digital surround; English SDH and Spanish subtitles. Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include deleted scenes, a look at the three Bobs, a featurette on how to infiltrate and a commentary track.
Boyhood: Special Edition (Blu-ray) Release date: Oct. 11 Details: 2014, The Criterion Collection Rated: R, language The lowdown: Director Richard Linklater’s contemporary classic was shot over a 12-year period as it follows a Texas child named Mason (Ellar Coltrane), his divorced parents (Ethan Hawke and Academy Award-winner Patricia Arquette) and his older sister (Lorelei Linklater). The film concentrates on the small moments that chart the growth of Mason as he navigates the physical and emotional changes in his life. The movie has a documentary-like feel to it as it follows the lives of an ordinary family through highs and lows. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles. Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include a commentary track with Linklater, cast members and filmmakers; a documentary looking at the production of the movie that features footage shot over the 12-year process; a discussion with Linklater, Coltrane and Arquette; a discussion between Coltrane and Hawke; a video essay about time in Linklater’s films; a collection of cast portraits with personal observations from filmmakers and cast members; and an essay about the movie.
Ice Age: Collision Course (Deluxe Edition) (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + digital HD) Release date: Oct. 11 Details: 2016, Fox Home Entertainment Rated: PG, rude humor, action danger The lowdown: The film follows Scrat and his pursuit of his ever-elusive acorn. He is sent into space, where he triggers events that have cosmic consequences for the Ice Age world. Now Manny, Diego and the others must embark on a journey to counter Scrat’s epic blunder. This animated feature is too far out and fails to engage as well as earlier “Ice Age” movies. The set offers various ways to watch the film, including a Blu-ray 3D option. Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 5.1 audio descriptive track, French 5.1 DTS and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital, English 5.1 audio descriptive track and French and Spanish 2.0 Dolby digital; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles. Don’t miss: Extras include a Scrat mini-movie, an “Ice Age” so far featurette, a look at Scrat’s solo adventures, a “Mysteries of the Scratazons” featurette, Neil deGrasse Tyson debunks the movie’s scientific premise, a “Star Signs of the Animal Kingdom” featurette, and a Figaro sing-along.
The Da Vinci Code (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet) / Angels & Demons (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet) Release date: Oct. 11 Details: 2006, 2009, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Rated: PG-13, violence, disturbing images, adult themes, nudity, sexual content, drug use The lowdown: Tom Hanks portrays world-famous symbologist Robert Langdon in these adaptations of Dan Brown’s best-selling novels. In “The Da Vinci Code’ (2006), Langdon and co-star Audrey Tautou must solve a bizarre murder mystery that involves a secret that has been kept since the time of Christ. Their investigation takes them from France to England, with a radical sect of the Catholic Church, as well as a mysterious foe, wanting to stop them. In “Angels & Demons” (2009), Langdon is in Rome and must solve several cryptic clues to find four cardinals kidnapped by a deadly sect called the Illuminati, who want to influence the choice of the next pope. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; “Da Vinci Code”: English, Japanese and Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French (Parisian and Quebec), Spanish and Thai 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, English, Arabic, Chinese (traditional), Dutch, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai subtitles; “Angels and Demons:” English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and Catalan, French (Parisian and Quebec), Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish (Castilian and Latin American) and Thai 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH, English, Arabic, Chinese (traditional), Dutch, French, Indonesian/Bahasa, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai subtitles. Don’t miss: Extras on both include interviews with Hanks, Brown, director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer, several behind-the-scenes looks at both movies and scenes from extended cuts on the films.
McCabe & Mrs. Miller: Special Edition (Blu-ray) Release date: Oct. 11 Details: 1971, The Criterion Collection Rated: R, sexual content, violence, language The lowdown: Warren Beatty and Julie Christie star in director Robert Altman’s Western set in the Pacific Northwest. The movie is a nontraditional look at a businessman (Beatty) and a madam (Christie) who join forces to establish a superior whorehouse to service the miners working in the town of Presbyterian Church. They are opposed, however, by the powerful representatives of a big mining company who have plans of their own for the town and its workers. The story is more about entrepreneurship than a shoot-‘em-up about good guys vs. bad guys. It contains the usual Altman signatures such as overlapping dialogue, flawed characters and music, in this case songs by Leonard Cohen. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles. Don’t miss: Extras include a 2002 commentary track with Altman, a making of documentary with comments from cast members and filmmakers, a featurette on Altman’s career, a featurette from 1970 on the film’s production, a 1999 Art Director’s Guild Film Society question-and-answer session about the movie, excerpts from two 1971 “Dick Cavett Show” episodes with film critic Pauline Kael and Altman and an essay about the movie.
Child’s Play: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray) Details: 1988, Scream Factory Rated: R, violence, language The lowdown: The soul of a serial killer who refuses to die inhabits the body of an innocent-looking doll cherished by a little boy in the first movie of the horror series that introduced Chucky to audiences. Andy is a 6-year-old boy who loves his doll, until he slowly realizes that Chucky is responsible for a series of brutal murders, including that of his babysitter. Things go from bad to worse when Chucky decides he wants to transfer his spirit into Andy. The movie still holds up, and is superior to most of its sequels. Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles. Don’t miss: The two-disc set is loaded with interesting bonus materials, including behind-the-scenes footage from special effects supervisor Howard Berger, three commentary tracks, Chucky commentaries on select scenes, a featurette on Berger, a “Life Behind the Mask: Being Chucky with Ed Gale” featurette, a behind-the-scenes featurette with interviews with cast members and filmmakers, a featurette on building Chucky, a vintage behind-the-scenes featurette and a behind-the-scenes photo gallery.
What We Become (Blu-ray + DVD) Details: 2015, IFC Midnight-Scream Factory Rated: Not rated The lowdown: Another horror thriller about a terrible and deadly plague that disrupts mankind. This one involves the Johansson family — mom, dad, young daughter and surly teenage son — who are looking forward to a quiet summer in their suburban town. But that all changes when the plague hits, causing a string of violent and grisly deaths. The town is put on lockdown. But that does not keep whatever is causing the havoc from spreading. The movie examines the crisis and its impact on an average and normal family who do what they must to survive. Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Other Blu-rays and DVDs being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
DIGITAL DOWNLOADS and STREAMING Bad Moms (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment) King Cobra (IFC Midnight, Oct. 21) Ballers: Season Two (HBO Home Entertainment, Oct. 24) 19-2: Season 3 (Acorn TV, Oct. 24)
Coming next week: Lights Out Nerve
Bob Bloom is a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. He reviews movies, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. He can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow Bloom on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook. Movie reviews by Bloom also can be found at Rottentomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.