Be delighted by ‘Victoria & Abdul’
An unofficial sequel of sorts to “Mrs. Brown,” the lively comedy “Victoria & Abdul” centers on the friendship that develops between the aging Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) and a 24-year-old Indian clerk named Abdul (Ali Fazal).
She feels isolated and he’s far from home and soon they’re having conversations about everything from mortality to mangos, much to the horror of her stuffy advisors.
Despite stinting on Abdul’s backstory, “Victoria & Abdul” is a delight, with a warm turn by Fazal and a nimble performance by Dench as a titan who refuses to go quietly into that good night. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu
Also New to VOD and Streaming
Bright: One of the highest profile films to debut on Netflix is a sci-fi saga starring Will Smith and Joel Edgerton as, respectively, a human and an orc who stumble upon a powerful object and become embroiled in a prophesied turf war. “Training Day” scripter David Ayer is behind the camera for this highly anticipated inter-species actioner. On Netflix. Detroit: The latest from “Hurt Locker” helmer Kathryn Bigelow chronicles an incident known as the Algiers Motel Murders. As the Detroit riots raged in 1967, police officers raided a motel in search of a sniper and discovered a pair of white women in a room with a number of black men. By the end of the police “investigation,” three young AfricanAmericans were dead. The central sequence depicting the slayings goes on so long that it turns from harrowing to numbing. Bigelow does tighten the storytelling as she goes along but “Detroit” is a movie that disappointingly sticks to the surface. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu Crown Heights: In 1990, an 18-year-old from Brooklyn named Colin Warner (Lakeith Stanfield) was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Amazingly, his childhood friend Carl (Nnamdi Asomugha) never gave up on him, fighting for Colin’s freedom for years, even going so far as to become a legal courier to learn the court system. This based-on-a-true-story saga has a quiet intensity, which is matched by Stanfield’s hushed yet ferocious performance. “Crown Heights” is a powerful and relevant look at a criminal justice system in dire need of a reboot. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu Valley Of Bones: Dan Glaser’s intriguing thriller follows a disgraced paleontologist named Anna (Autumn Reeser) as she travels to the badlands of North Dakota in pursuit of priceless dinosaur relics. But there’s trouble thanks to her guide (Steven Malony) who happens to be a recovering meth addict in debt to the mob. Glaser sets up his story rather awkwardly but once the plot kicks in, “Valley Of Bones” unearths some decent drama thanks to unusual characters and a novel premise. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu Leatherface: Despite the presence of such reliable actors as Lili Taylor and Stephen Dorff, this “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” original story lacks the menace of the original. Stashed away at a mental institution, the teenage Leatherface kidnaps a young nurse (Vanessa Grasse) while fleeing with a handful of other inmates. Soon, they’re pursued by a deranged sheriff (Dorff) back to the Sawyer family home where Leatherface’s crazy mama (Taylor) is waiting. There’s a sea of gore but not a drop of genuine suspense. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu Election: The second film from Alexander Payne (“Sideways”) is arguably his funniest but also his darkest and most unsettling. Matthew Broderick stars as a history teacher at Carver High who can’t stand Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon), an over-achieving student who’s running unopposed for student council president. Unwilling to allow her to enjoy yet another easy victory, he persuades a popular jock (Chris Klein) to become the opposition candidate. But, as with many elections, corruption reigns supreme. You can read the film as a knock on a Nixonian schemer or as an expose of weak men intimidated by strong women. Either way, “Election” still feels astonishingly relevant. On FilmStruck.com. Zoo - Season Three: It’s 2027 and the world has reached a tipping point as the human population dwindles and an army of lab-made creatures called hybrids continue to gain in strength. It’s fun watching members of the team (James Wolk, Kristen Connolly, Nonso Anozie, Alyssa Diaz, Josh Salatin) put aside their differences to save the planet. Can our heroes stop the hybrids and their creator, a shadowy figure with a surprise connection to the team. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu Wormwood: The latest from “Thin Red Line” director Errol Morris is a superb six-part series that combines interviews as well as dramatic re-enactments in the service of probing the mysterious death of biochemist Frank Olson (Peter Sarsgaard) who, on Nov. 28, 1953, took a lethal fall from the window of a Manhattan hotel. Morris is out to discover what really happened to Olson who, prior to his death, had been working with the CIA on their nefarious Cold War experiments. On Netflix.
For The Kids
A Town Called Panic: Get ready for the new cult favorite
Back to School Panic.” The films continue the overthe-top visual gags and inventive stop-motion animation which has made the series a favorite of kids of all ages. Available with the purchase of the two specials are all twenty episodes of “A Town Called Panic” series and a new short film “The Sound of the Grey.” On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu