IT’S ONE ‘COLOSSAL’ ODDITY, BUT IT’S ORIGINAL
New on Blu-ray
Colossal Universal DVD, $22.98; Blu-ray, $29.98; also available on VOD
One of the most original, unusual monster movies ever made, writer-director Nacho Vigalondo’s film stars Anne Hathaway as a heartbroken alcoholic named Gloria who discovers that when she drunkenly stumbles around a playground in her hometown, she causes a skyscraper-sized beast to terrorize South Korea. Jason Sudeikis plays a childhood friend with similar control over a giant robot and develops an abusive relationship with Gloria.
“Colossal” is too long, and its central metaphor of destructive co-dependency loses potency the more it’s repeated, but a top-flight cast (which also includes the dashing Dan Stevens) grounds a premise that in other hands might have come off as ridiculous. Special features: Deleted scenes
VOD
Fun Mom Dinner available Friday
Take one of the recent raunchy, female-centered Hollywood comedies like “Bad Moms” or “Rough Night,” recast it with indie all-stars Katie Aselton, Toni Collette and Molly Shannon, throw in brassy comedian Bridget Everett as a wild card, and that’s “Fun Mom Dinner.”
Directed by Alethea Jones and written by Julie Yaeger Rudd, this scabrous take on suburban ennui hits a lot of familiar notes with its story of bored mothers getting together to cut loose. But “Fun Mom Dinner” gets by thanks to its performances — especially Everett’s anything-goes turn — and its genuine understanding of how family obligations can crush the soul.
TV set of the week
Big Little Lies HBO DVD, $39.99; Blu-ray, $49.99
Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman co-produced and costar in this HBO miniseries, an adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s bestselling novel that’s at once a murder-mystery, a social satire and a crackling evocation of the melodramatic “women’s pictures” of old Hollywood. Beginning with a shocking crime at an upper-class Monterey school event, the seven-part series flashes back to show how a new arrival in town (Shailene Woodley) clashes with a staple of the community (Laura Dern), setting up rivalries and recriminations.
The four lead actresses’ performances are all stellar, and director Jean-Marc Vallée and screenwriter David E. Kelley bring wit, sophistication and visual lushness to a drama that shows how money doesn’t always insulate women from violence. Special features: Interviews and behind-the-scenes footage
From the archives
Escape From New York Scream! Factory Blu-ray, $26.99) The Fog Scream! Factory Blu-ray, $26.99 They Live Scream! Factory Blu-ray, $26.99
To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Shout! Factory’s Scream! imprint, the boutique archival label is rereleasing three of its most popular titles in limited-edition Steelbook cases. Unsurprisingly, the company has picked three films directed by John Carpenter: the postapocalyptic action-comedy “Escape From New York,” the supernatural thriller “The Fog,” and the alien-invasion social satire “They Live.” Not only does this trio represent the eclecticism of one of the best genre filmmakers of the ’70s and ’80s, but they illustrate how Scream! Factory has been dedicated to preserving the gems of our B-movie past. Special features: The new versions contain all of the extras from the original releases, which include commentary tracks, interviews, archival materials and everything else that makes Shout/Scream one of the best in the business