A SPIRITED TAKE ON A MODERN SUPERHERO
New on Blu-ray Black Panther Walt Disney DVD, $19.99; Blu-ray, $22.99; 4K, $29.99; also available on VOD
“Avengers: Infinity War” is onpace to become the biggest movie of the summer, yet it’s Marvel’s “Black Panther” that may end up being not just 2018’s box-office champ but the film for which the whole MCU project is best remembered. Directed and co-written by “Creed” helmer Ryan Coogler, “Black Panther” stars Chadwick Boseman as the super-powered king of a sheltered African nation who’s forced to protect his people’s resources and traditions from rapacious outsiders — including a revolutionary Oaklander, played by Michael B. Jordan. With its eclectic cast of characters, exotic locales, elaborate art direction and multiple thrilling action sequences, this is a visually spectacular superhero picture, which doubles as a spirited debate about the drawbacks of isolationism. Special features: Featurettes, deleted scenes and a director’s commentary
VOD Creedmoria Available Tuesday
For her feature filmmaking debut, writer-director Alicia Slimmer draws on her own memories of growing up in suburban Queens in the 1980s in a dysfunctional Irish Catholic family, alongside a junkie older brother and a gay younger brother. Slimmer keeps plot to a minimum, instead stringing together dramatic and funny vignettes set in brightly colored neighborhoods and scored to retro New Wave and heavy metal. Stef Dawson gives a lively performance as a high schooler pulled in dozens of directions at once: between her minimum-wage job, her thuggish boyfriend and her troubles back home. “Creedmoria” is scattered but heartfelt, and filled with all the
TV set of the week Rick and Morty: Season Three Warner Bros. DVD, $24.98; Blu-ray, $29.98
The third season of Adult Swim’s scabrous animated science-fiction satire is the show’s darkest, exploring how much the mad scientist anti-hero Rick Sanchez has wrecked his universe. On the other hand, this season also includes the episode where Rick turns himself into a pickle. That’s how it goes with this show. “Rick and Morty” is hilarious and mindblowing and also so pessimistic about humanity that sometimes it seems like co-creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon are warning viewers not to care too much about these characters — or about anything else. That so many fans keep tuning in is a testament to how wonderfully inventive the series is, even at its most nihilistic. Special features: Featurettes and commentary tracks on every episode
From the archives Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure: 30th Anniversary Edition Shout! Factory Blu-ray, $26.99
One of the silliest and sweetest time-travel movies, this 1989 film was the brainchild of screenwriting pals Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, who used to goof around with each other by talking in fake suburban California “dude” voices, before one day — according to legend — they imagined what would happen if their characters met various historical figures. The perfectly cast young actors Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter invest these cartoonish teens with brightness and heart, in a movie that sees them cheerfully bouncing through the past on a mission to preserve a utopian future. Even now, it’s a nice escape from reality just to hang out with two well-meaning doofuses. Special features: Multiple commentary tracks and featurettes
Three more to see
The Monkey King 3 Well Go USA DVD, $24.98; Blu-ray, $29.98; also available on VOD The Shannara Chronicles: Season Two Paramount Blu-ray, $29.98 Submergence Sony DVD, $17.99; Blu-ray, $19.99