NEW ON DVD Paul Thomas Anderson dishes up ’70s nostalgia with ‘Licorice Pizza’
Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson’s semiautobiographical new movie tops the DVD releases for the week of May 17.
“Licorice Pizza”: Drama/comedy about two teens (Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman) growing up in California’s San Fernando Valley in the 1970s. Also starring Bradley Cooper, Benny Safdie and Sean Penn.
“Like much of Anderson’s great and near-great work, notably ‘Magnolia’ and ‘Boogie Nights,’ ‘Licorice Pizza’ makes the Valley a land of everyday strangeness,” writes Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips in his review. “It’s a beautiful film to soak up as a visual and musical memory of a place that remains, and a time long gone.”
ALSO NEW ON DVD
“A Day To Die”: Heist film about a man who turns to his former brothers in arms after a drug lord captures his wife and demands he pay $2 million in ransom.
“BMF: Season 1”: Starz historical-based drama series about two brothers in 1980s Detroit who rise to the top of the criminal underworld.
“Death Valley”: Mercenaries hired to rescue a bioengineer imprisoned in a cold war bunker find themselves in a fight for their lives, under attack from an unknown and deadly creature, in this
Shudder film.
“Panama”: Action thriller about an ex-marine involved in an arms deal who becomes embroiled in something bigger – the U.S. invasion of Panama. Featuring Cole Hauser and Mel Gibson.
“Succession: The Complete Third Season”: Award-winning HBO series about a powerful patriarch and his four grown children vying for control of one of the biggest media and entertainment conglomerates in the world. Starring Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin.
“Slasher: Flesh & Blood: Season 1”: A wealthy, dysfunctional family gathers for a reunion on a secluded island in this Shudder original series, where they shortly discover they’ll be pitted against one another in a game of
life and death, all while being stalked by a masked killer.
“Sundown”: Drama about a family on vacation in Mexico when they receive word of a death back home, setting off a chain of events that bring simmering tensions to the surface. Starring Tim Roth and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
“The Last Kingdom: Season Five”: Fifth and final season of the Netflix historical drama series about warring clans in a medieval England still divided into separate kingdoms.
“Tyson’s Run”: Based on an inspirational true story, this drama follows an autistic teen who decides to run in a marathon.
“Belle”: Blu-ray release of Japanese anime film about a shy high school girl in real life who has an online persona as an internationally famed singer, Belle.
“Beverly Hills Cop II”: 35th anniversary 4K Ultra HD release of the actioncomedy sequel directed by Tony Scott and starring Eddie Murphy, who reprises his role as Axel Foley.
“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”: Released on 4K Ultra HD for the first time to mark the film’s 60th anniversary, this classic Western stars James Stewart and John Wayne and is directed by John Ford, a master of the genre.
OUT ON DIGITAL HD
“Morbius”: Jared Leto plays the Marvel antihero with a vampiric thirst in this action thriller also featuring Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal and Tyrese Gibson.