Vince Vaughn shifts gears in ‘Brawl In Cell Block 99’
For his follow-up to the distinctive and haunting “Bone Tomahawk,” writer/ director S. Craig Zahler has concocted “Brawl In Cell Block 99,” a prison movie which packs a heckuva wallop.
Vince Vaughn, in an audacious change-of-pace performance, plays a regular Joe who, after losing his job, goes to work for a drug dealer. Vaughn eventually lands in prison where a rival kingpin gives him an ultimatum: murder another prisoner or be responsible for his wife (Jennifer Carpenter) and unborn baby being killed. “Brawl” is a movie that grabs you hard, and doesn’t let go. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu
Also Newto VOD and Streaming
Check out this Pennsylvania-centric comedy starring Jack Black as Jan Lewan, a Polish immigrant who became the “King of Pennsylvania Polka.” A believer in the American Dream, Janworked hard and dreamed bigger, but with big dreams came big mistakes. Based on a true story, the film, co-written and directed byMaya Forbes andWally Wolodarsky, mixes comedy and tragedy to chronicle what became the world’s only known Polka Ponzi scheme. On Netflix
There have been a lot of JamesBond spoofs through the years but none quite as ebullient as this series overseen by Matthew Vaughn. The follow-up to “Kingsman: The Secret Service” finds superfly spy Eggsy (Taron Egerton) and his mentors (Colin Firth, Mark Strong) teaming up with American agents (Channing Tatum, Halle Berry) to foil a drug kingpin (Julianne Disgustedwith the bureaucracy of the task force assigned to crack the Unabomber case, FBI Agent Jim Fitzgerald (SamWorthington) pioneers the use of forensic linguistics to identify and capture Ted Kaczynski (Paul Bettany). Running eight episodes, this mini-series gets better as it goes along thanks to Bettany’s brilliant portrayal. By the timewe arrive at the sixth hour, which largely charts the experiences which shaped Koczynski, the series really finds its groove. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu
If you like your serial killer sagas with a French twist, check out this acclaimed series based on a best-selling novel by Bernard Minier. Charles Berling stars a detective who is called in to investigate the case of a body discovered atopamountain in the ice-covered French Pyrenees. In the aftermath, Berling finds himself playing a twisted game of cat-andmouse with an obsessed killer. On Netflix
Teen Title
With special-effects-heavy monster movies all the rage these days, check out these stunners from the ‘70s and ‘80swhich gave free reign to the wild imagination of Spain’s answer to LonChaney. In five features, Naschy plays hunchbacks, werewolves and spirits in need of exorcising. You can bet this set is on the shelf of such filmmakers as Guillermo Del Toro and James Wan. It’s a real treat. On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu
For the Kids
Threemovies into the “Lego” franchise and fatigue is already setting in. A feature-length adaption of the animated TV series “Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu,” the movie revolves around the teenaged Green Ninja (Dave Franco) and a bunch of his superpower-enhanced pals as they try to put an end to the dastardly Lord Garmadon (Justin Theroux) who just happens to be Green Ninja’s dad. There’s an appearance by Jackie Chan and a few decent sequences but couldn’t the filmmakers have come up with anothermotivating factor besides “daddy issues”? On Amazon, Google, iTunes, Movies Anywhere and Vudu