Lots of interesting releases this week including the latest from Quentin Tarantino, a Criterion release of a cult classic, several British programs, a wonderful animated movie, a bunch of genre releases and an animated family film making it's U.S. debut.
Open up that queue and fire up that shopping cart and check out this weeks' can't miss selections!
Django Unchained
Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino and set in the South two years before the Civil War, Jamie Foxx stars as Django, a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with a German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christolph Waltz). Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. The unorthodox Schultz acquires Django with a promise to free him upon the capture of the Brittles – dead or alive.
Success leads Schultz to free Django, though the two men choose not to go their separate ways. Instead, Schultz seeks out the South’s most wanted criminals with Django by his side. Honing vital hunting skills, Django remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago.
Django and Schultz’s search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), the proprietor of “Candyland,” an infamous plantation. Exploring the compound under false pretenses, Django and Schultz rouse the suspicion of Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), Candie’s trusted house slave. Their moves are marked, and a treacherous organization closes in on them. If Django and Schultz are to escape with Broomhilda, they must choose between independence and solidarity, between sacrifice and survival…
Extras include Reimagining The Spaghetti Western, Remembering J. Michael Riva: The Production Design of Django Unchained, The Costume Designs Of Sharen Davis, 20 Years In The Making: The Tarantino XX Blu-ray Collection, and Django Unchained Soundtrack Spot.
Dragon
Liu Jin-xi (Donnie Yen) is a village craftsman whose quiet life is irrevocably shattered by the arrival of two notorious gangsters in the local general store. When Liu single-handedly saves the shopkeeper's life, he comes under investigation by detective Xu Bai-jiu (Takeshi Kaneshiro).
Convinced that Liu's martial arts mastery belies a hidden history of training by one of the region's vicious clans, Xu doggedly pursues the shy hero-and draws the attention of China's criminal underworld in the process.
Extras include The Making Of Dragon, Featurettes With Donnie Yen and "Lost In Jianghu" Music Video.
Repo Man: The Criterion Collection
A quintessential cult film of the 1980s, Alex Cox's singular sci-fi comedy stars the always captivating Harry Dean Stanton as a weathered repo man in desolate downtown Los Angeles, and Emilio Estevez as the nihilistic middle-class punk he takes under his wing. The job becomes more than either of them bargained for when they get involved in reclaiming a mysterious-and otherworldly-Chevy Malibu with a hefty reward attached to it. Featuring the ultimate early-eighties L.A. punk soundtrack, this grungily hilarious odyssey is also a politically trenchant take on President Reagan's domestic and foreign policies.
Extras include commentary, interviews, deleted scenes, trailers, roundtable discussion, the television version of the film, booklet featuring essays, interview and production history, and a conversation between actor Harry Dean Stanton and producer Peter McCarthy.
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