At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what’s streaming on Netflix and on good old fashioned television, we’ve got you covered.
NEW ON DVD AND BLU-RAY
‘Men in Black: International’ (Sept. 3)
This reboot/continuation of the franchise pairs up Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson as the lead agents, taking the place of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Emma Thompson reprises her role as Agent O, the head of MIB’s American branch, who sends new recruit Agent M (Thompson) to London to team up with Agent H (Hemsworth) in investigating a series of alien attacks. But their mission is compromised by a mole within the ranks of the MIB.
The movie arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on Sept. 3 (and is already available on Digital HD). Bonus content includes deleted scenes, gag reel and making-of featurettes.
‘Ma’ (Sept. 3)
Octavia Spencer as a lonely woman who befriends a group of teens. When they ask her to buy some booze, she invites them to her house to party in the basement. She lays down some strict rules: One of the kids has to stay sober. Don’t curse. Never go upstairs. And call her “Ma.” But when Ma starts to become terrifyingly obsessive, the teens’ parties begin to turn into nightmares.
The movie arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on Sept. 3 (and is already available on Digital HD). Bonus content includes deleted scenes, alternate ending and making-of featurettes.
‘Booksmart’ (Sept. 3)
Olivia Wilde makes her directorial debut with this coming-of-age film that’s part “Lady Bird,” part “Superbad.” Best friends Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) have worked all through high school to get good grades and get into good colleges, but on their last day, they realize the kids who partied also got into good colleges. “Nobody knows that we are fun,” Molly says. “We haven’t done anything! We haven’t broken any rules!” Well, a bunch of them are about to get broken.
The movie arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on Sept. 3 (and is already available on Digital HD). Bonus content includes deleted scenes, making-of featurettes and audio commentary by Wilde.
Mary Magdalene’ (Sept. 3)
Rooney Mara finds Jesus in this indie drama also starring Joaquin Phoenix as the Son of God. The story follows the titular Biblical figure as she flees the marriage her family has arranged for her and finds a sense of purpose in a radical new movement led by Jesus of Nazareth. The sole woman among his band of disciples, she undergoes a spiritual awakening and becomes drawn into conflict with Jesus’ apostles.
The movie arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on Sept. 3 (and is already available on Digital HD).
‘Fists in the Pocket’ (Sept. 3): Marco Bellocchio’s darkly funny directorial debut gets a new 4K restoration from Criterion, approved by the filmmaker himself. The tale employs gallows humor as it follows a a young man who takes drastic measures to rid his grotesquely dysfunctional family of its various afflictions.
NEW VIDEO ON DIGITAL, DEMAND, AND STREAMING
‘Dark Phoenix’ (Sept. 3)
With great power comes great danger. That’s the warning sounded in the final chapter of the “X-Men” saga, which comes to a close after 20th Century Fox was purchased by Disney. Now the mutants will be folded back into its home at Marvel. The movie adapts the classic comics storyline of Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) getting zapped by an alien force and turning into an evil version of herself. She turns against her X-Men friends, all the while relishing the extreme new powers she wields. Available on Digital HD Sept. 3.
‘The Dead Don’t Die’ (Sept. 3)
Famed indie director Jim Jarmusch takes a decidedly new path with this zombie flick, which stars Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Chloe Sevigny, and Tilda Swinton. In the sleepy small town of Centerville, the dead rise up out of their graves and the living citizens must battle to survive. Available on Digital HD Sept. 3.
‘Late Night’ (Sept. 6)
Amazon snapped up the the Sundance darling starring Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling for a lot of cash. Thompson plays late night talk show host Katherine Newbury, whose world is turned upside down when she attempts to address diversity issues by hiring her first female staff writer (Mindy Kaling). Generational clashes ensue, all while rumors swirl that the host will soon be replaced.
NEW ON NETFLIX
‘The Spy’ (Sept. 6)
In this secret agent series, Sacha Baron Cohen goes undercover as a dramatic actor. He plays the legendary Israeli Mossad agent Eli Cohen, who ran a successful undercover operation in Syria in the 1960s. He becomes close enough to ambitious military leaders and their rich friends to earn a game-changing level of trust about Syria’s biggest anti-Israel secret initiatives.
For more, see what else is new on Netflix in September 2019.
TV WORTH WATCHING
‘Greenleaf’ Season 4 Premiere, OWN (Sept. 3, 10 p.m.)
The Greenleafs attempt to maintain a united front in the face of losing Calvary to Bob Whitmore (Beau Bridges) and Harmony & Hope Ministries, but secrets past and present create what could be fatal fractures in the family’s fragile foundation.
‘Mayans M.C.’ Season 2 Premiere, FX (Sept. 3, 10 p.m.)
EZ Reyes (JD Pardo) continues to straddle his two worlds. Meanwhile, the M.C. uncovers a leak.
