On Valentine’s Day in the home entertainment world, roses are red and movie titles are “Blu.”
The Blu-ray Disc of “Valentine” is the most apropos title to come out this Valentine’s Day.
The 2001 thriller starring Denise Richards, Katherine Heigl and David Boreanaz gets Blu-ray treatment as a collector’s edition by Scream Factory.
Five best friends, now young women, are looking for a relationship — a valentine to die for. This year, they might just get their wish. That’s because 10 years earlier, at a sixth-grade Valentine’s dance, they made the mistake of snubbing a nerdy guy who now is out for blood.
The film gets the royal treatment on Blu-ray: new 2K scan of the original film elements, new director and filmmaker audio commentary, new interviews with the principal actresses and others, and a new two-hour never-seen behind-the-scenes footage from director Jamie Blanks’ personal archive. Other previously released bonus features are included.
Other titles
“Moko Jumbie” (IndiePix Films) is a gothic punk Caribbean love story. Set in 1990 during Trinidad’s failed coup attemp, a woman has returned from her home in England to her native island seeking her roots. She is drawn to a fisherman despite family disapproval, political turmoil, culture clash, and mysterious hauntings by ancestral spirits.
“The Doctor Blake Mysteries: Season Five” (BBC Studios) is a three-disc set that continues to follow a doctor who returns home to Australia after World War II to take over his father’s medical practice. While also taking on a role as a “police surgeon,” he shows he is ahead of his time in his use of forensic science to help solve murder mysteries.
“Rick and Morty Seasons 1-3 Box Set” (Adult Swim) is the perfect answer on what to do while waiting for, and speculating about, the much-anticipated all-new episodes about to come. This 31-episode boxed set contains the ultra-popular episode “The Ricklantis Mixup” plus all bonus content from the past three seasons.
“Happy Hour” is the first-ever Blu-ray release in North America for Icarus Films. But this is no ordinary “hour,” because the Japanese film (with English subtitles) is actually five hours long! It’s a slow-burning epic chronicling the emotional journey of four women in the misty seaside city of Kobe as they navigate the unsteady currents of their work, domestic and romantic lives. The two-disc set contains a 38-minute bonus feature.
“Shoplifters” (Magnolia Home Entertainment) is a Golden Globe-nominated film in which Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda forces viewers to re-examine their perceptions of right, wrong and family. A dysfunctional band of outsiders, with a penchant for petty theft and playful grifting, are exposed when the young son is arrested. Their belief that love, not blood, defines a family is tested.
“American Vandal: Season One” (CBS Home Entertainment, Paramount Home Media) serves as a great recap as an aspiring student documentarian investigates the crimes of a high school prankster. They examine the aftermath of a prank that left 27 faculty cars vandalized with phallic images. Through hilarious interviews with students, staff and witnesses, the documentarian collects evidence, connects the dots and finally solves the “crime.”
“The Great Kat: Rossini’s William Tell Overture” (greatkat.com) features the Great Kat, who is a guitar shredder and virtuoso violinist, and her take on classical music’s most recognizable masterpiece. She conducts an all-male rhythm guitar symphony for a can’t-miss performance.
“Grand-Daddy Day Care” (Universal Pictures’ Revolution Studios) is a hilarious comedy for the entire family, starring Reno Wilson and Danny Trejo. While suffering from writer’s block, a writer starts a day care for his father-in-law and other seniors as a way to make quick cash. But these untypical seniors can’t be corralled and get into all kinds of trouble. TV legends George Wendt, Garret Morris, Linda Gray and Julia Duffy are some of the costars.
“Suburbia” (Shout! Factory), the 1984 study of the Los Angeles punk rock scene, is now on Blu-ray in a collector’s edition. An overwhelming sense of despair impels a teenager to leave his suburban home and join up with a group of punk rockers. The film features Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers in his acting debut. Bonus features include two audio commentaries.
“Henri” (Monarch Home Entertainment) is one of Burt Reynolds’ last films. Starring Robert LaSardo and also Eric Roberts, the film examines a peaceful sheriff who suddenly takes the law into his own hands when his girlfriend is targeted.
“Oddsockeaters” (Omnibus Entertainment) is a Czech animated film that answers the age-old question: Where do your missing socks go? This heartwarming and whimsical family adventure follows a small “oddsockeater” venturing out into the big world for the first time. He encounters a human determined to prove the existence of Oddsockeaters, as well as a crosstown gang of rival sock thieves. Wild, and hilarious, adventures ensue.