DVDs

“The Sunday Sessions” offers a disturbing but riveting look into conversion therapy

The Sunday Sessions (First Run Features) offers an intimate portrait of a deeply conflicted young man named Nathan, who is struggling to reconcile his religious conviction and sexual identity.

In this observational documentary, the filmmakers are given unfettered access as Nathan willingly attends clandestine conversion therapy sessions, family sessions,and weekend camps with an alluring therapist. The result is a sensitively crafted emotional and psychological thriller, which chronicles two years of his journey from acceptance to skepticism, all leading to a profound epiphany.

Although it has been discredited by all major American medical, psychiatric, psychological and professional counseling organizations, some disturbing and unsettling quacks still offer conversion therapy for reasons almost exclusively rooted in a conservative religious belief system.

Let us share director Richard Yeagley’s statement about the documentary
“The filming and production of this documentary proved time and time again to be an emotionally taxing process. I knew from the outset that access was going to be the most important element to producing this story. I didn’t want to make a film that was a presentation of facts (something that relied on talking head interviews and an authoritative voice-over narration); I wanted to tell a personal story of an individual’s journey through this therapy.

Instead of an exposé or advocacy-based documentary, I preferred to tackle the story with an observational, fly-on-the-wall approach. I wanted access to the therapy sessions and to the personal life of the protagonist. In order to garner such access, I knew I had to strip myself, as best I could, of bias and approach the film as objectively and curiously as possible.

With all this said, biting my tongue was difficult at times. In many situations, and specifically when things started to get emotionally dark for Nathan, I just wanted to give him a hug and tell him that everything was going to be alright. I wanted to recommend that he move out of rural Virginia, and into a city like New York or Washington D.C., where there is more diversity and a bigger support system for the LGBTQ community. But as a documentary filmmaker employing the observational technique, this was not my role. So I remained observant, and strictly so, in hopes that it would result in the creation of a powerful, thought-provoking film.”

-Richard Yeagley
DVDs, Movies

A teenager. A baby T. Rex named Albert. let the fun begin in “The Adventures of Jurassic Pet”

Save the date: On April 16, Lionsgate releases The Adventures of Jurassic Pet on DVD, Digital, and On Demand. This is a cute,  amusing film about an adventurous teenager adopts and hatches a baby T. Rex (that he names Albert), but then must rescue the creature from a mad scientist who wants to clone a whole new breed of dinosaurs.

DVDs

“Antonio Lopez: Sex Fashion & Disco” pays homage to the fashion icon, too long forgotten

We remember Antonio Lopez from the ’70s and ’80s . . . somewhere in our archives is a poster for one of his exhibitions, boldly signed and safely ready for eBay one day.

But not before we check out Antonio Lopez: Sex Fashion & Disco (Film Movement)from filmmaker James Crump. The film  is a vibrant time capsule of the decadent world of ’70s haute couture as viewed through the eyes of Lopez, the dominant fashion illustrator of the era whose distinctive drawings graced the pages of Vogue and Elle.  In his obituary, The New York Times called Lopez a “major fashion illustrator.”

A Puerto Rican native raised in the Bronx, Antonio was a seductive arbiter of style and glamour who brought urban street elements to a postwar fashion world desperate for change and diversity. Counted among Antonio’s discoveries were iconic beauties such as Grace Jones, Jessica Lange and Jerry Hall. Antonio’s inner circle was also comprised of celebrated photographer Bill Cunningham and rival designers Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent. All these characters and more come together to create a vivid portrait of Antonio Lopez and the revolutionary fashion world he helped create.
Through archival footage and stills of studio life in Carnegie Hall, infamous venues such as Max’s Kansas City and Hotel Chelsea and original interviews with principal characters from the time, Crump takes audiences back to the swinging seventies when fashion designers and their entourages gained the prominence of rock stars.
Antonio Lopez: Sex Fashion & Disco  features interviews with Lange, Pat Cleveland, Warhol superstars Donna Jordan, Jane Forth and Patti D’Arbanville, as well as revered fashion photographer Bill Cunningham in his very last interview, and fashion world luminaries including Grace Coddington, Joan Juliet Buck, Michael Chow, Bob Colacello, Corey Tippin and Paul Caranicas. The film which Interview called “dazzling,” perfectly captures Lopez and his entourage, blithely on a quest for beauty and pleasure before the decade, saturated by drug use, addiction and sexual promiscuity came to a crashing halt.
BONUS FEATURES
  • Rare archival footage
  • Bill Cunningham interview excerpts
  • Bonus Short Film — You Can’t Do Everything at Once, But You Can Leave Everything at Once (Directed by Marie-Elsa Sgualdo | Switzerland | 15 minutes) A mesmerizing and fantastic tale of a young woman’s life constructed from a variety of archival footage.
DVDs

You’ll howl in fear with “She Wolf”, in which a female serial killer is stalking the shadowy streets and underground subways of Buenos Aires

We simply love watching scary flicks . . . especially when they involve a serial killer.  She Wolf (Omnibus Entertainment/Film Movement) is a notch above the rest: This time, a female serial killer is stalking the shadowy streets and underground subways of Buenos Aires.
The film will be released on DVD March 19.
Capable of shifting between three manifestations of her inner self, this cunning seductress lures unwitting men to a night of unbridled ecstasy that ends in their blood-soaked demise. The trail of bodies she leaves behind threatens to lead the police to her door but the titular she-wolf is so lost in her fractured psyche that the threat to her own safety barely seems to register.
But when one of her intended victims turns out to be an undercover police detective, her frantic escape leads her into the arms of a charming young drug dealer, whose love could provide the key to her salvation.
Todd Brown of Fantastic Fest calls She Wolf “a blistering, punk rock take on the Euro-sleaze movies of the late ’60s and early ’70s” and says, “rising director Tamae Garateguy puts a woman’s touch on her gritty black & white offering for a unique spin with this erotic thriller.”
DVDs, Movies

“Un Traductor” is a fascinating True Story in the Wake of the Chernobyl Disaster

In the wake of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, a man named Malin, a Russian literature professor at the University of Havana, is sent to translate for the Soviet children who have been brought to Cuba for medical treatment. While adapting to this emotionally demanding job, the Berlin Wall falls and a deep economic crisis hits the island. But Malin is so entrenched in the lives of the Chernobyl Children that he fails to notice his own family suffering. Now he must find a way to put the fractured pieces of his life back together and become a better person along the way.
We offer Un Traductor (Film Movement), a flick that was nominated for a 2018 Sundance Grand Jury Prize in World Cinema competition. It also captured the Best Director Golden Goblet for the Barriuso brothers at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

Rodrigo Santoro, one of Brazil’s most acclaimed actors, plays Malin. And he plays the role brilliantly!
DVDs, Movies

In the mood for some horror? Play “Possum” . . . and pray for the best

It’s been called “the unforgettable horror masterpiece”. Do you dare watch the flick?

Possum, coming to DVD on February 12 from Dark Sky Films, tells the terrifying tale  of Philip (brilliantly played by Sean Harris), a disgraced children’s puppeteer, returning to his dilapidated childhood home and lecherous stepfather, Maurice (portrayed by Alun Armstrong). Philip is intent on destroying “Possum,”a hideously malformed spider-puppet he carries with him in a brown leather case. Unfortunately, and horrifically, Possum refuses to be abandoned.

Philip’s mind is flooded with painful half-memories and nightmarish visions, and when he finds himself embroiled in a local investigation surrounding a missing boy, he grows progressively unsure of what’s real and what’s not. All the while Possum seems to mock his suffering at every turn.
A hallucinatory venture into a truly damaged psyche, Matthew Holness’ Possum is a twisted trip of terror where both nothing and everything is exactly as it seems. Adding to the film’s eerie atmosphere is an original soundtrack by the iconic electronic research lab The Radiophonic Workshop.
DVDs, Movies

“I Am Not a Witch” is a striking satire about witchcraft in contemporary Zambia

And the winner is . . .
The U.K.’s official submission for Best Foreign Film for this year’s Academy Awards is I Am Not a Witch.  The movie,  now on DVD from Film Movement, from the Zambian-born Welsh director Rungano Nyoni, is a striking satire about witchcraft in contemporary Zambia.
Quite good.

When nine-year-old Shula is accused of witchcraft, she is exiled to a witch camp run by Mr. Banda, a corrupt and inept government official. Tied to the ground by a white ribbon, Shula is told that she will turn into a goat if she tries to escape. As the only child witch, Shula quickly becomes a local star and the adults around her exploit her supposed powers for financial gain. Soon she is forced to make a difficult decision – whether to resign herself to life on the camp, or take a risk for freedom.
At times moving, often funny and occasionally surreal, I Am Not a Witch offers spellbinding storytelling with flashes of anarchic humor, showcasing Nyoni as the birth of a significant new screen voice. Festival audiences and juries also agreed, bestowing more than 20 nominations on the film, including the AFI Fest Audience Award and a BIFA nod for “Best British Independent Film”.
DVDs, Movies

“A.I. Rising” is a mind-blowing, visually sumptuous space journey that takes viewers deep inside their souls.

On a lonely mission to Alpha Centauri, Sebastian is teamed up with Nimani 1345, a female cyborg designed to fulfill his every need. At first thrilled to be able to control her, Sebastian grows tired of having his desires fulfilled so easily. Longing for human intimacy, Sebastian alters Nimani’s programmed responses, but in doing so he risks the mission’s security—and his own life. This mind-blowing, visually sumptuous space journey will take you both beyond the stars and deep inside your soul.
Drop image here
Welcome to A.I. Rising, arriving on DVD, Digita, and On Demand March 12 from Lionsgate. Porn actress Stoya, Sebastian Cavazza, and Maruša Majer star. 
The DVD includes deleted scenes, an interview with Stoya, and the featurettes Behind the Scenes of A.I. Rising and A.I. Rising: About the Movie.
DVDs, Movies

Have no reservations about checking into a Copenhagen hotel, “Room 304”

Sex! Betrayal! Corruption! Such facts of life unravel in a Copenhagen hotel, where nine disparate lives intersect by chance or fate.

A hotel manager peers into the abyss of his empty life, leading to devastating consequences for himself, his wife and his mistress.

A Spanish stewardess reaches out for intimacy and finds it in a most unexpected way.

A reserved concierge is forced out of his shell by a shocking event, and an Albanian refugee gets a chance to avenge his wife, but ends up discovering something surprising instead.

An Official Selection in Competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Room 304 (Film Movement), director Birgitte Staermose’s debut feature, will make home audiences think twice before booking a hotel room again.

DVDs, Movies

The graveyard shift in a morgue: A series of bizarre, violent events caused by an evil entity in one of the corpses! Welcome “The Possession of Hannah Grace”

Some say death is the end, but we say death is only the beginning in the heart-pounding horror thriller The Possession of Hannah Grace, debuting on Digital February 19 and on Blu-ray and DVD February 26 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Shay Mitchell stars as a cop just out of rehab, who takes the graveyard shift in a city hospital morgue where she faces a series of bizarre, violent events caused by an evil entity in one of the corpses. The flick also stars Grey Damon, Kirby Johnson, Louis Herthum and Stana Katic.

The Possession of Hannah Grace Digital, Blu-ray and DVD releases come loaded with bonus content, including a deleted scene and two behind-the-scenes featurettes. Take a deep dive with the killer cast and get to know the film’s characters a little better.  In An Autopsy of Hannah, go behind the scenes with head makeup artist Adrien Morot and uncover the transformation process, learning Adrien’s vision for the character, tricks for nailing the look, and what it took to get into the creepy mindset of Hannah Grace. Slashes and gashes and cuts, oh my! Finally, it must get lonely spending night after night alone in a morgue—see how Megan (played by Shay Mitchell) keeps herself entertained during the long shifts in Megan’s Diaries.