Rating: «« out of 4 stars

Running Time: 134 min.

It’s unfortunate when a movie attempts to tackle a serious and important issue and falls short. That’s the feeling one gets while watching the period drama, The Promise. The intent of shedding light on and garnering attention to the Armenian genocide is certainly noble. However, packaging such an abominable event within the melodramatic framework of a slick and polished romance flick doesn’t end up gelling.

Set in 1915 during the onset of WWI, Mikael (Oscar Isaac) is an apothecary living in a small village in Armenia. In order to achieve his dream of becoming a doctor, Mikael makes arrangements to marry a local woman.

But...

It’s time for another look at the highlights arriving on DVD and Blu-ray. This is a busy edition with new releases that include hit films and curious independent fare. There are also great older features coming your way. So if you can’t make it out to the movies this week, be sure to give one of these titles a try!

BIG NEW RELEASES!

Before the Flood - This documentary from actor/director Fisher Stevens was produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and follows the Oscar winner as he talks to experts about climate change. The feature shows how increasing temperatures are affecting the environment around us and ruining ecosystems. It also gives examples of what we can do to help stop it...

Still plenty of fan-loving, over-the-top, speed-filled action

Rating: «« out of 4 stars

Running Time: 136 min.

After eight movies and a set up for more sequels after the close of The Fate of the Furious, I’ve frankly run out of “family” jokes to open my reviews with (instead, I’ll just suggest playing a drinking game based around the number of times it’s referenced). As a result, by now everything about this franchise feels pretty familiar. The latest installment does deserve a bit of credit, however, for being a slight improvement over the previous edition (at least, by my estimation).

This time out, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) has moved to Cuba and is living happily...

Welcome back to another look at highlights arriving on Blu-ray and DVD. There’s some really interesting stuff coming out, including everything from Best Picture nominees to small genre pictures. So if you can’t make it out to the movies this week, be sure to give one of these titles a try!

BIG NEW RELEASES!

Believe - In this faith-based drama, a small town business owner faces a tough economic crunch along with other members of his community. He’s forced into a difficult decision; should he keep his company’s profits for himself or use them to fund the town’s annual Christmas pageant. The press did not respond to this picture. While they stated that it was...