STRIKE BACK: Season Five Hits Hard on Bluray

Jeri Jacquin

This week on Bluray/DVD and Digital from Cinemax is a new team with a new attitude with the hard hitting series STRIKE BACK: Season Five.

The men are sent in to be a part the transfer of terrorist Omair Idrisi (Don Hany) but his wife Jane Lowry (Katherine Kelly) has other plans. Putting an escape plan together, the attack on the entire convoy kills many men but Sgt. Mac McAllister (Warren Brown) survives.

Determined to re-capture Isrisi, Sgt. Brown is assigned to Section 20 and the first thing they have to do is find undercover soldier Sgt. Wyatt (Daniel MacPherson). He is also working to get information on Idrisi. The group includes Grace Novan (Alin Sumarwata) and Captain Natalie Reynolds (Roxanne McKee).

But they have to deal with prince who may or may not be giving money to the terrorists. What Haptaini does tell them is who he deals with for arms and that’s Morgan Ives (Trevor Eve). Finding him turns out to be a hard mission when they find themselves in the middle of a sand storm.

Lowry seems to be on a different path as the group works on what her intentions are. Rosa Varga (Kelly Gough) and her brother Josef (Mark Strepan) and now a part of an already confusing mix. Quickly they discover Lowry’s hideout and are shocked to see photographs of missions Section 20 has been a part of.

McAllister has put himself in serious danger and set for hanging when he is taken to Zaryn’s training camp. Rosa is also wanting to change sides when Josef starts to become unhinged and she wants safety. General Lazslo (Attilla Arpa) is trying to put Section 20 down but Col. Adeena Donovan (Nina Sosanya) isn’t going to stop. Especially when she discovers who Zaryn really is Dr. Markov (Daniel Cerqueira).

The Russians are putting their hands in everything and now having to deal without military back up, Donovan makes a serious decision. The group has also discovered who is dealing with Lowry’s money and another player is in the mix. Milos Berisovich (Peter Firth), is a mob boss who ends up with Markov. He isn’t happy about what went down and sends his own message for Section 20.

Apparently Berisovich doesn’t know who he’s dealing with as Reynolds gives him a lesson. They also learn that Markov has a lab in the Ukraine that makes the Novichok but Berisovich is one step ahead of them. Reynolds is exposed to the gas but it is Lowry and Berisovich that go head to head for revenge.

Lowry learns her husband is still alive and arrives in Germany to learn a company called Octagon is where he is. Owned by Johannes Krieger (Adrian Bouchet), she forces him to tell her that the only person who knows is Rachel Sheridan (Dervia Kirwan). Section 20 skips the trip to Germany and finds Krieger but not before another assault rains down on the team as Rachel is taken.

Wyatt discovers what is on the black site and sees that Idrissi plans to release other terrorists. When things go horribly wrong with that plan, McAllister actually has to work with Idrissi to regain control. That partnership is short lived and it becomes clear that Corp. Jensen (Phil Dunster) has proof that Lowry and Donovan are working together.

It becomes even more harsh when someone high up has given Donovan orders that put Section 20 in jeopardy. Wyatt and MacAllister pull a meeting in Croatia between Ives, Idrissi and Lowry. That too goes awry and when Novan is close to capture, she is surprised to see two familiar faces.

The two familiar faces are after Idrissi from getting their hands on Atlas but Russian special forces are also wanting to get their hands on him. Novan grabs the server as the team once again comes under fire with another group trying to kill them but this is Section 20 – they might want to rethink that.

Brown as McAllister is a strong character who knows that every step they take could be their last yet he goes in hard. He doesn’t flinch at all when it comes down to the grit and has a stare that can freeze anyone in its way. MacPherson as Wyatt is equally as intense and knows that the mission is becoming more and more complicated as the players shift. Even with that he isn’t distracted from the goal that is plain – stop the spread of terror.

Sumarwata as Novan is strong, fast, clever and doesn’t hesitate in the slightest. She also doesn’t hesitate and makes it clear she is an intense force of nature.  McKee as Reynolds communicates everything with such ease and I have to say that the scenes she shares with Sumarwata makes them such a powerful duo to watch. They are pretty awesome gals I have to say.

Gough as Rosa is a complicated character with a history that drives her to do things that would make me want to run in the opposite direction. I don’t do messy!  Strepan as Josef has a magazine rack full of intensely crazed issues and he isn’t about to let anyone from Section 20 get what he wants.

Sosanya as Donovan has a role that is strong and she knows when its time to break the rules to get the job done. Dunster as Jensen is a whiz with the technology that the crew needs to stay one step ahead of the shut down. Cerqueira as Markov seems to have something everyone wants and now we wait to see who gets it. Firth as Berisovich is a character that comes out of no where but isn’t going to go quietly!

Kelly as Lowry may only be the wife in all of this but trust me when I say she isn’t baking cookies or doing the laundry for her family – she’s got a plan and a twisted reason for it. Hany as Idrisi is the terrorist who started it all and may not realize that someone knows a little more than she does.

HBO and Cinemax have an extensive array of critically-acclaimed and groundbreaking programs found on Bluray, DVD and Digital HD. They have provided viewers with some of the most amazing programs with huge fan bases that include the shows BANSHEE, OUTCAST and THE KNICK. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.cinemax.com.

The Bluray includes all ten episodes of the action packed series with the Bonus Features STRIKE BACK Season 5: Declassified: Get an inside look at each episode and THE NEW TEAM: Section 20’s new team and tactics they employ to fight terrorism around the globe.

What I love best about having the entire fifth season is grabbing season four and doing a two season binge watch! This series is filled with action and suspense always leaving you guessing who is who and why trust is tough for Section 20. This may be a new team but it certainly slides right in and doesn’t miss a beat.

The chase leads all over Europe and putting the pieces of the puzzle together isn’t about to be easy. It is warfare from start to finish and Section 20 isn’t going to go away knowing there are people out there who want to do global damage.

Good guys, bad guy, cat and mouse – it’s all here for the watching. What has made this season even more interesting is the swap around of the female characters never really knowing who is all in and who is playing the game. I loved watching it all unfold three bags of popcorn later!

In the end – it’s a new time with the same attitude!

THE MEG Brings Cool Relief from the Beach into Theatres

Jeri Jacquin

Starting off the weekend with a bite in theatres from director Jon Turteltaub and Warner Bros. comes a reason to stay off the beach and sit in the theatre to ride the wave of THE MEG.

Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) was an expert driver but on one mission he had to choose between two of his crewmen or a whole submarine full of wounded men when something attacks their vessel. Five years later that decision had career and marital consequences but he seems to be doing fine living in Thailand.

Out in the middle of the ocean, billionaire Morris (Rainn Wilson) is helicoptering onto platform to see where his money is going. The Mana One research facility off the coast of China is still under construction as Zhang (Winston Chao), daughter Syuin (Bingbing Li) and crew consisting of Mac (Cliff Curtis), Jaxx (Ruby Rose), DJ (Page Kennedy), Heller (Robert Taylor) and Syuin's eight year old daughter Meiying (Sophia Cai).

Ready to go to the deepest part of the Marianna Trench, Suyin believes it is possible to go deeper and that a thermal layer separates our world for another ocean discovery. Sending sub driver Lori (Jessica McNamee), Toshi (Masi Oka) and The Wall (Olafur Olafsson), they dive. Breaking through they are surprised by what they see and quickly become shocked when their sub comes under attack and communications are cut off. The last words they hear is from Lori saying, "Tell Jonas he was right!"

Trying to put together a rescue plan, Mac brings up Jonas Taylor saying he is really the only man who would take such a risk to rescue the three trapped in the sub. Off to Thailand Mac and Zhang go to convince Taylor that he is needed. After some fast talking, Taylor arrives on the research platform and is immediately set to diving because Suyin took it upon herself to try and rescue her friends.

Preparing to dive, Taylor meets Meiying and learns that eight year olds hear everything. Meeting up with Suyin, they too are immediately hit by something big and fast. Working together they manage to get their friends and get out and back to the platform. As they all

regather their thoughts, Meiying comes face to face (thank goodness for very thick plastic) with something that wants to let it be known it is there - a Megalodon.

Discovering how it came to the surface, the crew knows they can not let it get to a populated area. Hopping on a large ship, they take off looking for the Meg and once again Taylor does the incredibly shocking jumping into the water to tag the beast. Almost everyone believes the only thing to do is kill it but Suyin wants to study it alive.

Thinking they have stopped a disaster, there is an even bigger beast swimming in the water around them. Once it has made its point with the crew, the Meg heads towards the beaches that are littered with people like meaty human krill! Taylor and the crew are not about to stop trying to stop the biggest creature in the water who has only one goal - destruction!

Statham as Taylor proves why we continue to love this guy! Of course I can honestly say that the towel scene (oh you will know exactly what I'm talking soon) had the guys impressed and the gals drooling. Now with that out of the way, Statham has the perfect bad boy swagger to play this role. The character gives zero-frakks about what people think of him and gives stone face when someone tries to tell him what to do or not to do. He proves it by jumping into danger with a smirk on his face and a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Also, it doesn't hurt that he plays opposite an equally quick 8-year-old! That's is what makes a good action star and THE MEG solidifies Statham's status and truth be told we love to love the guy!

Li as Suyin is a researcher who certainly doesn't count on finding a living Megalodon but once she does, killing it is not something she wants to do. Equally as hard headed as Taylor, she has a few quick one-liners and also doesn't hesitate to jump into the deep end of the ocean. Cali as the magnificent 8-year-old Meiying was one of the best characters in the film. She doesn't get in the way yet doesn't hesitate to put in her two cents. I do wonder who would put their kid on a boat and chase a Meg but then again it isn't like social services are on board!

Curtis as Mac is on Taylor's side in all things believing that he was wronged all those years ago and makes it clear that his expertise is necessary to rescue friends but then also to take out the Meg. Rose as Jaxx it smart but honestly there isn't a lot here for her to do but look concerned and throw out a line now and then. Taylor as Heller is the idiot character that I looked forward to the Meg chomping down - a girl can dream.

Chao as Zhang just wants success for the research crew but when things start to go wrong, he is with Taylor 100 per cent. Olafsson as The Wall has reason to be afraid after his experience in the sub. Wilson as Morris is a rich guy who thought everything was cool - until it wasn't. There was actually a moment where I thought he was smarter than everyone else but it passed quickly. His character was one of the comic reliefs of the film.

Kennedy as DJ had a line for everything and was not at all thrilled with any aspect of the rescue or anything that happened after that. Everything he said made me laugh because Kennedy was basically saying what everyone was thinking at some point in the film.

Other cast include: Jessica McNamee as Lori, Masi Oka as Toshi, Rob Kipa-Williams as D'Angelo, Tawanda Manyimo as Marks, James Gaylyn as David, Kelly the Dog as Pippin.

Okay, let’s face it, we all love shark movies - good, bad or indifferent we secretly love them all. I, like allot of my generation probably took a liking to sharks films right around the summer of June 1975. Shark films have made their way to us ever since in some form or another in films, television and documentaries. The teeth baring sea creatures have even managed to finally get a whole week on television as the Discovery Channel gets us all worked up with Shark Week. I mean they get a whole week and we don't get enough of it.

THE MEG is going to have its place among very cool shark movies because it all comes together in such a fantastic way. In the 113 minutes of the film there is not a frame wasted and look homage’s to shark films that have come before it. THE MEG is based on the Steve Alten book MEG: A Novel of Deep Terror. I'm sure there will be readers who will be watching every move the film makes.

Personally I was excited as the release of THE MEG drew closer. I wanted to be taken away, entertained, made to jump, laugh, hide my eyes, holler a little bit and cheer. That's exactly what happened and it felt like a group theatre experience as everyone around me was doing the same exact thing.

THE MEG gives us a reminder of why we gather up in a group (for safety purposes of course), grab the biggest tub of popcorn and soda we can hold, get great seats and prepare to be thrilled. Sitting through this film was fun and when it’s over we get to stand up and walk away from the big bad Meg with all our pieces in tact. Might as well know now - I'm going back to see THE MEG again with friends and...I can't wait!

In the end - before chasing seas monsters you had better check your place on the sea food chain!

See it all Happen Again as AVENGERS: Infinity War Comes to Bluray

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray from directors Anthony Russo, Joe Russo and Marvel Studios is the reuniting of super heroes against a common enemy with AVENGERS: Infinity War.

Thanos (voiced by Josh Brolin) is on the move looking for the Infinity Stones. Already acquiring the Power Stone, along with Ebony Maw (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor), Cull Obsidian (Terry Notary), Proxima Midnight (Carrie Coon) and Corvus Glaive (Michael James Shaw), Thanos finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and takes him.

The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) is sent through space landing in New York City finding Dr. Strange to warn him of what is happening. In turn, Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) finds Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) as the other Avengers begin to understand what Thanos is doing. No one is safe as Midnight and Glaive attack Vision (Paul Bettany) to get the Mind Stone as Steve Rogers aka Captain America (Chris Evans) tries to get to them first.

Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) are in Thanos’ line of site as well when he kidnaps Gamora much to the dismay of her sister Nebula (Karen Gillan). He knows he must use her to retrieve the Soul Stone. Stark and Peter Parker aka Spider-Man (Tom Holland) are equally under pressure trying to rescue Dr. Strange but it may be for naught trying to protect the Time Stone.

Coming together with T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and the people of Wakanda, an epic battle begins bringing War Machine (Don Cheadle), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Okoye (Danai Gurira), M’Baku (Winston Duke) in on the fight.

Giving their all is worth every moment of the fight to stop Thanos!

This is such a huge cast that it would take pages and pages to talk about each one but let me give it a shot. Brolin as Thanos does an amazing job voicing the villain that takes the whole 149 minutes changing the landscape of the Marvel Universe. Not a bad role to have on your resume eh?

Of course Downey, Jr. as Ironman is always going to get high praise from me because I’m a huge Ironman fan as well as a Downey, Jr. fan. Yes, it is possible for a person who reviews films to have favorites…my list is endless actually. Hemsworth as Thor puts in his hard time in the film with no as many laughs as THOR: Ragnarok although there were a few in the midst of the darkest film.

Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange is the calm in the group knowing what has to be done and understands that sacrifice might be inevitable. Ruffalo as Bruce Banner aka The Hulk is back in his less than green skin to be able to warn everyone of what is coming. Holland as Spider-Man is making a name for himself as a kid who is growing up and catching on quickly. Evans as Captain America has to put his feelings aside and make what is happening right before it gets out of hand.

Chris Pratt as Quill gets his comedic moments but at the same time he jumps in like a kid who wants to do the right thing, Saldana as Gamora had to face Thanos some time and it looks like now is as good of a time as any, Bautista as Drax is the guy you want on your side always, and Klementieff as Mantis brings her gifts to the big show as well.

Cooper as Rocket never fails to teach me a thing or two about space raccoons and cracks me up at the same time, Diesel as Groot is doing teen time and needs a time out and Gillan as Nebula changes her spots.

Boseman as T’Challa (Chadwick) bring the people of Wakanda into the fight and they are more than ready for it. Of course Gurira as Okoye is as good with her Wakandan weaponry as she is with her sword on AMC’s The Walking Dead. Ironman can always count on Cheadle bringing War Machine to the party, Mackie takes flight as Falcon and Duke as M’Baku is in on the fight.

Oh okay, lets talk Loki! Hiddleston is now and will forever be Loki and find myself constantly forgiving him for his indiscretions towards his brother, dad and his entire home planet. Am I letting him off to easy? Nahhhhhhh.

Other cast include Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Winter Soldier as Sebastian Stan, Heimdall as Idris Elba, Peter Dinklage as Eitri, Benedict Wong as Wong, Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Benicio Del Toro as The Collector and, of course, Stan Lee as the Bus Driver.

Marvel Studios has released sixteen films since 2008 in what is known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel is built on a library of over eight thousand characters featured in a variety of media content for over seventy years. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.marvel.com.

The Multi-Screen Edition of Bluray with Digital Code using Movies Anywhere or iTunes also includes the Special Features of Bonus Extras of Intro by Directors Joe and Anthony Russo, Strange Alchemy –Explore the New Team-Ups and Analyze How These Creative Choices Will Influence the Future of the Universe, The Mad Titan – Delve into the MCU’s Biggest, Baddest Villain and the Events He’s Orchestrated Throughout the Films, Beyond the Battle: Wakanda, Beyond the Battle: Titan, Gag Reel, Deleted Scenes, Audio Commentary – By Joe and Anthony Russo, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

Marvel Studios AVENGERS: Infinity War is an epic film that carries an epic cast which means you better take notes! There is constant action, suspense and everything fans have come to expect from the MCU.

I must admit that this particular film had my jaw dropping a few times and I caught myself cheering a time or two. These Marvel characters are definitely putting it all out there in this film with an ending that shocked even me!

Yes, that’s all I’m going to tell you because, as with all Marvel films, it must be seen to be believed. Now on epic Bluray which means with a great sound bar and a big home screen, you can watch your favorite (or maybe not so favorite) superheroes go at it again and again because we know there is more to this story (especially if you have seen ANT MAN & THE WASP!).

In the end – it’s a fight for the entire universe once and for all!

HERE AND NOW Brings A Series with a New Reality on DVD!

Jeri Jacquin

This week on DVD and Digital from HBO Home Entertainment and creator Alan Ball is a series that shows us a family dealing with HERE AND NOW.

Audrey Bayer (Holly Hunter) and husband Greg Boatwright (Tim Robbins) pride themselves on having a very strong family in Portland, Oregon. Three grown children adopted Ashley (Jerrika Hinton) from Liberia, Duc (Raymond Lee) from Vietnam, and Ramon (Daniel Zovatto) from Colombia are joined by biological daughter 17 year-old Kristen (Sosie Bacon).

Greg is a philosophy professor who is badly preparing for his 60^th birthday with an Asian prostitute heads home as the family prepares for a big party. Ashley, an already busy fashion designer who is married to Malcolm (Joe Williamson) and raising their young daughter helps and son Duc is a motivational speaker who seems to be missing something in his relationship with Greg but wishes Dad a happy birthday anyway.

Audrey is beyond thrilled when Ramon brings his new boyfriend Henry (Andy Bean) to the party and Kristen is interested in the model Ashley has brought to the party. All is going well until it’s time for the speech and Greg lets out his demons. That all comes to an abrupt halt when Ramon lets out demons of his own!

Greg and Audrey take Ramon to see Dr. Shokrani (Peter Macdissi), a therapist who is shocked almost immediately at what he has to say. Telling him of visions of things he knows can’t really be there, Shokrani isn’t sure how to handle it at first. Audrey, being a former therapist, is immediately sure that Ramon is suffering from schizophrenia since her brother Ike (Ted Levine) suffers from the condition.

Wanting her son on medication immediately, it is Ramon that takes the reigns of his treatment and how he wants to handle it. But the young man and his doctor think there is something much deeper in what others think is Ramon’s ‘illness’. After the mess at Greg’s party, Kristen turns to Ashley for sisterly help and it lands them in jail.

Still reeling from turning 60, Greg is attending an ethic convention and things get a little sideways during his panel discussion. If the family didn’t have enough problems, Audrey tries to defend an event at her school but finds she is the scapegoat. Out on her own and with Greg’s support, Audrey wants to start an initiative to help kids handle their differences but they need funding. There only shot is an old friend Steven Benjamin  (Trent Garrett) from Berkley who is rolling in dollars.

Ashley and Malcolm screw up Haley’s party and turn to the family who makes them crazy to instead make an awesome birthday for their daughter. The day is going so well as everyone is getting along and enjoying each other’s company. Later in the day Ramon has another episode.

Dr. Shokrani doesn’t know how to handle the connection he feels he has with Ramon and wife Layla (Necar Zadegan) has had just about enough of it. She suggests that he step away from it all but he isn’t listening. Heading for a gaming expo that would make his career, Ramon is doing well until – he isn’t. Rescued by Greg, both parents are frustrated with the lack of progress helping their son.

Audrey isn’t handling home life any better when she discovers what Greg has been up to. So much so that she starts flirting with Benjamin as her silent anger towards Greg has to go someplace. Kristen knows something is happening at home but she’s got bigger problems when the school girl bully’s try to pin racist spray painting on her.

Kristen meets Dr. Shokrani’s son Navid (Marwan Salama) and an interesting relationship as well as a partner-in-crime situation begins to emerge and his therapist father isn’t happy about it. Especially when the two push their agenda on some at school who hurt them both.

Continuing to help Ramon, Greg and Audrey begin looking through their adoption files to see if there is anything they can uncover to help. What they uncover pushes them both to deal with the naïve way they once were. Ashley has been offered a great deal which might give her more time with the family – eventually.

Dr. Shokrani can not seem to grasp what is happening now with what happened to him as a child. He returns to doing something that Layla and Navid can no longer stand by and watch happen. Shokrani turns to someone that even Layla would never see coming.

The visions are becoming regular now and during a family celebration for Kristen, Ramon is in the backyard tree house with his niece Haley. Fearing fire, he immediately drops the young girl out of the tree house causing the family to go on alert. Ramon takes off wanting to be left alone feeling his family is just to close.

Duc and Dad Greg look for Ramon but end up hashing out their family laundry in public. Calling out one another on their issues, Duc turns to Carmen who seems to be the only person that sees who he is and makes very little judgment about it.

At home, Ramon once again sees something on his computer that sets his feet on the road with a message to go to the mountain top. When Greg receives a phone call from Ike, he believes that there is something Ike knows that can help with Ramon.

All of this leads to something that only Ramon and Ike saw coming – maybe now they will believe!

Hunter as Audrey is an absolute control freak and with that being said let me just say I couldn’t be happier to see her on the screen again. As Audrey she constantly feels the need to control everything about everyone in order to feel at peace with herself. What she fails to realize is that that same control is pushing everyone away – including her own husband who loves her dearly.

Robbins as Greg is a man realizing his own mortality even if he does try to hide it behind his philosophy degree. He is more laid back than his wife, clearly, but still struggles to decide what being 60 means for him. As family and friends begin to worry a little, Greg focuses on his son and trying to play a more active role in his kids lives. Greg loves his wife, he’s just stupid is all and I’ve seen enough of that in real life to kind of cut this character a little slack – only a little though.

Hinton as Ashley is trying to be all things to all people. A good daughter to her white parents, a good wife to her white husband, a good Mom to her daughter Haley and a great business woman. The problem is she is being pulled in all directions which means she isn’t sure who she is or what she believes about anything. I love this character but there comes a time when it’s okay to go a little nuts and Ashley needs to do that – just one good blow out. Williamson as husband Malcolm just wants what is best for his family – and is more forgiving about some of Ashley’s behavior than most husbands would be.

Lee as Duc thinks he has everyone figured out and makes observations so cut and dry. He wants to be the best motivational speaker and encourage others to have a good life. The problem is that the teacher isn’t following his own advice. Slowly it all begins to shift and he has to deal with the childhood memories that seem to plague him both mentally and physically.

Zovatto as Ramon has the most complex character (although they are all pretty complex actually) with his extremely deep love of family and the new idea that he might be mentally ill. No one seems to believe what he is telling them and Mom wants to medicate him before he becomes like her brother Ike. Even boyfriend Henry brings a whole new bag of problems to an already disturbing situation. I think Ramon handles it all better than everyone else around him and trust when I say there are people around him that are truly disturbed!

Bacon as Kristen is the baby in a family of adults and she thinks they all have it so together. Imagine her surprise when she figures out that they have the same identity problems as she does. Just because you are a biological child in a family doesn’t mean it always works in your favor. Seeking out relationships in different ways, Kristen begins to understand how the world works and she isn’t thrilled at all.

Macdissi as Dr. Shokrani begins as a therapist who wants to help Ramon discover what is causing his visions but soon discovers that there is a wider connection between the two men. This is such a sad character to watch as he begins to experience a little of what Ramon is going through but his wife doesn’t really hear what he is trying to explain. There is something in his childhood that has never truly left Shokrani and its back with a vengeance.

Zadegan as Layla is a woman who doesn’t like to make waves but instead live her life as true as she can. Her faith is something that sustains her even if it is distasteful to her husband Shokrani. She also accepts her son for who he is and what he believes about himself. Salama as Navid is exploring who he is but because of his beliefs he must hide just about every part of who he is. His friendship with Kristen is very important as they both explore what it is they want.

Levine as Ike takes a whack at trying to explain to Greg that Ramon isn’t crazy, he just knows something that other people don’t. As he tries once again to explain it to Greg, he sees something in his brother-in-laws eyes that says ‘this guy may not be crazy after all!’.

HBO Home Entertainment has an extensive array of critically-acclaimed and groundbreaking programs found on Bluray, DVD and Digital HD. They have provided viewers with some of the most amazing programs with huge fan bases that include the shows True Blood, Sex and the City, The Sopranos, True Detectives, The Wire, Entourage and Game of Thrones. Launched in 1984, HBO is world wide in viewed entertainment in more than 70 territories around the world! For more of what they have to offer please visit www.hbo.com.

The Bluray includes the episodes Eleven Eleven, It’s Coming, If a Deer Shits in the Woods, Hide and Seek, From Sun Up to Sun Down, Fight Death, Wake, Yes, Dream Logic, and It’s Here.

HBO’s HERE and NOW is a series that just hits the ground running and does so many twists and turns without ever stopping the running game. I know I had a big question mark over my head the first two episodes and then I had to binge watch the rest. There was no way I was going to sleep without knowing what in the hell was going on with this family.

Oh yes, they have the ‘normal’ family issues of life, love, family and relationships that are always filled with complications. Then you add the family dynamic, diversity, potential mental issues, lies, deceptions, hurt, memories and all the rest along with a bit of perhaps psychic stuff and boom – you have a snappy series on your hands!

Each one of these characters is deep in the telling and can not be removed without messing up the house of cards. It is watching some grow up, some remembering growing up, some dealing with pretending and some just dealing that makes this show riveting to watch.

Creator Alan Ball is known the film AMERICAN BEAUTY and the series that will forever be in my heart (and the soundtrack is still in my player) TRUE BLOOD. Winning award after award for his work, it is clear that he has the uncanny ability to write scripts about things that dance on the line of real and strange – both of which I’m absolutely okay with.

So if you are looking to indulge in something that can only be called a family-hot-mess-of-strange then HERE AND NOW is definitely for you. The DVD comes with all ten episodes so you can binge like I did and walk away asking yourself “who do I have to slap around to get more?”

In the end – we are living in a new reality!

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN: Surprise Island Brings Animated Family Adventure to Bluray and DVD

Jeri Jacquin

On Bluray & DVD this week from directors Dan Chuba and Mark Dippe along with Legacy Classics and SHOUT! Kids Factory comes a story of family and a summer like no other for THE BOXCAR CHILDREN: Surprise Island.

Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny are spending the summer on a private island that belongs to their grandfather. Every day they do something special together like make cabinets for their cabin and making lunches together. They also meet young Joe who is a mystery to many people on the island.

Out wandering they take to the beach and soon run the beach looking for clams and exploring. Chasing sandpipers they soon discover a platform in the water. Violet and Benny meet Joe who shows them amazing things about the ocean. Wanting to know more, Henry decides to create a museum from their exploration.

Joe volunteers to help them learn by getting books from the library. They begin to create an amazing collection of items from the island and continue to explore even more about the island finding an unusual cave. They tell Joe who is as excited about what is inside.

When Grandfather returns, he sees that the children not only have made the cabin a home but turned the upstairs into a wonderful museum. A man named Mr. Browning arrives looking for a friend when the kids offer him something to eat.

And quickly the kids discover that their friend Joe has a surprise for everyone but what a joyous surprise it is!

The cast is voiced by Joey King as Jessie, Talitha Bateman as Violet, Griffin Gluck as Henry, Carter Sand as Benny, Gil Birmingham as Mr. Browning, Stephen Stanton as Captain Daniel, Dane DeHaan as Joe, J.K. Simmons as Dr. Moore, and Martin Sheen as James Alden.

SHOUT! Factory brings the best to fans offering up feature films, classic television series, animation and specials. For more of what they have to offer go to www.shoutfactory.com. 

Legacy Classics is dedicated to family entertainment and educational tools based on classic and award-winning children’s literature. The Boxcar Children, written by Gertrude Chandler Warner, has sold over 70 million books world-wide. Most do not know that there are over 150 books in the series that reaches over 1 million kids!

The DVD of THE BOXCAR CHILDREN: Surprise Island includes the Special Features of Interviews with Cast & Crew, Interview with the Composer, and Behind-The-Scenes Interview with the Sound Editing and Mixing Team. Also included is a Watch-Anywhere code that allows you to experience the film on your PC, Mac, iPhone, and iPod and a fantastic book mark showing the wonderful cover of THE BOXCAR CHILDREN: Surprise Island.

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN: Surprise Island is a beautiful film with a deep connection to a simpler life and a hunger for learning. These are kids who are very close and take care of each other. The story sweeps the viewer in quickly because the relationship between the siblings is one of mutual respect and love.

The characters in the story gave me plenty of reason to giggle, smile and remember what it was like to spend summers on the beach with my own siblings. The animation is vivid and extraordinary to tell this touching story.

This film is absolutely a must have for the home film library and a story I want my own grandchildren to watch again and again. These are important stories to be told and they are made sweeter by a studio that takes such amazing care in the way a story is presented to those of us who love the books.

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN: Surprise Island has so much to teach us all about beauty, family, love and support along with believing in a few life surprises.

In the end – on a small island they find big adventure!

TO AUSCHWITZ and BACK: The Joe Engel Story

Jeri Jacquin

Currently on DVD from Ron Small, Anchor Media Group and the Holocaust Education Film Foundation is the amazing story TO AUSCHWITZ and BACK: The Joe Engel Story.

Joe Engel has an incredible story to tell in this documentary. He begins telling the story of his family in Zakroczym, Poland in 1927. They lived ten miles from the train station and his father used a team of horses to get anywhere. He learned early that being Jewish was a painful experience recalling when they were required to wear the yellow Star of David and others who were taken out and shot.

In the Warsaw Ghetto, the Nazi’s took all their belongings and they spent a two day train ride arriving in a demolished city. The war had taken its toll leaving them with no electricity or running water with 20-30 people to a room. Living in fear of the Gestapo, they also feared the Jewish police who were equally as cruel.

He tells about the loading of the trains with people from the Ghetto not knowing where they were going but knowing they didn’t return. Eventually, Joe was 14 when they came for him separating the entire family. The train he rode on arrived at Birkenau to see the ironwork sign ARBEIT MACHT FREI (If you work hard enough you might survive) and after having his head shaved and tattooed with a number, he learned that Joseph Mengle was there as well.

Thousands and thousands of Jews were dispersed throughout the camps and Joe was the third person in a four bunk bed. Living in the cold the got up at 5 a.m. for roll call and for breakfast a slice of bread and they were set to work. Coming home at days end everything was done in reverse.

One day soldiers came looking for volunteers to go to Auschwitz and believing that Birkenau was the worse place on earth, Joe agreed to go. He learned to lay bricks and eat a little better but he also saw people starving and dying before his eyes. If anyone was sick, the doctor would report them to the Germans.

Joe is horrified still that one man could have such control over the German people causing them to treat fellow human beings with such atrocity. He learned himself of that cruelty when he was punished for an infraction yet he survived.

In January of 1945, Joe was 17 and was forced on the Death March where trains were waiting to take them to Germany. The trains did not have any roofs and it was snowing so feeling he had nothing to lose, Joe escaped. Now he is learning survival of a different kind not know who to trust.

He meets a man who introduces him to the Resistance and he becomes a freedom fighter going on missions to bomb German police stations. The Liberation in 1945 by the Red Army, he ate well for the first time since he could remember. Returning home, Joe was hoping that everyone would return to their home town. In the months that followed, no one came home. He left for the American DP camps until they sent him to the United States. Finding family in the U.S., he ended up in South Carolina.

After the war, Joe discovers that his some of his family survived the Holocaust but they wanted to know how he survived! As a way to never forget, his nephew Dr. Michael Engel tattooed the number 84009 – the number Joe was given when he arrived at the concentration camp.

In Charleston, South Carolina there is a wall that is in memory of six million Jews who suffered at the hands of the Nazis. Joe believes it is very important to not forget the past but remind ourselves so that it will never happen to anyone else in the future.

The Holocaust Education Film Foundation was established in 2018 and has built an international, interactive online community one Holocaust survivor at a time. Through full-length documentaries, distributed globally through numerous platforms, the online site and educational programs, the 501c3 foundation seeks to ensure that we never forget.

TO AUSCHWITZ AND BACK: The Joe Engel Story is a story told exactly as it happened to a very young man in 1927 Poland. Joe tells it with such memorable detail that I could not help but soak in every word he said. Even when talking about what he did in the resistance, Joe held my attention as if holding my chin with his own hands and looking into my eyes.

It is that presence that brings Joe’s story the ability to reach deep down and remind us that those who died are to be honored and those who lived should be listened to with every fiber of our being. Thank you Joe, thank you.

The desert will bloom with flowers. It will be very glad and shout with joy! (Isaiah 35:2) and in that – Joe blooms.

CHRISTOPHER ROBIN Brings us all a Lesson in What is Important

Jeri Jacquin

Coming this week to theatres from director Marc Forster and Walt Disney Studios is the return to the One Hundred Acre Woods and the boy once known as CHRISTOPHER ROBIN.

Christopher Robin was a young boy who spent all his time in the woods with his friends Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Eyeore, Owl, Rabbit, Tigger, Kanga and Roo. Their days were filled with exploration and friendship until Christopher Robin is sent off to boarding school.

As the years pass, Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) meets and marries Evelyn (Hayley Atwell), becomes the father of Madeline (Bronte Carmichael), is a soldier fighting years of war and returns home to work at a company called Winslow that makes luggage. He is focused on work which leaves little time for family.

When he is told by Giles Winslow (Mark Gatiss) that the company needs to make cuts, Robin must give up a weekend with his family to work. Evelyn and Madeline are not happy but go off for the weekend on their own.

Back in the one hundred acre woods, Pooh wakes up to discover that all his friends are gone. As he starts to search, Pooh finds his way to London and Christopher Robin knowing he is the only person that can help. Imagine the surprise when they meet and Pooh explains that the rest of their friends are lost.

All Robin can think of is how to get this talking bear back to where he belongs without anyone, including his family, seeing him. Battling Heffalumps and the need to get back for an important meeting, Robin loses track of time and races back to London. The problem is that Tigger’s good intentions are about to change everything.

Madeline, Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore show Christopher Robin what it means to slow down, remember the people that mean the most and – to do absolutely nothing.

McGregor as the adult Christopher Robin has his nose the grindstone doing what he thinks he should be doing, providing for his family. Forgetting his friends in the forest, Robin feels the pressures of responsibility and is now forgetting his own family. McGregor as an actor still manages to have the ability to look child-like when the role calls for it and make it look effortless. His interactions with Pooh are filled with tension until he begins to embrace the simplicity he once knew.

Atwell as Evelyn sees the change in her husband and reminds him that who he is now is not the man she met all those years ago. She wants him to laugh, smile and be a father once again to their daughter who clearly misses him. Carmichael as Madeline would gladly accept moments, fractions of moments with her father but doesn’t know how to tell him. Feeling as if everything else means more than she does, it takes the friends in the woods to explain that her father wasn’t always this way. Carmichael is very sweet and even missing time with her father; she still wants to help him succeed!

Jim Cummings voices Winnie the Pooh (also Tigger) had me the moment he began to speak as Pooh. There is such innocence in Pooh and Cummings brings that so very clear through his voice. Brad Garrett as Eeyore has the perfect voice filled with sadness and humor at the same time. Nick Mohammed as Piglet is perfectly cute, Peter Capaldi as Rabbit is very funny, Sophie Okonedo as Kanga is the Mom who watches over everyone, Sara Sheen as Roo loves her woodland family and Toby Jones as Owl is sweet.

Other cast include Oliver Ford Davies as Old Man Winslow, Ronke Adekoluejo as Katherine Dane, Adrian Scarborough as Hal Gallsworthy, Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Ralph Butterworth, Ken Nwosu as Paul Hastings, John Dagleish as Matthew Leadbetter, Amanda Lawrence as Joan MacMillan, Katy Carmichael as Christopher’s Mother, Tristan Surrock as Christopher’s Father and Orton O’Brien as Young Christopher Robin.

Winnie-the-Pooh was created by A.A. Milne with the first collection of stories finding its way to the hands of children in 1926. Basing the character named after his own son Christopher Robin Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh was a teddy bear that belonged to his son. His son named the toy bear after a black bear he saw at the London Zoo. The rest is history and what a grand and iconic history it is.

It should be no surprise that Marc Forster directed the film since he also directed the 2004 film FINDING NEVERLAND. That is another story about the creation of the iconic story of Peter Pan. The feel created by Forster is compelling, tugs at the heart and is giggly delightful.

CHRISTOPHER ROBIN is a story about what happens once childhood fades into a place we chose to forget. In this case, Christopher Robin is sent to boarding school taking him away from his friends and then adulting through marriage, a war and a job which changes his focus on life.

What makes this film so relatable is that we are all the adult Christopher Robin’s in some shape or form. We are all so busy ‘working’ that sometimes the good childhood memories, our family and life suffers in the juggling. That is the truth of it and its right there in front of us daily wiping out all else sometimes.

This film brings the simplicity right there in front of us as well with phrases that will be repeated on the regular and all coming from a talking bear. Winnie-the-Pooh sees Christopher Robin exactly as he is – even if he is now an adult. Looking into his eyes, the lovely bear embraces the boy who has become a man, even if the man doesn’t like it.

The characters of Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga, Roo and Owl are reminders of friendship and the charm that they bring to ones life. These woodland creatures are loyal, supportive and want Christopher Robin to remember what is important because it is clear that they deeply love their friend.

McGregor’s portrayal of the iconic little boy who becomes a forgetful man is what I would expect and yet his performance still moved me. I will also admit that Pooh and his friends had my heart all tied up neatly in a bow and might have even brought a tear to my eye. Who wouldn’t want friends like that to lovingly remind me to embrace every moment, occasionally smile and remember to do nothing because it will become the best of something.

I absolutely love this film with it’s nostalgia that gives us a heartfelt look into an iconic boy becoming a man – leaving behind the best group of friends ANYONE could ever have. Pooh and the gang reminds us that doing nothing can turn into…like this film…something wonderful.

In the end – sooner or later the past will catch up to you!