Week of October 28th

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Finding Your Way

Though he's married to successful, professional Sarah (Kate Hudson), struggling actor Aiden (Zach Braff, who also directs) hasn't landed even a bit part in years in Wish I Was Here. Aiden is floundering, but his world really starts to disintegrate when he hears that his father (Mandy Patinkin) has cancer. With medical bills tightening their budget and Sarah's single income unable to pay for expensive private school, Aiden attempts to homeschool their kids (Joey King and Pierce Gagnon). Forced to face his father's illness, spending his days with his children, brought closer to his layabout brother (Josh Gad), and accepting that Sarah's dreams have been put aside to support their family, Aiden untangles his rudderless mid-30's in search of family, fulfillment, and meaning. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Fiercely independent musician Gretta (Keira Knightley) reluctantly climbs onstage at a lower Manhattan to play one of her old songs in Begin Again. She's not at her best and neither is the song, but Dan (Mark Ruffalo), a music producer in decline, is enchanted by Gretta's performance. Dan's recklessness and selfishness during his heyday alienated his wife and daughter (Catherine Keener and Hailee Steinfeld) and his former partner (Mos Def) just fired him from the company they co-founded because he hasn't signed a notable musician in years, but he sees his second chance in Gretta's untapped potential... though Gretta has her own difficult relationship to fame and the commercial music business, and has her own reservations about a music producer in a bar offering to make her a star. On DVD and Blu Ray.

It must be October

NYPD Special Operations officers Ralph Sarchie (Eric Bana) and his partner, Butler (Joel McHale), are the men sent to handle New York's disturbing cases in Deliver Us from Evil, but neither of them is willing to accept the supernatural connection between two of their current cases. A former Catholic, Ralph is skeptical of the mysterious occurrences, but his suspicions of paranormal activity are bolstered by the Catholic priest (Edgar Ramirez) who finds, befriends, and guides him. Though his faith and his relationship to his wife (Olivia Munn) and daughter are strained, Ralph will be forced to reevaluate his lifestyle and beliefs as he comes face-to-face with evil to solve his demonic case. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Traditional, classic film enthusiast Stuart (Robert Englund) used to love his job as a cinema projectionist, but the modern world is driving him mad in The Last Showing. Incensed by digital projectors, audiences on their cell phones, and a general lack of attention paid to films, Stuart takes his frustrations out on Martin (Finn Jones) and Allie, a young couple on their first date using a screening of The Hills Have Eyes as a quiet place to make out. Soon, Stuart and Allie are trapped in a theater, forced to play a macabre game as Stuart forces them to star a movie he's decided to make, navigating traps and lethal situations in a horror movie where the deaths will be frighteningly real.

About to retire, lifelong coal miner George (Jeff Fahey) heads into the mines for his final dig in Beneath. Accompanied by his faithful mining crew (including Brent Briscoe and Eric Etebari) and his supportive daughter (Kelly Noonan), George is ready to close the book on a long career when his final dig breaks through into a new, unexplored part of the mine, triggering a cave-in that closes the tunnels behind them. Trapped underground with at least three days until their rescue, the survivors need to keep their heads, manage supplies, and wait... but claustrophobia, hallucinations, and the one-by-one disappearances of the remaining crew begin to convince George and his team that they are not alone.

Highschool track star Adam (Cameron Monaghan) only knew Jamie Marks as the boy his fellow athletes bullied in Jamie Marks Is Dead. Adam never bothered Jamie, but also never stood up for him, and he's haunted by the boy's unexpected death... literally. When the girl who discovered the body says she has been visited by Jamie's ghost, she begs Adam not to interact with the specter, but Adam ignores her warning. Befriending in death the boy he ignored in life, Adam is drawn into Jamie's world, inviting the supernatural into his life and widening pathways for spirits to find and follow him. With Liv Tyler and Judy Greer.

Raised by her strictly religious grandmother (Lin Shaye) after her mother died in childbirth, Grace (Alexia Fast) is excited to leave her grandmother's oppressive house and head to college in Grace: The Possession. Taking place almost entirely from Grace's point of view, the film follows her experience at school, a sheltered girl finding her way through dorms, registration, and parties... but also her hallucinations and religious images that appear before her. As her visions get worse and she begins to uncover a dark secret, Grace's grandmother sends a priest (Alan Dale) to intervene: he will need to perform an exorcism to battle the demon her grandmother had been protecting her from all those years.

Outlaws

In 1978, long before they'd become involved in Jackie Brown's caper, small-time crooks Ordell and Louis (Mos Def and John Hawkes) plot a million dollar kidnapping in Life of Crime. Adapted from the Elmore Leonard novel, Ordell and Louis plan to kidnap Mickey (Jennifer Aniston), the wife of shady real-estate developer Frank (Tim Robbins). Because Frank's talents hew more toward fraud in embezzlement than towards real estate, Louis and Ordell know he has millions and won't go to the cops... but what they don't know is: Frank is much more interested in his young mistress (Isla Fisher) than in paying the men that would be doing him a favor by making Mickey disappear. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Living in London after inheriting a dilapidated house, American Tom and Anna Wright (James Franco and Kate Hudson) have fallen so far behind in their mortgage they're facing eviction in Good People. They rent a basement room to help make ends meet, but the Wrights find their new tenant dead from a heroin overdose beside £220,000, cash, in a duffel bag. The dead tenant is a problem but the money seems like good luck... until the money's rightful owner (Omar Sy), a suspicious police officer (Tom Wilkinson), and the dead man's extremely violent business partner come knocking. With Anna Friel. On DVD and Blu Ray.

His past in the criminal underworld long behind him, New Orleans auto mechanic Paul (Jason Patric) has to return to his violent roots when his daughter Beth (Gia Mantegna) goes missing in The Prince. Paul connects with Beth's friends at college, tracks who she's connected with on Skype, and follows the trail to Omar (Bruce Willis), a crime lord seeking revenge from Paul's years of gunfights and explosions. Forced to return to the fray to save his daughter, Paul reunites with a former colleague (John Cusack) to dismantle bad guys, find Omar, and rescue Beth before Paul's past destroys everything he loves. On DVD and Blu Ray.

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Centering on Violet and Daisy Hilton but exploring the details of early American sideshow life, the documentary Bound by Flesh follows the sisters from their birth to their careers in vaudeville, movies such as the classic Freaks, and burlesque. Given voice by Leah Thompson and Nancy Allen, among others, the film weaves together correspondence, archival footage, and photos to tell the story of performers kept insulated from the realities of show business and forced to contend with a world more manipulative than they suspected.

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Continuing the series of the lovable St. Bernard, Beethoven's Treasure Tail finds Beethoven fired from his newest movie and traveling home with his trainer, Eddie. Making a pit stop in a small town, they meet a boy searching for a lost treasure, and the three of them begin an adventure that brings the whole town together.

Week of October 21st

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Hard Futures

With the planet made uninhabitable by a new ice age, the remnants of humanity live on a globe-circling train in Bong Joon-Ho's Snowpiercer. Living in the tail section of the train, Curtis (Chris Evans) begins a revolution against the rigid class system trapping the less fortunate in the grimy, overcrowded rear of the train while the rich and privileged live in comfort at the front. Banding together a group including an enthusiastic boy (Jamie Bell), a drug-addled engineer (Song Kang-Ho), a grieving mother (Octavia Spencer), and his triple-amputee mentor (John Hurt), Curtis leads his revolutionaries forward through the train, from car to car, hoping to confront the train's creator (Ed Harris). The minister of the train (Tilda Swinton) would keep the punishing caste system in place, and in each car, the group from the back of the train must fight to push forward and reclaim their rights. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Bickering married couple Shane and Liz (Zach Gilford and Keile Sanchez) and single mother Eva (Carmen Ejogo) and her teenage daughter are out on the most dangerous night of the year in The Purge: Anarchy. Set during the one night in post-"Collapse" America when nothing is illegal, the four of them are easy targets for the rampant violence that rules the streets... until they meet Leo (Frank Grillo). With an armor-plated car and enough weapons to wipe out anything in his path, Leo plans to use the Purge for a mission of vengeance, but with four strays in his care, he has to shift his priorities to keep them all alive among rampagers, thrill-killers, and revolutionaries seeking to overthrow the New Founding Fathers. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Creature Comedy

Jose wasn't a very good husband (he's three months behind in his alimony payments) and is an irresponsible father (he takes his son, Sergio, with him to rob banks) in the Spanish Witching & Bitching, but a lot of his troubles are rooted in his problems with women. Constantly complaining about his ex-wife, he attracts like-minded woman haters to partner with in his bank heist. When their criminal exploits end in Sergio captured by a coven of witches, the men are facing women that truly are monstrous... instead of intimidating, dismissive, or just too honest for their delicate egos. To save his son, Jose has to stop complaining, learn the difference between women and monsters, and defeat the elder witches with wildly over-the-top slapstick violence.

Zach (Dane DeHaan) is heartbroken when his girlfriend Beth (Aubrey Plaza) dies suddenly, but he's even more distraught when she returns from the grave in Life after Beth. Zach wants to know how Beth became a zombie while her parents (John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon) want him to just accept the miracle: Beth's back! While Zach tries to make the most of his time with Beth while it lasts-- Flamenco lessons, romantic meals-- her undead self defaults to hanging out and listening to records like they always have... with the possible exception of eating people, spreading the disease, and starting the zombie apocalypse. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Family

About to be evicted from their small, Nevada community, young video blogger Tuck convinces his friends Alex and Munch to join him in a quest to save their town in Earth to Echo. Discovering that the interference on their cell phones is actually a map, the teens head out into the desert with the hope of discovering something amazing or miraculous. With Tuck filming the adventure, they make their discovery: a small, glowing extra-terrestrial they decide to call "Echo" (after rejecting "Space Ninja" and "Master Blaster"). Echo is more than just the key to saving their town, he's a powerful alien with unexplored abilities, a healthy sense of friendship, and a need to return home, even if others (Jason Gray-Stanford) in the neighborhood may have other ideas. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Laughs

Annie and Jay (Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel) decide to shake up their boring, domestic routine in Sex Tape. They film themselves in every conceivable position but, though Annie asks him to delete the video afterwards, Jay accidentally uploads it. With their video linked in the cloud and sync'd to their family and close friends (Rob Corddry and Ellie Kemper), Annie and Jay make a mad, city-spanning dash to reclaim all the devices that automatically download their video. In a world of viral videos, can they erase their embarrassing movie before anyone sees it? With Rob Lowe.

Over the course of 24 hours, unemployed college drop-out Niko wanders through modern Berlin in the German A Coffee in Berlin. Dumped by his girlfriend and moving out of their apartment, Niko doesn't even have enough money for a cup of coffee after an ATM eats his debit card. His only option is to walk from situation to situation, traveling through Berlin to reconnect with old friends, wind up in an avant garde film, comfort a melancholy housewarmer, and convince his father he's still in school... though, with everything happening around him and all the places he goes, he never seems to be able to get that cup of coffee. On DVD and Blu Ray.

A filmed version of his one man show, Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays spans decades, letting Crystal tell the anecdotal account of his storied career. Careening through his life, bouncing from era to era and subject to subject, the show paints a broad portrait of a performer's peaks and valleys, and the unpredictable nature of life.

New this week in our TV New Releases:

Mad Men Season 7 part 1

As Don Draper and the Sterling Cooper Agency head toward the 1970s, their final season together will reveal the final fates of the company's founders, Pete's evolving career and family, Peggy's continued growth, and Don's troubled marriage.

Week of October 14th

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Time Travel

Struggling to survive a post-apocalyptic future where mutants are hunted by unstoppable, adapting, robotic Sentinels, Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) have banded together for one last chance to change the bleak fate of the world in Bryan Singer's X-Men: Days of Future Past. With the help of Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page), the remaining mutants send never-aging Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) consciousness back in time. Operating in 1973, Wolverine can change the future if he can reunite the young Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender), both in a desperate state after the events of X-Men: First Class. Together, if they can stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from assassinating the Sentinels' creator (Peter Dinklage), they can re-write the events that cause the wave of persecution and the mutant apocalypse. With Nicolas Hoult. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Mr. Peabody (Ty Burrell) may be a dog, but he's still an Olympic gold medallist, world-class chef, and super-genius who built a time machine in the animated Mr. Peabody & Sherman. He's also raising an adopted human boy, the average, normal Sherman (Max Charles), but being the son of a genius dog causes trouble at school, attracting the attention of school bully Penny (Ariel Winter). When Mr. Peabody invites Penny, her parents, and social worker Mrs. Grunion (Allison Janney) over for dinner to solve the problem, Penny finds a way to use Peabody's time machine... and suddenly, Mr. Peabody and Sherman are on a time traveling adventure to find Penny, stop her from altering history, meet Leonardo da Vinci (Stanley Tucci), stop by the court of King Agamemnon (Patrick Warburton), and improve Sherman's life in school. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Handling Talent

Seattle music journalist Ellie (Toni Collette) needs a big story if she wants to keep her job at Stax magazine in Lucky Them, and her editor (Oliver Platt) pushes her to write about Matthew Smith: the rock legend who disappeared ten years ago... and Ellie's ex-boyfriend. She gets the money to begin her search from Charlie (Thomas Haden Church), but Charlie insists on coming with her and making a documentary about the adventure. Together, they travel the Pacific Northwest trying to solve the mystery of Matthew Smith-- why he disappeared, where he went, or if he's even alive-- but while Charlie just wants to be a part of the story, Ellie's journey becomes as much about her own past as the mysterious rock star she's investigating. With Ahna O'Reilly.

Based on sports agent J.B. Bernstein's (Jon Hamm) plan to find the Major League Baseball's next great pitcher, Million Dollar Arm is the story of Bernstein's quest to find new talent in a new market: India. Working as independents after his glory years in a top firm, Bernstein and business partner (Aasif Mandvi) stage a contest to find the best cricket bowlers in India, discovering Rinku (Suraj Sharma) and Dinesh (Madhur Mittal). Though Bernstein hopes he's just signed the players that will put him back on top, his 18-year-old new recruits don't know much about baseball, and even less about America. Together, they could be the key to each other's success, but as Rinku and Dinesh, guided by their new coach (Bill Paxton) have a long way to go before they can become baseball's rising stars. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Notorious

Letting the victims tell the story of one of America's most notorious gangsters, Joe Berlinger's Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger interviews the people eager to testify against Whitey Bulger during his 2013 trial. Detailing Bulger's history throughout the criminal underworld, the film interviews his defense team, professionals who had investigated him over the years, and people who had personal experiences with Whitey Bulger: people who lost businesses and family members to Bulger.

Returning to the cabin where they spent the summers of their youth, Angela's friends gather for her bachelorette party in Chemical Peel. The tension between the women-- especially between Angela and her childhood best friend Rae-- is set aside for the big day, but when a train derails and releases toxic chemicals into the air, the women are stuck together in the cabin. They tape up the windows and wait for rescue, but as their situation gets more desperate and they discover what the chemicals can really do to them, friendships give way to a brutal battle for survival.

New this week in our TV New Releases:

	Fargo Season 1	Lester is a small time insurance salesman who never stands up for himself, but he meets a mysterious stranger who offers to solve Lester's problems... but when people who mistreated him turn up dead, Lester has to handle the deal he's made without winding up dead or in prison.
	Penny Dreadful Season 1	Drawn from 19th century pulp fiction, supernatural characters like Dorian Grey, Mina Harker, Abraham Van Helsing, and Frankenstein's monster roam Victorian England, and as more monsters, curses, and demons come their way, allegiances shift as they find their way between good and evil.
	Dracula Season 1	Leaving his native Transylvania, Count Dracula travels to London. Posing as an American businessman, he hides his real goals-- vengeance and the destruction of the people who ruined his life-- behind the charming guise of a modernist who strives to modernize Victorian society.

Week of October 7th

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The Sci-Fi Fate of the World

With an alien race overtaking Europe and all of humanity uniting to fight them off, former advertising executive Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) has no intention of seeing combat in Doug Liman's Edge of Tomorrow. Cage tries to weasel out of his mission when the head of humanity's United Defense Force (Brendan Gleeson) orders him to take his public relations to the front lines... and ends up handcuffed, stripped of rank, and dragged by a gung-ho drill sergeant (Bill Paxton) into a cannon-fodder crew of front line grunts. Without any training or combat skills, Cage doesn't live very long in combat... and wakes up in handcuffs again, right before he's sent to the front lines. Repeating the same day (and the same losing battle) again and again, he makes contact with war hero Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) who won her battle with the same power Cage has: by continually repeating the battle, she knew what the enemies would do in advance. Now that Cage has the power to "reset the day" every time he dies, he is the only chance for humanity to stop the alien invasion. With Rita's training and a plan for finding the alien brain, Cage has to fight the battle every day, getting a little further each time, until he either defeats the aliens or the invaders find a way to stop him. With Noah Taylor. On DVD and Blu Ray.

When Berkeley record store clerk Nick (Jonathan Scarfe) begins receiving visions-- possibly from the future, possibly from an alternate dimension-- he embraces the visions' plans for his future in Radio Free Albemuth. Set in an alternate 1985, where the United States is led by the authoritarian President Fremont (Scott Wilson), Nick and his wife (Katheryn Winnick) follow the path of Nick's visions, moving to Los Angeles, and beginning a new life. Consulting with his closest friend, science fiction author Philip K. Dick (Shea Whigham), they discover that Nick is being led by a foreign intelligence to help overthrow the fascist government... if Nick's visions are real. If not, Nick could be losing his mind, or just manipulated by others (Alanis Morissette) claiming to be tuned into the same signal he is.

Reunited, Fin and April (Ian Ziering and Tara Reid) are on their way to New York City in Sharknado 2: The Second One, touring on their book How to Survive a Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters. Though the media brushes Fin off when he says that the Sharknado he survived could happen again, his prediction is fulfilled before he even arrives in New York: his plane passes through a storm and is attacked by an onslaught of airborne sharks. Soon, they're fighting their way through a shark saturated city, with Fin fighting to reunite with his sister (Kari Wuhrer), but their journey is filled with decapitations, chainsaw fights, shark-freezing freon, and lots of shark jumping. With Vivica A. Fox.

Comedies

Stuck in the 1880s with a 2014 sensibility, fourth-wall breaking Albert (Seth MacFarlane, who also directs) is fully aware of how primitive, unsanitary, and dangerous the old west is in A Million Ways to Die in the West. Albert is a sheep farmer with no love of fighting or guns, and backing down from gunfights causes his girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) to leave him for more successful, mustachioed Foy (Neil Patrick Harris). Heartbroken, Albert challenges Foy, but the duel he cannot hope to win changes when he meets Anna (Charlize Theron), a beautiful stranger who can teach him how to shoot, win his battles, and finally believe in himself. Unfortunately, Anna is the wife of Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson), the most dangerous outlaw in the old west, and Albert will do anything to avoid facing a murderous, jealous husband. With Giovanni Ribisi and Sarah Silverman. On DVD and Blu Ray.

When American doctor Paul Lewis (Taylor Kitsch) is caught on a Canadian flight with cocaine, he's forced to spend a month in Tickle Head, Newfoundland in The Grand Seduction. With the fishing industry folding, the townsfolk survive mostly on welfare checks, but they could all find work again if a chemical company would establish itself in Tickle Head... but the company won't set up shop unless the town has a doctor in residence. Dreaming of restoring his town's sense of purpose, former fisherman Murray (Brendan Gleeson) concocts a scheme to make Doctor Lewis fall in love with the town: they research and eavesdrop, trying to make Tickle Head into his ideal home. If they can cater to his interests, serve his favorite foods, and win his heart, Paul could be the key to saving their home, but none of their scheming is nearly as attractive to him as the local postal worker (Liane Balaban) and the genuine heart of the community. With Gordon Pinsent.

When her boyfriend leaves her for another woman and her New York bookstore job about to close down, standup comedian Donna Stern (Jenny Slate) has a drunken one-night-stand in Obvious Child. Discovering she's pregnant, Donna heads immediately to an abortion clinic only to be told she's too early: she has to wait two weeks. With nothing but time to think about her life, she's supported by her best friend (Gabby Hoffman), her parents (Richard Kind and Polly Draper), and her short-term boyfriend, and has to fully come to terms with the decision she's about to make. With David Cross.

Biography

Stepping into his next death-defying feat, Harry Houdini's (Adrien Brody) entire life flashes before his eyes in the History Channel miniseries Houdini. Weaving his most famous feats-- the vanishing elephant, the Chinese water torture cell-- and skills as a showman alongside his homelife and marriage to Bess (Kristen Connolly) , the film also explores Houdini's crusade to debunk mediums and spiritualists as well as his speculated involvement in World War I espionage. With Evan Jones.

Animation

In Scotland in 1874 on the coldest day ever, Jack's heart stops beating at birth in Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart, so his midwife replaces his heart with a clock. Growing up as a boy with a clockwork heart, Jack has to follow the rules that keep the clock running: he must always control his temper, and he cannot fall in love. When Jack meets beautiful Miss Acacia singing in the town square, their duet leads him close to breaking the rules that could upset his fragile, cuckoo-clock heart.

Shy and sheltered Princess Alexa discovers a secret door that takes her to a magical land in Barbie and the Secret Door. Traveling to a world of fairytales and magic, she meets Rory the mermaid and Nori the fairy, who help her to defeat the evil Malucia. Malucia is trying to claim all the magic in the land for herself, but Alexa discovers magical powers of her own in this new land and can lead her friends to save the day.

New this week in our TV New Releases:

	American Horror Story Season 3: Coven	Zoe is sent to Miss Robichaux's Academy in New Orleans only to discover her new boarding school is home to a community of witches, descended from a Salem coven, where she discovers the extent of her powers and her own Salem heritage.		Rick & Morty Season 1	Morty isn't especially bright and not very brave, but his dimension-hopping mad-scientist grandfather Rick still needs him as a sidekick across realities as they confront ridiculous monsters, clones, talking dogs, regal jellybeans, and the very helpful Mr. Meeseeks.
	Adventure Time Season 4	Adventure Time, come on grab your friends, we'll go to very distant lands. Jake the Dog and Finn the Human-- the fun will never end. It's Adventure Time.		Vikings Season 2	Ragnar is ambitiously hoping to sail west, explore new kingdoms, but he and his family are at war with Jarl Borg and Rollo, and both sides struggle for power as they try to decide the course of their destinies.
	The Following Season 2	After the faked death of serial killer and mastermind Joe Carroll, Ryan and his niece Max join forces with people who could lure Joe out of hiding while Joe attracts a new cult of followers around him, preparing to once again wreak havoc.		Hemlock Grove Season 1	A nefarious biomedical company controls the fates of the citizens of the little Pennsylvania town of Hemlock grove, which could be responsible for the town's brutal murders, werewolf citizens, and people with super-human strength.
	The Almighty Johnsons Season 1	New Zealander Axl discovers that he is a reincarnated Norse god on his 21st birthday, and it is up to him to restore himself and his family of deities to their full,godlike power.