New on DVD and Blu-ray: May 9, 2017

New on DVD and Blu-ray this week we have everyone's favorite "so bad it's good movie" of 2017, "Fifty Shades Darker", a double feature Blu-ray edition of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes", and the true story of "A Street Cat Named Bob". We also have the first season of the HBO comedy series "Divorce" and the fourth season of Netflix's "Orange is the New Black".

In the oldies but goldies category we have new Blu-ray releases for Michael Mann's "Heat", John Waters' "Serial Mom", Lawrence Kasdan's "The Accidental Tourist", the 1988 horror film "Brain Damage" and Gus Van Sant's much-maligned "Psycho" remake.

Check out all the new movies and TV shows released on DVD and Blu-ray after the jump.

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Cast and Story Updates

More information has been released about the sequel to 2011's surprising reboot "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". Titled "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes", the new installment in a potential trilogy, will take place 15 years after the events in "Rise..." and will focus on Caesar's struggle to lead his brethren and the survival efforts of a group of human scientists in San Francisco. The first actor to be cast in the sequel is Jason Clarke ("Zero Dark Thirty", "Lawless"), but his role has not been specified. James Franco will not reprise his role. The first movie's director Rupert Wyatt also exited the production and was replaced by Matt Reeves ("Cloverfield", "Let Me In"). The script has been written by Mark Bomback ("Live Free or Die Hard", "Unstoppable"). Production is expected to start this spring and the release date has been set for May 23, 2014, in 3D.

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NEWS UPDATE: Planet of the Apes, Man of Steel, Daniel Radcliffe and Seth MacFarlane

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Director Matt Reeves ("Cloverfield", "Let Me In") will direct "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes", the sequel to last year's "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". The first film's director Rupert Wyatt left the sequel due to concerns that he might not be able to meet the 2014 release date the studio had scheduled. The release date has been set for May 23, 2014.

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"The Dark Knight" writer David S. Goyer spoke recently about the new Superman film, Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel". Goyer stated that the new approach will be one similar to that of Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins". The exact word he used it "naturalistic". In fact, Nolan is producing this one, so it's easy to think of a Dark Knight approach here. Here is a sample of Goyer's interview:

"What Christopher Nolan and I have done with Superman is try to bring the same naturalistic approach that we adopted for the Batman trilogy. We always had a naturalistic approach, we want our stories to be rooted in reality, like they could happen in the same world we live in. It’s not that easy with Superman, and actually this doesn’t necessarily mean we will make a dark movie. But working on this reboot we are thinking about what would happen if a story like this one actually happened. How would people react to this? What impact would the presence of Superman in the real world have? What I really like to do is write ‘genre’ stories without a cartoonish element. I did the same with Da Vinci’s Demons, and I’ll do the same with Man of Steel."

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Daniel Radcliffe stars in a supernatural thriller from director Alexandre Aja ("The Hills Have Eyes"). The film is called "Horns" and follows Ig Perrish (Radcliffe), a young man who wakes up to find himself accused of the rape and murder of his girlfriend. And if that's not bad enough, he's also grown a pair of horns on his head that give him the power of forcing people to confess their sins and give in to their darkest impulses. Perrish now embarks on a quest for revenge to discover the true circumstances of his girlfriend's death and punish the guilty. "Horns" also stars Juno Temple, Max Minghella and James Remar. And as a bonus, here's an official image for the film.

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Seth MacFarlane ("Ted", "Family Guy") will host next year's Oscars. The 85th Annual Academy Awards will be aired on February 24, 2013. Here is a video MacFarlane made about the big news and an official press release :

"Seth MacFarlane will host “The 85th Annual Academy Awards®,” telecast producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. This will be MacFarlane’s first appearance on Oscar’s stage. “The 85th Annual Academy Awards” will be broadcast live on Oscar® SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2013 on the ABC Television Network.

“We are thrilled to have Seth MacFarlane host the Oscars. His performing skills blend perfectly with our ideas for making the show entertaining and fresh,” said Zadan and Meron. “He will be the consummate host, and we are so happy to be working with him.”

“It’s truly an overwhelming privilege to be asked to host the Oscars,” said MacFarlane. “My thoughts upon hearing the news were, one, I will do my utmost to live up to the high standards set forth by my predecessors; and two, I hope they don’t find out I hosted the Charlie Sheen roast.”

“Seth is unbelievably talented,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. “We couldn’t be happier with the creative team we’ve assembled. With Craig, Neil and now Seth, we’re off to a great start.”

MacFarlane made his feature directorial debut this summer with the box office success “Ted.” He also co-wrote and produced the film, and voiced the title character. “Ted” has brought in over $420 million worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing films of the year.

MacFarlane is the creative force behind the television series “Family Guy” and co-creator of “American Dad!” and “The Cleveland Show.” In September he hosted “Saturday Night Live” for the first time, for the show’s 38th season premiere. An accomplished live performer, he has played to sold-out audiences at London’s Royal Albert Hall and New York’s Carnegie Hall. In 2011 MacFarlane released his debut album, “Music Is Better than Words,” which earned two Grammy® nominations. He also has earned 13 Emmy® nominations and won two for his work on “Family Guy.”

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®. Don Mischer will direct the telecast for the third consecutive time. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide."

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New on DVD & Blu-Ray : RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2011)

Synopsis: Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a revolution; an action-packed epic featuring stunning visual effects and creatures unlike anything ever seen before. At the story's heart is Caesar (Andy Serkis), a chimpanzee who gains human-like intelligence and emotions from an experimental drug. Raised like a child by the drug's creator (James Franco), Caesar ultimately finds himself taken from the humans he loves and imprisoned. Seeking justice, Caesar assembles a simian army and escapes -- putting man and primate on a collision course that could change the planet forever.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2011) - WETA Visual Effects Featurette

This featurette is an in-depth look into the complex process of bringing the apes in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" to life, using the technology developed by WETA Digital, the visual effects company that worked on "Lord of the Rings", "King Kong" and "Avatar". The results are indeed breathtaking and this could possibly earn WETA another Oscar for their amazing visual effects. And it might be time for Andy Serkis to receive some well deserved recognition during the awards season as well. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is now in theaters.

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In Theaters : RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2011)

Official Synopsis : A single act of both compassion and arrogance leads to a war unlike any other -- and to the Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The Oscar-winning visual effects team that brought to life the worlds of Avatar and Lord of the Rings is breaking new ground, creating a CGI ape that delivers a dramatic performance of unprecedented emotion and intelligence, and epic battles on which rest the upended destinies of man and primate.

Genre: Thriller, Sci-Fi, Action

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2011) - Comic-Con Teaser and 6 New Movie Clips

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is a prequel to the original 1968 sci-fi thriller "Planet of the Apes". It's an origin story, presenting the events that lead to our planet being taken over by the apes, who have obtained a boost in intelligence through some genetic experiments meant to produce ground-breaking advances in modern medicine. Starring James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox and Andy Serkis (as the ape Caesar). For the first time ever, the apes are no longer actors in makeup, but motion-control CGI characters. Opens on August 5, 2011 (US). To watch the six movie clips, read the full article.

Could RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Really Be That Bad ?

James Franco, who plays the lead role in the prequel to "Planet of the Apes" seems to think so. In fact, he seems somewhat distressed about it. According to Steve Pond, writer for TheWrap.com, James Franco made some surprising comments in his recent interview for Playboy. Franco attempted to defend his poor and painfully unfunny performance as co-host of this year's Academy Awards show (alongside Anne Hathaway). He mentioned a lot of reasons for the way things turned out, including the bad script and the fact that he didn't really want to do it in the first place, but that's not quite the best part of the interview.

Apparently Franco is also trying to prepare the world for the stinker that "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is going to be. He begins by saying that he didn't feel the movie was very stimulating from a creative point of view, compared to some of his "better" works, referring to "127 Hours" and "Milk". He goes on saying that the movie was ruined by countless reshoots that sacrificed character developement in favor of more action, and that "Critics will be out to kill this movie and blame me for it just because they are out to kill me....I never thought of this movie as an example of my creativity. I was an actor for hire.". If Franco's hinting at what I think he's hinting, it seems like 20th Century Fox should get ready to promote the movie for the Razzies, not the Oscars.

Can't say I'm surprised, though, because when Fox changed three release dates and one official title, it was probably a strong indication that the studio was having doubts about the success of this prequel. This might be some new form of publicity that James Franco is attempting here, because, as far as I know, the cast and crew usually have nothing but the best things to say about the movie they're promoting. Besides, everybody knows this is just a summer blockbuster, not "Schindler's List". Hollywood is a strange, strange place.

Check out the full interview 

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RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2011) - 7 New TV Spots

Here are seven new TV spots for the upcoming "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", a prequel to the 1968 sci-fi classic, "Planet of the Apes". The movie, starring James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow and Andy Serkis, opens on August 5, 2011. To watch the rest of the clips, read the full article.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES - Two New Movie Clips

According to the plot elements we know of so far, in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", Caesar (Andy Serkis), the ape, is undergoing a special kind of treatment as part of a genetic engineering project intended to eventually produce medicine that could cure Alzheimer's disease. This leads to Caesar getting a boost in intelligence and developing communication skills. The project's lead scientist, Will Rodman (James Franco) and his father Charles (John Lithgow) adopt the ape as part of the experiment, but things don't work out too well. The first clip presented here depicts a heartfelt scene where Caesar jumps to the aid of Charles, who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease and gets into a little bit of trouble.

This second clip is a preview of the scene where Caesar, now held in captivity and abused by his caretakers, escapes from his cage and releases his primate friends, triggering the events that will lead to the apocalyptic future that we all know from the original "Planet of the Apes". The movie opens on August 5, 2011.

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RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2011) - New Spanish TV Spot

Official Synopsis: Set in present-day San Francisco, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES reveals the origins of a war that ultimately led to a global apocalypse – and to Earth becoming the Planet of the Apes. The Oscar-winning visual effects team that brought to life the worlds of Avatar and Lord of the Rings is taking on its most ambitious challenge, creating for the first time a non-human CGI character that delivers a dramatic performance with real emotion and intelligence.

Release Date: August 5, 2011 (US)

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RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2011) - UK Trailer

Official Synopsis: Set in present-day San Francisco, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES reveals the origins of a war that ultimately led to a global apocalypse – and to Earth becoming the Planet of the Apes. The Oscar-winning visual effects team that brought to life the worlds of Avatar and Lord of the Rings is taking on its most ambitious challenge, creating for the first time a non-human CGI character that delivers a dramatic performance with real emotion and intelligence.

Release Date: August 5, 2011

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RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2011) - International Trailer

Official Synopsis: RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is an origin story in the truest sense of the term. Set in present day San Francisco, the film is a reality-based cautionary tale, a science fiction/science fact blend, where man’s own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.

The International Trailer focuses more on the relationship between Will (James Franco), the scientist spearheading the genetics project, his father (John Lithgow) and Caesar (Andy Serkis), the enhanced ape responsible for the start of the revolution. Plus, there are some new scenes of explosive action that will definitely please. The more they show from the movie, the more interesting it's starting to look. Let's hope they don't disappoint. The movie opens on August 5th, 2011.

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RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES - Full-Length Trailer

The full trailer for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is here and it's showcasing some very interesting drama on top of the sci-fi thriller we already expect it to be. The action looks great and the motion-captured CGI apes look eerily realistic, and I don't usually admire CGI that much. The prequel to "Planet of the Apes" opens on August 5, 2011. Let's hope it will be all it promises to be and not less.

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RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES - FEATURETTE

A (very) short featurette with some of the people involved in the production talking about the movie's story, with on-set images, short clips from the trailer and some concept art. It's all very teasing and starting to look promising. The movie comes out August 5, 2011.

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RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES - TEASER TRAILER

The teaser trailer for the highly anticipated "Planet of the Apes" prequel is finally here and it looks OK. Just OK. Nothing amazing. It looks a bit like the Will Smith movie "I, Robot" with apes. We also get a bit of plot to go along with the CGI. We see James Franco and Freida Pinto, involved in the experiments that will ultimately create the intelectually enhanced ape known as Caesar (Andy Serkis doing the mocap and voice), who will rise against the cruel human captors and free his monkey friends. Uhm, is it politically correct to say "monkey" ? 'Cause I wouldn't want Caesar coming after me after he reads this. Anyway, it's nice to finally see some actual moving images from the movie, but I find it rather dubious that they would advertise a movie as being made by WETA Digital, the visual effects company for Avatar ? What ever happened to using actors and directors to attract audiences ? Or a decent story for that matter ?

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First Look at 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' VFX

Oh. My. GOD ! It's...It's...It's...a MONKEY !!!! And a CGI one at that. This is the first official look at this year's highly anticipated prequel to "Planet of the Apes" starring James Franco, Freida Pinto, Brian Cox and Andy Serkis (voice & motion-capture), due for release on August 5. Indeed, one can safely argue that the tech involved in the making of this movie far outreaches the classical prosthetic make-up used as far as the 2001 Tim Burton reboot. These will probably be the most realistic talking apes we're ever going to see on the big screen. And Serkis himself is no stranger to the monkey business. He also provided motion capture for Peter Jackson's "King Kong". Now if only they could guarantee that the story and characters will be just as impressive. Still waiting for an actual teaser trailer to form an opinion. So far, they're teasing us with style, not substance. And since when do they think that audiences buy tickets to movies based on just how impressive the technology behind them is. I'll take the old ape costumes anyday, if the story is any good. Which is why, even to this day, the 1968 original still works. They have a lot to live up to.

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New Title for 'Planet of the Apes' Prequel

You're probably thinking, what new title could they possibly come up with ? Isn't "Rise of the Apes" catchy enough ? Doesn't it appropriately represent what this movie is all about ? Well, apparently not, because Fox has just changed that title with the less catchy and longer "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". Because, obviously, nobody would acknowledge that this is a "Planet of the Apes" movie, without squeezing the whole trademark phrase in there. Fox really thinks very highly of us mortal people. But I think there's more to their constant tinkering with this movie. I think they think it's a stinker. They've been fiddling with release dates and title changes for some time now and we still haven't seen any promotional material, like a teaser, or a decent poster. Just some photos of Andy Serkis is his motion-capture jumpsuit. Perhaps they are desperately trying to salvage this movie in anyway they can. We'll see just how bad it really is.

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