A bounty of new releases to speak of this month across numerous categories. Why don’t you reserve several for your viewing pleasure in anticipation of the Thanksgiving weekend?
For those of you who enjoy music history, these new releases might spark a bit of nostalgia. In “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” you can learn about brothers Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb, who find early fame in the 1960s and go on to write over 1,000 songs, including 20 #1 hits. This film follows the group's meteoric rise as they navigate the complexities of working so intimately alongside family.
Our new release collection also includes the documentary “Enormous: The Gorge Story.” This location has brought over seven million fans, and the world's biggest musicians, to a patch of rural Washington farmland 150 miles from nowhere. Despite overwhelming odds, a small family winery with a makeshift plywood stage, eventually became a Pollstar, Billboard, and ACM-winning music venue. It follows the stories of Dave Matthews, Jason Mraz and Pearl Jam (among many other artists), all of whom have legendary pasts at the venue. There is also the documentary “Genesis: The Last Domino.” Follow Tony Banks, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford and their crew as they build and rehearse their Last Domino tour. Despite the complications and uncertainties of the global COVID pandemic, and without confirmed dates, the band made the decision to spend the time and money so they would be prepared once the world returned to normal. The film follows the creative and emotional processes involved and features band interviews and live performances from the spectacular yet-to-be-seen show.
Come along on a rollicking thrill-ride down the Amazon with wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson) and intrepid researcher Dr. Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) in “Jungle Cruise.” Lily travels from London, England to the Amazon jungle and enlists Frank's questionable services to guide her downriver on La Quila, his ramshackle-but-charming boat. Lily is determined to uncover an ancient tree with unparalleled healing abilities, possessing the power to change the future of medicine. Thrust on this epic quest together, the unlikely duo encounters innumerable dangers and supernatural forces, all lurking in the deceptive beauty of the lush rainforest. But as the secrets of the lost tree unfold, the stakes reach even higher for Lily and Frank, and their fate and mankind's hangs in the balance.
For a few giggles, you can always check out the Canadian comedy-drama “Best Sellers.” In a last-ditch effort to save her father's publishing house, an ambitious young editor (Aubrey Plaza) goes on a book tour with an author (Michael Caine) who put the publishing house on the map decades before but is now bitter, booze-addled and hasn't written a new book since. Or, try “Swan Song.” The film follows retired hairdresser and local bar performer icon Pat Pitsenbarger (Udo Kier) who has given up on life from the confines of his small-town Sandusky, Ohio nursing home. But when Pat gets word that a former client's dying wish was for him to style her final hairdo, he sets out on an epic journey across Sandusky to confront the ghosts of his past, and collect the beauty supplies necessary for the job. A comical and bittersweet journey about rediscovering oneself, and looking gorgeous while doing so. Featuring Linda Evans and Dee Dee Coolidge.
Noteworthy documentary releases include “Cleanin’ Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters” the definitive retrospective documentary charting the making of “Ghostbusters” starring Dan Aykroyd, the late Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, and Ernie Hudson. There is also “Ken Burns: Muhammad Ali” to be found on our shelves. He was one of the best-known men of the 20th century, a three-time heavyweight boxing champion who captivated millions of fans throughout the world with his mesmerizing combination of speed, grace and power in the ring, and charm and playful boasting outside of it. At the height of his fame, he took American life, the racial prejudices, the religious biases, the role of celebrities, the role of sports in society, and refashioned it in his image. At the peak of his ability, he bravely sacrificed his career by refusing to go to war in Vietnam, and though he was condemned for it, Muhammad Ali would later be celebrated as a principled pacifist.
A contemplative odyssey across our planet, “We Don’t Deserve Dogs,” looks at the simple and extraordinary ways that dogs influence our daily lives. People need dogs, and perhaps they need us, but what do humans do to deserve the unconditional love they provide?
Find these and all of the November releases (including “The Crown, Season 4”) here.