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Headsup: Lotteries, Elvis, and Doom

Disclaimer: Warner Brothers requests we note that it provided free copies of The Flash: The Complete Eighth Season and Doom Patrol: The Complete Third Season for purposes of review. The opinions I share are my own.

Set in the sprawling mecca of the rich and famous, Ray Donovan does the dirty work for LA’s top power players. The series stars Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award nominee Liev Schreiber in his first lead television role as the go-to guy who makes the problems of the city’s celebrities, superstar athletes, and business moguls disappear. This powerful drama unfolds when his father, played by Oscar® winner Jon Voight, is unexpectedly released from prison, setting off a chain of events that shakes the Donovan family to its core. — from Paramount

The entirety of the series (plus the movie that was made to tie up loose ends after cancellation) is here–all eighty-two episodes of it. It’s all on DVD and not Blu-Ray because Paramount stopped releasing the seasons on Blu-Ray after the third season (and a half-and-half boxed set wouldn’t make anybody happy). That being said, at the time that I’m typing this, this entire set is cheaper than buying seasons six and seven together. So it’s a good deal if you need it on your shelf for posterity and aren’t happy just to leave it floating out there in stream-land for when you need it next. The total cost per episode (and the movie is an episode in this equation just to make it easier because doing math is bad enough) is around sixty-five cents. You can grab it from Amazon here.

After defeating Godspeed with the help of his speedster children from the future, Bart and Nora, Barry Allen aka The Flash is back to face new challenges. With the help of Team Flash at STAR Labs including Caitlin Snow, Frost, Allegra Garcia and Chester P. Runk along with his family, The Flash will face villains old and new in Central City. The season begins with an epic five-episode event, “Armageddon” featuring crossover characters from across the Arrowverse. – Warner Brothers

Comic book movies are all about the multiverse these days, which makes sense–because I swear I was in a different universe where The Flash got cancelled a few seasons ago. It feels weird to have a Mandela Effect from a TV show, but that’s where I am with it. Coming back to the topic at hand, the eighth season (with the ninth being the last, at least until I shift into a different universe again) is here with all twenty episodes. In addition, you’ve got deleted scenes and a gag reel, along with two featurettes. As always, posterity and shelf space reign when looking to purchase such a thing. It is eminently grabbable here.

DC’s unlikeliest group of Super Heroes, the Doom Patrol, are ready to save the world… kind of. After suffering horrific accidents that gave them superhuman abilities, Cliff Steele aka Robotman (Brendan Fraser), Larry Trainor aka Negative Man (Matt Bomer), Rita Farr aka Elasti-Woman (April Bowlby), Jane aka Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero), and Victor Stone aka Cyborg (Joivan Wade) were each left scarred, disfigured, and ostracized – until scientist Dr. Niles Caulder (Timothy Dalton) brings the outcasts together to treat and protect them. Gritty and irreverent, Doom Patrol follows this part support group, part superhero team as they take on evil, otherworldly forces determined to destroy humankind – even if it wants nothing to do with them. — from Warner Brothers

Still on the spandex side of reality, we have more superheroes in the form of Doom Patrol…a show that I’m delighted and astounded is still going with season four premiering next month. All ten episodes are here using the comics as a jumping off point and then going in new, insane directions. There’s a featurette look at the season, a featurette filtering the “Robotman’s Best Lines” (and let’s face it: hearing Brendan Fraser curse is somewhat delightful), a featurette about Michelle Gomez’s Madame Rouge, and more. It’s available on either Blu-Ray or DVD and can be snagged here.

Jump into the jolly season as Lifetime®’s A Very Merry Movie Collection: Volume 3 arrives on DVD from Lionsgate, exclusively at Walmart. A set of 12 films for the whole family to enjoy — including Holiday in Santa Fe (starring Mario Lopez), Merry Liddle Christmas Baby (starring Kelly Rowland), and Miracle in Motor City (featuring R&B icon Smokey Robinson). — from Lionsgate

If there’s one thing this site has proven over the aeons it’s been around, it’s that pretty much everything has a fan somewhere. So we’ve never tried to say that something isn’t for anybody. We have, on occasion, said we have no idea who might be up for something…but that’s not the case here. Because some people have your more mainstream holidays classics like Die Hard or Gremlins, and some people have Lifetime Christmas movies. And last time I checked, I think they’d produced about 718 of them. But again, for some people they love this stuff, whether whole-heartedly or ironically. Either way, this volume comes with twelve movies and is available exclusively via Wal-Mart.

Enjoy this rollicking Technicolor musical in ultra-crisp 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision™ and HDR-10. Fully restored from the original 35mm camera negative, Blue Hawaii looks more spectacular than ever with every colorful costume and vivid Hawaiian background brought to life. The first of three films that Elvis shot in Hawaii, BLUE HAWAII celebrated the brand-new exotic state and features the massive hit song “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” which was certified platinum. –– from Paramount

I really appreciate the Paramount Presents series. A studio putting out restored classics with new bonus bits is always a reason to rejoice. Here they’ve restored the hell out of this Elvis movie staple, even rebuilding the opening title sequence to bring it up to snuff. There’s also a brand new audio commentary from film historian James L. Neibaur, a photo scrapbook, and a digital copy of the film. If you’re a fan of Presley and have the hi-def rig at home to support it, you’re going to want this. And Amazon can help you out with that.

Steve Martin and John Candy star in this hysterical tale of travel gone awry. Neal Page (Martin) is an uptight ad exec trying to get home to Chicago for Thanksgiving with his family. When rerouted to Wichita, Neal reluctantly partners with Del Griffith (Candy), an obnoxious yet loveable salesman. Together, they embark on a cross-country adventure filled with outrageously funny situations and a generous helping of warmth. — from Paramount

It’s the 35th anniversary of the releases of Planes, Tranes and Automobiles …and it seems like every five years after a movie comes out, there’s a new rebranded, remarketed version of a disc featuring the same legacy content. And it’s never anything to get excited about. But, in a bit of an early Xmas miracle, this brings something new to the table. There’s a “Lost Luggage” disc which contains over and hour of deleted and extended scenes. These were found in the archives of the late, great John Hughes. Also included is Dylan Baker’s original audition. The film is remastered into 4K with all the ultra bells and whistles. Now we get to the legacy content: a making-of featurette, a documentary on Hughes, a tribute to Candy, and more. Fans will actually want to snag this one. Good releases should be rewarded with coin. You can grab a copy here.

Inspired by a remarkable true story, the film follows retiree Jerry Selbee who discovers a mathematical loophole in the Massachusetts lottery. He and his wife Marge go on an exciting multi-million dollar winning spree with the goal to revive their small Michigan town. But when a selfish college student cheats the system, Jerry must find a way to make the game fair for all. –from Paramount

Based on a HuffPost article, Jerry & Marge Go Large is a film with a surprisingly small footprint for such an interesting cast: Bryan Cranston, Annette Bening, Rainn Wilson, Larry Wilmore, Michael McKean…it premiered at Tribeca and then went straight to Paramount+. And this was earlier this year, so it wasn’t even when the pandemic was at its…um, most pandemic-y. Regardless, as a result of it being one of those forgotten releases, it’s bare bones on both DVD and Blu-Ray. Which is a shame…because with a crowd like that working on the film, there had to be a lot of interesting outtakes if nothing else. Alas. But you can grab it over at Amazon.