The latest entry in the “Despicable Me” franchise tops the DVD releases for the week of Aug. 30.
“Minions: The Rise of Gru”: The origins of Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) as supervillain are explored in this prequel set in the groovy 1970s, with several Minions in tow, of course.
“The relentless assault of ’70s needle drops (is) fun, to a point,” Tribune News Service critic Katie Walsh writes, “but the movie itself is 87 minutes of pure chaos, a hallucinatory, cacophonous fever dream of nonsensical subplots and Minion gibberish.” She adds that the film “is, at least, blessedly short.”
Also new on DVD
“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”: A London cleaning woman saves up her money to go to Paris with the intention of buying a haute couture Christian Dior dress in this adaptation of the Paul Gallico novel.
“Chicago P.D.: Season Nine”: Ride along with Jason Beghe’s Sgt. Hank Voight and the officers of the 21st District as the procedural, part of NBC’s “One Chicago” block of programming, returns for a ninth season.
“Happening”: A college student in 1960s France seeks an illegal abortion in this timely drama based on writer Annie Ernaux’s autobiographical work.
“NCIS: Hawai’i: Season One”: The CBS franchise’s latest spinoff stars Vanessa Lachey as the first female special agent in charge of NCIS Pearl Harbor.
“Paradise Highway”: Juliette Binoche, Morgan Freeman and Frank Grillo star in this thriller set in the trucking industry and its seamy underbelly of human trafficking.
“Spitfire Over Berlin”: In this World War II action film, set in 1944, a British pilot must take his plane behind enemy lines on a scouting mission lest a group of U.S. aircraft fly into a German trap.
“Young Sheldon: The Complete Fifth Season”: The continuing childhood trials and tribulations of the titular Sheldon Cooper unfold in Season 5 of CBS’s “Big Bang Theory” prequel series.
“Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition”: The newly restored, definitive version of the first big-screen adventure of the USS Enterprise is available in 4K Ultra HD for the first time, featuring new and legacy bonus content. There will also be a limited-edition collector’s set, “The Complete Adventure,” that includes the theatrical cut of the movie and the first-ever widescreen presentation of the “Special Longer Version” created for a 1983 TV broadcast.
“Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture Collection”: A comprehensive 15-disc collection that includes the first six films in the franchise, all in 4K Ultra HD, with “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” and “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” available in the format for the first time.
Digital HD
“Our American Family”: Documentary about the opioid epidemic that focuses on a Philadelphia family struggling with generational substance abuse.
“We Are As Gods”: Stewart Brand — who was the creator of The Whole Earth Catalog, an influential member of Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters and an environmental activist — is the subject of this documentary film.
