DVD/Blu-ray Release Calendar: March 2019

▣ Ben Is Back Trailers

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Peter Hedges (Pieces of April, Dan in Real Life) directs his son, Lucas Hedges, in this look at opioid addiction. Taking place over 24 hours, the film focuses on the relationship between Ben and his mother (Julia Roberts) when the former returns home unexpectedly on Christmas Eve morning. Critics didn't love the film, but they did like pieces of it—especially the performances by the two leads.

▣ Burning Trailers

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Easily one of critics' favorite films of 2018 (though inexplicably snubbed in the Oscars' foreign-language category, where it failed to get a nomination), the latest from Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong is a loose adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s short story “Barn Burning.” A enigmatic tale of love and class, the film revolves around a love triangle between deliveryman Jongsu (Ah-in Yoo), Haemi (Jong-seo Jun), a local girl he falls for, and Ben (a universally praised Steven Yeun), the man she brings back home with her after a trip to Africa.

▣ Creed II Trailers

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No, it's not as good as Creed—but it's still a surprisingly solid sequel. Fans of Rocky IV will recognize a familiar foe in Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), whose son, Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), serves as Adonis’s opponent this time around. Sylvester Stallone helped write the script and returns for his eighth performance as Rocky Balboa. Steven Caple Jr. (The Land) takes over directing duties from Ryan Coogler, but Tessa Thompson is back as Bianca, as is Phylicia Rashad as Mary Anne Creed.

▣ The Favourite Trailers

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The latest from Yorgos Lanthimos (The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Lobster) is the director’s idiosyncratic and often comedic take on 18th century England and Queen Anne’s court. Olivia Colman just won an Oscar for her portrayal of the Queen, a frail woman whose close friend Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) actually governs the country. When a new servant, Abigail (Emma Stone), charms Sarah, she mentors her, but soon Abigail becomes the Queen’s companion as Sarah is consumed by the politics of war. Critics loved the film, which took home the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize in Venice and collected 10 Academy Award nominations, among other honors.

▣ Free Solo

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The latest documentary from Meru directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin is a portrait of climber Alex Honold as he prepares to ascend Yosemite’s El Capitan without a rope. If that sounds like a thrilling film, well, it is. Free Solo was one of 2018's most-lauded documentaries, taking home an Oscar among numerous other honors.

▣ Vox Lux Trailers

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Brady Corbet’s divisive follow-up to The Childhood of a Leader stars Natalie Portman as Celeste, a modern pop star whose career begins in tragedy as a teenager (young Celeste is played by The Killing of a Sacred Deer’s Raffey Cassidy). Subtitled "A 21st Century Portrait," the film jumps from 1999 to 2017, capturing the stress of stardom and the violence in the world. The original songs are written by Sia, and, as with Corbet’s first film, Scott Walker provides the score.

▣ Daughter of Mine Trailers

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Laura Bispuri’s follow-up to Sworn Virgin also stars Alba Rohrwacher (The Wonders, Happy as Lazzaro) but in a completely different role as Angelica, a party-girl and mother to Vittoria, a ten-year-old adopted at birth by Valeria Golino’s Tina. As Angelica and Tina struggle over Vittoria, Bispuri creates a heartfelt drama that impressed critics at the 2018 Berlin Film Festival.

▣ Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Trailers

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This disappointing second film in a planned five-film Harry Potter spin-off series continues the story that began in 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The villain of the series—Johnny Depp’s Grindelwald—revealed himself at the end of that film. Now, at the behest of his mentor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) will face off against the Dark wizard. David Yates returns to direct his sixth film in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, and Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Carmen Ejogo, Ezra Miller, and Alison Sudol are back as well. Joining the cast are Zoe Kravitz (who was introduced via a photo in the first film), Jessica Williams, Poppy Corby-Tuech, Callum Turner, and Claudia Kim, whose role as Nagini (Voldemort’s Horcrux in the books and earlier films) stirred up a minor controversy when she was revealed to be a maledictus.

▣ Green Book Trailers

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Now you can own the worst-reviewed Oscar best picture winner since Crash! Director Peter Farrelly continues his move away from the unbridled comedies of his past (Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, There’s Something About Mary) with this based-on-a-true-story tale of a bouncer (Viggo Mortensen) hired to drive a pianist (Oscar winner Mahershala Ali) on a concert tour through the American South in 1962. The title refers to the segregation-era road travel guidebook used by African-Americans to find places that would serve them during the decades of Jim Crow laws.

▣ The Miseducation of Cameron Post Trailers

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Winner of the U.S. Grand Jury Prize (Dramatic) at last year's Sundance Film Festival, Desiree Akhavan's directorial follow-up to Appropriate Behavior is an adaptation of Emily M. Danforth’s novel about a teenage girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) sent to a gay conversion therapy center when she’s caught with another girl on prom night in 1993.

▣ Tyrel Trailers

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The latest from the Chilean director Sebastián Silva stars Jason Mitchell as Tyler (called Tyrel throughout the film), a young man who joins his friend on a weekend trip where he discovers he’s the only black guy in attendance, and heavy drinking is the main entertainment. Like his other features (Nasty Baby, Magic Magic, The Maid), Silva cleverly builds tension throughout this well-received film.

▣ Mary Poppins Returns Trailers

It was neither the Oscar winner nor the box office juggernaut once expected of it, but this sequel to Disney's beloved 1964 film musical was far from a disaster. Set in 1930s London, Returns finds Michael (Ben Whishaw) and Jane (Emily Mortimer) Banks grown up and in need of some help after a family tragedy. Into their life returns Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt, taking over the role Julie Andrews made famous), who, with the aid of a street lamplighter played by Lin-Manuel Miranda, teaches the Banks family how to rediscover the joy they’ve been missing in their lives. Directed by Rob Marshall (Into the Woods), the film features new songs and introduces new characters from PL Travers’ books, including Meryl Streep’s Topsy and Angela Lansbury’s Balloon Lady.

▣ Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Trailers

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Marvel's first animated film to win an Oscar, Spider-Verse is not only one of 2018's best animated films, but also one of the best superhero films of any kind in recent memory. The film introduces a world where dimension-hopping is possible, and there are multiple spider-derived heroes, including Miles Morales (voiced by Dope’s Shameik Moore), Peter Parker (Jake Johnson), Gwen Stacy/Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage), Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), and Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn), who controls SP//dr, a psychically-powered mech suit. Liev Schreiber voices the villain, Kingpin.

▣ Aquaman Trailers

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After being introduced in Justice League, Aquaman/Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) received his own film in December, and while the results were nowhere near Wonder Woman good (in terms of quality), Aquaman proved to be one of 2018's biggest box office hits, making it the highest-grossing film in the DC Extended Universe to date. James Wan (Furious 7) directs a story about the struggle for power between Aquaman and his half-brother, Patrick Wilson’s Orm. At the center of this battle is a trident that also interests the villain Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). Mera (Amber Heard) serves as Aquaman’s guide to the seven kingdoms of Atlantis, while Nicole Kidman plays his mother, Queen Atlanna.

▣ If Beale Street Could Talk Trailers

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Writer-director Barry Jenkins’ follow-up to his best picture Oscar winner, Moonlight, is another stellar film. This time, he adapts James Baldwin’s 1974 novel about 19-year-old Tish Rivers (Kiki Layne), a woman in Harlem who fights to prove her imprisoned fiancé’s innocence while carrying their first child. Stephan James (recently seen in Amazon's Homecoming) plays her artist fiancé, Alonzo “Fonny” Hunt, while Regina King delivers an Oscar-winning performance as a mother who fights for her daughter’s future when Fonny is arrested for a crime he did not commit.

▣ Stan & Ollie Trailers

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Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly star as Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in this under-the-radar, late-2018 film about the legendary comedy duo’s 1953 tour of Britain. No longer kings of Hollywood comedy, Laurel and Hardy re-connect with their fans, and with each other, as they confront long-held regrets and Hardy’s failing health. Director Jon S. Baird, whose last feature credit was Filth, takes a turn for the genteel with this well-reviewed picture that also stars Shirley Henderson, Nina Arianda, and Danny Houston.