The Best New Blu-Ray Releases: The Suicide Squad, Scream 4K, And More

Oh, hello. I didn't see you there. Why not pull up one of those chairs and take a load off. And since you're here, I might as well tell you all about some new Blu-ray releases you might want to check out. What's that? You're more of a "digital" person? Wow. Why don't you get the hell out of my sight? The rest of you Blu-ray fans can stick around, though, and see what we have to offer below. This latest Blu-ray round-up includes a James Gunn sequel, some new weirdness from M. Night Shyamalan, a slasher classic now on 4K, Matt Damon doing red state cosplay, and a Japanese horror movie that's part of the Criterion Collection. 

Oh, M. Night Shyamalan, never change. Shyamalan's career has been wild – he became a huge deal after "The Sixth Sense," but he began to fall out of favor with critics and audiences after a while. However, he bounced back nicely with the one-two punch of "The Visit" and "Split." His follow-up to those, "Glass," was a disappointment. But that hasn't slowed the filmmaker down, or kept him from embracing weirdness. Shyamalan's latest, "Old," is a bonkers thriller full of utterly perplexing filmmaking. As a director, Shyamalan shoots scenes here in incredibly unconventional ways, to the point where everything feels incredibly off-kilter. The camera floats, bobs, and weaves, and Shyamalan is fond of pointing the lens directly into people's faces to an uncomfortable degree. 

In "Old," a group of people on vacation ends up trapped on a supernatural beach that rapidly ages people. That means old people kick the bucket fast, children turn into adults, and the clock is ticking. Shyamalan, sadly, can't keep the pace up, and "Old" kind of crumbles in its final moments when the filmmaker feels the need to over-explain what we just watched. A more ambiguous ending would've worked better, but none of that is enough to stop "Old" from being a weird, twisted delight.

Special Features:

• DELETED SCENES

• SHYAMALAN FAMILY BUSINESS – We look at what Night's two daughters, Ishana and Saleka, contributed to the film and how collaborating with family made filming outside Philadelphia still feel like home.
• ALL THE BEACH IS A STAGE – Shooting a film in a wide-open space is challenging because angles have to be created, much like theatre. Night explains the significance of his camera movements and the cast discuss the unique experience of filming without coverage.
• NIGHTMARES IN PARADISE – When making a film like OLD, finding the right shooting location is everything. Hear the story of why Night took the production to the Dominican Republic and how Mother Nature both challenged and helped the production.
• A FAMILY IN THE MOMENT – Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Thomasin McKenzie and Alex Wolff recount one very special, emotional night of filming that brought them closer than they ever imagined.

I hadn't heard much about "Stillwater," and what I did hear didn't exactly sell me on the movie. I knew it featured Matt Damon doing a kind of red state cosplay, and I knew that the story was partially inspired by the Amanda Knox case (a fact that the real Amanda Knox took understandable issue with). So I was surprised when I sat down and watched "Stillwater" and discovered it's quite good! Directed by Tom McCarthy ("Spotlight"), "Stillwater" is a curious film. It's set up about a father working to save his daughter suggests some sort of "Taken" knock-off. But "Stillwater" isn't an action movie. And it's not really a thriller, either. Instead, it's a surprisingly quiet drama, and another showcase for Damon, who only gets better as a performer with age. 

Damon plays Bill, an Oklahoma good old boy who used to work in oil and now spends his days doing odd hands-on jobs. When he's not doing that, he's flying off to France to visit his daughter, Allison (Abigail Breslin). Allison is in jail, convicted of murdering her lover while attending school in France. She insists she's innocent, and Bill believes her. Unfortunately, not many other people do – including Allison's own lawyer, who tells Bill that it's more or less time for Allison to give up and just accept her prison sentence. But Bill wants to do right by his daughter, so he becomes a kind of amateur detective, trying hard to clear his daughter's name. 

That scenario, an Oklahoma man who eats fast food and doesn't have much culture suddenly having to learn to adapt to French life, could've been played for laughs. And McCarthy does mine some humorous moments here and there. But "Stillwater" is also a reserved film; introspective; contemplative. At 140 minutes, it overstays its welcome. But there are moments of rare grace here, making "Stillwater" the kind of thoughtful adult-driven drama we don't get much of these days. 

Special Features:

• An Alchemy of Viewpoints – The cast of STILLWATER discuss their characters and the research that went into portraying them authentically.
• An American in Marseilles: The Locations of STILLWATER – Much of the authenticity that comes across in STILLWATER is due to the dedication of filming on location. Hear from the cast and filmmakers on what it was like filming in locations such as the streets of Marseilles and the Calanques along the coast.
• With Curiosity & Compassion: Director Tom McCarthy – Cast and filmmakers discuss the thought and interest that goes into director Tom McCarthy's stories, and how he uses his natural curiosity about real life interactions to guide his filmmaking style.