New DVDs out the week of 3/23/15!

"Dear White People" - A campus culture war between blacks and whites at a predominantly white school comes to a head when the staff of a humor magazine stages an offensive Halloween party.  Starring Tessa Thompson, Tyler James Williams, Denis Haysbert and Brandon Bell

"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" - Smaug the dragon is gone from Lonely Mountain but the residents of Lake-town may face an even greater danger that Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and the newly freed wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) must forestall! - final chapter of the trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien's classic tale - also starring Richard Armitage as Thorin the dwarf king

"Into the Woods" -  As the result of the curse of a once-beautiful witch (Meryl Streep), a baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) are childless. Three days before the rise of a blue moon, they venture into the forest to find the ingredients that will reverse the spell and restore the witch's beauty: a milk-white cow, hair as yellow as corn, a blood-red cape, and a slipper of gold. During their journey, they meet Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Jack, each one on a quest to fulfill a wish.

"Son of a Gun" - JR busts out of prison with Brendan Lynch, Australia's most notorious criminal, and joins Lynch's gang for a gold heist that soon pits the two men against one another.  Starring Ewan McGregor, Brendan Kervliet, Brenton Thwaites

"Song One" - enter Brooklyn's music world and meet Franny, her comatose musician brother Henry and the charismatic local star who she soon loves and he idolizes - stars Anne Hathaway, Ben Rosenfield (TV's "Boardwalk Empire") and Johnny Flynn (whose album "Been Listening" can be found in Merrick Library's CD collection

"Zen" - Premiering on PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery, the best-selling novels of Michael Dibdin come to life in these breathtaking new adaptations from PBS and the BBC. Aurelio Zen (Rufus Sewell, John Adams) is a formidable detective, but he's always put honesty before advancement. The arrival of clever and ambitious Tania (Caterina Murino, Casino Royale) to the team sees Zen's vigor reawakened. Driven by romance, re-energized and armed with a new confidence, Zen's investigations take him from crowded Rome to the spectacular Italian countryside, as he negotiates a complex string of murder cases, never afraid to question authority or use a few unorthodox methods to see justice done. Rufus Sewell brings passion, intrigue and humor to author Michael Dibdin's character in this series set against a visually rich backdrop of Rome at its most stunning.