Since new DVDs and Blu-rays aren’t out until tomorrow, I think I snuck last week’s in just under the wire. Among the latest releases are several recent HBO releases, some cult classics, some tv and an Academy Award winning foreign film that might just break your heart.
Fire up that queue and prep that shopping cart. It’s that time of the week.
Amour
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| Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / Released 8/20/13 |
George and Anne are in their eighties. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, who is also a musician, lives abroad with her family. One day Anne has an attack and the couple’s bond of love is severely tested. Extras include featurette and Q & A with director Michael Haneke.
The Last Word: Winner of Oscar Award for Best Foreign Language Film, it’s pretty easy to assume that Amour is good, and it is. It’s also one of the most honest and heartbreaking films of recent memory. I watched my father suffer and pass away from Alzheimer’s complications and Amour was the closest thing I’ve seen that recalls frustration, helplessness and heartbreak that results from a loved one slowly suffering. The notion of trusting a paid employee to care about someone you love with the same commitment and understanding is both the core of the film and a parallel to real life. The performances are amazing and the film resonates long after the credits roll. Highest recommendation possible. Tissues are mandatory.
Star Trek: Enterprise – Complete Second Season
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| Paramount / Released 8/20/13 |
In the 22nd century, a hundred years before James T. Kirk helmed the famous starship of the same name, Enterprise takes place in an era when interstellar travel is still in its infancy. Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) has assembled a crew of brave explorers to chart the galaxy on a revolutionary spacecraft: Enterprise NX-01. As the first human beings to venture into deep space, these pioneers experience the wonder and mystery of the final frontier as they seek out new life and new civilizations. Extras include deleted scenes, commentary, cast reunion interview, featurettes, and documentary
Last Word: In many ways, the last Star Trek series to air on television does the best job since the original season with the theme of exploration as the original Enterprise explores strange new worlds and seeks out new lives and civilizations. The cast works together extremely well with a refreshingly believable camaraderie and genuine chemistry. Underrated and underappreciated by Star Trek fans, there’s actually some clever writing and some memorable episodes Season two episodes include “Shockwave, Part II”, “Carbon Creek”, “Minefield”, “Dead Stop”, “A Night in Sickbay”, “Marauders”, “The Seventh”, “The Communicator”, “Singularity”, “Vanishing Point”, “Precious Cargo”, “The Catwalk”, “Dawn”, “Stigma”, “Cease Fire”, “Future Tense”, “Canamar”, “The Crossing”, “Judgment”, “Horizon”, “The Breach”, “Cogenitor”, “Regeneration”, “First Flight”, “Bounty”, and “The Expanse”. Enterprise – Complete Second Season is good, but gets better as the season goes on, successfully setting up the remaining two seasons as truly exciting adventure television.
Scary Movie 5
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| Weinstein Company / Released 8/20/13 |
Home with their newly-formed family, happy parents Dan and Jody are haunted by sinister, paranormal activities — disrupting new mama Jody’s dancing aspirations in the ”Swan Lake” ballet and threatening Dan’s rise as an ape researcher. Determined to expel the insidious force, they install security cameras and discover their family is being stalked by an evil dead demon! The latest installment of the Scary Movie franchise includes hilarious, non-stop send ups of some of the biggest recent cinematic hits and pop culture, featuring Ashley Tisdale, Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan, Snoop Dogg, Katt Williams, Katrina Bowden, Kate Walsh, Heather Locklear and Mike Tyson. Extras include Deleted And Extended Scenes.
Last Word: Any movie that has you longing for the return of the Shawn and Marlon Wayans is never a good sign. Unfunny and basically terrible. Skip it.
Mike & Molly: The Complete Third Season
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| Warner Home Video / Released 8/20/13 |
The third season starts in Paris, where Mike and Molly are getting ready to leave their honeymoon and embark on their journey as a married couple. Adjusting to their new lives at home won’t be easy, since they will be living with Molly’s overindulgent sister, Victoria, and her smart-talking mother, Joyce. Sharing the already crowded house will prove challenging for the newlyweds, especially when they decide to start trying for a baby. Join Mike and Molly in their hilarious journey as they discover the ups and downs of this next chapter of their lives as newlyweds. Extras include a gag reel.
Last Word: Although I find Melissa McCarthy unbearable on film, television is where she shines. She and co-star Billy Gardell headline an entertaining, relatively fresh series that bounces back after it’s sophomore slump starting the season with the characters post honeymoon. The entire ensemble including actors Reno Wilson, Katy Mixon, Nyambi Nyambi, Louis Mustillo, Cleo King, Rondi Reed, Swoosie Kurtz and David Anthony Higgins is fantastic and the hopefully the third season’s solid writing and performances carries over to the upcoming season 4.
Being Human: Season Five
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| BBC Home Video / Released 9/20/13 |
The original UK hit series Being Human is back for a fifth and final season that is bigger and bolder than ever. Hal, Tom and Alex and three housemates with some serious issues on their hands, and they’re not just about the household chores! Hal is a 500 year-old vampire, Tom is a hardened werewolf and Alex has recently had the misfortune of becoming a ghost. This season, threat lurks around every corner as the crew faces a volatile and deluded new vampire and the sinister Mr. Rook, the head of a secret government department. And with bills to be paid, our heroes take jobs in a hotel, but behind the flock wallpaper and cocktail umbrellas dwells an evil greater than anything faced before. Extras include deleted scenes, interviews, exclusive scene and featurette.
Killing Season
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| Millennium / Released 9/20/13 |
Deep in the Appalachian mountains, a reclusive American military veteran (Robert De Niro) and a European tourist (John Travolta) strike up an unlikely friendship. But when the tourist’s true intentions come to light, what follows is a tense battle across some of America’s most forbidding landscape proving the old adage: the purest form of war is one-on-one.
CatDog: The Complete Fourth Season
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| Shout! Factory / Released 8/20/13 |
A brand-new set of insane CatDog adventures! They’re the craziest set of conjoined twins you’ll ever meet – the culturally refined Cat, and Dog, who’s . . . well . . . not so much! But together, CatDog make it all work by both using and strengthening their own friendship, providing their own excitement and even getting into their own heap of hilarious trouble! Featuring the full length movie “CatDog and the Great Parent Mystery.” The yearly Parent Day Festival is quickly arriving, but Cat and Dog are feeling a little left out. After coercing from Dog, Cat agrees to go on a parent hunt which leads them to a sea monster, aliens, hillbillies and MORE!
Vampire
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| Lionsgate / Released 7/20/13 |
On the surface, Simon is a dedicated teacher, living a normal life. But he has a dark secret – He is a vampire, compelled to drink human blood in order to survive. Using online chat rooms as his hunting grounds, he searches for suicidal young women who satisfy his hunger and ensure his survival.
Roadie
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| Shout! Factory / Released 8/20/13 |
Down-home Texas boy Travis Redfish (Meat Loaf) falls hard for Lola, a glitter-spangled groupie determined to lose her virginity to Alice Cooper. Hoping to woo her, Travis signs on with a traveling rock band and soon finds himself celebrated as the greatest roadie of all time ! But Lola’s date with destiny (and Cooper) looms. Can true love survive rock ‘n roll? Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Alan Rudolph, Roadie makes terrific use of its rock-star-studded cast on its fast-paced and fun-filled journey to its final high-octane encore. Take the ultimate trip with one of the great rock ’n’ roll sagas which features incredible live performances by Alice Cooper, Blondie, Roy Orbison, Hank Williams, Jr., and Asleep at the Wheel. Extras include commentary from the “real” Travis Redfish, James Big Boy Medlin, and his writing partner, Michael Ventura.
Floating City
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| Well Go USA / Released 8/20/13 |
In the early 1990s, Bo Wah Chuen (Aaron Kwok) attracts great attention as a business executive in the Imperial East India Company of Hong Kong, his prominence overshadowing even that of his British superiors. However, twenty years ago, when he takes the company s entry test, all he has to show for himself is the plea, I could read and write . His rise to prominence has as much to do with British s imminent return of Hong Kong to China, as it has to do with his considerable ability. To the astonishment of many, Bo Wah Chuen looks nothing like a Chinese. As a child, he has to endure much jeering as he looks nothing like his six siblings. People are amazed at the sight of a Caucasian looking fisherman in colonial Hong Kong. Though he is desperate to discover the origin of his peculiar features, every time he asks his parents, all he could get out of them is a good beating. Chuen s father dies in a fishing accident. His mother (Josie Ho/Nina Paw) incurs his father s debts, forcing her to send her older children off to an orphanage, and the younger ones to various foster homes, in order to lessen the financial burden. Meanwhile, thanks to his friend Lau Chiu Lik (Joe Leung), Chuen is initiated into the Imperial East India Company. Starting out as a lowly office assistant, Chuen gradually climbs up the company s hierarchy, while attending night school on the side. During this crucial period, he is befriended by Fion (Annie Liu), a westernized, upper-class lady who provides Chuen with much needed advice on his conduct in the parochial world of a colonial trading company. In the meantime, however, his wife Tai (Charlie Yeung), similarly from a fishing background, feels increasingly isolated from this new reality. With Chuen s help, his mother turns herself from an illiterate wife of a fisherman to the first woman in Hong Kong to acquire a boating license. The family is finally united. On the eve of Hong Kong s handover to China, as the British flag is lowered down in the stormy weather, Chuen discovers the secret of his origin.
Captains Close Up
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| Entertainment One / Released 8/13/13 |
Since first soaring onto TV screens in the 1960s, Star Trek has become one of the most beloved franchises of all time. Now, the original Captain Kirk, William Shatner, travels around the globe in this new five-part series to interview the elite group of actors who have portrayed the role of Starfleet Captain, giving fans an intimate and exclusive look at the pop culture phenomenon.
Last Word: An expanded version of Shatner’s The Captains documentary with full half hour interviews with all five of the Enterprise captains; Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew and Scott Bakula. Chris Pine also shows up within Shatner’s interview to wax poetic on all things Jame Tiberius. Captains Close Up is not only a love letter to the franchise from five of it’s most iconic actors, but also a revealing, captivating and sometime touching look at how being a part of Star Trek has affected their lives for the better. It might not appeal to everyone who’s not a Star Trek fan, but Shatner has created a wonderful testament to how one’s work can affect their not only their personal lives, but also how it can affect the lives of their fans. Highly recommended.
Enlightened: The Complete Second Season
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| HBO Studios / Released 8/13/13 |
Created by Mike White and Laura Dern, this half-hour HBO comedy series centers on Amy Jellicoe (Dern), a well-intentioned employee of a Southern California corporation who, after flipping out and going to anger-management rehab, emerges with a singular, if at times hilariously misguided, mission to make her company more responsible. When we last saw her, Amy finally presented her research outlining Abaddonn Industries’ toxic sins, but after being laughed out of the room, she became even more determined to expose the company not only as a polluter, but a bastion of corporate greed and corruption. Having convinced co-worker Tyler (White) to let her use his IT password to retrieve incriminating emails, Season 2 picks up with Amy immersed in gathering evidence against Abaddonn. In this season’s eight episodes, Amy enlists the help of journalist Jeff Flender (Dermot Mulroney), and as they work together on a searing exposé, she dreams of a “bigger” life and develops romantic yearnings for the handsome, well-travelled reporter. Meanwhile, Amy’s ex Levi (Luke Wilson) is still at Open Air Treatment Center in Hawaii, but it remains to be seen whether he will embrace recovery and return as the man she always wanted him to be. Touching, earnest and laugh-out-loud funny, Season 2 of Enlightened follows Amy along her personal journey to make change – and the unexpected impact it has on those around her. Extras include commentaries and inside the episode featurettes.
Girls: The Complete Second Season
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| HBO Studios / Released 8/13/13 |
Following the urban adventures of a group of 20-something women, the series focuses on Hannah Horvath (Lena Dunham) and her complicated web of NYC friends, ex-friends, boyfriends, and ex-boyfriends. This season, Hannah forges ahead in her writing pursuits and begins seeing someone new, but her enthusiasm is tempered by the responsibility she feels her now-ex Adam (Adam Driver), convalescing after his Season 1 finale accident. Let down by works and still lonely after calling things off with Charlie, Marnie (Allison Williams) needs her best friend and former roommate more than ever, but lingering awkwardness – and some surprising turns – only drive a wedge further between the pair. Meanwhile, still-married Jessa (Jemima Kirke) returns from her honeymoon in Mexico, supplying Hannah with new, wild ideas. Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) takes charge of her new identity as a sexually active woman – and copes with the emotions that come along with it – as Ray (Alex Karpovsky) has an out-of-sight, out-of-mind attitude towards their relationship. The girls have their ups and downs, but the show’s raw poignancy and fresh humor remain consistent. Extras include commentaries, gag reel, making of, New Yorker Festival interview, featurettes, extended scenes, Charlie Rose interview, table read, and delteded & extended scenes.
No Place on Earth
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| Magnolia Home Entertainment / Released 8/20/13 |
An incredible story of strength and survival. October 1942 – Esther Stermer, along with some family members and a group of other families, seek asylum underground to evade being caught by pursuing Nazis. They remain hidden below for nearly a year and a half – the longest recorded uninterrupted underground survival occurrence. Their harrowing story is unearthed by accident when cave explorer, Chris Nicola, stumbles upon remnants left behind by the cave dwellers. Through extensive research and determination, Nicola locates a few of the survivors and has them share their incredible story of strength and perseverance. Extras include featurettes, photo galleries and trailer.
The Company You Keep
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| Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / Released 8/13/13 |
One of Hollywood’s most acclaimed filmmakers and actors, Robert Redford directs and stars as Jim Grant, a lawyer and single father revealed to be the fugitive leader of a 1970s radical antiwar protest group by intrepid reporter Ben Shepard (Shia LaBoeuf). Grant is forced to run and confront those he left behind decades ago to protect himself from the FBI. But as Shepard delves deeper into the story, he realizes that there is more to Grant than meets the eye. Featuring Julie Christie, Sam Elliot, Richard Jenkins, Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon, The Company You Keep is packed with powerful suspense and brilliant performances. Extras include behind the scenes featurette, red carpet featurette and press conference.
Super Eruption
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| Arc Entertainment /Released 8/13/20 |
Under Yellowstone, America’s first national park, lies the Yellowstone Caldera, a giant hot spot for volcanic activity. What scientists call a super volcano. Now after hundreds of thousands of years lying dormant it threatens to erupt. This eruption could wipe out much of the United States killing millions. Suddenly, without warning, a small part of the caldera bursts. Temperatures plummet and the sky fills with dirty, black clouds of volcanic ash and destructive lightning. Lava erupts from the earth, boils over the crater rims, and rushes across the country side at speeds over 100 miles per hour vaporizing forests, animals, and tourists. As the rest of the caldera puffs and steams and threatens to explode, it’s up to Yellowstone’s top scientist and an adrenaline junkie Park Ranger to halt the erupting caldera. They must plug the lava, as well as stop the poisonous volcano clouds from spreading before the sky turns black and the entire world is frozen in a permanent, apocalyptic volcano winter.
Ultra Q: The Complete Series
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| Shout! Factory / Released 8/13/13 |
In the world of Ultra Q, the very fabric of nature is warped into a state of unbalance, and all manner of strange phenomenon and unearthly creatures threaten the very future of mankind! On the scene are a world-renowned scientist and his young friends (a female photojournalist, an aviator, and his co-pilot) who investigate these supernatural menaces. When sheer military might is futile, the intrepid team comes to the rescue, armed solely with their ingenuity and scientific prowess to quell these malevolent forces and restore the balance of nature. The precursor to Ultraman, Ultra Q is a seminal science-fantasy television series in the monstrous mold of The Outer Limits and The X Files. As deeply ingrained in Japan’s pop culture as The Twilight Zone is in America’s, Eiji Tsuburaya, the visual effects wizard behind Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra, creates a spectacular cavalcade of bizarre beasts and mass mayhem in each and every episode Ultra Q with stars Kenji Sahara (Rodan), Hiroko Sakurai (Ultraman) and Yasuhiko Saijo (Son Of Godzilla). All 28 episodes of Ultra Q–in their original B&W and Japanese-language format (with English subtitles)–are included in this five-disc set, as well as a highly detailed essay on the series’ inception by Japanese fantasy expert August Ragone that can be accessed in a PDF file via the viewer’s DVD-ROM.
Epic
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| 20th Century Fox / Released 8/20/13 |
From the creators of Ice Age comes the year’s funniest, most exhilarating animated adventure. Transported to a magical world, a teenager (Amanda Seyfried) is recruited by a nature spirit, Queen Tara (Beyoncé Knowles), to help the “Leafmen” save their existence – and ours – from evil warriors. The whole family will love this fast-paced thrill-ride, with its astonishing animation and an all-star voice cast that includes Colin Farrell, Oscar Winner Christoph Waltz and Steven Tyler. Extras include featurettes, and a coloring book app.
Boardwalk Empire: The Complete Third Season
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| HBO Studios / Released 8/20/20 |
Atlantic City, 1922: The Roaring ’20s are about to begin in earnest and despite a booming economy, alcohol is scarce and gangster violence is heating up. Amidst this backdrop, Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), whose marriage to Margaret has become a sham after she signed away his highway windfall to the church, faces the challenge of mending old relationships. Nucky also encounters new competition from a hair-trigger gangster who builds a strategic bulkhead between New York and Atlantic City in an effort to siphon off Nucky’s alcohol business. The conflict brings out the best and worst in Nucky as new and familiar faces undergo compelling metamorphoses within the third season of this Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning series. Extras include character profiles, a look back at season 2, director’s chair featurette with Tim Van Patten and Allen Coulter, Martin Scorsese discussing the third season featurette, commentaries, interactive character tracking guide, Newsreels and over two dozen additional featurettes.
