The animated box-office hit Inside Out has come to Blu-ray and DVD this week, along with an enjoyable documentary on Legos.
Inside Out (Disney/Pixar, 2015, PG, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes, short cartoons: Lava and Rileys First Date). As an 11-year-old girl experiences a range of emotions, we are taken inside her head to see them at work Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling).
Directed by Pete Docter, who also gave us Up, this is a delightfully imaginative, warm and very funny Pixar animated feature that ranks with the studios best work, and thats saying something. Audiences apparently agree as they made it the years third biggest box-office hit so far (after Jurassic World and Avengers: Age of Ultron).
A Lego Brickumentary (Anchor Bay, 2015, G, deleted scenes). This is a highly entertaining documentary on Legos and how the toy building bricks went from a popular childrens toy to a phenomenon for kids of all ages, as they say. And it has spread far beyond the original creators vision, to include videos, movies and a theme park. One of the more interesting aspects is that after lagging sales, the companys renewed success is attributed to taking seriously customer suggestions. Narrated by Jason Bateman.
The Gift (Universal, 2015, R for language, deleted scenes/alternate ending, audio commentary, featurettes). Bateman also co-stars in this clever and twisty thriller that initially seems to be a variation on the Fatal Attraction theme but then goes off in unexpected and chilling directions of its own. Simon (Bateman) has a new job, and he and his wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall) are settling into a new home when they run into Gordo (Joel Edgerton), whom Bateman knew in high school. Gordo insinuates himself into their life, then starts leaving threatening gifts until it becomes apparent that Simon is hiding something about their relationship. Very well written and directed by Edgerton.
The Final Girls (Sony, 2015, PG-13, deleted/extended scenes, alternate ending, audio commentaries, featurettes). On the anniversary of her actress-mothers death, a young woman (Taissa Farmiga) attends a screening of Moms most famous picture, Camp Bloodbath, and she and her friends inexplicably find themselves inside the movie. The Purple Rose of Cairo meets Scream in this spoof of slasher films.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail: 40th Anniversary (Sony, 1975, PG, extended scenes, audio commentary, lost animation, featurettes, singalongs, photo gallery). This Blu-ray edition of the hilarious, oft-quoted medieval off-the-wall farce includes all previously released bonus features plus a 30-minute Q&A with the five surviving Pythons recorded earlier this year. And you may also ask yourself "how many times can a movie be reissued on Blu-ray?"
Vacation (Warner, 2015; R for sex, language, nudity; deleted scenes, featurettes, bloopers). This is a sleazy, off-putting sequel/remake/reboot of the National Lampoons Vacation franchise, with Chevy Chase and Beverly DAngelo re-creating their roles as the Griswolds and here in supporting roles as their son Rusty (Ed Helms) takes his wife (Christina Applegate) and kids to Wally World in an attempt to relive the first Vacation trip.
The End of the Tour (Lionsgate, 2015, R for language, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes). After writer David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) learns of the suicide of novelist David Foster Wallace (Jason Segal), the film slips into flashbacks to dramatize Lipskys time with the author some 12 years earlier during a book tour for Wallaces Infinite Jest. It is a true story based on Lipskys memoir. Co-stars include Ron Livingston, Anna Chlumsky, Joan Cusack and Mamie Gummer.
Shes Funny That Way (Lionsgate, 2015, R for language, audio commentary, featurettes, trailers). Director/co-writer Peter Bogdanovich attempts to revive the screwball-comedy genre (as he did successfully in 1972 with Whats Up, Doc?), but this story of the intersecting lives of a former call girl (Imogen Poots) who is now a Broadway actress, and a variety of eccentrics in and out of show biz is only intermittently amusing, despite a game cast that includes Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Cybill Shepherd, Will Forte and many other familiar faces.
Best of Enemies (Magnolia, 2015; R for sex, nudity, language; featurettes, trailer). In the summer of 1968, ABC hired William F. Buckley Jr. and Gore Vidal, two outspoken intellectuals on opposite ends of the political spectrum, to debate live and unscripted during the Republican and Democratic national conventions. The result was verbal fireworks of a kind never before seen on television and its captured very well by this lively, wry and often funny documentary. Kelsey Grammer and John Lithgow lend their voices, respectively, to Buckley and Vidals writings.
Seymour: An Introduction (Sundance Selects, 2014, PG, featurette, trailer). Ethan Hawke directed this affectionate documentary about Seymour Bernstein, an 88-year-old pianist who gave up a thriving concert career at age 50 to devote his time to teaching others in his native New York City.
The Girls in the Band (Virgil, 2013, not rated, audio commentary, featurettes, trailer). The title may bring to mind girl singers of the 1930s and 40s, but this documentary is about trumpeters Clora Bryant and Billie Rogers, saxophonist Peggy Gilbert, and the all-girl bands of that era, that found it extremely tough to break through an all-male musical profession.
Tap World (Virgil, 2015, not rated). As the title suggests, this energetic documentary is about tap dancing, with a brief prologue on the history of the distinctly American dance form but with the bulk of the film devoted to the stories of accomplished tap dancers from around the globe.
The Golden Cane Warrior (Well Go, 2015, not rated, in Indonesian with English subtitles). When a coveted weapon, the Golden Cane, is handed to one of four disciples by a martial arts master, two of those that were passed over plot to make it their own. Costing the equivalent of $2 million, this lavish period production is one of Indonesias most expensive films.
Crumbs (IndiePix, 2015, not rated, in Amharic with English subtitles, featurette, two short films). This surreal, idiosyncratic 68-minute feature is set against a post-apocalyptic Ethiopia as a scrap collector (Daniel Tadesse) specializing in American pop-culture merchandise lives in a bowling alley with his girlfriend, and eventually must confront his fears and anxieties when a spaceship thats been hovering for decades shows signs of life.
More Money, More Family (Lionsgate, 2015, R for language, trailers). When their brother dies and no one shows up for the funeral, two cousins decide to take drastic measures to reunite their estranged family members they tell everyone theyve won the lottery and plan to share the wealth at a family reunion. Strained comedy.
Four Warriors (Lionsgate, 2015, PG-13). Battle-weary as they return from the Crusades, four warriors discover their village has been attacked and an evil predator must be tracked down.
Tiger House (Magnolia, 2015, R for language and violence, featurette, trailer). A young woman sneaks into her boyfriends house only to discover four thieves have also broken in, intending to force her boyfriends father to help them rob the bank he manages.
Paulo Coelhos Best Story (Music Box, 2015, not rated, in Portuguese with English subtitles, featurettes, trailer). This dramatization of the life of the titular Brazilian novelist is a jumbled narrative jumping around in time as it tells the story of a bohemian teen who went from a struggling rock-music lyricist to becoming the most widely translated of all living authors, The Alchemist being his most famous work.
Tenderness of the Wolves (Arrow, 1973, not rated, in German with English subtitles, featurettes, trailer; booklet). This true story of Fritz Haarmann (played by the films screenwriter, Kurt Raab), a 1920s German serial killer known as The Butcher of Hanover, is a gruesome and disturbing horror tale about a child killer. Haarmann provided the inspiration for Fritz Langs 1931 German thriller M, which made a star of Peter Lorre. It's produced by filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder who also has a role in the film. Beware, R-rated content.
Inside Out (Disney/Pixar, 2015, PG, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes, short cartoons: Lava and Rileys First Date). As an 11-year-old girl experiences a range of emotions, we are taken inside her head to see them at work Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling).
Directed by Pete Docter, who also gave us Up, this is a delightfully imaginative, warm and very funny Pixar animated feature that ranks with the studios best work, and thats saying something. Audiences apparently agree as they made it the years third biggest box-office hit so far (after Jurassic World and Avengers: Age of Ultron).
A Lego Brickumentary (Anchor Bay, 2015, G, deleted scenes). This is a highly entertaining documentary on Legos and how the toy building bricks went from a popular childrens toy to a phenomenon for kids of all ages, as they say. And it has spread far beyond the original creators vision, to include videos, movies and a theme park. One of the more interesting aspects is that after lagging sales, the companys renewed success is attributed to taking seriously customer suggestions. Narrated by Jason Bateman.
The Gift (Universal, 2015, R for language, deleted scenes/alternate ending, audio commentary, featurettes). Bateman also co-stars in this clever and twisty thriller that initially seems to be a variation on the Fatal Attraction theme but then goes off in unexpected and chilling directions of its own. Simon (Bateman) has a new job, and he and his wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall) are settling into a new home when they run into Gordo (Joel Edgerton), whom Bateman knew in high school. Gordo insinuates himself into their life, then starts leaving threatening gifts until it becomes apparent that Simon is hiding something about their relationship. Very well written and directed by Edgerton.
The Final Girls (Sony, 2015, PG-13, deleted/extended scenes, alternate ending, audio commentaries, featurettes). On the anniversary of her actress-mothers death, a young woman (Taissa Farmiga) attends a screening of Moms most famous picture, Camp Bloodbath, and she and her friends inexplicably find themselves inside the movie. The Purple Rose of Cairo meets Scream in this spoof of slasher films.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail: 40th Anniversary (Sony, 1975, PG, extended scenes, audio commentary, lost animation, featurettes, singalongs, photo gallery). This Blu-ray edition of the hilarious, oft-quoted medieval off-the-wall farce includes all previously released bonus features plus a 30-minute Q&A with the five surviving Pythons recorded earlier this year. And you may also ask yourself "how many times can a movie be reissued on Blu-ray?"
Vacation (Warner, 2015; R for sex, language, nudity; deleted scenes, featurettes, bloopers). This is a sleazy, off-putting sequel/remake/reboot of the National Lampoons Vacation franchise, with Chevy Chase and Beverly DAngelo re-creating their roles as the Griswolds and here in supporting roles as their son Rusty (Ed Helms) takes his wife (Christina Applegate) and kids to Wally World in an attempt to relive the first Vacation trip.
The End of the Tour (Lionsgate, 2015, R for language, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes). After writer David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) learns of the suicide of novelist David Foster Wallace (Jason Segal), the film slips into flashbacks to dramatize Lipskys time with the author some 12 years earlier during a book tour for Wallaces Infinite Jest. It is a true story based on Lipskys memoir. Co-stars include Ron Livingston, Anna Chlumsky, Joan Cusack and Mamie Gummer.
Shes Funny That Way (Lionsgate, 2015, R for language, audio commentary, featurettes, trailers). Director/co-writer Peter Bogdanovich attempts to revive the screwball-comedy genre (as he did successfully in 1972 with Whats Up, Doc?), but this story of the intersecting lives of a former call girl (Imogen Poots) who is now a Broadway actress, and a variety of eccentrics in and out of show biz is only intermittently amusing, despite a game cast that includes Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Cybill Shepherd, Will Forte and many other familiar faces.
Best of Enemies (Magnolia, 2015; R for sex, nudity, language; featurettes, trailer). In the summer of 1968, ABC hired William F. Buckley Jr. and Gore Vidal, two outspoken intellectuals on opposite ends of the political spectrum, to debate live and unscripted during the Republican and Democratic national conventions. The result was verbal fireworks of a kind never before seen on television and its captured very well by this lively, wry and often funny documentary. Kelsey Grammer and John Lithgow lend their voices, respectively, to Buckley and Vidals writings.
Seymour: An Introduction (Sundance Selects, 2014, PG, featurette, trailer). Ethan Hawke directed this affectionate documentary about Seymour Bernstein, an 88-year-old pianist who gave up a thriving concert career at age 50 to devote his time to teaching others in his native New York City.
The Girls in the Band (Virgil, 2013, not rated, audio commentary, featurettes, trailer). The title may bring to mind girl singers of the 1930s and 40s, but this documentary is about trumpeters Clora Bryant and Billie Rogers, saxophonist Peggy Gilbert, and the all-girl bands of that era, that found it extremely tough to break through an all-male musical profession.
Tap World (Virgil, 2015, not rated). As the title suggests, this energetic documentary is about tap dancing, with a brief prologue on the history of the distinctly American dance form but with the bulk of the film devoted to the stories of accomplished tap dancers from around the globe.
The Golden Cane Warrior (Well Go, 2015, not rated, in Indonesian with English subtitles). When a coveted weapon, the Golden Cane, is handed to one of four disciples by a martial arts master, two of those that were passed over plot to make it their own. Costing the equivalent of $2 million, this lavish period production is one of Indonesias most expensive films.
Crumbs (IndiePix, 2015, not rated, in Amharic with English subtitles, featurette, two short films). This surreal, idiosyncratic 68-minute feature is set against a post-apocalyptic Ethiopia as a scrap collector (Daniel Tadesse) specializing in American pop-culture merchandise lives in a bowling alley with his girlfriend, and eventually must confront his fears and anxieties when a spaceship thats been hovering for decades shows signs of life.
More Money, More Family (Lionsgate, 2015, R for language, trailers). When their brother dies and no one shows up for the funeral, two cousins decide to take drastic measures to reunite their estranged family members they tell everyone theyve won the lottery and plan to share the wealth at a family reunion. Strained comedy.
Four Warriors (Lionsgate, 2015, PG-13). Battle-weary as they return from the Crusades, four warriors discover their village has been attacked and an evil predator must be tracked down.
Tiger House (Magnolia, 2015, R for language and violence, featurette, trailer). A young woman sneaks into her boyfriends house only to discover four thieves have also broken in, intending to force her boyfriends father to help them rob the bank he manages.
Paulo Coelhos Best Story (Music Box, 2015, not rated, in Portuguese with English subtitles, featurettes, trailer). This dramatization of the life of the titular Brazilian novelist is a jumbled narrative jumping around in time as it tells the story of a bohemian teen who went from a struggling rock-music lyricist to becoming the most widely translated of all living authors, The Alchemist being his most famous work.
Tenderness of the Wolves (Arrow, 1973, not rated, in German with English subtitles, featurettes, trailer; booklet). This true story of Fritz Haarmann (played by the films screenwriter, Kurt Raab), a 1920s German serial killer known as The Butcher of Hanover, is a gruesome and disturbing horror tale about a child killer. Haarmann provided the inspiration for Fritz Langs 1931 German thriller M, which made a star of Peter Lorre. It's produced by filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder who also has a role in the film. Beware, R-rated content.
