Last years The Imitation Game is on Blu-ray and DVD this week, along with Interstellar and a deluxe edition of Gravity.
The Imitation Game (Anchor Bay/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2014, PG-13, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes). Benedict Cumberbatch delivers a wonderfully complex performance as real-life British mathematician Alan Turing, who devised an early computer during World War II as he worked with a team of cryptographers to crack the Nazis Enigma Code, which was being used to send encoded messages about Allied targets.
A social misfit, Turing doesnt play well with others, and it doesnt take him long to alienate the rest of the team. But eventually hes put in charge of the project and has the gall to fire two team members and hire a woman (Kiera Knightley) as a replacement. Co-stars include Matthew Goode, Mark Strong, Alan Leech and Charles Dance.
The film is literate but not overly complicated, has knowing humor and a surprising amount of suspense, and Cumberbatch takes what could have been a truly obnoxious character and makes him not only understandable but completely sympathetic as well. The title has several meanings, including alluding to Turings homosexuality, which was a criminal offense in England at the time.
Interstellar (Paramount/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2014, three discs, PG-13, featurettes, trailers; IMAX film cell). Among the annals of intellectual science fiction, 2001 A Space Odyssey has no equal. But Interstellar has quickly risen near the top of the list as a film that is equal parts stimulating and confounding but never dull. Matthew McConaughey is a former pilot recruited to abandon his family and lead a space expedition to benefit the survival of humanity. It's nearly three hours long with three hours of bonus features. Co-stars include Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Jessica Chastain, John Lithgow and unbilled Matt Damon.
Gravity: Diamond Luxe Edition (Warner/Blu-ray, 2013, PG-13, featurettes). This is intense science fiction from filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron that stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts in peril outside their craft, floating into the nothingness of space, pushed to the limits of human endurance. A nice showcase for Bullock whos in top form but this is a directors film, a real special-effects thrill-ride. This new edition has three primary selling points: upgraded surround sound, three new featurettes and sleek new metal-box packaging.
Ships (IndiePix/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2015, in Turkish with English subtitles, short film: Man to Be). Deliberately paced but interesting romantic melodrama set in Turkey, focusing on a shipyard worker and the graffiti artist he tracks down after admiring her work. Both are from well-off families, but they are very young and unsettled, sure that life has more to offer, so they ship out together for an impulsive adventure.
WWJD: The Journey Continues (Cinedigm/DVD, 2015, not rated). John Schneider and Lorenzo Lamas have top billing but small roles in this third faith film in the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) franchise. This time the focus is on a pastor who has had a crisis of faith, along with members of his parish that can use some spiritual guidance.
Mommy (Lionsgate/DVD/Digital, 2014, R for language and violence, in French with English subtitles). French-Canadian drama about a struggling single mother whose troubled teenage son is prone to violent outbursts. A lawyer enters their lives, which heightens the boys jealousy, and a teacher with her problems may be able to help the situation. A difficult story of unconditional love, and its filmed in an experimental style with the visuals framed as a narrow square.
Island of Lemurs: Madagascar (Warner/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2014, G, 3-D version, featurettes). Forty-minute IMAX documentary about the title creatures, narrated by Morgan Freeman, is revelatory to those of us who know little or nothing about them. Entertaining short film. If you have a 3-D television, the 3-D version is included on the Blu-ray disc as a bonus feature.
Housekeeping (Lionsgate/DVD, 2015, PG-13). A medical student (Adriana Solis) abandons her scholarship to help her neer-do-well brother, which requires her to take a housekeeping job for a mysterious employer who leaves notes with meticulous instructions. But all is not as it appears with the seemingly mute young woman, and there are twisted surprises in store in this inventive horror yarn.
Outcast (eOne/Blu-ray/DVD/On Demand, 2015, not rated, featurettes, trailer). Nicolas Cage is the draw (unless youve given up on his straight-to-video movies) but Hayden Christensen takes the lead here. By-the-numbers adventure has them playing disgruntled knights during the Crusades who walk away from the violent life and separate as they head East. But in China, Christensen again draws his sword (and recruits Cage for help) as he becomes involved with warring heirs to the emperors throne. Filmed in Chinese locations, which helps.
Wild Card (Lionsgate/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2015; R for violence, language, sex, nudity; audio commentary, featurettes). This Jason Statham action picture was adapted by William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Princess Bride) from his novel Heat (which was made into a 1986 Burt Reynolds film by that title). Statham stars as a Las Vegas bodyguard whose gambling problem gets him into trouble with the mob. Heads will be broken. Notoriously troubled production benefits from well-choreographed action scenes and sterling supporting cast: Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci, Jason Alexander, Sofia Vergara, Anne Heche.
The Imitation Game (Anchor Bay/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2014, PG-13, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes). Benedict Cumberbatch delivers a wonderfully complex performance as real-life British mathematician Alan Turing, who devised an early computer during World War II as he worked with a team of cryptographers to crack the Nazis Enigma Code, which was being used to send encoded messages about Allied targets.
A social misfit, Turing doesnt play well with others, and it doesnt take him long to alienate the rest of the team. But eventually hes put in charge of the project and has the gall to fire two team members and hire a woman (Kiera Knightley) as a replacement. Co-stars include Matthew Goode, Mark Strong, Alan Leech and Charles Dance.
The film is literate but not overly complicated, has knowing humor and a surprising amount of suspense, and Cumberbatch takes what could have been a truly obnoxious character and makes him not only understandable but completely sympathetic as well. The title has several meanings, including alluding to Turings homosexuality, which was a criminal offense in England at the time.
Interstellar (Paramount/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2014, three discs, PG-13, featurettes, trailers; IMAX film cell). Among the annals of intellectual science fiction, 2001 A Space Odyssey has no equal. But Interstellar has quickly risen near the top of the list as a film that is equal parts stimulating and confounding but never dull. Matthew McConaughey is a former pilot recruited to abandon his family and lead a space expedition to benefit the survival of humanity. It's nearly three hours long with three hours of bonus features. Co-stars include Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Jessica Chastain, John Lithgow and unbilled Matt Damon.
Gravity: Diamond Luxe Edition (Warner/Blu-ray, 2013, PG-13, featurettes). This is intense science fiction from filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron that stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts in peril outside their craft, floating into the nothingness of space, pushed to the limits of human endurance. A nice showcase for Bullock whos in top form but this is a directors film, a real special-effects thrill-ride. This new edition has three primary selling points: upgraded surround sound, three new featurettes and sleek new metal-box packaging.
Ships (IndiePix/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2015, in Turkish with English subtitles, short film: Man to Be). Deliberately paced but interesting romantic melodrama set in Turkey, focusing on a shipyard worker and the graffiti artist he tracks down after admiring her work. Both are from well-off families, but they are very young and unsettled, sure that life has more to offer, so they ship out together for an impulsive adventure.
WWJD: The Journey Continues (Cinedigm/DVD, 2015, not rated). John Schneider and Lorenzo Lamas have top billing but small roles in this third faith film in the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) franchise. This time the focus is on a pastor who has had a crisis of faith, along with members of his parish that can use some spiritual guidance.
Mommy (Lionsgate/DVD/Digital, 2014, R for language and violence, in French with English subtitles). French-Canadian drama about a struggling single mother whose troubled teenage son is prone to violent outbursts. A lawyer enters their lives, which heightens the boys jealousy, and a teacher with her problems may be able to help the situation. A difficult story of unconditional love, and its filmed in an experimental style with the visuals framed as a narrow square.
Island of Lemurs: Madagascar (Warner/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2014, G, 3-D version, featurettes). Forty-minute IMAX documentary about the title creatures, narrated by Morgan Freeman, is revelatory to those of us who know little or nothing about them. Entertaining short film. If you have a 3-D television, the 3-D version is included on the Blu-ray disc as a bonus feature.
Housekeeping (Lionsgate/DVD, 2015, PG-13). A medical student (Adriana Solis) abandons her scholarship to help her neer-do-well brother, which requires her to take a housekeeping job for a mysterious employer who leaves notes with meticulous instructions. But all is not as it appears with the seemingly mute young woman, and there are twisted surprises in store in this inventive horror yarn.
Outcast (eOne/Blu-ray/DVD/On Demand, 2015, not rated, featurettes, trailer). Nicolas Cage is the draw (unless youve given up on his straight-to-video movies) but Hayden Christensen takes the lead here. By-the-numbers adventure has them playing disgruntled knights during the Crusades who walk away from the violent life and separate as they head East. But in China, Christensen again draws his sword (and recruits Cage for help) as he becomes involved with warring heirs to the emperors throne. Filmed in Chinese locations, which helps.
Wild Card (Lionsgate/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2015; R for violence, language, sex, nudity; audio commentary, featurettes). This Jason Statham action picture was adapted by William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Princess Bride) from his novel Heat (which was made into a 1986 Burt Reynolds film by that title). Statham stars as a Las Vegas bodyguard whose gambling problem gets him into trouble with the mob. Heads will be broken. Notoriously troubled production benefits from well-choreographed action scenes and sterling supporting cast: Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci, Jason Alexander, Sofia Vergara, Anne Heche.
