The much-better-than-average social comedy The Intern and the thrilling and tragic true story Everest are on Blu-ray and DVD this week.
The Intern (Warner, 2015, PG-13, featurettes). When a 70-year-old widower (Robert De Niro) becomes weary of retirement, he applies for an internship at an Internet fashion site run by a young entrepreneur (Anne Hathaway) and wins over the young staff by interacting with them on a human level.
This latest social comedy from Nancy Meyers (Its Complicated, Somethings Gotta Give) is actually a workplace sitcom, with its main satirical target being the need for human contact in the age of social media. But it is better than that sounds, thanks to some witty dialogue and an exceptional cast.
The film is at its best when it allows the warmth and humor to flow organically from the characters and refrains from such frenetic farce as De Niro and friends breaking into a house to delete an email. But despite a few missteps, this is a much smarter and cleaner laugh-getter than we generally see in the multiplexes these days. Rene Russo co-stars.
Everest (Universal, 2015, PG-13, audio commentary, featurettes). This is a vivid, chilling, engrossing re-creation of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, when two separate expeditions were slammed by an unexpected storm, leading to a struggle for survival that ends in tragedy. The excellent ensemble cast is led by Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightley, Emma Watson and Robin Wright. (Available in 3-D Blu-ray, as well as 2-D Blu-ray and DVD.)
The Assassin (Well Go, 2015, not rated, in Mandarin with English subtitles, featurette, trailer). During the Tang Dynasty in eighth-century China, a 10-year-old girl is abducted and trained to be a killer. A decade later (now played by the beguiling Shu Qi), she is an assassin taking out corrupt government officials. But after making the mistake of showing mercy, she is tested by being sent to her homeland to kill someone she knew as a child. This gorgeously photographed martial-arts yarn is also a surprisingly thoughtful mood piece.
A Brilliant Young Mind (Sony, 2015, PG-13). This British melodrama is loosely based on a true story about an autistic math prodigy (Asa Butterfield) who is chosen to represent England in the International Mathematical Olympiad. But when he gets there, he cant understand his attraction to a Chinese girl. Sally Hawkins, Rafe Spall and Eddie Marsan co-star.
A Girl Like Her (Cinedigm, 2015, PG-13, featurettes, PSA, music video). As with most found-footage flicks, this drama stumbles over itself with what might logically be recorded as a 16-year-old girl wears a hidden camera to document her being terrorized by a former friend, one of her schools most popular kids. Of course, her best friend also films from afar, and there just happens to be a documentary crew on campus. Awkward but well-meaning mockumentary offers an interesting take on schoolyard bullying in the social-media age.
Jem and the Holograms (Universal, 2015, PG, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurette, bloopers, music video). This is a musical fantasy for youngsters based on the 1980s animated TV series, which sprang from a Hasbro toy line. Here, small-town girl Jerrica (Aubrey Peeples) adopts a secret identity for her music as Jem and hits superstardom, but with bumps along the way. Celebrity guests include Jimmy Fallon, Dwayne Johnson, Alicia Keys and Chris Pratt, with Molly Ringwald in a supporting role.
Learning to Drive (Broadgreen, 2015, R for language and sex, photo gallery). What has the makings of a charming comedy about a bitter, newly divorced Manhattan author (Patricia Clarkson) taking driving lessons from an Indian immigrant (Ben Kingsley, channeling his Oscar-winning Gandhi performance) is undone by superfluous, sleazy sex jokes. Grace Gummer, Jake Weber and Sarita Choudhury co-star.
I Am Thor (Dark Sky, 2016, not rated, trailer). Offbeat doesnt begin to peg this raggedy but affectionate documentary about Jon Miki Thor, an award-winning blond bodybuilder who fronted a rock band (inserting muscleman stunts into the act), made records and performed in various grade-Z horror movies, then retired for a decade before attempting a comeback.
I Believe in Unicorns (IndiePix, 2015, not rated). A nave teenage schoolgirl (Natalie Dyer) in the 1990s who cares for her invalid mother and fancifully dreams of unicorns (complete with animated imagery) meets her first love, a punk rocker, and they run off together. Shoplifting and sex ensue. Ugh.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Sony Classics, 2015; R for sex, nudity, language, drugs; audio commentary, featurettes). A teenage girl (Bel Powley) in 1976 San Francisco who aspires to be a cartoonist begins an audio diary as she enters into an affair with the boyfriend (Alexander Skarsgard) of her bohemian mother (Kristen Wiig). Ugh.
Straight Outta Compton (Universal, 2015; R for language, sex, nudity, violence, drugs; theatrical R-rated and unrated directors cut versions, deleted scenes, deleted songs, audio commentary, featurettes). The rise and fall of the hip-hop group N.W.A. is chronicled in this biographical film with OShea Jackson Jr. playing his father, Ice Cube. Paul Giamatti co-stars.
Stonewall (Lionsgate, 2015; R for sex, language, violence, drugs; featurettes, trailer). This fictional drama is set against the 1969 Stonewall riots, a clash with police that was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the gay liberation movement. The focus is on a young gay man who leaves his conservative Indiana home for New Yorks Greenwich Village, where he joins a group of street kids and drag queens.
The Condemned 2 (Lionsgate, 2015, R for violence and language, featurettes). WWE star Randy Orton takes over for Steve Austin in this belated sequel (the original came out in 2007) that has a former bounty hunter forced to participate in a televised fight to the death. His father (Eric Roberts) attempts to come to the rescue. Wes Studi (wheres he been?) co-stars.
The Intern (Warner, 2015, PG-13, featurettes). When a 70-year-old widower (Robert De Niro) becomes weary of retirement, he applies for an internship at an Internet fashion site run by a young entrepreneur (Anne Hathaway) and wins over the young staff by interacting with them on a human level.
This latest social comedy from Nancy Meyers (Its Complicated, Somethings Gotta Give) is actually a workplace sitcom, with its main satirical target being the need for human contact in the age of social media. But it is better than that sounds, thanks to some witty dialogue and an exceptional cast.
The film is at its best when it allows the warmth and humor to flow organically from the characters and refrains from such frenetic farce as De Niro and friends breaking into a house to delete an email. But despite a few missteps, this is a much smarter and cleaner laugh-getter than we generally see in the multiplexes these days. Rene Russo co-stars.
Everest (Universal, 2015, PG-13, audio commentary, featurettes). This is a vivid, chilling, engrossing re-creation of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, when two separate expeditions were slammed by an unexpected storm, leading to a struggle for survival that ends in tragedy. The excellent ensemble cast is led by Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightley, Emma Watson and Robin Wright. (Available in 3-D Blu-ray, as well as 2-D Blu-ray and DVD.)
The Assassin (Well Go, 2015, not rated, in Mandarin with English subtitles, featurette, trailer). During the Tang Dynasty in eighth-century China, a 10-year-old girl is abducted and trained to be a killer. A decade later (now played by the beguiling Shu Qi), she is an assassin taking out corrupt government officials. But after making the mistake of showing mercy, she is tested by being sent to her homeland to kill someone she knew as a child. This gorgeously photographed martial-arts yarn is also a surprisingly thoughtful mood piece.
A Brilliant Young Mind (Sony, 2015, PG-13). This British melodrama is loosely based on a true story about an autistic math prodigy (Asa Butterfield) who is chosen to represent England in the International Mathematical Olympiad. But when he gets there, he cant understand his attraction to a Chinese girl. Sally Hawkins, Rafe Spall and Eddie Marsan co-star.
A Girl Like Her (Cinedigm, 2015, PG-13, featurettes, PSA, music video). As with most found-footage flicks, this drama stumbles over itself with what might logically be recorded as a 16-year-old girl wears a hidden camera to document her being terrorized by a former friend, one of her schools most popular kids. Of course, her best friend also films from afar, and there just happens to be a documentary crew on campus. Awkward but well-meaning mockumentary offers an interesting take on schoolyard bullying in the social-media age.
Jem and the Holograms (Universal, 2015, PG, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurette, bloopers, music video). This is a musical fantasy for youngsters based on the 1980s animated TV series, which sprang from a Hasbro toy line. Here, small-town girl Jerrica (Aubrey Peeples) adopts a secret identity for her music as Jem and hits superstardom, but with bumps along the way. Celebrity guests include Jimmy Fallon, Dwayne Johnson, Alicia Keys and Chris Pratt, with Molly Ringwald in a supporting role.
Learning to Drive (Broadgreen, 2015, R for language and sex, photo gallery). What has the makings of a charming comedy about a bitter, newly divorced Manhattan author (Patricia Clarkson) taking driving lessons from an Indian immigrant (Ben Kingsley, channeling his Oscar-winning Gandhi performance) is undone by superfluous, sleazy sex jokes. Grace Gummer, Jake Weber and Sarita Choudhury co-star.
I Am Thor (Dark Sky, 2016, not rated, trailer). Offbeat doesnt begin to peg this raggedy but affectionate documentary about Jon Miki Thor, an award-winning blond bodybuilder who fronted a rock band (inserting muscleman stunts into the act), made records and performed in various grade-Z horror movies, then retired for a decade before attempting a comeback.
I Believe in Unicorns (IndiePix, 2015, not rated). A nave teenage schoolgirl (Natalie Dyer) in the 1990s who cares for her invalid mother and fancifully dreams of unicorns (complete with animated imagery) meets her first love, a punk rocker, and they run off together. Shoplifting and sex ensue. Ugh.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Sony Classics, 2015; R for sex, nudity, language, drugs; audio commentary, featurettes). A teenage girl (Bel Powley) in 1976 San Francisco who aspires to be a cartoonist begins an audio diary as she enters into an affair with the boyfriend (Alexander Skarsgard) of her bohemian mother (Kristen Wiig). Ugh.
Straight Outta Compton (Universal, 2015; R for language, sex, nudity, violence, drugs; theatrical R-rated and unrated directors cut versions, deleted scenes, deleted songs, audio commentary, featurettes). The rise and fall of the hip-hop group N.W.A. is chronicled in this biographical film with OShea Jackson Jr. playing his father, Ice Cube. Paul Giamatti co-stars.
Stonewall (Lionsgate, 2015; R for sex, language, violence, drugs; featurettes, trailer). This fictional drama is set against the 1969 Stonewall riots, a clash with police that was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the gay liberation movement. The focus is on a young gay man who leaves his conservative Indiana home for New Yorks Greenwich Village, where he joins a group of street kids and drag queens.
The Condemned 2 (Lionsgate, 2015, R for violence and language, featurettes). WWE star Randy Orton takes over for Steve Austin in this belated sequel (the original came out in 2007) that has a former bounty hunter forced to participate in a televised fight to the death. His father (Eric Roberts) attempts to come to the rescue. Wes Studi (wheres he been?) co-stars.
