Blu-rays of the Week
(Magnolia)
Remember This House, a book James Baldwin never finished, survives in manuscript form and is a
personal reminiscence of three civil rights leaders who were murdered: Medgar
Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Director Raoul Peck’s powerful documentary—nominated
for an Oscar this past year—makes intelligent use of Baldwin’s own words
(voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) to make the persuasive case that Baldwin’s views
on racism in America have never been more relevant. The film looks splendid on
Blu; extras are two Peck interviews (one of them an hour long) and Jackson
interview.
Animal Kingdom—Complete 1st Season
(Warner
Bros)
Based on the gritty 2010 Australian film that
garnered an Oscar nomination for Jacki Weaver as the matriarch of a petty crime
family, this new series moves the action to the heart of southern California, a
more uneasy fit than in the Outback. Still, Ellen Barkin is fun as lead villainess
Janine “Smurf” Cody, who keeps her four sons under control, and the series goes
off on interesting tangents after a prolonged set-up over the first few
episodes. The hi-def image is excellent; extras include deleted scenes and six
featurettes.
Detour
(Magnet)
In Detour,
a straitlaced young man goes on a drinking bender and finds himself “befriended”
by a crazed redneck and his stripper girlfriend; too bad that this derivative
road-trip drama is not nearly as interesting as writer-director Christopher
Smith thinks. We Are X is NOT a
documentary about the legendary L.A. punk band but instead a fascinating look
at the popular Japanese rock outfit that’s been led for decades by Yoshiki, an
intense and conflicted artist. Both films have exemplary hi-def transfers;
extras are deleted scenes, featurettes, interviews, and (on We Are X) live performances and a fan
video.
A Dog’s Purpose
(Universal)
Based on W. Bruce Cameron’s best-selling novel, this sanctimoniously sappy
drama about a reincarnated dog’s various lives with various owners—good, bad
and indifferent—is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser that makes no bones about rubbing
our noses in its canine cuteness and tear-inducing melodrama. Adorable dogs
notwithstanding, director Lasse Hallstrom has come a long way (down) from his
breakthrough classic, My Life as a Dog,
for which he got Oscar nominations for writing and directing way back in 1988.
The film has a natural look on Blu; extras include deleted scenes, outtakes and
two featurettes.
The Rounders
(Warner Archive)
Henry Fonda, in a long career, made several forgettable movies. Like these
two: 1964’s The Rounders teams Fonda
and Glenn Ford in a frivolous western about a couple of aging cowboys dealing
with a bucking bronco. 1963’s Spencer’s
Mountain—a predecessor to The Waltons—finds
Fonda playing a father of nine in this sweetly unassuming if too saccharine
family drama. Both films have luminous hi-def transfers; Spencer extras are
vintage featurette and vintage Fonda interviews.
The Wheeler Dealers
From Hell It Came
(Warner Archive)
1963’s The Wheeler Dealers is a
harmless and rather pointless Arthur Hiller romantic comedy with an amusing
James Garner as a typical Texas millionaire and glamorous Lee Remick as a
hard-edged New York gal who falls for him. 1957’s From Hell It Came has one of the most absurd monsters
ever—half-man, half-tree—terrorizing whoever crosses its path. It’s so bad that
it might be worth a look just for its extreme lousiness, but don’t say I didn’t
warn you. The hi-def transfers are excellent.
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