This week’s DVDs begin with a secret world:
DVDs for May 22 by Boo Allen
This week, we begin in a secret world:
The Secret World of Arrietty (***1/2)
Walt Disney Studios teams with Hayao Miyazaki’s renowned
Studio Ghibli to render a charming tale based on “The Borrowers,”
Mary Norton’s series of children’s novels. Little people live with us
and around us, unseen but forever there. They cleverly “borrow”
from us to complement their world, out of view, hidden between walls.
An excellent voice cast brings to life these whimsical creations,
including Bridget Mendler as Arietty, Will Arnett as Pod, Amy Poehler
as Homily, and Carol Burnett as Hara.
Rated G, 95 minutes. The DVD, available in all formats
and combo packs, includes music videos of Cecile Corbel singing
“Arietty’s Song,” and Mendler singing “Summertime,” which
also has its own “making of” featurette. Plus: a storyboard, the
Japanese trailers and TV commercials, and more.
This Means War (**1/2)
Two friends, FDR (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Hardy), work
for the C.I.A. as deadly operatives. They simultaneously meet and
begin dating a local businesswoman, who seems to be unattached and
lonely even though she looks like Reese Witherspoon. She is unaware
they know each other. And she remains uninformed as they both work to
sabotage the other’s relationship. Meanwhile, a sub-plot plays out
about the two tracking an international terrorist (Til Schweiger).
This distraction enables the duo to engage in action-movie theatrics
supplied by director McG, who obviously likes loud noises, bright
lights, and shiny objects. The innocuous bromantic-comedy supplies a
few laughs while not exactly challenging the brain cells. With
Chelsea Handler, Rosemary Harris.
Rated PG-13, 97 minutes. The DVD, available in all
formats and various combo packs, includes commentaries, two alternate
endings and six deleted scenes. The Blu-ray holds these plus
additional deleted scenes, a gag reel, and more.
Worried About the Boy (**1/2)
Julian Jarrold directed this bio-pic about George O’Dowd
and his climb to stardom to become Boy George. The entertaining opus
follows George (Douglas Booth) as he leaves his London home and
gradually sings and performs his way into a new 1980s world of sex,
drugs, and rock and roll.
Not rated, 91 minutes. The DVD includes 10 minutes of
behind-the-scenes footage.
Beyond (**1/2)
In this routine mystery-thriller, gnarly Jon Voight
stars as a gnarly detective in Anchorage out to solve “one last
case.” A girl is kidnapped, and the detective works with the
parents (Teri Polo, Brett Baker) to find her. Against his will, and
good judgment, the detective listens to the mother when she brings in
a radio psychic (Julian Morris). Eventually, it seems that the
skeptical detective might also share some of these paranormal traits.
The film achieves some creepy atmospherics but loses credibility when
dealing with supernatural voo-doo to solve a crime.
Rated PG-13, 90 minutes. In all formats.
Two films of interest arrive this week from Warner
Archives: A Millionaire for Christy (***1/2), Easy
Living (***)
By 1951, Screwball Comedy had just about run its course.
But in A Millionaire (91 minutes), director George
Marshall delivered, from Robert Harari’s story, one last, fast-paced
comedy. A radio personality (Fred McMurray) about to wed a woman (Kay
Buckley) obviously wrong for him is informed he has unexpectedly
become heir to a fortune. He believes the messenger (Eleanor Parker)
sent to inform him is crazy, while she decides it might be best if
she married him instead. Marshall takes the comically feuding pair
all over Southern California, while displaying a sense of
desperation tinged with romance. Even today, few movies have tackled
the subject of 1949’s Easy Living (77 minutes).
Victor Mature stars as Pete Wilson, a star quarterback on a
fictional professional football team in Los Angeles. After a few
black-outs, he learns he has a heart condition that could kill him if
he continues playing. But his crass, selfish wife (Lizabeth Scott)
has grown accustomed to larger paychecks, while he doesn’t seem to
mind the perks and special attention. The film examines his plight
and how athletes, or anyone, must adjust to a dramatic change of
circumstances. It also presents a cursory look at how professional
sports has evolved into much larger enterprises. Lloyd Nolan plays
the coach, and Lucille Ball is a secretary in the front office with
eyes for poor maltreated Pete. Directed by usual horror maven Jacques
Tourneur.
Carol Channing: Larger Than Life (***)
Director Dori Berinstein gives an in-depth look at this
now 90 year-old entertainment legend. Mixing performance footage,
various interviews, and film clips, Berinstein provides a warm
portrait of the star, who in 2003, performed a one woman show “The
First Eighty Years Are the Hardest.” Interviewees include Loni
Anderson, Bruce Vilanch, Lily Tomlin, Barbara Walters, Debbie
Reynolds, Phyllis Diller and many others.
Rated PG, 89 minutes.
And, finally, from this week’s TV arrivals:
Sherlock—second season
Our week’s top TV-Series-To-DVD is this clever B.B.C.
series starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the perfect embodiment of a
21st century Sherlock Holmes—arrogant, fast talking, and
extremely knowledgeable. The season’s three episodes, on two discs,
are full length movies, well plotted dramas that accentuate the
series’ imaginative use of Holmes’ lightning reasoning and his
uncanny but reasonable deductions. These entries take three Arthur
Conan Doyle stories and update them with delicious twists, such as
“The Hounds of Baskerville.” Martin Freeman plays the second half
of the ambiguous relationship, Dr. Watson, who writes a blog on
Sherlock’s exploits. But the most important element of these new
translations is that they are great fun.
Not rated, 266 minutes. The set also includes
commentaries and a 19 minute “making of” featurette with
extensive interviews.
Rizzoli and Isles–season two
The second season of this engaging police procedural
drama improved on the first, gaining in the ratings and developing a
devoted following. Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander star as,
respectively, Boston detective Jane Rizzoli—slovenly and
cynical–and medical examiner Maura Isles—fashionable, nerdy, and
perpetually cheerful. In addition to solving murders every week, this
season Rizzoli has her annoying mother (Lorraine Bracco) working in
the same building, while Isles receives a visit from her mother
(Jacqueline Bisset) as well as a more furtive visit from her mobster
father (John Doman). The season’s 15 episodes come on three discs.
Not rated, 629 minutes. The collection also includes
brief deleted scenes, a six minute gag reel, and 52 minutes total of
four “behind-the-scenes” featurettes.
Also on DVD: Red Tails, Woman in Black.