The week’s DVDs begin in Italy, twice:
DVDs for Jan. 6, 2015 by Boo Allen
This week, we begin, twice, in Italy:
Honey (***)
Irene (Jasmine Trinca) is a sporadic student. When not in school, she becomes Honey, frequently traveling from Italy to Mexico to buy veterinarian barbiturates. Once back home, she uses them to help people with terminal conditions to commit suicide. In this somber tale, actress Valeria Golino makes her directing debut, delivering a thoughtful, measured examination of an independent young woman acting out her own moral code. Her dedication faces a challenge, however, when Grimaldi (Carlo Cecchi) contacts her for assistance. She supplies him with the needed materials but then discovers he does not have a terminal illness. Instead, he has burned out, finding no joy in life. From there, the two argue, reconcile, argue some more, and finally come to accept each other’s point of view. Director Golino delicately balances these opposing attitudes while examining what makes life bearable, if not worth living.
Not rated, 98 minutes.
Extras: a stills gallery, trailer.
The Trip to Italy (***)
This amusing follow-up to the 2010 sleeper hit takes the same path as the original, with comedy actors Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon playing themselves while making a loosely-scripted car trip. And during this trip through Italy’s most beautiful areas, director Michael Winterbottom keeps his cameras rolling to capture the lush scenery, as well as the non-stop dialogue. This peripatetic approach results in gorgeous visuals of such famous Italian resort areas as Tuscany, Amalfi, Capri, Liguria and even Rome and elsewhere. Winterbottom also takes time to prick the senses by filming the in-kitchen preparations for various mouth-watering meals. The two men spout their inane observations on life seasoned with hilarious imitations of Hugh Grant, Anthony Hopkins, James Mason, Tom Hardy, Woody Allen, Al Pacino, and, their favorite, dueling Michael Caines. They even act out a scene from “Godfather II.” It’s slight and at times annoying, but mostly good-natured and amusing.
Not rated, 108 minutes.
Extras: 26 minutes of 15 deleted scenes, all of which could have been included in the film.
The Man With Two Brains (***1/2), My Blue Heaven (***)
Two on demand releases from Warner Archives arrive to remind us of the talent and the genius of Steve Martin. Hard to believe it has been 32 years since Martin teamed with director and co-writer Carl Reiner and co-writer George Gipe for the still hilarious The Man With Two Brains (rated R, 1983, 90 minutes). Martin plays Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr (say it fast), the world’s most renowned brain surgeon. In his car, he accidentally wounds a newly minted widow, Dolores (a sultry Kathleen Turner). He quickly marries the brazen gold-digger, but she keeps him at length. Shortly after, the two travel to a conference where the good doctor learns from a colleague (David Warner) about brain transplants. Dr. Hfuhruhurr then falls in love with an isolated brain voiced by Sissy Spacek. Reiner delivers constant absurd humor from the sharp script and Martin’s unpredictable antics.
In My Blue Heaven (rated PG-13, 1990, 96 minutes), Martin plays Vinnie Antonelli, a convicted New York mobster who goes into witness protection near San Diego. Rick Moranis is Barney Coopersmith, the befuddled F.B.I. agent assigned to Vinnie. Nora Ephron wrote the script that sees Martin assume character and then talk throughout in a ‘dem, ‘dese,’dose vernacular, sounding more like Broadway Danny Rose than a “wise guy.” Vinnie’s schemes land him in constant trouble, with Barney bailing him out so frequently, the agent begins a Vinnie-aided romance with local police detective Hannah Stubbs (Joan Cusack). Broad humor but funny enough, with strong supporting help from William Hickey, Melanie Mayron, Carol Kane, Daniel Stern, Bill Irwin. Eleven year-old Jesse Bradford plays one of Hannah’s children.
At The Devil’s Door (**1/2)
The devil makes an appearance, sort of, in this routine horror flick that uses an abundance of genre trickery. Catalina Sandino Moreno plays Leigh, a real estate agent who discovers one of her properties inhabited by a young woman who may or may not be the runaway daughter of the house’s sellers. Eventually, Leigh’s sister Vera (Naya Rivera) falls into the evil doings. Writer-director Nicholas McCarthy weaves in a story of possession and various other horror intrigues, showing a familiarity with such genre tropes as floating bodies, a “haunted” house, deep-throated messages through a possessed person, figures sliding in front of the camera and more gleeful horror tropes.
Rated R, 93 minutes.
Extras: an 18 minute “making of” featurette, and 12 minutes of deleted scenes with commentary.
And, finally, from this week’s TV arrivals:
Black Sails—season one
This Starz original series promised plenty of action and then delivered in its eight episodes on three discs. The pirates in 1715 Nassau, on New Providence Island, break stereotype with their constant on-land scheming and plotting. They also speak in anachronistic modern argot but break out long enough to freely loot and pillage. The season focuses mainly on ship captain Flint (Toby Stephens, son of Maggie Smith) as he aims to attack a heavily-armed freighter loaded with a huge treasure. But first, he must align his allies and then attack the foes who can supply him with guns. Meanwhile, romantic intrigue, much of it sexual, fills in the down time of the raunchy buccaneers. It’s a society that, in the interview words of a cast member, “thrives on thievery.” Hannah New plays Eleanor Guthrie, the dominant force behind the area’s financial success, and Louise Barnes is the mysterious Mrs. Barlow, the woman who bedevils Flint. The season also witnesses a crew mutiny, slave mutiny, prostitute mutiny, several sea attacks, and executions.
Not rated, 456 minutes.
Extras: a nine minute “making of” featurette and five additional featurettes from between two and four minutes and covering such topics as wardrobe and makeup, training to be a pirate, how the series defies pirate stereotypes, building the series’ main ship, and the series’ “Place in History.”
Shameless-season four
This often hilarious series continues apace following the sordid adventures of Chicago’s Gallagher family. After a distinguished film and stage career, William H. Macy has snuggled into his role as Frank Gallagher, the clan patriarch to six offspring who always manage to find trouble. This season’s 12 episodes witness Debbie (Emma Kenney) and Carl (Ethan Cutosky) growing up, Lip (Jeremy Allen White) having trouble at school, and Fiona (Emmy Rossum), the responsible one, becoming more involved with Mike (Jake McDorman) and, later, Robbie (Nick Gehlfuss), while also experiencing a bad case of road rage. In addition, the season has brief incursions at the hospital as well as the jail and courthouse.
Not rated, 642 minutes.
Extras: deleted scenes and two featurettes: “Being Gallagher” and “Shameless Neighbors.”
Also on DVD: Boyhood, The Dark Valley, Get On Up, Horns, Salvo, Two Night Stand, Ways to Live Forever.