The week’s DVDs begin on line:
DVDs and streaming for Jan. 20 by Boo Allen
This week, we begin on-line:
The Internet’s Own Boy (***1/2)
In this compelling documentary, director Brian Knappenberger examines the influential and eventful, yet tragically short life of Aaron Swartz. The computer genius from Chicago was one of the founders of Reddit but went his own way to fight against what he saw as other Internet injustices. Knappenberger includes ample interviews with Swartz’s friends, families and girlfriends, fleshing out a portrait of a young man of privilege but with a deep social conscience. The director chronicles some of Swartz’s attempts at opening up public record files, such as Swartz’s criminal offense of downloading two million research documents from MIT. The act brought him a 13 count federal indictment that was pending when Swartz committed suicide in 2013 at 26. Knappenberger only paints Swartz positively, while giving no consideration of possible national security issues. Still, an entertaining if one-sided look at an interesting character.
Not rated, 105 minutes.
Extras: deleted scenes, the trailer.
May in the Summer (**)
Cherien Dabis wrote, directed and then starred as the title May, a young woman who returns from New York to her home in Amman, Jordan. There, she intends to prepare for her pending wedding to an American of Palestinian origin. But his Muslim faith so upsets May’s fundamentalist Christian mother (Hiam Abbas), she, mom, intends not to attend her daughter’s wedding. Before that day, May spends time with her two bickering sisters and even with the father (Bill Pullman) who divorced her mother years ago to remarry a much younger woman. Dabis reduces timeless clashes of cultures and religions into superficial squabbling about romantic inconstancy and other ephemeral concerns.
Rated R, 99 minutes.
Extras: a brief “making of” featurette, trailer, and stills gallery.
The Drop (***)
Building menace dominates this crime drama that achieves most of its effects without violence. Michael Roskam (Bullhead) directs from Dennis Lahane’s script from his own short story, “Animal Rescue.” The writer and director combine to establish a sense of identity and place by registering small details which, separately, amount to little, but together, they build a atmospheric portrait of a Chechen mob-infested Brooklyn neighborhood. Tom Hardy plays Bob, who tends bar at a joint used for a mob cash drop. James Gandolfini plays Marvin, the bar’s owner who struggles to keep his own secrets when his bar is robbed. Various plot lines play out that seem disconnected until Roskam brings them all cleverly together, including re-appearing local woman Nadia (Noomi Rapace) and an abused and abandoned dog rescued by Bob. The sad sack bartender floats around the drama’s edges, just peripherally involved with what takes place around him. He appears to be a slow-witted, slow-talking slug, but it’s his hidden depths that give the movie its surprising backbone. Roskam sells his story mostly through its surfaces, avoiding action and mayhem but delivering a somber but engaging character study.
Rated R, 106 minutes.
The Magic School Bus—season one
Thirteen episodes of this popular kids’ series, based on the books of Joanna Cole and Bruce Degan, arrive on two discs. The Emmy-winning animated series again has received various awards and medals for children’s programming. In this collection, Miss Frizzle engages her students with a variety of topics ranging from the big (the universe) to the small (cells). Children as well as adults can be spellbound by the lessons.
Rated TV-G, 299 minutes.
And, finally, from this week’s TV arrivals:
The Bridge—season two
The twelve episodes, on four discs, of the sophomore season of this compelling drama again take place in the El Paso-Juarez area. This season, instead of chasing down a serial killer, American detective Sonya Cross (Diane Kruger) and her Mexican counterpart Marco Ruiz (Oscar nominated Demian Bichir) find themselves in the middle of an international drug smuggling operation that has its hooks everywhere. In addition, several related plot lines play out through the entire season, such as Sonya conquering her Asperger’s long enough to have an affair with the brother of the man who killed her sister, a Mennonite environmentalist hit-woman (Franka Potente) who loves to kill, the failure of Frye (Matthew Lillard) to sober up but his success, with Mendez (Emily Rios), in uncovering the convoluted operation. Also returning are Ted Levine as Lt. Hank Wade, Annabeth Gish as sultry Charlotte Millwright, and Lyle Lovett as sleazy lawyer Monte Flagman. Series creators Meredith Stiehm and Elwood Reed based their work on the Scandinavian series “Bron” and have recruited some of the best directors working in television, including Keith Gordon and noir master John Dahl (Red Rock West, The Last Seduction). Stiehm and Reed have mapped out an original, suspenseful, and action-filled follow-up to their successful first season.
Not rated, 580 minutes.
Extras: six minutes of deleted scenes, an 11 minute “making of” featurette “Blurring the Border,” and the six minute “Building the Bridge—Wrap-Up.” Each disc also holds a three to four minute “behind-the-scenes” segment, “Building the Bridge,” for each episode.
Tyrant—season one
This compelling series takes place in Abbudin, a fictional Middle Eastern country (Iran?) but one filled with intrigue and melodrama. Adam Rayner plays Barry Al-Fayeed, an American pediatrician who returns with his wife (Jennifer Finnigan) and two young children to his homeland where his dictator father rules supreme. Immediately, the father unexpectedly dies, thrusting Barry’s psychopathic brother Jamal (Ashraf Barhom) into a position of leadership. But it seems Barry must stick around as all the palace plottings play out. And before long, it appears Barry might even become the next ruler himself despite his, and his family’s, protestations. The season also witnesses betrayal, an American involvement of sorts, a planned coup, an uprising, and plenty of sex. Good ensemble cast with Barhom’s unhinged Jamal standing out.
Not rated, 475 minutes.
Extras: 21 minutes of deleted scenes and a 12 minute “making of” featurette “A Family of Tyranny.”
Also on DVD and streaming: The Boxtrolls, The Green Prince, Grounded, Life’s a Breeze, A Little Game, Lucy, The Mule, The Pirates, Wolves.