The week’s DVDs begin in a mysterious mountain cabin:
DVDs and streaming for July 14 by Boo Allen
This week, we begin in a mysterious mountain cabin:
Ex Machina (****)
Screenwriter Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Sunshine, Never Let Me Go) makes his directing debut with this chilling and unsettling science-fiction drama. Garland takes artificial intelligence as his topic and then gives it several twists, some human, some not. The director deftly achieves a surreal moodiness and an aura of danger with a minimum of effects, cast, and settings. Domhnall Gleeson plays young programmer Caleb Smith, the winner of a contest set up by an enigmatic mega-rich industrialist, Nathan (Oscar Isaac). For his reward, Caleb wins time with Nathan at his, Nathan’s, isolated mountain retreat. Once sworn to secrecy, Caleb meets Ava (Alicia Vikander), a creepily life-like android who eventually takes to tempting Caleb. The more time Caleb spends at the house, the more he distrusts Nathan and the more he fears for his own safety, an escalating feeling made palpable by director Garland. Isaac turns in a magnetic performance as the unstable but highly entertaining mogul, and Vikander perfectly embodies the plastic inflexibility of a robot. Rob Hardy’s clear and exquisitely composed cinematography captures both the beauty and the menace of the figures and the environment.
Rated R, 108 minutes.
Extras: a 40 minute, comprehensive, five part “making of” featurette, an hour long Q&A with cast and crew at South by Southwest, and eight “behind-the-scenes” segments on a variety of topics running between three and four minutes.
The Salt of the Earth (***1/2)
With his first viewing, German filmmaker Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire, Paris, Texas) became entranced with the work of Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado. Wenders then eventually teamed up with Salgado’s son, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, for this Oscar-nominated documentary about the elder Salgado, his life and work. Wenders and the younger Salgado have created a gorgeous rendering of the father’s decades-long work that took him around the world to capture the striking images seen here. But the film is more than a series of still photographs with voice over narration by their creators because the directors also take the time, with ample personal photographs, to flesh out a portrait of this dedicated artist. Over the years, Salgado has published several photographic collections, and the directors use these to break their film into thematic chapters, such as the Iraq war, the Balkan conflict, mining in South America, various forays into Africa such as the Rwandan massacre and the Congo wars, all providing Salgado’s breath-taking pictures. Salgado provides a third act twist when he and his wife turn his family’s worn-out ancestral farmland into a blooming forest and nature sanctuary, all of which gave Salgado material for another photographic collection.
Rated PG-13, 110 minutes.
Extras: commentary, ten deleted scenes of around 36 minutes, and a 12 minute, analytical “making of” featurette.
Scooby Doo! And KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery
The big dog returns in this feature length animated film, but this time the sleuthing pooch shares the screen with some unlikely co-stars. Scooby and Mystery Inc. pals Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma set out to solve the mystery of the Crimson Witch. In their exploration they cross paths with the rock group KISS, or at least their animated selves. Six classic KISS songs are performed. The adventure begins when the Mystery Inc. gang goes to a KISS concert on Halloween night only to find themselves facing off against the group out to destroy the world. Guest appearances by Kevin Smith, Jason Newes, Darius Rucker, Garry and Penny Marshall, and others.
Not rated, 79 minutes.
Extras: two bonus Scooby cartoons and a blooper reel.
Also on DVD and streaming: Almost Mercy, Dawn Patrol, Glass Chin, Goodbye to All That, Twenty Four Days.