This week we get a little HELP
DVDs for Dec. 6 by Boo Allen
This week we begin in Jackson, Mississippi:
The Help (**1/2)
This overly-well intentioned movie written and directed by Tate Taylor,
from Kathryn Stockett’s novel, takes aim at revealing the effects of
racism in general, and, specifically, in early 1960s Jackson,
Mississippi. Taylor touches the obvious touchstones, with every white
person in town except one being a racist jerk. In doing so, Taylor’s
story sprawls, beginning with Aibileen (Viola Davis), a maid who has
spent her life raising white children but neglecting her own. Next is
recent college graduate Skeeter (Emma Stone), who draws out the
maids’ stories of abuse, ending up as The Help, a
best selling tell-all that scandalizes the town. In between, Taylor
juggles his too-many sub-plots, mostly about the town’s Southern
Bells who have a fund-raiser to help African children but abuse their
own African-American help. Taylor portrays these deluded women of
society in ludicrously broad strokes, but he excels in the surface
presentations, from the big ugly automobiles, and even uglier hair
styles, to the unscrubbed racist language. Taylor’s overall stellar,
mostly female, cast, shines with supporting help from Allison Janney,
Mary Steenburgen, Sissy Spacek, Aunjanue Ellis, and others.
Rated PG-13, 138 minutes. The DVD also comes in Blu-ray
and is available to download or in various combo packs. Various
supplements include a 24 minute “making of” featurette, a 12
minute “Tribute to the Maids of Mississippi,” five deleted scenes
with introduction by Tate Taylor, and a five minute Mary J. Blige
music video.
Our Idiot Brother (***)
Paul Rudd stars as the title character, Ned, re-teaming
with Jesse Peretz, his director from the hilarious but criminally
overlooked The Chateau. This absurdist comedy may
falter in some ways, but it delivers plenty of yucks. Rudd perfectly
portrays the simple-minded, guile-less brother of three vastly
different NYC sisters (Emily Morton, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey
Deschanel). After he finishes a short prison term for selling
marijuana to a uniformed police officer, he shuffles among the three
sisterly households, like but not like King Lear. Ned usually says
the wrong thing at the wrong time, causing endless relationship
problems with the sisters’ significant others, played by Adam Scott,
Steven Coogan, Rashida Jones, and, briefly, Hugh Dancy. Peretz shows
a sure hand for the bizarre and also peppers his soundtrack with
Willie Nelson, making it genetically impossible not to like a movie
whose soundtrack is dominated by Willie Nelson.
Rated R, 90 minutes. The DVD, also on Blu-ray, includes
four deleted and extended scenes and a 15 minute “making of”
featurette.
Chillerama (***)
Horror fans might enjoy this quartet from four modern
master purveyors of the medium: Adam Rifkin (Detroit Rock
City), Tim Sullivan (2001 Maniacs), Joe Lynch
(Wrong Turn 2), and Adam Green (Hatchet, Frozen).
Each delivers a shocking amount of blood, guts and gore in his thirty
minute or so segment, which features some familiar young cast names,
such as Joel David Moore, Lin Shaye, Ray Wise and others. A
connecting narrative ties them all together, but that’s just the
ribbon around the package.
Not rated, 120 minutes. The DVD, also on Blu-ray
includes a bundle of extras, including directors’ commentaries,
deleted scenes for individual segments, a “making of” featurette,
director interviews, and more.
Medea (***)
Cinematic bad boy Pier Paolo Pasolini directed great
opera diva Maria Callas in this 1969 production of Euripides’ Greek
tragedy. He also provided the accompanying screenplay. Callas plays
it up in this her only dramatic film role. The new edition has been
restored and remastered from a new 35mm film-to-tape transfer
Not rated, 110 minutes. The DVD, now making its Blu-ray
debut, also contains Tony Palmer’s 92 minute documentary on the belle
canto legend, a valuable addition for Callas lovers.
Michael Feinstein: The Sinatra Legacy (***)
The well known purveyor of pop songs pays homage to Ole’
Blue Eyes in this lively collection filmed at the Palladium in
Carmel, Indiana. Leon Knoles directed, with Bill Elliott serving as
music director over a 32 piece orchestra for such standards as “Fly
Me to the Moon,” “For Once in My Life,” “New York, New York,”
and many others.
Not rated, 86 minutes.
Cheaper to Keep Her (**1/2)
Je’Caryous Johnson wrote and directed this film based on
a renowned stage play starring Brian McKnight as Raymond Mays, a
beleaguered husband who receives a huge shock when he divorces his
wife Morgan (Vivica A. Fox)–the judge gives her everything, giving
him second, and third, thoughts about his split.
Not rated, 116 minutes. The DVD includes an introduction
from Johnson, a featurette on Johnson, and a behind-the-scenes
featurette.
Thomas and Friends: Rescue on the Rails
Young ones can enjoy Thomas and his buddies race to the
rescue when Bertie is stuck on the Shake Shake Bridge in these four
episodes.
Not rated, 50 minutes. The DVD, available on download or
on demand, also offers a game and a karaoke music video.
And, for our TV offerings, we go down under:
Underbelly—the trilogy
This Australian television crime drama played over three
seasons, with each season covering individual dramas: “A Tale of
Two Cities” touches on the pervasive drug culture of the 1970s and
1980s. “The Golden Mile” is about crime in Sydney in 1989, and
“War on the Streets” reports on Melbourne gang violence around
2000. Called the Australian version of “The Sopranos,” the hugely
popular series spanned more than thirty years and won six Australian
Film Institute Awards. Thirty-nine episodes come on 12 discs.
Not rated, more than 28 hours total. The set also offers
three separate featurettes of the behind-the-scenes variety: “On
the News,” “A Day of Reckoning,” and one on the “Tale of Two
Cities” season.
Also on DVD: Cowboys and Aliens, The Debt, Mr. Popper’s
Penguins, The Hangover part II.