New in Home Entertainment
July 28, 2015
The Water Diviner
Rated R for war violence including some disturbing images
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Russell Crowe directs and stars in this drama about an Australian father who travels to Turkey to find his three missing sons after the Battle of Gallipoli. While one of the greatest actors of our time, Crowe is making his directorial debut here and he does a pretty admirable job. The pacing is a bit off at times but his presence on screen carries the film and makes it so you at least care about his plight, no matter what the result. The film does lose its focus a bit in regards to the single mother who works in the inn where he resides, which diverts the story in the direction of being a slow-moving romance. While this subplot isn’t horrible, it is against character as Crowe seems distracted from his honorable cause a little too much. My knowledge of wars in that region of the world is less than adequate, so I’m very thankful there is a special feature about the Battle of Gallipoli to help with context. B
White God
Rated R for violent content including bloody images, and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
In Hungarian with English subtitles
When a girl’s mutt is taken away from her and released on the outskirts of the city, she goes on a daring quest to reunite with him. But her dog’s journey creates a scenario where he becomes an alpha of a large and aggressive pack, bent on revenge against mankind. This is definitely a case of a film being impressive in regard to how they made it, but the overall project could have used some help in the story department. I loved the dog’s tale, but the girl’s tale was less than compelling. I have to admit that it’s a truly amazing achievement how the filmmakers were able to make a movie using rescued dogs, turning them into such fantastic characters. The vision is truly extraordinary. As a horror film it’s not particularly scary, but it’s still an adventure worth taking. B-