New in Home Entertainment
November 24, 2015
Shaun the Sheep
Rated PG for rude humor
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
From the creators of Wallace & Gromit comes this fantastic little stop-motion animated film about a family of sheep who inadvertently give their owner amnesia while trying to take a day off, and then go on an adventure to recover him. Told without spoken dialog, the film is a creative and fun story with great imagination and big belly laughs. While technically a flop (the film only made 19 of its 64 million dollars in the U.S.), it was a critical smash, garnering a 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Whether or not you have kids, you owe it to yourself to check this one out as it will bring a huge smile to your face and give you a great film to suggest to your friends who I can almost guarantee haven’t seen it yet. A-
Ricki and the Flash
Rated PG-13 for thematic material, brief drug content, sexuality and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Everything about this film says it should have been a hit. The Silence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme was at the helm and Juno writer Diablo Cody wrote the script. The greatest actor of our time, Meryl Streep, was the star. The film even had my favorite rock star, Rick Springfield, in a large starring role. But this film about an aged rocker wannabe who tries to rekindle her relationship with her family falls very flat. The movie has its moments but so much of it seems inauthentic that it becomes a hard pill to swallow. C
American Ultra
Rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout, drug use and some sexual content
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
American Ultra asks the question “what if Jason Bourne was stoner?” It’s a question that only a stoner would ask, but enough talented people put their time and money into it to really come up with a solid answer. In this case Jesse Eisenberg is just a loser pothead who suddenly realizes that he is a butt-whooping secret agent capable of taking on whatever the US government can throw at him. Along with his girlfriend, Kristen Stewart, the two try to stay alive long enough to figure out what is going on. Eisenberg and Stewart are actually somewhat likable heroes here and some of the film is fun to watch. The plot is ridiculous and contrived, but the acton is extreme and the violence has a twisted sense of humor to it that makes it less real and less offensive. Still, the film has a very limited audience and it justifiably flopped at the box office. C+