New in Home Entertainment
February 9, 2016
Crimson Peak
Rated R for bloody violence, some sexual content and brief strong language
Rotten Tomatoes Score 69%
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
In Guillermo del Toro’s latest horror fantasy, Mia Wasikowska plays a young heiress who marries a handsome young businessman, Tom Hiddleston, after her father’s mysterious death. Once at her new husband’s strangely beautiful estate, Crimson Peak, she must deal with the home’s many secrets, as well as her new sinister sister-in-law, played by Jessica Chastain. As you’d expect with a del Toro ghost story, the film is macabre yet mesmerizing. What it lacks in scares it more than makes up for in aesthetics. Unfortunately, the project falls flat due to an unworthy script that even these fantastic actors have trouble navigating. C+
99 Homes
Rated R for language including some sexual references, and a brief violent image
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
As a great companion piece to the Oscar-nominated The Big Short, 99 Homes shows us the battle between Spiderman and General Zod (not really, but the same actors at least: Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon). Here Garfield plays an out of work and homeless construction worker who goes to work for Shannon, the very person who evicted him from his home, in order to make money kicking people out of their homes. There is a great social commentary to be found here although the story could have been stronger, especially the inorganically dramatic ending. Still, the performances are terrific and it leaves lots of food for thought. B-
Grandma
Rated R for language and some drug use
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Here Lilly Tomlin plays a mean old grandma who attempts to help her teenage granddaughter raise enough money to pay for an abortion. From a surface-level viewpoint, the film is a nice adult comedy about an old dog learning new tricks. But the very subject of the film is a distracting and uncomfortable albatross around its own neck. I wanted the heroes to win on their journey and yet I really desired a deeper discussion about the prize. B-