New in Home Entertainment
June 21, 2016
Midnight Special
Rated PG-13 for some violence and action
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84%
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Mud and Take Shelter writer/director Jeff Nichols delivers here a phenomenal piece of understated sci-fi in this tale that follows a group of cultists, along with the U.S. government, who are all fighting to gain custody of a young boy with very special abilities. It’s a really terrific film with a great cast including Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirstin Dunst and Adam Driver. Because of its indie feel, it didn’t survive long at the box office, but hopefully it finds better success on Blu-ray and streaming. My only real problem with the film is the title which doesn’t seem to match its contents in the least. A-
The Wave
Rated R for some language and disaster images
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
In Norwegian with English subtitles (and a decent English dub for those of you who don’t like to read while watching)
It seems most disaster films have come strictly from Hollywood, but this recent Norway export finds a geologist who discovers the possibility that a large chunk of mountain might fall into a local body of water, which would inevitably cause an 80 meter wave to smash the local resort town which he lives in. While the film relies on some of the same old cliches you see in every disaster film, it still possesses an authenticity that sets it apart. B
Eddie the Eagle
Rated PG-13 for some suggestive material, partial nudity and smoking
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 79%
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Loosely based on a true story, a young British kid who dreams of Olympic gold, but who has zero athletic ability, recruits an American coach (Hugh Jackman) to help him get to the olympics as a ski-jumper. The story isn’t as inspiring as it wants to be and it is full of script problems and cheesy dialog, but it does try really hard, just like the actual Eddie, and for that I have to give it credit. B-
Knight of Cups
Rated R for nudity, sexuality and language
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 46%
Director Terrence Malick (Tree of Life) once again assembles a tremendous cast (Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, etc…) for another project that is more art than storytelling. Here we find Bale, a soul-searching screenwriter who desperately tries to find love and self as he tries to avoid the pitfalls thrown at him in Los Angles and Vegas. While I really wanted to like it, and I’ll freely admit that I might with enough viewings, I can hardly recommend it to someone looking for a relaxing Redbox date night. The cinematography by multiple Oscar-winner Emmanuel Lubezki is such a perfect companion to Malick’s unusual filmmaking style and the dreamlike state of the film is certainly mesmerizing, but it’s not an easy project to take on. While I usually love this kind of film, I’m going to leave the complete digestion of it for a later day. C+