New in Home Entertainment – September 5, 2017

New in Home Entertainment

September 5, 2017

Meagan Leavey
Rated PG-13 for war violence, language, suggestive material, and thematic elements
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84%
Based on her true-life story, Meagan Leavey (played by Kate Mara) is a lost soul who joins the marines in order to find direction. That direction comes in the form of a German Shepherd named Sgt Rex. Completing more than 100 missions in the Middle East together, they bond in a way that makes their lives difficult when their time together is over. The story is fascinating and they put together an excellent cast of supporting actors including Bradley Whitford and Edie Falco in order to tell it well. While it succeeds in getting its points across, it does get overly sentimental and sappy. But it also honors an American hero in a way that will make you have greater appreciation for our dogs in service. B-

Disneynature: Born in China
Rated G
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%
The newest project in Disney’s Earth Day nature documentary series goes to China to show the lives of pandas, golden monkeys and snow leopards. Like other films in the series, the narrator (this time out its John Krasinski) gives an ongoing story for each of the animals and their struggle to survive. While these stories come across as a bit cheesy, they should keep the kids engaged while you revel in the beautiful photography and stunning shots that I would have to imagine were more than difficult to capture. It’s an impressive film that is very easy to enjoy. B+

Daredevil: Season 2
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 74%
While The Avengers have been dominating the big screen, Netflix has given us some excellent Marvel heroes on the small screen as well. And if you belong to the small percentage of non-Netflix subscribers, they are releasing several of their shows this week on Blu-ray and DVD. While not as strong as the first season, this second season featuring the blind lawyer/crimefighter takes the complexity up a notch by adding in Electra and The Punisher as each attempts to clean up Hell’s Kitchen in their own way. While the overall story arch gets muddled with too many ingredients, and sometimes the script and secondary actors prove to be less than impressive, the action is thrilling and the whole thing is rather fun, if you are into this sort of thing. Note to parents, these new Netflix Marvel shows are not meant for young kids. While they technically aren’t rated, they would be considered a soft R due to violence, language and sexual content. B

Narcos: Season 2
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%
Also from Netflix comes this intense drama chronicling the rise and fall of the legendary drug lord Pablo Escobar. In this second season, life becomes increasingly more difficult for the kingpin as not only are the US and Columbian governments hot on his tail – now rival drug lords want to take him out as well. This is a brutal show loaded with great storytelling and a talented cast to tell it. And if you are wondering why you should buy the blu-ray when you have access to Netflix – they threw in some great special features including an intriguing documentary and an audio commentary. A-