New in Home Entertainment
October 8, 2013
After Earth
Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and some disturbing images
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Taking place 1000 years after a forced human escape from Earth, Will Smith and son Jaden (playing father and son in the movie also) end up on a hostile Earth that has evolved to a tremendous degree after the humans have left. While Jaden’s acting isn’t the best and the film might not be completely scientifically sound, the movie is still a very well-made sci-fi adventure that comes in at a tidy 100 fast-paced minutes. While director M. Night Shyamalan has certainly deserved some of the bad reviews he has garnered over the last few years, especially for The Happening and The Last Airbender, After Earth is a much better film than most critics are giving it credit for. B
The Hangover Part III
Rated R for pervasive language including sexual references, some violence and drug content, and brief graphic nudity
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
When Doug is kidnapped by gangsters while taking Alan to rehab, Phil, Alan and Stu (Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms) must recruit Mr Chow (Ken Jeong) to help get him back. While they wisely chose not to use their “wake up with a hangover and no memory of the night before” plot vehicle that they so poorly utilized in part 2, this time around is far too serious and contains little humor. And when they were trying to be funny, they weren’t successful. Ultimately the movie ended up being a huge stinking disappointment. D
Europa Report
Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and peril
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
If you saw the trailer for this latest low-budget sci-fi film you’d think it was some kind of horror film, but it turns out to be so different and so much better because of it. This realistic, almost documentary-style space exploration film follows an international group of astronauts as they attempt to travel to Jupiter’s moon Europa in the search for a life-sustaining planet. While it’s no Gravity, it is an engrossing and extremely interesting flick with an excellent cast of “they look really familiar” actors and terrific production values. B