New in Home Entertainment
January 14, 2013
Carrie
Rated R for bloody violence, disturbing images, language and some sexual content
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
I saw a t-shirt the other day that said “An Engineer’s Motto: If it’s not broken, take it apart and fix it.” That definitely applies here with Boys Don’t Cry director Kimberly Peirce’s modernization of Stephen King’s classic book about a haunted young telekinetic girl who is bullied over the edge and driven to unleash her powers upon the world. Chloe Grave Moretz plays the titular character in a completely over-the-top but still effective manner while Julianne Moore plays her religious nut job mother perfectly. While not especially scary and not nearly as good as the 1976 Brian De Palma original, this Carrie gives a nice cyber-bully spin to the story with a pretty elaborate set piece. And even though the trailers gave way too much away about the big prom scene, whether you’ve seen it or not, it should still give its audience a fun time at the big dance. B
Lee Daniels’ The Butler
Rated PG-13 for some violence and disturbing images, language, sexual material, thematic elements and smoking
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
While its not lighting up the awards circuit this year, this audience favorite about a man who works as a butler in the White House throughout many of the countries pivotal moments of the twentieth century is certainly a strong contender for best feel good movie of the year. Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey lead a terrific cast whose performances aren’t exactly memorable but solid enough to make the film enjoyable and relevant. The writing could have been stronger as the film comes off a bit cheesy at times, but the film will leave you entertained and touched for sure. B+
Riddick
Rated R for strong violence, language and some sexual content/nudity
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Riddick is left stranded on a sun-scorched planet finding himself caught between deadly alien monsters trying to eat him and a group of bounty hunters determined to bring him in. While I’ve seen 2000’s Pitch Black and 2004’s The Chronicles of Riddick, I don’t remember any major plot details. The movies have never struck me as memorable in the least. That being said, I feel I needed some back story beyond what was given in order to understand what was going on, but oh well. The story alone is fine as Vin Diesel buries himself well in the character and owns his screen time. I even liked the monsters but I’m pretty sure the planet would have had more than three species of animal life on it. I especially liked the dog that Riddick befriends, although they break an important movie rule when it comes to his four-legged buddy and the film slips from there into its mindless ending. C+
You’re Next
Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and some sexuality/nudity
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Your’re Next follows a family whose house is invaded by a group of masked villains intent on killing them off one by one. Normally a film like this would have went straight to DVD but thanks to a huge underground following, largely due to winning some major prizes at Austin Fantastic Fest in 2011, the film got a nice theatrical release and a few extra dollars. While it has its scary moments, there’s enough humor in it to make you laugh out loud throughout. It is definitely one of the better B movies I’ve seen recently and has cult classic potential. C+