New in Home Entertainment
August 12, 2014
Locke
Rated R for language throughout
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
This 84 minute pseudo-thriller follows thespian Tom Hardy (Warrior) as he attempts to handle a number of very delicate situations over the phone while driving. Yes that’s it – one man driving and talking on his speaker phone. Had I known this going in I would have probably not started watching the movie. And boy would I have missed out on a really interesting film. It takes some time to get the story into high gear, but this terrific script, performed by an amazing actor, is masterfully pulled off. B+
Bears
Rated G
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Disneynature’s 2014 Earth Day documentary follows a mother and her two cubs as they try to survive the harsh wilderness of the Alaskan peninsula. This very tight 78 minute feature is so packed full of “how did they get that shot” moments that you just get used to them. And I can’t think of a more perfect voice for the narration than the goofy John C. Reilly. Like all of these Earth Day narratives, some of the story seems to be a far stretch from what is actually going on, but when you are trying to tell a tale with nature as your backdrop, sometimes you have to have a little artistic license. B+
Boredom
Rated NR
Available on DVD
This Canadian documentary attempts to tell the story of boredom, a state of mind that we all suffer from but apparently know little about. Sound boring? Filmmaker Albert Nerenberg tells it using a huge symphonic score with more b-roll footage (mostly irrelevant) than any documentary should need, making boredom seem, well, quite exciting and entertaining. I’m not sure how much I actually took away from the movie, but at least I wasn’t bored watching it. B