New in Home Entertainment
November 3, 2015
Inside Out
Rated PG for mild thematic elements and some action
Available on DVD, Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D
Pixar has always had a talent for taking stories that don’t sound very interesting and turning them into thrilling pieces of animated art. For example Up followed an elderly man obsessed with balloons and Ratatouille tells the tale of rat who dreams of cooking. In this case, Inside Out shows us the inner emotions of a pre-teen girl as she moves with her family from the midwest to San Francisco. She’s up, she’s down and then when a chemical imbalance occurs she is at risk of forever entering a dark world with no joy. Speaking of joy, Joy is her personified happiness who scrambles in her brain to try to fix the problem and get her girl back on track. It’s a brilliant, lovely film, full of intelligence and creativity. After a string of critical misses from Pixar, it’s nice to see that their brain trust isn’t dead, but rather very much still alive and kicking. A
The End of the Tour
Rated R for language including some sexual references
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
From The Spectacular Now director James Ponsoldt comes this based on a true story about the five day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) and David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel) which took place after the release of his novel Infinite Jest. Because of the very nature of the film (it’s an extremely dialog-heavy pic with a very heavy undertone) it is somewhat of a hard sell, but this really is a great little indie worth checking out if not for the subject then for the terrific performances by Segel and Eisenberg. A-
Seymour: an introduction
Rated PG for some mild thematic elements
Available on DVD
In his first attempt at a feature narrative, famed actor Ethan Hawke shows us the life of virtuoso pianist Seymour Bernstein and his impact on the people in his life. The beautiful thing about this doc, besides the music, is the way Hawke has allowed us into the world of Seymour. It’s like we ourselves get the chance to sit down over coffee and absorb an ounce or two of the man’s greatness. It’s inspiring and motivating to say the least. At times it will absolutely bring a tear to your eye. A
I Love Lucy: The Complete Series
Available on DVD
I just couldn’t find anything bad to review this week and to close out there’s I Love Lucy on 33 DVDs. It’s one of the most important television shows of all time and still hilarious 64 years later. This new set from Paramount contains all six season of I Love Lucy (1951-1957) plus three season of the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1957-1960). It will take you weeks or more to get through but could be the perfect Christmas present for the right fan. A