New in Home Entertainment
May 17, 2016
Deadpool
Rated R for strong violence and language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83%
Available on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray
Ever since the short appearance of Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool in the awful 2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie, fans have been screaming for the famous dead super hero to get his own stand alone film. It took a lot of bravery from the folks at Marvel and Twentieth Century Fox to give the fans what they wanted, and even more guts to not kidify it by making it a very hard R. This first in what will no doubt be a multi-film franchise tells the genesis story of urban mercenary Wade Wilson who, upon getting a very short cancer death sentence, signs up to have a secret agency turn him into a mutant. Of course the agency doesn’t do so in a nice way and he eventually dies and comes back as Deadpool, hell-bent on getting revenge. From the amazingly funny opening credits to the Ferris Bueller tag, the film proves itself to be one of the most audacious and creative films of the year – and more than that – lots of fun. To say this is the best work Ryan Reynolds has ever done is an understatement. He is one of the most talented actors working in Hollywood today but his film choices, for the most part, have been dismal. This, however, was the role he was born to play and he is spectacular in it. The second viewing isn’t as good as the first and the lack of budget shows, but overall this turns out to be one of Marvel’s best super hero films to date and the start of what will hopefully be a thriving franchise full of quirks and surprises. A-
The Witch
Rated R for disturbing violent content and graphic nudity
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Welcome to my very first non-review. Out today is apparently one of the scariest films in years, but honestly I just couldn’t force myself to watch it. As part of its marketing strategy, the studio releasing the film, A24, decided to hold several screenings with the help of The Satanic Temple (an atheist group that follows the teachings of Satan – still not sure on that one) after they came out fully endorsing it. I’m sure A24 thought that this co-marketing might attract some into the theater with the illusion of authenticity but I stayed very much away. The film follows a Puritan family in the early 1600s who experience evil events on the frontier. In my mind there are some things that you can’t unsee and apparently this film is full of those moments. I never want to put myself in that position. So rather than ignore – I thought I’d put out this non-review as a warning. As a critic I have to weed through a lot of garbage and while occasionally I enjoy a good scary movie, I purposefully don’t subject myself to certain films. So many people these days just go to Red Box and pick a movie because of its cover, not knowing what they are getting into until it’s too late. At least if you’ve read this you will have some context of what lies within the box.