New in Home Entertainment
June 7, 2016
Zootopia
Rated PG for some thematic elements, rude humor and action
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%
Available on DVD, Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D
In Disney’s latest box office smash animated film, a young female rabbit dreams of becoming a cop in the metropolis of Zootopia. When she is practically laughed off of the force due to her size, sex and species, she teams up with a sly fox in order to solve a major crime to prove her worth. You have to admire Disney for taking on yet another highly original concept and then introducing kids to the detective genre: a type of movie most kids are entirely unfamiliar with. The fact that it was a smash comes from the fact that they didn’t just put emphasis on characters and animation, but rather on story more than anything. It’s a gutsy move that paid huge dividends and will continue to for (most likely) decades to come. A
Hail, Caesar!
Rated PG-13 for some suggestive content and smoking
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
While critically a huge hit for the Coen Brothers, this film about communism in the golden age of Hollywood landed with a thud as big as its all-star cast, which includes Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum. For a Coen Brothers’ movie it is good but not great. It is full of quite a lot of really wonderful moments, most of which revolve around some fantastic song and dance numbers. The story, though, is tough to crack and probably requires multiple viewings to fully comprehend and/or appreciate. B
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
Rated R for strong combat violence throughout, bloody images, and language
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 51%
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
This surprising box office misfire has Michael Bay (Transformers) telling the story of a contracted security team during the attacks in Benghazi which took several American lives including that of Ambassador Chris Stevens. This controversial story, first told by Mitchell Zuckoff in his book by the same name, doesn’t jump too much into the politics that immediately followed, but then again I would never go to a Michael Bay film for a history lesson, so even if it did make claims, it could hardly be convincing. Bay has a knack for delivering heart-pounding action in an overly-stylized manner, but here the b-roll goes overboard and I found his style to be completely annoying. C+
A War
Rated R for language and some war related images
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
In Danish with English Subtitles
In this fantastic war film from famed Danish director Tobias Lindholm (The Hunt, A Hijacking), a Danish military commander in Afghanistan makes a decision in the heat of battle to save one of his men’s lives, only to have to face trial back home for the civilian deaths occurring because of that decision. It’s part war drama and part courtroom drama and overall a thought-provoking journey demonstrating the thin line between ethical and moral decisions on the battlefield and how they effect everyone. A