DISCussion: New on DVD and Blu-ray (2.10.15)

New on DVD this week we have an old Disney staple (101 Dalmatians), Jon Stewart's directorial debut (Rosewater), and one of the best foreign films of the year (Force Majeure). With a slight advantage over Stewart's debut, Dan Gilroy's first effort, Nightcrawler, has been awarded the title of Recommendation of the Week. New Release: Nightcrawler – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Force Majeure – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Kill the Messenger – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Predestination – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Rosewater – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Lilting – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Laggies – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Re-Release: Don't Look Now (1973) – (Criterion Blu-ray) 101 Dalmations (1961) – (Blu-ray) A Day in the Country (1936) – (Criterion Blu-ray)   Nightcrawler – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) *Recommendation of the Week* Directed and written by Dan Gilroy Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton A discordant score and a downright creepy performance from Gyllenhaal define Dan Gilroy's debut feature. Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal) is the personification of the American dream – hard working, intelligent, and blindly sociopathic in his hunt for wealth. Introduced to freelance news videography, Bloom begins to film car accidents and arrests; building an empire on the bodies of his fellow Angelinos. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 95% (Excellent) Metacritic: 76 (Very Good) IMDB: 8.0 (Excellent) Entertainment Fuse: 8.5/10 (Read our Review) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $22.99 (Blu-ray); $16.99 (DVD); $4.99/$14.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   Force Majeure – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed and written by Ruben Östlund Starring: Johannes Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Clara Wettergren A completely unexpected black comedy/dissection of the modern family, Force Majeure sets its sights on a Swedish family as they vacation in the Alps. Enthralling cinematography and a lack of score hint at an impending doom, which finally presents itself in the form of an avalanche. While the natural event spares their lives, it leaves an indelible mark on the family; profoundly affecting their relationships and attitudes toward one another. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 93% (Excellent) Metacritic: 87 (Excellent) IMDB: 7.5 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 9/10 DISC DETAILS Amazon: $20.99 (Blu-ray); $21.99 (DVD); $3.99/$12.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   Kill the Messenger – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Michael Cuesta Written by Peter Landesman, Gary Webb (book Dark Alliance), and Nick Schou (book, Kill the Messenger) Starring: Jeremy Renner, Robert Patrick, Jena Sims The film adaptation of Nick Schou's book profiling journalist Gary Webb (Renner) as he works to expose the CIA's role in trafficking cocaine into the US to fund the Nicaraguan Contra Rebels. After publishing his “Dark Alliance," Webb becomes the target of a CIA smear campaign designed to destroy his professional career, and his life. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 77% (Good) Metacritic: 60 (Good) IMDB: 7.0 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 8/10 (Read our Review) DISC DETAILS Special Features: Deleted Scenes; Three featurettes, “The All Star Cast,” “Crack in aMerica,” and Filming in Georgia”; Commentary by Michael Cuesta Amazon: $22.99 (Blu-ray); $17.92 (DVD); $4.99/$14.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy) Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 4 stars(out of 5); Video: 4 stars; Audio: 3.5 stars; Extras: 2 stars; Replay: 3 stars. Highly Recommended.   Predestination – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Michael and Peter Spierig (The Spierig Brothers) Written by: The Spierig Brothers, and Robert A. Heinlein (story, “All You Zombies”) Starring: Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, Noah Taylor A taught, well-intentioned mystery thriller, Predestination follows a time-traveling agent (Ethan Hawke) as he chases a terrorist dubbed “The Fizzle bomber.” Enlisting the help of a columnist he meets while undercover at a bar, all is never what it seems in this time-looped adventure. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 81% (Very Good) Metacritic: 68 (Good) IMDB: 7.5 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 7/10 (Read our Review) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $17.99 (Blu-ray); $14.96 (DVD); $6.99/$14.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   Rosewater – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Jon Stewart Written by Jon Stewart (screenplay), Maziar Bahari (book Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival), and Aimee Molloy (book Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival) Starring: Gael García Bernal, Kim Bodina, Dimitri Leonidas Jon Stewart's directorial debut features the true story (that his well known, Daily Show had a part in) of Maziar Bahari's 118-day imprisonment in Iran for suspicions of espionage. With some unique visualizations of social media and memory, Stewart's direction shows promise, but the overall film lacks any real pragmatic punch. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 74% (Very Good) Metacritic: 66 (Good) IMDB: 6.7 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 7/10 DISC DETAILS Amazon: $24.99 (Blu-ray); $19.99 (DVD); $4.99/$14.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   Lilting – (DVD and Instant) Directed and written by Hong Khaou Starring: Pei-pei Cheng, Ben Whishaw, Andrew Leung A mother (Cheng) in mourning is visited by a stranger (Whishaw) claiming to have been a friend of her son. With a vast cultural chasm between them, compounded by a language barrier, the two begin to connect via their grief for the person they each loved. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 81% (Very Good) Metacritic: 61 (Good) IMDB: 7.1 (Very Good) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $17.99 (DVD); $3.99/$12.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)     Laggies – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Lynn Shelton Written by Andrea Siegel (screenplay) Starring: Keira Knightley, Chloë Grace Moretz, Sam Rockwell Stifled by arrested development, Megan (Knightley) has a breakdown when her boyfriend proposes. Unable to handle the realities of life as an adult, Megan meets 16-year old Annika (Moretz), deciding to “hide out” with her and her single father (Rockwell) until her life sorts itself out. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 69% (Fresh) Metacritic: 63 (Good) IMDB: 6.6 (Good) Entertainment Fuse: 8/10 DISC DETAILS Amazon: $17.85 (Blu-ray); $12.99 (DVD); $3.99/$8.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy) Don't Look Now (1973) – (Criterion Blu-ray) Directed by Nicholas Roeg Written by Daphne Du Maurier (story), Allan Scott (screenplay), and Chris Bryant (screenplay) Starring: Donald Sutherland, Julie Christie, Hilary Mason Adapted from a story by Daphne Du Maurier, Don't Look Now, is Nicholas Roeg's chilling masterpiece. Following a married couple as they visit Venice, Roeg's film watches closely as the couple are are confronted by a series of escalating, and terrifying experiences. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 96% (Superb) IMDB: 7.4 (Very Good) DISC DETAILS Special Features: New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Nicolas Roeg, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray; New conversation between editor Graeme Clifford and film writer and historian Bobbie O’Steen; “Don’t Look Now,” Looking Back, a short 2002 documentary featuring Roeg, Clifford, and cinematographer Anthony Richmond; Death in Venice, a 2006 interview with composer Pino Donaggio; Something Interesting, a new piece on the writing and making of the film, featuring recent interviews with Richmond, actors Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland, and coscreenwriter Allan Scott; Nicolas Roeg: The Enigma of Film, a new piece on Roeg’s style, featuring recent interviews with filmmakers Danny Boyle and Steven Soderbergh; Q&A with Roeg from 2003 at London’s Ciné Lumière; Trailer; PLUS: An essay by film critic David Thompson Amazon: $29.99 (Criterion Blu-ray)   101 Dalmatians (1961) – (Diamond Edition Blu-ray) Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wolfgang Reitherman Written by Bill Peet (story) and Dodie Smith (Novel, The One Hundred and One Dalmatians) Starring: Rod Taylor, Betty Lou Gerson, J. Pat O'Malley A Disney classic newly remastered and released from the vaults. When dalmatian couple Pongo (Taylor) and Perdita (Cate Bauer) have a litter of 15 pups, dastardly fashion designer, Cruella De Vil (Gerson), plots to steal the puppies to make herself a dalmatian-skin coat. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 98% (Superb) IMDB: 7.2 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 9/10 DISC DETAILS Special Features: “The Further Adventures of Thunderbolt” featurette expands upon the serial briefly shown in the film; “Lucky Dogs” featurette regarding the cartoon's production; “The Best Doggoned Dog in the World” a 1961 installment of Walt Disney's Disneyland; “Dalmatians 101” featurette aimed at towards the younger generations; "Redefining the Line: The Making of The One Hundred and One Dalmatians,” “Cruella De Vil: Drawn to be Bad,” and “Sincerely Yours, Walt Disney,” featurettes from the Platinum-edition DVD; Trailers; Radio and TV Spots; and a "Music & More" section Amazon: $22.71 (Diamond Edition Blu-ray) Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 4.5 stars(out of 5); Video: 4.5 stars; Audio: 4.5 stars; Extras: 4 stars; Replay: 4 stars. Highly Recommended.   A Day in the Country (1936) – (Criterion Blu-ray) Directed by Jean Renoir Written by Jean Renoir and Guy de Maupassant (short story) Starring: Sylvia Batille, Jane Marken, Georges D'Arnoux French master, Jean Renoir's lyrical and vibrant short film, cut, even shorter, when Renoir was called away to film The Lower Depths. The story of a Parisian family on holiday in the French countryside, A Day in the Country features idyllic shots of nature coupled with the budding romance between the city girls and their country counterparts. Finished without Renoir, A Day in the Country was pieced together using existing footage and released in 1946. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 98% (Superb) IMDB: 7.2 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 9/10 DISC DETAILS Special Features: New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray; Introduction by director Jean Renoir from 1962; The Road to “A Day in the Country,” a new interview with Renoir scholar Christopher Faulkner about the film’s production; Renoir at Work, a new video essay by Faulkner on Renoir’s methods; Un tournage à la campagne, an eighty-nine-minute 1994 compilation of outtakes from the film; Interview with producer Pierre Braunberger from 1979; Screen tests; New English subtitle translation; PLUS: An essay by film scholar Gilberto Perez Amazon: $29.99 (Criterion Blu-ray)