By Angela Dawson
SISTERS
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have been bringing their goofy brand of girl-power humor to audiences since their days at Saturday Night Live (SNL) as cast members. After scoring a box office hit with 2008’s Baby Mama, the duo has joined forces again in Sisters, now available in an Unrated Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray, DVD and digital platforms.
The Jason Moore-directed comedy stars Fey as Kate, an irresponsible single mom and Poehler as Maura, Kate’s younger but always-reliable sister. They return to their parents’ Florida house to reclaim their prized possessions before it’s sold. Regretting the imminent loss of their childhood home, the siblings decide to throw one last bash. Their goal is to trash the house so that the incoming buyers will back out of the deal.
With the party in full swing, Kate — the designated party mom — suddenly has a change of heart when her parents phone from their new condo to tell her that she and her teenage daughter can have the house. Maura is in full party mode, so it’s up to sober Kate to stop the freight train of a wild party before the house literally is brought down by old and new friends. Co-starring alongside Fey and Poehler are Ike Barinholtz, James Brolin, Dianne Wiest, John Cena, John Leguizamo, and a slew of SNL alumni including Maya Rudolph and Rachel Dratch.
The Unrated Blu-ray Combo Pack includes deleted scenes, a gag reel, commentary by Fey, Poehler, director Jason Moore and writer Paula Pell and more.
VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN
Scottish filmmaker Paul McGuigan directed the pilot episode of the BBC’s witty and hyper-kinetic Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, so it’s no surprise that his feature film Victor Frankenstein, now available on Blu-ray and DVD, recalls that earlier effort in both style and tone.
Sort of based on Mary Shelley’s oft-adapted work of horror (although there is nothing in the credits mentioning the 19th century author), the film begins with an acknowledgement that the audience knows the story, but what they remember is the monster, and not so much the man who created it.
James McAvoy plays the title character with so much energy that you’d think McGuigan had wired him up, monster-style, and gave him a jolt of lightning before every scene. One minute he’s twitchy and volatile, the next he’s charming and heroic. Daniel Radcliffe, of Harry Potter fame, plays Frankenstein’s loyal Igor, but in this version he’s smart, not simpleminded, and more of a colleague than an assistant to Victor. Igor’s given a backstory as a much-abused hunchback circus clown, and serves as the film’s narrator.
The script and story by Max Landis, who wrote 2012’s Chronicle, is a novel take on the story but is wildly uneven. At times, it plays as a comedy, and at other points it’s serious and solemn.
The DVD and Blu-ray includes a making-of featurette, galleries of the production design, production photography and behind-the-scenes as well as the theatrical trailer. The Blu-ray and Digital HD versions including deleted scenes.
BROOKLYN
Academy Award nominated Brooklyn, arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday, March 15. Based on the best-selling novel, the film tells the story about falling in love and finding your way home and was nominated for three Oscars including Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role and Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay.
Saoirse Ronan stars as Eilis Lacey, a young Irish immigrant, navigating through Brooklyn, alone, in the 1950s. Although her initial sadness and homesickness gives way to romance with an Italian-American, Eilis’s life is disrupted by news from her hometown. After traveling home to mourn the loss of a loved one, she finds herself forced to choose between two countries and two men on opposite sides of the world.
Extras on the Blu-ray included deleted and extended scenes. Both the Blu-ray and DVD include six featurettes and a director’s commentary.
GAME OF THRONES
The Complete Fifth Season of HBO’s critically and popularly acclaimed series Game of Thrones debuted on Blu-ray and DVD. The Blu-ray Combo features a free Digital HD copy of all 10 episodes, plus exclusive bonus content including a brand new feature that takes an in-depth look at the story behind the Tagaryen civil war, known as the Dance of Dragons. That edition also includes an in-episode guide, which allows viewers to dig deeper into the show with in-feature resource that provides background information about on-screen characters, locations and relevant histories.
Learn about the mythology of Westeros and Essos as told from varying perspectives of the characters themselves in 14 history pieces. Select histories feature illustrations from the show’s storyboard artist Will Simpson.
The Blu-ray also features Dolby Atmos Moving Audio, which places and moves sounds and music anywhere in the room, including overhead, creating a captivating experience that brings the entertainment alive all around.
The DVD edition includes quite a number of features including 12 audio commentaries with cast and crew, deleted scenes, new characters/new locations, the “real” history behind Game of Thrones and more.
Season Five picks up with a power vacuum that protagonists across Westeros and Essos look to fill. At Castle Black, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) struggles to balance the demands of the Night’s Watch with those of newly arrived Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane), who regards himself the rightful king of Westeros. Meanwhile, Cersei (Lena Headey) scrambles to hold on to power in King’s Landing amidst the Tyrells and the rise of a zealous religious group led by the enigmatic High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce), while Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) embarks on a secret mission. Across the Narrow Sea, Arya (Maisie Williams) seeks an old friend while a fugitive Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) finds a new cause. As danger mounts in Meereen, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) finds that her tenuous reign as leader of the city requires some hard sacrifices.
MAYDAY
Mayday, a horrifying British supernatural miniseries, has made its DVD debut. On May Day in a small community, the residents go about their everyday business as they wait for the traditional pagan parade to begin. When the newly crowed May Queen, the highlight of the festivities, is announced but doesn’t show up, the townsfolk grow suspicious that she’s been kidnapped. Upending the typical whodunit, this five-episode miniseries focuses on the horror of suspecting a loved one has committed a terrible crime. Peter Firth (MI-5), Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones), Leila Mimmack (Son of God), Max Fowler (The Slap), Leslie Manville (Maleficent) and Academy-award nominee Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) star in the miniseries.
The two-disc DVD set is available at AcornOnline.com.
NEW TRICKS
Featuring the 100th episode of the series, Season 12 of New Tricks, the hit British mystery series, is now available on DVD. Beautiful DCI Sasha Miller (Tamzin Outhwaite, EastEnders) leads a team of detectives called out of retirement to solve cold cases, in this long-running series from across the pond.
Season 12 sees the departure of the last remaining original member of the Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS), Gerry Standing (Dennis Waterman, The Sweeney), who is replaced by old-school ex-copper Ted Case (Gavin & Stacey). The series is packed full of mystery, drama and trademark British humor fans have grown to know and love. Guest stars include Amy Nuttall (Downton Abbey), Bernard Cribbins (Doctor Who) and Geraldine Somerville (Cracker), among others.
Bonus material in the box set includes a 41-minute Top Ten Moments featurette. The three-disc DVD set is available on AcornOnline.com.
ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP
Everyone’s favorite singing pop stars, the Chipmunks, are back in the adventure comedy Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, on Blu-ray and DVD.
Hit the road with everyone’s favorite fur balls as Alvin, Simon and Theodore race to Miami on a wild road trip. The Ultimate Playlist is featured on both the Blu-ray and DVD so viewers can “munk out” to all the top hits from all of the Alvin & the Chipmunks movies. Rated PG for some mild rude humor and language.
