Every week we dive into the cream of the crop when it comes to home releases, including Blu-ray and DVDs, as well as recommended deals of the week. If we were provided screener copies, we’ll have our own write-up, but if that’s not the case, one can find official descriptions from the distributors. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best films one can take home. Note that if you’re looking to support the site, every purchase you make through the links below helps us and is greatly appreciated.
Ida (Pawel Pawlikowski)
A black-and-white film about an orphan nun trying to find out about her family sounds like the kind of clichéd awards bait which could easily fall flat on its face. Pawel Pawlikowski manages to undermine those dire possibilities by making a subtle, affecting picture about long-buried secrets, as well as the conflicted dialogue between virtue and vice. The film is buoyed by the strong performances of its two leads, Agata Trzebuchowska and Agata Kulesza, both of whom manage to bring real humanity to characters who begin as archetypes. Add to this base the way in which Ida delves deep into horrors wrought by war and attempts to construct some greater peace, and a film that sounds like a didactic one-act play becomes a moving, resonant glimpse into a very human profound in two people’s lives. – Brian R.
The Rover (David Michôd)
In crafting a series of gripping, mature dramas, the releases from Australia’s Blue-Tongue Films have certainly left a stamp on independent cinema in recent years, with those involved — from Ben Mendelsohn to Joel Edgerton — seeing their careers buoyed. Their latest production, The Rover, comes from David Michôd, and retains certain stylistic sensibilities of his debut, the Shakespearean crime drama Animal Kingdom, while crafting something vastly different. The Rover immediately succeeds in planting one in the downtrodden world it’s created: ten years after an economic collapse and, needless to say, Australia. By keeping the scale small and the minute details abundant, Michôd effectively sells a barren wasteland full of spare, secluded inhabitants. Leaving the rest of the world’s fate to our own imagination, it’s a far more powerful in approach than anything a fabricated news broadcast or prologue could attempt to convey. – Jordan R. (full review)
We Are the Best! (Lukas Moodysson)
The opening title card to Lukas Moodysson’s joyous and vibrant film We Are the Best! reads, “Stockholm 1982” while early scenes consist of idle discussions about taxes and arguments about the laundry. These opening minutes suggest that “Stockholm 1982” is a city populated with older residents entrenched in rigorous domesticity. Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) and Klara (Mira Grosin), our thirteen-year-old heroines, want no part of this world. They sport botched mohawks and hide their femininity behind thick glasses and baggy clothing. Their greatest act of defiance is their affinity for punk music — a trend, they are promptly reminded by their angelic-looking classmate, that’s long been dead. – Zade C.
Rent:
Recommended Deals of the Week
(Note: new additions are in red)
The American (Blu-ray) – $6.00
Amelie (Blu-ray) – $6.94
The Big Lebowski (Blu-ray) – $8.99
The Cabin in the Woods (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Casino (Blu-ray) – $9.68
Drag Me To Hell (Blu-ray) – $8.49
Gangs of New York (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Goodfellas (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Gone Baby Gone (Blu-ray) – $6.00
The Grey (Blu-ray) – $9.49
Hanna (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Heat (Blu-ray) – $8.48
High Plains Drifter (Blu-ray) – $9.96
Hot Fuzz (Blu-ray) – $7.29
Hugo (Blu-ray) – $9.78
Inglorious Basterds (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Inside Llewyn Davis (Blu-ray) – $12.98
Jackie Brown (Blu-ray) – $5.00
John Wayne: The Epic Collection (DVD) – $68.99
Killing Them Softly (Blu-ray) – $10.24
Knocked Up (Blu-ray) – $7.50
Looper (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Lost In Translation (Blu-ray) – $9.68
MacGruber (Blu-ray) – $7.91
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (Blu-ray) – $8.54
Mud (Blu-ray) – $9.96
Observe & Report (Blu-ray) – $6.74
Office Space (Blu-ray) – $9.99
One Hour Photo (Blu-ray) – $7.87
Pain & Gain (Blu-ray) – $9.50
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Blu-ray) – $7.99
The Place Beyond the Pines (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Pineapple Express (Blu-ray) – $7.99
The Proposition (Blu-ray) – $9.60
Public Enemies (Blu-ray) – $7.50
Reality Bites (Blu-ray) – $9.96
Seven (Blu-ray) – $7.50
Shame (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Shutter Island (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Snowpiercer (Blu-ray pre-order) – $14.96
The Spectacular Now (Blu-ray) – $12.74
Spring Breakers (Blu-ray) – $9.96
Source Code (Blu-ray) – $5.00
Stoker (Blu-ray) – $9.98
Take This Waltz (Blu-ray) – $9.99
There Will Be Blood (Blu-ray) – $9.49
Vanilla Sky (Blu-ray pre-order) – $8.64
The Wolf of Wall Street (Blu-ray) – $13.23
The Wrestler (Blu-ray) – $7.86
Zero Dark Thirty (Blu-ray) – $11.49
Zodiac (Blu-ray) – $9.99
What are you picking up this week?