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.
The Counselor: Unrated Extended Cut (Ridley Scott)
One of the most entertaining movies of last year, Ridley Scott’s collaboration with writer Cormac McCarthy marks a brave, creative and ambitious Hollywood film featuring some of the strangest turns from some of the most well-known faces in the game. McCarthy’s script is as cold and cynical as they come. It’s also one of the funniest movies of 2013, the kind of comedy that’ll loop in hell. We haven’t seen this extended director’s cut — which adds 21 minutes — but if it’s like any others from the director, it’ll be well worth it. – Dan M.
Wadjda (Haifaa al-Mansou)
Haifaa al-Mansour’s Wadjda is a small miracle of a film. The first Saudi Arabian feature directed by a woman, it’s a humorous but tremendously moving story, both universal in its larger themes and microcosmic when it comes to observing the lives of females within the male-dominated culture. The subversion is subtle, excluding the men from its inner circle of characters, while focusing on one of the community’s youngest, Wadjda, a little girl whose big act of rebellion is that she wants to buy and ride a bicycle. At first glance, the observational style of the film recalls fables like Bicycle Thieves and the Iranian gem Children of Heaven, but Mansour rises to the occasion of her film and makes it stand on its own as a sensitive and joyful portrait of these women. She shepherds an amazing child performance from Waad Mohammed, and through breathtaking compositions, generously turns the camera towards her female brethren, letting their lives speak for themselves. – Nathan B.
Rent: All is Lost, Ender’s Game, The Jungle Book
Recommended Deals of the Weeks
(Note: new additions are in red)
2001: A Space Odyssey (Blu-ray) – $8.99
Adventureland (Blu-ray) – $5.00
Aliens (Blu-ray) – $8.91
Almost Famous (Blu-ray) – $6.96
Amadeus: Director’s Cut (Blu-ray) – $8.96
The American (Blu-ray) – $8.95
Amelie (Blu-ray) – $7.19
The Cabin in the Woods (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Caddyshack (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Casablanca/The African Queen (Blu-ray Combo Pack) – $11.49
Children of Men (Blu-ray) – $9.49
Cloud Atlas (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Cool Hand Luke (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Contact (Blu-ray) – $5.00
Dark City (Blu-ray) – $7.99
The Deer Hunter (Blu-ray) – $11.49
The Descendants (Blu-ray) – $8.69
Escape From New York (Blu-ray) – $7.45
Eyes Wide Shut (Blu-ray) – $10.49
Goodfellas (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Halloween (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Heat (Blu-ray) – $8.49
Looper (Blu-ray) – $9.99
The Master (Blu-ray) – $11.99
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Blu-ray) – $8.49
Once Upon a Time in the West (Blu-ray) – $8.99
No Country For Old Men (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Patton (Blu-ray) – $8.96
Pulp Fiction (Blu-ray) – $6.96
Raging Bull (Blu-ray) – $4.49
RoboCop (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Saving Private Ryan (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Se7en (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Shutter Island (Blu-ray) – $8.47
Source Code (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Spring Breakers (Blu-ray) – $9.96
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (Blu-ray) – $7.99
There Will Be Blood (Blu-ray) – $7.99
The Town (Blu-ray) – $6.96
The Treasure of Sierra Madre (Blu-ray) – $10.49
Tropic Thunder (Blu-ray) – $8.77
The Truman Show (Blu-ray) – $8.98
The Usual Suspects (Blu-ray) – $8.99
What are you picking up this week?