The LEGO Movie (Warner, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, On Demand) may be the most entertaining feature-length product placement ever created. Written and directed by big screen pop culture surfers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the animated feature plays with the possibilities inherent in the toy universe of interlocking blocks where everything is awesome when you follow the rules and never stray from the kit instructions, or so LEGO minifigure and born follower Emmet (voice of Chris Pratt) believes. Then he’s told that he’s “the Chosen One” in the rebellion against Lord Business and his plot to freeze the possibilities into static perfection. The colorful adventure (and it is colorful, in all the bright, primary hues of the toy bricks) is a collision of order and anarchy as a superhero fable that spills over in to the real world in a marvelously clever and resonant turn.
James Rocchi, reviewing the film for Cinephiled, gave the film five stars: “what left me not merely amused but amazed, not merely diverted but instead delighted, was the level of real heart and soul Lord and Miller put into their plastic-and-pop-culture universe,” he praised. “Wisely — and firmly — poking holes in the tired ‘Chosen one’ narratives that infect and inflect too many modern blockbusters, The Lego Movie is also a technical tour-de-force that’s so impressive it becomes immersive. The animation is a mix of CG, stop-motion and a few other techniques, creating a world as gloriously real and yet wonderfully silly as it can be, like a child’s dreams (and other unconscious thoughts) given bustling, goofy, sincere life.”
Elizabeth Banks voices the rebel agent Wyldstyle, a master builder and adrenaline junkie who spirits Emmet from his regimented life of lock-step activity, Morgan Freeman spoofs the whole cliché of the wise sage who mixes prophecy with exposition, Will Ferrell has a couple of roles, and Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day and Liam Neeson are all part of the chorus.
On Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and DVD with playful commentary by filmmakers Chris Miller and Phil Lord with actors Chris Pratt, Will Arnett, Charlie Day and Alison Brie, the kid-friendly featurette “Bringing LEGO to Life,” a bunch of shorter featurettes, an “Everything is Awesome” sing-along (parents may want to avoid this one—it’s an earworm waiting to wiggle into your mind), animation tests, deleted scenes and outtakes, and other supplements.
The Blu-ray Combo edition features all three editions, plus the exclusive featurette “Dream Job: Meet the LEGO Builders,” a bonus UltraViolet Digital HD, a free LEGO minifigure, and a 3D Emmet picture. It’s awesome!
Also available on Digital HD, VOD and Cable on Demand
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Fox, Blu-ray, DVD) is one of my favorite movies of the year, an adventure, a murder mystery, an old-world tale, a storybook fable, a murder mystery conspiracy. But under the cake-frosting colors and period gilt is a bittersweet story about a way of life hanging on in a world modernizing and passing it by, something frozen in a bygone idea of entitlement and class, while the drumbeat of World War is beating at the border.
Ralph Fiennes stars as M. Gustave, the elegant, chivalrous, and gigolo-esque concierge of The Grand Budapest Hotel, a luxury hotel in the mountains of a fictional European duchy, and he has a deft way with Anderson’s comedy. He’s light and sprightly, with a combination of naturalness and elevated affectation of manner, yet he always comes off as sincere, especially in his paternal affection for young lobby Zero (Tony Revolori), who he grooms as his successor. There are those who find Anderson’s film in general and this one in particular fussy and twee (see James Rocchi’s dissenting view in his review) but I am enchanted by the layering of detail in the imagery and by his affection for the characters, engaged by the mix of idealized old-world charm and empty privilege, and gripped by the ominous undercurrent of this world’s answer to fascism poisoning the culture and disfiguring the beauty of the grand ideal preserved in one man’s memory.
F. Murray Abraham, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Léa Seydoux, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, and Owen Wilson co-star.
The Blu-ray and DVD features a four-part documentary, a tour of the town conducted by Bill Murray, and other featurettes. The Blu-ray also features a bonus UltraViolet Digital HD copy of the film. Also available on Digital HD.
Don’t forget to enter to win a copy of The Grand Budapest Hotel on Blu-ray.
And read interviews with the stars Tony Revolori, Saoirse Ronan and Jeff Goldblum, conducted by Cinephiled’s Danny Miller.
Benicio Del Toro is a Native American veteran of World War II suffering from debilitating headaches, dizzy spells, and bizarre dreams in Jimmy P.: Psychotherapy of a Plans Indian (IFC, DVD), an English language drama form French director Arnaud Desplechin (A Christmas Tale). The film is based on a real-life case study published by Georges Devereux, a European anthropologist who studied Native American culture, and he’s played by regular Desplechin collaborator Mathieu Amalric. Devereux is brought in to the Kansas military hospital as Jimmy’s therapist after he’s diagnosed with schizophrenia and he brings a Freudian approach, informed by his understanding of Jimmy’s Blackfoot heritage, to understand the demons in Jimmy’s head. The drama is centered on the growing friendship between this odd couple and on the powerful performances by the two actors, whose performance approaches are radically different yet work wonderfully together as they work through Jimmy’s nightmares and memories. With a featurette and interviews.
Also new and notable:
Joe (Lionsgate, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital HD), directed by David Gordon Green, stars Nicolas Cage as an ex-con who becomes an unlikely role model to a troubled kid (Tye Sheridan) trying to escape his violent father. Blu-ray and DVD with filmmaker commentary, deleted scenes, and two featurettes.
Adjust Your Tracking: The Untold Story of the VHS Collector (VHSh*tfest, DVD) reveals the underground subculture of collectors and fans who keep the archaic videotape culture alive. The two-disc set features commentary and bonus disc of featurettes, deleted scenes, extended interviews, and three new short films among the supplements.
Walk of Shame (Universal, Blu-ray, DVD) is a comedy starring Elizabeth Banks as a reporter whose interview for news anchor job is put in jeopardy when she’s stranded across town without her phone, car, ID or money. Like a Los Angeles version of After Hours.
The French animated feature Ernest and Celestine (New Video, Blu-ray+DVD Combo, DVD, On Demand) was one of the five nominees for Best Animated Feature at last year’s Oscars. This is the first chance most viewers have to see it.
From France comes 2 Autumns, 3 Winters (Film Movement, DVD), a romantic drama about chance meetings and possibilities. The disc also features the bonus short film Voyages D’affaires with Melanie Laurent.
More foreign language films: Vic + Flo Saw a Bear (KimStim, DVD) is a Quebecois drama from director Denis Cote, The Attorney (Well Go, DVD, Digital) is a legal drama from South Korea, and there are two World War II dramas: 1939: Battle of Westerplatte (eOne, Blu-ray, DVD) from Polish and Angel of the Skies (eOne, Blu-ray, DVD) from Germany.
The Final Member (Drafthouse, Blu-ray, DVD, On Demand) is a portrait of the Icelandic museum devoted to preserved male genitalia and the efforts of the curator to complete his collection with one final specimen: human. With a featurette, booklet, and bonus digital copy.
More documentaries: Get your artist profiles in James Thurber: The Life and Times (First Run, DVD), Paul Bowles: The Cage Door is Always Open (First Run, DVD), Top Hat & Tales: Harold Ross and the Making of a New Yorker (First Run, DVD), and B.B. King: The Life of Riley (MVD, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital). Breaking Through (Breaking Glass, DVD) profiles political figures after they came out of the closet.
VOD / On Demand exclusives:
Venus in Fur (Sundance, VOD, On Demand), directed by Roman Polanski and starring Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathieu Amalric, rolls out digitally as it expands in theaters across the country.
Son of God (Fox, On Demand), which was released a couple of weeks ago on disc, is now available via Cable On Demand.
More releases:
No Clue (eOne, DVD)
Meth Head (Cinedigm, DVD)
The Odd Way Home (Breaking Glass, DVD)
The M Word (Breaking Glass, DVD)
13 Sins (Anchor Bay, Blu-ray, DVD)
Almost Human (IFC, Blu-ray, DVD)
The Good Son (SnagFilm, DVD, VOD)
A Fighting Man (Sony, DVD)
Joy Ride 3: Road Kill (Fox, Blu-ray, DVD)
Blood Soaked (Wild Eye, DVD, VOD)
Authors Anonymous (Screen Media, DVD)
Beneath Hill 60 (eOne, Blu-ray, DVD)
The Machine (XLrator, Blu-ray, DVD)
The Monkey’s Paw (Shout Factory, Blu-ray, DVD)
Alpha Alert (Lionsgate, DVD, Digital HD, VOD, On Demand)
Test (Wolfe, DVD)
Four of Hearts (One Village, DVD)
Sinbad: Make Me Wanna Holla (Paramount, DVD)
TV on disc:
House of Cards: The Complete Second Season (Sony, Blu-ray, DVD)
The Escape Artist (Masterpiece Mystery!) (PBS, Blu-ray, DVD)
Red Shoe Diaries: The Movie (Kino Lorber, DVD)
Red Shoe Diaries: Season One (Kino Lorber, DVD)
Teen Wolf: Season 3 Part 2 (Fox, DVD)
DCI Banks: Season One (BBC, DVD)
Death in Paradise: Season One (BBC, DVD)
Scott and Bailey: Season One (BBC, DVD)
Wilfred: The Complete Third Season (Fox, DVD)
Regular Show: The Complete Third Season (Warner, DVD)
This is America, Charlie Brown (Warner, DVD)
Tosh.O: Collas Plus Exposed Arms (Paramount, Blu-ray, DVD)
Alexander’s Lost World (Athena, DVD)
The Rise of the Nazi Party (Athena, DVD)
NOVA: Why Sharks Attack (PBS, DVD)
Pennsylvania Ballet (PBS, DVD)
Classics and Cult:
Judex (Criterion, Blu-ray+DVD Combo, DVD)
Picnic at Hanging Rock (Criterion, Blu-ray+DVD Combo, DVD)
Hearts and Minds (Criterion, Blu-ray+DVD Combo)
Cousin Jules (Cinema Guild, Blu-ray, DVD)
Invasion of the Scream Queens: 20th Anniversary Edition (Wild Eye, DVD)
Black Beauty (Warner, Blu-ray)
Home Before Midnight (Kino / Redemption, Blu-ray, DVD)
House of Mortal Sin (Kino / Redemption, Blu-ray, DVD)
The Angela Mao Ying Collection (Shout Factory, DVD)
March or Die (Hen’s Tooth, DVD)
Son of Batman (Warner, DVD)
Calendar of upcoming releases on Blu-ray, DVD, Digital, and VOD
