Category Archives: DVDs

Jan 17 2014
Leave a comment
DVDs, Movies

Ahoy, Captain!

Tom Hanks stars in gripping true tale of modern-day piracy

Captain_Phillips

Captain Phillips

Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Combo $40.99 / DVD $30.99 (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)

Tom Hanks stars in this gripping, critically lauded thriller about the hijacking of an American cargo ship by Somali pirates and its daring rescue by the U.S. Navy. Based on a real 2009 incident, it’s a knockout performance for Hanks, who adds yet another notch to his formidable acting belt—but it’s a propulsive breakout for Oscar-nominated newcomer Barkhad Abdi, who, as leader of the ragtag Somali hijackers, conveys an urgency and desperation essential to the movie’s emotional tug-of-war. Extras include a three-part, behind-the-scenes look at the production and the true events on which the story was based, and commentary by director Paul Greengrass.

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

Tagged , , , ,
Jan 10 2014
Leave a comment
DVDs, Music, Pop Culture

Inside Job

The riveting story of The Beatles’ loyal, longtime secretary

GoodOlFreda

Good Ol’ Freda

DVD ($29.98, Magnolia Home Entertainment)

Fans of the Fab Four will flip their Beatle wigs over this 2013 film-fest documentary hit about the shy Liverpool teenager who was hired to work for a local band with no idea that they’d go on to become legends—or that she’d remain their loyal, steadfast secretary until the end. For the first time in 50 years, Freda Kelly tells her story in director Ryan White’s riveting, revealing look at the unassuming young woman who rode out the hurricane of Beatlemania deep on the inside, the witness to a musical revolution whose job afforded her one of the most unique perspectives in all of rock and roll.

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

Tagged , , ,
Jan 03 2014
Leave a comment
DVDs

Meanwhile, Up in the Sky…

Matt Damon stars in gritty, gripping sci-fi parable

ELYSIUM_cov

Elysium

Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack $40.99 (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)

Matt Damon, Sharlito Copley and Jodie Foster star in this ripping, gripping sci-fi parable set in the year 2154, when the wealthy, healthy elite on a pristine,  space station, Elysium, are kept far and away from everyone else back on overpopulated, disease-ridden, used-up Earth. After an Earth worker (Damon) is exposed to a deadly dose of radiation, he risks what’s left of his life to get treatment on Elysium—then finds out there’s something even bigger, and more mind-boggling, at stake. Extras include an inside look at the dazzling special effects, at various stages of the mega-production.

 — Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

Tagged , , ,
Dec 30 2013
Leave a comment
DVDs, Pop Culture, Television

Urkel Works It

By season four, his nerd-next-door was the star of ‘Family Matters’

Family Matters Season 4

Family Matters: The Complete Fourth Season

DVD ($29.98, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)

Part of ABC-TV’s Friday-night lineup for nine seasons between 1989 and 1998, this hit comedy series revolved around a suburban Chicago family and their nerdy next-door neighbor, Steve Urkel (Jaleel White), who became the most popular character on the show. In this three-disc roundup of all 24 episodes from 1992-93, Urkel gets an accordion-playing girlfriend, takes driving lessons, competes on TV’s American Gladiators, camps out on a rooftop to woo a sweetie, has a superglue mishap and performs an accidental striptease, among other sitcom hijinks.

 —Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

Tagged , , ,
Dec 16 2013
Leave a comment
DVDs

Dark as a Dungeon

Twisty, turn-y thriller poses provocative question

Prisoners

Prisoners

DVD $28.98 / Blu-ray $35.99 (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)

How far is too far to go when the law doesn’t go far enough? That’s the provocative question this gripping crime thriller asks as Hugh Jackman portrays a distraught father who takes matters into his own hands and hunts down the man (Paul Dano) he believes is responsible for abducting his young daughter and her friend. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the police detective drawn ever deeper into an increasingly dark, twisted case, and Mario Bello, Viola Davis, Terrence Howard, and Melissa Leo round out the solid cast.

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

Tagged , , , , , , ,
Dec 16 2013
Leave a comment
DVDs, Pop Culture, Television

One of the Good Guys

Box set collection celebrates Gene Autry’s 1950s television show

TheGeneAutryShow_CompleteTVSeries

The Gene Autry Show: The Complete Television Series

DVD ($79.99, Timeless Media Group)

The most successful singing cowboy of them all, Autry’s multi-media empire spanned radio, music, movies, television and live performance—he’s the only entertainer with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame for each. This deluxe 15-disc roundup of his 1950-1956 TV series also includes a corral full of bonus content: TV commercials, episodes of his Melody Ranch radio show, film trailers, photos, and segments from some of his other television shows. But what’s really cool is watching the parade of guest stars, a Who’s Who of ’the 50s West: Denver Pyle, Clayton Lone Ranger Moore, Alan Hale Jr., Lee Van Cleef, Chill Wills and many others, dustin’ it up with one of Hollywood’s all-time good guys.

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

Tagged , , , , , ,
Dec 16 2013
1 Comment
DVDs, Music, Pop Culture

They Shall Be Released

Springsteen, Sting, other stars headline for Amnesty International

Layout 1

Released! The Human Rights Concerts

DVD $59.98 (Shout! Factory)

 

Between 1986 and 1998, Amnesty International staged several massive concert events to raise awareness and funds for human rights, featuring some of the biggest musical stars of the times. Now all those shows have been released on DVD, timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the concert series’ highest-profile event, the “Human Rights Now!” world tour headlined by Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel and Tracey Chapman. Other performers featured in the nearly 17 hours of concert footage (most of it never before made commercially available) include U2, The Police, Bryan Adams, Lou Reed, Jackson Browne, Sinead O’Connor, Radiohead, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Carlos Santana and Shania Twain, and net proceeds from sales of the box set, just like proceeds from the original shows, go to the ongoing work of Amnesty International.

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Dec 05 2013
Leave a comment
DVDs, History, Pop Culture

Seeing Deeper

Examining two centuries of photography and its artistry

Photo_DVD

Photo: A History From Behind the Lens

DVD $49.99 (Athena/RLJ Entertainment)

We take it for granted now that cameras are practically synonymous with cell phones, but photography hasn’t been around forever. (Only about 200 years, to be exact.) This 12-part documentary offers an entertaining, enlightening examination of the art form’s past and present and looks ahead to its high-tech future, using playful animation to illustrate complicated concepts and covering its many facets and uses. A companion booklet features a history of cameras and a timeline of photographic breakthroughs. So as you’re taking that next selfie or other snapshot, remember, there’s two centuries of technology, trial-and-error and artistry behind that simple “click.”

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

Tagged
Dec 05 2013
Leave a comment
DVDs

Even More Despicable

Sequel to animated spy romp filled with family-friendly laughs

DespicableMe2

Despicable Me 2

Blu-ray $34.99 / DVD $24.99

Children and parents alike will enjoy this clever, laugh-filled follow-up to the original 2010 animated spy romp about the reformed super-villain Gru (Steve Carell), his three adorable adopted daughters and his army of hilarious little yellow helper “Minions.” Recruited by the Anti-Villain League to deal with a new threat, Gru swings back into hilarious gadget-y espionage action to save the world—and his family. Bonus content includes three Minion mini-movies, commentary, and several features that go behind the scenes with the cast and crew.

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

Tagged ,
Nov 19 2013
Leave a comment
DVDs

Geri-Action Heroes

Bruce Willis & over-50 co-stars return for second espionage romp  

Red2Red 2

DVD $29.95 / Blu-ray $39.95 (Summit Entertainment)

Bruce Willis returns in the role of retired black-ops CIA agent Frank Moses, who must once again re-assemble his somewhat old-school team (John Malkovich, Helen Mirren) to thwart a new international threat in this second installment of the “geri-action” (geriatric + action) formula that proved itself so successful the first time around. Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Mary-Louise Parker round out the cast, and Blu-ray bonus features include gags, goofs and an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the film’s characters, boom-boom weaponry, espionage gadgetry and extreme stunts.

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

Tagged , , , , ,
← Older posts
Newer posts →