The Blu Ray Shed: February 14th

Check out all the new releases!

ON BLU RAY TODAY:


J. Edgar
Dir. Clint Eastwood

Sometimes awards-grabbing crapola sneaks under the radar and succeeds (The Iron Lady), but sometimes it’s so blatant that it sets off everybody and their dog’s alarm bells. Such was the case with last year’s what’s-the-point biopic of Hoover. Mega-respected director and on-the-come teen-turned-serious star in a bit of America’s secret history – how can it lose? I’m glad you asked rhetorically, self. The answer is that it can lose by having really, really bad makeup, a go-nowhere story and borderline incoherent storytelling, and it’s out today on Blu Ray Disc!

The Rum Diary

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Criterion Collection: Tiny Furniture

Dunham wrote, directed and starred in the  mumblecoresque Tiny Furniture for $50k, took it to festivals and won a bunch of awards, and is now producing an HBO series-to-be Girls with Judd Apatow, and costarring with David Mamet’s daughter Zosia. In other words, we’re witnessing the birth of a hype supernova – and what better way to hop on board than picking up the legit very good film on a flawless Criterion disc.

The Interrupters

Steve James (Hoop Dreams, Stevie) continues to be one of the best people working in the documentary format. We caught The Interrupters at Hot Docs last year and adored it, as hard as it was to do so. The film chronicles a very violent year in Chicago and the “violence interrupters”, former gang members who intervene and peace-keep at street-level. It’s aired in Canada on The Passionate Eye and in America on PBS, but it’s well worth picking up.