![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-Black-47-1024x565.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBlack ’47<\/em> – Set in 1847, this tale involves a soldier\nwho returns from service to Ireland,\nwhich is in the midst of the Great Famine. After learning that his mother has\ndied of starvation and his brother has been hanged, the serviceman snaps,\ndetermined to take revenge on the officials responsible for the deaths of\nfamily members. A disgraced British army veteran with his own history is sent\nto stop the man. Response to the movie was positive. There were a few who\nthought it was a well-performed but perfunctory revenge thriller. However, most\nstate this bleak piece was tough, compelling and impressively shot. Hugo Weaving,\nJames Frecheville, Stephen Rea, Jim Broadbent and Barry Keoghan headline the\ntitle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Cloverfield Paradox<\/em> – It looks like Netflix are\nfinally starting to release some of their titles on disc. This sequel to Cloverfield<\/em>\nand 10 Cloverfield Lane<\/em>\npremiered on the streaming service one year ago. It tells the story of a group\nof astronauts on a space station working on a new device that would provide the\nEarth with an infinite energy source. Unfortunately, they end up creating\nportals to parallel universes. Reaction to the latest chapter was considerably poorer\nthan previous entries. Most liked the cast, but thought the story contained extraneous\nexposition while lacking sci-fi thrills. It stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David\nOyelowo, Daniel Bruhl, John Ortiz, Chris O’Dowd, Askel Hennie and Ziyi Zhang. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Girl in the Spider’s Web<\/em> – Fans of The Girl\nwith the Dragon Tattoo<\/em> will be curious about this thriller that is a based\nupon a recent novel. It follows computer hacker Lisbeth Sanders and journalist\nMikael Blomquist (played by a new cast) as they become involved in a plot to\nsteal a computer program that can generate the world’s nuclear launch codes.\nThe press weren’t overwhelmed, giving it a mixed reception. A percentage did\nthink the lead performance was strong and that this was a “decent”\nsuspense picture. However, the consensus was that the story wasn’t engaging and\nthe movie didn’t possess enough style or swagger, resulting in something that\nresembled a TV-movie. Now viewers can make up their own minds about its quality.\nIt features Claire Foy, Sverrir Gudnason, Lakeith Stanfield, Sylvia Hoeks and\nStephen Merchant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Grinch<\/em> – This holiday hit is a new animated\nfeature-length take on the classic Dr. Seuss story. It follows the Grinch, a\ncharacter who lives in the mountains and hates the holidays. He dreams up a\nscheme to steal everything from nearby Who village, but finds himself meeting\nunexpected resistance from a young child. Critics were split on the escapade,\nwith it garnering a few more positive notes than negative ones. Those who\ndisliked it called the film a tame and bland cash-in that doesn’t come close to\nthe original. Upbeat opinions said it was colorful and charming enough to earn\na pass. The voice talent includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Cameron Seely, Rashida\nJones, Pharrell Williams and Keenan Thompson. To read this site’s review, click\nhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Guilty<\/em> – Also known as Den Skyldige<\/em> in its\nhomeland, this foreign-language effort is about a police officer demoted and\nworking as an emergency dispatcher. He receives a frantic call from a kidnapped\nwoman and must try to keep her on the line long enough to find out where she is\nand help rescue her. As they talk, more is revealed about the cop’s seedy past.\nReviews were very strong for this flick from Denmark.\nOne or two write-ups didn’t think the material offered much visual sting, but\nalmost everyone else complimented the work of the lead and thought the movie\ndid a great job of maintaining tension and intrigue. Jakob Cedergren plays the\nmain character. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Long <\/em>Dumb Road<\/em>\n– A young photographer hits the road to drive his new college on the west\ncoast. Along the way, he picks up a stranger and the two begin to talk about\ntheir lives. While very different, they slowly begin to find common ground as\nthey encounter some unusual events. Notices for this independent comedy\/drama were\npretty good overall. A small group did suggest that it was clich\u00e9d and wrote\nthat they couldn’t get on board with these two characters. However, far more\nreferred to the movie as fun and complimented the entertaining and colorful\nleads as having great onscreen chemistry. The movie stars Tony Revolori, Jason\nMantzoukas, Taissa Farmiga, Grace Gummer and Ron Livingston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lu Over the Wall<\/em> – This animated feature comes from Japan\nand was made by the same filmmaker behind The Night is Short, Walk on Girl<\/em>\n(which was released on disc only a week or two ago). In this effort, a\ndepressed young boy living near the beach spends his days writing songs and\nuploading them to the internet. He gets the shock of his life when he\nencounters an actual mermaid. Not only do they become friends, but she joins\nhis band and learns that her voice causes people to compulsively dance. This\nmovie didn’t get quite as much praise as the other title, but still earned a\nvery positive response. Naysayers thought the events were too surreal and odd\nto get involved in. Still, most called it bold, memorably bizarre, and the work\nof an artist’s following his own vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Mermaid: <\/em>Lake<\/em> of\nthe Dead<\/em> – This foreign-language arthouse horror picture from Russia\ndetails a young woman who has just gotten engaged. Things go badly when an evil\nmermaid from the marshy waters targets and manipulates her beau, hoping to\ndrown him in the waters. The heroine is forced to overcome her fear of water\nand fight to release her man from the monster’s sinister grip. This story is\nloosely based around the legend of Rusalka, which is a very interesting mythic\nmonster. It appears that not many on this side of the world have seen this\ntitle yet. A few of them didn’t appreciate the movie’s style and found the tale\ndifficult to follow and too artsy, while just as many called it appropriately\neerie and unsettling. Viktoriya Agalakova headlines the film. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A Private War<\/em> – Based on the life of journalist Marie\nColvin, this biopic follows the war correspondent around the world as she goes\nto the frontlines of many battle zones in order to get the story. Her dangerous\nwork causes physical harm and frays personal relationships as she head out to\ncover events in the Syrian city of Homs.\nThe recreation of the woman’s life earned plenty of praise. A few believed that\nthe movie took too conventional an approach to its subject’s life and didn’t\ndelve deeply enough into her personality, although they complimented the lead\nperformance. Still, almost everyone else called it a fascinating portrait that\nshows the dangers faced by journalists and the toll their work takes on them.\nIt features Rosamund Pike, Jamie Dornan, Stanley Tucci and Tom Hollander.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sisters Brothers<\/em> – Based on the popular novel,\nthis western follows two brothers known for their violent ways. Conflict arises\nbetween the pair when the older brother starts to think about his future and want\nto leave the business of being a contract killer. When a job involving a new\nchemical that can identify gold comes to them, the two struggle with how to\nproceed. The press were quite taken with this feature. One or two complained\nthat the movie was merely a character study and didn’t go anywhere. However,\nthe majority thought it juggled many different tones in a compelling manner,\nhad great performances, and was unpredictable. The cast includes John C.\nReilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed. To read this site’s\nreview of the film, click here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Widows<\/em> – When a heist-gone-wrong leaves local\ngovernment officials and mobsters both questioning and threatening the lives\nthe widows of the team, it forces the ladies to come together. They plot\nanother dangerous robbery in the hopes that will take care of their husband’s debts\nand leave them free and clear of reprisal. The crime thriller earned positive\nresponse. A group of critics did complain that it was overburdened with many\nstory elements and suggested some of the story logic didn’t make sense. Still,\nmost appreciated the work of the cast, thought that the stakes were high, and\nthat it managed to work in a few interesting twists on a well-worn formula. It\nstars Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Colin\nFarrell, Liam Neeson and many others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You Might Be the Killer<\/em> – This independent horror\npicture follows a figure running from a masked killer at a summer camp. As he\nrushes away, he begins to believe that might actually be the psychopath. The\nlead contacts his horror-movie loving best friend, looking for advice on the\ntropes of the genre and help in determining what happened and why it occurred.\nThe press gave this effort more positive notices than negative ones. A\npercentage did think that screenplay was trying too hard to be clever and\nthought the results didn’t add up to much. Still, slightly more called it a\ngood little terror pic that would entertain genre fans. The cast includes Fran\nKranz, Alyson Hannigan, Brittany\nS. Hall and Keith David. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Blasts from the Past!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There’s definitely some interesting older titles arriving on\nshelves this week. Arrow Video have a Blu-ray of The 5th Cord<\/em> (1971) aka\nThe Fifth Cord<\/em>, an Italian giallo. It’s about an alcoholic journalist on\nthe trail of a killer, whose close proximity to the psycho eventually causes\nhim to be a suspect in the eyes of police. The movie has been given a 2K\nrestoration and arrives with a film expert\/critic audio commentary, an\ninterview with star Franco Nero, another with the movie’s editor and a third\nwith another critic. This release also includes a video essay on the film and a\nrare, previously unseen deleted scene that has been restored from the original\ncamera negative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Arrow are also putting out The Possessed<\/em> (1965) on\nBlu-ray. This one is a proto-giallo (the genre didn’t officially take off until\n1970 with the release of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage<\/em>), but it\nfeatures many of the same elements. The story involves a depressed novelist who\nheads to a resort to visit an old flame, only to learn that she has disappeared\nunder mysterious circumstances. It also arrives with a 2K restoration, an film\ncritic audio commentary, a video appreciation of the film, interviews with the\nmake-up effects artist, assistant art director, and another Italian moviemaker\nwho knew the director’s of this project and their thoughts about it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kino are delivering the UK\nheist comedy, Diamonds for Breakfast<\/em> (1968). Its about a man played by\nMarcello Mastroianni, who recruits team of beautiful women to steal the\nImperial Jewels of Russia. The movie has received a new 2K transfer for its\nBlu-ray debut. It almost certainly will come across as very of-its-time, but\nmay provide some fun for movie fans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They also have a Special Edition Blu-ray of the Walter\nMatthau comedy\/drama, Kotch<\/em> (1971). It’s about an aging salesman who\nbefriends a pregnant teenage and ends up helping her deliver the baby. The\ncompany are providing an HD master from a new 4K scan of the original camera\nnegative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, the distributor are putting out a Special Edition\nBlu-ray of Zacharia<\/em> (1971). It’s described as a psychedelic western\nabout two cowboys who join a band of rock ‘n roll outlaws. The image comes from\na 4K scan of the original camera negative, and the release includes a new\ninterview with star John Rubenstein as well as a film historian audio\ncommentary and trailer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sony are delivering a Blu-ray of Poetic Justice<\/em> (1993). This road-trip romance from director John Singleton (Boyz in the Hood<\/em>) stars Janet Jackson as a South Central Los Angeles woman who has lost her boyfriend in a shooting-related death and writes poetry as a way of therapy. While heading to a convention in Oakland, she makes a connection with a postal worker (Tupac Shakur). Over the years, it has become a popular cult film and is now finally making its high-def debut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the Ingmar Bergman’s classic Shame<\/em> (1968) is\ngetting the Criterion treatment. The title is about a civil war in Sweden\nand an apolitical, tempestuous husband and wife caught in the middle and\nstruggling to agree on how to survive the ordeal. The Max Von Sydow\/Liv Ullmann\npicture has received a 2K restoration, and the Blu-ray includes interviews with\nBergman recording in 1967 and 68, in addition to a documentary about the film’s\nproduction and a new interview with Ullmann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You Know, For Kids!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Quiet week for the kids, but there is a new direct-to-disc\nanimated, feature-length title with Scooby Doo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scooby-Doo and the Curse of the 13th Ghost<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n On the Tube!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And here are the week’s TV-themed releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 800 Words<\/em>: Season 3, Part 2 ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-Cloverfield-Paradox-1024x566.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-girl-in-the-spiders-web-1024x647.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-Grinch-with-dog.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-guilty-cop-1024x485.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-long-dumb-road.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-lulu-over-the-wall-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-mermaid-lake-of-the-dead.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-private-war-pike-1024x477.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-Sisters-Brothers-poster.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-widows-ladies-1024x630.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-you-might-be-the-killler-1024x564.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-fifth-cord-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-possessed-1965-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-diamonds-for-breakfast-poster.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-poetic-justice-cast-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DVD-shame-sydow-flames.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
The<\/em> Deuce<\/em>: Season 2
Nova: Last B-24<\/em> (PBS)
Nova: Thai Cave Rescue<\/em> (PBS)
We’ll Meet Again<\/em>: Season 2 (PBS) <\/p>\n\n\n\n