This week, there’s yet another chance to catch up with some new releases from earlier this year. One is the latest in the action horror franchise (“Underworld: Awakening”) and another is the highest-grossing drama of 2012, so far (“The Vow”) – obviously, both are vastly different. Some may be allured by Kate Beckinsale in her shiny black skin-tight outfit, while others may have lost interest in the lycan/vampire franchise (if you can call it that). If you need your based-on-a-true-story drama fix, you can see how much Rachel McAdams forgets Channing Tatum. Also out is “Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie”, which premiered at Sundance this year and had a limited run in select theaters already. It’s a comedy that seemingly has a built-in audience and has so far received mixed to negative reviews. Just in time for the Mother’s Day holiday is a remake of the 1980 cult horror thriller of the same name, this time starring Rebecca DeMornay as a twisted matriarch out to school her rambunctious boys a thing or two about terrorizing and torturing others. Family Values at its best!
New to Criterion this week is a black and white French film from 1995 called “La haine” (translation: Hate) that follows a day in the life of three aimless and volatile individuals. Written, edited, and directed by Mathieu Kassovitz (“Gothika” and “Babylon A.D.”), who introduces us to a Jew (Vincent Cassel, in a breakthrough role), an African (Hubert Koundé, “The Constant Gardener”) and an Arab (Saïd Taghmaoui, “G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra”), in the gritty, low-income banlieue districts in mid-90s Paris. I’ve never seen it, but I definitely want to catch up with it.
If that’s too heavy for ya, you can always go retro and hang out with Tattoo and Mr. Rourke, or the 1990 sequel “Gremlins 2: The New Batch”, which is new to Blu-ray.
Well, that’s it for this week. You won’t find any previous reviews in the list below, because there’s none to link to. Enjoy the Rundown….
- 42nd Street Forever (Blu-ray)
- Beautiful Wave (DVD/Blu-ray)
- The Big C: The Complete Second Season (DVD)
- Chuck: The Complete Fifth and Final Season (DVD/Blu-ray)
- Dirty Dancing 2 – Film Collection (Blu-ray)
- Fantasy Island: The Complete Second Season (DVD)
- The Front Line (DVD/Blu-ray)
- Ganja & Hess: Kino Classics Remastered Edition (DVD/Blu-ray)
- Gremlins 2: The New Batch (Blu-ray)
- Happiness is… Peanuts: Team Snoopy (DVD)
- The John Wayne Film Collection (DVD)
- Kawa (DVD)
- La haine (The Criterion Collection) (DVD/Blu-ray)
- Love’s Everlasting Courage (DVD)
- Madison County (Unrated) (DVD)
- Mother’s Day (DVD/Blu-ray)
- Rookie Blue: The Complete Second Season (DVD/Blu-ray)
- Shock Labyrinth 3D (Combo Pack) (Blu-ray))
- This is What Love in Action Looks Like (DVD)
- Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie (DVD/Blu-ray)
- Tom & Jerry: Around the World (DVD)
- Underworld Awakening (DVD/Blu-ray)
- The Vow (DVD/Blu-ray)