This Week on DVD & Blu-ray (07-24-12)

There’s always one bizarre release in the bunch and this week I nominate “The Monitor” a horrorr/thriller that has Noomi Rapace (the original and superior Lisbeth Salander, recently seen in “Prometheus”) being haunted by – wait for it – a baby monitor. That’s right. It was only a matter of time. To be fair, it does seem like there is a bit more to it than the supposed gimmick and since it is a Norwegian film, I have a little more faith in it providing an actual story over cheap thrills. Still, here is yet another film that never saw the inside of a theater. that may be pretty common nowadays, but it still makes me wonder.

 

There are two films by writer/director Whit Stillman getting a Blu-ray release from Criterion this week. 1990’s “Metropolitan” is considered one of the great independent films of its decade, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. It’s a comedic look at the misadventures of a young group of middle-class friends in New York City’s debutante society, who are thrown off their usual lifestyle when an outsider joins them. There’s palpable anxiety amid the story’s wit and sophistication, which presents a good deal of resonance. 1998’s “The Last Days of Disco” is a smart and comically dry look at early the 80s Manhattan party scene during the fading days of disco, starring Kate Beckinsale and Chloë Sevigny. who play publishing house assistants by day and partygoers at a Studio 54-type club by night. Stillman has had a great year so far with his recent release “Damsels in Distress”, so it will be good to revisit these two acclaimed films packaged with expected special features from the folks at Criterion.

 

That’s enough for this week! Enjoy the Rundown….