This Week on DVD & Blu-ray (01-22-13)

The focus this week is on two documentaries, both of which have received Oscar love. One was nominated last year (“Pina” now receiving the Criterion treatment) and the other was nominated this year (“Searching for Sugar Man”). Both films have received critical acclaim, but I haven’t gotten around to seeing either of them yet. “Pina” has now received the Criterion treatment and “Searching for Sugar Man” made it on several Top Ten Lists at the end of 2012.

Another film to look out for is “End of Watch”, a buddy cop movie set in South Central Los Angeles starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña (and a fine supporting role by Anna Kendrick). It has a realistic look to it, well-written by David Ayers (“Training Day) who also directs using a distinctive handheld/found footage style. It benefits from a personal look at the friendship between two young officers and their daily interactions between their loved ones, colleagues and gang bangers. It’s an engaging experience that’s worth checking out.

Also out this week:

 “The Paperboy”, a pulpy, over-the-top Southern film from Oscar-nominated director Lee Daniels (“Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire”) and it stars Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey and John Cusack. It’s received mixed reviews, but has my curiosity based on the cast and the genre.

“For a Good Time, Call…” is a comedy co-written and produced by its co-star Lauren Miller (“50/50”) and is an R-rated femle-centric comedy about two college frenemies (Miller and Ari Graynor, from “Youth in Revolt” and “Whip It!”) who move into a fabulous Gramercy Park apartment and start a phone sex line together in order to make ends meet. It also stars: Justin Long, Mimi Rogers, Nia Vardalos, Seth Rogen, and Kevin Smith.

“Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning” is an action flick that received surprisingly good reviews for a sci-fi franchise (one critic even claimed it’s the best action film in years!) that most have disregarded. It stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lungdren and Scott Adkins (all “Expendables 2” alumni) and was released on VOD last October and had a limited theatrical run. I’m always curious to see how a franchise revive itself, so this should be interested.

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

• A Thousand Cuts (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• Chris Hardwick: Mandroid (DVD) 
• Cujo: 30th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray) 
• Dead Sushi (DVD) 
• Deadly Blessing (Collector’s Edition) (1981) (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• Death Race 3: Inferno (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• End of Animal (DVD) 
• End of Watch (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• Finding Bigfoot (DVD) 
• For a Good Time, Call… (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• Frontier Horizon (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• Hansel & Gretzel: Warriors of Witchcraft (DVD) 
• Hard Romanticker (DVD) 
• Ivan’s Childhood (Criterion Collection) (Blu-ray) 
• Keep the Lights On (Blu-ray) 
• King of the Pecos (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• LeapFrog: Adventures in Shapeville Park (DVD) 
• LeapFrog: The Magnificent Museum of Opposite Words (DVD) 
• The Men Who Built America (3-disc Collection) (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• Nature Calls (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• Officer Down (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• The Paperboy (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• Pina (Criterion Collection) (DVD) 
• The Quiet Man (60th Anniversary Special Edition) (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• Scarecrow & Mrs. King: The Complete Fourth Season (DVD) 
• The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976) (Blu-ray) 
• Searching for Sugar Man (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• Tai Chi Zero (DVD/Blu-ray) 
• Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (DVD/Blu-ray)