Susan’s DVD Update for week of Friday, April 23rd:
Credited as producer, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, pitched the entertaining, elegant historical romance “Young Victoria” about Queen Victoria’s formative years; Emily Blunt stars as the defiant 18 year-old Princess who succeeds her uncle, William IV, and becomes enmeshed in a manipulative power struggle until Rupert Friend, as Prince Albert, comes on the scene and encourages her empowerment.
Based on Alice Seabold’s best-seller, “The Lovely Bones” is a surreal ghost story about a suburban Pennsylvania teenager (Saoirse Ronan) who was brutally murdered by a perverted neighbor (Stanley Tucci) who turns out to be a serial killer.
“The Horse Boy” chronicles the inspiring journey taken by a young couple and their autistic son up through the high mountains of Mongolia and down into a valley where, according to mystical tradition, reindeer-herding shamans practice healing rituals.
Foreign film aficionados will appreciate “Summer Hours,” an exquisitely subtle drama about a bourgeois French family dividing up an estate; the subtext is that the house is France itself – culturally cultivated but no longer central in the global era.
Give independent filmmaker Peter Rodger credit for audacity in “Oh My God” as he jets around the world asking religious leaders, celebrities, extremists and everyday folk about the meaning of God; their answers, mostly delivered in haphazardly assembled, bite-sized phrases, run the gamut from fatuous to thoughtful.
“Rolling Stones: Rare and Unseen” is an assemblage of original footage and rare photographs of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman and Brian Jones from private collections.
PICKS OF THE WEEK: James Cameron’s “Avatar” was the ultimate big-screen 3-D experience and the highest-grossing film in the history of Hollywood box-office. But instead of a DVD loaded with extras, it’s a lean-and-mean release with only the 2-D movie and a relatively simple menu function. Indeed, it’s the first Blu-ray new release from a major studio without a single trailer or promotional content of any kind. In contrast, Jeff Bridges’ Oscar-winning performance as country music star Bad Blake in “Crazy Heart” comes with deleted scenes, alternate music cuts and several commentaries.