Susan Granger’s DVD Update for week of Fri., Sept. 7:
Nicholas Stoller’s comedy “The Five-Year Engagement,” starring Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, shows what happens when a couple’s career choices challenge their romantic commitment.
Friendship knows no boundaries in Nathan Adloff’s “Nate & Margaret,” as a gay 19 year-old film student and a 52 year-old spinster find their close working relationship challenged by other pursuits.
Boaz Yakin’s action/crime-thriller “Safe” incorporates so many elements of Jason Statham’s “Transporter” franchise that it’s hard to tell them apart – but, this time, a precocious 12 year-old math prodigy is abducted from Beijing and forced to work for New York’s Chinese Triads.
Adapting Rachel Klein’s young adult novel, “The Moth Diaries,” Mary Harron directs this chilling Gothic story of 16 year-old Rebecca (Sarah Bolger) who’s haunted by her father’s recent suicide and records her most intimate thoughts in a diary at a creepy girls’ prep school.
In “The Highest Pass,” Adam Schomer meets a guru Anand Mehrotra and they take a motorcycle expedition on the highest passes of the Himalayas in Northern India; over 21 days and up to an elevation of 18,000 ft., they delve into their deeper selves.
“Touchback” is a family-friendly, inspirational sports drama, exploring a unique opportunity for a second chance to live the life you’ve always wanted, and “Ballplayer: Pelotero” is a documentary about Major League Baseball (MLB) training camps in the Dominican Republic.
Vintage TV fans will enjoy “’50s TV Classics,” a three-disc collection featuring Bob Hope, Ed Sullivan, Milton Berle, Dinah Shore, Lawrence Welk, Red Skelton and others.
In Spanish with English subtitles, “Penumbra” is a supernatural shocker from Argentina’s new horror hit-makers, the Garcia Bogliano brothers.
PICKS OF THE WEEK; Lee Hirsch’s controversial documentary “Bully” tackles our national bullying epidemic, personalizing a problem that goes beyond racial, ethnic, sexual and socio-economic realms. Using a case-study format, it focuses on five victim, relating their poignant stories. Recommended for pre-teens, teens and their parents, perhaps opening a dialogue among family members. And “Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection” is a 31-disc set, including all eight movies in Blu-ray, DVD and UltaViolet – with nearly four hours of bonus features.