Susan Granger’s DVD Update for week of Fri., Oct. 12:
Nominated for an Academy Award, “A Cat in Paris” is a visually stunning caper, an animated film noir that’s set in shadow-drenched alleyways with a thrilling climax atop Notre Dame Cathedral – with the voices of Marcia Gay Harden, Anjelica Huston and Matthew Mondine
Opening in theaters, VOD and digital platforms, “Decoding Deepak” is a one-year odyssey of discovery by filmmaker/journalist Gotham Chopra of his father – Deepak Chopra, one of modern media and pop culture’s most ubiquitous figures.
“The Giant Mechanical Man” is an optimistic, romantic comedy, starring Chris Messina as a dedicated, silver-painted street performer and Malin Akerman as a zoo concession worker. More realistic and unflinching, the intoxicated “Crazy Eyes” has been described as “Californication” marinated in booze.
Inspired by Arthur Schnitzler’s play “La Ronde,” Alexis Lloyd’s “30 Beats” follows an ensemble of New Yorkers, 10 people whose lives interconnect through life-changing sexual encounters during a summer heat wave. And in “We are the Hartmans” Richard Chamberlain plays a pot-smoking bar owner facing eviction, foretelling the Occupy Wall Street Protests.
Desperately trying to transform writer Edgar Allen Poe into an American version of Sherlock Holmes, John Cusack stars in “The Raven,” a ridiculous, tedious historical fantasy that revolves around a macabre hunt for a serial killer.
Baseball fans should enjoy “The World Series: History of the Fall Classic,” a four-disc set that captures and comprehensively chronicles landmark moments from every era.
The Parents’ Foundation recently honored the all new “Thomas & Friends: Blue Mountain Mystery – The Movie” with its prestigious “recommendation” award, as youngsters help the engines track down clues, discover a lost engine and reveal the real power of friendship.
“Big Top Scooby-Doo!” tales viewers on an exciting circus-themed adventure, while “Happiness Is…Peanuts: Go, Snoopy, Go” finds Charlie Brown’s baseball team gearing up for a new season.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Insanely fun and shameless, “Rock of Ages” is the screen adaptation of Broadway’s raucous rock musical, riffing on Hollywood’s famous Sunset Strip, back in 1987 – featuring Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand – with Tom Cruise as the legendary, debauched rock god/frontman.