Susan Granger’s DVD Update for week of Fri., Nov. 9:
Halloween’s behind us but first-time filmmaker Nicholas McCarthy’s new haunted house chiller, “The Pact,” follows a young woman (Caity Lotz) whose mother has just died and whose sister has disappeared as she discovers a secret room in their childhood home where dark deeds occurred.
Intuitively funny filmmaker Lynn Shelton’s “Your Sister’s Sister” is a smart, amusing comedy about romance, grief and sibling rivalry, featuring Emily Blunt, Rosemary DeWitt and Mark Duplass.
There’s more comedy in “Hollywood to Dollywood,” as twin brothers Gary and Larry Lane embark on a cross-country trek to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, to get their screenplay into the hands of Dolly Parton.
In “High Ground,” documentary filmmaker Michael Brown joins a group of 11 wounded Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and a team of Everest Summiteers, led by blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer, on a gripping, emotional, life-changing expedition to climb 20,000-ft. Mount Lobuche in the Himalayas.
Alice Rohrwacher’s Italian drama “Corpo Celeste,” set in Calabria in southern Italy, is the story of 13 year-old Maria who is struggling to make friends and settle in after growing up in Switzerland.
Looking ahead, the scrappy, smart “Arthur Christmas” answers the question of how Santa Claus is able to deliver all those presents to the whole world in a single night – with the vocal help of Jim Broadbent, James McAvoy, Bill Nighy and Hugh Laurie.
All 54 episodes from the first season of the popular Anime TV series “Digimon” are available in an 8-disc set…in “Let’s Explore with Thomas,” the Steam Engines and Diesels don’t seem to get along…”Barney: Let’s Go to the Doctor” introduces physicians as friends…and ”Sesame Street: Old School, Vol. 3” takes a trip down memory lane, reviving some of the show’s greatest moments from 1979-1984.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Andrew Garfield becomes angry, rebellious Peter Parker in “The Amazing Spider-Man,” an awesome fantasy/adventure that delivers emotional truth along with spectacular special effects and strong supporting performances from Sally Field, Martin Sheen, Campbell Scott and Emma Stone. Be sure to watch the pivotal, provocative scene after the closing credits.