Pick of the Week
Margaret (Fox Searchlight) — Oh boy. Oh wow. If your idea of a rewarding time at the movies is a symphonic drama that aches with the blood, sweat and tears of real life while simultaneously upholding the finest traditions of opera, of theater, of poetry, of literature, look no further than Kenneth Lonergan’s Margaret. Much has been written about the unfortunate legal brouhaha surrounding the film’s post-production—it was shot in 2005 but didn’t come out until late 2011—and though no one seems able to definitively say whose cut of the film the 149-minute theatrical version is (for what it’s worth, the film print has a 2008 copyright), and word on the street is that the extended three-hour cut presented here isn’t 100% approved by Lonergan, none of that even matters. Margaret is superior cinema any way you look at it. Read my full HTN review. Available in a Blu-ray/ DVD Combo and at Amazon Instant.
Recommended
Kassim The Dream (Zeitgeist Films) — Available on DVD.
On The Ice (Millennium Media) — Available on DVD and at Amazon Instant.
New/Old to DVD/Blu-ray
Senna (Arc Entertainment) — I don’t like auto racing. At all. Which is why Senna, a look at the career of Brazilian Formula One legend Ayrton Senna, was the biggest surprise of Sundance. The film, which is comprised exclusively of archival footage of Senna’s life on and off the track, has it all; a hero, a villain, triumph, tragedy, redemption and a constant parade of visual thrills, including a lot of first person camera work from the driver’s seat of Senna’s car has he flies around the world’s most prestigious Formula One tracks. Senna is thrilling and contemplative all at once, everything you could want in a non-fiction film. (Tom Hall) Now available on Blu-ray (also on DVD and at Amazon Instant).
Have Not Seen Yet But Really/Kinda/Sorta/Maybe Wanna
Flowers of War (Lionsgate) — Available on DVD, Blu-ray, and at Amazon Instant.
Being Flynn (Universal) — Available on DVD, Blu-ray, and at Amazon Instant.
All In: The Poker Movie (Naedomi Media) — Available on DVD and at Amazon Instant.
Seven Minutes In Heaven (Film Movement) — Available on DVD.
Making Plans For Lena (Zeitgeist Films) — Available on DVD.
Black Limousine (Anchor Bay) — Available on DVD.