Pick of the Week
An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (Cinema Guild) — Movies about young love are a dime a dozen and sometimes, regardless of how underwhelming they are or how obnoxious the people responsible for them, they win Sundance (see last year!), even when most of the denizens of Festival Land damn well know better. Alas, within the rough weeds of Sundance’s art world oriented, experimentally minded New Frontier section is an utterly original film about these all too well traversed themes. A fast paced iteration of young male infatuation, obsession, and yes, the oh so overused L word, Terence Nance’s An Oversimplification of Her Beauty throws the kitchen sink at the problems of modern cinema. It seems to be inventing its own cinematic language from the ground up. From claymation to direct address, it’s in here. It’s no surprise then that Mr. Nance, whose film is marching to the beat of its own drum from its sensational opening credit sequence onward, is a visual and audio artist first, a filmmaker second. Read Brandon Harris’ full HTN review as well as Paul Sbrizzi’s A Conversation With Terence Nance. Available on DVD.
New/Old to DVD/Blu-ray
The Wizard of Oz: 75th Anniversary Edition (Warner) — Available on DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/UltraViolet, and Limited Collector’s Edition Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD/UltraViolet + Amazon-Exclusive Flash Drive.
Magnum P.I.: The Complete Series (Universal) — Available on DVD.
Have Not Seen Yet But Really/Kinda/Sorta/Maybe Wanna
Morning (Starz/Anchor Bay) — Available on DVD.
Frozen Ground (Lionsgate) — Available on DVD and Blu-ray.
100 Bloody Acres (Doppelganger Releasing) — Available on DVD, Blu-ray, and at Amazon Instant.
Bob and the Monster (Shaker Films) — Available on DVD and Blu-ray.