‘Guardians’ blasts off for home use with lots of attitude
By Bob Bloom
The following Blu-rays and DVDs are being released on Tuesday, Dec. 9, unless otherwise indicated:
Guardians of the Galaxy (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD)
Details: 2014, Marvel-Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, violence, language, sexual content
The lowdown: This past summer’s blockbuster was one of the most popular films to join the Marvel universe.
Everyone loved this space opera with attitude, that was reminiscent of such 1980s films as “The Last Starfigher” and “Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension.
The movie was laced with action, humor and great special effects.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master audio, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital and English 2.0 Dolby digital descriptive audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby digital and English 2.0 Dolby digital descriptive audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include deleted scenes, a series of making of featurettes, a gag reel, commentary track and a preview of “Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron.”
Dolphin Tale 2 (Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, Warner Home Video
Rated: PG, adult themes
The lowdown: A family-friendly sequel that continues the story of Winter, the dolphin that received a prosthetic tail.
In this feature, Winter loses her surrogate mother. In her grief, she refuses to engage with anyone. Plus, she may be moved from her home at the aquarium because of a regulation that requires dolphins to be paired.
Everything, of course, works out for the best as Winter finds new Hope.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master audio and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital audio; French and Spanish Dolby digital surround audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Several behind-the-scenes featurettes and a blooper reel comprise the major bonus features.
Calvary (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: R, violence, language, sexual references, drug use
The lowdown: Brendan Gleeson stars as a priest who is threatened with death by an unknown member of his parish.
Despite the circumstances, the priest continues to perform his duties and comfort those around him, even as he detects troubling forces closing in around him.
Gleeson offers another strong performance as he reteams with writer-director John Michael McDonagh of “The Guard.”
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio; English 5.1 Dolby digital audio descriptive and Spanish 5.1. Dolby digital audio; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie, a featurette on the role of a good priest, a look at faith and a featurette on the film’s father-daughter relationship comprise the major bonus features.
I Origins (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: R, sexual situations, nudity, language
The lowdown: A drama that examines the thin line between fact and faith.
A molecular biologist who is studying the evolution of the eye becomes obsessed with his project after a romance with an exotic young woman ends in tragedy.
Years later, his fixation leads to a momentous discovery that has far-reaching implications for mankind and himself.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master audio, English 5.1 Dolby digital audio descriptive and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include a featurette on the “Origins of Connectedness,” a look at the eyes as a window to the soul and deleted scenes.
When the Game Stands Tall (Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG, adult themes, mild violence, smoking
The lowdown: A sports drama inspired by a true story of a high school coach who raised his football team to the national spotlight by winning 151 consecutive games, a streak that shattered all records for an American sport.
But when the streak is broken and tragedy strikes, the coach must regroup and teach not only his team, but his community, how to get back on their feet.
The film features some good football sequences, but a bevy of sports clichés diminishes the drama.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English and Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio, English 5.1 Dolby digital audio descriptive and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital audio; English SDH, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles; DVD: 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English, Portuguese, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby digital audio; English SDH, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.
Don’t miss: Commentary on select scenes, deleted and extended scenes, a look at filming the football sequences and a profile of coach Bob Ladouceur comprise the supplemental materials.
Frank (Blu-ray)
Release date: Dec. 9
Details: 2014, Magnolia Home Entertainment
Rated: R, sexual content, language
The lowdown: Michael Fassbender stars in this quirky feature as a genius rock musician who wears a giant fake head that he never removes.
Things become complicated when a young musician joins Frank and his protective bandmate, Clara, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
This is an offbeat and quirky comedy that offers another strong performance by Fassbender.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Deleted scenes, a look at the music, a profile of the band, a behind-the-mask featurette, a commentary track, an interview with director Lenny Abrahsmson, an AXS TV episode on the film and a “What Is the Name of the Band?” featurette comprise the extras.
Time Bandits: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Release date: Dec. 9
Details: 1981, The Criterion Collection
Rated: PG
The lowdown: Director Terry Gilliam’s fantasy that follows one boy through time and space as he flees from his gadget-obsessed parents and joins a group of dwarfs who, having stolen a map from the Supreme Being, plunder treasures from the past.
The film, written by Gilliam and fellow Monty Python performer Michael Palin, is a witty satire about the dangers of technology.
The cast includes Sean Connery, Ian Holm, David Warner and Ralph Richardson.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 LPCM monaural audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include filmmakers discussing the creation of the film’s historical periods and fantasy worlds, a commentary track with Gilliam, Palin and others, a 1998 conversation between Gilliam and film scholar Peter von Bagh, a 1981 TV appearance by actress Shelley Duvall, a gallery of photographs from the set and a booklet with an essay about the film.
San Francisco Giants World Series Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray)
Release date: Dec. 2
Details: 2014, Lionsgate
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: An eight-disc set that features all seven World Series games as well as the complete fifth game of the National League Championship Series.
Baseball fans will get to relive one of the most exciting Fall Classics in years as the Giants faced off against the Kansas City Royals.
Technical aspects: 720p high definition, 1.78:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master audio.
Don’t miss: Extras include behind-the-scenes interviews and footage, four audio options: television, home radio, away radio and Spanish-language broadcast plus a sleevestats insert.
Fifi Howls From Happiness
Release date: Dec. 2
Details: 2013, Music Box Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A documentary that explores the life and work of Iranian artist Bahman Mohassess, who dominated his nation’s art scene in pre-revolutionary Iran.
Mohassess, who was openly gay, was censored and driven into exile.
In this documentary, made 30 years after he left Iran, Mohassess speaks out about his life and works as he begins on his final masterpiece.
Technical aspects: 16×9 widescreen picture; Farsi 5.1 Dolby digital audio; English and French subtitles.
Don’t miss: A 1967 documentary about Mohassess.
Safe: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Release date: Sept. 9
Details: 1995, The Criterion Collection
Rated: R, adult themes, language, sexual situations
The lowdown: Julianne Moore stars in writer-director Todd Haynes’ allegorical drama about a Los Angeles housewife in the late 1980s who contracts a debilitating illness.
The woman believes she is suffering from extreme environmental allergies because doctors cannot give her a definitive diagnosis.
The drama is an examination of the nation’s self-help culture, a metaphor for the AIDS crisis and a critique about social estrangement.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English LPCM monaural audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Among the extras are a commentary track, a conversation between Haynes and Moore, a 1978 short film by Haynes and an interview with producer Christine Vachon.
Secret Agent: The Complete Series
Release date: Dec. 9
Details: 1960-68, Timeless Media Group
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Patrick McGoohan stars as John Drake in this popular British spy series, known in the United Kingdom as “Danger Man.”
Drake relied more on wit and charm than guns and violence to achieve his ends as he solves cases for NATO during the height of the Cold War.
The 17-disc set contains all 86 exciting episodes.
Technical aspects: 4×3 full-screen picture; English Dolby digital monaural audio.
Don’t miss: Extras include commentaries on some episodes and an interview with Catherine McGoohan.
The Night Porter: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Release date: Dec. 9
Details: 1974, The Criterion Collection
Rated: Not rated, sexual content
The lowdown: A disturbing drama from Italian director Liliana Cavani about a concentration camp survivor, played by Charlotte Rampling, who discovers that her former torturer and lover, portrayed by Dirk Bogarde, is working as a porter at a hotel in postwar Vienna.
The two reunite and try to re-create their sadomasochistic relationship. However, former SS comrades get wind of the situation and begin stalking the two.
The film is a harsh and nasty feature.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English LPCM monaural audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include a documentary by the director on female partisans who survived the German invasion of Italy, a new interview with Cavani and a booklet with essays and interviews about the film.
Barney Miller: The Complete Sixth Season
Release date: Dec. 9
Details: 1979-80, Shout! Factory
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Hal Linden heads the cast in this popular comedy series set in New York’s 12th Precinct.
The series, which is set in the Greenwich Village area, contains all 22 season six episodes as Miller and his detectives deal with some unusual cases.
The cast includes Max Gail, Ron Glass, Ron Carey and Steve Landesberg.
Technical aspects: Full-screen picture; English closed-captioned subtitles.
Don’t miss: No extras.
Other Blu-rays and DVDs being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Exodus: The Real Story (Lionsgate)
In Search of Aliens: Season One (Lionsgate)
Jingle Bell Rocks! (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Por Siempre Mi Amour (Cinedigm)
RWBY: Volume 2 (Blu-ray) (Flatiron Film Co.-Cinedigm)
FOR KIDS
Power Rangers Super Megaforce: Earth Fights Back (DVD + Ultraviolet) (Lionsgate)
Coming next week: The Maze Runner
Magic in the Moonlight
Bob Bloom is a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. He reviews movies, Blu-rays and DVDs for Reel Bob. The Film Yap and other print and online publications, He can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow Bloom on Twitter @ReelBobBloom.
Movie reviews by Bloom also can be found at Rottentomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.