Brown brought to dynamic life in ‘Get on Up’
By Bob Bloom
The following Blu-rays and DVDs are being released on Tuesday, Jan. 6
Get On Up (Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, sexual content, drug use, language, violence
The lowdown: Chadwick Boseman gives an outstanding, Academy Award-worthy performance as music icon James Brown in this biopic that not only displays Brown’s brilliance as a performer, but his darker, more disturbing side as a person.
Like most biopics, the film just touches on the highlights of Brown’s life and career. But the film contains enough substance to please fans of Brown as well as those who are not as familiar with his work.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio and 2.0 descriptive audio track and French and Spanish 5.1 DTS surround audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby digital audio; English 2.0 descriptive audio track; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Deleted, extended and alternate scenes, full song performances, extended song performances, a featurette on Brown, a featurette on the making of the film, a profile of director Tate Taylor and his vision for the film, a profile of Boseman and his preparations for portraying Brown and a commentary track comprise the major bonus offerings.
No Good Deed (Blu-ray)
Details: 2014, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, violence, disturbing and terrifying images, language
The lowdown: A rather tepid thriller about an escaped convict who shows up at the suburban home of a family, claiming he has car trouble.
The convict, however, soon shows his true colors by terrorizing the woman of the house and the rest of the family.
The finale is easy to figure out, as you can guess who comes out on top.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English and Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio, English audio descriptive track and French 5.1 Dolby digital audio; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a making of featurette and a behind-the-scenes look at the good fight of a good Samaritan.
Girls: The Complete Third Season (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, HBO Home Entertainment
Rated: TV-MA, sexual content, language
The lowdown: The third season of this popular HBO series fails to carry the impact of the first two, but, nonetheless, remains enjoyable.
The highlight of season three is the relationship between Hannah (Lena Dunham) and Adam (Adam Driver), as the two are now living together.
Hannah’s friends also are going through life changes as they navigate their mid-20s in New York.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio, French 5.1 DTS digital surround audio and Spanish 2.0 DTS digital surround audio; English SDH, French, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Among the bonus features are an overview of season three, deleted and extended scenes, a gag reel, a look inside the episodes, commentaries and profiles of various cast members and their characters.
Horns (Blu-ray)
Details: 2014, Anchor Bay Entertainment
Rated: R, nudity, sexual content, graphic and disturbing violence, drug use, language
The lowdown: Daniel Radcliffe returns to the supernatural as the main suspect in the murder of his girlfriend.
Radcliffe’s Perrish awakens one morning to find horns growing from his head. He soon realizes they have the power to make people confess their sins and give in to their darkest impulses.
He uses these powers to help solve the mystery of his girlfriend’s death and gain revenge on her killer.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: A making of featurette is the major bonus offering.
Black Sails: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, Anchor Bay Entertainment
Rated: Not rated, violence, sexual situations
The lowdown: The first season of this Starz series takes place in the early 18th century when pirates roamed the seas.
The series is filled with action, intrigue, double-dealings and romance as one pirate captain seeks to change because of the love of a woman.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD and Spanish and French 2.0 Dolby digital surround audio; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: An inside look at the making of the series, a featurette on training to be a pirate, another on the series’ costumes, featurettes on pirates and their place in history and a look at building a pirate ship comprise the major bonus offerings.
The Guest (Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: R, graphic violence, language, drug use, sexual situations
The lowdown: A young man recently discharged from the Army shows up at the home of a family who lost their son, claiming to be his best friend.
Taken in, the stranger becomes part of the family, until a series of violent events makes the family’s daughter suspicious about the ex-soldier.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital audio; English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles.
Don’t miss: Deleted scenes, a question-and-answer session with star Dan Stevens and a commentary track make up the major bonus offerings.
Looking: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, HBO Home Entertainment
Rated: TV-MA, sexual situations, language
The lowdown: This two-disc set features the HBO series that explores the lives and loves of a group of 30-something gay men in San Francisco.
The three protagonists have different goals, but in the end, all seek fulfillment, contentment and happiness.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio, French 5.1 DTS digital surround and Spanish 2.0 digital surround audio; English SDH, French, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Commentaries are the main bonus features.
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (Blu-ray)
Details: 1995, Scream-Shout! Factory
Rated: R, graphic violence, language, sexual situations
The lowdown: Tony Todd returns in this sequel that finds the evil Candyman wreaking more death as people are foolish enough to say his name five times while looking into a mirror.
The action takes place in New Orleans where a schoolteacher is trying to solve the murder of her father.
This movie was directed by Bill Condon, who went on to do “Gods and Monsters” and “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn.”
The screenplay was adapted from a story by Clive Barker.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master stereo audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Interviews with Todd and co-star Veronica Cartwright and a commentary track comprise the major bonus features.
88 (Blu-ray)
Details: 2014, Millennium Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A thriller about a young woman who shows up at a roadside diner with no clue where she is or how she got there.
The movie offers a split timeline and mixes reality with fiction as the woman begins a revenge-filled journey, looking for the person who killed her lover.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 16:9 widescreen picture; English Dolby digital TrueHD; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the film with cast and filmmaker input.
Other Blu-rays and DVDs being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Dinosaur 13 (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet) (Lionsgate)
Finders Keepers (DVD + Ultraviolet) (Lionsgate)
FOR KIDS
Jungle Master (Lionsgate)
Sabrina — Secrets of a Teenage Witch: Magic of the Red Rose (DVD + Ultraviolet) (Lionsgate)
SpongeBob Squarepants: The Pilot: A Mini Movie & The Squareshorts (Nickelodeon-Paramount Home Entertainment)
Coming next week: Gone Girl
Bob Bloom is a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. He reviews movies, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob.com. 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 and on Facebook.
Movie reviews by Bloom also can be found at Rottentomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.