New to View: ‘Inherent Vice’ a psychedelic journey

By Bob Bloom

The following Blu-rays and DVDs are being released on Tuesday, April 28:
Inherent Vice (Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, Warner Home Video
Rated: R, drug use, sexual content, nudity, violence, language
The lowdown: Paul Thomas Anderson wrote and adapted this Thomas Pynchon novel about a murder, hustlers, drugs, a kidnapping plot, a group of Beverly Hills dentists and a private eye who tries to make sense of the entire mess.
The all-star cast includes Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, Benicio Del Toro, Jena Malone and Martin Short.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and French, Spanish and Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital; English SDH, Spanish, French and Portuguese subtitles; DVD: 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby Digital; English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include a look at Los Paranoias, a featurette on The Golden Fang and Shasta Fay and a behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of the movie.

Paddington (Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2014, Anchor Bay Entertainment
Rated: PG, mild action, rude humor
The lowdown: A feature based on the novels by Michael Bond about a Peruvian bear who travels to London in search of a home.
He at first has difficulties in the big city until he meets the friendly Brown family who offer him a safe haven. Kids will enjoy this funny feature.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital; English SDH and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a look at the characters, a featurette on when a bear comes to stay, a look at transforming the story from page to screen and a music video.

The Boy Next Door (Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2015, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: R, violence, sexual content, nudity, language
The lowdown: Jennifer Lopez stars in this sleazy thriller as a high school teacher who becomes involved with a 19-year-old hunk who moves in next door — thus the title.
In a moment of weakness, she and the teen spend a lustful night together, which becomes a dangerous and obsessive predicament for the teacher.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English, Spanish and French 5.1 DTS Digital surround and English 2.0 descriptive audio; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby Digital and English 2.0 descriptive audio; English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles.
Don’t miss: A making of featurette, deleted scenes and a commentary track comprise the major bonus offerings.

The Wedding Ringer (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2015, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: R, crude and sexual content, language, nudity, drug use
The lowdown: A comedy about a socially awkward groom who has no best man until he hires one from a company that specializes in providing them.
The premise is ridiculous and even the comic antics of Kevin Hart and Josh Gad can’t hold this fragile film together.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English and French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English audio descriptive track and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital; English SDH, English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: An outtake reel, deleted scenes, a line-o-rama featurette, a music video and a “Going to the Chapel of Love” featurette comprise the major bonus offerings.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1973, The Criterion Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Robert Mitchum stars in this Peter Yates thriller about a small-time crook in Boston who just makes ends meet.
He is faced with a dilemma: face a long prison stretch or become an snitch. This is one of Mitchum’s best later roles, aided by the atmospheric grit Yates brings to the production.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: A commentary track with Yates and a booklet with essays about the film and a profile of Mitchum comprise the bonus offerings.

Le Silence De La Mer: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1949, The Criterion Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: During World War II, a German officer is billeted in the home of a middle-aged man and his adult niece. Their response — and protest — to his presence is complete silence.The film was one of the early efforts by noted French director Jean-Pierre Melville and touched on points he would repeat about the resistance and occupation in later films.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen picture; French LPCM monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include a 1946 short film by Melville, a documentary about Melville’s time in the Resistance, a documentary about the movie, a 1959 interview with Melville and a booklet with essays about the movie and Melville.

Mommy (DVD + Ultraviolet)
Details: 2015, Lionsgate
Rated: R, language, violence, sexual references
The lowdown: A drama about a widowed mother coping with the full-time care of her 15-year-old son with ADHD. The mother struggles to restore balance to her son’s life while making ends meet. She also gets some help from a mysterious neighbor.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; French 5.1 Dolby Digital; English closed-captioned, English and Spanish subtitles.

Covert Affairs Season Five: The Final Season
Details: 2014, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: The final season of this USA network series wraps up all the loose ends. Changes abound during the season as Annie finds herself investigating a terrorist plot that takes her from Chicago to Venezuela, Argentina and France.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby Digital and 2.0 descriptive audio track; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: A gage reel and deleted scenes comprise the bonus materials.

From a Whisper to a Scream (Blu-ray)
Details: 1987, Scream-Shout! Factory
Rated: R, graphic violence, disturbing images
The lowdown: Vincent Price stars in this horror feature that is comprised of four gory and scary tales about the sinister secrets of Oldfield, Tenn.
The tales involve a madman, a voodoo priest and a group of cannibalistic children. Price’s narrator writes the final chapter in the town’s bloody history.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio stereo.
Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include a documentary on teenage Super 8 filmmaking during the 1970s in Georgia, two commentary tracks and a documentary on the making of the movie.

Kidco
Release date: April 14
Details: 1984, Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: PG
The lowdown: A youngster with keen business instincts puts them to good and profitable use with the help of his siblings and friends. When he becomes too successful, an adult competitor takes him to court where the kids defend themselves.
This is a feel-good family movie that youngsters will enjoy. The release is part of the Fox Cinema Archives series and can be found at www.foxconnect.com or other online dealers.
Technical aspects: 16:9 widescreen picture.

I Love Lucy: I Love Mom Edition
Details: 1952-55, CBS DVD-Paramount Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: As a tribute to moms, this “I Love Lucy” DVD features four episodes that spotlight Lucy as comedian and mother.
The episodes are “Lucy Is Enceinte” (1952), in which makes various attempts to tell Ricky she is pregnant; “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (1953), one of TV’s most celebrated — and most watched — episodes, as Lucy and Ricky welcome the baby; “No Children Allowed” (1953), in which Little Ricky’s crying bothers a neighbor and creates a rift between the Ricardos and Mertzes; and “Nursery School” (1955) in which, despite Lucy’s protests, Ricky insists that Little Ricky go to nursery school.
Technical aspects: 4×3 full-screen picture; English and Spanish Dolby Digital monaural; English SDH subtitles.

Bad Medicine
Release date: April 14
Details: 1985, Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, language, sexual situations
The lowdown: Steve Guttenberg stars as a pre-med student who MCAT scores were not high enough to get him into an American medical school.
Instead, he goes to a small Latin American country run by a dictator, played by Alan Arkin, to get his degree. What the student does not know is that the dictator takes a keen interest in the behavior of all the medical students.
The release is part of the Fox Cinema Archives collection and can be ordered at www.foxconnect.com or other online DVD retailers.
Technical aspects: 16:9 widescreen picture.

Other Blu-rays and DVDs being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
Always Woodstock (Anchor Bay Entertainment)
Bedlam (DVD + Ultraviolet) (Lionsgate)
Suits: Season Four (Universal Studios Home Entertainment)
Where’s the Love? (Alchemy, April 21)

FOR KIDS
Let’s Learn: S.T.E.M. (Nickelodeon-Paramount Home Entertainment)
My Little Pony Tales (Shout! Kids)
Wallykazam! (Nickelodeon-Paramount Home Entertainment)

Coming next week: Mr. Turner
Black Sea

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.