New releases: ‘The Armstrong Lie’ examines a deceitful sports figure
The Armstrong Lie
Sony, $30.99; Blu-ray, $35.99
Available on VOD beginning Tuesday
Give credit to Alex Gibney: Even with as many documentaries as he cranks out in any given year, he always finds new ways into stories that audiences may think they already know. For “The Armstrong Lie,” Gibney tackles disgraced former champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, who after years of denials — including to Gibney, who’d been documenting Armstrong’s attempt at a comeback — finally admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. More personal than most Gibney docs, “The Armstrong Lie” isn’t just about this particular sports hero; it’s about how athletes are packaged by the media and about the complicity of journalists like Gibney himself. The DVD and Blu-ray go even further into the subject via deleted scenes, interviews and a Gibney commentary track.
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The Best Man Holiday
Universal, $29.98; Blu-ray, $34.98
Available on VOD beginning Tuesday
Fourteen years after Malcolm D. Lee scored a surprise hit with his ensemble romantic comedy “The Best Man” — about the relationship woes of young, affluent African Americans — Lee had even greater success with this Christmas-themed sequel. Reuniting a powerhouse cast that includes Taye Diggs, Sanaa Lathan, Terrence Howard, Regina Hall, Morris Chestnut, Nia Long and Harold Perrineau, “The Best Man Holiday” crams a lot of plot into two hours, but the characters always are good company, even when they’re sniping at one another (which is something they do a lot). The film does ratchet up the melodrama, poignantly catching longtime friends as their lives get complicated by aging. The DVD and Blu-ray come loaded with outtakes, deleted scenes, featurettes and a Lee commentary.
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The Counselor
20th Century Fox, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.99
Any movie as polarizing as last year’s “The Counselor” is a must-see for adventurous cinephiles. Alternately tagged as one of 2013’s worst and best, the Ridley Scott-directed, Cormac McCarthy-scripted anti-thriller defies audience expectations: It’s a brutally violent and explicitly sexual film that’s also talky and deliberately paced, following a group of powerful men and women involved in drug trafficking on the Mexico-Texas border. Scott has a star-studded cast, including Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem (who won an Oscar for the McCarthy adaptation “No Country for Old Men”), but they’re all giving mannered, eccentric performances, unlike their usual screen personas. This isn’t a film for everybody, but the ones who are into it will appreciate the DVD and Blu-ray, which include featurettes and an extended cut that runs 21 minutes longer.
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Wadjda
Sony Blu-ray, $40.99
Available on VOD beginning Tuesday
Haifaa Mansour’s debut feature got a lot of attention for being a film made in Saudi Arabia by a woman — as well as a film about the social restrictions that keep women in check. But “Wadjda” is far from some heavy-handed political tract; it’s a charming, heartwarming movie that follows a free-spirited 10-year-old as she tries to win a bicycle that the authorities won’t allow her to ride. The film is actually ideal for young people who want to learn more about what life is like for kids in other parts of the world. Older cinephiles will like that there’s a featurette, Q&A and director commentary.
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And …
Austenland
Sony, $30.99; Blu-ray, $35.99
Available on VOD beginning Tuesday
Ender’s Game
Summit, $29.95; Blu-ray, $39.99
Available on VOD beginning Tuesday
The Returned: The Complete First Season
Music Box, $29.95; Blu-ray, $34.95
Only good movies
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