New This Week: ‘It’s Complicated’
‘It’s Complicated’
Universal, $29.98; Blu-ray, $36.98
Writer-director Nancy Meyers sometimes gets knocked for her broad, loopy comic sensibility, but few contemporary filmmakers are as plugged-in to the lives and times of the middle-aged and middle-class. Meyers’ “It’s Complicated” is ostensibly about what happens when a 50-ish empty-nester played by Meryl Streep tries to juggle a budding romance with her architect ( Steve Martin) and an affair with her ex-husband ( Alec Baldwin). Farce ensues — some of it funny, a lot of it corny, and all skillfully played by the principals. But what really makes “It’s Complicated” such a charmer is that the characters inhabit the world of today, surrounded by so many consumer choices that even romance gives them buyer’s remorse. The “It’s Complicated” DVD and Blu-ray keep its choices simpler, limiting the extras to a commentary track and a single featurette.
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‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’
Sony, $28.95; Blu-ray, $34.95
The death of Heath Ledger cast a pall over the making of Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” but the movie was always going to be a bumpy ride, given its maker. Ledger plays a mysterious stranger who stumbles into an ancient struggle between a grizzled storyteller played by Christopher Plummer and a soul-snatching demon played by Tom Waits. “Imaginarium” features Gilliam’s usual visual splendor, packed with more ideas per minute than most filmmakers squeeze into two hours. But it’s also deeply confusing and tonally muddled, even before Colin Farrell, Jude Law and Johnny Depp show up as transformed versions of Ledger’s character. The DVD and Blu-ray help a little, thanks to a Gilliam commentary and multiple behind-the-scenes featurettes.
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Magnolia, $26.98; Blu-ray, $29.98
The original “District 13” was a smart French action movie that dealt with the social inequality in the immigrant neighborhoods of Paris along with introducing the world to the rooftop-hopping thrills of “parkour.” “District 13: Ultimatum” takes place three years later and brings back David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli as play-by-their-own-rules do-gooders working to settle a gang war in drug-ridden public housing before the government takes steps to destroy the whole neighborhood. The characters are cartoonish and the plot ridiculous, but when Belle starts bouncing off walls and kicking faces, “D13: U” more than justifies its existence. The DVD and Blu-ray add a few inconsequential featurettes.
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‘I Love Lucy: The Movie’
Paramount, $19.99
In 1953, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s Desilu Productions turned three episodes from “I Love Lucy’s” first season into a theatrical feature, then shelved it, unreleased. Now “I Love Lucy: The Movie” is available on DVD, with additional rarities from the Desilu vaults. There’s nothing all that revelatory here, though it’s remarkable how well the company is able to sustain 90 minutes of Ball’s kooky antics as a housewife trying to break into showbiz. The jokes are no less funny now than they were almost 60 years ago.
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And....
“The Barbara Stanwyck Collection: “Internes Can’t Take Money”/”The Great Man’s Lady”/”The Bride Wore Boots”/”The Lady Gambles”/”All I Desire”/”There’s Always Tomorrow” (Universal, $49.98); “The Descent: Part 2” (Lionsgate, $28.98); “Disgrace” (Image, $27.98; Blu-ray, $35.98); “Five Minutes of Heaven” (MPI, $19.98; Blu-ray, $29.98); “The Fugitive Kind” (Criterion, $39.95); “Georgia O’Keeffe” (Lifetime, $24.94); “Megapiranha” (Asylum, $24.95); “Possible Films, Vol. 2: New Short Films by Hal Hartley” (Microcinema, $24.95); “Survivors: The Complete Original Series 1975-77” ( BBC Warner, $79.98); “Survivors: Complete Seasons One & Two” (BBC Warner, $59.98); “Transylmania” (Sony, $24.96); “Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy” (Codeblack, $19.97); “William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe” (New Video, $29.95).
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