New on DVD:
New DVDs this week range from a decent family drama to a stomach-churning comedy.
“The Dinner”: The chief strength of this family drama based on the novel by Herman Koch that unfolds during an awkward meal in a fancy restaurant is the cast: Richard Gere, Steve Coogan, Laura Linney and Rebecca Hall.
Two brothers and their wives meet to talk about what actions to take regarding their sons, who have committed an unspeakable crime. The parents must decide whether to remain quiet and hope no one connects the boys to the incident or turn them over to authorities. This sets up numerous debates fueled by years of pain, frustration, jealousy and resentment between all four players. About the only thing they can agree on is that they can’t agree on anything.
Director-writer Oren Moverman is lucky that he put together actors who are strong on their own but get better when they work with others. Even when the conversations stall for one of Moverman’s distracting directing decisions, the actors manage to return the attention to the story when they are brought back together.
“Snatched”: The comedy starring Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn is crude, crass and raunchy. Sadly, it’s not funny.
Schumer — who attempts to hide her lack of acting skills behind a veil of vulgar — plays a lethargic slug who gets dumped by her boyfriend before a big trip to Ecuador. She talks her mother (Hawn) into joining her. The two immediately get kidnapped and the bulk of the movie is their attempts to escape.
In an effort to generate any laughs, the production written by Katie Dippold falls into an endless example of lazy writing. If you have to look for comedy in passing gas or an exposed breast, the result is criminally unfunny.
Schumer and Hawn play their roles with such a lack of energy that the supporting players are far more interesting. Wanda Sykes and Joan Cusack blend sassy with cool reserve to make them fun to watch. And Christopher Meloni, who plays an American looking for adventure in South America, steals the movie. But, to be honest, the bar was painfully low.
“Blindspot: Season 2”; 3.5 stars: The NBC series starring Jamie Alexander as a woman with no memory and a body covered in tattoos continues to show that superb action doesn’t always mean a script that has to be dumbed down. This series is one that provides a roller coaster ride of excitement and mental challenges.
The second season offers bigger clues as to why the woman who is known as Jane Doe was left naked in a bag in Times Square. Each piece of art on her body reveals a new clue to something the FBI needs to investigate.
The strength of the series is Alexander who plays Jane as both a strong member of the FBI team but also caring enough to deal with her very complicated family issues. Just to get the chance to watch her work is worth picking up the DVD set that includes 22 episodes. Also new on DVD Aug. 8 “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul”: Family road trip goes in a very different direction.
“Kung Fu Yoga”: An archeologist (Jackie Chan) and his team are attacked while searching for lost treasure.
“King Arthur: Legend of the Sword”: Charlie Hunnam stars in this different look at the Excalibur story.
“The Exception”: German officer (Jai Courtney) goes on mission to investigate exiled German monarch Kaiser Wilhelm II (Christopher Plummer).
“Ripped”: After smoking top secret weed, two friends wake up 30 years later. Russell Peters stars.
“Undercover Grandpa”: Young man enlists his grandfather to help find a missing girl.
“My Little Pony Equestria Girls — Magical Movie Night”: Magic mirror changes seven from the world of My Little Pony into teenage girls.
“The Hunter’s Prayer”: Hired assassin (Sam Worthington) ends up on the run when he can’t shoot the woman he’s been hired to kill.
“I Am the Blues”: Documentary from Daniel Cross that traces the history of the Blues from the swamps of Louisiana to the Mississippi hill country.
“John Wayne Double Feature”: Two-disc set includes “Rio Lobo” and “Big Jake.”
“Teen Wolf ”: The Michael J. Fox film about a high school student who is a werewolf is being re-released on Blu-Ray. “Teen Wolf Too” also is being released.
“Transfiguration”: The dark obsession of two friends begins to blur the lines of reality.
“Cinematic Titanic”: Collection of 12 movies that get a verbal barrage from the team behind “Mystery Science Theater 3000.”
“Chris Brown: Welcome to My Life”: Includes interviews with the singer-songwriter.
“Wolves”: High school basketball player’s dreams may be killed because of his father. Michael Shannon stars.
“11:55”: Marine must find a way to avoid a deadly fight with a man set on avenging his brother’s death. Victor Almanzar stars.
“Fargo”: Blu-ray edition being released to mark the 20th anniversary of the awardwinning film. Available on digital streaming Aug. 8 “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”: The Guardians again must save the world while also helping Peter (Chris Pratt) deal with finding his father. Will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on Aug. 22.