Say hi to a surprisingly charming rom-com
New on Blu-ray
Long Shot Lionsgate DVD, $29.95; Blu-ray, $39.99; also available on VOD
Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen make a surprisingly charming couple in this romantic comedy. She plays Charlotte Field, a hardworking U.S. secretary of State trying to bolster her legacy for a presidential bid. He plays Fred Flarsky, a troublemaking gonzo journalist and childhood friend of Charlotte’s who becomes her speechwriter. The film, directed by Jonathan Levine and cowritten by Dan Sterling and Liz Hannah, suffers from some of the problems common to modern comedies. It’s too long and shaggy, and it doesn’t have much insight into politics and journalism beyond “just be yourself.” But the leads are such good company — so funny and so disarmingly self-deprecating — that by the end, the movie becomes a lovely little gem. Special features: Featurettes
VOD
The Red Sea Diving Resort Available Wednesday on Netflix
In the early 1980s, Mossad agents helped transport Jewish Ethiopian refugees into Israel by using a clever scheme that involved clandestinely renovating and then managing a previously abandoned Sudanese vacation spot and then sneaking the refugees in under the cover of “business.” This historical drama stars Chris Evans as a fictionalized version of the mission’s leader and Michael Kenneth Williams as his local liaison. Ben Kingsley, Greg Kinnear, Haley Bennett and Alessandro Nivola also star in an unusual kind of adventure film, written and directed by Gideon Raff — best-known for creating the Israeli TV series that was later adapted in the U.S. as “Homeland.”
TV set of the week
BoJack Horseman: Seasons One & Two Shout! Factory DVD, $34.99; Blu-ray, $54.99 nonsubscribers who’ve always wandered what all the fuss is about — will be pleased to know that the show’s first two seasons are finally coming to DVD and Blu-ray in a features-packed special-edition set. These early episodes introduced the show’s lead character: a humanoid horse and minor celebrity (voiced by Will Arnett) who’s half-heartedly trying to get famous again because he needs the validation … and the company. Offhandedly surreal and deeply melancholy, it’s is easily the funniest Special features: Commentary tracks and featurettes
From the archives
Jefferson in Paris KL Studio Classics DVD, $14.95; Bluray, $29.95
One of the more forgotten collaborations between producer Ismail Merchant, director James Ivory and writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, this 1995 drama stars Nick Nolte as Thomas Jefferson. Set during the time when France was preparing for revolution — and when Jefferson was an ambassador from the fledgling United States — the movie considers both the future president’s advocacy for liberation and his illicit romance with his slave Sally Hemings (Thandie Newton). Released in an era when the Merchant-IvoryJhabvala trio were winning Oscars for the likes of “Howards End,” this film went underappreciated, even though it points out and critiques the ironies of the late 18th century enlightened. Special features: An Ivory commentary track