HELPER PROVIDES GOOD CARE FOR BABY — AND MOM
New on Blu-ray
Tully Universal DVD, $29.98; Blu-ray, $27.99; also available on VOD
Charlize Theron takes a break from playing tough, sexy action heroes to tackle the much more unglamorous character of a stressed-out suburban mom in “Tully,” a stark domestic dramedy written by Diablo Cody and directed by Jason Reitman. Theron plays Marlo, a mother of three stumbling through a haze of exhaustion and depression. When a charismatic young nanny named Tully (Mackenzie Davis) arrives to help, the super-cool, super-capable aide reminds Marlo of how awesome she herself used to be — and who she could possibly become again. A mix of “Mary Poppins” and “Parenthood,” with a few unexpected twists, “Tully” is both funny and frank about how having kids changes a person. Special features: one short featurette
VOD
Night Comes In Available Aug. 3
Jordana Spiro (best known for the charming TBS sitcom “My Boys”) makes a strong feature writing-directing debut with “Night Comes In,” a muted indie drama about a life thrown off-course by crime. Dominique Fishback plays Angel, a 17-year-old who has spent much of her youth in juvenile detention. When she’s released, her parole officer warns her that she’ll need to come up with her own plan for the future; so she decides to track down her younger sister, who can lead her to their dad, whom Angel plans to kill. The quest-plot puts a solid frame around what’s essentially a sensitive study of a shattered family, poorly served by the social institutions meant to keep them safe.
TV set of the week
Counterpart: The Complete First Season Starz/Anchor Bay DVD, $34.98; Blu-ray, $39.99
The ads for the Starz science-fiction drama “Counterpart” didn’t properly indicate how original — and, yes, even profound — this show is. The 10 first-season episodes take a more characterdriven approach to the common fantasy premise of parallel universes, casting J.K. Simmons as both a meek Berlin-based bureaucrat and a more aggressive, devious version of himself, who operates in a dystopian alternate Earth. The two swap places as part of a larger investigation into a cross-dimensional criminal conspiracy. “Counterpart” uses a brilliant Simmons performance (times 2) as a way to consider all the small choices and random circumstances that determine who we become. Special features: two breezy featurettes
From the archives
Piranha II: The Spawning — Collector’s Edition Scream! Factory Blu-ray, $29.93
The original 1978 “Piranha” was a cheapo “Jaws” ripoff that director Joe Dante and screenwriter John Sayles turned into a wry parody. The 1981 sequel “Piranha II: The Spawning” starts out similarly comic but quickly becomes more of a routine creature feature, following a group of tourists and residents at a Caribbean resort plagued by killer mutant flying fish. So why is this tawdry low-budget movie getting the Blu-ray treatment? Because it’s the directorial debut of James Cameron, one of the most successful filmmakers in Hollywood history. Cameron considers “The Terminator” to be his true first film, but “Piranha II” actually isn’t that bad, for a test run. It’s taut and energetic, and its fascination with catastrophes and undersea worlds is very much the work of the man who made “Titatic” and “The Abyss.” Special features: a pair of lengthy interviews (neither with Cameron, alas)
Three more to see
Final Portrait Sony Pictures Classics DVD, $25.99; also available on VOD The Miracle Season 20th Century Fox DVD, $29.98; also available on VOD Overboard (2018) Lionsgate DVD, $29.95; Blu-ray, $39.99; also available on VOD calendar@latimes.com