Review: New on DVD for April 25 (Includes first-hand account)

Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) is a washed-up ballplayer whose big league days are over. Hired to coach in the All-American Girls Baseball League of 1943 — while the male pros are at war — Dugan finds himself drawn back into the game by the hearts and heroics of his all-women team, led by the indomitable Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis).

This is a stellar comedy with a fantastic cast of women led by Davis, Rosie O’Donnell, Madonna and Lori Petty. Meant to entertain crowds in the absence of the men, most people never thought there’d be any real competition between the ladies forced to wear ridiculous skirts — after all, girls can’t play baseball. They’re given equally absurd Miss Manners lessons and expected to adhere by rules that would never be applied to their male counterparts. And on top of all the pressure to exceed demeaning, low expectations, they’re still trying to balance life as a wife and mother between practices and road trips. There is more than one memorable moment in this film, but “there’s no crying in baseball” in Hanks’ appalled tone is definitely top of the list.

Special features include: commentary by director Penny Marshall and the cast; deleted scenes; nine-part documentary; “Bentonville, Baseball & The Enduring Legacy of A League of Their Own”; “This Used To Be My Playground” music video by Madonna; and theatrical trailer. (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)

The Affair: Season Three (DVD)

This season picks up three years after Noah’s (Dominic West) shocking admission of guilt at the murder trial of Scott Lockhart (Colin Donnell). Noah attempts to restart his life, but the damage wrought by his past decisions has made him a ghost of his former self. Alison (Ruth Wilson) has been raising daughter Joanie alongside Cole (Joshua Jackson) and Luisa (Catalina Sandino Moreno) in Montauk, but Alison’s past continues to rear its ugly head as Cole and Luisa attempt to build their own future. For Helen (Maura Tierney), life appears to continue on, but just below the surface of a successful business and a bustling home lies uncertainty with her boyfriend Vik (Omar Metwally), instability amongst her children, and an unshakeable feeling of guilt.

This season is possibly the most convoluted of the three as the characters’ perceptions of particular events are wildly dissimilar. Where previous seasons contained subtle variances that could be appreciated, the parallel scenes in each of these episodes contain incredibly different memories of the exact same scenes — details that couldn’t have just been misinterpreted, but rather appear to have occurred differently for each of them. Yet, as a show with a limited number of characters, they just can’t seem to stay away from each other even though it’s probably the best solution for all of them. Unlike the previous season, there is no wild cliff-hanger so it’s difficult to know what the next season will bring.

Special features include: “Storytelling with Sarah Treem”; “Playing Both Sides”; and “Dressing the Part.” (Paramount Home Media Distribution)

Agatha Christie’s The Witness for the Prosecution (Blu-ray)

When an heiress (Kim Cattrall) is brutally murdered, all the evidence points to her young lover (Billy Howle); but he insists to his solicitor (Toby Jones) that his wife (Andrea Riseborough) can prove his innocence.

This is a wonderful murder-mystery in Christie’s typical whodunit style. Cattrall’s on-screen role is relatively small, but her character’s influence on the narrative is everlasting. Howle is the picture perfect, wrongly accused man who maintains his innocence from the start. However, his wife’s part in the murder and his alibi becomes increasingly complex. And Jones’ poor character is caught in the middle of something he couldn’t begin to understand, though they each play him like a finely tuned instrument to their own ends. This story also touches briefly on gender politics and the double standards of being an older woman who still has “needs.” At only 90 mins, the mystery is concise and engages audiences without having an opportunity to veer off course.

Special features include: interviews; “The Story”; and “Fashion.” (Acorn)

Before the Flood (DVD)

From Academy Award-winning actor, environmental activist and U.N. Messenger of Peace Leonardo DiCaprio, and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Fisher Stevens, this documentary presents a riveting account of the dramatic changes occurring around the world due to climate change, as well as the actions we as individuals and as a society can take to prevent catastrophic disruption of life on our planet.

DiCaprio has gained prominence as an environmental activist in recent years, producing related films and speaking publicly against various negative environmental impacts. To some extent this documentary chronicles his personal journey, and how he learned of the many contributors to global warming and its growing consequences. He briefly acknowledges his own actions and lifestyle are part of the problem, but he doesn’t go into specifics of what they are or how he plans to alter them. Using behind-the-scenes footage from The Revenant and in-person interviews with scientists from around the world, he documents the effects of climate change and some of the barriers in addressing it. However, this is very much a big picture film that doesn’t attempt to get into the finer details of how to reverse it.

Special features include: deleted scenes; and “5 Things to Know About the Warming Arctic.” (Fox Home Entertainment)

Dead or Alive Trilogy (Blu-ray)

In Dead or Alive, tough gangster Ryuichi (Riki Takeuchi) and his ethnically Chinese gang make a play to take over the drug trade in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district by massacring the competition. But he meets his match in detective Jojima (Show Aikawa), who will do everything to stop them.
Dead or Alive 2: Birds casts Aikawa and Takeuchi together again, but as new characters: a pair of rival yakuza assassins who turn out to be childhood friends. After a botched hit, they flee together to the island where they grew up, and decide to devote their deadly skills to a more humanitarian cause.
And in Dead or Alive: Final, Takeuchi and Aikawa are catapulted into a future Yokohama ruled by multilingual gangs and cyborg soldiers, where they once again butt heads in the action-packed and cyberpunk-tinged finale to the trilogy.

The first film in this trilogy was released the same year as director Takashi Miike’s breakout film, Audition, and includes a six-minute montage of sex, drugs and violence. The trilogy featured many of elements that would become a part of the filmmaker’s signature style and establish his reputation in the West as one of the most provocative and innovative creators in Japanese cinema. It’s also an interesting choice to cast the same two actors in different roles in each film: in the first Aikawa is a cop and Takeuchi a criminal, while their roles are reversed in the last picture and they’re made near-allies in the second. This experience is made even stranger in the final film with a montage of clips — or memories — from the preceding movies are sewn into this one. In any case, the actors are excellent and this set of films — particularly his tribute to Blade Runner — is some of Miike’s most memorable combinations of absurdity and drama.

Special features include: new interview with actor Riki Takeuchi; new interview with actor Sho Aikawa; new interview with producer and screenwriter Toshiki Kimura; new audio commentary for Dead or Alive by Miike biographer Tom Mes; archive interviews with cast and crew; archive making-of featurettes for DOA2: Birds and DOA: Final; original theatrical trailers for all three films; and reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Orlando Arocena. (Arrow Video)

The Girl with All the Gifts (Blu-ray, DVD & Digital copy)

Humanity has been all but destroyed by a fungal disease that eradicates free will and turns its victims into flesh eating “hungries.” Only a small group of children seems immune to its effects. At an army base in rural England, these unique children are being studied and subjected to cruel experiments. When the base falls, one little girl escapes and must discover what she is, ultimately deciding both her own future and that of the human race.

The narrative drops audiences into a pivotal moment in the story, where the fate of humanity will be decided — either they will be saved or annihilated. But the solution is much less clear-cut and the odds shift frequently from one outcome to the other. The script is very subtle and draws the viewer along the journey of discovery and decision, though it’s never really clear who will be the one to decide the future of the human race until the choice is actually made. Information is revealed gradually and naturally within the narrative, never tending toward exposition. The film’s conclusion is unique, making it largely unpredictable and certainly one of the least conventional in the horror subgenre. The narrative often questions the characters’ ethics and the place for morality when the world is ending. Each of the actors explore these subjects in ways that are loyal to their fictional personalities, while imbuing them with the appropriate emotions or lack thereof.

Special features include: “Unwrap the Secret World of The Girl with All the Gifts.” (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)

Gold (Blu-ray, DVD & Digital copy)

Kenny Wells (Matthew McConaughey) is a prospector desperate for a lucky break who teams up with a similarly eager geologist, Michael Acosta (Edgar Ramírez). Together, they set off on an amazing journey to find gold in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia. Getting the gold was hard, but keeping it would be even harder, sparking an adventure through the most powerful boardrooms of Wall Street.

Kenny and Michael are very different people; the former is loud, crass and impulsive, while the latter is quiet, strategic and rational. Yet they share the same dream and together they make an unstoppable team. Surprisingly, the negotiations stateside are usually more interesting than the excavation — the only evidence they found something valuable is a piece of paper reporting the analysis of their samples and the happy dance that follows its receipt. Nonetheless, it’s the performances that will keep the audience’s attention. The role of Kenny was basically written for McConaughey. Even though he’s nearly unrecognizable, having gained about 40 lbs. and partially shaved his full head of hair to physically match the character, he flawlessly delivers all the character’s bravado over a layer of desperation, pig-headedness and compassion. Ramírez has a much more thoughtful part to play in the story as he feels like it all rests on his shoulders since he pinpointed the location; and even though his performance is subtler, he exudes the same desperation.

Special features include: commentary by director Stephen Gaghan; deleted sequence; “The Origins of Gold”; “The Locations of Gold”; and “Matthew McConaughey as Kenny Wells.” (Anchor Bay Entertainment)

La La Land (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray & Digital copy)

Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a dedicated jazz musician, are struggling to make ends meet in a city known for crushing hopes and breaking hearts. Set in modern-day Los Angeles, this original musical about everyday life explores the joy and pain of pursuing your dreams.

When the studio system was in full swing, one of its main branches was assigned to create movies of escape. Thus the big production musicals were born. The characters are usually fulfilling a dream of some sort (often artistic and highly impractical in the “real world”) while falling in love against beautiful backdrops and dancing to the soundtrack of their lives. While contemporary audiences generally scoff at these films’ idyllic portrayal of life, there’s something to be said for a film that simply makes you feel light. While not an all-out musical, this is the first film in a long time to capture the whimsical, romantic mood of the golden age of Hollywood. Stone and Gosling are delightful as the couple at the film’s centre. However it’s not all magical as their relationship eventually takes on a The Way We Were quality and the honeymoon period drifts into the struggles of day-to-day existence. The set design and locations for this picture are breathtaking in 4K, particularly the murals often occupying the background, while the cinematography frames each shot beautifully.

Special features include: commentary with writer/director Damien Chazelle and composer Justin Hurwitz; “Another Day of Sun: They Closed Down a Freeway”; “La La Land‘s Great Party”; “Ryan Gosling: Piano Student”; “Before Whiplash: Damien Chazelle’s Passion Project”; “La La Land‘s Love Letter to Los Angeles”; “The Music of La La Land”; “John Legend’s Acting Debut”; “The Look of Love: Designing La La Land”; “Ryan and Emma: Third Time’s the Charm”; “Epilogue: The Romance of the Dream”; “Damien & Justin Sing: The Demos”; and song selection. (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)

Man of La Mancha (Blu-ray)

Imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisition, author Miguel de Cervantes (Peter O’ Toole) and his servant must perform his most celebrated story for his fellow inmates: the tale of Alonso Quijana, a man who has lost his mind…and found his purpose. Renaming himself “Don Quixote de La Mancha,” he sets out for a musical adventure unlike any other.

This is a charming enactment of the classic novel, featuring O’Toole in the dual role of the writer Cervantes and the crazy hero who inspires the dispirited citizens of a small town to have hope. Sophia Loren portrays a woman who lives a discouraging life of servitude, enduring abuse from every man that crosses her path; but eventually she becomes one of Quixote’s devoted as he’s the only one who shows her any respect. He sees her as his beloved Dulcinea, and is willing to do anything to please her and win her affection. The film captures the novel’s enchanting mix of comedy and drama in a semi-musical, complete with the “tilting at windmills” scene in which Quixote tries to slay the giants/windmills.

There are no special features. (Shout Factory)

Underworld: Blood Wars (Blu-ray)

Vampire death dealer, Selene (Kate Beckinsale), fends off brutal attacks from both the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that betrayed her. With her only allies, David (Theo James) and his father Thomas (Charles Dance), she must stop the eternal war between Lycans and Vampires, even if it means she has to make the ultimate sacrifice.

The fifth film in the 14-year-old series picks up where the previous one left off. Having sent her daughter away to a location unknown even to her, Selene continues to fend off those who would have her unique blood. Yet in spite of her desire for solitude, she is pulled back into the war between Lycans and Vampires. Revealing Michael’s fate as well as David’s heritage, this picture compels its characters to come to terms with their pasts and futures. Selene is as much of a mess as her character permits, but she finds a new purpose in this film that actually opens the possibility for in intriguing sequel involving a new clan of vampires.

Special features include: “The Evolution of Selene”; “Building a Blood War”; “Old & New Blood”; “The Evil Evolved”; and official movie graphic novel. (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)