In which I report on what movies and TV shows are being released on BluRay and DVD this month.
At the beginning of every month, I stop off at my local Family Video and pick up their flier of new releases for the next month. Becky and I then sit down and mark off which we've already seen and which we want to check out. The more I thought about it, the more that I realized that this is pretty much exactly what
I do with Netflix each month already, and it would probably be in everybody's best interest to keep you all up to date on what's new to watch on home video (especially those of you not fortunate enough to live across the street from a Family Video). So without further ado, here are the best, best looking and biggest movies that are coming out this month on BluRay and DVD this month:
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 - Say what you will about money-grubbing studios whose sole interest is milking this broken franchise for all it's worth by splitting the last book into two films, but it was actually in the best interests of this film.
Mockingjay was a surprisingly plot-dense book that crammed far too much material into far too small a space, then told its story from the least interesting perspective possible. The film, for all of its conceptual faults,
Mockingjay - Part 1 gave the story room to breathe, opted to not tear down its iconic protagonist until she's unrecognizably shell-shocked and showed the other half of the propaganda war it was waging - allowing us to
see the effect that Katniss' involvement was having on the rebellion. It solved my every issue with the book (or at least its first half) and was a far better film than it ever was a book.
Release Date: March 3
Foxcatcher - Despite failing to win over the Academy,
Foxcatcher was #9 on my list of
ten movies to see before Oscar night. It's a wonderfully subtle character study that shows off the very best work of its three principle leads. Fans of Tatum, Rufallo and an against-type Carell would be loathe to miss this tragic, almost fatalistic biopic of John du Pont and the two men whose lives he destroyed.
Release Date: March 3
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb - While I've never been a fan of either of the previous
Night at the Museum Movies - both of which were ultimately average and forgettable - I am a fan of Robin Williams. And as one of the last films he appeared in before his untimely death, it acts as a sort of time-delayed goodbye: one last chance to see him in action.
Secret of the Tomb had the misfortune of coming out at a time when theaters were weighed down by prestige films and superior winter blockbusters, so I didn't get a chance to see it then. Now that the theaters are showing mostly disappointing fare, however, it's high time to give this one a chance.
Release Date: March 10
Wolf Cop - I can't say that this film looks good, but I can say that it looks like great B-grade fun. I mean, with a title like
Wolf Cop and a tag line like "Half man, half wolf, all cop," how can you lose?
Release Date: March 10
Exodus: Gods and Kings - Although the reviews that came out about this movie were less than positive - my personal favorite compared it to a Funimation cartoon - there's no denying the visual spectacle of seeing the plagues of Egypt rendered in staggeringly good, modern special effects. Like
Jupiter Ascending, everything good about this movie is visual: the production design, prop design, costume design and, yes, the CG. That doesn't make it a good movie, but it does make it easy enough to sit through. And for those of an especially religious bent, the subject matter will be a satisfying one.
Release Date: March 17
Annie - While
Annie did top a lot of critics worst of the year lists (at least the ones that I follow), there's little way to get around that this is a crowd pleaser. Starring a pair of Oscar-nominated actors in a hip-hop update to a beloved musical classic, there was little chance that this would fail to find an audience. The songs were well enough and there's no denying that they assembled a good cast (albeit a largely misused one), so it's a reasonable choice for a family movie when the adults get tired of cartoons. Speaking of which...
Release Date: March 17
Penguins of Madagascar - This is the umpteenth sequel to a movie that I didn't really care all that much for in the first place (a lot like my recent discussion of
the Despicable Me series). It's loud, dizzyingly frenetic and the definition of simplistic. And yet, there is a certain appeal there for children, especially for those who grew up on fast-paced animation like Spongebob. I wouldn't recommend that any adults seek this out themselves, but families could do worse that showing this to their kids for an evening.
Release Date: March 17
Top Five - This is another end-of-year release that I might have gotten around to seeing if it wasn't squaring off against a far better-looking set of movies. And at this point I actually regret that, seeing how many critics I follow called it one of the best movies of 2014. Now, I'm not especially fond of Chris Rock and I couldn't possibly list of five rappers that I liked, but there still seems to be something there for my kind of admittedly white-bread crowd. I look forward to checking this out and seeing what all of the fuss has been about.
Release Date: March 17
Song of the Sea - At first, I resented this movie for taking
The Lego Movie's
Best Animated Feature slot at the Oscars (given the sad truth that
The Box Trolls was already guaranteed a spot). But when I finally got over that admittedly petty grievance, it actually looks to be one of the most visually stunning films of the year (a year, remember that also included the stunningly animated
Tale of the Princess Kaguya). The story, likewise, seems to be as ambitious as it is inspired. Of all of the movies coming out on the 17th, this is easily my highest priority to see.
Release Date: March 17
Unbroken - This was not a good movie. It was an insipidly by-the-numbers historical drama that is like everything else that you've already seen, only without whatever charm or heart made them unique. That's not to say that it's a bad movie, just that there are innumerably better movies out there - even WWII prisoner of war movies - for you to check out. That being said, it's an inoffensively decent-made film that you could do worse than seeing. It all comes down to how much you value your time.
Release Date: March 24
The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies - Peter Jackson's bloated, over-long, cash-grabbing Hobbit trilogy is finally over and done with, begging the question of how long it'll be before he starts pre-production on
The Silmarillian. And although it was needlessly extended from a single book, the trilogy does include some of the best footage from any of Jackson's Tolkien adaptations, particularly the
Riddles in the Dark segment from
An Unexpected Journey. So while bloated, it's fun; while inflated, it is exciting; and while flawed, it is never the less an admirable rendition of Tolkien's introduction to Middle Earth.
Release Date: March 24
Into the Woods -
I've already gone off on this infectiously, toe-tappingly fun musical. It has a remarkable cast, exquisite musical numbers and one of the most heart-rending stories you could hope to find in theaters this winter. And while it does lose some of the satirical edge of its theatrical forebear, it's a wonderfully revisionist take on classic fairy tales that seems to be Disney's live action bread and butter these days. I know that a lot of people skipped out of this during its theatrical run, and that's really a shame. Don't continue to pass it up on home video!
Release Date: March 24
Interstellar - Don't let its appearance in purely technical categories at this year's Oscars fool you,
Interstellar is one of
the best movies of 2014. It's ambitiously conceived, breathtakingly shot and mind-blowingly realized. And let's not also forget it's phenomenal cast, who bring the story to life through their unquestionably excellent performances. This is the
2001 for a new generation of cinephiles, and one that will be loved and studied for decades after its Academy snubs have been forgotten.
Release Date: March 31
The Imitation Game - This was Becky's favorite of the
Best Picture nominees, and I can certainly understand why. This historical drama about Alan Turing - the man who broke the Nazi Enigma Code during World War II only to be persecuted by his own government for being a homosexual in its aftermath - is one of the most coldly moving films of the last year. Benedict Cumberbatch is utterly resplendent in the lead and is surrounded by nearly as talented a cast to help flesh out the story. Be sure to check this one out while its Oscar success keeps it in theaters for another week or two.
Release Date: March 31
Wild - This was the other non-Best Picture nominee on my list of movies to see before last month's Oscar ceremony. Even though it wasn't nominated for much, it was a strong contender in two of the acting races, directed by the man who helped Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto win Oscars for their performances in
Dallas Buyers Club.
Wild also marks a return to form of Reese Witherspoon, who has been largely absent from good movies since her win for Best Actress for
Walk the Line. Fans of Witherspoon or female lead dramas should be sure to check this one out when it hits shelves at the end of the month.
Release Date: March 31
So what movie coming out this month are you most interested in seeing?
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