2013

Two darkly comic indie films make their way to Blu-ray from IFC and Drafthouse Films, one steeped in bizarre magical realism and the other a downward spiral in a blue-collar neighborhood.

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Generation War provides a German perspective on the events of World War II through the eyes of five young people who experience the war in profoundly different ways.

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Ben Stiller’s ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ and Mark Mori’s documentary ‘Bettie Page Reveals All’ make their way to Blu-ray and DVD.

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Two films from last year that both employ odd narration strategies couldn’t be farther apart in tone, actually. Here’s a review of American Hustle and The Book Thief, new out on Blu-ray now:

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Unfortunately the weather made True/False Fest end on a chilly note. With temperatures at a high of 12 degrees, freezing rain, and some snow fall you didn’t see as big of crowds as you did on Friday, but the show went on and people still came out to films. The last film I enjoyed on this weekend filled with films was Jodorowsky’s Dune, and it was an excellent end note!

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The only shock that registered when Spike Lee’s Oldboy was released in theaters was at how little money it made. It shows just how far violence in the movies has come in 10 short years, because this new Oldboy — released today on Blu-ray and packaged with a digital copy — is technically more overtly graphic.

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Directed by Cynthia Hill, Private Violence is one of the most heart-wrenching documentaries that I have seen at True/False Fest this year.

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Producer and director Penn and Teller make this easy-to-approach documentary a comedic journey, and explain Tim’s process in a way that everyone can understand.

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There’s an immersive summer camp experience waiting for her Keri Russell in ‘Austenland,’ out on Blu-ray, where actors in period costumes play out the typical Austen roles as women like her live out their fantasies. Like strippers, however, there is no actual intimacy at Austenland.

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The Armstrong Lie is a fascinating portrait of a man in denial, told from the firsthand perspective of Gibney, who himself was duped at a certain level by Armstrong’s own confidence and charm. Wadjda is about an 11-year-old girl in Saudi Arabia who longs for some of the same freedoms that women in the Western world take for granted.

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Out on DVD now, the independent horror movie Banshee Chapter is a weird amalgamation of a found-footage movie and a governmental conspiracy thriller.

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This weekend the Screenland Armour is the home of Panic Fest, a horror and thriller film fest with vendors that acts as general celebration of everything creepy, crawly, and scary. It’s a great fest for people who like their horror a little more off the beaten path than the latest uninspired remake of whatever classic horror film Hollywood is butchering next.

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If the broad lowest-common denominator comedy Last Vegas is The Hangover of oldster party movies, then the indie feature Old Goats is that genre’s Best in Show.

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Ralph Fiennes‘ second feature as director, The Invisible Woman, is a gauzy and beautiful period piece, but the film’s lack of a specific cinematic perspective leaves it wanting.

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Filmed in the docudrama style that has become Paul Greengrass’s trademark, ‘Captain Phillips’ is out now in a Blu-ray/DVD/Ultraviolet Combo Pack.

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