Home Entertainment Guide: February 20, 2020

5 NEW TO NETFLIX

"A Bad Moms Christmas"
"The Ballad of Lefty Brown"
"By the Sea"
"Good Time"
"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"

8 NEW TO BLU-RAY/DVD

"21 Bridges"

Chadwick Boseman stars in a relatively no-frills thriller of the kind of that Tony Scott might have made with Denzel Washington twenty years ago. The market for this kind of old-fashioned shoot-em-up has kind of disappeared over the years as more people turn to TV, typically CBS, for stories of lawmen fighting against bad guys with guns. "21 Bridges" is the story of a drug heist gone totally haywire when seven cops end up dead. The criminals, led by the excellent Stephan James, can't even figure out how they got into this mess, while Boseman plays the cop who suspects there's more to this story than meets the eye. The over-qualified cast includes J.K. Simmons and Sienna Miller. The title refers to the ways in and out of Manhattan, which the cops close overnight to catch the cop killers. There aren't quite 21 thrills in this movie, but it's a solid softball down the middle, reasonably diverting for a rental, but pretty forgettable after your viewing window expires. 

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Special Features
Deleted Scenes
Feature Commentary with Director Brian Kirk

"Antonio Gaudi" (Criterion)

Hiroshi Teshigahara's study of the work of Antoni Gaudi isn't so much a documentary as a tone poem that uses real footage of an architect's work. You'll learn more about Gaudi himself from a documentary in the special features called "God's Architect," but the film itself is a captivating, mesmerizing example of one art (filmmaking) meeting another (architecture). Look closely at how Teshigahara uses his camera—what he chooses to zoom in on, how long he holds a shot, what he chooses to pan over or stay static in the full frame. It's a fascinating piece of filmmaking, a unique addition to the Criterion Collection. 

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Special Features
High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Interview from 2008 with architect Arata Isozaki
Gaudí, Catalunya, 1959, footage from director Hiroshi Teshigahara’s first trip to Spain
God’s Architect: Antoni Gaudí, an hour-long documentary from 2003 on the architect’s life and work
BBC program from 1961 on Gaudí by filmmaker Ken Russell
Sculptures by Sofu—Vita, a 1963 short film by Teshigahara on the sculpture work of his father, Sofu Teshigahara
Trailer
PLUS: An essay by art historian Dore Ashton, a 1986 reminiscence by Hiroshi Teshigahara, and excerpts from a 1959 conversation among the Teshigaharas and others about their trip to the West

"A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"

The national response to Tom Hanks playing Fred Rogers was basically, "Yeah, that makes sense." Who else could play one of the most beloved figures in entertainment history than, well, one of the most beloved actors in entertainment history? However, it's a bit reductive to consider this just a bit of stunt casting, as Hanks gives a delicate, nuanced performance as Rogers, finding the core of what him so deeply empathetic instead of just putting on a costume and an accent. It's also worth noting that this isn't really Rogers/Hanks' movie. It's more about the impact of Rogers' compassionate worldview, and how we could all learn a lesson or two from a trip to the Neighborhood.

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Special Features
Over 15 Minutes of Additional Scenes
Blooper Reel
Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers
The People Who Make a Neighborhood: The Making Of
Dreaming Big, Building Small: The Puppets & Miniatures
Daniel Tiger Explains: Practice Makes Perfect
Filmmaker Commentary

"Ford v Ferrari"

One of the more interesting box office stories of 2019 was the massive financial success of James Mangold's "Ford v Ferrari," a film that seemed to tap an underserved demographic. A movie with no superheroes has made over $220 million worldwide. When people say that there aren't movies made for adults, point them to this Oscar winner, which clearly struck a chord with audiences around the world. Personally, I think it's a fine movie, a little too long and a little too dry, but competent in every single technical element and enhanced by strong performances throughout, especially Christian Bale, Matt Damon, and Tracy Letts. It's a bit too formulaic for my tastes, but it's clearly a winning formula nonetheless. 

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Special Features
"The 24 Hour Le Mans: Recreating the Course" Featurette 
Pre-Vis: Daytona & Le Mans Races 
"Bringing The Rivalry to Life" 

"My Bloody Valentine"

One of the most essential films from the slasher subgenre that dominated the '80s finally gets the lavish Scream Factory treatment, and it's a much better film than I remembered. Often in the shadow of the kings like Jason and Michael Myers, people forget about the story of a vengeful miner who slashes his way through a Valentine's Day party largely because it doesn't fit a lot of the templates of the genre, although that's one of the things that makes it more interesting four decades later. First, it's interesting to watch a cast of blue collar workers instead of teen camp counselors, and, second, it's a film that's downright Italian in its use of gore. There's a reason that Quentin Tarantino has named it one of his favorites of the genre. Find out why. 

Buy it here

Special Features
BRAND NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
NEW An Anemic Valentine – an interview with director George Mihalka
NEW Friends of Mine – an interview with actress Lori Hallier
NEW From the Heart – an interview with actor Paul Kelman
NEW Axel, Be My Valentine – an interview with actor Neil Affleck
NEW Becoming Sylvia – an interview with actress Helene Udy
NEW The Secret Keeper – an interview with actor Rob Stein
NEW Broken Hearts and Broken Bones – an interview with special makeup effects designer Tom Burman
NEW Holes in the Heart – a look at the difference between the theatrical version and the uncut version
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spots
Radio Spots
Still Gallery
NEW Audio Commentary with director George Mihalka
MY BLOODY VALENTINE 35th Anniversary Cast Reunion Panel At The Bay Of Blood Convention In Florida Featuring Director George Mihalka, Cast Members Lori Hallier, Helene Udy, Rob Stein, Peter Cowper, Thomas Kovacs, Jim Murchison, Alf Humphreys, And Hosted By Brian Singleton
Thomas Kovacs Performs "The Ballad Of Harry Warden" At The Bay Of Blood Convention With Peter Cowper And Jim Murchison

"Roma" (Criterion)

One of the major stories of physical media in 2020 is going to be the fact that Netflix is releasing some of their biggest films through the Criterion Collection, merging two of the biggest voices in entertainment today. For years now, Netflix original films weren't available in a physical form at all, and everyone wondered if they ever would be. The fact is that a vast majority of them likely never will be, but Netflix and Criterion are teaming on a select few, including "Marriage Story," "American Factory," "Atlantics," and "The Irishman." Before that quartet, they usher in this partnership with their masterpiece, the Oscar-winning "Roma," a deeply personal and powerful piece of work from Alfonso Cuaron. We've written so much at this site about "Roma" that there isn't much to add to the conversation other than I'm very happy that this partnership exists. There's something about holding a film in your hands that makes it feel more permanently a part of your life. Even if you have Netflix, you should own "Roma."

Buy it here 

Special Features
4K digital master, supervised by director Alfonso Cuarón, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Road to “Roma,” a new documentary about the making of the film, featuring behind-the-scenes footage and an interview with Cuarón
Snapshots from the Set, a new documentary featuring actors Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira, producers Gabriela Rodríguez and Nicolás Celis, production designer Eugenio Caballero, casting director Luis Rosales, executive producer David Linde, and others
New documentaries about the film’s sound and postproduction processes, featuring Cuarón; Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay, and Craig Henighan from the postproduction sound team; editor Adam Gough; postproduction supervisor Carlos Morales; and finishing artist Steven J. Scott
New documentary about the film’s ambitious theatrical campaign and social impact in Mexico, featuring Celis and Rodríguez
Trailers
Alternate French subtitles and Spanish SDH
PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by novelist Valeria Luiselli, historian Enrique Krauze, and (with the Blu-ray) writing by author Aurelio Asiain, along with production-design images with notes by Caballero

"Shutter Island"

Paramount quietly celebrated the 10th anniversary of one of Martin Scorsese's best and most underrated films by releasing his adaptation of the great Dennis Lehane novel in a gorgeously remastered 4K edition. I will never understand why "Shutter Island" isn't included more in the conversation about Scorsese's best films. It made my top ten in 2010, and it has never looked as good as it does on this 4K release. If there's any complaint, it's that Paramount didn't produce any new special features, but the transfer of this visually striking film alone is enough. One more thing: if you have to so, you owe it to yourself to read this amazing piece by our own Glenn Kenny on the film, and also on other things too.

Buy it here 

Special Features
"Behind the Shutters"
"Into the Lighthouse"

"Teorema" (Criterion)

Pier Paolo Passolini's "Salo" and "Canterbury Tales" are already in the Criterion Collection, but they just added one of his most controversial films, a movie that was banned by the Catholic Church for its "degeneracy." It's a nearly dialogue-free film about a stranger, played by the wonderful Terence Stamp, who basically dismantles a wealthy family with his sexuality. Pasolini's film is wide open to interpretation, and a number of great pieces have been written about it over the years, but the new 4K transfer allows one to merely appreciate its sensual visuals and beautiful score. Pasolini played with sex and identity in his art, and this is one of his early fascinating ventures into doing so. It's not his best film, or the best Criterion release you could buy this week, but if you're a Pasolini fan, it's a must-own. 

Buy it here 

Special Features
New, restored 4K digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Alternate English-dubbed soundtrack featuring the voices of actor Terence Stamp and others
Audio commentary from 2007 featuring Robert S. C. Gordon, author of Pasolini: Forms of Subjectivity
Introduction by director Pier Paolo Pasolini from 1969
Interview from 2007 with Stamp
New interview with John David Rhodes, author of Stupendous, Miserable City: Pasolini’s Rome
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by film scholar James Quandt

"The Twilight Zone: Season One"

Jordan Peele's CBS All Access reboot of "The Twilight Zone" became a divisive 2019 program. Having seen the first four, I was a huge fan when I reviewed it, but I'll admit that there were some rocky chapters that followed. Like any anthology series, even Serling's original, they're not all going to work. I still, as a whole, find Peele's vision here captivating and I appreciate the risks his show was willing to take. I'm looking forward to where they go in season two.