Every week we dive into the cream of the crop when it comes to home releases, including Blu-ray and DVDs, as well as recommended deals of the week. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best (or most interesting) films one can take home. Note that if you’re looking to support the site, every purchase you make through the links below helps us and is greatly appreciated.
Li’l Quinquin (Bruno Dumont)
It’s difficult not to be impressed by the subtlety of what Dumont has done here. He parodies a procedural without taking weight away from the actual crime at hand, and he allows characters to slowly show themselves to us — not through a series of escalating events, but rather by riffing on the same thing repeatedly. A body turns up, the cops do their questioning and theorize, barely making visible progress; Quinquin passes time with Eve and bullies those he can with his buddies, never actually getting into hot water or seeming particularly threatening. He lets a scene play out a little longer than is narratively necessary to showcase character habits: Van der Weyden always announces that it’s time to exit by telling Carpentier “let’s roll,” while Carpentier prefers to drive in a complete circle when making that exit. They also tend to refer to “The Devil,” but one can’t help but wonder if Dumont’s Atheist side is using the title “Allahu Akbar” to suggest that it may be the old-testament God, punishing residents — and France, by extension — for its vices. Whatever the case, Li’l Quinquin exists to suggest and provoke rather than declare, and is all the better for it. – Forrest C. (full review)
The Wire: The Complete Series
While we normally don’t focus on television here, we’ll give a shout-out to the medium’s finest accomplishment, The Wire. The high-resolution upgrade has caused some controversy when it comes to the aspect ratios (David Simon weighs in here), but we imagine it’s a must-own for fans of the sprawling show. Spanning 20 discs, most of the special features are from previous releases, but they include a dozen audio commentaries, prequel shorts, a Q&A with Dvaid Simon, a behind-the-scenes documentary and more. – Jordan R.
Also Arriving This Week
Camp X-Ray (review)
Focus (review)
Jupiter Ascending (review)
McFarland, USA (review)
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (review)
Recommended Deals of the Week
(Note: new additions are in red)
Adaptation (Blu-ray) – $5.99
A Most Wanted Man (Blu-ray) – $9.96
The American (Blu-ray) – $6.75
Amelie (Blu-ray) – $6.67
Anna Karenina (Blu-ray) – $12.02
Beginners (Blu-ray) – $9.10
Black Swan (Blu-ray) – $7.04
Boyhood (Blu-ray) – $14.96
Bronson (Blu-ray) – $10.91
The Brothers Bloom (Blu-ray) – $7.95
The Cabin in the Woods (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Casino (Blu-ray) – $8.90
Captain Phillips (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Cloverfield (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Collateral (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Do the Right Thing (Blu-ray) – $8.62
Drive (Blu-ray) – $7.99
The Fly (Blu-ray) – $6.99
Gangs of New York (Blu-ray) – $7.50
Godzilla (Blu-ray) – $12.36
Gone Girl (Blu-ray) – $14.99
Goodfellas (Blu-ray) – $8.35
Good Will Hunting (Blu-ray) – $7.50
The Grey (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Haywire (Blu-ray) – $7.64
Hot Fuzz (Blu-ray) – $7.88
The Illusionist (Blu-ray) – $9.99
The Immigrant (Blu-ray) – $14.99
Inglorious Basterds (Blu-ray) – $8.73
Jackie Brown (Blu-ray) – $5.00
Jane Eyre (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Jaws (Blu-ray) – $10.99
The Jurassic Park Collection (Blu-ray) – $26.99
Killing Them Softly (Blu-ray) – $6.96
L.A. Confidential (Blu-ray) – $8.53
The Lady From Shanghai (Blu-ray) – $8.99
Looper (Blu-ray) – $9.96
Lost In Translation (Blu-ray) – $8.73
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Blu-ray) – $6.49
Margaret (Blu-ray) – $9.49
Martha Marcy May Marlene (Blu-ray) – $6.99
Michael Clayton (Blu-ray) – $5.00
Never Let Me Go (Blu-ray) – $6.20
No Country For Old Men (Blu-ray) – $4.96
Observe & Report (Blu-ray) – $7.49
Office Space (Blu-ray) – $6.96
Pariah (Blu-ray) – $6.13
Persepolis (Blu-ray) – $6.50
Prisoners (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Public Enemies (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Pulp Fiction (Blu-ray) – $7.00
Reality Bites (Blu-ray) – $8.72
The Secret In Their Eyes (Blu-ray) – $6.72
A Serious Man (Blu-ray) – $9.94
Seven (Blu-ray) – $7.00
Seven Psychopaths (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Shutter Island (Blu-ray) – $6.91
A Single Man (Blu-ray) – $6.99
The Social Network (Blu-ray) – $9.96
The Spectacular Now (Blu-ray) – $7.88
Spring Breakers (Blu-ray) – $9.96
Synecdoche, NY (Blu-ray) – $6.57
There Will Be Blood (Blu-ray) – $7.88
The Tree of Life (Blu-ray) – $6.81
The Truman Show (Blu-ray) – $7.99
True Grit (Blu-ray) – $7.88
This is the End (Blu-ray) – $9.99
Vanilla Sky (Blu-ray pre-order) – $8.33
We Own the Night (Blu-ray) – $8.99
Where the Wild Things Are (Blu-ray) – $6.94
Whiplash (Blu-ray) – $14.99
The Wrestler (Blu-ray) – $6.73
Zero Dark Thirty (Blu-ray) – $9.96
What are you picking up this week?