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.
Amy (Asif Kapadia)
Asif Kapadia came onto most cinematic radars in 2010 with his BAFTA award winning Senna, a terrific documentary on the life and tragic death of Formula 1 race car driver Ayrton Senna. The subject matter of his follow-up documentary doesn’t seem, at first, to be a million miles away. Amy, which screened out of competition in Cannes, follows the meteoric rise and tragic fall of the late singer Amy Winehouse. It is a devastating, infuriating and sometimes breathtaking watch, and through his remarkable editing, Kapadia finds some startling truths lurking behind all the music, tabloids and nonsense. – Rory O. (full review)
Mistress America (Noah Baumbach)
Something happened to Noah Baumbach. The writer-director behind Greenberg, Margot at the Wedding, and The Squid in the Whale never once pulled a punch as a storyteller, telling honest and emotional stories. What’s great about his more cringe-inducing work is that, underneath all the pain, there’s still a sense of optimism; Baumbach truly roots for his characters to pull their lives together. Now, after Frances Ha, While We’re Young, and Mistress America, the director has a new demeanor; he’s making genuinely happy movies. “Warm” and “fuzzy” aren’t exactly labels associated with Baumbach’s past work, but apparently he does the two exceedingly well. If this new Baumbach is here to stay, he’s more than welcome to stick around. – Jack G. (full review)
Mississippi Grind (Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden)
After breaking out with the bleak, masterful character study Half Nelson, filmmaking duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck took on baseball with the under-appreciated Sugar and mental illness with It’s Kind of a Funny Story. Some five years later, they are back with the freewheelin’ fun of Mississippi Grind, a good-natured but ultimately conventional exploration of the sadness and loneliness that comes with a gambling addiction. – Jordan R. (full review)
Also Arriving This Week
Cooties
Downhill Racer
Goodnight Mommy (review)
The Hunting Ground (review)
Tokyo Tribe (review)
Yakuza Apocalypse (review)
Recommended Deals of the Week
Adaptation (Blu-ray) – $7.89
Alfred Hitchcock: The Essentials Collection (Blu-ray) – $30.00
A Clockwork Orange (Blu-ray) – $9.65
A Most Violent Year (Blu-ray) – $9.00
A Separation (Blu-ray) – $7.51
A Serious Man (Blu-ray) – $9.98
The American (Blu-ray) – $8.48
Amelie (Blu-ray) – $8.99
Beginners (Blu-ray) – $7.00
Blackhat (Blu-ray) – $9.35
Black Swan (Blu-ray) – $8.34
The Bling Ring (Blu-ray) – $7.99
Breaking Bad: The Complete Series (Blu-ray) – $69.99
The Brothers Bloom (Blu-ray) – $8.21
The Cabin in the Woods (Blu-ray) – $7.64
Captain Phillips (Blu-ray) – $8.65
Casino (Blu-ray) – $9.49
Children of Men (Blu-ray) – $9.49
Drive (Blu-ray) – $5.99
Eastern Promises (Blu-ray) – $8.00
Enemy (Blu-ray) – $9.96
Ex Machina (Blu-ray) – $11.00
Gangs of New York (Blu-ray) – $4.25
Godzilla (Blu-ray) – $6.70
Gone Girl (Blu-ray) – $6.96
Goodfellas (Blu-ray) – $7.00
Good Will Hunting (Blu-ray) – $7.50
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Blu-ray) – $11.49
The Guest (Blu-ray) – $9.35
Herzog: The Collection (Blu-ray) – $86.01
A History of Violence (Blu-ray) – $9.69
Inglorious Basterds (Blu-ray) – $9.39
It Follows (Blu-ray) – $12.99
Jack Reacher (Blu-ray) – $9.96
Kingdom of Heaven 10th Anniversary (Blu-ray) – $8.07
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Blu-ray) – $9.69
The Knick: Season 1 (Blu-ray) – $14.96
Kubrick: The Masterpiece Collection (Blu-ray) – $86.49
The Lady From Shanghai (Blu-ray) – $7.49
Laura (Blu-ray) – $9.62
Lincoln (Blu-ray) – $10.34
Looper (Blu-ray) – $9.93
Lost In Translation (Blu-ray) – $9.49
Magic Mike (Blu-ray) – $6.69
Magnolia (Blu-ray) – $9.69
Margaret (Blu-ray) – $9.49
Martha Marcy May Marlene (Blu-ray) – $5.39
The Master (Blu-ray) – $9.78
Michael Clayton (Blu-ray) – $9.65
Never Let Me Go (Blu-ray) – $8.19
Nightcrawler (Blu-ray) – $9.96
No Country For Old Men (Blu-ray) – $5.05
Observe & Report (Blu-ray) – $7.49
ParaNorman (Blu-ray) – $5.00
Pariah (Blu-ray) – $6.73
Persepolis (Blu-ray) – $6.49
Pulp Fiction (Blu-ray) – $7.68
Reality Bites (Blu-ray) – $9.63
Re-Animator (Blu-ray) – $7.92
Road to Perdition (Blu-ray) – $8.24
Seven (Blu-ray) – $7.50
Seven Psychopaths (Blu-ray) – $6.99
Short Term 12 (Blu-ray) – $9.89
Side Effects (Blu-ray) – $5.00
A Single Man (Blu-ray) – $6.14
Steven Spielberg Director’s Collection (Blu-ray) – $50.00
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (Blu-ray) – $12.99
Synecdoche, NY (Blu-ray) – $5.75
There Will Be Blood (Blu-ray) – $7.81
The Tree of Life (Blu-ray) – $6.87
Titanic (Blu-ray) – $7.00
Trick ‘r Treat (Blu-ray) – $9.69
The Truman Show (Blu-ray) – $7.84
True Grit (Blu-ray) – $9.38
This is the End (Blu-ray) – $8.49
Under the Skin (Blu-ray) – $9.99
We Own the Night (Blu-ray) – $6.89
Where the Wild Things Are (Blu-ray) – $7.95
While We’re Young (Blu-ray) – $9.00
The Wire: The Complete Series (Blu-ray) – $79.99
The Wolf of Wall Street (Blu-ray) – $9.00
The Wrestler (Blu-ray) – $6.37
Zero Dark Thirty (Blu-ray) – $9.99
What are you picking up this week?