NEW ON THE SHELF
“MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN,” animated, with the voices of Ty Burrell, Max Charles. Admirably introducing a new generation to the quick-witted, surreal and hilarious universe of Jay Ward, creator of “Bullwinkle” and “Peabody’s Improbably History,” from which director Rob Minkoff (“The Lion King”) takes his inspiration, providing hyper-intelligent dog and tireless inventor Peabody (well voiced by Burrell of “Modern Family”) and his adopted son Sherman (Charles, “The Amazing Spider-Man”) with a delightfully dizzying big-screen adventure, hopping from era to era in an attempt to repair a time rift they’ve inadvertently created. Special features include interactive games and an interview with physicists regarding the possibility of time travel, among much else. Rated PG. Running time: 1:33. Suggested retail price: $29.98; Blu-ray $36.99.
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“X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST,” Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy. A triumphant return to form for the long-in-the-tooth, this seventh (!) installment in the ongoing comic book adaptation finds original director Bryan Singer back at the helm and in top form, orchestrating an expansive mission as the mutants elect to send Wolverine (Jackman) back in time to 1973 in an effort to prevent the war between humans and mutants by stopping Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from murdering Dr. Trask (Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones”). Unanimously approved by critics and fans alike, “Days of Future Past” proves there’s plenty of life in the series yet. Rated PG. Running time: 2:12.
Suggested retail price: $29.98; Blu-ray $39.99.
NEW TO DVD
“FARGO: THE COMPLETE SEASON ONE,” Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman. One of the year’s most unexpected treats, this expansion of the alternately quaint and deadly midwestern universe so memorably presented by the Coen brothers in their hit 1996 film of the same name. Thornton is a malevolent hoot as drifter/indiscriminate killer Lorne Malvo, whose arrival means nothing but bad news for small-town Minnesota. A darkly comic mini-masterpiece. Not rated. Running time: 9:21. Suggested retail price: $39.98; Blu-ray $49.99.
“PENNY DREADFUL: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON,” Josh Hartnett, Eva Green. Fans of the “Sherlock Holmes” movies and the works of Alan Moore (“Watchmen”) will find much to appreciate about this playful fantasy-mystery series, which teams disgraced cowboy Ethan Chandler (Hartnett, “Black Hawk Down”), intense medium Vanessa Ives (Green, “Casino Royale”), and wealthy explorer Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton, “Hot Fuzz”) on a quest to track down a missing girl, encountering all manner of supernatural beasties and familiar literary characters – including Dorian Gray and Dr. Frankenstein – along the way. Not rated. Running time: 7:15. Suggested retail price: $42.99; Blu-ray $48.99.
VIDEOPORT PICKS
“BENEATH THE HARVEST SKY,” Emory Cohen, Callan McAuliffe. No filmmaker in the business today understands Maine better than directors Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly. Having made a splash on the documentary scene with the affecting “The Way We Get By,” which gave the little-showcased Central Maine area its due, the filmmakers turn their cameras on Aroostook County, this time around trying their hand at fiction with a canny combo of crime drama and coming-of-age story, following high school friends Casper (Cohen, “The Place Beyond the Pines”) and Dominic (“The Great Gatsby”), both eager to leave their stagnant small town for greener pastures, but employing vastly different methods to do so, with Casper joining his father’s lucrative but dangerous drug smuggling business and Dominic opting to stick with the annual potato harvest like most of the community. With some breathtaking cinematography that captures our unique landscape like no film before it, “Beneath the Harvest Sky,” though not without its faults, is a beautifully done look at a distinctive area and culture. Not rated. Running time: 1:56. Suggested retail price: $19.99; Blu-ray $24.99.
“WHITEY: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA V. JAMES J. BULGER,” documentary in which the number two man on the FBI’s Most Wanted List (just under Osama Bin Laden) is finally put behind bars, and an Oscar-nominated and notoriously inquisitive documentarian – Joe Berlinger of the “Paradise Lost” series – has a few questions as to what took so long. The criminal in question: one James “Whitey” Bulger, a crime kingpin who terrorized the city of Boston for several decades before finally being brought to justice in 2011. Extensive interviews with both the families of Bulger’s victims and law enforcement officers. Rated R. Running time: 1:47. Suggested retail price: $26.98; Blu-ray $29.98.
– Courtesy of Videoport
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