DISCussion: New on DVD and Blu-ray (10.21.14)

While the two Criterion re-releases this week posed some tough competition, we have chosen Joon-ho Bong's Snowpiercer as our Recommendation of the Week. New Release: Snowpiercer – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) The Purge: Anarchy – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) A Letter to Momo – (DVD and Instant) Earth to Echo – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Life After Beth – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Sex Tape – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Fluffy Movie – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Re-Release: F for Fake – (Criterion Blu-ray) La Dolce Vita – (Criterion Blu-ray)   Snowpiercer – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) *Recommendation of the Week* Directed by Joon-ho Bong Written by Joon-ho Bong (screenplay and screen story), Kelly Masterson (screenplay), Jacques Lob (based on Transperceneige by), Benjamin Legrand (based on Transperceneige by) and Jean-Marc Rochette (based on Transperceneige by) Starring: Chris Evans, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton Set in a dystopian future where mankind's attempt to curb global warming has turned the globe into a ball of ice, a single train circumnavigates the globe. Unceasing in its movement, the train is perpetually in motion to keep its passengers from freezing. Segregated by classes, the wealthy proletariats inhabit the front sections while the poor huddle together in the rear. Tired of the oppressive treatment, Curtis (Evans) leads an uprising to seize power from the front of the train. A brilliantly fresh take on a classic power-struggle narrative, Joon-ho Bong's foray into American cinema was greeted with almost universal acclaim. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 95% (Excellent) Metacritic: 84 (Very Good) IMDB: 7.0 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 9/10 (Read our Review) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $14.94 (Blu-ray); $11.98 (DVD); $3.99/$14.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   The Purge: Anarchy – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed and written by James DeMonaco Starring: Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford The follow-up to the low-budget success, The Purge, the sequel centers around a couple stranded outside as the annual “purge” begins. In a “utopian” future America, the government has allowed a yearly 12-hour period of lawlessness to curb violence. As a young couple hopes to make it home safely before the crime grace-period begins, they become stranded when their car breaks down. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 57% (Rotten) Metacritic: 50 (Okay) IMDB: 6.6 (Good) Entertainment Fuse: 7/10 (Read our Review) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $22.99 (Blu-ray); $16.99 (DVD); $4.99/$14.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   A Letter to Momo – (DVD and Instant) Directed and written by Hiroyuki Okiura Starring: Karen Miyama, Yuka, Diazaburo Arakawa Years in the making, A Letter to Momo is a beautifully hand-drawn anime film from writer/director Hiroyuki Okiura. When young Momo's father dies, he leaves her with an unfinished letter. Traveling with her mother to live with her grandmother on the remote island of Shio, Momo soon finds that bizarre things are occurring all around her. Finally discovering a trio of playful yoaki (spirits) that only she can see, Momo uses their help to discover the rest of the unwritten letter. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 77% (Good) Metacritic: 65 (Good) IMDB: 7.3 (Very Good) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $17.97 (DVD); $3.99/$12.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   Earth to Echo – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Dave Green Written by Henry Gayden (screenplay and story), and Andrew Panay (story) Starring: Teo Halm, Astro, Reese Hartwig When a group of young kids begin receiving strange messages on their phones, they go on a quest to find its source. Discovering its origins, the kids are amazed to have found a stranded alien, and quickly join forces to help it get home. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 48% (Bad) Metacritic: 53 (Okay) IMDB: 5.7 (Okay) Entertainment Fuse: 7/10 (Read our Review) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $19.96 (Blu-ray); $14.96 (DVD); $3.99/$12.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   Life After Beth – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed and written by Jeff Baena Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly When Zach Orfman's (DeHaan) girlfriend succumbs to a fatal snake bite, he is shunned by her parents. Wondering about their coldness, he discovers that they have been hiding the recently-resurrected Beth (Plaza). With Beth back in his life, all is going well until her zombified behavior becomes more and more erratic. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 46% (Bad) Metacritic: 50 (Okay) IMDB: 5.7 (Okay) DISC DETAILS Special Features: Commentary from actors Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, Matthew Gray Gubler and director Jeff Baena; “Life After Beth: The Post Mortem” making-of featurette; Deleted Scenes; Trailers Amazon: $18.98 (Blu-ray); $12.94 (DVD); $3.99/$9.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy) Score (DVDTalk.com): Content: 4 stars(out of 5); Video: 4.5 stars; Audio: 4.5 stars; Extras: 3.5 stars; Replay: 3.4 stars. Highly Recommended.   Sex Tape – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Jake Kasdan Written by Kate Angelo (screenplay and story), Jason Segel (screenplay) and Nicholas Stoller screenplay) Starring: Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, Rob Corddry A couple seeks out the location of “the cloud” in order to destroy a sex tape that they inadvertently uploaded to the internet. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 18% (Pretty much sums it up) Metacritic: 36 (Very Bad) IMDB: 5.1 (Okay) Entertainment Fuse: 4/10 DISC DETAILS Amazon: $19.99 (Blu-ray); $16.98 (DVD); $4.99/$12.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   Fluffy Movie – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Manny Rodriguez and Jay Lavender (Opening Segment Director) Starring: Gabriel Iglesias, Jacqueline Obradors, Gina Brillon A stand-up comedy movie that uses footage from various locations in Gabrial Iglesias' “Unity Through Laughter” worldwide tour. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 54% (Rotten) Metacritic: 56 (Okay) IMDB: 6.2 (Good) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $22.99 (Blu-ray); $19.99 (DVD); $4.99/$14.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)     F for Fake – (Criterion Blu-ray) Directed and written by Orson Wells Starring: Orson Wells, Oja Kodar, Joseph Cotten Orson Well's film on fakery. True to form, Wells takes his audience on an exploration through untruth via the art forgery of Elmyr de Hory, and the subsequent biographical fakery committed by Clifford Irving. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 88% (Very Good @ 30 Reviews) IMDB: 7.9 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 9.5/10 DISC DETAILS Special Features: High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray; Audio commentary from 2005 by cowriter and star Oja Kodar and director of photography Gary Graver; Introduction from 2005 by filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich; Episode of the talk show Tomorrow from 1975 featuring an extensive interview with Welles; Orson Welles: One-Man Band, a documentary from 1995 about Welles’s unfinished projects; Almost True: The Noble Art of Forgery, a fifty-two-minute documentary from 1997 about art forger Elmyr de Hory; 60 Minutes interview from 2000 with Clifford Irving about his Howard Hughes autobiography hoax; Audio recording of Hughes’s 1972 press conference exposing Irving’s hoax; Extended, nine-minute trailer; PLUS: An essay by critic Jonathan Rosenbaum Amazon: $37.98 (Criterion Blu-ray)   La Dolce Vita – (Criterion Blu-ray) Directed by Federico Fellini Written by Federico Fellini (screenplay and story), Ennio Flaiano (screenplay and story), Tullio Pinelli (screenplay and story), Brunello Rondi (contributing writer) Pier Paolo Pasolini (uncredited) Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée Fellini's biggest film, La dolce vita propelled the Italian filmmaker into international stardom. Circling around a journalist's week as he tours around Rome writing about Italy's rich and famous, he struggles to find legitimacy in his work. A searing critique of contemporary Europe's fixation with stardom, Fellini accurately predicted just how far our celebrity-obsessed culture would come. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 88% (Very Good @ 30 Reviews) IMDB: 7.9 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 9.5/10 DISC DETAILS Special Features: 4K digital restoration by The Film Foundation, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray; Interview with filmmaker Lina Wertmüller, an assistant director on the film; Interview with scholar David Forgacs about the period in Italian history when the film was made; Interview with Italian journalist Antonello Sarno; Interview with director Federico Fellini from 1965; Audio interview with actor Marcello Mastroianni from the early 1960s; Felliniana, a presentation of La dolce vita ephemera from the collection of Don Young; New visual essay by filmmaker : : kogonada; PLUS: An essay by critic Gary Giddins Amazon: $34.99 (Criterion Blu-ray)