DISCussion: New on DVD and Blu-ray (4.28.15)

We have some awesome re-releases this week from The Criterion Collection, as well as the fun-for-the-whole-family new release, Paddington. Despite some tough competition, the beautifully shot, and completely bizarre Inherent Vice takes our title of Recommendation of the Week. New Release Inherent Vice – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Paddington – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Last Days in Vietnam – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) The Gambler – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) The Wedding Ringer – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) The Boy Next Door – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Re-Release Le Silence de la Mer (1949) – (Criterion Blu-ray) The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) – (Criterion Blu-ray)   Inherent Vice – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) *Recommendation of the Week* Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson Written by Thomas Pynchon (novel) and Paul Thomas Anderson (adaptation) Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson The first cinematic adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's literary work was deftly accomplished by visual mastermind, Paul Thomas Anderson. A meandering tale of drug use, kidnapping, sex, and murder, Inherent Vice is rarely at rest. Pynchon's elaborate narrative style shines through, and is perfectly accompanied by Anderson's trademark visual acuity, and Joaquin Phoenix's frenetic performance. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 72% (Good) Metacritic: 81 (Excellent) IMDB: 6.9 (Good) Entertainment Fuse: 8/10 (Read our Review) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $22.99 (Blu-ray); $14.99 (DVD); $3.99/$14.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   Paddington – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Paul King Written by Paul King(written by and screen story), Hamish McColl (screen story), Michael Bond (character “Paddington Bear”) Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters Director Paul King brings childhood favorite, Paddington Bear to spectacular life in his delightful adaptation. When the Peruvian Paddington travels to London, he is taken in by the Brown family to some comically disastrous results. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 98% (Superb) Metacritic: 77 (Very Good) IMDB: 7.3 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 8/10 (Read our Review) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $19.91 (Blu-ray); $14.94 (DVD); $4.99/$12.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   Last Days in Vietnam – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Rory Kennedy Written by Mark Bailey and Kevin McAlester This harrowing documentary profiles the last days of the Vietnam War. As the North Vietnamese Army closes in on Saigon, a panicked South Vietnamese population, and fleeing American Troops scramble to get out while they still can. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 95% (Excellent) Metacritic: 86 (Very Good) IMDB: 7.7 (Very Good) Entertainment Fuse: 5/10 DISC DETAILS Amazon: $17.79 (Blu-ray); $16.69 (DVD); $3.99/$9.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   The Gambler – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Rupert Wyatt Written by William Monahan (screenplay) and James Toback Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Jessica Lange, John Goodman A professor with a gambling problem raises the stakes when he borrows money from a loan shark, leaving his life as collateral. When his affair with a student takes a serious turn, Bennett (Wahlberg) will risk it all to be with the woman he loves. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 46% (Bad) Metacritic: 55 (Okay) IMDB: 6.1 (Good) Entertainment Fuse: 6/10 DISC DETAILS Amazon: $19.99 (Blu-ray); $14.99 (DVD); $4.99/$12.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   The Wedding Ringer – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Jeremy Garelick Written by Jeremy Garelick and Jay Lavender Starring: Josh Gad, Kevin Heart, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting As a loner in love, Doug Harris (Gad) has no groomsmen for his upcoming wedding. Enter Jimmy Callahan (Heart), and his company that provides best friends in a hurry - ushering in a bachelor party weekend unlike Harris has ever experienced. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 28% (Awful) Metacritic: 35 (Very Bad) IMDB: 6.8 (Good) Entertainment Fuse: 3/10 DISC DETAILS Amazon: $19.99 (Blu-ray); $16.99 (DVD); $4.99/$14.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   The Boy Next Door – (Blu-ray, DVD and Instant) Directed by Rob Cohen Written by Barbara Curry Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Guzman, Kristen Chenoweth Jennifer Lopez stars as a slighted married woman looking for love in all the wrong places. Starting a sexual relationship with her neighbor, Noah (Guzman), Lopez's Claire Peterson finds that all is not what it seems when her affair takes a deadly turn. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 11% (Very Awful) Metacritic: 30 (Very Bad) IMDB: 4.4 (Very Bad) DISC DETAILS Amazon: $19.95 (Blu-ray); $16.97 (DVD); $4.99/$14.99 (Instant Rent/ Buy)   Le Silence de la Mer (1949) – (Criterion Blu-ray) Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville Written by Vercors (short story) and Jean-Pierre Melville (adaptation) Starring: Howard Vernon, Nicole Stephane, Jean-Marie Robain This 85-minute film marks a superb beginning to Jean-Pierre Melville's storied career as a director. Adapted from underground novelist, Vernon's, story of the same title, Le Silence de la Mer tells the story of the German occupation of France during the Second World War. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 100% (Superb) IMDB: 7.7 (Very Good) DISC DETAILS Special Features: New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray; The short 24 Hours in the Life of a Clown (1946), director Jean-Pierre Melville’s first film; New interview with film scholar Ginette Vincendeau; Code Name Melville (2008), a seventy-six-minute documentary on Melville’s time in the French Resistance and his films about it; Melville Steps Out of the Shadows (2010), a forty-two-minute documentary about Le silence de la mer; Interview with Melville from 1959; New English subtitle translation; PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien and a selection from Rui Nogueira’s 1971 book Melville on Melville Amazon: $22.99 (Criterion Blu-ray)   The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) – (Criterion Blu-ray) Directed by Peter Yates Written by George V. Higgins (novel) and Paul Monash Starring: Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan This Peter Yates crime drama sports a fabulous cast and a gritty, neo-noire, atmosphere. Eddie Coyle faces a lengthy prison sentence, but chooses to rat on his friends for an easier time behind bars. Critics Rating (Rotten Tomatoes): 100% (Superb) IMDB: 7.6 (Very Good) DISC DETAILS Special Features: New, restored high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Peter Yates, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray; Audio commentary featuring Yates; Stills gallery; PLUS: An essay by critic Kent Jones and a 1973 on-set profile of actor Robert Mitchum from Rolling Stone Amazon: $26.19 (Criterion Blu-ray)