This Week’s Blu-ray/DVD Releases Only Include Four New Releases and ‘Insidious Chapter 2’ Is One of Them
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More Than Honey
We’ve all heard the stories. Bees are disappearing, en masse, all around the world, and no one seems to know why. The theories are endless and include everything from global warming, pollution, pesticides, mites, and more. This doc from director Markus Imhoof looks at the issue strictly from the angle of humans whose livelihoods depend on the bees’ honey.
As is the expected norm with nature documentaries, this one features some gorgeous photography of the bees in action both in the air and in their honeycomb homes. It’s also fairly informative, although I wouldn’t have minded a bit more information when it comes to the various beekeepers’ behaviors. Why, for example, in a documentary about the mystery of disappearing movies does one old Swede decapitate his queen bee with his thumbnail? Still, exploring the domestication of bees is an engaging path to the filmmaker’s theory as to why they’re all flying away with little more than a “So long and thanks for all the fish!”
Blu-ray/DVD extras: Interview with director, deleted scenes, making of, image gallery
The Berlin File
Pitch: “Trust No One. Suspect Everyone.” Well duh…
An arms deal in Berlin featuring elements from North Korea, Russia, America, and Israel goes a wee bit awry, and the resulting chaos leaves dead men, hotel room damage, and a Korean agent on the run. Things get more complicated when he discovers his wife, also a North Korean spy, has some secrets of her own.
This Korean action thriller is a bit of a rarity in that the story takes place entirely outside of Korea (and in Berlin, obviously). That adds a definite international flavor to the well-choreographed action scenes and frequently beautiful scenery making for a visually exciting romp. The script feels more than a little convoluted at times though leaving a trail of characters with names and motives that fall by the wayside fairly quickly.
[DVD extras: Making of, deleted scenes]
Insidious Chapter 2
The Lambert family (Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne) thought they left the nightmare behind them, but those of us who saw the final few (crappy) minutes of the first film know that’s not the case. Director James Wan follows them as they sink deeper into terror in pursuit of the truth. Ending aside, I’m a big fan of part one, but the sequel seems content rehashing that film’s weaker elements and ignoring the truly creepy ones.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Behind the scenes, featurettes, Q&A]
Una Noche
Three Cuban teens find themselves in a sticky situation that suggests a strong need to leave Havana for American soil. The drama of their day to day lives carries over to the open sea complicating an already impossible proposition. Writer/director Lucy Mulloy’s debut film offers a tantalizing glimpse into a world seldom seen in the U.S., but it’s the side characters who interest more than the three leads.
[DVD extras: Trailer]
Also out this week, but I haven’t seen the movie/TV show and review material was unavailable:
Pretty much nothing you’ve heard of or care about
