This week’s releases include a man on the right side of good, but the wrong side of the law; family revelations with everlasting effects; a mystery muddied by the past; and an inevitable bond.
Judas and the Black Messiah (Blu-ray & Digital copy)
FBI informant William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) infiltrates the Illinois Black Panther Party and is tasked with keeping tabs on their charismatic leader, Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya). A career thief, O’Neal revels in the danger of manipulating both his comrades and his handler, Special Agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons). Hampton’s political prowess grows just as he’s falling in love with fellow revolutionary Deborah Johnson (Dominique Fishback). Meanwhile, a battle wages for O’Neal’s soul. Will he align with the forces of good? Or subdue Hampton and The Panthers by any means, as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (Martin Sheen) commands?
Screen portrayals of the Black Panthers have typically been militant and hostile. However, this film attempts to capture Hampton’s vision for the group, which included support for the community and an alliance with other minority organizations to unite in their fight for equal rights. It’s this ability to join people that put him on the FBI’s radar as someone with that kind of power frightened the status quo. In the meantime, O’Neal’s tale of playing both sides makes him a difficult character with which to engage, particularly as Hampton demonstrates his more admirable qualities. The FBI has targeted civil rights activists for decades, but many are likely unaware of the authority’s role in Hampton’s death. While Stanfield does his best to make O’Neal relatable, Kaluuya does an incredible job portraying Hampton’s intelligence and charisma.
Special features include: “Fred Hampton for the People”; and “Unexpected Betrayal.” (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
The Little Things (Blu-ray & Digital copy)
Kern County Deputy Sheriff Joe “Deke” Deacon (Denzel Washington) is sent to Los Angeles for what should have been a quick evidence-gathering assignment. Instead, he becomes embroiled in the search for a killer who is terrorizing the city. Leading the hunt, L.A. Sheriff Department Sergeant Jim Baxter (Rami Malek), impressed with Deke’s cop instincts, unofficially engages his help. But as they track the killer, Baxter is unaware that the investigation is dredging up echoes of Deke’s past, uncovering disturbing secrets that could threaten more than his case.
The crime drama begins with an equal interest in the officers investigating the murders as the killings themselves. Each are wrapped in mystery that is gradually uncovered over the course of the narrative. Even though the characters are participants in an active murder investigation, the film is more focused on the mindsets of these three men and the effects of an unsolved case on the detectives assigned to find the answers. Though decades apart, Deke and Jim have a lot in common with one man seeing his former self and the other seeing his potential future. Casting three Academy Award winners in a character-driven film is a good way to ensure these complex personalities are portrayed well. All their performances are somewhat restrained, though Jared Leto infuses prime suspect Albert with an air of calculated mischief. The film is a slow burn that keeps everyone on edge and only slightly loosens its grip when the credits roll. In addition to having the washed-out aesthetic characteristic of the genre, much of the film unfolds in the dark — literally and figuratively. The result is a heavy picture that doesn’t prescribe to clear-cut storytelling.
Special features include: “Four Shade of Blue”; and “A Contrast in Styles.” (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
News of the World (4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & Digital copy)
Five years after the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Tom Hanks) moves from town to town as a non-fiction storyteller, sharing the news from the far reaches of the globe. In the plains of Texas, he crosses paths with a 10-year-old girl (Helena Zengel) taken in by the Kiowa people and raised as one of their own. Kidd agrees to deliver the child where the law says she belongs. As they travel hundreds of miles into the unforgiving wilderness, the two face tremendous challenges of both human and natural forces as they search for a place they can call home.
This is essentially a horse-and-wagon road trip film as Kidd and the girl embark on a long journey during which they meet an array of interesting and dangerous characters. As literacy was not widespread, people made a living reading to others and a subset of this group was people who travelled to various towns to share tales from the newspaper. Kidd is a skilled storyteller and, therefore, makes a respectable career of it. Hanks is his typical stand-up self, radiating the calm and creative temperament that makes Kidd a good man and people person. However, Zengel often steals the show with her genuine portrayal of a child rebelling against what she considers a kidnapping and trying to maintain a sense of self that everyone threatens to take away.
Special features include: commentary with co-writer/director Paul Greengrass; deleted scenes; “Partners: Tom Hanks & Helena Zengel”; “Western Action”; “Paul Greengrass Makes News of the World”; and “The Kiowa.” (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
Our Friend (DVD)
The inspiring and true story of the Teague family — journalist Matt (Casey Affleck), his vibrant wife Nicole (Dakota Johnson) and their two young daughters — and how their lives are upended by Nicole’s heartbreaking diagnosis of terminal cancer. As Matt’s responsibilities as a caretaker and parent become increasingly overwhelming, the couple’s best friend Dane Faucheux (Jason Segel) offers to come and help out. As Dane puts his life on hold to stay with his friends, the impact of this life-altering decision proves greater and more profound than anyone could have imagined.
This is a moving picture that balances emotional hardships with necessary humour. More importantly, Matt and Nicole do not have a perfect relationship, which makes their journey through her disease relatable and realistic. Switching between the time before and after her diagnosis, audiences become privy to early days of their marriage, the strain their individual choices put on their relationship and the many difficulties they encounter when faced with her cancer. Through all of this is Dane, who sometimes seems to be an imposition, but becomes an irreplaceable part of their family as he helps carry the burden. This narrative, which is based on a true story, is incredibly genuine and heartfelt. The friendship between the three actors, particularly Affleck and Segel, is exceptional, and really brings audiences into the story. The interviews with real-life Matt in the bonus features reconfirms the picture’s authenticity.
Special features include: “Behind the Scenes with the Cast & Crew.” (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
Secrets & Lies (Blu-ray)
When Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), a Black optometrist who was adopted as a child, begins the search for her birth mother, she doesn’t expect that it will lead her to Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn), a lonely white factory worker whose tentative embrace of her long-lost daughter sends shock waves through the rest of her already fragile family.
Writer/director Mike Leigh consistently delivers intimate portraits of ordinary people in unique circumstances. The depictions are very straightforward without any exaggerations, producing an authentic portrayal to which audiences can relate. The story of Hortense and Cynthia is a complex, but uplifting one. Neither expects the other, yet in spite of their differences they find something they didn’t realize they were searching for in each other. Having lost her adoptive parents, Hortense is overwhelmed by Cynthia’s pride and doting. Cynthia, in the meantime, is ecstatic to have a daughter that wants to spend time with her as the daughter she raised can barely stand to be in the same room with her. The untimely culmination of their reunion occurs at a family gathering, resulting in many laughs and tears. Jean-Baptiste and Blethyn are wonderful in their respective roles, genuinely portraying a pair of women navigating an unexpected relationship and all of its emotional repercussions. Timothy Spall plays a smaller part as Cynthia’s more sensible brother, though he also has a couple of commanding scenes. Leigh’s discussion of the making-of the Palme d’Or–winning film, from its meticulous rehearsals to the natural improvisation, is quite insightful, including him debunking a piece of lore that’s followed the picture.
Special features include: new conversation between Mike Leigh and composer Gary Yershon; new conversation between actor Marianne Jean-Baptiste and film critic Corrina Antrobus; audio interview with Leigh, conducted by film critic Michel Ciment in 1996; an essay by film programmer and critic Ashley Clark; and trailer. (Criterion Collection)
Sherlock Holmes and the Great Escape (DVD)
In the late 19th century, Mack, a heroic outlaw who stole from the rich to give to the poor, was loved and respected by the people. When the world’s greatest dog-tective, Sherlock Holmes, assisted in catching Mack, the people were angry with him for arresting their hero. But four years later, Mack has escaped from prison. While Sherlock is on the case to recapture Mack, he discovers the heartbreaking reason behind the outlaw’s escape, and decides to let him fulfill his final wish before Mack’s voluntary surrender to the police. However, everyone’s plans change when Mack’s daughter is kidnapped. Sherlock must employ all his wits if he is to rescue Mack’s daughter and save the day.
This animated, animal twist on the classic detective tale actually muddies Sherlock’s stand on the side of good as Mack is guilty, but not a villain. Sherlock refuses to be outsmarted by the clever thief, but his victory puts the very popular criminal and father behind bars — which is where he would’ve stayed if not for an unmissable milestone outside the prison. Sherlock attempts to follow his trail, recreating the escape and predicting Mack’s next move in his matter-of-fact and somewhat humorous way. Unfortunately, Mack does have one enemy that decides to capitalize on the situation to force the thief to bend to his will. It’s an amusing story with a rather action-packed conclusion, which includes a car chase and shootout.
There are no special features. (Shout Kids)
The Undoing (Blu-ray)
Grace (Nicole Kidman) and Jonathan Fraser (Hugh Grant) are living the only lives they ever wanted for themselves. Overnight, a chasm opens in their lives: a violent death and a chain of terrible revelations. Left behind in the wake of a spreading and very public disaster, and horrified by the ways in which she has failed to heed her own advice, Grace must dismantle one life and create another for her child and her family.
This HBO limited series is a whodunit rooted in a family drama. Their connection to the deceased is complex, but the victim appears to have been killed in a passionate fit of rage. She was new to the upper-class women’s circle and was somewhat too bohemian for some of its members. The evidence points to multiple suspects, but the police are narrowing their focus… and Grace is rising to the top of their list. As she tries to protect their son from the media circus and flying accusations, Grace finds a strength she didn’t know she had. Kidman is expectedly formidable in the role of a wife and mother whose world is falling down around her. Grant, on the other hand, who built a career on playing the charming love interest, is still charismatic but with a darker element that makes him somewhat dangerous.
Special features include: “Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant Introduce The Undoing”; “Creating The Undoing”; and “The Undoing Revelations.” (HBO Home Entertainment)
The Widow (Blu-ray)
In a densely forested area north of St. Petersburg, people have been going missing for three decades. Very few corpses were ever found, and the few that were recovered were naked. On October 14, 2017, a team of volunteers went out into the woods in search of a missing teenager. Soon, all communication with them was lost. Locals believe they were taken by the same dark spirit that took the others … they call it the Limping Widow.
This movie has a Blair Witch quality as a news crew accompanies the rescuers, documenting their mission. It’s via their eyes viewers see most of the events. While it begins somewhat interestingly with an unexpected discovery in the woods, it quickly devolves into a lot of night driving and running in the dark. People become separated, die and/or demonstrate signs of some unexplainable possession, but there isn’t much of a story to follow; instead, these events seem to unfold randomly. There is one thin thread being woven through the film to explain these strange occurrences, but it’s not very compelling. The picture has its moments, but there just aren’t enough of them to make it a worthwhile watch.
There are no special features. (Scream Factory)
