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‘Last Days of Disco’ on Blu-Ray
With friends like these. . . Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny in “The Last Days of Disco.”
Updated: July 26, 2012 11:10AM
NEW THIS WEEK
THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO BLU-RAY DEBUT
★ ★ ★1/2
Rated: R for some elements involving sexuality and drugs
Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Chloe Sevigny, Mackenzie Astin, Chris Eigeman
The final chapter in writer/director Whit Stillman’s “doomed bourgeous in love” trilogy (after 1989’s “Metropolitan” and 1994’s “Barcelona”), “The Last Days of Disco” takes a fairly serious (considering the film’s wealth of witty dialogue) look at a group of recent Ivy League post-grads trying to navigate early career moves and contemplating settling down as the ’70s morph into the ’80s. Considering their advantages, this is an oddly awkward and even unlikable group of friends (especially womanizing club manager Eigeman and passive-aggressive ice-queen Beckinsale), firmly in denial of their yuppy-hood. Stillman summons a certain amount of sympathy for all of them, though, as they flounder their way through early adulthood. This Criterion Collection release features a new high-def restoration, supervised by Stillman, plus audio commentary, four deleted scenes and a stills gallery.
MYSTERY MEN BLU-RAY DEBUT
★ ★ ★
Rated: PG-13 for comic action violence and crude humor
Stars: Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Paul Reubens, Hank Azaria, Geoffrey Rush
This wonderfully silly superhero parody, based on the cult comics by Bob Burden, is all the more welcome now that blockbuster movies based on comic book heroes have become such common currency. When Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear), goes missing from Champion City, clearing the way for evil Casanova Frankenstein (Rush), to take over the town, he fails to reckon on The Mystery Men, a team of wannabe heroes with semi-super powers that reside mostly in their imaginations. Even so, when Mr. Furious (Stiller) throws a hissy-fit, evil-doers beware! Extras include commentary by director Kinka Usher (best known for his talking-chihuahua Taco Bell TV commercials).
RECENT RELEASES
CASA DI MI PADRE
★ ★ ★1/2
Rated: R for bloody violence, language, some sexual content and drug use
Stars: Will Ferrell, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, Genesis Rodriguez
The funniest movie of the year may also turn out to be the strangest. In addition to the most intentionally awful. Ferrell stars as Armando (and speaks Spanish throughout) in this dead-on target parody of a truly bad 1970s-era Mexican action/melodrama—defending family honor against encroaching drug lords and failing to overcome his passion for the girlfriend (Rodriguez) of his black-sheep brother (Luna). Hipster-ish? Perhaps. But also hilarious. Extras include deleted scenes and commentary by Ferrell.
SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN
★ ★ ★
Rated: PG-13 for some violence and sexual content, and brief language
Stars: Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Kristin Scott Thomas
If you give this one a try expecting a whimsical, romantic-comedy charmer you’ll be satisfied, most likely, but perhaps a bit baffled by its seemingly incongruous elements of political satire. In fact, the novel “Salmon Fishing in Yemen” was first and foremost a comic shot at Brit government, with its plot about the prime minister’s press secretary facilitating a billionaire sheik’s desire to practice fly-fishing in the desert (after spending 50-million pounds to build a dam, create a river and import 10,000 British salmon). In the hands of director Lasse Hallstrom (“The Cider House Rules”), though, the sheik is a visionary and the setting is ideal for romance between his business consultant (Blunt) and the somewhat cold-blooded fisheries expert (McGregor) coerced into leading the project — and a moral about valuing faith in addition to science.
ALSO NEW THIS WEEK
THE DEEP BLUE SEA
The wife of a British judge (Rachel Weisz) falls in love with a Royal Air Force pilot (Tom Hiddleston) during World War II. Terence Davies (“The Long Day Closes”) wrote and directed the drama. Extras include a collector’s booklet, commentaries and interviews with Weisz, Hiddleston and Davies.
INSPECTOR LEWIS 5
Kevin Whately returns for a fifth season as Inspector Lewis, solving crimes in the deceptively quiet academic enclave of Oxford. This two-disc set features four full-length Brit-TV mysteries.
JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI
A documentary on 85-year-old Japanese sushi master Jiro Ono and his relationship with his son and heir as he prepares to hand over his life’s work. David Gelb (“A Vision of Blindness”) directed.
MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! ENDEAVOR
This prequel about the early years of “Inspector Morse” celebrates 25 years of the British mystery series by going back to the young detective’s rookie year in 1965.
MEETING EVIL
A mysterious stranger (Samuel L. Jackson) takes a weak-willed young husband-and-father (Luke Wilson) on a murderous ride and forces him to go to desperate lengths to save his family. TV director Chris Fisher wrote and directed the thriller.
SILENT HOUSE
A woman (Elizabeth Olsen) discovers she is trapped in her parents’ lake house — and that strange and frightening things are beginning to happen. Chris Kentis and producer Laura Lau (“Open Water”) directed the thriller. Rated R for disturbing violent content and terror.
TREASURE ISLAND
Young Jim Hawkins (Toby Regbo) falls under the influence of the pirate Long John Silver (comedian Eddie Izzard) in this made-for-TV adaptation of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson adventure. Donald Sutherland and Elijah Wood are featured. Directed by Steve Barron (“The Adventures of Pinocchio”).
AVAILABLE NEXT WEEK:
Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton feud it up in the History Channel hit “Hatfields & McCoys,” vintage G-Men police the early days of TV in the 1950-55 ABC series “Federal Men,” and Bill Cosby has a hey-hey-heyday with “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids: The Complete Series.”
