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Good Time

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  • Title: Good Time
  • IMDb: link

Good Time Blu-ray reviewRobert Pattinson stars as Connie, a criminal who uses everyone he comes into contact with including his mentally-handicapped brother Nick (Benny Safdie) who he ropes into helping him rob a bank. While the score goes off without any issues, the botched getaway leaves Nick in jail and Connie working every angle he can to free him including calling on an old girlfriend (Jennifer Jason Leigh), taking advantage of an impressionable 16 year-old (Taliah Webster), and planning a jail break after his brother is taken to a nearby hospital.

While respecting the tone and pace of of directors Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie‘s film, Connie’s selfishness eventually began to wear on me. There’s a method to Connie’s madness, although his actions rarely lead to the expected outcome. And he does have guilt over Nick being locked up in prison, although it’s hard not to look at these actions as predominantly selfish in keeping himself out of prison.

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Lemon

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  • Title: Lemon
  • IMDb: link

“I knew you were crazy. I thought it was good crazy. I liked it. I liked it a lot; I thought it was fun. Now I know you’re bad crazy.”

Lemon DVD reviewWriter/director Janicza Bravo‘s oddball dark comedy stars Brett Gelman as a thoroughly-unlikable and constantly-sullen actor and theater teacher with a blind girlfriend (Judy Greer) who wants nothing to do with him, an equally-pretentious prize student (Michael Cera sporting some insanely ridiculous hair) with whom he has a very unusual relationship, and a dysfunctional family (Fred Melamed, Rhea Perlman, Shiri Appleby, Martin Starr, Hannah Heller, and David Paymer).

It’s hard to root either for a man lacking all empathy or against such a sad sack who is little more than the butt of life’s series of jokes. Isaac’s misadventures include belittling a theater student (Gillian Jacobs), fretting about the state of his relationship, accidentally killing his friend’s birds, awkward attempts to woo a new love (Nia Long), and taking jobs as the face of sexually transmitted diseases. More than a little self-indulgent, every character and event in the movie pushes the oddball style past credulity highlighting either the humor or misery of its protagonist (often both at the same time), which makes it difficult to take either that seriously.

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Kedi

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  • Title: Kedi
  • IMDb: link

Kedi Blu-ray reviewThe documentary from Ceyda Torun showcases the locals of Istanbul and their relationship with the street cats who roam the city and are fed, protected, and cared for by its people. Telling us as much about the people who choose to care for them as the cats themselves, from artists to fishermen to restaurant and store owners, Kedi is the kind of life-affirming documentary which will leave you feeling a little sad when you walk down the street and don’t find a feline or two waiting for you.

Certainly aimed at a target audience, cat lovers will undoubtedly get more from the documentary than others. Initially choosing to follow 19 cats around the city using a special rig to offer the street level perspective of the film’s four-legged stars, Torun decided to trim the film to focus on seven cats (Sari, Duman, Bengü, Aslan Parçasi, Gamsiz, Psikopat, and Deniz). along with some Samaritans who each feed and entire block of cats.

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Samurai Jack – The Complete Fifth Season

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  • Title: Samurai Jack – Season Five
  • wiki: link

Samurai Jack - Season 5 DVD reviewAfter years of waiting Samurai Jack‘s (Phil LaMarr) journey comes to a close in the fifth, and final, season of Samurai Jack. Even with Mako (Greg Baldwin steps in to voice Aku), this final installment is a gem. Set years after the last time we saw Jack, the season opens with the weary warrior separated from his magical sword and any hope of ever defeating Aku or returning home. The introduction of Ashi (Tara Strong), one of five deadly Daughters of Aku sent to slay the samurai, will help push Jack back on his path and lead to his final confrontation with the shape-shifting master of darkness.

Highlights include Jack’s battle with the Daughters of Aku, Ashi’s search for the samurai, a quest for the sword, the return of a hero, Aku’s victory over Jack, and the series finale.

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Highlander 5-Film Collection

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  • Title: Highlander, Highlander II: The Quickening, Highlander: The Final Dimension, Highlander: Endgame, Highlander: The Source
  • IMDb: link
  • IMDb: link
  • IMDb: link
  • IMDb: link
  • IMDb: link

Highlander 5-Film CollectionDon’t lose your head. For die-hard Higlander fans comes the Highlander 5-Film Collection. Including the original Highlander and its sequels, the collection follows the adventures of immortal Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) and his sword fights with other immortals battling to become the last of their kind. The first film, which sets up the universe and character to follow, is the best of the collection and is really what you are paying for (although I do enjoy Endgame as well).

While goofy as hell, and at times entertaining despite its best efforts, Highlander II is problematic for the changes (afterwards forgotten) it made to the franchise. The Final Dimension brings back an immortal (Mario Van Peebles) from Connor’s past, and Highlander: Endgame and Highlander: The Source incorporate TV’s Highlander Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul) into the movie franchise (the latter is nearly unwatchable).

As with most of these types of collections, you will get some basic features but less than the special editions of previous separate releases.

[Lionsgate, $19.98]

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