Home Theater, April 2012

What to add to your DVD queue this month.


The Iron Lady
DVD Release Date: April 10, Anchor Bay Entertainment
No matter your opinion of Margaret Thatcher, if you’re a fan of powerhouse acting performances, you’ll want to check out Meryl Streep’s turn in The Iron Lady. The role earned Streep her third Oscar (and her 17th Oscar nomination). She does double-duty in the film, portraying Margaret Thatcher as both a steely, resolved, polarizing political figure, and, later in Thatcher’s life, an almost-doddering, fragile woman whose biggest achievements are behind her. (The old-age makeup earned an Oscar as well.)

Contraband
DVD Release Date: April 24, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
In this season, after catching up with all of the heavy awards movies but before the big summer blockbusters kick in, there’s nothing wrong with a little dumbed-down entertainment. Contraband doesn’t have any gravitas-filled monologues and won’t make you keep track of mind-bending plot twists. Instead, it’s a simple, straightforward, smuggle-the-loot heist film, made interesting by setting it in the gritty back alleys of New Orleans. And, though it’s uncomplicated, it’s still entertaining, thanks to Mark Wahlberg and Giovanni Rabisi, who play rival criminals.

War Horse
DVD Release Date: April 2, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
This past December, Steven Spielberg competed with himself at the box office, with both War Horse and The Adventures of Tintin in theaters. If you let the quiet dignity of War Horse slip by you in the face of the more colorful, more antic Tintin, catch up now, and you’ll be treated to a retro style of filmmaking that revels in gorgeous photography and lush landscapes.

Shame
DVD Release Date: April 17, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Michael Fassbender might be one of the bravest actors working today. At least he was certainly prolific this past year, appearing in Haywire, A Dangerous Method, X-Men: First Class, Jane Eyre, and Shame. He shows some degree of courage in all those roles, but it goes double for Shame, where he’s so naked onscreen—figuratively and literally. The film follows his character’s attempts to cope with both a sex addiction and an emotionally disturbed sister (played by Carey Mulligan). The material may be too shocking for Fassbender to get awards notice, but the film certainly garnered a lot of buzz around him on the festival circuit.


 

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