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‘Wanderlust’ now on DVD
Reading is fundamental: Gerard Depardieu and Gisele Casadesus in “My Afternoons with Marguerite.”
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Updated: June 25, 2012 6:07PM
NEW THIS WEEK
MY AFTERNOONS WITH MARGUERITE
★ ★ ★
Rating: No MPAA rating Stars:
Gerard Depardieu, Gisele Casadesus
If you don’t have too much of a cynical streak, there’s no reason you shouldn’t enjoy this not-particularly-credible, yet thoroughly charming little non-romantic love story from France. Depardieu and ’30s star Casadesus have delightful chemistry as Germain, a middle-aged, semi-literate workman and Marguerite, a retired professor. She turns Germain (who’s generally considered the village idiot) to Camus and the like. And he; well, you’ll have to see for yourself what Germain does for Marguerite. Chances are good you’ll be dabbing a tear or two.
WANDERLUST
★ ★ ★
Rated: R for sexual content, graphic nudity, language and drug use
Stars: Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Ken Marino
Producer Judd Apatow’s hard-R rated touch is lightly applied in this surprisingly low-key and consistently entertaining comedy romance. Unemployed and homeless Yuppies George and Linda (Rudd and Aniston, nicely matched) can’t quite get comfortable: Not with George’s piggish ultra-capitalist brother (Marino) or the neo-hippie commune they stumble into on the road. Eventually, they learn what’s most important in life: having a door you can close — and lock.
RECENT RELEASES
GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE
★ 1/2
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, and language
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Ciaran Hinds, Idris Elba
Even if you’re expecting nothing but a trashy good time, this unrelentingly bombastic and tedious sequel to the moderately entertaining 2007 Cage vehicle about a motorcycle stunt rider who becomes the devil’s flaming-skulled bounty hunter is a major disappointment, despite being directed by the guys who made “Crank.” Cage again tries to save another kid from being delivered to the devil, but his over-the-top-crazy act is beginning to grow wearisome. Hellishly dull. Extras include deleted scenes and commentary.
SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS
★ ★
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some drug material
Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams
The extreme revisionism that was surprisingly entertaining the first time around (the great detective as a mixed-martial arts master with a hard-core appetite for substance abuse and a barely suppressed carnal interest in Dr. Watson) rapidly wears out its welcome in this disappointing sequel from director Guy Ritchie. The emphasis is on over-the-top action as Homes and Watson (Downey Jr. and Law) take on Holmes super-villain Dr. Moriarty (portrayed by Jared Harris in remarkably dull fashion). If you’re looking for an antidote — Sherlock done right, the good old-fashioned way — check out England’s Jeremy Brett, now on A&E Home Video.
ALSO NEW THIS WEEK
AND EVERYTHING IS GOING FINE
After the death of monologist Spalding Gray in 2004, director Steven Soderbergh pieced together a narrative of the actor’s life in this documentary. Extras include Gray’s first monologue, “Sex and Death to the Age 14,” Gray’s first monologue.
THE BEST OF PERSON TO PERSON
Iconic TV newsman Edward R. Murrow interviewed the best-known celebrities of the ’50s with “Person to Person” segments. Murrow’s best interviews are being featured on three single-disc releases, featuring conversations with the likes of John F. Kennedy, Milton Berle, Sammy Davis Jr., Sophia Loren, Oscar Hammerstein, Marlon Brando, Tony Curtis, Paul Newman, Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra.
BIG MIRACLE
A small-town Alaskan news reporter (John Krasinski) enlists his Greenpeace volunteer ex-girlfriend (Drew Barrymore) in a campaign to rescue a family of whales trapped by rapidly forming ice. Ken Kwapis (“He’s Just Not That into You”) directed the romantic adventure. Rated PG for language. Extras include commentary by Kwapis and deleted scenes.
GRAY’S ANATOMY
Director Steven Soderbergh and monologist Spalding Gray collaborated on this 1997 adaptation of Gray’s 1993 monologue. In addition to a new hi-def digital transfer, this Criterion Collection release features extras including a new interview with Soderbergh, and the Gray monologue “A Personal History of the American Theatre,” filmed in 1982.
JEFF, WHO LIVES AT HOME
A slacker who lives in his mother’s basement (Jason Segal) bonds with his disdainful brother (Ed Helms) while trying to help him catch his wife in adultery. Jay and Mark Duplass (“The Puffy Chair”) wrote and directed the comedy. Rated R for language including sexual references and some drug use.
REEL LOVE
A successful big-city girl (LeAnn Rimes) returns to her small-town roots during a family emergency, and rethinks her direction in life. TV director Brian K. Roberts (“Really Me”) directed the romance. Burt Reynolds is featured.
THE SARAH SILVERMAN PROGRAM: THE COMPLETE SERIES
This seven-disc box set from Shout! Factory features all 32 episodes of the 2007-2010 Comedy Central series. Extras include behind-the-scenes videos, commentaries with cast and crew, digital and animated shorts, the original pilot and audition videos.
SEEKING JUSTICE
After his wife is assaulted, a husband (Nicolas Cage) makes a deal with a vigilante group to punish her attacker — then learns they expect a favor in return. Roger Donaldson (“The Bank Job”) directed the thriller. Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality.
TENT CITY, USA
This Oprah Winfrey Network documentary explored the growing number of people who have found themselves homeless during the recession, including 100 who have banded together to form a tent city in Nashville, Tenn.
AVAILABLE NEXT WEEK
John Boorman’s 1972 anti-canoe trip classic “Deliverance” makes its Blu-ray debut, while the Criterion Collection gives the 1954 Toshiro Mifune adventure series “The Samurai Trilogy” and Hitchcock’s 1935 romantic thriller “The 39 Steps” the deluxe cinephile treatment.
