SCREENING ROOM

DVD: “Pixels,” “Supernatural,” “A Reunion,” “Partners” & More!

14-s

From the thoughtful to the mindless, the profound to the offensive, this week’s home entertainment runs quite the gamut.

Hollywood popcorn comes in the form of high-concept effects-filled comedy Pixels, while one of Hollywood’s most odious LGBT entries, 1982’s Partners, makes its Blu-ray debut. Two thoughtful, modern LGBT indies — sci-fi Thai import Supernatural and character-driven American indie A Reunion — round things out.

Scroll down for the trailers and details!

 

Partners

($29.95 Blu-ray; Olive)

This 1982 entry in the police buddy caper genre is infamous among LGBT film critics and scholars for having one of the cops be a fey stereotype on legs. John Hurt, who has played the late Quentin Crisp twice, was saddled with portraying Kerwin, a very queer desk jockey teamed up with uber-hetero Detective Sargeant Benson (Ryan O’Neal) to go undercover as boyfriends while investigating a string of gay murders. From there it’s pretty much The Odd Couple in a lot of pink and lavender (including a car of said color). See it, just to get a sense of how far we’ve come (and maybe as part of a drinking game?) and Stonewall will suddenly seem like manna from heaven. I would pay for a commentary track from Hurt, but alas, no extras.

 

Supernatural

($24.99 DVD; TLA)

Thailand is cranking out some pretty strong LGBT titles of late – keep an eye on the festival circuit for Josh Kim’s outstanding How To Win At Checkers (Every Time) – like this cutting-edge and stylish sci-fi indie from director Thunska Pansittivorakul. Set partly in the future, 2060 to be exact, it imagines a Thailand where life is sterile and touch is forbidden. Flashbacks to other eras and more sexual days, of course, balance things out and may well cause a revolt… A striking piece of work with some very beguiling Thai stars to boot.

 

Pixels

($45.99 3D Blu-ray, $30.99 DVD; Sony)

Oh, Adam Sandler. In the star’s latest high-concept comedy, aliens come to destroy humanity… in the form of retro arcade game characters. Yes, Pac Man and Donkey Kong in 3D causing havoc may cause some serious nerdgasms for gaymers, and the effects are pretty cool, but it does take almost an hour for that to happen. Joshua Gad, Brian Cox, Peter Dinklage and Jane Krakowski also earn a paycheck by acting silly. Extras include featurettes and a music video.

 

A Reunion

($24.99 DVD; Ariztical)

Compared to Andrew Haigh’s Weekend for its semi-improvised and naturalistic approach and flow, and central relationship between two characters that connect deeply, director Hernando Banseulo’s feature debut follows a pair of college friends as they reunite to road trip from L.A. to Chicago for a 10 year school reunion. Along the way we begin to understand this pair’s complicated past and intimate relationship, as sexual dynamics and deeper issues bubble back up. A promising debut for sure.

 

ALSO OUT:

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The Gift

 

Max

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