We hope you didn’t max out your credit cards on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, because this week is bursting with great home-entertainment releases: Ghouls and a heroic gay teen populate the animated family flick ParaNorman, our favorite alien hunters are back in Men in Black 3, and Whitney Houston takes her final screen bow in the Motown-era Sparkle.
Meanwhile, one young gay man struggles to find a long-term relationship in Elliot Loves while another becomes obsessed with the LTR couple upstairs in Scenes From a Gay Marriage.
ParaNorman
($49.99 3D Blu-ray, $34.99 Blu-ray, $29.99 DVD: Universal)
From Laika, the stop-motion animation studio behind Coraline, comes this top-notch tale of an 11-year-old who can see spooky things. (Like The Sixth Sense but less morbid.) When Norman’s hometown is threatened by a ghoulish invasion, he and his friends—including gay jock Mitch—must come to the rescue. DVD extras include numerous featurettes, preliminary animation sequences, a behind-the-scenes mini-doc, and commentary from writer-directors Chris Butler and Sam Fell.
Sparkle
($35.99 Blu-ray, $30.99 DVD; Sony)
Set in the Motown era, this adaptation stars Jordin Sparks as a young singer who forms a Supremes-esque trio with her two sisters. But Sparkle incurs the wrath and rejection of her churchgoing mother (Whitney Houston, who also executive produced). It’s not without its flaws, but there are some great musical numbers and Houston’s death gives the film some added gravitas.
Extras include the 20-minute “A Tribute to Whitney Houston,” and video for the Sparks-Houston song “Celebrate.”
Elliot Loves
($19.99 DVD, TLA Releasing)
Attractive 21-year-old Elliot can’t seem to take dating to the next level despite the fact he keeps falling for, and sleeping with, plenty of guys. What could the problem be? Writer/director Terracino, who crafted this true indie film in piecemeal fashion over several years, delivers a sexy yet serious character study that flashes back and forth between Elliot’s present and his childhood. Extras include a commentary and extended scenes.
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Men In Black 3
($55.99 3D Blu-ray, $40.99 Blu-ray, $30.99 DVD; Sony)
Will Smith’s alien-hunting Agent J is back in black in the surprisingly superior third installment of this sci-fi franchise. This time, J must go back in time and team up with a younger version of Agent K (well-played by Josh Brolin) to save the world from an invasion or something. This is fun stuff, with plenty of action, retro-chic designs and Brolin sending up Tommy Lee Jones. Extras include five behind-the-scenes featurettes, a gag reel and music video from Smith (of course).
Scenes From a Gay Marriage
($26.99 DVD, Bring Chase Productions)
In this amiable dramedy, director Matthew Riddlehover cast himself as Darren, a rudderless homo fixating on the gay couple upstairs. Determined to discover if one of them is cheating, Darren goes from eavesdropping into actual snooping. Will he get caught? And will this neurotic obsession get in the way of Darren finding a mate of his own?
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