THE SCREENING ROOM

DVD: “In The Family,” “Pusher,” “Undertow,” And More!

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Why so serious-ah? This week’s home entertainment picks are led by serious, weighty works, although there is a dose of comedy at the end of the rainbow.

Patrick Wang’s acclaimed, emotional indie, In The Family, sees an Asian-American gay man struggle to keep his child, while a closeted Peruvian is literally haunted by his homosexuality in Undertow.

A drug dealer ends up in a mess o’ trouble in the English-language remake of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Pusher series.

Yet the only thing serious in comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is how hardcore the Seigfried and Roy-esque outfits and wigs are!

 

http://youtu.be/F_wUKachuhs

In The Family

($39.95 Blu-ray, $29.95 DVD; In The Family LLC)

 

Writer-director-star Patrick Wang’s fiercely independent In The Family enjoyed a long theatrical life, winning critical accolades for its moving, artful tale of a gay Asian-American, Joey (Wang), who is raising a six-year-old, Chip, with his partner, Cody. When Cody is killed in a tragic accident, Joey is suddenly left without any familial privileges, and Cody’s sister takes Chip away from Joey. So begins Joey’s painful, possibly impossible struggle – legally and emotionally – for custody of his son. A powerful work that shatters stereotypes and, elegantly directed, anything but a movie-of-the-week. The wealth of Blu-ray extras are rivaled only by a Criterion Collection release: video essays by Kevin B. Lee, H.P. Mendoza, and Patrick Wang, behind the scenes, and a booklet of essays by film academics Godfrey Cheshire, Michael Guillén, Dave Boyle and Brian Hu. A must.

 

http://youtu.be/U5aAxvPtO4Y

Pusher

($29.99 Blu-ray, $24.98 DVD; Anchor Bay)

Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn got his start with 1996’s Danish-language Pusher, which received a British remake in 2012. This new version stars Richard Coyle as Frank, a London drug dealer whose debt to a crime lord, Milo (Zlatko Buric, reprising his role from the original), leads him to desperate acts. Extras include a making-of featurette and Q&A with the cast and filmmakers.

 

http://youtu.be/P-qRG696pTc

Undertow

($19.99 Blu-ray; Wolfe Releasing)

This 2009 affecting tale of a deeply closeted Peruvian who carries on an affair with the ghost of his recently deceased gay lover snagged many awards during its film festival run, including Sundance’s World Cinema Audience Award for Dramatic Feature. This Blu-ray re-release includes two featurettes, interviews, and more.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8LUFQCzpVY&feature=share&list=PLC03tLCRAgGF1E2B-bjLcIxix6soc_VT6

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

($35.99 Blu-ray, $28.98 DVD; Warner Home Video)

Steve Buscemi, Steve Carrell, and Jim Carrey get severely wigged-out in this parody about Las Vegas magicians. Extras include deleted scenes and alternate takes, a gag reel, and brief featurettes starring seasoned illusionist David Copperfield and Carrey.

 

ALSO OUT:

 

b8vfw5The Call

 

Shoah (Criterion)

 

The Rambler

 

Phantom

 

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