THE SCREENING ROOM

DVD: “The Dark Knight Rises,” “BearCity 2,” Prop 8 Doc “Inspired” And More!

 

The holiday gift-buying season is upon us, and so are a variety of home entertainment possibilities. For a Hollywood blockbuster, the final installment in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. On the indie side, BearCity 2: The Proposal continues the delightfully hair-rific gay indie rom-com franchise, while China’s Speechless charts a relationship between a Chinese man and a mysterious, mute European. For that hard-to-shop-for friend, the latest series from outrageous Aussie Chris Lilley, Angry Boys, is out on DVD, as is the little-seen queer gem, Winter Kept Us Warm,
while someone should gift the Supreme Court justices a copy of documentary Inspired: The Voices Against Prop 8.

 

http://youtu.be/g8evyE9TuYk

The Dark Knight Rises
($35.99 Blu-Ray, $28.98 DVD, Warner Brothers)

Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne comes out of retirement to defend Gotham from masked sadist Bane. Add Anne Hathaway as a thieving Catwoman, hottie Joseph Gordon Levitt as an honest cop, and some big-ass explosions and action set pieces and you have a fitting conclusion to the trilogy. (Or is it?). Extras include a featurette on the evolution of the Batmobile.

 

http://youtu.be/hjYZ9KeSRgM

BearCity 2: The Proposal
($29.99 Blu-ray, $24.99 DVD; Sharp Left Productions)

The gang from 2010 rom-com BearCity is back as hot daddy Roger and young actor Tyler decide to get hitched during Provincetown’s Bear Week. Reuniting with sassy twink Simon and bear-ish couples Brent and Fred and Michael and Carlos, the gang finds plenty of trouble, romance, cameos from the likes of Varla Jean Merman and Kevin Smith, and at least one evil ex-boyfriend. Extras include commentaries, a behind-the-scenes feature, deleted scenes and music videos from the soundtrack. Both the DVD and Blu-ray are available in specially-priced box sets with the first film.

 

http://youtu.be/B0zSljYwt14

Inspired: The Voices Against Prop 8

($24.99 DVD, Garden Thieves Pictures)

This timely documentary charts how the 2008 passing of Proposition 8 affected people’s lives and how it inspired them into action through dozens of interviews, footage from rallies and events, and comments from LGBT advocates and allies including Lady Gaga. Extras include deleted scenes and two featurettes, “Still Inspired” and “Inspired in Mexico City.”

 

http://youtu.be/EFMWUglkvwk

Speechless
($24.99 DVD, Breaking Glass Pictures)

In a small Chinese village, a European-looking man is found naked by the riverbank. Jiang, a young local, helps care for this seemingly mute mystery man, and in the process finds himself willing to run away with him to get to the bottom of their respective feelings and secrets. Extras include an interview with director Simon Chung, whose previous works include the excellent End of Love and Innocent.

 

http://youtu.be/eXpd4aClVmM

Angry Boys
($39.99 Blu-ray, $29.99 DVD; HBO)

Australia’s Chris Lilley portrays a half-dozen characters in this hysterical followup to his teen mockumentary series Summer Heights High, including Jen Okazaki, a Japanese tiger mom who has convinced the world her skateboarder son is gay in an OTT attempt to make him a big celebrity.

 

http://youtu.be/LzuR-yVMCRA

Winter Kept Us Warm
($29.99 DVD, The Movie Sector)

This long-unseen 1965 film from Canada charts the unlikely friendship forged between a timid gay college freshman and a popular senior. Writer/director David Sector based the film on his own college crush, and you can feel the tension between the pair (especially during a shower scene!). Enjoy a pre-Stonewall queer film milestone that’s a less dysfunctional than The Boys In The Band.

 

ALSO OUT ON DVD:

Hope Springs

Finding Nemo 3D

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Brazil: Criterion Collection

Butter

 

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