THE SCREENING ROOM

ON DVD: John Carter, Private Romeo, Bear Nation And More!

Space operas and military cadets and bears, oh my! New to DVD and Bluray this week are a slew of vastly different yet highly entertaining films and TV shows: A musclebound warrior in the form of Friday Night Lights‘ Taylor Kitsch wrestles with giant space monsters in John Carter, French film Tomboy features a switch of sexes for a 10-year old girl; homoeroticism lights up at an all-male military school in the Shakespearean Private Romeo (above); and producer Kevin Smith brings the bear community together in documentary Bear Nation.

http://youtu.be/nlvYKl1fjBI

John Carter
($49.99 3D Bluray, $39.99 Bluray, $29.99 DVD, Disney)

Arriving only three months after it failed to meet mighty box office expectations, Disney’s much-ballyhooed John Carter tries to sink its teeth into home viewers. Bad reputation aside, Carter is campy, full of eye candy—there’s no avoiding a half-naked Taylor Kitsch—and packs quite a punch. Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes with commentary by director Andrew Stanton (WALL-E), a making-of featurette, a feature-length commentary by the filmmakers, and a blooper reel. (Of course some might say the whole film is a blooper reel.)

 

Bear Nation
($19.95 DVD, Kino Lorber)

Producer and bear icon Kevin Smith and director Malcolm Ingram (Small Town Gay Bar) bring us this charming and funny documentary about the community who pride themselves on not looking like every other six-packed, twinkish gay boy in town. A bear himself, Ingram brings a sense of humor and humanity to this doc. Extras includes an interview with Smith and comedian Tracy Morgan, and the film’s original trailer.

 

http://youtu.be/Wndqio-IbXQ

Private Romeo
($19.99 DVD, Wolfe Releasing)

Cute high school boys in military uniforms quoting Shakespeare is just one of of the many eyecatching attributes of this modern take on Romeo & Juliet with a Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell twist. When eight unsupervised cadets are left alone to rehearse Shakespeare’s most famous play, the young men find the world of the stage and the real world folding in on each other as Seth Numrich’s Romeo finds himself falling for Matt Doyle’s “Juliet.” Extras include a director’s commentary, a behind-the-scenes featurette, deleted scenes and a trailer.

 

http://youtu.be/_Y0CLdnEXWo

War Stories

($19.99 DVD, Uncheckable Films)

Led to believe his father died in the Gulf War, small-town teen Tim (Michael Brenton Gordon) is shocked when he discovers that isn’t the case. He and his gay best friend, Austin (Mark Ayesh), decide to what really happened to Tim’s dad and along the way find some secrets that may have been best left undiscovered.

 

http://youtu.be/JvfdCI4MArQ

Tomboy
($19.99 DVD, Wolfe Releasing)

Lesbian director Céline Sciamma (Waterlilies) offers a heartfelt and funny tale about the adventures of 10-year-old Laurie (an amazing Zoé Héran), who, after moving with her family to a Parisian suburb, disguises herself as a boy named Mikael. At home, she’s still Laurie, but as “Mikael,” she quickly draws the attention of a popular girl smitten with the new boy next door.

 

ALSO OUT ON DVD

Breaking Bad: The Complete Fourth Season

Safe House

Machine Gun Preacher

The House of Yes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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