‘Selma’ delivers powerful tribute
Academy Award nominee “Selma,” a powerful drama about the landmark 1965 march through Alabama to demand voting rights for African-American citizens, humanizes American history with an intelligent portrait not just of Dr. Martin Luther King (played with understated grace and dignity by David Oyelowo) but of the entire community in the civil rights movement and of the politics of protest. It won the Oscar for Best Original Song. It’s PG-13 for violence and adult subject matter. Also on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD rental through iTunes, Amazon, Vudu and Xbox Video.
“Mr. Turner,” Mike Leigh’s beautiful but unconventional portrait of the great British landscape painter J.M.W. Turner (played by Timothy Spall as a kind of beast with the heart of a poet), was nominated for four Oscars and should have won for Dick Pope’s astounding cinematography, which captured the light and color of Turner’s paintings. It can be hard to follow the story at times, but its presentation of a painter at work is superb. Rated R. Also on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD rental through Amazon, Vudu and Xbox Video.
The notorious “Fifty Shades of Grey,” the decidedly R-rated romantic drama with more than a touch of kink, is now available for home viewing in an unrated version.
And the new the R-rated Kristen Wiig comedy “Welcome to Me” is available to view at home the same day it opens in theaters.
Also new: the family drama “Black or White” with Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer (PG-13), the cyber-thriller “Blackhat” with Chris Hemsworth and the New Zealand vampire comedy “What We Do in the Shadows” (both rated R), and the family-friendly documentary “I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story,” about the man who played the iconic “Sesame Street” character for more than 40 years.
Netflix
Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin reunite for the first time since “9 to 5” for the new Netflix original series “Grace & Frankie.” They play old friends who turn to each other for support when their husbands (Sam Waterston and Martin Sheen) reveal their secret love affair and announce that they are getting married. It’s from “Friends” creator Marta Kaufman and “Home Improvement” producer Howard J. Morris. All 13 half-hour episodes of the senior citizen sitcom are now available.
At the other end of the age spectrum, Netflix has five new episodes of their animated series “The Adventures of Puss in Boots” featuring the swashbuckling kitty.