4K/UHD Release of the Week 

Since Suicide Squad—the 2016 version—flopped, this semi-reboot—with the definite article in the title—semi-resuscitates the franchise, as James Gunn’s bloated, jokey super-antihero epic occasionally scores with its flashy, action-filled camaraderie.

 

 

There’s a handful of chuckles to be had by none other than Sylvester Stallone as King Shark but, let’s face it, Harley Quinn—once again played by the magnetic Margot Robbie—is the only one of the squad who deserves her own franchise…which she has. The immaculate 4K image pops off the screen; the accompanying Blu-ray disc includes several extras: featurettes, interviews, deleted scenes, gag reel and director commentary (on both discs).

 

 

 

 

 

In-Theater Releases of the Week

In Frederik Moll’s cynical and unpleasant crime drama, the death of a woman named Evelyn is the springboard to glimpses of the lives of five people she’s—mostly peripherally—connected to, from young Marion whom Evelyn has a brief affair with to farmer Michel who thinks he’s been flirting with Marion online to Michel’s wife Alice who’s carrying on an affair with another man, Joseph: he finds Evelyn’s body.

 

 

Moll adroitly moves among these people, but the utter contrivance of their relationships—I don’t know how much is in the underlying novel—make the film risible from the get-to, despite its self-seriousness and extremely capable acting, especially by Nadia Tereszkiewicz (Marion) and Laure Calamy (Alice).

 

 

 

 

 

Speer Goes to Hollywood 

Using transcripts of interviews British writer Andrew Birkin had with Hitler’s favorite architect in 1971, when there was talk of a biopic (which was never made), director Vanessa Lapa has created a tantalizingly eye-opening documentary.

 

 

The arrogance and hypocrisy of Albert Speer (who only served 20 years in prison for being a large part of the Nazi war machine) is on full display as he almost gleefully recounts his importance in Hitler’s circle while simultaneously trying not to implicate himself. It’s a fascinating, if disgusting, balancing act that Lapa teases out expertly.

 

 

 

 

 

13 Minutes 

This earnest dramatization of a tornado’s devastating effects on a small Oklahoma town works efficiently if blatantly, from the “before”—when many folks, even the most hardened, don’t take the warnings seriously, betting (hoping?) it’s another false alarm—to the “after,” when the area is all but obliterated and survivors must both fend for themselves and worry about their missing loved ones.

 

 

Director-writer Lindsay Gossling specializes in obviousness, but there are strong moments too, mainly provided by a cast that includes Paz Vega, Amy Smart and Thora Birch.

 

 

 

 

 

Blu-ray Releases of the Week 

“Children,” the 1963 not-really-a-sequel to the classic “Village of the Damned,” is admirably understated as it follows several children who may or may not be from a superior alien race and the mainly clueless responses of various authority figures; too bad it’s never as thrilling or exciting as its predecessor.

 

 

Similarly, 1966’s “Eye of the Devil,” which posits David Niven as the latest ancestral pagan in his family’s chateau in an eerie precursor of “The Wicker Man,” has unnerving moments but doesn’t cohere satisfyingly, despite J. Lee Thompson’s lean direction. Both B&W films look wonderfully sharp in HD; “Village” includes screenwriter John Briley’s commentary.

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner at Eight 

Based on the witty play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber, George Cukor’s 1933 cinematic version of the relationships among a group of Manhattan’s upper-crust—all invitees to a stylish bash that evening—has its static and stagy moments, but the cast is triumphant. Among a starry ensemble of John and Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Marie Dressler and Billie Burke, none other than Jean Harlow steals the show.

 

 

This is supreme B&W entertainment that looks spectacular in hi-def. Extras are the 1993 documentary Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell, hosted by Sharon Stone, and a related vintage short, Come to Dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hidden Life of Trees 

German forester Peter Wohlleben is the focus of this illuminating documentary about how the natural world is more than just the “environment” that is always talked about but rarely understood.

 

 

Director Jorg Adolph has created a splendid portrait of Woglleben who understands trees and their “language” as well as the “wood wide web” alongside a beautifully-shot nature documentary whose astonishing visuals make an persuasive case for the mostly unknown complexities of the natural world. The images, unsurprisingly, look rightly dazzling in hi-def.

 

 

 

 

 

Mary Stevens MD 

In this 1933 pre-code melodrama, premarital sex and out-of-wedlock pregnancy are the outcomes of an affair between a female doctor—still handicapped professionally by her sex—and the man she has eyes for, even though he marries someone else.

 

 

At 72 minutes, no one can say this is padded, but its dramatic thinness is only partly compensated for by Kay Francis’ bravura lead  performance. The B&W film looks exceptionally good on Blu.

 

 

 

 

 

DVD Releases of the Week 

Writer-director Yamina Benguigui’s often trenchant study of a trio of French-Algerian sisters  still dealing with the decades-old fallout of their father leaving France and returning to Algeria with their young brother is an unflinching exploration of family dysfunction triggered by outdated political and cultural traditions against women.

 

 

These women are powerfully enacted by ageless superstar Isabelle Adjani, tough-minded Maiwenn and forceful Rachida Brakni, who get to the heart of a fractured relationship that, after many years and thousands of miles, is difficult to heal.

 

 

 

 

 

Tiger 

The Tiger Woods saga—from the highs of his superstar status seemingly cemented while he was still an amateur golfer to the lows of his messy personal life (car wrecks, highly publicized affairs, divorce from his Nordic goddess wife) is recounted in thorough and even-handed fashion.

 

 

Interviews with many people who have been part of his life over the decades, from his first love in high school to fellow pros on the tour, but there’s a hole at the center of not having Tiger himself, even if he’s been interviewed enough to use dozens of clips interspersed throughout.

 

 

 

 

 

Walker—Complete 1st Season 

In this reboot of the ’90s series starring Chuck Norris, a longtime Ranger volunteers for a lengthy undercover operation after his beloved wife is murdered, and when he returns to discovers that he has to balance dealing with his estranged teenage daughter with his dangerous professional life.

 

 

While this isn’t designed to appeal to everyone—the cutesiness slathered onto the sentimentality is a bit much—this should do very nicely for fans of straightforward action and melodrama, anchored by Jared Padalecki as Walker and Lindsey Morgan as his new partner. All 18 episodes are on 5 discs; extras are featurettes, deleted scenes and a gag reel.

 

 

 

 

 

CD Releases of the Week

Belgian composer César Franck (1822-90) was probably a more valuable teacher than composer: among his students were Vincent d'Indy, Ernest Chausson, Louis Vierne, Guillaume Lekeu and Henri Duparc. But Franck’s music, attractive if conventional, still holds interest, even if his opera output is barely heard.

 

 

Indeed, Hulda was never performed until after his death. It’s too bad, for—at least on the evidence of this excellent recording by Germany’s Freiburg Theatre—it makes a worthy addition to the Gallic stage repertoire, with a great title role for a first-rate soprano (Meagan Miller does the honors here).

 

 

 

 

 

Alfred Schnittke/Sergei Prokofiev 

Soviet composers whose works were written a half-century apart are featured on the latest recording by the Cleveland Orchestra, which has under conductor Franz Welser-Möst become a fearsome advocate for 20th and 21st century music. First, there’s the 1979 Concerto for Piano and Strings by Alfred Schnittke (1934-98), which effortlessly alternates between sheer bombast and utmost delicacy; pianist Yefim Bronfman is the formidable soloist.

 

 

The year 1925 saw the premiere of the Symphony No. 2 by Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), a remarkable display of breakneck rhythms and brilliant orchestration, which Welser-Möst and the orchestra play with a controlled fury that harnesses the wild surges in Prokofiev’s always audacious score.