Blu-rays of the Week 

(Warner Bros)

Aquaman is the latest superhero to get his due onscreen, and James Wan’s overstuffed but entertaining movie runs headlong into crazily convoluted plotting about underwater plotting among the people of Atlantis, led by our hero’s own half-brother, the ruler of the realm, who wants to make war on humans since they’ve recklessly polluted the oceans.

 

 

 

There’s such a surfeit of effects shots that it doesn’t matter that Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, Patrick Wilson and Willem Dafoe are basically cashing a check; and, of course, the ending paves the way for what will assuredly be more than one sequel. There’s a first-rate hi-def transfer; extras comprise several behind-the-scenes featurettes.

 

Japón 

(Criterion)

Uncompromising Mexican director Carlos Reygadas never skimps on what others might consider unshowable, and his 2002 feature debut—in which he features a sex scene between his middle-aged protagonist and the elderly woman who reawakens his manly desires—is no exception. However, although it’s beautifully shot in ultra-widescreen, this story of a profound spiritual crisis remains distant and fuzzy to hold our interest for well over two hours.

 

 

 

Criterion’s Blu-ray features a splendid hi-def transfer; extras include a new conversation between Reygadas and filmmaker Amat Escalante; actor Alejandro Ferretis’ on-set video diary; Maxhumain, Reygadas’ 1999 short film; and a deleted scene.

 

 

 

 

 

King of Thieves 

Based on an infamous 2015 incident in London, James Marsh’s crime caper follows several elderly ex-cons who get together for a brazen robbery: millions of pounds from the vault of a safe deposit company.

 

 

 

With familiar veterans in the leads—Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay, Jim Broadbent, Ray Winstone, Michael Gambon—this plays as an engaging lark and déjà vu drama, like something we’ve seen before: at the end, Marsh even cuts to brief shots of the actors in earlier films (all in B&W). It’s offbeat but entertaining nonetheless. The film looks fine on Blu; lone extra is a making-of featurette.

 

Second Act 

(Universal)

This latest attempt to jump-start Jennifer Lopez’s movie career is another silly rom-com, as she stars as a big-box store assistant manager who gets a plum position at a top Manhattan advertising firm, until it almost comes crashing down when her real background is uncovered.

 

 

 

At least there’s a wisecracking Leah Remini as her sidekick (as she seems to be in real life) and the appealing Vanessa Hudgens as her antagonist at the agency—although the plot twist involving the pair is so ludicrous that it hangs over the proceedings all the way through. Early on, she was impressive in Jack, U-Turn and Out of Sight, but J. Lo has since sailed along on negligible pap. There’s a good hi-def transfer; extras are featurettes and interviews.

 

 

 

 

 

DVDs of the Week 

(Distrib Films US/Icarus)

In this sprawling, too-clever look at the on-again-off-again 40-year relationship between an acclaimed author and his muse, director-writer-actor Nicolas Bedos and writer-actress Doria Tillier—a couple in real life—give marvelous performances, even managing to look and act believably as old-age makeup: Tillier especially is unforgettably complex in a difficult role.

 

 

 

It’s too bad that such a multi-layered character study, studded with moments of ringing insight and invention, is actually eclipsed by its own innovations, making for an increasingly wearying two hours. Still, there’s much to admire, and Tillier is definitely someone to look over for.

 

Out of Love

Ritual 

(Omnibus/Film Movement)

These films explore the psychological ramifications of relationships that border on obsession, sacrificing original insights for stereotypes helped by bravura acting. In 2016’s Out of Love, Dutch director Paloma Aguilera Valdebenito’s familiar scenario (couple meets cute and embarks on an intense affair bordering on masochism, leaving physical and mental scars) is propped up by intense performances by Daniil Vorobyov and fearless Naomi Velissariou.

 

 

 

Likewise, in 2013’s Ritual, Giulia Brazzale and Luca Immesi’s melodrama about a young woman and her dominating lover, Désirée Giorgetti gives an emotionally naked portrayal of a woman trying to escape the clutches of a man who repels and attracts her. 

 

Tracking Edith 

The Edith of the title of this arresting documentary is Edith Tudor-Hart, a noted British photographer who—unbeknownst to nearly everyone—was also part of a Soviet spy ring that recruited the famed turncoat Kim Philby, leading to some of the most damaging intelligence failures of the entire Cold War.

 

 

 

Director Peter Stephan Jungk (Edith’s great nephew) overturns every stone in his quest to discover what could have led his great aunt to become a traitor: his investigation leads him to Moscow where he’s stonewalled, but discovers enough to warrant this detailed 90-minute portrait of a woman whose wayward allegiance will forever eclipse her artistic talent.

 

 

 

 

 

CDs of the Week

The Romantic Piano Concerto 78—Clara Schumann, etc. 

(Hyperion)

Tasmin Little—Works by Clara Schumann, Ethel Smyth, Amy Beach 

(Chandos)

Clara Schumann will always stay in the shadow of her husband Robert, but her beguiling music still gets recorded, including two works on new discs. Her enticing piano concerto highlights the 78th (!) volume of the Romantic Piano Concerto series, with Howard Shelley the skillful soloist and conductor of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. Minor but attractive works by a trio of obscure Romantic-era composers round out the disc. 

 

 

 

 

On Chandos, violinist Tasmin Little performs works by Clara and two major composers, American Amy Beach and Briton Ethel Smyth, both of whose violin sonatas are substantial by any standard. Clara’s Three Romances for violin and piano are lovely miniatures, and Little gives them a spirited hearing, accompanied by her adept pianist John Lenehan.

 

A terrific season at Carnegie Hall continued magnificently on the evenings of Tuesday and Wednesday, March 19th and 20th, with two concerts given by the superb musicians of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

 

The first program—under the outstanding direction of Andris Nelsons—was devoted to music by Richard Strauss, with the first half featuring music from his underrated final opera, Capriccio, beginning with the beautiful Sextet for Strings which serves as the work’s overture. The excellent players included Tamara Smirnova and Haldan Martinson on violins, Steven Ansell and Cathy Basrak on violas, and Blaise Déjardin and Adam Esbensen on cellos. The sumptuous texture here prefigures that of the even more lush Metamorphosen for string orchestra that the composer completed a few years later.

 

The fabulous soprano Renée Fleming, who looked especially glamorous, then took the stage for an extraordinary rendition of the lovely Moonlight Music and Closing Scene, sounding less underpowered than she has in several of her most recent appearances in New York. The singer is one of the finest Strauss interpreters and her performance in this work at the Metropolitan Opera just a few years ago made that modernized production one of the most satisfying I’ve ever seen. As a tribute to the eminent conductor, composer, and pianist, André Previn, who recently passed away, Fleming sang the lovely aria, “Sea Air,” from the composer’s opera, A Streetcar Named Desire, in which the soprano had performed the lead role at the work’s premiere. The evening closed with a glorious account of the amazing tone poem, Also sprach Zarathustra.

 

The second program—under the brilliant direction of the celebrated composer, conductor, and pianist, Thomas Adès, the orchestra’s Deborah and Philip Edmundson Artistic Partner—opened exuberantly with an impressive version of Franz Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1, which was inspired by Nikolaus Lenau’s Faust. The renowned virtuoso, Kirill Gerstein, then took the stage for the New York premiere of Ades’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. The soloist and the composer have collaborated several times before—Gerstein’s debut with this ensemble was a performance of Ades’s previous work for piano and orchestra, In Seven Days, in 2012, and last week at Carnegie Hall they gave a two-piano recital. Last month, in Gerstein’s recital at this same venue, he presented the world premiere of a Berceuse for solo piano from the composer’s 2017 opera, The Exterminating Angel. Although I am not fully competent to judge a work in this advanced idiom, the concerto was engaging and not without its pleasures, especially for its remarkable instrumental writing.

 

The evening concluded stupendously with a mesmerizing realization of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s masterly Symphony No. 4. The artists admirably conveyed the drama and intense Romanticism of the opening movement, while the ensuing Andantino reinforced the sense of longing, if enchantingly so. The ebullient Scherzo was immensely charming but most exhilarating of all was the thrilling finale, in which the conductor relied on unusually accelerated tempos. I eagerly look forward to the return of these splendid musicians!