Inside Out Blu-ray Review

Actors: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Bill Hader, Lewis Black

Director: Pete Docter

Writers: Story By Pete Docter & Ronnie del Carmen, Screenplay By Meg LeFauve & Josh Cooley And Pete D, Additional Dialogue By Amy Poehler & Bill Hader

Format: Blu-ray, AC-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen, Digital_copy

Language: English, Spanish, French

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Region: Region A/1

Number of discs: 3

Rated: PG

Studio: Walt Disney Studios

Release Date: November 3, 2015

         I have always had a difficult time choosing a favorite Pixar film. I end up undecided, bouncing back and forth between several I have equal appreciation of while ignoring the choices I really want to make because of their unevenness. The answer I always want to give is either Up or Wall-E, but only for the realism in their opening sequences. Both of these films also lose me when the grounded style of the beginning is interrupted by a jarring return to a sillier, more cartoonish style. Though Inside Out also utilizes this fantastical style, it somehow also manages to remain as emotionally and intellectually grounded as those opening sequences I love, and with consistency throughout the entire running time. Previously, Pixar has proved more than capable of making clever films, but Inside Out is their most intellectually rewarding endeavor to date. This film provides lessons for young children, with just as many rewards for their parents to appreciate.  

 

The Stanford Experiment DVD Review

     Actors: Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Tye Sheridan

Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez

Format: Multiple Formats, Color, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Region: Region 1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: MPI Home Video

DVD Release Date: November 17, 2015

Run Time: 122 minutes

 

 

        The Stanford Prison Experiment is consistently compelling, a fascinating telling of true events grounded by believable performances and a relentlessly tense tone. The entire experience of watching the film was riveting, despite a disappointing lack of commentary on the events. We are drawn in by the realism of Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s direction and the dedicated performances from the solid ensemble cast, but the screenplay adapted by Tim Talbott from Dr. Phillip Zimbardo’s book fails to contextualize the events. When the experiment from the film’s title was completed, it was followed by endless interviews and studies to understand the events; the audience of The Stanford Prison Experiment is merely given a few minutes to investigate these ideas as the credits roll. 

 

Two Men in Town Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Alain Delon, Gerard Depardieu, Jean Gabin

Director: Jose Gioveanni

Format: Blu-ray, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: French

Dubbed: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Cohen Media Group

Release Date: November 10, 2015

Run Time: 99 minutes

 

 

        Labeling Two Men in Town as a crime film is somewhat deceptive, although there are crimes committed and the main character is a recently paroled criminal. The criminal activity we see if carried out by characters other than the protagonist, who spends a majority of the film attempting to earn redemption for his past. This is a drama about the difficulty of rehabilitation, though it does so with the narrative manipulation of a particularly villainous police officer. Created as a strong statement against the death penalty in France (which would be abolished eight years after this film’s release), Two Men in Town is a message movie which manipulates the audience’s emotions a bit too much to stand up beyond its political agenda.