By Harley Lond - 05/19/14 at 05:51 PM CT
THIS WEEK'S THEATRICAL RELEASES:
"3 Days to Kill":
Kevin Costner plays a dying CIA hit man who quits the agency to get closer to his estranged wife and daughter in Paris but takes on one last job when he's offered an experimental drug that could save his life. The catch: He has to hunt down and kill the world's most ruthless terrorist while looking after his angry teenage daughter for the first time in 10 years while his wife is out of town. 
While it's a distinct pleasure to see the 59-year-old Costner take on the bad guys (and even some teen bad guys who mess with his daughter), the film is much too uneven to make it a totally enjoyable viewing experience; the story bounces back and forth between super-violent CIA killing sprees and domestic housekeeping. But Costner, a grizzled veteran of the Hollywood wars, redeems the film as he moves seamlessly from confident killer to worried dad. Writer Luc Besson loves strong women, and throws in a tarted-up Amber Heard as Costner's CIA handler, putting a new spin on "La Femme Nikita" for director McG. 3 Days to Kill
"The Monuments Men
Also due this week: "About Last Night
THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
"The Color of Lies
" (1999 -- France), starring Jacques Gamblin, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Sandrine Bonnaire and Antoine de Caunes, is a late-career masterpiece from director Claude Chabrol which, as in many of his suspenseful films, uses a murder mystery to expose the underlying tensions and deceptions of 
a close-knit community. A 10-year-old girl's violated body is found in the woods of a Brittany fishing village. Suspicion immediately falls on Rene (Gamblin), a painter and the girl's art teacher; he is apparently the last person to have seen her alive. The inspector in charge of the investigation (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) immediately questions him. In this provincial town where the residents all know each other, Rene becomes increasingly unsettled by his neighbors' suspicions and by the inspector's investigation. Children stop coming to him for lessons. His beloved wife, Vivianne (Sandrine Bonnaire), a nurse, protects and supports him, but is tempted by the advances of an arrogant local TV personality (Antoine de Caunes). True to form, Chabrol is less interested in whodunit mechanics than in dissecting a culture of lies -- from advertising to adultery -- that permeates modern society. On DVD and Blu-ray Disc from the Cohen Film Collection.
Abbas Kiarostami has spent his movie career exploring the tiny spaces that separate illusion from reality and the simulated from the authentic. At first blush, his extraordinary, sly "Like Someone in Love
," (2013) which finds the Iranian director in Tokyo, may appear to be among his most straightforward films. Yet with this simple story of the growing bond between a young part-time call girl and a grandfatherly client, Kiarostami has constructed an enigmatic but crystalline investigation of affection and desire as complex as his masterful "Close-up" and "Certified Copy" in its engagement with the workings of the mercurial human heart. In a Blu-ray/DVD Dual Format Edition .New 2K digital film transfer, supervised by director Abbas Kiarostami, with 3.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray. From The Criterion Collection."The Great Flood
" (2012) is the story, told without dialogue, of the Mississippi River Flood of 1927, the most destructive in U.S. history and the cause of a million people's displacement. Bill Morrison, the acclaimed director of "Decasia" (the newest inductee to the Library of Congress' National Film Registry) and Bill Frisell, Grammy-winning composer and guitarist, have teamed up to create a powerful new cinematic experience. In the spring of 1927, the river broke out of its earthen embankments in 145 places and inundated 27,000 
square miles. Part of its legacy was the forced exodus of displaced sharecroppers, who left plantation life and migrated to Northern cities, adapting to an industrial society with its own set of challenges. Musically, the Great Migration fueled the evolution of acoustic blues to electric blues bands that thrived in cities like Memphis, Detroit and Chicago, becoming the wellspring for R&B and rock as well as developing jazz styles. For the film, Morrison scoured film archives, including the Fox Movietone Newsfilm Library and the National archives, for footage of the Mississippi River Flood. All film documenting this catastrophe was shot on volatile nitrate stock, and what footage remains is pock marked and partially deteriorated. The degraded filmstock figures prominently in Morrison's aesthetic with distorted images suggesting different planes of reality in the story -- those lived, dreamt, or remembered. For the score, Frisell has drawn upon his wide musical palette informed by elements of American roots music, but refracted through his uniquely evocative approach that highlights essential qualities of his thematic focus. Playing guitar, Frisell is joined by Tony Scherr on bass, Kenny Wollesen on drums and Ron Miles on trumpet. From Icarus Films."Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley
" (2014): Often referred to as "the funniest woman in the world," the iconic black comedienne Jackie "Moms" Mabley broke racial and gender boundaries as the first black female headliner at the 
Apollo Theater and Carnegie Hall. In her directorial film debut, Whoopi Goldberg pays homage to this pioneering talent by bringing together an impressive roster of A-list entertainers and historians to celebrate Mabley's storied life and career. Born Loretta Mary Aiken in Brevard, N.C., on March 19, 1894, Mabley was one of the most successful entertainers to perform on the black vaudeville stage, also known as the "chitlin' circuit." Her monologues touched on traditional topics such as family, as well as more controversial subjects that were typically avoided by comedians of the era, regardless of race, including infidelity, poverty, welfare and alcohol. Her successful career spanned five decades (though white audiences generally did not learn of her until the early 1960s), throughout which she recorded more than 20 comedy albums and appeared in numerous films. This documentary includes vintage clips and recordings of her performances, as well as recent interviews with some of the world's top comedians, and Mabley fans, including Eddie Murphy, Joan Rivers, Kathy Griffin, Robert Klein, Bill Cosby and Goldberg. $19.98 from HBO."John Wayne: The Epic Collection" is a collection of 40 Warner and Paramount Films starring the iconic actor, on 38 discs, $149.98. The collection comes packaged in a handsome book with unique collectibles and hours of special features: The coffee table book includes a chronological presentation of Wayne films, enhanced with wonderful photographs; the special features include commentaries, documentaries, featurettes, vintage shorts and classic cartoons; and the special John Wayne collectibles include personal correspondence, script pages/covers, pages with Wayne's notations and behind-the-scenes artifacts. View the complete list of films here. From Warner.
"The Abbott and Costello Show: The Complete Second Season" (1953) is a four-disc set with 26 episodes digitally restored and re-mastered. Beginning in 1952, the filmed half-hour series "The Abbott and Costello Show" appeared in syndication on local stations across the country. Loosely based on their popular radio series, the show cast the duo as unemployed wastrels, with one of the show's running gags involved Abbott perpetually nagging Costello to get a job to pay their rent. The simple plotlines were often just a set-up to recreate the pair's classic comedy routines -- including "Who's on First?" and other familiar set pieces -- from their films and burlesque performances. Also featuring Sidney Fields as their landlord, Hillary Brooke as a friendly neighbor often caught in the pair's schemes and Joe Besser as Stinky, a 40-year-old dressed in a Little Lord Fauntleroy suit, "The Abbott and Costello Show" was voted as one of the "Top 100 TV Shows of All-Time" by both Time and Entertainment Weekly. From Entertainment One."Weekend of a Champion
" (1971/2013), a nearly forgotten film by Roman Polanski, made at the height of his fame, has resurfaced to thrill fans of the director as well as lovers of auto racing. Restored and with new footage, the 
film is a you-are-there look at racing great Jackie Stewart as he competes in the renowned Monaco Grand Prix. In 1971, Oscar-winning filmmaker and racing fan Roman Polanski spent a weekend with world champion Formula One driver Jackie Stewart as he attempted to win the Monaco Grand Prix, one of the premier events in the sport. Polanski was given intimate access to Stewart's world for three days, both on the track and off. The result was an extraordinarily rare glimpse into the life of a gifted athlete at the height of his powers. The film, produced by Polanski and credited to documentary director Frank Simon, premiered at the 1972 Berlin Film Festival and played throughout Europe. But it then sat dormant for 40 years until Polanski restored and recut the film, adding a new epilogue showing Polanski and Stewart reminiscing in present-day Monaco, having a conversation about their friendship, the evolution of racing and life in general. The revitalized film premiered as an Official Selection at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and went on to a successful theatrical U.S. release. From MPI Home Video.And there's two important Blu-ray debuts this week: Since its release, director Werner Herzog's "Nosferatu The Vampyre
" (1979) has not only become one of the director's most acclaimed films, but one of the most compelling and visually-striking interpretations of the Dracula story ever committed to film. 
In his haunting interpretation of F.W. Murnau's 1922 classic, Herzog eschews the popular conception of the vampire as confident and alluring, and instead focuses on the tragedy of the creature: doomed to immortality, weary and disgusted at his own existence. Stars Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani and Bruno Ganz. From Shout! Factory ... The comedy-Western "McLintock!
" (1963) stars John Wayne as George Washington McLintock, a proud, defiant cattle baron whose daughter is due home from college. But G.W.'s happy reunion is tempered by the arrival of his headstrong wife (Maureen O'Hara), who recently left him, and whose return brings with her verbal fireworks and slapstick pratfalls. Scanned in 4K. Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and co-starring Patrick Wayne, Stefanie Powers, Jack Kruschen, Chill Wills, Yvonne De Carlo, Jerry Van Dyke, Edgar Buchanan, Bruce Cabot, Perry Lopez and Strother Martin. From Paramount.BUZZIN' THE 'B'S:
After a series of inexplicable murders sweeps a small, isolated community, a priest and a local police detective learn that a troubled teen with a dark past has recently moved to town and the pair find themselves pitted against a demonic force more diabolically evil and twisted than any of them could have imagined in "Way of the Wicked
" (2014), starring Christian Slater, Vinnie Jone, Emily Tennant and Jake Croker. On DVD, Blu-ray Disc from Image Entertainment ... 
Set over the course of one long, hot day, the mystery "McCanick
" (2013), starring David Morse, Cory Monteith, Mike Vogel, Rachel Nichols, Tracie Thoms and Ciaran Hinds, follows a narcotics detective who hunts for a seemingly harmless young criminal who knows a damaging truth about the cop's past. On DVD, Blu-ray Disc from Well Go USA ... College students exploring an abandoned insane asylum accidentally shatter canisters holding the cremains of former mental patients and when they inhale the dusty ash filling the air, they're soon possessed by the souls once held within them ... and one is a convicted serial killer from 1950 in "House of Dust
" (2013), starring Inbar Lavi, Steven Grayhm, Eddie Hassell, Holland Roden, John Lee Ames, Alesandra Assante, Joy Lauren, Nicole Travolta and Stephen Spinella. From Anchor Bay ... Set in the lower echelons of 1860s Paris, a beautiful young woman trapped in a loveless marriage to her sickly cousin, meets her husband's alluring friend and embarks on an illicit affair that leads to tragic consequences in "In Secret
" (2013), starring Elizabeth Olsen, Oscar Isaac, Tom Felton and Jessica Lange. From Lionsgate ... In "Grand Piano
" (2013,) Elijah Wood stars as Tom 
Selznick, the most talented pianist of his generation, who stopped performing in public because of his stage fright. Years after a catastrophic performance, he reappears in public in a long awaited concert in Chicago. In a packed theater, in front of the expectant audience, Tom finds a message written on the score: "Play one wrong note and you die." Without leaving the piano, Tom must discover the anonymous sniper's motives and look for help without anyone realizing. Co-stars John Cusack. On DVD, Blu-ray Disc from Magnolia Home Entertainment ... "Mischief Night
" (2012), starring Brooke Anne Smith, Marc Valera and Malcolm McDowell, follows the unexpected relationship between a predator and his prey the night before All Hallows Eve. The seventh film in the After Dark Originals 2 series. From Lionsgate ... In "Raze
" (2013), starring Rachel Nichols, Zoe Bell, Doug Jones and Sherilyn Fenn, two drugged and abducted women wake up to find themselves in a concrete bunker where they discover that they are in a modern-day coliseum, where they and 48 other women have been selected to fight to the death. If they refuse, their loved ones will be killed. From IFC Films ... "Could This Be Love
" (2014), starring Drew Sidora, Tommy Ford and Romeo 
Miller, is an Urban rom-com about a small town country girl who returns home after college to take over the family business, her father's beloved bed and breakfast. Facing an unfaithful husband and dysfunctional relationship with her mother, she finds herself at a difficult crossroads ... until a young, handsome lawyer checks in and opens her eyes to an entirely different life. From Entertainment One ... In "The Right Kind of Wrong
" (2013), starring Ryan Kwanten, Sara Canning, Ryan McPartlin and Kristen Hager, a failed-writer-turned-dishwasher made famous for his many flaws and shortcomings in a blog called "Why You Suck," a huge Internet success written by his ex-wife, meets the girl of his dreams ... on the day she is marrying the perfect man. On DVD, Blu-ray Disc from Magnolia Home Entertainment ... The life of a peaceful rancher is destroyed when he comes back from a hunting trip to find his family massacred, and he recruits a team of convicts to find the men responsible for the crime in "The Revengers
" (1972), starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Woody Strode and Susan Hayward. From CBS Home Entertainment/Paramount.FOR THE FAMILY:
In "Sophia Grace & Rosie's Royal Adventure " (2014), pint-sized cousins Sophia Grace Brownlee and Rosie McClelland -- who became celebrities thanks to "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" -- star in this made-for-video feature. The girls are sent to Switzelvania by Ellen as special correspondents to cover the coronation of a new queen. Once there, they encounter three very different princesses competing for the throne. Together, they hatch a royal plot to help the best candidate win. On DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo from Warner.
SPECIAL INTEREST:
The rebuilding of Ground Zero is the most architecturally, politically, and emotionally complex construction project in recent American history. From the beginning, the effort has been fraught with controversy, delays and politics. The struggle to develop these 16 acres of "sacred" land has encompassed 12 years, 19 government agencies, and over $20 billion. Aside from the engineering challenges, various constituencies -- politicians, developers, architects, insurers, local residents, and relatives of 9/11 victims -- profess conflicting claims to the site. The documentary "16 Acres
: The Struggle to Rebuild Ground Zero" (2014) is the inside story of how and why this 
historic project got built. At the heart of the story is the dramatic tension between noblest intentions, the desire of everyone involved to "get it right," and the politics, hubris, ego and ideology that is the bedrock of New York City. The DVD release coincides with the May 21 opening of the long-awaited National September 11 Memorial Museum at The World Trade Center site. The filmmakers have also produced an enhanced, interactive e-book companion to the film, which will be available on iTunes May 15. "16 Acres + : Companion to the Acclaimed Documentary About the Struggle to Rebuild Ground Zero," the first of its kind to be released in conjunction with a documentary, includes slide shows, architectural renderings, video extras, animation, and a narrative that provides background and context. From First Run Features ... The monstrous triple feature "Chased By Dinosaurs" (2003) from the creators of "Walking With Dinosaurs" takes viewers around the world and brings the lizards of the 
past to life: "The Giant Claw," "Land of Giants" and "Allosaurus." $19.9 from BBC Home Entertainment ... "Civil War 360" (2013) is a three-part Smithsonian Channel series hosted by Ashley Judd, Grammy-nominated country singer Trace Adkins and Dennis Haysbert that takes an intimate look at the war that changed our nation. $19.98 from Inception Media Group ... In time for the for the First World War Centenary, "The First World War: The Complete Series" (2003), the acclaimed 10-part series based on the book by renowned WWI historian Hew Strachan, offers a stunning account of "the war to end all wars," as well as providing new insights into one of the defining events of modern history. Explores many of the little-known campaigns and battles as well as the Western Front. Combines previously unseen film from newly accessible archives in Central and Eastern Europe with new film of the battlefields across the world as they are today. Three-disc DVD, 34.98 from Entertainment One ... "Secrets of the Third Reich" (2013), a Smithsonian Channel four-part series, uncovers the little-known stories that played a large role in determining the fate of the war and those who fought in 
it. In "Hitler's Madness" medical experts and war historians explore recently discovered medical records that reveal tantalizing evidence about Hitler and the controversial doctor he entrusted with his life; "Hitler's General" maps the sensational rise and fall of Hitler's favorite general Erwin Rommel, a.k.a. the Desert Fox; "The Ghost of U-513" explores the secrets that were buried at sea when the pride of the German submarine fleet was sunk by U.S. forces; "Deadly Missions" brings to life through dramatic re-creations, rare archival footage and interviews with war historians and a German special forces veteran the secret operations that took place in the shadows of WWII. $19.98 from Inception Media Group ... "Hitler and the Nazis" (2014) is a documentary that offers an absorbing look at Adolf Hitler's brutal rise to power and features archived footage and interviews. Tracing his rise, first through politics and then through force, to become Germany's most powerful leader, the film captures the ruthless dictator as he marches Germany into another war in a delusional quest for global domination. Three-disc DVD, $29.98 from Cinedigm.FROM TV TO DVD:
Heading up the TV releases this week is "Happy Days: The Fifth Season" (1977-78), a four-disc set with 27 episodes. The nostalgic comedy set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin follows the Cunninghams and their two kids, Richie and Joanie and their relationship with Fonzie, a motorcycle-riding Casanova who became a pop-culture phenomenon. Features the iconic "jump the shark" scene and a collection of famous guest stars including Robin Williams, Christopher Knight, Rance Howard, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Morgan Fairchild and Suzi Quatro. $42.99 from CBS/Paramount ... Also this week: "Arthur Hailey's The Moneychangers" (1976), starring Christopher Plummer, Kirk Douglas, Anne Baxter, Ralph Bellamy, Timothy Bottoms, Joan Collins, Robert Loggia and Jean Peters in an adaptation of 
Arthur Hailey's bestselling book about corruption and greed in the banking business. From CBS Home Entertainment/Paramount ... All the young midwives and good sisters return in the BBC's critically acclaimed drama "Call the Midwife: Season Three" (201-14), based on the best-selling memoirs of former nurse Jennifer Worth. The third season -- with eight episodes -- takes viewers to 1959, on the eve of the Swinging Sixties. Three-disc DVD: $39.98, two-disc Blu-ray: $44.98. From BBC Home Entertainment ... The British crime solving odd couple of grumpy, straight-talking Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel (Warren Clark) and his well-mannered partner Inspector Peter Pascoe (Colin Buchanan) return with their fiery brand of detective work in "Dalziel & Pascoe: Season Nine" (2009), which features four two-part murder mysteries. In a two-disc set, $34.98 from BBC Home Entertainment ... "The Dating Guy: The Complete First Season" (2009) is a three-disc set with 13 episodes of the adult animated comedy about the outrageous world of twenty-something dating, $29.98 from Entertainment One ... The six-part adventure "Doctor Who: The Enemy of the World" (1967) has been restored and digitally remastered, thanks to the discovery of a batch of missing episodes last year. Previously available exclusively on iTunes, "The 
Enemy of the World" features Patrick Troughton as both the Second Doctor and his antagonist (Ramon Salamander). The TARDIS lands on an Australian beach in the 21st century. But this is no seaside vacation -- within minutes, the Doctor, Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Victoria (Deborah Watling) are under attack. $19.98 from BBC Home Entertainment ... "Duck Dynasty: The Duck Days of Summer" (2012-13) consists of three vacation-themed episodes including the double-length episode of the family trip to Hawaii, $9.98 from Lionsgate ... "L.A. Law: The Complete Second Season" (1987-88) is a five-disc set with 20 episodes, $29.93 from Shout! Factory ... "Mountain Men: Season 2" (2013) is a two-disc set with 16 episodes, $19.98 from Lionsgate ... In the knuckle-biting final 10 episodes of this cold-case detective drama "Waking the Dead: Season Nine" (2011), Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd (Trevor Eve) and his team tackle their most challenging and personal cases to date. Three-disc set, $39.98 from BBC Home Entertainment ... "Warehouse 13: Season Five" (2014) is a two-disc set with six episodes, $39.98 from Universal ... "Warehouse: The Complete Series" (2009-14) is a 16-disc set, $219.99 from Universal.Check out other May 20-26 DVD releases and reviews at OnVideo.
