DVD Releases of the Week: 'Selma,' 'Spare Parts,' 'Mr. Turner' to Compete with Summer Movies
This week a number of critically acclaimed films will be released on DVD including two Oscar nominated dramas.
"Selma"
After a successful run and obtaining two Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Ava DuVernay's Martin Luther King Jr. drama will be released. The film, starring David Oyelowo, tells the story of Martin Luther King's campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965. The movie was released in December and obtained rave reviews. However, it was also controversial because it had inaccurate facts that stirred anger. Nevertheless the film won an Oscar for Best Song and was also awarded the Best Picture of the year by the African-American Film Critics. With buzz especially after the Oscars, this movie will likely obtain a large following on DVD.
"Black and White"
Mike Binder's new film will be released after a short-lived theatrical run. The movie, starring Octavia Spencer and Kevin Costner, tells the story of a grieving widower who is drawn into a custody battle over his granddaughter, whom he helped raise his entire life. The film opened at the Toronto Film Festival where it received a warm reception and Oscar buzz. As a result, Relativity acquired the movie in hopes of obtaining Oscar nominations. However, the film was a critical flop and never took off during awards season. Costner and Spencer fans will definitely embrace the movie but will eventually get lost in the midst of so many new releases.
"Spare Parts"
Based on a real life story, this Lionsgate and Pantelion production tells the story of four Hispanic high school students who form a robotics club. With no experience, 800 bucks, used car parts and a dream, the team goes up against the country's reigning robotics champion, MIT. The movie, starring George Lopez, Jamie Lee Curtis and Marisa Tomei, opened in January to mixed reviews and ended up flopping at the box office. Pantelion and Lionsgate gave the movie a small marketing campaign, and the theatrical release was cut short. "Spare Parts" is likely to have a limited audience, but Latinos will likely embrace it.
"Mr. Turner"
Sony Pictures Classics will release the Oscar-nominated film, starring Timothy Spall. The biopic tells the story of the last quarter century of the great, if eccentric, British painter J.M.W. Turner's life. The movie first premiered at the Cannes Film festival where it scored rave reviews and won Spall a Best Actor award. Latin Post gave the film a great review: "Beautifully Drawn Biopic on One of the Greatest Artists of All Time." While the movie did not take off during awards season, the film scored a modest box office for a Mike Leigh film. Expect art enthusiasts and Leigh fans to be attracted to the picture.
The week will also see the horror picture "The Pyramid" be released alongside the drama "Black Sea," starring Academy Award nominee Jude Law. Anna Kendrick's musical "The Last Five Years" will be released by Radius-TWC, and Warner Bros. will unveil Ryan Gosling's directorial debut "Lost River," which scored terrible reviews and was only in theaters for a month.
"Miss Julie," "Murder of a Cat" and "Love, Rosie" will also be among the releases.
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