DVD Update for week of Feb. 1

Susan Granger’s DVD update for week of Fri., Feb. 1:

 

Psychological horror takes a twist in Irish filmmaker Ciaran Foy’s “Citadel,” as an agoraphobic father confronts the same hooded gang that killed his wife and now seems intent on kidnapping his daughter, leaving him trapped between his
paralyzing fear and protective parental instinct.

“Paranormal Activity 4” continues the found-footage horror franchise, as a suburban Nevada family takes in a creepy six year-old neighbor with a malevolent friend, the invisible demon Toby, with whom he constantly converses.

Only fitfully funny, “Hotel Transylvania” is a stale, animated fright-fest with Adam Sandler voicing Count Dracula and Selena Gomez his rebellious teenage daughter in a cavernous castle inhabited by a motley variety of misunderstood Eastern European monsters.

Inspired by Michael Dooley’s memoir, Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s “Stella Days” follows a priest (Martin Sheen) trying to open a cinema in a small town in rural Ireland in the 1950s, facing intense opposition not only from the bishop but also from conservative residents, including an aspiring politician (Stephen Rea).

“Femme Fatales: The Complete First Season” is the Cinemax anthology series about powerful, sexy and dangerous women – in the tradition of pulp stories, film noir and graphic novels.

No one is safe when comedy’s unstoppable icon delivers her trademark biting wit in her first-ever live stand-up DVD – “Joan Rivers: Don’t Start With Me” – which premiered on Showtime last November.

Bryan D. Hopkins’ documentary “Dirty Energy: The Deepwater Horizon Disaster” shares first-hand stories from the Grand Isle fisherman, environmentalists and members of the cleanup crew hardest hit by the aftermath of the April, 2010, disaster and the destruction of that Louisiana Bayou ecosystem.

From French filmmaker Michael Ocelot, there’s the English-language version of “Tales of the Night,” weaving together six exotic fables, each unfolding in a unique locale – from Tibet to medieval Europe to the Land of the Dead.

PICK OF THE WEEK: Insightful and intense, “End of Watch” emphasizes not only the importance of Los Angeles Police Department brotherhood and teamwork but also the cinematic chemistry between Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena, as they follow an escalating trail of drugs, guns and money that leads them into a climactic encounter with street gangs and a Mexican drug cartel.

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