Entertainment / Get Reel Digital: May’s Top DVD Releases

Get Reel Digital: May’s Top DVD Releases

Entertainment May 09, 2014

by Matthew Currie

Your monthly DVD round up includes the return of cult-classic teen detective Veronica Mars, Elijah Wood starring in Speed on a grand piano and Orange Is the New Black!

The Veronica Mars Movie (Now Available, Warner)

Not even cancellation could keep this tenacious teen sleuth off the case, as fans of the dearly departed CW series rallied to creator Rob Thomas’s Kickstarter plea, raising a staggering $5.7 million to fund a big-screen resurrection. Ten years after taking down her last criminal in Neptune, California, Mars (Kristen Bell) is fresh out of law school being courted by top New York firms. But a desperate plea from her ex-beau Logan (Jason Dohring), who’s been accused of killing his pop-star girlfriend, brings her back home, where a high-school reunion presents the perfect opportunity to catch up with new suspects and old friends (basically everyone who ever appeared on the series pops up at some point).

Veronica Mars/ W ired

Burn (Now Available, Passion River)

A life spent charging into burning buildings is not an easy one – even less so when you’re doing it in a city plagued by arson and a crumbling economy that cuts resources to the bone. But the men and women of the Detroit Fire Department strap on their gear and put their lives on the line nonetheless. This acclaimed documentary is a pulse-pounding yet intimate portrait of both their heroism and their humanity.

Burn/ cygnuspub

Orange Is the New Black: Season 1 (May 13, Lionsgate Films)

The breakout Netflix dramedy hits home video this month (although, if you’ve got Netflix, you kind of already do own it). Amidst high-profile projects like Arrested Development and House of Cards, the tale of yuppie New Yorker Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) and her quirky adventures behind bars arguably emerged as the streaming service’s most-buzzed about offering – and that buzz is well deserved. As she did with her previous edgy cable comedy, Weeds, creator Jenji Kohan alternates deftly between laughs and heartbreak, as she makes us privy to the joys and sorrows and triumphs and tragedies of a diverse ensemble of female characters.

Orange Is the New Black: Season 1/ cdn.abclocal.go

Grand Piano (May 20, Magnolia)

Since Keanu Reeves blockbuster Speed first careened into theatres and netted a massive $120-million haul, screenwriters across Hollywood have been referencing the film in their action-movie pitches. But it’s a safe bet no one ever thought they’d hear the phrase “It’s like Speed on a grand piano.” But such is the case with director Eugenio Mira’s thriller, which stars Elijah Wood as a ivory-ticklin’ savant who has sworn off live performances due to his crippling stage fright. He finally musters up the courage to get in front of an audience again, only to find a disconcerting note pinned to his sheet music: “One wrong note and you die.” Now he needs to unravel the motives of a madman with a sniper rifle (John Cusack), while simultaneously turning in the performance of his life.

Grand Piano/ slackerwood

Cheap Thrills (May 27, Drafthouse)

A wealthy party animal (Anchorman’s David Koechner) and his steely-eyed young wife (Sara Paxton) pick up two money-starved pals (Pat Healy and Ethan Embry) at a bar, paying them handsomely to perform stupid, alcohol-fueled dares. But what starts off as some juvenile fun gradually escalates into something much darker, as the payments reach five figures and the stunts get bloodier. Director E.L. Katz’s debut flick is a taut, nasty little slice of B-movie heaven, blending cringe-inducing action and uproarious (albeit pitch-black) humour.

Cheap Thrills/ cinemablend

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Matthew Currie

Author

A long-standing entertainment journalist, Currie is a graduate of the Professional Writing program at Toronto’s York University. He has spent the past number of years working as a freelancer for ANOKHI and for diverse publications such as Sharp, TV Week, CAA’s Westworld and BC Business. Currie ...

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