For his first film since “Margaret,” Kenneth Lonergan writes and directs “Manchester By The Sea” (2016, Lionsgate, R, $20), the engrossing saga of a Boston janitor named Lee (Casey Affleck) who returns to his hometown following the death of his brother (Kyle Chandler) to help care for his teenage nephew (Lucas Hedges).
Lee must come to terms not only with his fresh responsibilities but also with his ex-wife (Michelle Williams) and the guilt he feels for an unimaginable tragedy.
Brought to life without a single false note, this instant classic earns every one of its laughs and tears. Movies don’t come any more haunting than “Manchester By The Sea.” It will wipe the floor with you. Extras: deleted scenes and featurettes.
Also New To DVDNocturnal Animals (2016, Universal, R, $30): Hold on tight. This edgy, noir-ish romance is a startlingly original look at love gone wrong. Two decades after dumping her first husband Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal), art dealer Susan (Amy Adams) receives his novel in the mail and it’s a revenge-soaked saga dedicated to her. As she reads the book – and writer/director Tom Ford illustrates the action – she’s forced to re-evaluate her life choices. Rarely does a movie that unleashes two competing storylines work so well, but Ford skillfully uses the parallel plots to dig into themes of loyalty, betrayal and the true nature of masculinity. Extras: featurettes.
***Bad Santa 2 (2016, Broad Green, R, $30): A guilty pleasure treat, this slapdash outing gives Billy Bob Thornton the chance to show off his comic chops. Thornton returns as boozy, screw-up Willie Soak, who is presented with a moral dilemma just in time for the holidays. Should he join his horror show of a mother (unfailingly funny Kathy Bates) and his former sidekick (Tony Cox) in robbing a children’s charity overseen by a former alcoholic (Christina Hendricks) or do right by his trusting pal Thurman (Brett Kelly) who’s followed him all the way to Chicago? Of course, the gags are hit and miss but, at its best, “Bad Santa” is a raunchy ride through one man’s pain. Extras: gag reel, deleted scenes and featurettes.
***Antibirth (2016, Shout Factory, unrated, $30): While this psychedelic body-horror nightmare is not a good movie by any means, it deserves a lot of credit for being so unique. “Orange Is The New Black” star Natasha Lyonne plays a hard-drinking, coke-sniffing motel maid who, after a woozy night of partying, winds up pregnant. But she can’t remember having sex with anyone. As she and her bestie (Chloe Sevigny) join a mysterious stranger (Meg Tilly) in trying to figure out what’s going on, the conspiracy theories, paranoia and beer bottles start piling up. The ending is freaky fun but getting there occasionally feels like a chore thanks to sloppy plotting and undercooked characters. Extras: none.
***Christine (2016, Sony, R, $28): In 1974, Sarasota broadcaster Christine Chubbuck shot herself in the head on live TV. In this fascinating character study, the brilliant British actress Rebecca Hall plays the reporter as an unsettling woman who was always smartest person in the room but whose serious stories failed to drive the ratings or ensnare the attention of her boss (a terrific Tracy Letts). The movie is surprisingly even-handed with all of its characters, including Christine’s co-workers who are puzzled by her mental illness. In many ways, “Christine” resembles “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” if the sitcom was directed by David Cronenberg. Extras: featurette.
***Wait Until Dark (1967, Warner Archive, unrated, $20): Audrey Hepburn earned a well-deserved fifth Oscar nomination for this thriller about a blind woman who’s unaware she’s in possession of a doll that’s stuffed with heroin. The doll is much wanted by a sadistic killer (Alan Arkin) and his henchman (Richard Creena, Jack Weston) and they’re willing to do anything to get it. “Wait Until Dark” might boast a simple set-up but thanks to Hepburn’s deeply sympathetic performance and director Terence Young’s ability to orchestrate claustrophobia and suspense, it still manages to deliver a screw-tightening kick. Extras: featurettes.
***3 Classic Films By Claude Chabrol (2016, Cohen, unrated, $50): Envy, greed, anger, repression and lust are the emotions which quicken Chabrol’s pulse. If you need proof, check out these three new-to-Blu-ray gems which reveal just how much the French master knows about the mysteries of the human heart. “Torment” is a tale of toxic jealousy starring Emmanuel Beart and Francois Cluzet while “The Swindle” finds Chabrol favorite Isabelle Huppert playing a enchanting con artist attempting to separate a man (Cluzet) from his millions. The highlight of the collection is “Betty,” a disturbing tale of fatal attraction between two boozehounds (Stephane Audran, Marie Trintignant). It ranks as one of the strangest – and most haunting movies – of the 1990s. Extras: commentaries and featurette.
***Tony Rome/ Lady In Cement (1967-1968, Twilight Time, PG, $30): Frank Sinatra had a reputation for never taking movies too seriously, especially popcorn pictures like these two thrillers about a hard-boiled gumshoe knocking around the seamier sections of Miami. But it is Sinatra’s very nonchalance which helps sell his character, a compulsive gambler who lives on a boat and takes cases that find him rubbing elbows with strippers, prostitutes, bigamists and thugs. The movies, which co-star Gena Rowlands, Raquel Welch, Jill St. John and Sue Lyon, are best enjoyed as time capsules of an era when Frankie’s ring-a-ding ethos was just starting to fray around the edges. Extras: commentaries by film historians.
***Mildred Pierce (1945, Criterion, unrated, $30): In this classic film noir from 1945, every character is a neurotic mess from our flawed heroine (Joan Crawford) who tries to buy her daughters’ love to her philandering first husband (Bruce Bennett) to Mildred’s deceitful daughter (Ann Blyth) who thinks nothing of double-crossing her nearest and dearest. The plot of this new-to-Blu-ray gem begins when Mildred’s two-faced second husband (Zachary Scott) is shot to death. The murder mystery propels the drama and gives the flashbacks real oomph. “Mildred Pierce,” which netted Crawford a Best Actress Oscar, is packed with style, emotion and suspense. Extras: featurettes.
***Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise (2016, PBS, unrated, $25): Originally broadcast on PBS as an “American Masters” entry, this wide-ranging doc does a fine job covering a lot of ground. Angelou was, after all, a real Renaissance woman who juggled the roles of singer, actress, poet, activist, author, mother, journalist and movie director. There are plenty of surprises, including a segment detailing how much coaxing Angelou needed to write her first memoir, the landmark “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.” Extras: deleted scenes and featurettes.
