Here are this week's hottest home video releases:
The Awful Truth (Criterion)
The 1937 Cary Grant vehicle -- one of the era's most memorable screwball comedies -- gets a slick Criterion treatment, complete with a fresh 4K digital restoration and uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Grant and Irene Dunne play a newly divorced couple who can't stop meddling in one another's love lives. Extras include a tribute bookley, a film historian interview, a critical video essay and audio of a 1939 radio play adaptation of the story.
The Commuter
A smoldering Liam Neeson plays a recently-fired businessman who becomes ensnared in a shadowy mind game with the focus on identifying someone hiding on a commuter train ride. Neeson snaps into fever-pitched "Taken" mode, ferreting out information while taking down adversaries on the way to uncovering the secret string pullers who have set the Hitchcockian plot into motion. Extras include a pair of featurettes that break down the story.
Molly's Game
Jessica Chastain swaggers in a blistering real-life story of Molly Bloom, a woman in her 20s who ran a notorious celebrity and millionaire-filled poker game. As strong as Chastain's performance is, writer/director Aaron Sorkin's Oscar-nominated script is the true star. Fans of Sorkin's other work, such as "The West Wing," "The Newsroom" and "The Social Network" will love the rapidfire patter. For my full review, click here. Extras include a featurette with interviews from Sorkin and Chastain.
The Post
Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep star in Steven Spielberg's powerful drama about the Washington Post's gutsy decision to publish the Pentagon Papers, exposing incompetence during the Vietnam War, despite threats from the highest echelons of government. The film functions as a prequel to "All the President's Men," and is enveloped in period detail and powered by strong performances and efficient storytelling. For my full review, click here. Extras include featurettes on recreating a 1970s newsroom, the film's music and biographies on the real people depicted in the film.
Studios provided review screeners.
Phil Villarreal Amazon Author Page
Phil Villarreal Rotten Tomatoes
