Best DVD's Out Now: The End Is Wry

The Bling Ring
Sofia Coppola is the reigning queen of mood pieces about existential boredom, where lonely characters project their desire for fulfilment onto the unattainable. The Bling Ring thus seems like perfect fodder for Coppola, based as it is on the true story of over-privileged, fame-obsessed teenagers who burglarised celebrities including Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton in 2008 and 2009. Their aim was to emulate the self-promoting, self-indulgent, selfie-posting lifestyles of their idols; to steal their clothes and jewellery in an attempt to literally wear fame and celebrity like a skin suit. The subject is ripe for sociological investigation, and the young cast, including Emma Watson and newcomer Katie Chang, prove impressive. However, Coppola fails to put the vapid teens’ actions in any moral or critical framework, leaving her point blunt and her film inescapably dull. There’s also an odd level of complicity. In doing little else but uncritically publicise the teens’ actions, Coppola gives them what they’ve always wanted: meritless fame. The film becomes one of their Instagram shots: a pretty, soft-focus advertisement for a lifestyle they don’t deserve. Includes in-depth making-of fetaurette.

Before Midnight
The third instalment of Richard Linklater’s dialogue driven, 18-year love story sees the return of earnest Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and passionate Celine (Julie Delpy); no longer the naive students of 1995’s Before Sunrise or the hopeful adults of 2004’s Before Sunset.  Now 41, the couple are holidaying in Greece, and spend a night talking, philosophising, reminiscing and feuding. It’s the “after”, if not exactly “happily ever”, because life is always more complicated. As the ever-provocative Celine, Delpy brings an almost incomparable honesty to a potentially insufferable character. Meanwhile, Hawke’s natural blend of boyish charm and intellectualism can be both funny and shrewdly manipulative. Unfolding in luxuriously long takes, the beautifully observed, sharply perceptive script feels like an increasingly intimate dance. Funny, warm and bleak, the script captures the subtext of every conversation, every argument. The weightiest question of all remains unspoken, but always felt: Are we still worth fighting for? A stunning, heart-wrenchingly real romance, it’s the perfect movie about how beautiful, imperfect relationships can be. Good extras with interviews.

This Is The End
This is the End is written and directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, and stars close friends Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, James Franco, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride alongside a host of other well-known actors, all playing themselves. When the Apocalypse hits, Hollywood is destroyed and the main players hole up in Franco’s house, trying to survive and figure out what to do. What follows is an oft-predictable set of hijinks and conflicts, over food, what the plan is, who’s in charge, etc. The film parodies several disaster films, but what makes it work is that it’s really parodying the actors themselves, and does so with a wicked, self-effacing glee that’s hard not to appreciate. The relentless bro-love does force the plot to its knees, the extremely crude humour isn’t for everyone, and the more outrageous scenes also often play out like a series of sketches jammed together. It’s crude, crass, childish, and utterly stupid. Still, the genuinely warm sense of camaraderie will make it an enjoyable experience for fans. Extras include gag reel.

Behind The Candelabra
Based on the memoir of Liberace’s lover Scott Thorson, Soderbergh’s entertaining biopic not only tickles the ivories of humour, but deftly plays upon the darker notes of psychology. Matt Damon plays feather-haired Thorson, while Michael Douglas is all batting eyelashes as the sexually voracious, peacocking showman. Their decade long relationship navigates the celebration and stigma facing the ’70s gay scene. The strange nature of their relationship allows the actors to shine, the co-dependent characters collapse in on each other. Liberace states “I want to be everything to you, Scott - father, brother, lover, best friend.” He demands Thorson get plastic surgery to look more like him and the increasingly macabre nature of their Frankensteinian relationship is never less than compelling. It’s also outrageously funny, with an abundance of cracking one-liners and visual gags that are camp and kitsch without feeling cheap. Superbly acted, bitingly funny, surprisingly bleak and tender without being sentimental, it’s an endlessly watchable exploration of toxic relationships and celebrity loneliness. Standard behind-the-scenes extras.

Music DVD's

HUGH LAURIE: LIVE ON THE QUEEN MARY
On March 26 this year a dream came true for the multi-talented actor, singer and songwriter Hugh Laurie, when he took to the stage in the magnificent Art Deco surroundings of the Queen Mary, now moored permanently at Longbeach, California. The show combines tracks from both of his hugely successful albums, Let Them Talk from 2011 (UK #2) and the recently released Didn’t It Rain (UK #3), along with other musical gems. Laurie leads on vocals, piano and guitar and is supported by the Copper Bottom Blues Band, a fantastic group of musicians and singers who fill out the emotion and energy of the bluesy tunes. His engaging personality and skilful playing make for a perfect evening of sublime blues in a wonderfully intimate setting.

DEPECHE MODE: DEVOTIONAL
Depeche Mode’s Devotional is a beautiful, slow burning and powerful live performance, filmed by U2 collaborator Anton Corbijn in 1993. Dipping in for a song here and there simply doesn’t do the business; you have to set aside an evening, dim the lights, turn up the volume, and let it flow over you. And flow it will. From the concert’s eerie opening track ‘Higher Love’, performed largely as silhouettes behind a gigantic curtain, it sets the mood perfectly. This is a band at their creative peak, touring their strongest album yet. Behind the scenes, DM were deeply troubled and this line-up never performed together again. So enjoy this amazing concert as a fitting tribute.

DREAM THEATER: A DRAMATIC TOUR OF EVENTS
Dream Theater began their mammoth A Dramatic Tour Of Events world trek in July 2011 with the final leg in South America taking place in August 2012. Here, at Luna Park arena Buenos Aires, Argentina, they decided to film the two nights that go to make up this DVD. It was Dream Theater’s first tour with new drummer Mike Mangini and all the tracks from their first album, A Dramatic Turn Of Events are included (in either the main show or the bonus performances). Dream Theater are rock’s supreme virtuosos with many awards to their name. Here they bring all the power and drama of their music to life with a breathtaking performance.