Mission: Impossible - trying to catch up with all the new movies
Tuesday, December 15, 2015 at 8:00AM 
We've opted to do the home viewing news bi-weekly so as not to clog the feed up with lists of product. Some weeks are awfully spare. But here's what's new or newish on DVD/BluRay and streaming if your TV is big.
New DVD or BluRay
• Ant-Man -In which Paul Rudd steals a magic suit and Becomes a Better Man. (Tim's review)
• Downhill Racer -The 1969 Robert Redford / Gene Hackman skiing drama gets the Criterion treatement
• Fantastic Four -If only it were streaming because everyone deserves the opportunity to see how terrible this is ...without paying for it. My only "F" of the year and that is not a cute play on the title. (Tim's slightly more generous review)
• He Named Me Malala -Currently seeking a Best Documentary Oscar nomination.
• Maze Runner The Scorch Trials -Please don't tell me that there are a ton of books and they're going to split the last one into two movies
• Minions -Despicable Me sure created a monster. Well, millions of tiny yellow pop culture devouring monsters. (Tim on the phenomenon)
• Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation -one of the year's most enjoyable surprises. Although we shouldn't have been surprised since Ghost Protocol was also topnotch. (Tim's Review)
• Speedy - Harold Lloyd's last silent comedy gets the Criterion treatment
• Ted 2 -Mark Wahlberg makes a sequel to his magic teddy bear blockbuster and curiously, despite slobbering all over the first one, no one cared
TV Seasons
• Hannibal (S3 Final) in which Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen draw bloody hearts around each other's names in their notebooks
• Extant (S2 Final) Can someone please stop the casting of Halle Berry in genre fare. Genre acting is not remotely within her acting skill set. Ladies and gentlemen, I present as evidence: X-Men franchise, Catwoman, and S1 of Extant. I rest my case.
• Transparent (S2 on Amazon Prime Streaming) In which we return to the emotional chaos of the Pfefferman children and their trans father Maura (birth name Mort) played by Emmy-winning Jeffrey Tambor. Have you watched S2 yet? I'm trying to slowly savor it after loving every second of Season 1.
New Streaming on Netflix
• Phoenix - One of the biggest German hits in recent years. Weird that they didn't submit it for Oscars last year instead of Beloved Sisters. Read Jose's Nina Hoss interview
• The Ridiculous Six -- the first film in Netflix's mega multi-picture deal with Adam Sandler
• Tangerine - the best comedy of 2015, regardless of what the Globes or Critics Choice claim. Watch it with friends and donuts over Christmas. You'll be so on trend. (Nathaniel's Review)
• Xenia - Greece's LGBT Oscar submission about two brothers searching for their birth father
DVD, Fantastic Four, Halle Berry, Hannibal, Netflix, Phoenix
Reader Comments (6)
Thanks for the heads up on Xenia.
I really want to see Speedy. Not only is it Harold Lloyd, it was nominated for Best Comedy Direction at the first Academy Awards!
Nathaniel: re: Maze Runner, I read that they have said that if they do make the third novel, they won't be splitting it into two films. Sigh of relief!
Just got my copy of Speedy today. I find the location shooting in NYC fascinating. It really is a love letter to NYC.
Speedy sounds excellent!
I saw PHOENIX at the cinema just yesterday and can definitely recommend it heartily.
S2 of Transparent was one of the best things I've seen this year. Jill Soloway does an amazing job!
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