Marguerite & Julien DVD Review

• Actors: Anaïs Demoustier, Jérémie Elkaïm
• Director: Valérie Donzelli
• Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: French
• Region: Region 1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  Unrated
• Studio: MPI Home Video
• DVD Release Date: July 12, 2016
• Run Time: 103 minutes

        The only consistency within Marguerite & Julien is the idiocy with which it is constructed, each moment failing to achieve the desired result unless director Valérie Donzelli only intended to make a movie for the purpose of mockery. This is a film of vanity mixed with vapid stylistic decisions, all resulting in a romance which is all pretension and no pathos. Adapted from a screenplay originally written for François Truffaut, even the moments of anachronistic additions to the true story come off as imitation rather than originality. This is an awful film which feels like a copycat attempt at an art film from a filmmaker who doesn’t even understand the sources being mimicked.

The Preppie Connection DVD Review

• Actors: Thomas Mann, Lucy Fry
• Director: Joseph Castelo
• Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: MPI Home Video
• DVD Release Date: July 12, 2016
• Run Time: 97 minutes

        Based on a true story that was scandalously diverting enough to be picked up by the media outlets in 1984, the premise of The Preppie Connection is effortlessly engaging. The problem is that there isn’t much depth beyond what made the headlines, even with liberties taken with character development and added action. Nearly all of the relationships in the film feel rather self destructive, and even a last-minute moral crossroads which hints at redemption from the greed mantra of the 1980s comes a bit too late to care. Because of the headlines the film is based on, we know that their crimes will eventually be exposed and it is difficult to feel any sympathy for those involved.

The Dark Horse DVD Review

• Actors: James Rolleston, Cliff Curtis, Kirk Torrance
• Director: James Napier Robertson
• Disc Format: Color, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Dubbed: Spanish
• Region: Region 1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: Broad Green
• DVD Release Date: July 12, 2016
• Run Time: 124 minutes

        Despite being based on a true story, the narrative in The Dark Horse resembles the type of formulaic plot seen so often cinematically that few surprises are offered within the lengthy run-time. Fortunately, this New Zealand drama is held together by the committed performances of the cast rather than any originality in the script. It may not offer many surprises, but it tells a familiar story well and does justice to the real people and events it was based upon.

Miracles from Heaven Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Jennifer Garner, Martin Henderson, John Carroll Lynch, Kylie Rogers, Eugenio Derbez
• Director: Patricia Riggen
• Producers: T.D. Jakes, DeVon Franklin, Joe Roth
• Format: Subtitled
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French, Portuguese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Thai, Spanish, English
• Dubbed: French, Portuguese, Thai, Spanish
• Audio Description: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  PG
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Release Date: July 12, 2016
• Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2019
• Run Time: 109 minutes

        For those with religious beliefs longing for a better faith-based film, Miracles from Heaven is a massive step in the right direction, though it still offers little help to bridge the gap for mainstream audiences unconcerned with religion. The elements of Christian belief are not as prevalent as they have been in the hokey films from the Kendrick brothers (Fireproof, Courageous, War Room), but many of the amateurishly bad filmmaking habits still remain. And there is also the glaringly obvious comparison to Heaven is for Real, which this film imitates with only a gender reversal as its distinguishing alteration on the formula.

Naked and Afraid XL: Season 1 DVD Review

• Directors: Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir
• Format: AC-3, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1
• Number of discs: 3
• Studio: LIONSGATE
• Release Date: July 12, 2016
• Run Time: 622 minutes

        For those who long for the basic premise of “Survivor” without the games, prizes, and teams, “Naked and Afraid XL” provides much more of what remains. They are not competing for a million dollars and don’t have the luxury of a host appearing to offer them food and resources to make it through the ordeal, but the social element is nearly as important when such clearly different personality types are placed together in extreme conditions. The fact that they are naked is just another obstacle in their survival, though it doesn’t make much difference to the viewing experience beyond an occasional bare butt and the distraction of constant blur.