Phil Villarreal's novel, Zeta Male, is available at Amazon.
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Here are the best recent home video releases:
Barbershop: The Next Cut
After a disappointing sequel, Ice Cube and company satisfyingly revive the series, with a heartfelt comedic romp that isn't afraid to shy away from serious issues such as gentrification and Chicago's rampant gang violence. Filled with excellent actor chemistry and stinging one-liners, the film is one of the surprise gems of 2016. Extras in the Blu-ray/DVD/digital copy combo include a gag reel, a featurette and deleted scenes presented by director Malcolm D. Lee.
The Boss
Melissa McCarthy slums it for a lifeless comedy that fails to tap her potential. She plays a domineering, Martha Stewart type who is forced to go to jail, then gets out and tries to restart her career and contend with a rival (Peter Dinklage) with the reluctant help of her former employee (Kristen Bell). While the film occasionally clicks for some good laughs -- usually at Bell's expense -- much of the running time is wasted on slow setups that don't pay off well. For my full review, click here. Extras in the Blu-ray/DVD/digital copy combo include deleted scenes, a slew of making-of featurettes and one that focuses on Dinklage's performance.
Miles Ahead
Don Cheadle takes on the mercurial musical talent of Miles Davis, who went into seclusion for several years at the peak of his career. Far more than a run-of-the-mill hagiography of a beloved icon, the film studies the darkness -- including womanizing and drug addiction -- that both inspired his creative forces and held him back from his potential. The Blu-ray/DVD/digital copy combo includes commentary from Cheadle and his co-writer, Steven Baigelman, as well as a making-of featurette and the film's Sundance Q&A.
The New World: The Criterion Collection Blu-ray
Criterion specializes in drop-dead gorgeous transfers of beautiful movies, as well as exhaustive featurettes, and the publisher is at its finest when it delves into movies that haven't gotten their due from the public at large. That is the case with this adaptation of "The New World," Terrence Malick's 2005 meditation about the Pocahontas tale. Colin Farrell is British explorer John Smith, and Q'orianka Kilcher is the iconic native girl who helps bridge the cultural divide. A feast for the eyes, Malick's tone poem is an acquired taste well worth appreciating. New interviews with Farrell and Kilcher, a booklet featuring a scholarly essay and several making-of featurettes and commentaries fill out the impressive set.
Sing Street
A toe-tapping, feel-good musical from much of the creative team that created "Once," the film rounds up a group of spunky non-stars to spin a lyrical, Dublin-set tale of a boy from a troubled home who uses music and dancing to adjust to a hardscrabble inner city school. Bolstered with an impressive away of pop and punk songs, the film is a treat for those willing to fall under its spell. Others, of course, could dismiss it as cloying and silly. The Blu-ray/digital copy combo includes making-of featurettes and audition footage.
Studios provided review screeners.
