Home Movies: Home Movies: Dracula, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Dracula dvd cover
Dracula dvd cover

Bram Stoker's Dracula,

directed by Francis Ford Coppola

(R, 128 minutes)

Originally released in 1992 and now available on Blu-ray and digital HD, Bram Stoker's Dracula veers away from recent comic treatments of the Dracula tale (from 1992's Buffy, the Vampire Slayer to Frankenweenie, released in 2012). Instead, this is a lush, sensual and deeply dramatic tale that follows devastatingly seductive Transylvanian vampire prince Dracula (Gary Oldman) who travels from Eastern Europe to 19th-century London in search of human love.

After spending centuries alone, the charismatic Dracula meets Mina Harker (Winona Ryder), a lovely young woman who appears as the reincarnation of his lost love. It doesn't take long before they embark on a tantalizing journey of romance, passion and horror.

With Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Tom Waits. Bonus features include deleted scenes, audio commentary and introduction by the director, and four making-of featurettes.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (PG-13, 105 minutes) In this sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, and sometimes clumsy 2015 Sundance Grand Jury prize winner, awkward high school senior Greg Gaines (Thomas Mann), who is obsessed with making art-film parodies with cohort Earl (RJ Cyler), gets firm instruction from his mom to spend time with his classmate Rachel (Olivia Cooke), who has been diagnosed with leukemia. With Connie Britton, Nick Offerman, Jon Bernthal, Molly Shannon; directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon.

Air (PG-13, 95 minutes) The moods swing wildly in this undisciplined yet stylish low-budget sci-fi adventure where breathable air no longer exists and what's left of humanity lives in a controlled state of suspended animation. In this inhospitable environment, two maintenance engineers are charged with guarding the last hope for mankind. With Norman Reedus, Djimon Hounsou, Sandrine Holt; directed by Christian Cantamessa. Bonus materials include a making-of featurette and a behind-the-scenes visit with the cast.

My Own Private Idaho (R, 104 minutes) This hypnotic, meditative and highly original 1991 road film by Gus Van Sant, now available on Blu-ray, stars the late River Phoenix as Mike Waters, a narcoleptic street hustler whose search for the mother who left him takes him across the northwest United States, where he meets and falls for Scott Favor (Keanu Reeves), the bisexual son of the mayor of Portland, Ore.

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (unrated, 119 minutes) All you wanted to know about the Church of Scientology, plus a little more, is revealed in this unnerving, precise, and detailed documentary by Alex Gibney that profiles eight former members of the celebrity-laden church founded by L. Ron Hubbard. With Paul Haggis, Sylvia Taylor, Jason Beghe, Tony Ortega.

Road Hard (unrated, 98 minutes) A dark yet agreeable comedy about standup comic Bruce Madsen (Adam Carolla), who, when his once promising movie and sitcom career runs out of steam, faces the fact that he has to stop traveling from one second-rate club stage to the next and make something of the rest of his life. With Illeana Douglas, Diane Farr, Jay Mohr; directed by Adam Carolla and Kevin Hench.

Ten Thousand Saints (R, 113 minutes) A low-key character-driven teen drama in which Jude (Asa Butterfield), devastated by the death of his friend Teddy (Avan Jogia) from a drug overdose, falls in with a punk-rock-loving group that's opposed to drugs, alcohol and profanity. With Hailee Steinfeld, Emile Hirsch, Emily Mortimer, Julianne Nicholson, Ethan Hawke; directed by Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman.

Amour Fou (unrated, 96 minutes) Set in 1810 Berlin, this slow-moving, seductively dry and weirdly spiritual comedy concerns depressed poet and dramatist Henrich von Kleist (Christian Friedel). He's searching for a woman to join him in ending his despair, which he views as the ultimate expression of romantic love. With Stephan Grossman, Birte Schnoeink, Katharina Schuttler; directed by Jessica Hausner. In German with English subtitles.

The Anomaly (unrated, 97 minutes) If you're searching for a ridiculous sci-fi flick that's worthy of Mystery Science Theater 3000 wisecracks, here's a top prospect. A former soldier is taken captive and wakes up in the back of a van, where he finds out he has precious little time to figure out where he is, how he got there, and how to get out. With Ian Somerhalder, Luke Hemsworth, Noel Clarke, Alexis Knapp; directed by Clarke.

Best of Netflix this week: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015), Dark Places (2015).

MovieStyle on 10/09/2015

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