‘The Wrestler’
Mickey Rourke was nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award in the title role as Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a faded professional wrestler who must retire for health reasons, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle. Marisa Tomei is riveting as Rourke’s co-star single mother stripper friend. (Fox)
‘Doubt’
Meryl Street and Philip Seymour Hoffman co-star in this dramatic performance based on the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play. Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Streep) the rigid, domineering principal of the Saint Nicholas Church School develops an extreme dislike for the progressive and popular parish priest Father Flynn (Hoffman). She suspects he has created an inappropriate relationship with a troubled young male student, but when faced with no proof Sister Aloysius takes doubt to a higher level. Nominated for five Academy Awards, the film presentation here includes bonus material about the music, cast and transition from stage to screen. (Disney/Miramax)
‘The Kite Runner’ (Blu-ray)
From the director of “Finding Neverland” (Marc Forster) two young boys are inseparable friends until one fateful act tears them apart. Years later, one embarks on a quest to right the wrong from years past in a display of courage and devotion. (Dreamworks)
‘Tell No One’
Still grieving over the murder of his wife eight years earlier, pediatrician Alexandre Beck faces an escalation of that nightmare when police reopen the case after finding two bodies where hers was found, thus making Alex a suspect again. The mystery deepens when he receives a mystery e-mail with a video link suggesting his wife may in fact still be alive. (Music Box Films)
‘Intelligence’ Season Two
A simply brilliant Canadian crime drama set in Vancouver focusing on the uneasy alliance between the region’s chief intelligence officer (Klea Scott) and the city’s key drug boss (Ian Tracey). Probing the high stakes world of global crime full of nuanced characters of questionable loyalties and rife with moles, call girls, crooked bankers, backstabbing politicians and an array of underworld figures, Intelligence, winner of the Gemini Award for Best Drama, is just that. In a dozen episodes you get all that “The Wire” and “The Sopranos” offered. (Acorn Media)
‘NFL Super Bowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers Champions’
The high drama that lasted until the very end has got to make the last Super Bowl one of the most thrilling. And who better to capture the story than NFL Films? Here is an all-encompassing package for fans of this historical franchise and football fans in general. Profiles of second year coach Mike Tomlin, Dick LeBeau, Willie Parker and Ben Roethlisberger as well as media day and post-game highlights are included. Exclusive locker room and sideline soundbites are part of the package. (NFL Films/Warner Bros.)
‘Paul Rodgers: Live in Glasgow’
Widely considered one of the greatest rock vocalists in music history, the former front man for Free and Bad Company pounds out some of his best from a performance in this Scottish city in the autumn of 2006. Extra material includes an interview with Rodgers and his band as well as a performance by his son, Steven, who was a supporting act on the tour.
Randy Williams can be reached at writtenbyrw@yahoo.com
