Saturday movie briefs: Three to see on DVD

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Saturday movie briefs: Three to see on DVD

The week before the 90th Academy Awards, my husband and I scrambled to screen as many of the nominated films we'd not yet managed to see. Twas a task made much easier thanks to my access to select free screeners courtesy Fox Home Entertainment (thanks, Fox!).

So mere days before oodles of Oscars were doled out, we watched several movies.

Then I failed to share my thoughts on each with you in a Saturday movie review. Now those films are out of theaters and available on DVD (plus streaming, premium channels, and more).

With sincere apologies for the belated sharing, here are three of my faves from our pre-Oscar scramble. Though sans full reviews, I strongly recommended each for viewing as they definitely live up to hype you've likely heard.

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Saturday movie review: Last Flag Flying

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Saturday movie review: Last Flag Flying

When I covered the Denver Film Festival last November, one of the movies I was especially excited about seeing was the drama/comedy LAST FLAG FLYING, directed by Richard Linklater and starring Steve Carrel, Bryan Cranston, and Laurence Fishbourne. The trailers convinced me the road trip movie featuring the oft-comic cast as vets on a mission would be laugh-out-loud funny with a few touching scenes scattered throughout and a sure highlight of my festival experience.

Unfortunately I didn't see LAST FLAG FLYING at the festival. The movie was among the most popular and sold out quickly, so my husband and I missed out.

We hit the jackpot last week, though, when LAST FLAG FLYING hit the top of my Netflix queue. It took mere minutes after starting the DVD for my assumptions about the film to be flipped as it immediately proved...

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Saturday movie review: Bless Me, Ultima

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Like most movie lovers, I have a long list of must-see movies. As I seek a film to watch, I usually pluck picks from the top of the list, leaving many older films languishing at the bottom despite my once strong desire to see them.

Today I review one that's been on my list for quite a while and unfortunately sat near the bottom far too long. BLESS ME ULTIMA is based on the beloved to some, yet oft-banned, sometimes even burned book of the same name, written by Rudolfo Anaya. The book became an instant classic—and recipient of acclaim or admonishment—soon after publication in 1972. I never read the book, but I have heard positive things about it as well as the expansive, cinematic it inspired.

Bless Me Ultima DVD

BLESS ME, ULTIMA reportedly stays true to the book, which tells the touching and often brutally honest coming-of-age tale of Antonio, a seven-year-old Latino boy living...

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Saturday movie review: 'Disconnect'

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My viewing of the film DISCONNECT — which features an ensemble cast headed up by Jason Bateman, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Paula Patton and Alexander Skarsgard — began with an "uh oh" spoken aloud and ended with an internal "uh oh" I've carried with me since watching the movie more than a week ago.

My first came within the first scene or two, when a video...

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Saturday movie review: 'Still Mine'

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James Cromwell — whom I've loved ever since "Babe" — may not be the first to come to mind when considering male romantic leads. He sure does a fine job playing such, though, in the touching drama STILL MINE, which also stars Geneviève Bujold as his long-wed love.

Still Mine

Cromwell and Bujold — both Oscar nominees — star as Craig and Irene Morrison. They've been...

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