A Hijacking
Magnolia, $26.98; Blu-ray, $29.98
Available on VOD beginning Oct. 15
The Tom Hanks hijacking-at-sea thriller "Captain Phillips" is sure to be one of the year's most talked-about films, but cinephiles also should check out director Tobias Lindholm's tense drama "A Hijacking," starring Soren Malling as a ruthless Danish shipping magnate who discovers the limits of his negotiating power when one of his freighters is seized by Somali pirates. Between the often inscrutable demands of the pirates' spokesman (Abdihakin Asgar) and the earnest pleas of the ship's cook (Pilou Asbaek), the bosses back in Denmark are torn between the needs of their stockholders and their commitment to their employees. Lindholm keeps most of the action off-screen, choosing not to milk the melodramatic aspects of the story but, rather, deal with the reality of a crisis that seems irresolvable. The DVD and Blu-ray include extended scenes and featurettes.
Drug War
Well Go USA, $24.98; Blu-ray, $29.98
Available on VOD beginning Oct. 15
One the best films that Hong Kong action-master Johnnie To has ever made, "Drug War" stars Sun Honglei as a Tianjin police captain who arrests a high-level drug-dealer (Louis Koo) and then squeezes him for information about his criminal organization, threatening the crook with execution if he doesn't cooperate. The plot advances through a series of crisply shot and edited set pieces, including several in which the cops study, then imitate the bad guys. "Drug War" is a skillful exercise in craft, with a lot on its mind about what a government can and should do.
The Heat
20th Century Fox, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.99
"Bridesmaids" director Paul Feig re-teams with that film's breakout star, Melissa McCarthy, for "The Heat," a raunchy cop-com that has McCarthy playing a vulgar, impulsive Boston police detective who flummoxes the haughty, by-the-book FBI agent with whom she's teamed on a narcotics case. Sandra Bullock plays the FBI agent, and it's her disbelieving reactions to her new partner's methods that drive a lot of the comedy. There's nothing in McCarthy's dirty-mouthed shtick that she hasn't done multiple times before, but it's far from worn out. The DVD and Blu-ray add alternative jokes, featurettes and a McCarthy/Feig commentary track.
Pacific Rim
Warner Bros., $28.98; Blu-ray, $35.99/$44.95/$64.99
Available on VOD beginning Oct. 15
An international blockbuster that had a harder time catching on in the U.S., Guillermo del Toro's "Pacific Rim" is a magnificent feat of special effects and imagination that should find its place as an action/sci-fi classic now that it is coming out on DVD and Blu-ray (complete with Del Toro commentary track, deleted scenes and hours of behind-the-scenes material). The film imagines a future when gigantic, Godzilla-like creatures ravage the major cities of the world, stopped only by equally large robots controlled by two mind-melded pilots. Most of "Pacific Rim" is about the spectacular monster-versus-robot fights, but it's also about the spirit of cooperation and collaboration required for heroes to prevail. It's eye-candy with a solid center.
And…
Defiance: Season 1
Universal, $59.98; Blu-ray, $69.98
Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain
Summit, $21.98; Blu-ray, $29.99
Available on VOD beginning Oct. 15
Vikings: Season 1
20th Century Fox, $49.98; Blu-ray, $59.99
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