New releases: Judi Dench, Steve Coogan impress in ‘Philomena’

Philomena

Starz/Anchor Bay, $29.98; Blu-ray, $34.99

Available on VOD beginning April 15

One of last year’s most heartening box-office success stories, this British melodrama had more financial success and drew more awards attention than one might’ve expected for a midbudget tear-jerker about a woman trying to find the son she was forced to give up in Ireland in the 1950s. Credit Judi Dench’s lead performance as Philomena Lee, a proud woman who’s spent decades dealing with the sense of shame she felt as a young unwed mother. Also credit Steve Coogan, who plays the jaded reporter who tells Philomena’s story, and co-wrote a screenplay (with Jeff Pope) that includes moments of humor and an overall emphasis on forgiveness and redemption. It’s a crafty piece of work, well directed by the venerable Stephen Frears. The DVD and Blu-ray include a Coogan/Pope commentary, plus several interviews, including one with the real-life Philomena Lee.

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The Invisible Woman

Sony Blu-ray, $35.99

Available on VOD beginning April 15

Actor Ralph Fiennes is developing an impressive secondary career as a movie-director, first with the imaginative 2011 Shakespeare adaptation “Coriolanus,” and now with this film about a romantic affair between Charles Dickens and a young actress named Nelly. Fiennes plays Dickens and Felicity Jones plays Nelly in a sedate but classy period piece that seeks to humanize a literary legend and show how the problems of illicit lovers persist across generations and classes. Fiennes and Jones contribute a commentary track to the DVD and Blu-ray, which also come with a Q&A and a featurette about the movie’s Toronto premiere.

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Ride Along

Universal, $29.98; Blu-ray, $34.98

Available on VOD beginning April 15

This smash hit comedy never rises above the level of a sitcom, but it’s a consistently amusing sitcom, thanks almost entirely to its star. Popular stand-up comic Kevin Hart plays a dorky security guard who gets a chance to spend a day with a tough Atlanta policeman (Ice Cube), hoping to impress the cop enough to get his blessing to marry his sister. Director Tim Story plays up the slapstick elements in a group-written screenplay, but Hart’s so natural with his panic and frustration that the movie plays well even when it’s not super-funny. The DVD and Blu-ray add a Story commentary, plus deleted scenes and featurettes.

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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

20th Century Fox, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.99

Ben Stiller takes chances with his adaptation of James Thurber’s classic short story. Unlike the lightly fanciful 1947 Danny Kaye version, Stiller’s “Mitty” — which he stars in and directs, from a Steve Conrad script — is more effects-heavy, elaborately illustrating both the nebbishy Mitty’s famous daydreams and his real-life adventures as a Life magazine employee hunting down a missing photojournalist. Stiller overworks the material, trying too hard to get the audience swept up in the idea of a meek man taking big risks. But the film has a good message and a striking look. Unlike Mr. Mitty, it’s not timid. The DVD and Blu-ray tack on deleted scenes.

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And…

Better Living Through Chemistry

Universal, $19.98; Blu-ray, $26.98

Black Nativity

20th Century Fox, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.99

The Nut Job

Universal, $29.98; Blu-ray, $34.98

Available on VOD beginning April 15

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