New on DVD: Keaton soars as ‘Birdman’

Capsule reviews of this week’s video releases, on DVD and Blu-ray, including special features:

“Birdman” (R, 119 minutes, Fox): This film tops the pack in Oscar nominations with nine, including Best Picture, Actor and Director. It already has Golden Globes for Michael Keaton, in the title role, and screenplay, and a SAG award for the ensemble cast. Narcissism, ambition, insecurity and the wages of celebrity are addressed in one fell swoop in “Birdman,” which writer-director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and his longtime cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki, have filmed to resemble one long, unbroken take — a stunt that results in a film of delicate, even balletic, grace and one that poetically captures aging actor Riggan Thomson’s own state of mind. Once a superstar, now human scale but still tuned in, Thomson (Keaton) moves through the world on a different frequency than his peers, or so he thinks. He walks the boards and Broadway streets like a hungry ghost, searching for the potency his cartoonish persona once conferred, while simultaneously trying to escape the culture of pandering and cynicism he helped to create. “Birdman” is fun to watch from a sheer technical and aesthetic standpoint, but it gains untold layers of meaning from the presence of Keaton, whose own career as the big-screen Batman that launched a never-ending franchise is clearly one of Inarritu’s inspirations. Edward Norton, as pretentious actor Mike Shiner, gleefully, even courageously, throws himself into a performance that showcases the subtleties of acting nuance but also makes him look utterly ridiculous. Contains some sexual content and brief violence. Extras include a gallery of rare on-set photos from Lubezki. Also, on Blu-ray: interviews with Inarritu and Keaton, and a backstage peek with the cast and crew.

“The Theory of Everything” (PG-13, 123 minutes, Universal): “The Theory of Everything,” a stirring if conveniently cosmeticized portrait of physicist Stephen Hawking and his wife, Jane, drew five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Eddie Redmayne) and Best Actress (Felicity Jones). This handsome, ultimately very moving drama winds up subtly upending as many genre conventions as it obeys. Based on Jane Hawking’s memoir “Travelling to Infinity: My Life With Stephen,” the biopic doesn’t dwell too long on Hawking’s most famous intellectual achievements. Instead, filmmaker James Marsh has created a spirited, affecting meditation on marriage, specifically how Hawking’s affliction with a brutally degenerative disease and Jane’s mostly unflinching support and motivation throughout its worst predations resulted in a relationship that, while far from ideal, bears celebrating. Contains thematic elements and some suggestive material. Extras include commentary with Marsh, deleted scenes and a “Becoming the Hawkings” featurette.

“The Interview” (R, 112 minutes, Sony): This genial, occasionally incisive, generally lackadaisical comedy about a dunderheaded journalist tasked with assassinating Kim Jong Un is aimed squarely at fans of the low-brow humor perfected by Seth Rogen and his frequent collaborator James Franco. That “The Interview” landed amid the brouhaha of a hacking scandal, geopolitical crisis and First Amendment case study is as improbable as one of Rogen and Franco’s absurd plots. As it turns out, the satire isn’t nearly as sharp or politically pointed as the kerfuffle suggested. But Rogen and Evan Goldberg – who co-directed “The Interview” from a script that they wrote with Dan Sterling – make some germane points about life in North Korea and the repressive leadership of the Kim dynasty. For the Hermit Nation’s young fans of silly sight gags, these sophomorically raunchy jokes and scatological japes could prove to be surprisingly galvanizing, maybe even revolutionary. Contains pervasive profanity, crude and sexual humor, nudity, some drug use, and bloody violence. Extras: commentary with Rogen and Goldberg and a Discovery Channel special featuring Rogen and Franco. Also, on Blu-Ray: gag reel; deleted, extended and alternate scenes; eight featurettes, including Rogen and Goldberg comment on directing; “Puppy Power” on the King Charles Spaniel puppy; Rogen on working with a real tiger; the process of creating jokes on set and a Line-o-Rama of alternate jokes; cast members discussing their experience on the film; “Dating a Dictator” dating profile video and Randall Park’s audition video and a look at his transformation into the dictator role. looking the part of a dictator.

“Dumb and Dumber To” (PG-13, 109 minutes, Universal): Like the original 1994 “Dumb and Dumber,” the 20th anniversary sequel “Dumb and Dumber To” involves a transcontinental road trip with dim-bulb buddies Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels. And yet despite scenes taking place in Rhode Island, Maryland, Kansas, Texas and spots in between, the story rarely turns its attention away from a region of a few square inches. With the persistence of an annoying brat hammering away on your front door, the film relentlessly focuses on the human body’s locus of excretory and sexual functioning. Contains pervasive crude and sexual humor, obscenity, views of bare buttocks and drug use. Extras include a “What’s So Smart About Dumb and Dumber To” featurette. Also, on Blu-ray: a making-of featurette, deleted/extended scenes and a gag reel.

“St. Vincent” (PG-13, 102 minutes, The Weinstein Company): Bill Murray musters every ounce of goodwill that he’s earned as a lovably gonzo free spirit in “St. Vincent,” in which he plays a grouchy, alcoholic ne’er-do-well who hires out to babysit the 12-year-old son of his new neighbor (a toned-down Melissa McCarthy). “St. Vincent” faithfully follows every trope and cliche of the ingratiating kid-and-curmudgeon genre. Throw in a hooker with a heart of gold (Naomi Watts), a wisecracking Catholic school teacher (Chris O’Dowd) and some touching surprises in Vincent’s back story, and writer-director Ted Melfi hits a trifecta his own, shamelessly soliciting laughter, tears and sentimental sighs. But it’s hard to stay mad at “St. Vincent” for long, mostly because the performances are consistently appealing. Contains profanity and mature thematic material, including sexual content, alcohol and tobacco use. Extras include deleted scenes and a Q&A with Murray.

“The Homesman” (R, 122 minutes, Lionsgate): In his latest effort as director, star and co-writer, Tommy Lee Jones won’t concede that “The Homesman,” set in 1854 on the harsh Nebraska frontier, is either a western or a feminist movie. And although it has elements of both, those words don’t do the drama justice. Supporting cast includes standouts Hilary Swank, John Lithgow, James Spader, Hailee Steinfeld and Meryl Streep. Contains nudity, troubling scenes, sexual situations and violence. Extras include behind-the-scenes looks at “Shooting the Film” and “Story to Script,” and a featurette on the life of women in the 19th century.

Also:

“Life Itself” (acclaimed documentary on world-renowned film critic Roger Ebert, Magnolia), “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” (nominated for best animated feature Oscar, Japan), “Dying of the Light” (thriller with Nicolas Cage and Anton Yelchin), “Hollywood Chaos” (with Vanessa Jean Simmons), “Skating to New York” (five high-school hockey players dare to skate across frozen Lake Ontario to New York), “No Tears for the Dead” (with Dong-gun Jang, South Korea), “An Autumn Afternoon” (1962, The Criterion Collection), “Animal” (with Joey Lauren Adams), “Gladiators of Rome” (animated, Italy), “Malignant,” “V/H/S: Viral,” “The Sixties” (CNN documentary), “Dick: The Documentary” (a cross-section of anonymous men from 21 to 80 disrobe and talk about their genitalia) and “Easter Family Fun Pack” (six animated films from “Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors” to “The Great Easter Egg Hunt”).

Television series:

“Game of Thrones: Fourth Season” (HBO), “Wahlburgers: Second Season” (A&E), “The Chair” (Starz doc series) and “Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness.”