Capsule reviews of the Dec. 23 video releases, on DVD and Blu-ray, including special features:
• “The Trip to Italy” (unrated, 108 minutes, IFC Films): Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon reprise their roles in this “The Trip” follow-up in which they motor through that country’s picturesque seaside and islands. Once again, director Michael Winterbottom has created a feast for just about all of the senses, yet worries about mortality, artistic impermanence and moral duty lie coiled at the heart of “The Trip to Italy,” uneasily making their presence felt alongside the protagonists’ hedonistic pleasures. Contains profanity and some sexual innuendo. No special features.
• “Pride” (R, 117 minutes, Sony): Taken from a little-known real-life chapter of the protracted miners’ strike in Margaret Thatcher-era Britain, and adding some rousing high spirits and infectious brio, “Pride” might easily be accused of over-idealizing its subject matter, if its most heartwarming elements weren’t true. In 1984, a group of gay activists — sympathetic to what they saw as the abusive, repressive tactics of Thatcher’s administration toward miners protesting pit closures — resolved to raise money for the striking laborers and their families. After initially encountering a wall of homophobia and mistrust, the group finally found a village in Wales that accepted its help, forging a cross-cultural bond and personal friendships that changed some of the participants’ lives forever. Contains profanity and brief sexual content. Extras include deleted and extended scenes and a “Pride: The True Story” featurette.
• “The Good Lie” (PG-13, 110 minutes, Warner): The video cover prominently features Reese Witherspoon’s smiling face, but this isn’t just another uplifting tale of a white woman coming to the aid of desperately needy people of color — in this case, south Sudanese refugees escaping genocide and teeming refugee camps in the early 2000s. “The Good Lie” spends most of its time tracing the early life of the three protagonists, first as children escaping the torching of their village and the brutal murder of their families. After walking hundreds of miles from southern Sudan to Ethiopia and finally Kenya, they end up in a camp outside Nairobi where, over 13 years, they grow into strong, resourceful young men. Contains thematic elements, brief strong profanity and drug use. Extras include “The Good Lie Journey” featurette and deleted scenes.
Also
“1,000 Times Good Night” (semi-autobiographical drama by Norwegian filmmaker Erik Poppe, starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Juliette Binoche, Film Movement), “Two-Bit Waltz” (comedy-drama, directorial debut of Clara Mamet, with William H. Macy, Jared Gilman; Monterey Video), “Wings: Sky Force Heroes” (Dove-approved animated family film featuring voices of Josh Duhamel, Hilary Duff, Rob Schneider and Tom Skerritt, Lionsgate), “Just a Measure of Faith,” “Blue Tide” (Japan), “Traffickers” (South Korean crime thriller), “Oscar Micheaux: The Czar of Black Hollywood” (documentary), “Frontline: The Rise of ISIS” (documentary on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, PBS), “7 Assassins” (China) and “Sanatorium.”
Television Series
“Intruders” (BBC paranormal thriller series, with John Simm and Mira Sorvino), “Nova: Why Planes Vanish” (PBS), “Continuum: Season 3” (Syfy), “American Experience: Cold War Roadshow” (PBS) and “Dominion: Season 1″ (Syfy).”
