Capsule reviews of the this week’s video releases, on DVD and Blu-ray, including special features:
• “The Divergent Series: Insurgent” (PG-13, 119 minutes, Lionsgate): The second chapter of the sci-fi trilogy is set in a dystopian Chicago where people have been sorted, like machine parts, into five personality-based “factions,” such as bravery (Dauntless), honesty (Candor) or self-sacrifice (Abnegation). It seems ironic that the Erudite, the brainiac faction of which evil Jeanine (Kate Winslet) is supreme leader, administers and defends this harebrained scheme. Then there are Divergents, including heroine Tris (Shailene Woodley), with affinity for more than one faction, and the Factionless misfits. In response to a rebellion led by Tris and her boyfriend, a fellow Divergent known as Four (Theo James), Jeanine has come to believe that the solution to what she calls the “Divergent crisis” is contained in a locked time capsule that has been left by the founders of this kooky world. There are several nice performances, especially by Miles Teller, returning as Tris’ Dauntless nemesis Peter, and new cast member Naomi Watts, playing Four’s factionless mother. Shifting loyalties and ambiguous motives keep the viewer off balance in a good way. Contains violence, sensuality and brief coarse language. Extras include commentary with producers Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher and a “From Divergent to Insurgent” featurette. Also on Blu-ray/3D combo: feature-length behind-the-scenes documentary and featurettes on cast and characters, screen adaptation, a breakdown of the train fight scene and “The Peter Hayes Story.”
Also on DVD
“Far From the Madding Crowd,” “Do You Believe,” “True Story,” “Child 44,” “Madame Bovary,” “Night and the City” (1950, noir classic), “Into the Grizzly Maze” (Alaska-set action-adventure), “Barely Lethal” (teen spy action-comedy), “Looney Tunes Rabbits Run” (new, original animated film), “Blackbird” (family film about a gay black student who struggles with coming out in his Southern Baptist community), “Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal” (by romantic fantasy advance by Oscar-winning director Peter Pau), “Flamenco, Flamenco” (2010, documentary), “Burying the Ex” (zombie comedy), “When the Checks Stop Coming In” (documentary on black celebrities), “Phantom Halo” (thriller), “Little Loopers” (an ex-golf pro coaching a kids team), “A La Mala” (romance from Mexico), “Appetites” (horror), “The White Storm” (Hong Kong), “Wyrmood: Road of the Dead,” “Black Box” and “Alpha and Omega: Family Vacation” (animated family film), “Toolbox Murders 2,” “Lake Placid vs. Anaconda” (fifth film for both franchises).
TV on DVD
“The Casual Vacancy” (three-part HBO miniseries based on the J.K. Rowling novel), “Murdoch Mysteries: Season 8” (Canadian and Ovation — as “The Artful Detective” mystery series, Acorn), “Strike Back: Season 3” (Cinemax), “The Comeback” (2005, 2015, with Lisa Kudrow, HBO), “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: First Season” (1964-65, 10-disc set), “The Wild West” (BBC documentary, Athena) and “I Love Lucy: Season Two” (1952-53, five-disc Blu-ray set).
