New DVDs being released Dec. 12 range from the historical to the heroic.
• “Detroit” — 2 stars: Director Kathryn Bigelow showed a great ability to equally address the political and personal sides of the stories in “The Hurt Locker” and “Zero Dark Thirty.” Too much attention either way would have undermined the films.
Bigelow shows no such balance with “Detroit,” and her film based on the true story of the violence of white Detroit police officers in the summer of 1967 comes across more like a horror movie than a sociological thriller. The imbalance distracts from the serious story of the riots that tore the city apart at that time.
• “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” — 2 stars: The first film, “Kingsman: The Secret Service” had a fun charm about it as if a James Bond thriller had been mashed up with an Austin Powers tale. But, the emphasis was always on the spy story.
This sequel cares less about the spy story and more about mixing as many unrelated elements as possible. There are still some fun moments but this follow-up effort no longer has the license to be killer entertaining.
The movie about a secret spy ring, hidden away behind a London tailor, stumbles as it reaches across the pond to the American version of the agency. The addition of the Americans — especially an annoying cowboy spy played by Channing Tatum — is not only stupidly offensive but so bland it taints the rest of the film.
• “Luke Cage: The Complete First Season” — 3 1/2 stars: Netflix has launched several series based on characters from the Marvel Comics universe, including this one about an experiment gone bad that leaves Luke Cage with super strength and unbreakable skin. The man-mountain of a hero played by Mike Colter was introduced in the Netflix series “Jessica Jones.”
Cage is the best of the lot that also features Daredevil, Iron Fist and the Punisher. That’s because Colter not only is very believable when he’s doing the super hero stuff, but he also brings a deep humanity to the role.
Also on DVD
• “Mysteries of China”: Visual adventure that shows the growth of the nation through aerial photography and time lapse techniques.
• “Wolf Warrior II”: Chinese soldier takes on special mission in Africa to protect medical aid workers.
• “Shattered”: Emmy-nominated daytime TV star Arianne Zucker stars in this political family drama based on a true story.
• “Doc Martin: Series 8”: Martin Clunes returns as Dr. Martin Ellingham.
• “Zoo: The Third Season”: Efforts continue to find the reason animals around the world are attacking and killing people.
• “Bad Lucky Goat”: Two teenagers try to atone for accidentally killing a goat.
