ENTERTAINMENT

Home Video | Prestigious fare takes back seat to sex

Todd Hill
Reporter
AP Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan appear in a scene from “Fifty Shades of Grey.” In this image released by Universal Pictures and Focus Features, Dakota Johnson, left, and Jamie Dornan appear in a scene from "Fifty Shades of Grey." (AP Photo/Universal Pictures and Focus Features)

Prestige titles are forced to take a back seat this week to one extremely popular, exceptionally silly literary adaptation — and the word "literary" is being used very, very loosely. If the following titles don't pique your interest, be aware that the release calendar is so packed this week that some films have been moved ahead to the next column. Check back again then.

New movies

"Fifty Shades of Grey." Plenty of decent movies have been adapted from bad books, but this isn't one of them. For a film about sexual perversions, "Grey" is remarkably tame, more so than many R-rated pictures that don't even care about sex. Fortunately for its target fans, women with rich fantasy lives, they have well-developed imaginations, because they'll sure need them watching this snooze-fest. Stars Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson are unable to rise above the ludicrousness of the plot. They don't have much chemistry together, either. Rated R for strong sexual content including dialogue, some unusual behavior and graphic nudity, and for language. 125 min.

"Selma." It's the first feature film made about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which is shocking. It's an important movie, a necessary movie, and to that end every high school in the U.S. is receiving a free copy of it. This cinematic history lesson, about a key moment in the fight for African-American civil rights, also feels like a history lesson, which may be why it was snubbed at the Oscars. It deliberately misrepresents President Lyndon D. Johnson's role in the era, but there are far graver sins. David Oyelowo delivers a fine performance as King that fails to ascend to the level of memorable. Rated PG-13 for disturbing thematic material including violence, a suggestive moment, and brief strong language. 128 min.

Paramount Pictures David Oyelowo plays Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a scene from the motion picture “Selma.” Atsushi Nishijima, Paramount PicturesDavid Oyelowo portrays Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma. David Oyelowo plays Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a scene from the motion picture "Selma." CREDIT: Atsushi Nishijima, Paramount Pictures [Via MerlinFTP Drop]

"Mr. Turner." Mike Leigh's look at the life and inspirations of 19th-century British painter J.M.W. Turner was one of the best-reviewed films of last year, which isn't surprising. Critics have long had a love affair with Leigh's pictures. As with Leigh's other work, "Mr. Turner" has a plot-less feel to it, and although the characters' British accents can be hard to decipher, Timothy Spall largely just grunts as Turner. But his performance is terrific, and the movie is magnificent insofar as it immerses the viewer in a place and time. Although the film is well worth the effort, if you're not familiar with Leigh's pictures the effort on your part may be strenuous. Rated R for some sexual content. 150 min.

Old movies

"Mahogany." The parade of 40th-anniversary reissues continues with this DVD release of "Mahogany," Diana Ross's poor cousin to "Lady Sings the Blues," for which she received an Oscar nomination in 1973. There was no awards talk here, although Ross continues to hold the screen in the same enticing manner as a fashion designer who rises from the rough Chicago streets, and her chemistry with "Lady" co-star Billy Dee Williams is palpable. But the movie falls apart about halfway in, when Anthony Perkins, playing a prickly photographer who by all appearances should be gay, as Perkins was, espouses a romantic interest in Ross's character that isn't believable for one minute. 144 min.

Television

It's another masterful week for television releases. The recent fascination with the repressed middle years of the last century in the U.S. continues with the second season of Showtime's "Masters of Sex," about sex researchers Masters and Johnson. Michael Sheen, Lizzy Caplan, Beau Bridges and Allison Janney anchor this nuanced drama that's well worth the time it takes to watch 12 hour-long episodes … "Masterpiece: Mr. Selfridge," now three seasons in on PBS and out on DVD/Blu-ray, still feels like a lightweight "Downton Abbey," although Jeremy Piven continues to make the most of his role as the department-store magnate who wowed London 100 years ago. An active ensemble cast keeps things moving, but the momentum gained in a robust second season has waned a bit. Three discs, 450 min. … Picked up by PBS, the Starz miniseries "Dancing on the Edge" takes viewers back to the jazz clubs of the 1930s. Stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Matthew Goode aren't helped by the show's slow start, but once the music kicks in the production proves hard to resist, even when the story takes a dark turn. Three DVD/Blu-ray discs, seven hours.

Top 10

Here are this week's most popular DVD/Blu-ray rentals as compiled by Rotten Tomatoes: "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1," "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies," "Interstellar," "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb," "Into the Woods," "The Imitation Game," "Penguins of Madagascar," "Taken 3," "Exodus: Gods and Kings" and "Fifty Shades of Gray."

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