Punch Drunk DVDs: ‘Valerian’, ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’, ‘Good Time’, And More!

NEW THIS WEEK



The latest sci-fi mind-blower from genre legend Luc Besson
stars Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevine as two special agents,
working together to
bring order to the galaxies of the 28th century. Under direct orders
to obtain an artifact held on the utopian planet Alpha, the agents soon
discover that there was more to their mission than they understood, and a
looming dark pressence is working against them to slowly dimantle the
intergalactic metropolis and set the alien races against each other again.

We Said: “There’s so much to
admire about Valerian from a technical standpoint that you almost want to
forgive everything else that is so wrong with it. You’ll keep waiting for the
light switch to turn on and for [Writer/Director Luc] Besson to fully realize Valerian’s
immense potential. But after a couple of hours you’ll find that forgiveness and
patience can only travel so far.” Rating:
2.5 out of 5





This hard-R action comedy teams up Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan
Reynolds as a notorious assassin and his former enemy, now assaigned to protect
him from the every-growing number of international mercinaries who want him
dead. Over the course of a chaotic 24 hours, the duo face numerous outrageous bloody
obsticles on their way across the border, trying not to get killed or kill each
other first.

We Said: “I imagine the majority
of filming The Hitman’s Bodyguard was Reynolds and Jackson bouncing snark
off of one another like a freshly-tossed smoke grenade.  Surely, most of the film seems ad-libbed
right there on the spot, giving the duo ample chance to hit their “muthaf**ka”
quota in about five minutes. Three minutes if you include co-star Salma Hayek.”
Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Good Time is a haunting new thriller about the worst day in the life of
a young criminal (Robert Pattinson). After a botched bank robbery leaves his
younger disabled brother in police custody, a mad race around the city begins, as
he stops at nothing, pulling every bloody string he possibly can to try to get
his brother out of prison before it’s too late.

We Said: “Set afire by the
combination of Oneohtrix Point Never’s sonic soundtrack and Sean Price
Williams’ searing 35mm visuals, Good Time is a treat for the senses.
As it rages to an inevitably chaotic conclusion, we’re left with a bittersweet
reminder that Good Time is, at its core, a story about family and one’s
devotion to it.” Rating: 4 out of 5