‘Bachelorette’ gets real, ‘Hobbit’ gets boring and ‘Zero’ gets tense on DVD

Among the movies that became available Tuesday, March 19 on Blu-ray and DVD at retail stores and rental outlets throughout the Valley are a comedy about a trio of bridesmaids, a prequel to “The Lord of the Rings” and a movie that depicts the elimination of Osama bin Laden.

'Bachelorette'

Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan and Isla Fisher play three frisky bridesmaids who, on the night before an old friend's (Rebel Wilson) wedding, go searching for a little fun but find much more than they bargained for. (R – 91 minutes)

Although it can quite accurately be called “Bridesmaids”-light, “Bachelorette” is a rather enjoyable comedy. The strength of writer/director Leslye Headland's first feature-length film, which she adapted from her own stage play, is that it allows humor to come naturally out of the process of exploring its three characters' personalities rather than by force. As a result, the entire experience – from the emotions to the laughs – feels much more authentic. Having said that, it does drop the ball a bit during its second act, which slows the action down to a near crawl. Fortunately, the third act picks the pace back up again and the film finishes strong. (Grade: C)

'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'

Martin Freeman plays a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. (PG-13 – 170 minutes)

Forget “unexpected.” The journey that writer/director Peter Jackson takes viewers on with his first installment of his new prequel to “The Lord of the Rings” would be more accurately be described as “unbearable,” “undesirable” and “unendurable.” “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” simply stretches author J.R.R. Tolkien's story too thin – covering roughly 100 pages in close to 3 hours. As a result, the film features a tortuously tortoiselike pace. Gollum is the movie's only saving grace, giving an otherwise mundane migration through Middle Earth some much needed energy. Making matters worse, Jackson's new 48-frames-per-second technology makes everyone look like they are hopped-up cartoon characters. (Grade: D)

‘Rust and Bone’

Matthias Schoenaerts plays a father who, having been put in charge of his young son, leaves Belgium to live with his sister and her husband in Antibes. His bond with a killer whale trainer (Marion Cotillard) grows deeper after she suffers a horrible accident. (R - 118 minutes)

“Rust and Bone” appears to have everything going for it - a pair of greatly gifted actors in Matthias Schoenaerts and Marion Cotillard, a dramatically devastating plot point on which it can hang its hat and some CGI to make it all that much more believable. However, writer/director Jacques Audiard’s French import injects so much misery into its two characters’ lives that the film is on the fringe of farce - especially given the impossibly favorable outcomes of certain scary scenes and its unwarrantedly happy ending. Audiard should have focused solely on Cotillard’s character’s struggle to emotionally overcome the loss of her legs. (Grade: D)

‘Shadow People’

Dallas Roberts plays a radio talk show host who unravels a conspiracy about encounters with mysterious beings known as the “Shadow People” and their role in the unexplained deaths of several hundred victims in the 1980’s. (PG-13 - 88 minutes)

At first, “Shadow People” seems like an groundbreaking filmmaking experiment as it intercuts its narrative with actual interviews of real-life participants, local news footage and radio clips from the true event by which its story is inspired. However, upon closer examination, writer/director Matthew Arnold’s new thriller is less a feature film than it is a two-episode arc of “Unsolved Mysteries” - minus the late Robert Stack’s spooky speechcraft to leave us feeling utterly unsettled. Arnold deserves kudos for his resourceful storytelling technique but the film’s fascination factor falls off significantly in the second half from its strong start. (Grade: D)

'Zero Dark Thirty'

Chris Pratt, Jessica Chastain and Joel Edgerton |play an elite team of intelligence and military operatives who, for more than a decade, have been working in secret across the globe, devoting themselves to a single goal – find and eliminate Osama bin Laden. (R – 157 minutes)

The final hour of “Zero Dark Thirty” is earth-shatteringly intense. Unfortunately, the motion picture's preceding 90 minutes – essentially the entire runtime of most other movies in and of themselves – are deliberately paced, extremely technical and action-starved. Those are by no means bad qualities but they certainly have the potential to disappoint viewers who may have been expecting something similar to director Kathryn Bigelow's “The Hurt Locker.” The good news is, though, that those who allow the filmmaker to take them on the challenging journey are rewarded with not only an electrifying finale but also an impression of intellectual stimulation. (Grade: B)