Page 24 THE VILLADOM TIMES I & III • January 29, 2014 DVD releases (continued from Restaurant page) keep both their relationships and themselves alive. In this teen sex comedy meets sci-fi mayhem flick, there is a half-hearted attempt to distinguish the central characters from one another, but they nonetheless come off as generic horror movie ingredients, on hand merely to succumb to the escalating bloodshed. The idea of bodies stolen or possessed by alien forces is not new. Don Siegel initiated a long line of sci-fi thrillers on this theme in 1957 with “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” In “Plus One,” director Dennis Iliadis (“The Last House on the Left” remake) tweaks the theme enough to make for a suspenseful picture, and manages to get effective perfor- mances from his young cast. DVD extras include an inter- view with the director, poster gallery, cast auditions, and trailers. “The Fifth Estate” (Touchstone) tells the story of Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who created the website WikiLeaks, dedicated to publishing the unedited, unadul- terated truth, and examines the morality of publishing sen- sitive documents. Unhappy with the failure of the world’s mainstream media to use their resources to delve, question, and probe into abuses of big government and big busi- ness, Assange sets up the WikiLeaks website and guaran- tees whistleblowers’ anonymity. The plan works, much to the embarrassment of some of the world’s most powerful people. WikiLeaks knows no borders. Its reach is world- wide. Cumberbatch captures Assange’s physical appearance but fails to breathe life into his characterization. There is a half-hearted attempt to reveal some of Assage’s early life, but viewers never get a handle on who this guy is. Structur- ally, “The Fifth Estate” is a mess. Director Bill Condon’s attempt to create an immediate, tense style through quick cutting and superimpositions of newspaper headlines becomes irritating once it becomes clear that he is piling on one event after another without dramatic payoff. One never fully understands Assange’s dedication: Is it entirely selfless or motivated by the celebrity he acquires? “The Fifth Estate” never comes to life. It is strictly TV-movie caliber. The Blu-ray/DVD combo pack contains three rou- tine behind-the-scenes featurettes. “Terraferma” (Cohen Media Group) is an Italian-French co-production set on a small Italian island that has become an unintended destination for African refugees. Filippo (Filippo Pucillo), a 20-year-old islander who has lost his fisherman father to the sea, continues the family tradition of fishing for a living with his fragile grandfather Ernesto (Mimmo Cuticchio) on their small boat off their tiny island near Sicily. Filippo’s uncle Nino (Giuseppe Fiorello) pres- sures his nephew and father to junk the boat. Nino wants his 70-year-old father to retire and his nephew to offer boat tours for the increasing number of travelers visiting the island. The government has decreed that it is against the law to pick up illegals at sea, but Ernesto and Filippo rescue a pregnant Ethiopian woman and her son from the Medi- terranean. This act causes the local police to impound the boat, their primary means of earning a living. Director Emanuele Crialese has crafted a film of con- trasts. The island attracts wealthy tourists, yet its inhabit- ants are barely making ends meet. The constant influx of refugees threatens to damage the island’s lucrative tourist business. The focus of the movie is Filippo, torn between tradition and change. Crialese has elicited moving perfor- mances, and the cinematography is often breathtaking. Filmed in Italian with English subtitles, the new Blu-ray edition contains a making-of featurette.