DVD previews: 'Boyhood,' 'Get On Up'

Here's a look at DVDs coming out Tuesday, Jan. 6:

"Boyhood" (R, 166 minutes, Paramount): Mason (played by Ellar Coltrane) grows up from a little boy into a nearly grown young man, living with his mom and sister in a series of Texas towns, solidifying his relationship with an unsteady father, struggling through schools and stepparents and girlfriends and himself until, in the film's final scenes, he starts college. In the hands of writer-director Richard Linklater, "Boyhood" turns from a classic coming-of-age story into something epic, transcendent and monumental. Filmed for a few days every year over 12 years, "Boyhood" breaks open a brand new genre: a fictional drama contoured and shaped by reality; a lightly scripted ensemble piece executed by both professional and nonprofessional actors; an experiment in time, narrative and cinematic practice that utterly transforms the boundaries of what film can look like and achieve. Coltrane is the clear star of "Boyhood," but Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette's performances as his parents are among the finest in both of their careers. Contains language, sexual references and teen drug and alcohol use. Blu-ray extras include featurette and a Q&A with Linklater and the cast.

"Get On Up" (PG-13, 139 minutes, Universal): In "42," Chadwick Boseman played baseball legend Jackie Robinson as a man suppressing his pride and bottling up his anger. In "Get On Up," Boseman plays another African-American icon, James Brown, and lets it loose in a firehose of charisma, determination, fury and unbridled funkiness. He flat-out nails the Godfather of Soul, who died in 2006 at 73, in this long-awaited biopic. Director Tate Taylor needed a vibrant, convincing Brown to make this movie work, and he got one. Boseman's performance is complemented by Nelsan Ellis's rock-steady portrayal of his best friend Bobby Byrd, as well as strong work from Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis. Contains sexual content, drug use, language and violence. Extras include commentary, interviews, featurettes, an extended take showing the actors in an unscripted performance. Also, on Blu-ray: archive footage, artists talking about Brown, deleted, extended and alternate scenes and full and extended song performances.

"Love Is Strange" (R, 94 minutes, Sony): Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina) have been together for almost 40 years when they are finally able to marry legally in New York. The film opens on their wedding day, during which they're toasted by, among others, Ben's nephew's wife, Kate (Marisa Tomei). Filmed in a series of beautifully arranged vignettes, set to a gorgeous soundtrack of mostly Chopin piano pieces, this quiet but acutely observed drama is gently spiked with moments of warm, knowing humor. Ben and George not only find their nascent union somewhat challenged, but will confront the very limits of their loving extended clan, genetic and chosen. "Love Is Strange" turns out to be a subtle, sidelong coming-of-age and letting-go-of-age story. Contains language. Extras include commentary, a making-of featurette and an LA Film Fest Q&A.

Also: "No Good Deed," "Dinosaur 13," "The Pleasures of Being Out of Step: Notes on the Life of Nat Hentoff," "Happy End," "Jungle Master," "Playing Dead" (France), "The Dark Valley" (Austria/Germany), "The Guest," "Salvo" (Italy), "The Sword of Doom" (1966), "Finders Keepers" and "The Houses October Built."

Television series: "Archer: Season Five," "Black Sails: First Season," "Midsomer Murders, Series 12 and Series 13," "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Pilot, a Mini Movie and the Squareshorts" and "Sabrina - Secrets of a Teenage Witch: Magic of the Red Rose."