Widescreen: 'Avengers: Endgame' is now available for digital purchase
The highest-grossing movie of all time is now available on digital purchase platforms and packed with special features to make it worth your $19.99.
"Avengers: Endgame," the 22nd chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, arrives on Vudu and iTunes with the kinds of extras you expect to see on Blu-ray and DVD: deleted scenes, gag reel, even commentary from directors Anthony and Joe Russo. Other featurettes include a tribute to departed Marvel mastermind Stan Lee; separate segments with actors Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Chris Hemsworth; and a special look at "The Women of the MCU."
If you're still a physical-media collector, you can get all these extras Aug. 13 when the Blu-ray and DVD copies hit stores.
Voices from the past
Tom Petty. Brian Wilson. David Crosby. Ringo Starr. Eric Clapton. Michelle Phillips.
All of these rock legends appear in "Echo in the Canyon," a documentary about the music scene that emanated from Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills back in the '60s. The film by former Capitol Records President Andrew Slater screens at 7:30 Monday, Aug. 5, as part of the After Hours Film Society's ongoing series at the Tivoli Theatre, 5021 Highland Ave., Downers Grove.
Coproduced and featuring Wallflowers vocalist Jakob Dylan (son of you-know-who), "Echo in the Canyon" features Petty's last filmed interview, according to the film's website.
Admission to the film, rated PG-13, is $6 for AFHS members and $10 for nonmembers. Buy online at classiccinemas.com.
Leo's best work
Last week I named "Pulp Fiction," "Jackie Brown" and "Inglourious Basterds" as writer/director Quentin Tarantino's masterpieces. Audiences gave his new film, the fractured fairy tale "Once Upon a Time in ... Hollywood," the biggest opening-weekend gross of his 27-year career - $41 million, to be exact.
Is it another masterpiece? I don't know. As with many of QT's films, "Once Upon a Time" is going to have to marinate for a while. As one would expect, the 161-minute epic takes its time, shuns traditional structure and pulls a few shocking tricks out of its bag.
One thing I do know for certain: Tarantino has given Leonardo DiCaprio the finest role of a fine career. As aging action star Rick Dalton, DiCaprio is asked to play the matinee idol, the wizened pro, the angry drunk, the befuddled stooge, the sad clown and about a dozen other roles. The middle stretch of the film, in which Dalton reports to the set of a Western pilot to play a guest-star villain, stands out in a film that also features Margot Robbie's kind, blissful performance as the doomed Sharon Tate, and Brad Pitt as a stuntman with some dark secrets.
"Once Upon a Time in ... Hollywood" is formidable. It may yet prove to be a favorite.
• Follow Sean on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.