Blu Tuesday: Jane Got a Gun, Ride Along 2 and Krampus

Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray releases and let you know whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art to purchase the Blu-ray from Amazon, and be sure to share each week’s column on Facebook and Twitter with your friends.

“Jane Got a Gun”

WHAT: When her outlaw husband (Noah Emmerich) returns home riddled with bullets after an altercation with the dastardly John Bishop (Ewan McGregor), Jane (Natalie Portman) recruits her bitter ex-lover (Joel Edgerton) to help protect them once John’s gang comes to finish the job.

WHY: “Jane Got a Gun” had such a rocky road to the big screen – including shakeups in the cast and crew, lawsuits and distribution problems – that it’s a miracle the film survived to see the light of day, let alone turned out as good as it did. Though the movie is a bit of a slow burn, the recurring use of flashbacks helps to break up the tediousness of the present-day action while also providing important backstory for its three lead characters. “Jane Got a Gun” isn’t quite the female empowerment Western that its title suggests, but it’s still a pretty decent genre flick that’s anchored by a top-notch cast. While Ewan McGregor is sadly wasted in the generic villain role, Joel Edgerton and Natalie Portman deliver solid work as the former lovers brought back together under difficult circumstances. Director Gavin O’Connor’s stripped-down approach gives the performances room to breathe, and it’s during these quieter moments, when he’s able to explore the emotional complexities of the central love triangle, that the movie really shines.

EXTRAS: Nothing to see here folks.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

“Ride Along 2”

WHAT: Freshly graduated from police academy, Ben (Kevin Hart) heads to Miami with his soon-to-be brother-in-law James (Ice Cube) to track down the crime lord who’s been supplying drugs to Atlanta and get back in time for his wedding.

WHY: The first “Ride Along” was a derivative buddy cop comedy that’s only saving grace was the onscreen chemistry between Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, so it’s disappointing that the sequel manages to squander that partnership by resorting to the same joke over and over again. We get it: James is a big grump and Ben is a loud, idiotic man-child, but does the audience really need to be reminded of that every five minutes? Though “Ride Along 2” is basically just a rehash of the original – from the generic plot, to the cardboard villain (this time played by Benjamin Bratt) – it’s somehow lazier and even more annoying. Hart’s hyperactive, motor-mouthed shtick provides a few chuckles, but they’re few and far between compared to the gags that don’t land, while the addition of the equally obnoxious Ken Jeong only makes things worse. “Ride Along 2” doesn’t even feel like it’s trying at times, and for a sequel to a movie that was already an inferior copy of much better films (“Lethal Weapon,” “Bad Boys”), it definitely shows.

EXTRAS: The Blu-ray release includes an audio commentary by director Tim Story, a seven-part making-of featurette, a roundtable discussion with the cast and crew, deleted scenes, a gag reel and much more.

FINAL VERDICT: SKIP

“Krampus”

WHAT: When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, the normally festive Max (Emjay Anthony) renounces Christmas, unknowingly summoning the evil spirit of Krampus, who punishes non-believers alongside his army of twisted minions.

WHY: Michael Dougherty’s 2007 horror anthology “Trick ‘r Treat” is one of the most underrated films in the genre, so it’s a little surprising that audiences have had to wait so long for his follow-up. Sadly, while “Krampus” features a promising setup and a strong cast (including Adam Scott, Toni Collette and Allison Tolman), it falls well short of Dougherty’s debut. The movie is neither funny nor particularly scary for a supposed horror-comedy, and the characters are so awful right out of the gate that you don’t care whether they survive or not. That would be fine if this ‘80s-styled throwback (think “Christmas Vacation” meets a much darker “Gremlins”) actually reveled in killing its characters, but Dougherty treats them like any other slasher film victim. Though “Krampus” does boast some unique character design and one or two fun sequences, the rest of the movie is such a bore that even the death scenes (several of which lack any creativity) are anticlimactic.

EXTRAS: In addition to an audio commentary by director/co-writer Michael Dougherty and co-writers Todd Casey and Zach Shields, there’s a five-part making-of featurette, a behind-the-scenes tour of WETA, deleted scenes, an alternate ending and a gag reel.

FINAL VERDICT: SKIP