Top Picks: 'The Red Turtle' on DVD and Blu-ray, the Wild Weather app, and more
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Beautiful sadness
Pleasure does not accurately describe Canadian singer/songwriter Feist’s first album in six years. Pain is more like it, as a raw and beautiful sadness permeates the 11 tracks, mostly featuring only Leslie Feist’s riveting, wounded vocals and distinctive acoustic guitar playing. Ambient sounds, unexpected noisescapes – even crowdsourced choruses – weave in and out, always for maximum impact. Check out “Baby Be Simple” and “Any Party.” No one else makes music remotely like Feist.
Fun weather
Chances are you check the weather on your phone fairly often – so why not make that a little more enjoyable? The Wild Weather app not only tells you what’s happening outside but does so with hand-drawn illustrations of hills, trees, animals, and more. The app will make your day a bit more beautiful. It’s available for $1.99 for iOS and $1.79 for Android.
Ravishing ‘red’
Studio Ghibli’s first international co-production, The Red Turtle, is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. The animated film tells the story of a shipwreck that results in the ship’s passenger arriving on an uninhabited island. Monitor film critic Peter Rainer writes that “The Red Turtle” is “a rare ‘children’s film’ that works equally well for adults.”
Audio organizer
Looking for a better way to organize your podcasts? The Castro app includes a queue where you can sort new episodes of your favorite podcasts and an archive where you can store the episodes you want to save for later. Castro is $3.99 for iOS.
Scorsese’s ‘Silence’
Director Martin Scorsese’s long-gestating movie Silence stars acclaimed actors Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver as Jesuit priests in 17th-century Japan who encounter Christian converts like Mokichi (Shinya Tsukamoto). Monitor film critic Peter Rainer writes that actor Issei Ogata, who portrays a man who aims to eradicate Christianity from Japan, “is a wily adversary who steals every scene he’s in.” The movie is available on DVD and Blu-ray.
