Black Sails
Blu-ray l DVD
CREATORS: Jonathan E. Steinberg, Robert Levine
DIRECTORS: Neil Marshall, Sam Miller, Marc Munden, T.J. Scott
WRITERS: Jonathan E. Steinberg, Robert Levine, Michael Angeli, Heather Bellson, Doris Egan, Brad Kane
STARRING: Luke Arnold, Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Zach McGown, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Tom Hopper, Mark Ryan, Clara Paget, Toby Schmitz, Louise Barnes
Anchor Bay Entertainment
RELEASE DATE: January 6, 2015

I’m terrible at watching TV shows. Just awful. New ones often come around that I really want to check out, and before I know it multiple seasons have come and gone. Seriously—it feels like time travel at times.

Being a huge fan of pirates (I even enjoy the Pirates of the Caribbean movies most people aren’t so fond of), Black Sails on Starz was one such show that immediately piqued my attention but got away from me. This is thanks in part to its fairly brief maiden voyage (season one is only eight episodes). But thankfully I was able to check it out on Blu-ray, and with season two having just kicked off recently, I’m happy to finally be on board.

Griff the Invisible
DIRECTOR: Leon Ford
STARRING: Ryan Kwanten, Maeve Dermody, Marshall Napier, Heather Mitchell, Toby Schmitz, Patrick Brammall, Anthony Phelan
Indomina Releasing
RELEASE DATE: August 19, 2011 (limited)

Most of us recognize Ryan Kwanten as Jason Stackhouse from the hit guilty pleasure–fest that is HBO’s True Blood. Some fans may know his voice from Zack Snyder’s Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole or smaller, more obscure fare like the forgettable Flicka and Dead Silence, or even more obscure TV titles like Summerland, or Home and Away and Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord in his native Australia. But again, most of us point to Mr. Stackhouse.

But Kwanten has also dabbled in the realms of indie films over the past couple of years, and his work there is not to be ignored. After seeing the 2010 western thriller, Red Hill, I was more than excited to take a peek at his other 2010 effort, Griff the Invisible, which is just now seeing a limited theatrical run.