Powerful women

In theaters

The Sapphires (Weinstein): Can't get enough of Irish actor Chris O'Dowd (Bridesmaids, Girls)? Then you're in luck because he's up front and center in The Sapphires. Based on a true story, The Sapphires introduces us to Aboriginal sisters Gail (Deborah Mailman), Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell) and Julie (Jessica Mauboy), who grew up singing together with their cousin Kay (Shari Sebbens) in a rural area part of Australia. We are also given a brief history lesson about the "stolen generation" of Aboriginals, those with lighter skin and more European features, who were taken from their families and shipped off to schools and to live with new families.

Sadly, Cousin Kay was one of those people, taken from her family away at a young age. But the sisters continued performing together. At a talent contest in 1968, where the sisters are treated with disrespect by the owner of the establishment as well as the patrons, they meet host/accompanist Dave (O'Dowd). He sees great potential in the trio and when an opportunity arises to audition to perform for the troops in Vietnam, they decide to pursue it together. Of course, first they have to convince Kay to join them.

Suffice to say that after a series of complicated and comedic situations, including everything rehearsals to auditions and more in between, the all-female soul quartet The Sapphires are christened and on their way to Asia. With the help of promoter Myron (Don Battee), The Sapphires are shining brightly and performing before appreciative audiences. But their success is not without multifaceted drama. Young Julie is afraid of being in a war zone. Cynthia is making up for being left at the altar back home by acting out with some of the soldiers. Gail and Dave move from being combative to thinking about cohabitating. Kay is being wooed by African-American soldier Robby (Tory Kittles).

Just as The Sapphires are at the peak of their success, tragedy strikes. A camp at which they are performing comes under attack and there are fatalities and injuries. But what these women have already been through in their young lives only serves to strengthen their will to survive. Interweaving world events with those closer to their home in Australia, The Sapphires is as informative as it is entertaining. O'Dowd continues to be an actor to watch, while his four co-stars, some less experienced than others, certainly hold their own alongside him.

At home

Attempting to frame the beauty of the strange, Strange Frame (Wolfe) is a crude and hallucinatory combination of hand drawn and video-game quality graphics, striving for lesbian eroticism and intrigue without much success.

Queer mineworker Naia's (voiced by Tara Strong) story, told by lover Parker (voiced by Claudia Black) begins in the 26th century. Naia's ancestors chose to leave the poisoned earth over dying there. To their dismay, the result was indefinite indentured servitude or Debt Slavery on Ganymede, one of Jupiter's moons.

A couple centuries later, Parker, a middle-caste girl and sax-blowing street musician, lives in Kettleport Borough in Ganymede City. She gets caught up in the fracas when streetwise muses Calliope, Clio and Terpsee (voiced by Kofy Brown, Andrea Pritchett and Shelley Doty, respectively) free imprisoned Debt Slaves and a riot ensues. Crowd gyration being Naia's specialization, she leads Parker away from the chaos and to safety. This futuristic version of "meeting cute" is the beginning of their personal and professional relationship.

Forming a band with other musicians, Naia and Parker are minding their own business when they are approached by talent agent/star-maker Dorlan (voiced by Tim Curry). After a night of partying with Dorlan at club Stratosphere, where the mind altering substances are plentiful, Parker finds herself on the wrong side of the backstage door. Dorlan has big and nasty plans for Naia, who has fallen under his spell, and they don't include Parker.

Determined to get her "twisted little angel" back and save Naia from Dorlan's clutches, Parker teams up with a pair of mercenaries who roam the galaxy in The Lone Mango, an unlicensed trash hauler. The duo, Morgan Freeman lookalike and double amputee Grenman (voiced by Ron Glass) and bat-like creature Reesa (voiced by Cree Summer), have their own troubles, including the AI Bittsea (voiced by Juliet Landau), who could be a direct descendant of the evil Hal from 2001.

When it comes to being strange, Strange Frame lives up to its name. It's also a rock musical with forgettable songs. None of Strange Frame's elements, including audio and visual, add up to anything worth recommending. Bonus features include deleted scenes and a pair of featurettes.

Pixar's latest Oscar-winner Brave (Disney) whisks us away to a mythical Scottish kingdom where princess Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) is determined to maintain her independence in spite of the plans of her royal (pain) parents Elinor (voiced by Emma Thompson) and Fergus (voiced by Billy Connoly) to marry her off to the son of one of the town's clans. Not the least bit interested in any of her suitors, expert archer Merida shows them all up at an exhibition, thereby shaming her family.

After taking off for the forest on horseback, Merida is led by the Wisps to the home of a witch (voiced by Julie Walters) turned woodcarver who conjures a spell to change Elinor's mind. But the witch, who has a long list of unsatisfied customers, screws up and changes Elinor... into a bear. That's a bad thing because it was a bear named Mordu who took one of Fergus' legs.

Now it's up to Merida to hide and protect her mother until the spell can be reversed. Plus she only has two days to do it or else the spell is permanent. Themes of destiny and fate, mending bonds and restoring pride, not to mention freedom and the chance to live the life you choose propel Brave, like an arrow shot from a bow. As usual Pixar nails the visuals – Merida's hair deserves a movie of its own – but the story is kind of flat. The best parts of it occur as Merida and her mother/bear bond in the wild. Because of the change in their relationship, the queen encourages Merida to break with tradition and write her own story, follow her heart and find love in her own time, which will allow her to fulfill her destiny.

The five-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition Brave combo pack consists of the Blu-ray and Blu-ray bonus discs, a DVD, a digital copy and a 3D Blu-ray. Bonus features include an exclusive short, an alternate opening, audio commentary, extended scenes and a great deal more.