It’s an interesting week on the DVD shelves, as the DVD’s being released are more for the independent crowd, while two major TV shows release their latest seasons .
DVD’s
Away We Go – Sam Mendes followed up the super-serious Revolutionary Road with this dramatic comedy about a couple dealing with having a baby. John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph star in the film. It was released in the summer, and it felt like it was one of those films that would start small, build up some word-of-mouth, and become a decent sized hit, but it never met those expectations. Still, I like Sam Mendes as a director so I’ll be checking this out.
The Girlfriend Experience – Steven Soderbergh is another director that always interests me with his work. He follows up the dramatic epic Che, with a film that chronicles five days in the life of an upscale escort in New York. The escort is quite successful, and doesn’t feel degraded by what she does, but she becomes more desensitized in her private life and is unable to feel any emotion (That is not my best work in writing I can assure you). The film stars adult film actress Sasha Grey, who got some good reviews for her performance. I’m curious to see this film, because when Soderbergh directs, I’m expecting to see something different.
Monsters Vs. Aliens – This was a film that I had a lot of fun watching in theatres. The film has some great voice talent in Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Kiefer Sutherland, Will Arnett, Stephen Colbert, Rainn Wilson, and Paul Rudd to name a few. The story centres on Susan Murphy, whose wedding day is destroyed when she gets hit by a meteorite. She doesn’t die, but instead becomes a giant. She is taken to a secret government lab where other monsters are kept, and the monsters are called into action when aliens attack the Earth. There are a lot of pop culture references in the film, which is typical for a Dreamworks animated film, but it is a lot of fun, and I recommend it.
Shrink – I am a big fan of Kevin Spacey. You know you’re always going to get a quality performance from him. His latest film didn’t get a wide release, which deals with Spacey’s character, who is a popular Los Angeles shrink, having trouble coping with a personal tragedy. I don’t know much more than that, but if you’re a fan of the actor, check this one out.
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies – This Direct-to-DVD animated feature from Warner Bros. DC Animated Universe has the superheroes teaming together to battle Lex Luthor who frames them for murder. Superman and Batman have to deal with not getting caught by the law while trying to stop Luthor at the same time. The DVD is based on a six part comic book, so fans of the comic will want to see how it translates to DVD.
The Wizard of Oz (70th Anniversary Edition) – One of the most popular films ever made gets another re-release to celebrate its 70th anniversary. It’s being released in many different editions and while I don’t see the need for anyone to go out and buy it if they already have a copy, if you don’t already have it in your collection, this is a must have.
TV SHOWS
C.S.I.: New York: Season 5 – Gary Sinise fights crime by solving cases in a lab. That’s an ultra simplistic way to describe the show, but I don’t think there is much else to say. It’s like the Law and Order franchises in that you know what the C.S.I franchises are all about, and either you’re a fan or you’re not.
How I Met Your Mother: Season 4 – Here’s another show that many people have told me to watch, but I have yet to watch an episode. The series is best known because of Neil Patrick Harris’ role as Barney, the ultimate ladies man. Fans say that the show has gotten better with each year. The series also stars Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan, and I know fans will be picking this DVD set up on Tuesday.
Until next week!
