Iron Man 2 – The third biggest hit of the year (behind Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland) arrives on DVD and continues the adventures of Tony Stark//Iron Man as he takes on a couple of new enemies in Justin Hammer played by Sam Rockwell and Ivan Vanko played by Mickey Rourke. Hammer wants to destroy Stark because he is a competitor to his business while Vanko’s motives are more personal. Robert Downey Jr. is his charismatic self in the film, and Gwyneth Paltrow also does a solid job reprising the role of Pepper Potts. Don Cheadle takes over for Terrence Howard in the role of James Rhodes. The film has all the ingredients to be a hit, but never finds the perfect balance of adventure and fun that the first film had. Still, it’s a decent way to spend an afternoon.
Get Him to the Greek – This comedy stars Russell Brand and Jonah Hill in a film that is spin-off of Brand’s character Aldous Snow from Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The film follows Jonah Hill’s character, who is in charge of going to London, England to get Brand’s character to come to Los Angeles to put on an anniversary concert. This proves to be easier said then done and the next 72 hours will be nothing like what Hill has ever experienced before. Sex, drugs, threesomes, furry walls, gunshots, blood and rock and roll. There are some great cameos in the film, but the scene-stealing performance belongs to P. Diddy as an expletive-filled record executive. He is like a bolt of energy every time he appears on screen and gives the film quite a bit of life. Overall, I thought the film was good, but not great, and not in the league of other Apatow films, but again it is still a decent way to spend an afternoon.
Frozen – This horror film has a simple premise. What if you were stuck on a ski lift and left to die? The story follows three friends who accidentally get left on a ski lift and will freeze to death if they don’t do something about it. Can they wait it out? If one of them jumps, will they die when they hit the ground or just break some bones? Will wolves kill them once they reach the ground? The film got a small release and is probably not for everyone, but the premise reminds me of films like Open Water or Buried so if you like those films, you might like Frozen.
The Killer Inside Me – This film stars Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson and is about a sheriff of a small Texas town. Everyone thinks of him as a nice, but slow human being. What no one knows is that he is a sociopath. He was almost caught in his youth, but someone else took the fall for it. Now the evil that he has tried to bury is coming back, which leads to some violent ends for some of the townspeople. I’m sure no one has even heard of this film, but it got a very small release in theatres. The director is Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People), so cinephiles might be interested in the film.
Family Guy: Partial Terms of Endearment – This banned from TV episode arrives on DVD (amazing that Fox didn’t want the episode to air on TV, but are willing to make money off of it as a stand alone DVD release). The episode follows Peter and Lois meeting up with a woman named Naomi who was a friend of Lois’ back in college. Naomi and her husband are not able to have a baby, so they approach Lois to become the surrogate mother. Lois agrees and after the in vitro fertilization process, Naomi and her husband are killed in a car accident. Lois now has to decide on whether to have an abortion, or have the baby and give it up for adoption. It’s some heavy subject matter, but reviews have been positive and there are enough random references to keep most Family Guy fans happy.
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse – ohthree wrote a great piece on this DVD yesterday, so instead of me trying to write about it, you can read ohthree’s review of it by clicking here.
The 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concerts – This DVD has the performances from the 25th anniversary concert that happened over two days in 2009 at Madison Square Gardens. Acts that performed include: Bruce Springsteen, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Stevie Wonder, U2, Bonnie Raitt and Metallica. A definite must-have for music fans!
TV ON DVD
The Cleveland Show: The Complete First Season
C.S.I.: The Tenth Season
Scrubs: The Complete Ninth and Final Season
Until Next Tuesday!
