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New on DVD

Modern Family: The Complete First Season
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
I’m always weary of new shows because there are so many of them and most of them go away after the first season.  When a friend of mine called mid-season through Modern Family and told me I just had to watch it because not only is it funny but there is a guy on the show that reminds him exactly of me, well, my interest was peaked.  Then I found out I reminded of him of a big flaming queen and I didn’t know what to say.  But I started to watch the show anyway and now my wife and I are hooked.  And the flaming queen, played by the brilliant Eric Stonestreet, just went on to win the Emmy, as did the show for best Comedy – a feat very difficult for a freshman comedy.  Modern Family revolves around three unique families: the dad/granddad, played by Ed O’Neal who lives with his hot young Colombian wife and her son, the somewhat normal daughter/mother with her husband and three kid outfit, and the other son who is one half of a gay couple who have just adopted a daughter from Vietnam.  The comedy is fresh and irreverent and extremely off-color which makes it that much more likable.  The only disappointment of the season was the much anticipated Hawaii episodes which were not nearly as funny as the buzz made us think they were going to be.  A

Bored to Death: The Complete First Season
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis, and Ted Danson star in this freshman HBO comedy about a mystery writer who is so bored that he posts an ad on the internet lending his services as a private detective in order to pass the time and maybe get a few ideas for his novel.  Each of the cases turn into madcap adventures and although Schwartzman and Galifianakis aren’t as funny as you’d like them to be, Danson turns in the best performance of his career.  The fact that he didn’t get an Emmy nomination off of this for best supporting actor shows that voters didn’t watch the show.  B

Robin Hood
Rated PG-13 for violence including intense sequences of warfare and some sexual content
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
The theatrical version of Robin Hood had some major problems that the filmmakers have attempted to clear up in this new Director’s Cut edition.  The first problem couldn’t be fixed and that is that the film is not about Robin Hood, but rather about what made him Robin Hood.  There is an interesting story somewhere there, but it also gets bogged down in the ultimate goal of setting Robin with his his destiny.  I like origin movies, but the movie needs to get into the meat of the story and not stop short.  Of course for this film to have done that it would have to be five hours long, and it already feels too long to begin with.  Where they went right this time was to axe the PG-13 for an unrated label and make it more of the R it should have been.  While the original script of the movie called for Robin Hood to be the villain and the Sheriff to be the hero, which could have been truly excellent, at least this new version gives a better look at what should have hit the big screen a few months ago.  C+

Spartacus: Blood and Sand – The Complete First Season
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Loosely based on the original character, Spartacus is betrayed by the Romans, forced into slavery, and remade into a legendary gladiator in this Starz original series.  While the story isn’t bad, the special effects, which seem to want to copy 300 but can’t quite get there, are as lousy as you can imagine.  This makes the violence completely laughable.  And then there is the surprising amount of graphic sex which is not only out of place in most cases, but has dialog written in that would make you think Larry Flynt was involved.  The only thing I can admire is the amount of time in the gym this cast spent – so as a mere inspirational television show, this one hits hard.  C

Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue
Rated G
Available on Blu-ray/DVD Combo
In this straight to video adventure, Tinker Bell makes friends with a human girl and is thought to be missing by all of her fairy friends.  As Tink tries to teach the girl about fairies, her friends set off on a rescue mission.  After seeing Alpha and Omega last week, I really needed something to cleanse my palate and this one worked just great.  The story is cute and will be immensely popular for little girls.  What I probably loved most about it were the rich, beautiful colors splashed all over the screen.  The animation here is top notch and proof that Disney knows exactly what it’s doing.  B

American Beauty: Sapphire Series
Rated R for strong sexuality, language, violence, and drug content
Available on Blu-ray
Getting the Sapphire treatment this time around is the Oscar-winning classic American Beauty about a not-so-average dysfunctional family on a road to self-destruction.  The HD transfer looks and sounds amazing, but I couldn’t find any new features to speak of.  It would have been nice to have the making-of documentary in HD possibly, or maybe something on that incredible score by Thomas Newman, but at least the special features from the DVD the first time around were pretty decent.  The commentary by director Sam Mendes and writer Alan Ball is still excellent.  While Conrad Hall won the Oscar for this one too, the definitive reflection of his life can be found on the recently released Road to Perdition which is the last film he made before he died, and directed by the same director as Beauty.  A-  

New on DVD

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
In an attempt to recapture the franchise magic Disney had with Pirates of the Caribbean, they went to the hit video game Prince of Persia and spent an estimated whopping $200 million on this mystical tale of a young boy from the streets who is adopted by the king and eventually goes on a journey to save the kingdom from a very evil Ben Kingsley.  While considered a flop, especially since the advertising budget probably cost more than the gross, it was a pretty entertaining film overall.  Sure the heroine should have been changed out and the climactic sequence was way too nutty to be believed, but Jake Gyllenhaal is a wonderful hero and Kingsley as the villain serves as the perfect snake in the grass.  B

America: The Story of Us
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
This nine plus hour documentary from The History Channel chronicles the history of The  United States from its earliest settlers until today using epic reenactments and state-of-the-art special effects.  Beginning with a unique introduction from President Barack Obama, the film also utilizes some of the most respected names in politics, military, Hollywood, and education to tell stories and to move the narrative forward.  As for me, I’ve always wondered how they built the Statue of Liberty, Hoover Damn, the railroads across America, and other great American milestones.  I didn’t actually think I had time to watch all nine hours of the set when I started, but upon putting the first disc in I couldn’t wait to finish and check out each special feature to boot.  This is one you’ll want in your collection so you can watch now, with you kids, with your grandkids and for generations to come.  One side note.  I watched the first three episodes on DVD and the last sections on blu-ray, and this is definitely a disc that you can tell a huge difference in the quality between the two.  A

The Twilight Zone: Season 1
Available on Blu-ray
Rather than cycling through the HD masters from when the DVD set came out back in 2004, they decided to produce brand new 1080p film transfers using the original camera negatives and magnetic soundtracks for this official HD release of the first season of the ground-breaking television television show.  After all, what would our sci-fi and horror entertainment look like right now were it not for The Twilight Zone in 1959 and 1960.  This definitive collection contains some of contents of that 2004 DVD release, but also a lot of new material including the rare, unofficial pilot episode “The Time Element.”  With 19 commentaries, tons of interviews, Rod Serling lectures, 18 radio dramas, and 34 isolated music scores, this is probably one of most complete television seasons on blu-ray I’ve ever received as a critic.  A

Letters to Juliet
Rated PG for brief rude behavior and sensual images, some language and incidental smoking
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
When a writer (Amanda Seyfried) and her chef fiance go to Verona for their pre-Honeymoon, they separate for a few days to follow their interests.  While there she finds a note a young girl wrote to Shakespeare’s Juliet 50 years ago asking for help and decides to write her back.  When this now older woman (Vanessa Redgrave) comes back to Verona to follow up with the letter she wrote, the writer, the older woman, and the woman’s grandson take off on a search to find her lost love from 50 years ago.  While the trailer for this film serves as essentially the Cliffs Notes version, its simplicity is acceptable given that it is somewhat likable.  While it has its funny moments, its not really a romantic comedy and that’s a good thing since it doesn’t have much potential to be funny and any physical humor would have just turned it into another Leap Year, and that’s the last thing we need.  Then again, there wasn’t a whole lot of chemistry between Amanda Seyfried and either of her leading men.  The only chemistry felt was that between her and Redgrave and between her and Italy.  That made the whole climactic sequence a mess and pretty stupid seeing her up on the balcony.  Sure you know where they are going and the filmmakers thought they were being clever, but it only felt forced and like they were trying to fit a theme that was only there in title and maybe in a Taylor Swift song.  C+

Glee: The Complete First Season
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Theater geeks like me and millions of Americans came out of hiding this year to watch this sometimes brilliant high school comedy musical which incorporates pop and Broadway music into school life.  Not to be confused with High School Musical (I think you can still get beat up for thinking Glee is cool but not HSM), Glee is a very original, and when you think about it very difficult piece of television production considering each week is a brand new musical event.  Sure there are a lot of eye-rolling moments and many times I think to myself that I’m watching a cheesy show about teenagers, but then Jane Lynch pops up on screen and makes me laugh myself silly right before I’m completely moved by a rousing rendition of one of my favorite Journey tunes.  Does that make me a gleek?  A-

New on DVD

That Evening Sun
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language, some violence, sexual content and thematic elements
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
While this little indie took home some huge prizes at major festivals including the Audience Award at South by Southwest in 2009, it largely escaped most audiences and will hopefully find a better home on peoples’ televisions.  Sun tells the story of a retiree (Hal Holbrook) sentenced to nursing home life by his son.  When he decides he’s had enough and wants to go back home to his farmstead, he finds his son has rented out his old place to an abusive father (played by The Blind Side’s Ray McKinnon) and his wife and daughter.  Setting out to reclaim his home, he slowly escalates the feud between himself and the father until a war is inevitable.  I think that one of the reasons this movie has won so many awards is due to the fact that it starts out like an old-fashioned picture and turns into an ugly drama that takes full advantage of the fantastic cast at hand.  While everyone knows that Holbrook is fully capable of a role such as this, the real winner here is McKinnon who elevates himself from Hollywood character actor to a real talent.  His performance should have been enough to get an Oscar nomination last year had enough voters seen the film.  A-

Solitary Man
Rated R for language and some sexual content
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Michael Douglas is a man on top of the world until he decides to cheat in business and on his wife and gets caught doing both.  Then he finds out he has a bad heart to boot.  So drawing on the superficial relationships he has mustered up with his family and friends he attempts to get his life back together and figure out what is really important and what’s not.  It’s hard not to notice the incredible cast on this one with Douglas, Danny Devito, Susan Sarandon, Mary-Louise Parker, Jenna Fischer, Jesse Eisenberg and others, and they all have their own little great moments.  It’s a troubling film to watch in that anytime you see a man bringing himself down it’s not easy, and he never really lifts himself up again, but the writer does a decent job of representing an introspective feel without boring the audience which is a very challenging thing to do.  Douglas also pulls off an impressive performance worth taking a look at.  B-

MacGruber
Rater R for strong crude and sexual content, violence, language and some nudity
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
This SNL spoof of MacGyver tells the story of a secret agent hired by the government to stop a criminal mastermind who has stolen a nuclear warhead.  While I thought that the incredibly dirty jokes might make the film more interesting, they only ended up getting in the way.  Then again, they were there because the plot was so stale that they needed something to bring laughs.  I guess with a lame James Bond plot, they felt the only way to bring laughs was to stick celery up their butts.  Well, they did, and now I can’t eat celery ever again.  Thanks MacGruber.  D+

Tommy: The Movie
Rated PG
Available on Blu-ray
The Who’s Tommy is now 35 years old and if you are a fan you’ll probably love the new blu-ray transfer.  The good news is that the look and sound are beautiful and crisp.  If this is one of your favorite movies, then by all means pick up a copy.  As for me, the only scene I find watchable is Elton John’s Pinball Wizard and while it really does rock hard, the rest of the movie is just too much.  Too weird, too sick, too drug-induced.  C

The Office: Season Six
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Season six took a strange new direction with Dunder Mifflin leaving the picture and Kathy Bates picking up as the new overlord with her company Sabre stepping in.  If they didn’t want us get tired of the same ol’ thing, well they got their wish.  Then again, I didn’t find the humor as fresh or funny this last season as everyone was worried about romance with Jim and Pam’s wedding (which was a disappointment in my opinion), and all of the other inter-office couplings.  That being said, I’m not giving up on it and am really looking forward to Michael Scott’s last year at the helm in the upcoming season seven.  B

New on DVD

Red Riding Trilogy
Not Rated but contains strong violence, sexual content and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
This set of three crime dramas based on the novels written by David Peace focuses on three sets of heinous crimes committed by serial killers and the corrupt police department running the investigations.  Each one takes place in a different year.  In 1974, a young reporter, played by the future Spiderman Andrew Garfield, attempts to put the pieces together when a string of young girls show up dead with swan wings sown to their backs.  In 1980, In America’s Paddy Considine is a detective in the same town trying to solve the notorious Yorkshire Ripper murders.  And in 1983, David Morrissey is a senior detective that attempts to solve the 1974 murders when a young girl is kidnapped with the original killer’s M.O. in spite of the killer supposedly being locked away.  While you can possibly watch the first film without having to see the others – I’m not sure why you would.  This trilogy was made to be watched in its 308 minute entirety.  And it is so rewarding when you do.  By the the end of 1983 I could hardly catch my breath I was so overwhelmed.  Yes its dark and gritty and pretty darn hopeless, but taken all in together I would have to say this is one of my favorite films of the year so far.  A

Harry Brown
Rated R for strong violence and language throughout, drug use and sexual content
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Michael Caine is Harry Brown, a retired Royal Marine living on a pension in a part of town being run down by dangerous kids.  When his best friend is killed by a gang of thugs and let go by the police, he goes after them, Death Wish style, to not only get revenge, but to make the streets safer for people like him to live.  This is a very upsetting, uncomfortable film with one heck of an actor at the lead.  Regardless of decisions of the writer and director, it’s hard not to find yourself cheering for this underdog vigilante and you want everything to happen to these kids that’s coming to them.  At Michael Caine’s age, it’s hard to get leading roles – especially for action films.  To see him knock one out of the park like this in his late 70’s is pretty fantastic.  B+

Anchorman: The “Rich Mahogany” Edition
Rated PG-13 for sexual humor, language and comic violence
Available on Blu-ray
If you are a big fan of the mustache-toting San Diegan from the 70s, then you might like this very, very complete Will Ferrell blu-ray set.  While I couldn’t find anything new on it, the collection of old from several sources is huge.  Most notably is a special movie that must have been filmed on the side called “Wake Up, Ron Burgundy” which follows the further adventures of Ron and gang with an entirely new plot.  Just like in the movie, many of the jokes don’t hit, but many of them do and it’s hard not to find yourself laughing throughout.  Also included in the set is Ron’s 32 page diary and a set of 12 trading cards.  B

The Evil Dead: Limited Edition
Not Rated
Available on Blu-ray
Many of the the most famous directors in Hollywood started out with low budget horror films but one of the most famous cases is Spiderman director Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead.  Following the chronicles of Sam Ash, played by the iconic Bruce Campbell, Evil Dead sounds a whole lot scarier than it really is.  In fact, many consider it to be quite the comedy.  This new blu-ray received the royal treatment with an all-new commentary by Raimi and Campbell as well as tons of other great special features.  A-

9th Company
Rated R for sequences of strong bloody warfare, pervasive language, some sexuality/nudity and drug use
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Russian with English subtitles
When this film about the Russian/Afghan war was released a few years back it was the top grossing film in Russian history.  That doesn’t mean it’s good though.  It starts off with promise as you think you might get a Russian Full Metal Jacket, and the director sure does know his Kubrick, but once the half-way point hits, it almost becomes laughable.  And if you like to research your films to check out the trueness of their “true stories” this one will shock you.  Almost all of the final battle was not only silly, but completely fabricated.  Granted, the set pieces were impressive but if you are only satisfied with quality war films, you will find this one not able to offer much.  If you do check it out though, make sure you turn on the English language dub which makes all of the characters go from thick Russian to Gomer Pyle.  D

Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Collection
Available on DVD
I was bummed when HBO’s show about “New Zealand’s 4th most popular folk parody duo” ended at two seasons, but hey – at least I had two seasons.  Each episode of the hysterical comedy followed Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie as they tried to make it with their two-man band in New York with one rabid fan and the world’s worst manager.  But these are no ordinary musicians.  They sing and dance in every genre possible with some of the most creative music, lyrics and directing you’ve ever seen or heard.  In their own words they “rap about reality – like me and grandma drinking a cup of tea – there ain’t no party like my nana’s tea party – hey – ho.”  While I’m sure this won’t be the last set you’ll see released, since a blu-ray is yet to see the light of day, this “Born To Folk” edition contains both seasons and their One Night Stand live concert and is enough to put a big cheesy grin on your face that will last quite a while.  A

New on DVD

Lost: The Complete Sixth and Final Season
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
While there were a few folks out there that didn’t like the direction taken for the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815,  most, like myself, found the journey to be breathtaking and the end to be everything hoped for.  The parallel story lines were a bit confusing at first, but watching them a second time on this set along with some great special features including “The New Men In Charge,” a documentary that answers even more questions about the island including my biggest one about the polar bears, you can see the real genius in the writing and the beautiful ending of a truly special television event.  Very few shows have been able to leave like this and none so eloquently.  Noticeably missing is a commentary on the last episode, which I was really looking forward to listening to.  A

Pawn Stars: Season Two
Available on DVD
Back for another season are the family of pawnbrokers from Las Vegas trying to figure out the good deals from the bad as folks dream of big cash that they’ll later be losing in the casinos down the street.  Regardless of the clientele though, it’s always interesting to see what’s valuable and what’s not and how these guys try to pay bottom dollar for what they want.  In thirty-minute increments, the show is just fast-paced enough to make for a nice little guilty pleasure TV snack.  B-

The Backup Plan
Rated PG-13 for sexual content including references, some crude material and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
J-Lo wants a baby so bad and doesn’t want to have to wait for the man to give it to her so she decides to have an artificial insemination.  Unfortunately she meets the man of her dreams on the same day.  He doesn’t mind that she’s having a baby, or in this case two, so they start off on a relationship doing things slightly out of order.  While the premise here is not bad, everything else is.  The jokes bomb due to being horribly written and terribly acted.  J-lo is pretty and all, but just not a movie star and while her love interest carries his weight pretty well, he just can’t make it work.  Then there is the Jerry McGuire wannabe women’s support group that just plain stinks up the place.  Maybe if they hadn’t tried to make this a comedy and left it at a romance with complications it might have had a chance, but J-lo and most of the rest of the cast lack the timing to pull it off.  D

City Island
Rated PG-13 for sexual content, smoking and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Andy Garcia and Julianna Margulies head up an extremely dysfunctional family in the New York City area that could very easily be functional if they’d only communicate a little better with one another.  In this comedy of errors, the mistakes the characters make build upon one another, some organically and some not, until the hilarious finale when things come to a head and have no choice but to pop.  The film has a small, indie feel to it, but it does deliver big laughs and has a nice quirkiness that many will appreciate.  B

The Simpsons: The Thirteenth Season
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
While not the best of the Simpson’s Seasons, this 2001-2002 airing still had the show pulling off some pretty funny material that gave South Park and Family Guy tons of ideas to steal from.  Still considered on the cutting edge at this time, the Simpsons covered a number of hot topics including medicinal marijuana, spirituality, reality television executions and obesity.  Among the best this season were “The Blunder Years” where Homer takes a flashback to his younger days with young Moe, Lenny, and Carl, as well as the episode “Sweets and Sour Marge” where Springfield is named World’s fattest town and Homer becomes a sugar smuggler when sweets are banned.  B+

The Instant Expert Series from The History Channel
Available on DVD
The History Channel has taken some of its most popular titles on some of its most interesting subjects and added a school-like approach with a small booklet in the case and quiz on the disc.  If you’ve ever wanted to know more about subjects such as Benjamin Franklin, Oil, Egypt, The Mayflower, The French Revolution or Beowulf, these discs are a great resource and very affordable.