This Week on DVD and Blu-ray (12-04-12)

 

 

What a loaded week! Two “Certified Fresh” films are out this week, the award-winning “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “The Dark Knight Rises”, the epic finale to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. I may not have been as enthusiastic as everyone else toward “Beasts”, but that hasn’t stopped it from building a wave of ‘end-of-the-year’ buzz. On the other hand, I admittedly overlooked quite of bit in my appreciation for “Rises” and find myself anticipating another viewing of the Bat-flick (this time with English subtitles, though). I’m pretty certain I’ll be taking a pass on “V/H/S”  the found footage horror anthology that caused a stir at Sundance earlier this year. Let’s see what else is out…

 

 

One film I’m definitely looking forward to catching up with is “Hope Springs”, a dramedy directed by David Frankel (“The Devil Wears Prada”). I guess I have a desire to see Steve Carell play a therapist trying to help Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones get some mojo back in their marriage.

 

There’s a couple Christmas releases that couldn’t be more different from each other. “The Dog Who Saved the Holidays” finds Joey Lawrence voicing said dog, supported by an all-star cast of has-been TV stars: Dean Cain, Shelly Long, Michael Gross, Mindy Serling and Gary Valentine. Yeesh – now that’s a movie that’ll compel me to watch a remake of “Silent Night” starring Donal Logue (currently on a “Sons of Anarchy” run) as a killer Santa Claus. It also stars Jaime King and Malcolm McDowell. Sounds like great gift-wrapping entertainment. See their crappy trailers below!

 

Two movies starring Jennifer Garner finally hit the streets. The first is “Butter” which made its rounds on the festival circuit and saw a VOD/pre-theatrical release recently, but it apparently churned rather than melt viewers. (Er, okay, that was bad.) Then there’s Disney’s “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” about a couple (Garner and Joel Edgerton) who wish a child of their own to life complete with a list of characteristics thy desire in him – heart-tugging ensues? Cuteness? Could be. There’s always a catch, though, right? Neither films were lauded by critics, although “Timothy Green” did meet a gaping hole for a certain family-friendly market, making decent numbers.

 

That’s it for this week! Previous reviews are highlighted below. Enjoy the Rundown….

 

 

 

• The Adventures of Mark Twain (Collector’s Edition) (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Alps (DVD)
• Angry Boys (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Beasts of the Southern Wild (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Bob the Builder: Teamwork Time (DVD)
• The Blue Angel (Remastered Standard Edition) (Blu-ray)
• Brazil (Criterion Collection) (Blu-ray)
• Butter (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Catch Me If You Can (Blu-ray)
• The Dark Knight Rises (DVD/Blu-ray)
• The Dark Knight Trilogy (Batman Begins/The Dark Knight/The Dark Knight Rises) (DVD)
• The Dog Who Saved the Holidays (DVD)
• Eastbound & Down: The Complete Third Season (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Elf Man (DVD)
• Finding Nemo 3D (3-Disc & 5-Disc Combo Pack) (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Francis Ford Coppola: 5-Film Collection (Blu-ray)
• Fred 3-Movie Collection (DVD)
• Fred 3: Camp Fred (DVD)
• Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Hope Springs (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Kaijudo: Rise Of The Dual Masters: Creatures Unleashed (DVD)
• Ken Follett’s World Without End (DVD/Blu-ray)
• My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: Adventures In The Crystal Empire (DVD)
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: XXV (DVD)
• The Odd Life of Timothy Green (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Oklahoma! (1999) (Blu-ray)
• Pablo Larrain: Director’s Collection (Tony Manero & Post Mortem) (DVD)
• Purple Noon (Criterion Collection) (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Silent Night (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Silent Night: Deadly Night 1 & 2 (1984,1987) (DVD)
• The Simpsons: The Fifteenth Season (DVD)
• Star Trek – The Next Generation: Season 2 (Blu-ray)
• Suddenly (1954) (Blu-ray)
• Tell No One (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Thunderstruck (DVD/Blu-ray)
• Titanic: Blood & Steel (DVD)
• Up 3D (Combo Pack) (DVD/Blu-ray)
• V/H/S (DVD/Blu-ray)
• We Can Be Heroes (DVD)
• Wu Dang (DVD/Blu-ray)