04.12.10 | Chris Cummins | New Releases This WeekPrint this Post
Remember last week when I mentioned how all the big releases (Avatar, Crazy Heart, It's Complicated, The Lovely Bones, etc.) would be coming out on DVD soon? Well, they are...just not this week. So while your patience will be rewarded soon, you might be able to find something to hold your interest until April's big DVD and Blu-ray titles start to roll out next Tuesday. Here's a look at the several notable offerings you can check out this week -- including a smart British comedy with a stellar cast, an offbeat superhero flick, the latest seasons of two TV classics and an under-appreciated Disney gem.
Released in the UK as The Boat that Rocked, this ensemble comedy (inspired by actual events) from Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually writer/director Richard Curtis chronicles the exploits of renegade British DJs in 1966. Defying the rock music-hating BBC by creating a pirate radio station that broadcasts from a ship anchored off the English coast in the North Sea, the eccentric disc jockeys must deal with each other's quirks and problems caused by a Parliament official seeking to shut them down. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, Rhys Darby, Chris O'Dowd star. Some filmgoers who saw the longer UK version of this balked at how various character moments and plot points were edited out of the American release for a shorter running time. The inclusion of some of these deleted scenes on the DVD makes up for this decision somewhat, but there's no reason why the film couldn't have been released for home viewing with both the UK and US theatrical versions intact.
By day, Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson) is a none-too-bright construction worker. But under cover of darkness, he becomes the costumed crimefighter Defendor. While searching for the drug dealer he holds responsible for the death of his mother, Arthur finds an unlikely friend in a feisty young prostitute (Kat Dennings). Sandra Oh, Elias Koteas also star in this offbeat superhero comedy.
Dallas: The Complete Thirteenth Season
Return yet again to the Southfork Ranch for this three-disc set that features all 27 episodes from the penultimate season--including "Phantom of the Oil Rig," "Pride and Prejudice," "Cally on a Hot Tin Roof," "I Dream of Jeannie," and the two-part "Three, Three, Three." (History of the Dallas TV Show)
The Great Mouse Detective (Mystery in the Mist Edition)
Lively animated feature from Disney Studios about the adventures of Basil of Baker Street, a Sherlockian rodent out to crack a case involving England's royal family masterminded by the diabolical Professor Ratigan. Voices are supplied by Vincent Price, Barrie Ingham, and Alan Young. One of Disney's more underappreciated pre-The Little Mermaid animated works, this is worth throwing on if you or your kids are a bit fatigued from all of the computer-generated animated films on the market today.
If you want a classic TV fix, but Dallas is a bit too sudsy for you, check out the sixth season of this groundbreaking medical drama from executive producer Jack Webb that centered on a heroic group of L.A. paramedics, firefighters and emergency workers who are constantly getting into dramatic (yet easily resolved) adventures. The awesomely named Randolph Mantooth stars along with Kevin Tighe (best known these days as Locke's kidney-stealing con artist father on Lost), Robert Fuller, Julie London and Bobby Troup. This five-disc set features all 24 sixth-season episodes--including "The Game," "Fair Fight," "Captain Hook," "The Boat," and "Limelight" (which sadly has nothing to do with the Rush song).
For details and availability about more of this week's releases, click here.
Here's a look at last week's New DVD Releases.
