05.03.10 | Chris Cummins | New Releases This WeekPrint this Post
From recent theatrical hits (Tooth Fairy) to fondly remembered TV favorites (The Facts of Life anyone?), this week's numerous new DVD and Blu-ray releases offer up plenty of choices to please even the most cynical of viewers (i.e. me). With that in mind, let's break down the latest titles jockeying to be a part of your home-viewing experience. Here we go!
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars in this lightweight family comedy as a tough minor league hockey player whose obnoxious behavior earns him an unusual punishment: He must spend one week as a Tooth Fairy. Under the tutelage of silver-winged superiors Julie Andrews and Billy Crystal, Johnson learns the tricks of his forced trade while also beginning to bond with his girlfriend's two kids. With Ashley Judd, Stephen Merchant, Destiny Whitlock.
The classic medical drama that originally aired on ABC from 1969 to 1976 finally makes its long awaited DVD debut with this seven-disc set that includes all 26 episodes from the debut season. Robert Young stars as the title character; with James Brolin as his young associate physician and Elena Verdugo as their nurse/secretary.
Chicago director Rob Marshall returns to the musical genre with this song-and-dance extravanganza inspired by Federico Fellini's 8 1/2. Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Penelope Cruz, Sophia Loren and Fergie from The Black Eyed Peas star. Trivia: The title of the film also denotes the number of people who actually saw it in theaters.
This by-the-numbers romantic comedy stars Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, Adam Scott and John Lithgow. Although your time would probably be better spent watching Scott's hilarious Starz series Party Down.
The Facts of Life: The Complete Fourth Season
You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have...the fourth season of the popular sitcom making its DVD debut. Join Blair, Jo, Natalie, Tootie and Mrs. Garrett for 24 nostalgia-packed episodes. Also includes the bonus telefilm The Facts of Life Goes to Paris for even more 1980s fun.
In which Doctor Who faces off against Captain Picard. And with that, nerds the world over suddenly become interested in Shakespeare. David Tennant and Patrick Stewart star in this BBC production that recently had its American debut on PBS.
Iron Man: The Complete 1994 Animated Television Series and Iron Man: Armored Adventures: The Complete Season One
If you can't wait until Iron Man 2 hits theaters later this week, check out these animated adventures starring Marvel Comics' high-flying hero.
Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1980s: Vol. 1
This compilation of 'toons from the Reagan era includes episodes of "The Flinstone Kids," "Mister T," the spelling-challenged "Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos" and the epic "The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley."
The brilliant Steven Spielberg World War II film makes its Blu-ray debut...and Ted Danson's appearance in it is still distracting.
Joe Dante's offbeat look at B-movies and the Cuban Missile Crisis returns to DVD after being out of print for years. John Goodman shines in the flick as a William Castle-esque schlock filmmaker promoting his latest work-- Mant! (Half man, Half ant, all terror indeed). You almost certainly missed this one in theaters, so be sure to check it out for a smart, family-friendly comedy.
Penn & Teller: Bullsh*t!: The Seventh Season
The rabble-rousing magicians take on such topics as video games, taxes and stress in this latest collection of episodes from their Showtime series.
For details and availability of more of this week's new releases, click here.
Here's a look at last week's New DVD Releases.
I'm starting to doubt that one of the best counter-culture films of the early seventies will ever be put to DVD. In The Reckoning (1971), Nicol Williamson plays an up-and-coming executive from an oppressed upbringing who is willing to cheat and connive his way to the top. It has one of the most effective surprise endings ever filmed.
I'm beginning to think that there will never be any more releases of the Perfect Strangers comedy series on DVD. I purchased the Season I and II set a couple of years back and am wondering why it's taking so long to release the remaining seasons? Every other tv series gets released but why not Perfect Strangers?
Kevin - No word yet on if and when The Reckoning will hit DVD. You can bet that if it does, we will carry it here at Movies Unlimited!
Debra - Sometimes it takes years between season releases for TV shows (as fans of "Taxi" and "NYPD Blue" will tell you) to be issued. Also, if a DVD set underperforms sales wise, studios sometimes decide to hold off on releasing future volumes of the show. As of right now, there doesn't seem to be any more DVD adventures in the pipeline for Larry and Balki. But keep checking http://www.moviesunlimited.com, because if more seasons do get released, we will carry them!