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Here’s what you’ll find new in stores this week:
NEW BLU
Becket (MPI)
Fred Claus (Warner)
George Carlin: It’s Bad For Ya (MPI)
Hancock (Sony)
Jarhead (Universal)
The Kingdom (Universal)
Meet Dave (Fox)
Space Chimps (Fox)
Superman: Doomsday (Warner)
DVD
Beautiful Ohio (Ifc)
Bottle Rocket (Criterion)
Chungking Express (Criterion)
A Colbert Christmas (Paramount)
Fred Claus (Warner)
George Carlin: It’s Bad For Ya (MPI)
Hancock (Sony)
Meet Dave (Fox)
Slap Shot 3: Junior League (Universal)
Space Chimps (Fox)
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (Criterion)
Superman: Doomsday (Warner)
TV-on-DVD
24: Redemption (2-hour movie) (Fox)
Beverly Hills 90210: Season 6 (Paramount)
Freaks & Geeks: Yearbook Edition (Shout! Factory)
Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C: Final Season (Paramount)
The Mod Squad: Season 2, Vol.1 (Paramount)
Greg’s Pick of the Week
The Kingdom (Blu-ray)
Universal Studios Home Entertainment | 111 minutes | Rated R | $29.98
With Black Friday a mere three days away, it’s somewhat surprising there aren’t more big name titles hitting shelves this week. Still, there is some holiday-friendly fare to be found. For starters, we have Warner’s Fred Claus, a film about Saint Nick’s older brother Fred (Vince Vaughn). I have yet to watch this one, but that’s only because of my rule not to watch Christmas movies before Thanksgiving. My fingers are crossed though, primarily on account of the inspired casting of Paul Giamatti as Santa. Next up, there’s the always-hilarious Stephen Colbert’s yuletide special, “A Colbert Christmas.” I have no doubt it’ll be worth a watch so consider yourself on notice. And Paramount is doing something interesting with their new “wrapped and ready” product line. The films aren’t new on disc this week, but kudos to whoever came up with the pre-wrapped DVD idea – it’s perfect for the last minute (read as: male) shopper. Paramount delivers three such titles this week: Iron Man, Kung Fu Panda and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Simply remove the outer sleeve, slap a name tag on it and you’re good to go.
Fans of the show “24” should enjoy Redemption, Fox’s new 2-hour movie DVD, which promises to whet fans’ appetites for the upcoming season. Unfortunately, I’m still a half season behind in my 24 watching, so I refuse to check out “Redemption” until I’ve caught up on the latest adventures of the unstoppable Jack Bauer.
Speaking of unstoppable let’s talk Hancock. Will Smith stars as Hancock, a drunk, reviled and indestructible superhero in dire need of some positive PR. Enter Jason Bateman (Arrested Development) as Ray, a down-on-his-luck marketing whiz who offers to help Hancock restore his damaged reputation. The film’s original premise coupled with the pairing of Smith and Bateman should have led to comedy gold but Hancock is all over the place. The first half of the film is a blast and for the most part manages to stay on message, setting things up well for an exciting finale. Unfortunately, the film’s second half derails, taking things in a direction few will see coming and with good reason. I won’t talk about Charlize Theron’s character for those who haven’t seen the film, but shame on Sony for the spoilerific (and hideous) cover artwork adorning the 2-disc DVD and Blu-ray editions. In protest, I’ve included the vastly superior single disc DVD artwork here instead. All of that aside, Sony has put together another exceptional high def offering with their Blu-ray edition of Hancock. The 1080p image looks fantastic with warm and natural skin tones, exceptional levels of fine image detail and plenty of rich, deep blacks – particularly in the film’s shadow-filled finale. The Dolby TrueHD soundtrack is no slouch either, packing plenty of wallop on the few occasions the action heats up. Hancock is also BD-Live enabled for those of you with a Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player.
Instead of Hancock, my Pick of the Week goes to another Peter Berg-directed film, also co-starring Jason Bateman (albeit in a smaller role): The Kingdom. When an American housing compound in Saudi Arabia becomes the target of terrorists, FBI agents (Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) investigate and become targets themselves. Despite some broad characterizations, The Kingdom is a highly entertaining thriller with several demo-quality action sequences. Universal released The Kingdom on HD DVD earlier this year and this Blu-ray release is every bit as good. Apart from a superb audio and video presentation, The Kingdom sports several high def-exclusive extras including a well-executed BonusView commentary and a cool U-Control -based feature entitled “Character by Character: The Apartment Shootout” where you can see how multiple vantage points are culled together to create one of the film’s many riveting action sequences. Good stuff.
Despite these exciting new titles to choose from, I for one will be watching John Hughes’ classic comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles tomorrow night. It’s a Thanksgiving tradition in my house and it never disappoints. Whether you’re traveling or not this year, here’s wishing you a safe and happy Thanksgiving and a relaxing holiday weekend.
EVALUATION SYSTEM
Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 projector
Philips BDP7200 Blu-ray Disc Player
Oppo DV-983H DVD player
Onkyo TX-SR805 A/V receiver
Definitive Technology ProCinema 1000 speakers
Datacolor SpyderTV PRO 2007 video calibration
Monster Power HTS5100 power center
BetterCables interconnects
UltraLink speaker wire
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