Here’s yer DVD goodness…
DVD of the Week: In Her Shoes. Something that could have very easily fallen into full-on “chick flick” territory is instead uplifted by a great script, excellent direction by Curtis Hanson, and a trio of impressive actresses: Toni Collette, Cameron Diaz and Shirley MacLaine. They make what could have been fluff into a worthwhile movie about family. This Fox release comes with an alternate opening sequence, a casting featurette, a making-of featurette, and more. (Buy it)
TV DVD of the Week: Magnum, P.I.: The Complete Third Season. The series that but Tom Selleck on the map returns with all twenty-two third season episodes…and sadly, little else. Of course, there’s a bonus fourth season episode…but considering that the fourth season hits shortly, that’s certainly not a reason to snag this Universal set. Fans have all the reason they need, though, and probably already have it on their shelves. (Buy it)
Animation DVD of the Week: Lady and the Tramp. The Platinum Editions from Disney are always worth buying, and this release is no exception. The film that formed the basis for safe, default Valentine’s Day gifts for a generation hits and looks better than ever, and sports a reasonable array of features (but no commentary–crap): deleted scenes, features covering the music, games for the little ones and a large documentary that covers a lot of the making-of. (Buy it)
Comedy DVD of the Week: Mind of Mencia: Uncensored Season 1. Dindrane and Doc have vouched for this Comedy Central show for a while now, but since I don’t have time to watch television, I had to wait till DVD. Now, my wait is over. This guy is bonkers–I like it. Pulling no punches, he goes after pretty much anybody and everybody with hilarious results. This set comes with twelve episodes across two discs, plus a featurette, deleted scenes, gag reel and Mencia’s commentary…in Spanish. (Buy it)
Anime DVD of the Week: Bottle Fairy, Vol. 2: Autumn & Winter. This second (and final) volume continues the adventures of the young winged ladies as they try to learn enough to eventually become human: on the syllabus this time around are sports, New Year’s and Valentine’s Day. If you’ve got a taste for ubercute anime and seeing the world through totally innocent eyes is something you’d find humorous and endearing, then this Geneon release is definitely up your alley. The only feature is clean closing animation. (Buy it)
Docu DVD of the Week: Debbie Does Dallas Uncovered. Just as the U.S. government seems to want to police pron (better than terrorists, natch), there seems to be a growing fascination with vintage pron…or at least, that’s the impression I get seeing more of it come across my desk in recent months than in previous years. Or…maybe I’m just on new and interesting comp lists. I know not. This docu, far from being comprehensive, is a very brief overview of the phenom of the film and what came after. It’s beefed up to feature length only when you include the second docu alongside it, “Diary of a Pron Virgin.” Completists will probably want to give it a watch. This hits from New Video. (Buy it)
Adverse Video of the Week: Doom. We’re not just sore at this for not being our version, but just for being a…well, bad version. It does the same thing many other before it have done: miss the point of adapting a game for the screen and instead bore the hell out of its audience, even going so far as to ape the video game’s first person perspective. Egad. The DVD adds insult to injury by giving you an extended version of this sequence, plus a commercial for the original game, and more. If you’re up for it. (Buy it)
Brit DVD of the Week: MI-5, Vol. 3. We’ve mentioned before how much we like this series, but it bears repeating, because honestly, you all need to be watching this–and not the dissected-for-US-commercials version. You need to get this, the straight-up, uncut version. If you like Queen and Country or long for a James Bond that doesn’t suck, then this is spyfare at its best. Check this BBC Home Video release out for ten episodes, commentaries, interviews, deleted scenes, featurettes and more. (Buy it)
Sci-Fi DVD of the Week: Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers. I never was into B5 to begin with–I know, I know, stop throwing things, you goddamn fanatics–I don’t watch television. Anyway, because of this I dodged the outcry of this TV movie, an attempt by JMS to do something other than destroy the Spider-Man saga. Basically the hardcore will probably hate this and those with a bit more tolerance will be able to…well, tolerate it. Sadly, the release doesn’t come with much in the way of features to explain itself, so you’ll just have to take this WB release for what it is. (Buy it)
UMD of the Week: Near Dark. How can you not like a movie that reunites three badass actors from Aliens and casts them as vampires who run around in an RV, basically causing chaos and death wherever they go? Brilliant, I tell you. And if you haven’t already picked up the fine DVD version that Anchor Bay has already released–or you just need some more portability–then pick up this and get on the go. (Buy it)
