Bones—Complete Season 7
(Fox)
In the 13 episodes of the seventh
season of this odd but compelling medical drama, the brilliant forensic analysts
who led by Dr. Temperance Brennan pore over variously gruesome homicide cases.
The series’ accomplished cast is led by Emily Deschanel (Zooey’s older sister) as
Brennan and David Boreanaz as FBI agent Booth. The Blu-ray’s image is
excellent; extras include deleted scenes, a gag reel, featurettes and an audio
commentary.
Strangers on a Train
(Warners)
Two 50s Hitchcock thrillers have
finally been elevated to hi-def: 1951’s Strangers
is an ultra-creepy adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel, while 1955’s Dial features the elegant Grace Kelly in
a minor Hitch suspense flick based on Frederick Knott’s play. Both films look
absolutely splendid on Blu-ray, especially the B&W compositions of Strangers and the amusing 3-D effects of
Dial, which looks less good in 2D. Strangers extras include the preview
version with two extra minutes, a commentary, making-of and other featurettes;
the lone Dial extra is a retrospective
featurette.
Complete Seasons 1 & 2
(PBS)
This masterly mini-series, written
by Julian Fellowes, meticulously recreates the insular worlds of both masters
and servants on a British estate before, during and after the carnage of World
War I. This Upstairs, Downstairs for
a new generation has international stars like Dame Maggie Smith, Elizabeth
McGovern, Hugh Bonneville. This special Blu-ray set contains the complete seasons
1 & 2, both featuring dramatically realized storylines and
characterizations. Of course, the stunning physical production looks flawless
on this stellar hi-def release. Extras include a full-length episode Christmas at Downton Abbey, and on-set
featurettes Making of Downton Abbey, A
House in History, Fashion & Uniforms, Romance in a Time of War and House to Hospital.
(e one)
This lunatic sci-fi fantasy
imagines a Sarah Palin-alike in the Oval Office who starts a war with Nazis who
have been living on the moon since WWII ended. (Don’t ask.) This demented but
sometimes funny parody does have its share of easy jokes about Hitler and
Palin. There’s also a relatively restrained performance by blonde bombshell
Julia Dietze as an idealistic Nazi who learns the error of her ways thanks to a
black US astronaut turned white by the bad guys (again, don’t ask). The Blu-ray
image looks quite good; extras include an audio commentary, making-of
featurette and on-set footage.
(Cohen Media)
Luc Besson’s typically ham-handed
directing dents but doesn’t ruin a gripping true account of Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter
of a Burmese patriot who led the democracy movement against the dictatorial
regime. Besson tries turning her poignant story into one of his typical action
flicks, but Michelle Yeoh’s elegant presence and a touching supporting
performance by David Thewlis as her suffering British husband (and his twin
brother!), The Lady scores dramatic
and political points. The Blu-ray image is stellar; the lone extra is a
making-of featurette.
(MPI)
This mild generation-gap comedy
is as dated as the aging hippies that populate it, and director Bruce
Beresford—long removed from his best films, from Breaker Morant to Black Robe—can
do little more than skillfully direct his fine actresses, hampered as everyone
is by Christina Mengert and Joseph Muszynski’s flaccid and melodramatic script.
Jane Fonda (hip grandma), Catherine Keener (square mom) and Elizabeth Olsen (precocious
granddaughter) are good enough to help viewers make it through 90 minutes. The
Hudson Valley looks gorgeous on Blu-ray; the lone extra is a brief making-of.
(Fox)
Although this Alien prequel wasn’t necessary, Ridley
Scott’s stylish directing makes discovering what happened on the planet that
the spaceship Nostromo landed on in the original film go down easy. A nasty
self-abortion sequence isn’t for the squeamish, but Prometheus shrewdly favors mythmaking over scares, and with a solid
cast—led by Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender and Idris Elba—and
big-budget effects, Scott has made a diverting and even intelligent Hollywood
movie. The Blu-ray image looks superb; extras include commentaries by Scott and
by the writers, 36 minutes of deleted and alternate scenes and featurettes.
(Warners)
This brainless adaptation of the
ridiculously dopey Broadway musical is basically a karaoke jukebox of trashy ‘80s
rock tunes: you haven’t lived until you’ve seen (especially in the extended
version, which lasts an unconscionable 135 minutes) Tom Cruise and Malin
Akerman almost have sex while warbling Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love
Is.” It was shocking that the movie flopped at the box office: for once the American
moviegoing public showed their wisdom. The Blu-ray image looks fine; extras
include several featurettes.
Conception
(Tribeca)
This wavering omnibus film skips
around among several couples—from teenagers to long-time marrieds, with a
lesbian pair thrown in—trying (or not) to conceive a baby. Director Josh
Stolberg writes snappy dialogue that takes the place of credible
characterizations, but the acting (especially by Julie Bowen, sexier and funnier
than on Modern Family) that makes
this 85-minute trifle watchable. Extras include director/producer commentary,
37 minutes of deleted scenes and 25 minutes of outtakes.
Complete 8th and Final Season
(ABC)
In the final season of the ultimate
television fantasy for women (these are empowered female characters) and men (these
women are available cougars), the various relationship threads are finally
untangled. While Eva Longoria and Vanessa Williams are delectable, Teri
Hatcher, Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman appear to go through their well-worn
paces. Extras include creator Mark Cherry’s final episode commentary, deleted scenes,
gag reel and on-set interviews.
(Tribeca)
In director Tony Kaye’s first feature
since his flawed but haunting American
History X, Adrien Brody plays a substitute teacher who keeps clear of
relationships with students and everyone else—until two troubled teens enter
his life. Despite Brody’s intensity (and good work by Marcia Gay Harden,
Christina Hendricks and—as a young prostitute—the remarkable Sami Gayle),
Kaye’s film suffers from dramatic overkill, which is his stock-in-trade: the
subject matter is already depressing, but Kaye rubs our noses in it until the
movie becomes overbearing. Extras comprise brief Kaye and Brody interviews.
(First Run)
In a must-see documentary where
truth is stranger—and more enraging—than fiction, director Michael Collins tells
the incredible story of Paco Larranaga, sentenced to death for a crime that evidence
overwhelmingly shows he didn’t commit: the horrific murder of two young women
in the Philippines. Collins shows, in painstaking detail, how official corruption,
media complicity and a bloodthirsty public teamed to destroy Paco’s (and six
others’) lives. Extras include deleted scenes, interviews and an update on
Paco’s fate.
(Athena)
Trevor Eve’s craggy presence as a
cynical hostage negotiator who tackles the most difficult and dangerous cases helps
this somewhat formulaic drama score a direct bull’s-eye. In addition, the gritty
locations and on-target supporting cast keep the show going through several
familiar run-ins with bad guys, politicians and supervisors. Extras include
interviews with Eve and writer Michael Crompton.
Complete Season 3
(Fox)
This fitfully funny comedy about
a group of fantasy football “players” too often basks in its crudity, but it
shines when guest stars spar with the less-than-awesome foursome. Jeff Goldblum
and Sarah Silverman are hilariously profane in one episode, and Eliza Dushku is
a kick-ass combatant in another: they are the highlights of the third season.
Extras include a gag reel, deleted scenes and featurettes.
(Eagle)
It’s not often that The Who
didn’t give incendiary live performances, and this 1975 Houston show at the
beginning of the band’s By Numbers
tour, doesn’t disappoint. The intimate cameras let viewers concentrate on each
musician in turn, and this quartet—singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete
Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon—is simply remarkable.
Highlights are sparkling versions of “Drowned” and a Tommy medley. The only quibble is lack of surround sound, but if
you crank it up, you won’t even notice.
Kiss: Monster
(Universal)
At this late date, we probably
don’t need a new Kiss album—especially for those of us who thought Ace Frehley
was the best musician in the group—but this latest effort from Paul Stanley,
Gene Simmons and two guys with the same makeup as Ace and Peter is an
acceptable facsimile. The opener “Hell or Hallelujah” is a typically anthemic
rocker, as is the following “Wall of Sound,” and “Freak,” and “Back to the
Stone Age,” etc. It’s not bad for a bunch of aging rockers, but after awhile it
sounds like one long song interrupted by a few seconds of silence between
tracks. But you didn’t expect Destroyer,
did you?
(LSO Live)
The first three Tchaikovsky
symphonies might not have the staying power of his last three—culminating with the
sixth, Pathetique—but energetic
performances by the London Symphony Orchestra under sympathetic conductor
Valery Gergiev (who certainly knows his way around Tchaikovsky’s colorful,
melodic and rhythmic music) make the earlier symphonic trio—particularly, the second,
Little Russian, and the third, Polish—come off superbly.
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