Susan Granger’s video/dvd update for week of Friday, May 29:
Fans of the counterterrorism drama “24” can now buy the complete seventh season that just concluded. 20th Century-Fox executives say this is the first series to be released on DVD and Blue-ray immediately after the finale. It’s an experiment, made possible in part by last year’s writer’s strike, and is similar to the release of “24: Redemption” two days after it was televised.
Renee Zellweger stars in the bleak, frostbitten comedy “New in Town” as an ambitious dairy food executive who agrees to relocate temporarily to a small town in Minnesota to supervise the downsizing of a local factory; predictably, she falls in love with a single father snowplow driver/fireman/union rep, played by Harry Connick Jr.
During his exile from Hollywood before “The Wrestler,” Mickey Rourke starred in “Killshot,” John Maddden’s ill-fated adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s novel. A hitman for the Toronto mafia, Rourke plays a Native American killer who wants to retire and find inner peace. Instead, a moronic punk (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) involves him in a crime witnessed by a couple (Diane Lane, Thomas Jane) on the brink of divorce.
Fred Durst makes his directorial debut with “The Education of Charlie Banks,” a coming-of-age story about a privileged Ivy Leaguer (Jesse Eisenberg) whose dorm room is invaded by an old acquaintance (Jason Ritter) with a violent past who intrigues his girlfriend (Eva Amurri) as he seamlessly integrates himself into Charlie’s campus life.
“Harlan Ellison: Dreams With Sharp Teeth” pays homage to Ellison, a dark prince of American literature, as Erik Nelson (“Grizzly Man”) captures the remarkable personal journey of this wildly imaginative writer and provocateur.
PICKS OF THE WEEK: If you’ve ever been intrigued by dinosaurs, “The Prehistoric Collection” is a fantastic eight-disc set featuring nearly 20 hours of astonishing computer graphics and compelling scientific data, including “Jurassic Fight Club,” “Megastorms,” ”Journey to 10,000 B.C.” and “Clash of the Cavemen.” Another collection, “Cities of the Underworld: The Complete Season Three” explores 13 subterranean worlds buried beneath city streets, complete with secret passageways, combat tunnels, buried palaces, Mafia escape routes and ammunition depots.