Susan’s DVD Update for week of Friday, July 2nd:
Jon Amiel’s biographical drama “Creation,” starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly, celebrates the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his groundbreaking scientific treatise, “On the Origin of the Species – By Means of Natural Selection,” which became the foundation of evolutionary biology.
Spooky, suspenseful and scary, “The Crazies” chronicles a grisly gorefest in the quiet farming community of Ogden Marsh, Iowa, where something mysterious and deadly has polluted the local water supply, turning ordinary townsfolk into cold-blooded, zombie-like killers.
Chazz Palminteri and Drea DeMatteo put their hearts on the line in “Once More With Feeling,” a music-filled comedy-drama about a successful psychiatrist whose old dreams of becoming a singer are revived. And fans of Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”) will view him in a new light with “Stolen,” a mystery-thriller in which he plays an obsessed detective who is haunted by the unsolved disappearance of his young son eight years earlier.
From PBS and NOVA, the revealing and insightful “Mind Over Money” delves into the ongoing financial crisis, exploring the warning signs that global economists missed and revealing how our emotions interfere with our decision-making ability.
“Truth of Dare” was among the earliest independent horror/slasher films to be distributed straight-to-video, establishing a trend to which there are two new additions: “Truth of Dare: A Critical Madness,” introducing “Backstreet Boys” A.J. McLean, and “Inbred Redneck Vampires.”
For preschoolers, “Let’s Grow: Safety First” focuses on safety-themed learning, featuring Barney, Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder, Fireman Sam and Kipper.
PICKS OF THE WEEK: For provocative, adult viewing, Austrian director Michael Haneke’s “The White Ribbon” (“Das Weisse Band”) is an intense, foreboding tale of a former schoolteacher in a small, feudal German village in 1913, just before World War I. And for grossed-out, politically-incorrect fun, “Hot Tub Time Machine” is a wild, raunchy fantasy that plunges three regretful middle-aged men (John Cusack, Rob Coddry, Craig Robinson) and their nerdy young companion (Clark Duke) into a surreal time-travel adventure back to 1986, the year their lives first started going downhill.