Susan Granger’s DVD UPDATE for week of Friday, March 4:
After “Megamind” was dispatched on s spaceship to Earth, he discovers to his dismay that another, more privileged alien baby is the beloved superhero Metro Man as their rivalry escalates – with vocals by Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey and Jonah Hill.
“Due Date” is a rowdy romp revolving around an uptight father-to-be (Robert Downey) trying to get from Atlanta to Los Angeles, who winds up sharing a car with a boorish, immature aspiring actor (Zach Galafinakis), while “Love and Other Drugs” follows a slick Pfizer pharmaceutical rep (Jake Gyllenhaal) who unexpectedly falls for a free-spirited coffeehouse waitress (Anne Hathaway), an early-onset Parkinson’s patient.
“Burlesque” is a tawdry TinselTown amalgam of “Showgirls” and “Glitter” with Christina Aguilera as a nubile naïf and Cher as Burlesque Lounge’s resident diva.
Direct-to-DVD releases include “Satin,” starring Melissa Joan Hart, Robert Guillaume and Hamilton von Watts, about a washed-up Vegas lounge singer with delusions of fame…”Alonzo Bodden: Who’s Paying Attention?” featuring a one-hour concert performance by the 2004 winner of “Last Comic Standing”…and “8.5 Hours,” Brian Lally’s award-winning Irish character-study of office workers whose lives fall apart as their company flounders.
Classic family-film lovers: “Bambi” has been added to Disney’s coveted, cutting-edge Blu-Ray Diamond Collection line-up for greatest animated classics. And new for pre-schoolers, there’s “Thomas & Friends: Pop Goes Thomas” with more adventures on the island of Sodor and “Angelina Ballerina: Ballet Dreams,” along with “Elmo’s World: Penguins and Animal Friends.”
Warner Bros. digital distribution launches “APP Editions” of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” and “Inception,” available for iPhone, iPod Touch and IPad users. App Editions provide a fully-loaded, connected viewing experience which includes the first five minutes of the film and a portion of bonus content that can include trivia, games, soundtracks and soundboards. The entire film can be unlocked via an in-app purchase.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Robert Duvall delivers a tour-de-force performance in “Get Low,” a uniquely American folktale set in East Tennessee in the Depression-era 1930s – with Bill Murray, Lucas Black, and Sissy Spacek delivering strong support.