Susan Granger’s DVD Update for week of Friday, May 6:
“The Green Hornet” is more of a superhero send-up that an update of the popular ‘30s radio serial and short-lived ‘60s TV series, as a hard-partying slacker (Seth Rogen) inherits his father’s newspaper, along with his gadget-minded valet/mechanic, and becomes a vigilante crime-fighter.
Part buddy film, part melodrama, part serio-comedy, Ron Howard’s “The Dilemma” teams Vince Vaughn with Kevin James in a chronicle of troubled relationships between emotionally damaged people.
Celebrating Bob Dylan’s 70th birthday, “Bob Dylan Revealed” is an illuminating portrait of the reclusive musician through exclusive interviews, never-before-seen photos and films of Dylan’s 50-year career.
“Julian Assange – a Modern Day Hero? Inside the World of WikiLeaks” is an unbiased, informative, three-hour documentary about Australian journalist Julian Paul Assange, best known as the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website.
Henry Jaglom’s vanity project, “Queen of the Lot,” is a satiric sequel to “Hollywood Dreams,” once again starring Tanna Frederick as an insecure actress obsessed with fame. In the midst of L.A.s narcissism, Noah Wyle and Peter Bogdanovich refuse, in different ways, to buy the industry line.
And Damien Chazelle’s Boston-based, black-and-white “Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench” revolves around the love affairs of a jazz trumpet player (Jason Palmer) with two women (Desiree Garcia, Sandha Khin), but neither romance is fully developed.
For preschoolers, “Wubbzy Saves the Day” contains age-appropriate lessons about sharing, caring, being yourself and helping others and, as a bonus, each DVD comes with a special printable growth chart. If you’re going to hit the road this spring or summer, don’t forget “Elmo’s Travel Songs and Games” as Elmo and Abby embark on a fun-filled road trip to the zoo with Elmo’s Dad.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Think “Billy Elliott” combined with “The Last Emperor” with a touch of “Rocky” – and you have “Mao’s Last Dancer,” Bruce Beresford’s sweeping, inspiring, enthralling adaptation of Chinese ballet dancer Li Cuxin’s memoirs about how he was plucked from an impoverished rural village, sent to Madame Mao’s ballet school in Beijing, and wound up dancing with the Houston Ballet.