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This Week in DVD: Gran Torino, The International, Fired Up, and More

Posted on Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 by Adam Quigley

This Week in DVD is a column that compiles all the latest info regarding new DVD releases, sales, and exclusive deals from stores including Target, Best Buy and Fry’s.

Please don’t take the commentary on the movies and TV shows too seriously, as they’re meant not to be reviews but rather previews that include the general thoughts and ramblings of a twice-committed DVD addict. The categories represent solely the author’s intentions towards the DVDs at hand, and are in no way meant to be a reflection on what he thinks other people should rent or buy. So if he ends up putting a movie you like in the “Skip it” section without having seen it, please keep in mind that the time you could spend leaving a spiteful but ultimately futile comment could instead be used for more pleasant things in life. Like buying DVDs.

Rent It

GRAN TORINO
Gran Torino marks a rare instance where I find myself truly baffled by the response a film has received. Hailed as one of the best films of last year, Clint Eastwood’s latest work currently sits at #77 on IMDB’s Top 250 and earned itself an 80% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I suppose the appeal of this film is just lost on me. While I wouldn’t recommend against a rental (as even I can admit that the movie is fairly entertaining), I couldn’t help but be put off by how mind-numbingly formulaic, heavy-handed, and simplistic the movie is. Not to mention, just about every supporting performance is cringe-worthy, and oftentimes turned what should’ve been powerful scenes into moments of unintentional hilarity. What am I missing here, guys?
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: 2 featurettes (”Manning the Wheel: The Meaning of Manhood As Reflected in American Car Culture”, “Gran Torino: More Than A Car”).

BEST PRICE
Target Best Buy Fry’s
$15.99
Amazon – $15.99

REAPER (SEASON 2)
If you haven’t yet checked out the first season of Reaper, I highly recommend doing so. It’s a bit repetitive at first, but once the story kicks into gear, it becomes one of the few shows out there that’s managed to strike that perfect balance of action, comedy, and drama. But having only made it halfway through the show’s second (and final) season before eventually forgetting to keep track of new episodes, I can’t say I was quite as taken in this time around. That’s not to say that the show isn’t still good though. Despite a couple of lame subplots that I’m not all that eager to return to, I’m actually fairly eager to complete my viewing of the series. And for those that have already, please answer me this: does the finale satisfy?
Blu-ray? No.
Notable Extras: Commentaries with the show cast, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.

BEST PRICE
Target Best Buy Fry’s
N/A $29.99 N/A
Amazon – $29.99

Skip It

THE INTERNATIONAL
Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, Perfume) is a fantastic director, but even his slick, energetic style isn’t enough to save The International from the aggressively dull, silly, trite and poorly plotted story at its core. The film’s sole redeeming quality is an incredible shoot-out in the Guggenheim, so if you’re really desperate to check out that one sequence, it may be worth a Netflix rental. Or alternatively, I can save you the trouble.
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: Commentary with director Tom Tykwer and writer Eric Singer, 4 featurettes (”The Making of The International”, “Shooting at the Guggenheim”, “The Autostadt”, “The Architecture of The International”), and deleted scenes.

BEST PRICE
Target Best Buy Fry’s
$16.99 $17.99 N/A
Amazon – $16.99

FIRED UP
I have to say, I’m rather surprised by how positive the reviews are for this film. Out of a total of 80 reviews, 22 of them were positive. That’s a whopping 22 more than I expected! Impressive!
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: Commentary with director Will Gluck and stars Nick D’Agosto and Eric Christian Olsen, 2 featurettes (”The is Not a Cheerleading Movie: The Making-of Fired Up!”, “Double Duty”), an uncensored gag reel, and a Backstage at the Fired Up! press junket feature.

BEST PRICE
Target Best Buy Fry’s
$19.99
Amazon – $19.99

CROSSING OVER
Even since Running Scared and The Cooler, Wayne Kramer has been high on my list of “must watch” up-and-coming directors. Both of those films were (and continue to be) seriously underrated, and showed signs of a man sure to go on to do great things. Crossing Over, sadly, is not one of them. At least not according to the devastatingly negative reviews. Seriously, did we need another depressing multi-character/interconnecting storyline piece ala Crash and Babel? No, we really didn’t. Better luck next time, Kramer. I haven’t lost hope.
Blu-ray? No.
Notable Extras: None.

BEST PRICE
Target Best Buy Fry’s
N/A $14.99 N/A
Amazon – $13.99

Other noteworthy DVDs available this week…
The Shield (Season 7) – Were the World Mine – Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music Director’s Cut (40th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition)

The Specials
NOTE: Some deals may be in-store only.


Exclusive: Woodstock Ultimate Collector’s Edition DVD set with exclusive never-before-seen performances by Jimi Hendrix, The Who and Canned Heat ($42.99).

$13.99 – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 1 – 3), Weeds (Season 1 – 3), Psych (Season 1 or 2), Seinfeld (Season 1 – 9), The Simpsons (Season 10)
$18.99 – Entourage (Season 1 – 4), Dexter (Season 1 or 2), Mad Men (Season 1), 30 Rock (Season 2), The Tudors (Season 1 or 2)


$12.99 – The Simpsons (Season 11), How I Met Your Mother (Season 3), Arrested Development (Season 2), Prison Break (Season 3), Burn Notice (Season 1), My Name is Earl (Season 3), Family Guy (Vol. 6), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 3)

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  • What the hell's going on with Harrison Ford's eyes on that Crossing Over cover, does he play a blind guy in this movie?
  • Lpfanaddy
    haha I think he's just looking at something that's reeeaaally far to his left.
  • I agree with you about Gran Torino.
  • rnl
    I agree that the movie had a ton of flaws
    but it was great despite itself.
  • rnl
    I was referring to gran torino
  • Gran Torino is DEFENTLY a buy it!
  • Wow, the first week where I completely agree with the DVD picks. "Gran Torino" is a film that just barely works I would say I liked about 51% of it, "The International" is beautifully shot but a boar fest aside from the shoot out scene(can someone explain why that guy decided to take off his built proof vest before the gun fight started), and "Crossing Over" what has the world come to when Ray Liota and Harrison Ford cant save a movie.
  • same here
  • For me, Gran Torino was excellent not just because Clint Eastwood is an excellent director and a fine actor, but because of its authenticity. I live in Michigan, and it was really nice to see a movie not only set there and filmed there, but one that actually portrayed the Detroit area in an accurate light rather than as the dilapidated hellhole it has been made out to be in the media. Plus, I am dating and will eventually marry a Hmong woman, and I was floored not only because most of the main characters are Hmong, but that the got the culture right (She loved the movie too, by the way, as did her sisters).

    As far as the acting, I actually liked that they didn't hire professional actors for most of the supporting roles. I think that's a matter of personal taste, but personally I thought it was more realistic. It actually felt like Thao and his family were real people. But again, personal choice.
  • Bull
    I agree with you. Would it be more realistic to throw in classically trained actors or actual people?
  • It's important to know that these actors were actually Hmong, too. The importance of that fact cannot be overstated, as the standard Hollywood procedure would be to cast someone of Japanese or Korean descent and say "Hey, they're Asian, it's close enough, right?" I give the filmmakers all the credit in the world for taking the time to get it right.
  • Bull
    I did not know that, but I give them props. They actually cast students from my alma mater (Michigan State) so I was all for it.
  • Loved Gran Torino. Loved it, not apologetically, unabashedly. I think you guys whole point of the movie, and because of that couldn't evaluate the film correctly.
  • Matt
    Grant Torino is worth a buy for sure. I found it infinitely more interesting than the other dull Eastwood-directed films that get hailed (likely by this /Film blogger, at that) as "omg best evar!"
  • Nice completely unsubstantiated and wholly unnecessary jab at me. Thanks.
  • Jarryd
    To answer your question about the Reaper finale. The finale was not very satisfying because they left it open for the next season. The finale was probably one of the better episodes of the season to be honest but why could they change the ending from the looks of it wouldn't have been too hard.
  • I was going to say the same thing! A MUST see movie! (and I'm not even a fan of Clint!)
  • Alex
    Gran Torino would've been good if they had taken there time with the script and not cast a terrible supporting cast(Excluding the barber). It's worth a rental kind of, if you thought Crash was subtle writing.
  • I disagree about the International. I actually thought the shootout (although cool in itself) was the scene that ruined the movie. Up until that point I'd been enjoying a reasonably clever and exciting action film that was more than just running around and shooting each other. All of a sudden this goes out the window while they spend about 15 mins on a ridiculously overblown set piece. I found it far more boring from that point on.
  • i can see where the review comes from....but i dont agree......gran torino is not perfect but its solid...clint punching up his house was a powerful moment for me
  • Lpfanaddy
    yeah, the supporting cast in Gran Torino is pretty weak. The most glaringly bad performance to me is that of the priest character, that guy was horrible.
  • Ruben
    I thought Gran Torino was one of the best comedies of the year, definitely a buy.
  • Another week of crap. Another week I save money!
  • Jon
    I dislike that you dislike The Shield Adam.
  • Ian
    Get Off My Lawn: The Movie was pretty good! Another metro detroit resident, it definitely does represent the local climate pretty well. I would say that was where it succeeded most, and it was pretty funny when it intended to be.
  • I actually enjoyed the International. I would recommend a rent.
  • The
    Gran Torino only works if you get the point Clint Eastwood was trying to make. Not only get.. but also understand and the point is driven extremely well by the fact that this is Eastwood's last film. This film was almost nostalgic for me because my grandparents are the exact same way... "what the fuck are you listening too" or "people use to have common courtesy!". If you were expecting some action flick to "entertain" you then gtfo. Sayonara Clint Eastwood...
  • Yeah, i also don't understand all the fuzz about Gran Torino. So many movies touched that topic and so many did it better than Gran Torino. I thought it entertaining and nothing more, the acting was so extremely horrible that i just couldn't get past it, it had a cartoon-feeling to it. Even Clint himself was not good. He was bad. I remember the scene in the cellar where the boy asks Walt how it was to kill a man and he said "You don't wanna know." That was really, really bad. I couldn't believe him. It just didn't work for me.
  • Gran Torino - Buying that, with great haste.
  • I also disliked Gran Torino. It was one of the biggest cinematic surprises for me in terms of disappointment level mainly because of all the hype and praise. Not only was the dialogue and acting trite and unconvincing the song he sings at the end had me and my friend rolling on the ground in laughter. I just couldn't take the thing seriously which maybe makes it a decent comedy.
  • Traie
    Eastwood is the most overrated director in Hollywood. I honestly don't think any of his movies are even a solid good.

    Did Crossing Over get a theatrical release or is this the first DTV in Ford's career?
  • Bullio
    Your taste in movies completely sucks then. To say you didn't enjoy one of Eastwood's films is just sad (for you that is).
  • As far as the Reaper season/series finale, the show ends with a huge cliffhanger. Clearly, the producers didn't plan for cancellation. They're trying to sell the series to cable, however, so maybe a third season on SciFi or whatever is still a possibility.
  • Infrafan
    I would hope so. The season ending could have been more of a cliffhanger though. You can tell they were aware of the likely possibility of not being picked up, so they wrote a semi-ending to the series, but left it widely open. I just can't believe it's out so quickly. Maybe like Family Guy and Futurama before it, the home video sales will cry for more. Hell, I'd make due with a straight to DVD movie to wrap it up if the show doesn't get picked up by a second party.
  • A guy
    on Fired Up! - I went to see it expecting it to be dumb as all hell - but was surpised to find it incredibly funny and not in the gross out sex comedy way you would think.
  • seriously
    fired up was hilarious, i thought.
    in the realm of hot rod and such.
  • Traie- Crossing over got a limited theatrical release
  • Kevin
    Simply put, Gran Torino is a film for people that grew up with Clint Eastwood. It's a throwback to the kind of crowd-pleasers that made him a star during the 1970's and 1980's. This is how it was marketed and why the public responded to make it his highest-grossing film. It's much like the recent success of Taken- which also mined old-school sensibilities and left many scratching their heads.
  • dagreenman18
    While i disagree, i can see where Adam is coming from when it comes to Grand Torino.
  • I really enjoyed Gran Torino but I love even the worst Eastwood movies. He is my perfect image of a man. Did that sound gay?
  • robert
    totally spot on review about gran torino, formulaic, heavy handed, and the acting was cringe worthy. as an asian american, i was super excited to see an asian american representation on the screen, especially such an unrepresented group of people like hmong americans. and the whole time i grit my teeth and thought, "oh jesus, this is terrible."
  • Goro
    I reacted to Gran Torino the same way as Million Dollar Baby: as i was watching it, i was enjoying it, when it was over and thought about it at all, it just fell apart and i could only recall problematic moments from it. As such i say it worked as entertainment but not as a long-lasting piece of work.

    ANd gotta disagree with REAPER. It was ok at first but S2 has gone to hell (heh). The writers have no idea what they want to do and so they throw strange plot after plot, new character here and there and try to see what sticks. Nothing. Thank goodness it's over.
  • John
    I found Gran Torino to be excellent in every way. I bought it and will watch it again and again. The only problem is the realistic language, which means I will have to wear headphones when viewing on a plane, etc., too blue for my youngest child to hear.
  • Harry
    "Gran Torino marks a rare instance where I find myself truly baffled by the response a film has received. "

    Yes, but Adam, the thing you need to understand is that it's a movie made for grown ups & not trendy 20-something kiddies like yourself. Go watch something hip, flashy & empty - like a David Fincher movie - you'll be much happier.
  • zamarov
    Gran Torino is an excellent film and Clint is brilliant in it. It's a really well crafted and economical film which has some interesting things to say about race and violence and beautifully bookends the dirty harry character in much the same way that Unforgiven did with William Munny. Leaving the cinema you could tell the audience really loved it.

    I was kinda surprised by the majority's take on the film during the filmcast. I felt you approached the film in the completely wrong way.

    It's a definite buy
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