This Week In DVD: Harold & Kumar, Doomsday, Never Back Down, Lost Boys: The Tribe, And More
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, Circuit City, and Fry's.
HAROLD & KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY(Available as single-disc and 2-Disc Special Editions)
From White Castle to Guantanamo Bay, Harold & Kumar's adventures have grown just a tad more ridiculous since the last time we saw them. The clever balance of high brow/low brow gags and biting racial commentary are intact though, and those two things (along with John Cho's and Kal Penn's engaging performances) help immensely in making this one of the funnier and more respectable comedies of the past year.
Blu-ray? Yes.Notable Extras: The two disc edition includes two commentaries, 27 additional scenes, a short documentary, and an interactive feature where you can alter the course of the film.
*Does not include 2-Disc Edition, which costs $22.99 at each of the listed stores.
EXCLUSIVE DEAL:What? Three Mini PostersWhere? Best Buy
SHINE A LIGHT
Directed by Martin Scorsese, this documentary gives an up close and personal look at the rock and roll band The Rolling Stones as they deliver two 2006 performances that took place during their A Bigger Bang tour. This should be a no brainer: if the concept sounds appealing to you, you'll like it, and if it doesn't, you won't.
Blu-ray? Yes.Notable Extras: Four extra songs.
EXCLUSIVE DEAL:What? Save $9 when you buy both DVD and soundtrack.Where? Best Buy
WARGAMES (25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION)
Perfectly balancing elements of humor and suspense, this classic '80s thriller starring Matthew Broderick takes an improbable premise (a teenage slacker inadvertently starts what could result in a Nuclear War by hacking into a Defense Department computer) and makes it work. An improvement in terms of extras, video, and audio, this DVD is a must buy for fans who haven't yet gotten their hands on a copy.
Blu-ray? No.Notable Extras: A commentary and four documentaries.
DARK CITY (DIRECTOR'S CUT)
Alex Proyas received major acclaim for his work on The Crow, but one movie everyone seems to gloss over is Dark City, a truly fantastic sci-fi thriller. If you haven't yet checked it out, here's your chance, as the film is now being released as a director's cut that runs 15 minutes longer and features improved special effects and a new sound mix. According to everything I've read so far, these things have taken a great film and made it even better.
Blu-ray? Yes.Notable Extras: Three commentary tracks, an intro by Alex Proyas, two featurettes, and more. Apparently the DVD also holds the theatrical cut of the film, but the only confirmation I've been able to find on that is for the Blu-ray version.
DOOMSDAY
While Neil Marshall brought back terror and suspense to the horror genre with The Descent, one of the best movies of the past few years, Doomsday has no intention of maintaining that sense of quality. Instead, it harkens back to various classic B-movies, paying homage to films like Mad Max and Escape from New York. This might've worked, too, but the film is far too uninteresting and derivative to engage you on the same level that those films did.
Blu-ray? Yes.Notable Extras: Both the unrated and theatrical cuts of the film, a commentary, and two featurettes.
NEVER BACK DOWN(Available as single-disc and 2-Disc Special Editions)
A perfect follow-up to the cinematic fart that was Step Up 2 The Streets, Never Back Down is equally inept in all the right ways, amounting to yet another hilarious and satisfying "Shit Movie of the Week" (which you can check out on this past week's After Dark podcast episode).
Blu-ray? Yes.Notable Extras: The single-disc edition will include a commentary and deleted/extended scenes. The two-disc will also include those things, plus both unrated and rated cuts of the film, training webisodes, and 2 featurettes.
*Does not include 2-Disc Edition, which costs $22.99 at each of the listed stores.
EXCLUSIVE DEAL:What? 3-Disc Edition with bonus disc ($22.99).Where? Target
LOST BOYS: THE TRIBE
Having not yet seen this long-awaited sequel to The Lost Boys, it's probably a little presumptuous of me to assume it sucks. So be it. If you had watched that trailer, you'd be presumptuous too.
Blu-ray? Yes.Notable Extras: Two featurettes (one of which is "Edgar Frog's Guide to Coming Back Alive"), alternate endings, and four music videos.
Other noteworthy DVDs available this week...
The Band's Visit – Witchblade (The Complete Series) – Stargate: Continuum – WarGames: The Dead Code – Freakazoid (Season 1) – Beverly Hills, 90210 (Season 5) – The Hills (Season 3) – Inglorious Bastards (3-Disc Special Edition) – Law and Order: SVU (Season 7)
Discuss: What are you planning to rent or buy this week?
NOTE: Some deals may be in-store only.
Exclusive: Deluxe Edition of The Hills (Season 3) with photo book and bonus footage disc ($29.99).$18.99 – Heroes (Season 1), Battlestar Galactica (Season 2.5)$9.99 – Northern Exposure (Season 1)
$4.99 – Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Clerks II, Super Troopers, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Bottle Rocket, Go, and much more...$12.99 – The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Monster's Inc, Toy Story (10th Anniversary Edition)
Exclusive: 50 free songs and 1 free audio book with purchase of The Hills (Season 3) ($26.99).$3.99 – Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, The Punisher (Extended Cut), Lord of War (2-Disc Special Edition), Jarhead, The Player, The Mask, Brokeback Mountain, Friday Night Lights, Mad Max, Runaway Jury, Inside Man, Dawn of the Dead (2004), Unleashed, Doom, Bruce Almighty, Waiting, Cujo (20th Anniversary Edition), Cinderella Man, Bug, Accepted, Hoosiers, Bend it Like Beckham, Akeelah and the Bee, The Interpreter, Assault on Precinct 13 (2005), Dirty Dancing (20th Anniversary), and more...
$3.99 – Big Trouble in Little China, All the Right Moves, Cocoon, and more...$4.99 – Man on Fire, Alien 3, Donnie Darko, Die Hard, and more...$6.99 – The Full Monty (Fully Exposed Edition), The Hustler (Two-Disc Collector's Edition), The Verdict (Two-Disc Collector's Edition), The Passion of the Christ, All That Jazz (Music Edition), Napoleon Dynamite, X-Men 1.5, and more...