A few for Valentines’ Day; a few woefully inappropriate for it. Have fun.
Mainstream: “I Spit On Your Grave (2010),” “Life As We Know It,” “My Soul To Take,” “Paranormal Activity 2,” “Tamara Drewe,” “You Again”
Independent: “Five Corners,” “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” “Middle Men,” “A Private Function,” “Repo Chick,” “The Romantics,” “See You In September,” “Speed-Dating,” “WUSA”
Reissues: “America, America,” “I Spit On Your Grave (1978),” “Riot,” “Thelma & Louise”
Foreign: “The Girl,” “Year of the Fish”
Documentary: “Eyewitness to Jesus,” “Samantha Brown’s Asia,” “Ultimate Jordan”
TV: “Beauty and the Briefcase,” “Check It Out,” “Columbo,” “The Guardian”
Children: “Chuggington,” “Curious George,” “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” “Nickelodeon,” “Tom and Jerry”
Usual rules apply: synopses are taken from the press releases, snarky commentary is extra, and preview links go to Apple.com. And just in case you were wondering, the DVD prices are the listed retail prices. You can get them cheaper if you buy at discount stores or online.
Warner Bros., 168 minutes, not rated, $19.97
Elia Kazan’s 1963 look at his uncle as a young Greek immigrant to America finally gets a DVD release. Extras: commentary.
Beauty and the Briefcase
ABC Family/Image Entertainment, 86 minutes
Lane Daniels (Hillary Duff) wants to be a Cosmopolitan writer, but she has to make good on her pitch to the editor (Jaime Pressly): find a corporate job, and then date as many co-workers as possible. Things are going well until she meets Liam (Chris Carmack), a music producer that works outside the office. Does she date him and break the rules, or play right and get her big break? Sounds like a sanitized version of “Sex and the City.” No extras listed.
Check It Out with Dr. Steve Brule: Season One
Warner Bros., 66 minutes, $14.98
Adult Swim series starring John C. Reilly as a television therapist (I think). Part of the “Tim & Eric Awesome Show” series. Extras: deleted and extended scenes.
Chuggington: Let’s Ride The Rails
Anchor Bay Entertainment, 62 minutes, 6 episodes, $16.98
Playhouse Disney Channel CGI animated show for the pre-school set features three young trains (“chuggers”) who are in training to become productive members of their society. It’s a little weird, but then most children’s shows are to us jaded adults. Extras: coloring pages, activity sheets.
Columbo: Mystery Movie Collection 1991-1993
Universal, 6 films, 3 discs, $26.98
Six more movies starring Peter Falk as the titular detective, who always has “just one more thing” to ask of his suspects. No extras listed.
Curious George: A Bike Ride Adventure
Universal/PBS Kids, 108 minutes, 8 episodes, $16.98
Eight more episodes of the curious little monkey aimed at the preschooler set. No extras listed.
Eyewitness to Jesus
Discovery/Gaiam, 89 minutes, $14.98
Documentary follows an Oxford grad as he travels from Egypt to the Holy Land, trying to prove the authenticity of a recently discovered papyrus fragment that may be part of the Gospel of Matthew. No extras listed.
Image Entertainment, 94 minutes, R
Ex-con Heinz (John Turturro) still has his heart set on Linda (Jodie Foster), even though he was sent to prison for attacking her. He also has revenge planned for Harry (Tim Robbins), the man who tried to protect her. No extras listed.
Olive Films, 95 minutes, not rated, $29.95
Swedish film about a 9-year-old girl who is left in the care of an aunt while her parents go to Africa as aid workers. The aunt has a suitor, and promises to return in a few days. The girl uses her freedom to explore the world around her. In Swedish with English subtitles. No extras listed.
The Guardian: The Final Season
CBS Video, 971 minutes, 6 discs, $49.98
Third and final season of the series, starring Simon Baker as the high-powered lawyer sentenced to do 1,500 hours of community service as a child advocate for Legal Aid Services. No extras listed.
It’s Kind of a Funny Story
Focus Features/Universal, 101 minutes, PG-13
Craig (Keir Gilchrist) gets himself admitted to a psych ward to curb his suicidal impulses and finds out he can’t leave for five days. He bonds with the other patients, notably Bobby (Zach Galifianakis) and a self-cutting girl (Emma Roberts), learning a lot about life in the process. Probably not “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest,” but got slightly better than average reviews. Extras: two featurettes. BD adds BD-Live capacity.
I Spit On Your Grave (1978)
Anchor Bay Entertainment, 101 minutes, not rated
I Spit On Your Grave (2010 remake)
Anchor Bay Entertainment, 101 minutes, not rated
The story for the original and the remake are the same: a group of low-lifes break into a cabin where a young woman is staying, do unspeakable things to her and leave her for dead. But she has her revenge, and boy, is it gruesome. Extras: 1978 version has a new interview with the writer/producer/director Meir Zarachi; the 2010 version has a commentary, featurette, deleted scenes.
Life As We Know It
Warner Bros, 116 minutes, PG-13
BD/DVD with digital copy: $35.99
Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel are two people who can’t stand each other after a disastrous first date. But their two best friends have named them guardian of their daughter in the untimely event of their death. Well, the Grim Reaper called: you’re now parents. Formulaic movie got lukewarm reviews from critics, but audiences seemed to like it. Extras: deleted scenes, three featurettes.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Minnie’s Masquerade
Disney, 120 minutes, 4 episodes
DVD with Mickey Mote: $29.99
Playhouse Disney Channel CGI show has Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Daisy all celebrating Minnie’s Masquerade Ball. Extras: “Mickey Mote” enabled, which allows the the child to interact with the video and answer questions. Of course, no guarantee that it works with your DVD player, but it will probably work with your BD player, as the button colors are the same.
Paramount, 82 minutes, R
Jack Harris (Luke Wilson) is a successful business-fixit-man, but when he agrees to help two entrepreneurs properly run their Internet e-commerce business, things get out of hand quickly. The commodity is online pornography. Inspired by a true story, according to the cover art. It has been said that the pornography industry has fueled the rise of most consumer technologies, according to author Frederick S. Lane, who has written books on the subject. Here is the visual account. And according to the reviews on Amazon, lots of naked women abound as well. Extras: commentary, deleted scenes, featurette.
My Soul To Take
Rogue Pictures/Universal, 107 minutes, R
Director Wes Craven returns to the horror genre with this leaden outing, with a vicious murderer seemingly returning from the dead to continue his killing spree, targeting a group of teens that have a connection to the date of his death. Extras: deleted/extended scenes, commentary. BD adds alternate endings, BD-Live capacity.
Nickelodeon Favorites: Sisters and Brothers
Nickelodeon/Paramount, 122 mintues, 5 episodes, $16.99
Five Nick Jr. preschooler shows on the importance of taking care of and getting along with your siblings: “Dora the Explorer,” “Go, Diego, Go!,” “Blue’s Clues,” “Wonder Pets!,” and “Ni Hao, Kailan.” Extras: two “Team Unizoomi” music videos.
Paranormal Activity 2
Paramount, 91 minutes, R/unrated versions
BD/DVD with digital copy: $29.99
Prequel to the first film has Kristi (Sprague Grayden), her husband Daniel (Brian Boland) and their infant son Hunter being stalked by the same creepie that went after her sister Katie (Katie Featherston). Just what you want to watch with your sweetie for Valentine’s Day. Extras: extra footage, rated and unrated versions.
A Private Function
Image Entertainment, 92 minutes, R
Michael Palin and Maggie Smith are a mismatched married couple that finds out their rival town has illegally fattened up a prize pig for a feast to celebrate the upcoming Royal Wedding (Charles and Diana, I assume). So they kidnap the pig in order to increase their social standing. British comedy is supposed to ensue, which means if you don’t like that sort of thing, bugger off. No extras listed.
Industrial Entertainment, 92 minutes, not rated
Spoiled rich brat Pixxi (Jaclyn Jonet) gets disinherited for her bad attitude and bad driving arrest record. When her car is repossessed, she goes to work for them and becomes the best repo chick in L.A. Then she stumbles on a terrorist plot to blow up the city. Not a sequel to “Repo Man,” despite having the same director (Alex Cox) and a similar title. No extras listed.
Olive Films, 96 minutes, R, $24.95
1969 action film has Gene Hackman and Jim Brown as two convicts who take guards hostage and start a riot in order to escape prison. Based on the novel by Frank Elli, which was based on an actual prison riot in Minnesota.
Paramount, 96 minutes, PG-13, $19.99
Seven college pals get together for the wedding of two of them. But the groom (Josh Duhamel) and the maid of honor (Katie Holmes) have a past, and the bride (Anna Paquin) and everyone else are all wondering if that is truly over. No extras listed.
Samantha Brown’s Asia
Travel Channel/Gaiam, 404 minutes, 8 episodes, 2 discs, $19.98
Travel documentary follows the narrator to Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, Bali, Japan and Hong Kong. No extras listed.
See You In September
Maya Entertainment, 90 minutes, $27.98
Lindsay (Estella Warren) is afraid of commitment. After her boyfriend proposes marriage, she panics and seeks out her therapist (Whoopi Goldberg), only to find out that she and every other shrink in Manhattan goes on vacation in August. She creates a support group and falls for one of the members, which might not go over too well with the groom-to-be. Hilarity is supposed to ensue. No extras listed.
Image Entertainment, 98 minutes, R, $14.98
Three bachelors speed through life and scheme on women, focusing on “the chase” and “the finish line.” Urban romantic comedy is supposed to ensue, although I’m not sure it’s a Valentine’s movie. No extras listed.
Sony, 111 minutes, R
Tamara Drewe (Gemma Atherton) left her small English countryside town an ugly duckling. Now she’s back, enhanced by plastic surgery, and determined to get her revenge by using sex appeal. Based on the graphic novel by Posy Simmonds. Extras: commentary, two featurettes.
Thelma & Louise: 20th Anniversary Edition
Fox, 129 minutes, R, $19.99 (BD debut)
Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis are the two title characters; two suburban housewives who get caught up in a bad situation and go outlaw in a film described as the “first feminist road movie.” Also stars Harvey Keitel as the determined detective on their trail. Directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri. Extras: two commentaries, deleted/extended scenes, several featurettes, storyboards, music video.
Tom and Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures
Warner Bros., 95 minutes, 14 cartoons, $14.97
More madcap adventures of the plucky mouse and the madcap cat trying to capture him. No extras listed.
Image Entertainment, 5 films, 5 games
7-DVD set: $59.98
4-BD set: $69.98
Box set featuring five Michael Jordan documentaries: “Come Fly With Me,” “Michael Jordan’s Playground,” “Airtime,” “Above and Beyond,” and “His Airness.” Also features five of his most impressive games and his Hall of Fame induction speech.
Olive Films, 115 minutes, PG-13, $24.95
Paul Newman stars as a drifter DJ who takes a job at a right-wing proto-fascist radio station in New Orleans, where he spews the invective of the station’s owner (Pat Hingle). When his words lead to a race riot, he’s at a loss as what to do. 1970 film also stars Joanne Woodward and Anthony Perkins. DVD debut. No extras listed.
Year of the Fish
Passion River Films, 96 minutes, not rated (mature audiences), $24.98
A Chinese girl (An Nguyen) moves to New York’s Chinatown district to support her sick father in China. Refusing to work in the sex trade for her massage parlor employer, she is made into a lowly servant. But there is hope as the New Year begins, in an enchanted fish given to her by Auntie Yaga (Randall Duk Kim) and a struggling jazz musician (Ken Leung). Modern-day adaptation of the “Cinderella” folk-tale is based on the original 9th century Chinese version. Film is shot using a digital-painting technique that makes live-action into animation. Extras: commentary, featurette.
Touchstone/Disney, 105 minutes, PG
Marnie’s (Kristen Bell) brother is marrying her archrival from high school. Even worse, the two mothers (Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver) of the prospective newlyweds were rivals back in their day. Betty White stars as the cantankerous grandma. Hilarity and family fun is supposed to ensue. Extras: three featurettes, deleted scenes. BD adds bloopers, more deleted scenes.