DVD in store 5/31/2006

New In Stores

Bloodrayne: Unrated Director’s Cut with DVD-ROM Videogame (NR) Kristanna Loken, Michael Madsen, Matthew Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Ben Kingsley. Prequel to a videogame. Really. In 18th century Romania, Rayne — a girl with a human mother and vampire father — possesses superhuman strength but a soft side for humans. She decides to find her vampire father, who is the powerful vampire Kagan. On her journey, she is befriended by two vampire hunters and learns that there are three Talisman organs — a heart, an eye and a rib from her ancestor vampire, Beliar — which Kagan covets that will make him so powerful that he will throw the Earth into darkness and vampires will rule forever. 94 minutes. DVD INFO: Includes audio commentary by the director; the featurette “CGI Making of the Film” storyboards; the featurette “Dinner with Uwe”; plus a second disc with the complete BloodRayne 2 PC videogame.

The Boondock Saints: Unrated Special Edition (NR) Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, David Della Rocco, Billy Connolly. Hot on the trail of the assailants behind the brutal murder of Russian thugs, FBI agent Paul Smecker (Dafoe) is surprised to discover the killers are Irish twin brothers (Flanery and Reedus) who believe they’ve been chosen to rid the world of evil. But as they unleash more brutality on the criminals of Boston’s underworld, Smecker finds himself torn between busting the vigilantes and joining them. Digitally remastered with 5.1 EX Dolby Surround Sound. 108 minutes. DVD INFO: The two-disc set includes deleted scenes; outtakes; filmographies; the screenplay; and two audio commentaries: one by writer-director Troy Duffy and one by comedian Billy Connolly, who plays a hitman in the movie.

Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (PG) Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Hilary Duff, Tom Welling, Piper Perabo, Eugene Levy, Carmen Elektra. Sequel to the 2003 comedy hit. This time, Tom and Kate Baker (Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt) take their 12 kids (including Indianapolis native Forrest Landis) on vacation, where they end up competing with the overachieving large family of Jimmy Muraugh (Eugene Levy), Tom’s longtime rival. 100 minutes. DVD INFO: Includes audio commentary by director Adam Shankman; the Fox Movie Channel featurette “Casting Session”; plus the featurettes “Camp Chaos” and “A Comedic Trio.”

Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (NR) Marilyn Hanold, James Karen, Lou Cutell, Nancy Marshall, David Kerman, Robert Reilly. Great art from 1965. When an atomic war on Mars destroys the planet’s women, it’s up to Martian Princess Marcuzan (Hanold) and her right-hand man Dr. Nadir (Cutell) to travel to Earth and crash a swingin’ pool party to kidnap bikini-clad women for new breeding stock. Landing in Puerto Rico, they shoot down a NASA space capsule manned by an android (Reilly). With his electronic brain damaged, the android terrorizes the island while the Martians raid beaches and pool parties. 77 minutes. DVD INFO: Includes a still gallery.

Hammer Film Noir Collector’s Set, Vol. 1-3 (NR) Dane Clark, Diana Dors, Barbara Payton, George Brent, Paul Henreid. In 1950, Hammer Films set up a deal with American producer Robert L. Lippert to produce low-budget crime dramas to be made in the U.K. Lippert would send over a shop-worn Hollywood star or promising American newcomer to give the films box-office appeal in the states, supported by the usual fine casts of British character actors that make most British movies worth watching. This five-year arrangement produced over a dozen little B-noirs that seemed to fall through the cracks of film history ... until now. This box set offers another look at these dark, moody pictures made by the company that became one of Britain’s most prolific film producers of the 1960s, many directed by Hammer’s top director, Terence Fisher, cutting his teeth on mystery and suspense. 464 minutes. DVD INFO: The box set includes the featurette “The World of Hammer Noir” plus biographies.

High School Musical: Encore Edition (PG) Zak Efron, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel. Hit TV movie for tweens from the Disney Channel. Troy (Efron), the popular captain of the basketball team, and Gabriella (Hudgens), the brainy and beautiful member of the academic club, break all the rules of East High society when they secretly audition for the leads in the school’s musical. As they reach for the stars and follow their dreams, everyone learns about acceptance, teamwork and being yourself. 98 minutes. DVD INFO: Includes original and sing-along versions; “Learning the Moves” featurette led by director/choreographer Kenny Ortega; “Bringing It All Together: The Making of High School Musical”; never-before-seen music video “I Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You”; plus “We’re All in This Together” music video.

The Kids in the Hall: The Complete Fourth Season (NR) Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, Scott Thompson. Another great season from the best comedy troupe since Monty Python. How great are they? Whenever I could get tickets, I used to drive from Indianapolis to Toronto to watch them tape their shows — that’s how great they are. Season Four includes a plastic surgeon who is most certainly not insane (but he’s going insane, so there’s a discount), channeling spirits with occult entertainer Sir Simon and his assistant Hecubus, the homecoming of the Chicken Lady, plus much more inspired hilarity. Great stuff! 500 minutes. DVD INFO: The box set includes new audio commentary by the troupe; two absolutely needless “Season 4 Best-of” compilations; archival footage never-before-seen-on-TV; plus a slide show. —EJO

Lurking in Suburbia (NR) Joe Egender, Samuel Child, Ari Zagaris, Buffy Charlet. The press notes call the film “a hilarious and moving film about the fear of becoming 30, love and, most of all, friendship,” so it must be true. The dark suburban comedy from writer/director Mitchell Altieri focuses on the coming-of-age of a 30-something writer, taking a trip to a world filled with early morning beer drinking, dingoes, dysfunctional roommates, disapproving ex-girlfriends, unconditional male bonding, a sad 30-year-old party and strippers. 87 minutes. DVD INFO: Includes drunken commentary (their description, not mine) and deleted scenes.

TV on DVD

Brothers Rob Morrow, David Krumholtz solve crimes using mathematics while papa Judd Hirsch fusses around in NUMB3RS: SEASON 1, Hal Sparks enjoys one last year of the best gig he will ever have in QUEER AS FOLK: THE FINAL SEASON, the years of screeching finally come to an end in WILL AND GRACE: THE SERIES FINALE, a puppet does shtick in ALF: SEASON 3, outrageous autos reign supreme in AMERICAN MUSCLECAR: SEASON 2, the jokes are fluffy as hell in THE DORIS DAY SHOW: SEASON 3, the winning formula of slapstick for the kids, sexy women for the fathers and car chases for everybody continues in THE DUKES OF HAZZARD: SEASON 6, Bill Cosby mixes messages and comedy in FAT ALBERT AND THE COSBY KIDS: VOLUME 3, once upon a time we had high hopes for JOEY: SEASON 1, several unaired episodes of the failed suspense show are included in NIGHT STALKER: THE COMPLETE SERIES, beautiful women, drama and skates mix in ROLLERGIRLS: SEASON 1 and ’60s adventure cartoons get spoofed in THE VENTURE BROTHERS: SEASON 1. NOTE: Some studios have the nerve to market box sets of TV series containing episodes that were trimmed down by several minutes each for airing in syndication. Before laying down your money, make sure the box set includes the words “original and uncut.”