DVD in stores for 6/7/2006

New in Stores

Dumbo: Big Top Edition (G) Edward Brophy, Sterling Holloway, Herman Bing, Cliff Edwards. Animated Disney favorite from 1941. Meet Dumbo, Mrs. Jumbo’s sweet little “Baby Mine” who charms all who see him ... until it’s discovered that he has huge floppy ears! With the support of his very best friend, Timothy the mouse, Dumbo soon learns that his spectacular ears make him unique and special, allowing him to soar to fame as the world’s only flying elephant. 64 minutes. DVD INFO: Includes audio commentary by animation historian John Cane; DisneyPedia: “My First Circus” game; DVD storybook: “Dumbo’s Big Discovery”; bonus shorts: “Elmer Elephant” and “The Flying Mouse”; sing-along songs: “Look Out for Mr. Stork” and “Casey Junior”; “Baby Mine” music video performed by Jim Brickman and Kassie DePaiva; “Celebrating Dumbo” featurette; Walt Disney TV introduction; plus a Dumbo art gallery.

Firewall (PG-13) Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany, Virginia Madsen, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Robert Patrick, Robert Forster, Alan Arkin. Generic action-thriller. Ford plays a computer security specialist at a Seattle bank who is forced to electronically rob his own company when his family is taken hostage by Eurotrash villain Bill Cox (Bettany) and his band of thugs. It plays out like this: Smug, smooth-talking Bettany and his gang terrorize the family. Ford grimaces and seethes, but obeys for a while. Finally, he switches to action-hero mode and kicks major Eurotrash ass. The end. The film isn’t awful; it’s simply lame and redundant. 105 minutes. DVD INFO: Two separately packaged DVDs are available: One preserves the film in the anamorphic widescreen format, while the other hacks off nearly a third of the picture for the fullscreen (aka pan & scan) version. Shop carefully. Both versions include “Firewall Decoded: A Conversation with Harrison Ford and Richard Loncraine” and the featurette “Firewall: Writing a Thriller.” —EJO

Fried Green Tomatoes: Extended Anniversary Edition (PG-13) Kathy Bates, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker, Jessica Tandy, Cicely Tyson. Beloved 1991 feature about family friendship and murder in rural Georgia. In a Southern nursing home, feisty resident Ninny Threadgoode (Tandy) befriends Evelyn Couch (Bates), a depressed housewife, and stirs her to action with an inspirational tale. She tells of the transcendent friendship between Idgie Threadgoode (Masterson) and Ruth (Parker), who bond after witnessing a tragedy in the 1930s. The two open a café together in the small town of Whistle Stop and manage to survive despite all matters of ugliness around them. 137 minutes. DVD INFO: Includes deleted scenes; outtakes; “Moments of Discovery: The Making of Fried Green Tomatoes”; Sipsey’s recipes; Jon Avnet’s director’s notes; production photographs; poster campaign; plus audio commentary with director Jon Avnet.

Glory Road (PG) Josh Lucas, Tatyana Ali, Mehcad Brooks, Emily Deschanel, Derek Luke, Jon Voight. The inspirational true story of the underdog Texas Western basketball team, with history’s first all-African-American starting lineup of players, who took the country by storm, surprisingly winning the 1966 NCAA tournament title. Josh Lucas stars as Hall of Famer Don Haskins, the college basketball coach who changed the history of basketball with his team’s victory in this time of innocence. 106 minutes. DVD INFO: Two separately packaged DVDs are available: One preserves the film in the anamorphic widescreen format, while the other hacks off nearly a third of the picture for the fullscreen (aka pan & scan) version. Shop carefully. Both versions include audio commentary by director James Gartner and producer Jerry Bruckheimer; deleted scenes; “Legacy of the Bear,” highlights of coach Haskins’ illustrious career; “Surviving Practice,” an inside look into coach Haskins’ training regimen; “In Their Own Words: Remembering 1966,” extended interviews with players and colleagues of coach Haskins; plus the Alicia Keys music video “Sweet Music.”

Running Scared (R) Paul Walker, Chazz Palminteri, Cameron Bright, Vera Farmiga, Johnny Messner. Walker plays a low-level mobster who, in order to save his family, must recover a gun used in a mob hit before it’s found by his bosses or the cops. And lest you think it’s just another mob film, director Wayne Kramer reveals a deeper subtext within the film’s story. He says he envisioned it as “a child’s Grimm’s fairy tale nightmare, but taking place in a mob world.” 122 minutes. DVD INFO: Includes audio commentary by writer/director Wayne Kramer; “Running Scared: Through the Looking Glass” featurette; plus storyboard comparisons.

Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic (NR) Sarah Silverman, La’vin Kiyano, Bob Odenkirk, Brian Posehn, Laura Silverman. Comedian Sarah Silverman stars in a concert film intercut with musical numbers and vignettes. Silverman does shock humor, making outrageous statements about various racial and religious groups, as well as the Holocaust, Sept. 11 and rape. She has been compared to Lenny Bruce, which is just sad. Bruce dug deep for his humor, while Silverman sticks to the surface. Her bad-taste-meets-perkiness persona can be funny, sometimes very funny, but her formulaic approach gets tiresome. 72 minutes. DVD INFO: Includes deleted scenes and jokes; bloopers; behind-the-scenes footage (30 minutes of off-camera, off-kilter humor); plus a bonus song, “Give the Jew Girl Toys.” —EJO

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (R) Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper, Julio Cesar Cedillo, January Jones, Dwight Yoakam, Melissa Leo. When ranch foreman Pete Perkins (Jones) discovers that bad-ass border patrolman Mike Norton (Pepper) killed his friend Melquiades Estrada (Cedillo), he kidnaps Norton, makes him dig up the body and lead him deep into Mexico so Estrada can be interred in his hometown. The film, which marks the feature directorial debut of Jones, fits his persona to a T: It’s rough and tough, and though it has a heart, it doesn’t blather on about it. There is considerable brutality and a lot of grisly business involving a corpse (Sam Peckinpah’s Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a clear influence). There also is a streak of dark humor that kicks in at the damnedest times. 120 minutes. DVD INFO: Includes audio commentary by the cast; a making-of featurette; master class with Tommy Lee Jones and Guillermo Arriaga; plus a Cannes Film Festival featurette. —EJO

Underworld: Evolution (R) Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Bill Nighy, Tony Curran, Derek Jacobi. Sequel to the 2003 horror story. A war emerges between the aristocratic Death Dealers and the barbaric Lycans (werewolves), stemming from an ancient feud between the two tribes. Selene, the beautiful vampire heroine, and Michael, the lycan hybrid, try to unlock the secrets of their bloodlines. Their forbidden love takes them into the battle to end all wars as the immortals must finally face their retribution. 106 minutes. DVD INFO: Two separately packaged DVDs are available: One preserves the film in the anamorphic widescreen format, while the other hacks off nearly a third of the picture for the fullscreen (aka pan & scan) version. Shop carefully. Both versions include audio commentary by the filmmakers; “The Hybrid Theory,” visual effects; “The War Rages On,” stunts; “Bloodlines: From Script to Screen,” making-of; “Making Monsters Roar,” creatures; “Building a Saga,” production design; “Music and Mayhem,” music and sound design; plus music video “Her Portrait in Black” by Atreyu.

HD DVD
CONSTANTINE, FIREWALL and THE PERFECT STORM.

TV on DVD
ENTOURAGE: SEASON 2, AIR AMERICA: THE COMPLETE SERIES, CHARMED: SEASON 5, CHEYENNE: SEASON 1, DOCTOR WHO: GENESIS OF THE DALEKS, F-TROOP: SEASON 1, HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: SEASON 2, HOME IMPROVEMENT: SEASON 4, NCIS NAVAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION SERVICE: SEASON 1, STAR TREK: FAN COLLECTIVE Q, THE TIME TUNNEL: SEASON 1 VOL. 2 and THE WILD WILD WEST: 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.”