New DVD Tuesday!

Like I said last week, the one good thing about September in Hollywood is the release of a bunch of TV shows on DVD. This week brings a bumper crop of those products and not a whole lot else.

Prince of Persia (2010): Jake Gyllenhaal,Gemma Arterton

Based on the highly successful video game series, "Persia" involves a hero (Gyllenhaal) who must save the world with the help of a dagger that serves as time machine when activated. This movie was a huge flop at the box office and may lead Disney (and hopefully other studios) to reconsider the "style over substance" brand of filmmaking. That said, this is the kind of movie I like on DVD/Blu-Ray since it doesn't require a lot of attention and I (hopefully) don't hate my life after viewing. I'll probably check it out this week.

Big Bang Theory - Season 3 (2009): Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco

I'm quite excited for this set. I caught up on Seasons 1 and 2 during my stint on the disabled list (are my sports metaphors confusing people?) and enjoyed them enough to watch Season 2 over again with my wife. This is an extremely fun show with well defined characters and I'm stoked to see where it went in Season 3.

Glee - Season 1 (2009): Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith

For the five people in America who didn't watch at least one episode of "Glee" last year, it follows a high school show choir as they try to survive the dangers of public school while striving for excellence on stage. This is such a weird show because the stories, direction, and sometimes even acting fall somewhere between tolerable and downright embarrassing and yet it is exceedingly watchable. The musical numbers are outstanding and this is coming from a self-professed hater of musicals and when the jokes land, they can be hilarious. But that's only JUST enough to keep me watching from week to week because otherwise, it is horribly depressing and the writers do nothing to progress the show. In the end, though, it's impossible to fight the power of Journey so I guess I'll be back for Season 2.

Fringe - Season 2 (2009): John Noble, Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson
"Fringe" follows a father and son team of scientists (Noble and Jackson) and the FBI agent who escorts them (Torv) as they investigate all things paranormal. If you're AT ALL into science fiction and you're not watching "Fringe" then I want you to stop wasting time with this stupid blog and catch up RIGHT NOW! Season 3 is right around the corner. Seriously, "Fringe" is an outstanding show, easily the best sci-fi series on TV right now. It plays out like "The X-Files" but with a much more cohesive story line that carries from week to week. All the actors (even "Dawson's Creek" alum Jackson) play their characters perfectly and Noble in particular delivers a remarkable performance every single week. Just rent it and judge for yourself.

Letters to Juliet (2010): Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave
Something about a twenty-something who answers decades-old love letters while on a trip in Europe. Too cutesy for me but I've heard decent things.

Just Wright (2010): Queen Latifah, Common
Latifah plays a physical therapist who helps an aging NBA star (Common) recover from an injury. I can't stand Queen Latifah in anything, ever and I DESPISE sports action that looks unrealistic and is used only as a prop. So, in summation, I'm out.

Other New Releases
Private Practice - Season 3 (2009): I watched approximately 3 episodes of this show back in Season 1 before realizing that not only did I not like any of the characters, I was actively rooting for all of them to fail. Out.
The Good Wife - Season 1 (2009): I heard this was good but I never, EVER like ANY hour-long drama from CBS so I refuse to even give this a try. I can guarantee I would hate it.
Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 5 (2009): I can't believe this show is still on. I saw a couple of episodes when it debuted and loved them but assumed it wouldn't find an audience and would be off the air shortly. It might be next on my catch-up list.

New to Blu-Ray

Se7en (1995): Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey

Freeman and Pitt play detectives chasing after a serial killer whose murders are based on the seven deadly sins. An extremely well written, well acted, and well made film, the final twist is just too much for me. Seriously disturbing to me. But man, what a quality film.

Pick of the Week (a new semi-weekly feature that I'll run whenever I feel like it)
Mercury Rising (1998): Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin (on Blu-Ray)
A washed up cop (Willis) happens upon a young autistic boy whose murder was ordered by a government agent (Baldwin) after he cracks a billion dollar secret code. "Mercury" is a seriously underrated film that had the misfortune of being lost in a sea of mediocre Willis movies that premiered around this time before his "Sixth Sense" resurgence. I've very rarely spoken with anyone who has seen (or remembers) this movie and while it's far from Oscar caliber, it's totally worth a viewing.