New DVD Tuesday

Rango (2011) - Johnny Depp, Ned Beatty, Isla Fisher
A gecko (Depp) who dreams of big adventure suddenly finds himself in an Old West-like town where water is at a premium. Sensing an opportunity to change his stripes, he creates a persona named Rango who talks a much tougher game than he actually possesses and before long, he's looked to as the town's savior. "Rango" didn't make near as much money, I think, as its backers had expected and I think that's because it has no target audience. I found it to be too immature for adults and too intense for kids. Not a fan, though I wanted to be.

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) - Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Phillipe, Marisa Tomei
Based on a book by Michael Connelly, "Lincoln" centers around a brash and slimy defense attorney (McConaughey) whose defend-at-all-costs is put to the test when he takes the case of a rich hot shot (Phillipe) becomes entangled with his own life. There are VERY few McConaughey movies that I can even stand to sit through but this one got decent reviews and actually had a rather long run in theaters. I might have to give it a shot.

Insidious (2010) - Rose Byrne, Patrick Wilson, Ty Simpkins
Another "family in the grips of demons" horror flick that features a husband (Wilson) and wife (Byrne) trying to save their comatose son from an evil spirit. I don't watch horror films so I'm out either way but the divide in critical reception for this film has been really interesting. Some critics who I really trust absolutely TRASHED it but others who are normally harsh on flicks of this nature fell in love with it. I've even seen a critic or two calling "Insidious" the best film of the year so far. Again, I'm not interested and the trailer was enough to thoroughly creep me out but the differences in opinion is pretty dramatic.

Arthur (2011) - Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner
Yet another 80s remake, this version of "Arthur" finds the title character (Brand) as a Billy Madison-like man child whose issues are much more related to immaturity than they are to alcoholism, which I believe was the premise of the Dudley Moore version. I don't get Russell Brand. He was fun in "Get Him to the Greek" but then again, I'm not sure he was acting so much as just being himself in front of a camera. I've tried to like him and my understanding is that he's a truly, genuinely nice and cool dude off the screen but I don't get it.

New to Blu
Brazil (1985) - Robert De Niro, Jonathan Pryce, Ian Holm
Naked (1993) - David Thewlis, Katrin Cartlidge, Lesley Sharp

Also New
Damages: Season 3 (2010) - Glenn Close, Rose Byrne
Entourage: Season 7 (2010) - Adrien Grenier, Jeremy Piven, Kevin Connolly
Miral (2010) - Frida Pinto, Willem Dafoe
E.R.: Season 15 (2009)
Uncle Boonme Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)