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Taking a look ahead at the week's DVD releases is always dicey for your wallet. Nearly every week, there's a disc that would fit nicely into any size collection. When it comes time to decide what to buy, there are really two determining factors: how much you love the content and the quality of the extra features on the disc. The unreleased studio (film and television) back-catalogue means that every week there's likely something for you.

February 14, 2006

This film is ______ of Gwyneth Paltrow's lack of box office clout: Proof (2005)

Maybe it's simply mediocre reviews that did this film in, or perhaps it's that it was a film about math, but something didn't resonate with audiences when Proof was released. Certainly, the assumption can be made that, despite pedigree, neither Gwyneth Paltrow or Anthony Hopkins can open a movie on the simple strength of their names. In fact, given the year he's having, nor can Jake Gyllenhaal (it must be a confidence builder that he has to either be in a special effects film or be Heath Ledger's bottom to have a hit). In any case, the DVD of this math drama includes a director's commentary with John Madden (the film version), deleted scenes, and a making-of featurette.

Did you see Saw? Then you've really seen Saw II: Saw II (Widescreen) (2005)

The most entertaining part of this DVD is not that it's a quickie sequel to a "hit" horror film, it's that there's an audio commentary with director Darren Lynn Bousman and actors Donnie Wahlberg and Beverly Mitchell. That's right, there's an audio commentary with a former member of the New Kids on the Block. If he doesn't sing "Hanging Tough" over the credits, I give you permission to start a riot. Also included on the disc are a game, featurettes on the props and traps; and storyboard and art from the film.

For mildly preachy voiceovers that somehow don't ruin a great show: Grey's Anatomy: Season One (2-Disc Set) (2005)

While there's no doubt it's a show directed at women, I have no qualms about recommending Grey's Anatomy to men. Once you get past the mildly annoying voiceover from the title character (it begins and ends every episode), there's a lot to love. Great characterization, terrific acting, beautiful women...you can't go wrong.

Certainly the best medical drama on television, what with E.R. having been ridiculous for approximately seven years now., Grey's Anatomy follows a group of surgical interns (Ellen Pompeo, T.R. Knight, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl and Justin Chambers), their boss (the unbelievably great Chandra Wilson) and her bosses (Patrick Dempsey, Isaiah Washington, and James Pickens Jr.). All of the actors are outstanding. While it's a bit hard to believe that anyone in a medical setting (even a pretend medical setting) wouldn't be slightly concerned about the fact that Pompeo looks, ahem, slightly underweight, the show is extremely believably done, at least from the standpoint of the personal relationships shown (I certainly can't speak to the medical portion).

Included on the disc are deleted scenes from the pilot; additional unaired scenes; a behind-the-scenes featurette; an "Avant-Garde" trailer and cast and creator audio commentaries.

February 21, 2006

A TONY SCOTT FILM!!: Domino (Widescreen) (2005)

BOP favorite Tony Scott returns with another crushing bomb...this one exploding over the careers of Keira Knightly and the suddenly resurgent Mickey Rourke. Domino, a biopic of "famed" bounty hunter Domino Harvey was a colossal failure in theaters, likely only memorable for the inclusion of several members of the 90210 cast (Brian Austin Green and Ian Ziering). Included on the disc are an audio commentary with Scott and writer Richard Kelly that will hopefully explain some of what the hell they were thinking; Script notes and story development commentary with Scott, Zack Schiff-Abrams, Kelly and, most interestingly, Tom Waits; deleted scenes; a featurette on Harvey's Life with and another featurette on the film's visual style. It's just too bad there isn't a feature-length audio commentary with Brian Austin Green and Ian Ziering...that would have been worth the price of the disc.

Nobody believes that Charlize Theron is an uggo: North Country (Widescreen) (2005)

I realize that, to date, making herself into an uggo has gotten Charlize Theron two Oscar nominations (and one win), but come on, does anyone really want to see her as an uggo? I think not. I really want to see Charlize get a nomination for playing a role where she is both her hot self and extremely scantily clad. Let me repeat, not an uggo. In any case, in North Country, Theron (uggo version) plays a miner who sues for sexual harassment, a case that was the first of its kind. Included on the disc are deleted scenes and a making-of documentary.

Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes, how do you measure how long this movie feels to watch?: Rent (2-Disc Widescreen Special Edition) (2005)

If, in the mid-'90s, a film adaptation of Rent had gotten off the ground, there's a strong chance that it would have been a huge hit. Not only was the film timely and relatively unique, but the touring stage version was extremely popular. Now, it seems like a quaint idea. Perhaps the problem lays with the ever-vanilla directing of Chris Columbus (the only man capable of making the first two Harry Potter books less exciting on film), but this adaptation of Rent was not the cultural phenomenon it might have been. Unfortunately, the film is likely to be a cultural phenomenon in my house, which makes this one of the few times I ever wish for fewer features on a DVD. To my chagrin, fans of the film (and play) will be thrilled at the cornucopia of extra features available. Extra features likely to be watched in depth at the Winan house include an audio commentary with Columbus and selected cast; a feature length documentary called "No Day But Today" about playwright Jonathan Larson and the evolution of the play and film;; PSAs and more. Unfortunately, not a bad package.

For digital proof of Jay Mohr's once-relevant career: Action: The Complete Series (1999)

Exhilarating and hilarious, Action's brief moment in the sun may have hit too close to home for Hollywood. It may, however, also have been the victim of the Fox Network's amazing talent for killing its best shows through poor time slots, poor advertising and poor marketing. Jay Mohr's career highlight to this point, Action featured him as studio executive Peter Dragon, who was as despicable as he was hilarious. The show lasted 13 episodes, which is the approximate length of any terrific television show that doesn't fit Fox's "dumb as a box of rocks" standard for their viewers (see Firefly, Undeclared and many others). Included on the disc are filmmakers' commentaries on several episodes; a making-of featurette; and, most promising, an interactive "Hollywood Insider" dictionary.

February 14, 2006

Big Bad John (1990)
Club Paradise (1986)
Collision Course (1989)
Deal of the Century (1983)
Emmanuel's Gift (2005)
For Richer, for Poorer (1992)
Framed (1990)
The Frisco Kid (1979)
Fronterz (2004)
Grey's Anatomy: Season One (2-Disc Set) (2005)
House of 9 (2005)
The Journey (2004)
La Bete Humaine (Criterion Collection) (1938)
Metropolitan (Criterion Collection) (1990)
Nine Lives (2005)
Odd Jobs (1985)
The Pretender: The Complete Third Season (4-DVD Set) (1998)
Proof (2005)
Quick Change (1990)
R-Point (2004)
Rain (2001)
Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
Reel Paradise (2005)
Running Mates (1992)
The Russian Specialist (2005)
Saw II (Full Frame) (2005)
Saw II (Widescreen) (2005)
See This Movie (2004)
Shut Up and Kiss Me (2005)
Thérèse (2004)
The Thing About My Folks (2005)
Up the Academy (1980)
Zathura (Special Edition) (2005)
Zombie Honeymoon (2004)

February 21, 2006

3rd Rock From the Sun: Season 3 (4-DVD Set) (1997)
Action: The Complete Series (1999)
Buried Alive (2004)
Cerberus (2005)
Claire Dolan (1998)
Class of 1984 (1982)
Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber (2005)
Daddy Long Legs (1955)
Death in Gaza (2004)
Domino (Full Frame) (2005)
Domino (Widescreen) (2005)
Edvard Munch (1974)
First Descent (2005)
Indian Babu (2003)
The Memory of a Killer (2005)
Midnight Cowboy (Collector's Edition) (1984)
Mixed Blood (2004)
North Country (Full Frame) (2005)
North Country (Widescreen) (2005)
NYPD Blue: Season 03 (4-DVD Set) (1995)
The Prince & Me 2: The Royal Wedding (2005)
Pulse (2001)
Rent (2-Disc Full Frame Special Edition) (2005)
Rent (2-Disc Widescreen Special Edition) (2005)
The Seat Filler (2004)
Separate Lies (2005)
The Simian Line (2000)
Southern Justice (2004)
The Spirit Bear (2006)
Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild (2005)
Twist of Faith (2005)
Ultimate Avengers: The Movie (2006)
Vice Squad (1982)
Waterborne (2005)
The Weather Man (Full Frame) (2005)
The Weather Man (Widescreen) (2005)