This Week’s Tastiest Morsel
Unwigged and Unplugged Live Concert DVD
The men behind This is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind perform their classic songs for a full 2 hours with stories and jokes in between. I was really sad I wasn’t able to see them when they toured nearby so I will take solace in the DVD instead.
Fresh Catches
State of Play
Based on the BBC Miniseries, State of Play is a political thriller that underperformed at the Box-Office despite a stacked cast including Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn, Jeff Daniels, and Jason Bateman. And just like all the other movies with financial trouble the DVD is a little light on features, although, I will check it out anyway based on the strength of Kevin MacDonald’s last film which was the stunning Last King of Scotland.
Terry Fator: Live from Las Vegas
Terry Fator is the other famous ventriloquist (Jeff Dunham) who won the second season of America’s Got Talent and this is his first DVD special. Or you can see him in Vegas where he makes more money than ventriloquists should be allowed to make.
Tennessee
Remember Glitter, the horrendous Mariah Carey bomb that killed her career for a few years? Mariah took some time off and studied up and slummed down into an indie film where she actually generated a little buzz. The movie on the whole has been skewered by critics, but if you want to see Mrs. Cannon return to film this is your chance.
Earth
The Planet Earth series on Discovery Channel, which was a HD dream come true on TV awhile back, was the culmination of years of difficult camerawork. The footage was broken up into regions for the TV series but some of the footage was culled for its emotional impact and sequenced in to a feature movie which is being released by Disney.
Heroes – Season Three
The set comes with some new features and a commentary on every episode, many of which include the star actors. If you grab the Blu-ray you can watch the commentaries with Picture in Picture.
C.S.I. Crime Scene Investigation: The Complete Ninth Season
This is the first season featuring Laurence Fishburne who comes in to replace the show’s biggest star, William Peterson, midway through the season. I think Peterson saw that the show was running out of clever murder ideas and ran for the hills before the inevitable “Jump the Shark” turn. Hopefully, some fresh blood will reinvigorate the franchise for awhile.
Supernatural: The Complete Fourth Season
The fourth season follows the brothers Winchester as they try to keep Lucifer from being unleashed on Earth. The show was green lit for a fifth season which starts up in a few days and will pick up right where this season ended, so you will need to catch up quickly.
Two and a Half Men: The Complete Sixth Season
The seventh season of the hit CBS sitcom starts on September 21st and the show has actually gained viewers in recent years, so they locked up the show for three more seasons.
Desperate Housewives: The Complete Fifth Season
Wisteria Lane’s cadre of wild women breaks through the 100 episode mark with the usual DVD features like Bloopers and writer commentaries and a new feature called “Evolution of a Modern Classic”.
Rescue Me: Season 5, Vol. 1
Season 5 was the beginning of the show hitting 22 episodes a season, but the DVD is being split in half to wring more money out of you. They also announced the show will end with the 7th season in 2011, which will coincide with 9/11’s 10th anniversary.
Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory: Season One
What would happen if you gave a few million dollars to a fourteen year old skateboarder who lives in a warehouse? You get most of what happens on this show, with a heavy barrage of really blatant product placement.
Double Dip DVDs
Homeboy
Before Mickey Rourke went nuts and destroyed his face as an amateur boxer he played a boxer in Homeboy. It may go well in a double feature with The Wrestler if you are planning a movie night and you can look forward to a solid dose of Christopher Walken as his shady fight promoter.