This Week’s Tastiest Morsel
The Wizard of Oz (70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition with Digital Copy and Amazon Exclusive Set of 4 Collectible 8×10 Character Posters)
A true movie classic gets a stunning collection to rival the epic set released for Blade Runner. This set on Amazon comes with five discs of content in a limited and numbered case with a collectors book on the film’s history, mini character posters, and a watch which is likely a piece of junk. Many of the featurettes are new although if you want to save money and get the Two-Disc Special Edition most of the good features will be available there. The casing looks beautiful and I may be buying more than one for gifts.
Fresh Catches
Monsters vs. Aliens
Make sure to buy the Double Pack to get a bonus short film and four pairs of 3-D glasses. The DVD is loaded with features and should be a stellar buy for those with kids.
Away We Go
Director Sam Mendes steps into the world of comedy for a quirky journey across the country with an expecting couple played by John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph. I was looking forward to this hitting DVD if only to enjoy the many cameos which are supposed to be hilarious.
The Girlfriend Experience
This movie got a lot of press about the casting of Sasha Grey, who is also a porn star, as the lead in this drama from Steven Soderbergh. Sodergergh has a penchant for making odd films that no one watches (Bubble) in between his wildly popular films (Ocean’s Eleven). This doesn’t appear to be any different and people seem to love it or hate it.
Management
I think the mass appeal of Jennifer Aniston has become clear as she has struggled to push a movie that didn’t have its own natural appeal into financial success. Sadly, this film also hurt Steve Zahn who is really funny and has had his own share of underperforming films lately.
Shrink
Kevin Spacey stars as a popular shrink for celebrities in Hollywood and is struggling with his own happiness. The premise isn’t terribly appealing, but Kevin Spacey has a strong history in Dark Comedies with Swimming with Sharks which makes this a more interesting option.
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Batman and Superman stop fighting so they can both resist Lex Luther who has been elected to the office of President. Having Luther as the President puts our heroes in a tough position which should make for a fun adventure. If you grab the Two Disc Edition you get some token features and a Digital Copy.
How I Met Your Mother: Season Four
This is one of the better sitcoms on TV although this season suffered as both the female leads were pregnant and forced to miss episodes or hide behind odd objects to cover the bump.
Life on Mars: The Complete Series
I loved the potential of this show especially with Harvey Keitel dominating every scene he is in, but it didn’t get enough of an audience and was cancelled early. Check out Joe’s review of this set.
CSI NY: The Complete Fifth Season
This Gary Sinise led CSI franchise continues along strong and now has passed 100 episodes. I couldn’t find any features list online, but the CSI releases usually aren’t high on features.
The Unit: Season Four
This is the final season of The Unit so you can also grab The Complete Gift Set, which is just a cool collector’s case of the existing seasons and features. The last season does include three new featurettes.
Double Dip DVDs
Stepfather II (DVD Special Edition)
This movie has grown in popularity now that Terry O’Quinn has risen to fame as Locke on Lost. This sub-par thriller gets a special edition with a commentary and a featurette on the Stepfather chronicles.
The Guild: Seasons 1 & 2
The original seasons were Amazon exclusive so this looks like a non-exclusive release. I can’t tell if the features are different, but it is cheaper at 14.99 for both instead of 11 bucks a piece.
