Eastbound and Down: The Complete First Season

Reviewed by: Eric Alt

The Skinny: Former major league pitcher Kenny Powers (Danny McBride) rode his cannon of an arm and gutter of a mouth to fame and fortune in the 90s. Unfortunately, the ride is over, and he finds himself washed up, back in his hometown, and teaching P.E. at the local high school.

The Good: Produced by the team behind The Foot Fist Way and featuring McBride doing what he does best (belligerently stupid redneckery), Eastbound and Down is flat out hilarious. Luckily, this series landed at HBO, which allows the humor to be as crass as it wants to be (and it wants to be). But don't think this is just a series of redneck jokes strung together—there's a real story arc at play, and it works. The Powers character is clearly tailor-made to play to McBride's strengths, and he nails both the highs and the lows.
The Bad: There's not much that doesn't work here, although we wish frequent guest star Will Ferrell would have created something other than his self-obsessed boob from Blades of Glory with a different colored wig. But it's not a make-or-break thing.

Best Extra: Check out the commentary track from series creators Ben Best (Chuck The Truck!), Jody Hill (director of Foot Fist Way and Observe and Report), and McBride, alongside Pineapple Express director David Gordon Green, who helms a few episodes.

Buy, Rent, or Ignore: If you don't have cable, this is a must-check-out one way or another.

12 Rounds

Reviewed by: Eric Alt

The Skinny: New Orleans cop Danny Fisher (WWE hulk John Cena) gets caught up in the elaborate revenge game plotted out by a crook he once put away. It involves kidnapping, death traps, and lots of running/punching/shooting. Basically, it's Die Hard With a Vengeance if Bruce Willis had spent his salad years doling out piledrivers instead of doing Moonlighting.

The Good: For a movie with this kind of pedigree—a wrestler-turned-actor not named Dwayne Johnson, a cliche-addled plot, and Renny "Deep Blue Sea" Harlin behind the camera—12 Rounds is surprisingly not a complete pile of clearance rack. It's not great, don't get us wrong, but there's something pleasingly old-fashioned about watching the bulked-up Cena perform actual stunts. Reminds of the good ol' Schwarzenegger/Stallone/Jeff Speakman days. With a bash of Busey.

The Bad: Again, 12 Rounds is disposable action junk food with a shitty ending, so keep those expectations in check. In the right mood, though, it's dumb fun. Also, the disc has both the "Rated" and "Unrated" versions of the movie, and you get a cookie if you can tell us the difference.

Best Extra: Well, "A Crash Course: John Cena Stunts" at least celebrates the movie's strongest point—it doesn't pussy-foot around when it comes to the banging of stuff up.

Buy, Rent, or Ignore: This is a rental if you're watching it alone or with the guys. Don't even try getting your girlfriend to sit through it.

Two Lovers

Reviewed by: Eric Alt

The Skinny: Shy, emotional minefield Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix) moves back in with his parents in Brooklyn and finds himself torn between the mother-approved girl from the block (Vinessa Shaw) and the flaky blonde shikse who flits back and forth to Manhattan (Gwenyth Paltrow).

The Good: Rumored to be Phoenix's last movie before he starts opening for Ludacris or is found dead in a Chino homeless shelter, Two Lovers at least ushers him out in respectable fashion. Not a showy role by any means, but Phoenix is less "actory" in the role and really comes across natural and oddly likable as Leonard. The same is true of Paltrow. If ever a movie was a hard sell based on the public approval of the leads, it's this one. But both acquit themselves well. The story is hardly original, but it is engaging enough to keep you interested.

The Bad: Director James Grey's movies tend to be a tad…how can we put this? "Boring"? Yeah, we'll go with "boring" (see: The Yards or We Own the Night. Rather, don't). Two Lovers isn't a wam-bam thrillride, but it makes better use of Grey's obsession with sparse dialogue and quiet moments than his previous films. It demands patience and, well, you can't watch people shoulder roll away from explosions every night, can you?

Best Extra: Not extensive, but the deleted scenes prove that some cuts really change the whole face of a movie (let's just say Leonard could have gone from awkward to creepy very easily).

Buy, Rent, or Ignore: This is a good date night rental.