This Week in DVDs November 16, 2010
Check out this week’s crop of DVDs, Blu-rays, and collector’s edition ultimate mega sets.
Since we know time is money, here’s a quick handy reference guide to recent DVD releases that should be on your radar and, in many cases, on your shelf. Immediately.
Avatar: Three-Disc Extended Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray)
Release Date: November 16
What it is: Remember that bare bones Avatar release from a few months ago? Right, so we all knew this was coming. A meatier, more expansive Avatar release just in time for the holidays.
Why you need it: If you were a fan of the movie and a fan of how the movie was put together, this is the release you need to own. There are some 8-odd hours of extra bonus material (including some rough, unfinished deleted scenes and tons of tech-heavy behind-the-scenes features) in addition to the “extended version” of the movie that recently got a brief theatrical run (the extra stuff isn’t monumental, but the set-on-Earth prologue featuring Jake Sully is a cooler character intro, and the much ballyhooed Na’vi “sex scene” is much tamer than you’d been led to believe). Overall, a great edition that may not inspire tons of double-dipping, but will reward the patient.
Best Worst Movie
Release Date: November 16
What it is: A documentary about the making of Troll 2, which is considered, well, one of the best worst movies ever made. A fascinating look at a movie that is astoundingly bad yet surprisingly beloved.
Why you need it: Everyone loves a good underdog story, and they’re even better when they’re true. Directed by one of the “stars” of Troll 2, Best Worst Movie celebrates a film that, as one of the fans in the doc notes, manages the rare feat of failing on every conceivable level – acting, directing, writing, cinematography, special effects, et al – and yet remains endlessly watchable. Hilarious and oddly touching, this is highly recommended.
The Kids Are All Right (Blu-ray)
Release Date: November 16
What it is: A light drama about a lesbian couple (Annette Bening and Julianne Moore) whose two children (Josh Hutcherson and Alice in Wonderland‘s Mia Wasikowska) manage to track down the guy (Mark Ruffalo) who donated the sperm from whence they came (bad-dum-bum). Complications ensue.
Why you need it: You may groan at the Under the Tuscan Sun-style box art, but don’t be so quick to judge. Kids is funny, exceedingly well-acted, and has more than a few surprises up its sleeve. It’s rare to see an adult drama that manages to not be ploddingly dull or irritatingly pretentious, so we recommend this as perfect date night viewing you’ll both enjoy. The special features are nothing unique, but the bright L.A. setting pops on Blu-ray.
Canada Cup 1987
Release Date: July 20
What it is: All of Team Canada’s games from the legendary 1987 Canada Cup tournament in a 6-disc set – including preliminary round matches that haven’t been seen since their original broadcast.
Why you need it: This box set is so Canadian, it isn’t even going to be available in U.S. stores (although you can purchase copies through Video Service Corp’s web site) and Team USA is little more than a footnote in the tourney – so what could possibly be the appeal? Anyone who loves the game of hockey will know. We’re talking the last gasp of the formidable Soviet Red Army Team, and a Team Canada that was basically a living, breathing Hall of Fame whose roster was filled with in-their-prime players named Gretzky, Lemieux, Messier, Coffey, Bourque, Fuhr, and on and on and on. Not to mention, well, one of the greatest endings of all time.