News: This Week's DVD and Blu-Ray Releases
posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 - 12:00:00 AM
This week, the pickin's are slim on new DVD and Blu-Ray Releases, however, there are a few gems that stand out from the crowd. First and foremost, the Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn penned Couples Retreat comes to your home. If lighthearted romantic comedies aren't what you're yearning, you can't go wrong with the Cohen brothers' Oscar nominated A Serious Man. The dark comedy stars Tony Award nominated Michael Stuhlbarg in his nuanced performance as physics professor Larry Gopnik dealing with the struggles of the midwest in 1967. The film is all Cohen Brothers, and that's not a bad thing. For the I-like-to-cry-at-movies fan in your home, there's the adaptation ofAudrey Niffenegger's best-selling The Time Traveler's Wife. Starring Rachel McAdams and Aussie Eric Bana, the film tackles the difficulty of falling in love with a man who suffers from a genetic disorder that sends him hurtling through time when he becomes emotionally unstable...I think we can all relate to that. Just in time for Valentine's Day, there's the DVD and Blu-Ray release of The Stepfather. Penn Badgley plays a kid who senses something amiss with his mom's new boyfriend, played by Nip/Tuck's Dylan Walsh, he turns out to be right when the stepfather eventually tries to kill everyone in his path. Finally, the exclusive Blu-Ray release this week is the classic Arnold Schwarzenegger film The Running Man. You can now see the governator in all his glory as he kills countless criminals in the name of survival in crystal clear 1080p!
Plot Summaries and Trailers Below.
Plot Summary: Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell and Faizon Love star in Universal Pictures' comedy 'Couples Retreat.' The comedy follows four Midwestern couples who embark on a journey to a tropical island resort. While one of the couples is there to work on their marriage, the other three set out to jet ski, spa and enjoy some fun in the sun. They soon discover that participation in the resort's couples therapy is not optional. Suddenly, their group-rate vacation comes at a price. What follows is a hilarious look at real world problems faced by all couples. The film also stars Kali Hawk and Jean Reno.
Director: Peter Billingsley
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Faizon Love
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for sexual content and language)
Plot Summary: Filmmaking duo Joel and Ethan Cohen write, produce, and direct this period black comedy set in 1967 concerning a Midwestern physics professor whose staid and stable life slowly begins to unravel after his wife announces that she's leaving him. As if the failure of his longtime marriage wasn't enough for Larry Gopnik to contend with, now his socially inept brother refuses to move out of the house as well. Larry is a modest man of science. Up to this point, his life has been uneventful at best, but things are about to get interesting. When his wife, Judith, announces that she is leaving him to move in with his smug colleague Sy Ableman, Larry does his best to contend with his failed marriage while barely tolerating his unemployable brother, Arthur, who appears to have grown roots on Larry's couch. Meanwhile, Larry's son, Danny, is getting into trouble at Hebrew school, and his daughter, Sarah, is stealthily snatching money from his wallet so she can afford a nose job. As Judith and Sy merrily begin making plans for their new life of domestic bliss together, Larry begins receiving a series of anonymous letters from someone who seems intent on sabotaging his chance for tenure at the university. To further complicate matters, a graduate student with failing grades is attempting to bribe the professor while simultaneously threatening him with a defamation lawsuit. Larry is in some serious need of equilibrium, though it's hard to focus on getting your life in order when your beautiful neighbor insists on sunbathing in the nude just outside your window. Perhaps by seeking the advice of three trusted rabbis, Larry can finally learn to cope with his afflictions and become a genuine mensch.
Director: Joel Cohen, Ethan Cohen
Starring: Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick, Adam Arkin, Aaron Wolf
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: R (for language, some sexuality/nudity and brief violence)
Plot Summary: A Chicago librarian suffers from a rare genetic disorder that sends him hurtling through time whenever he is under extreme duress; despite the fact that he vanishes at inordinately frequent and lengthy intervals, he attempts to build a stable future with the beautiful young heiress he loves.
Director: Robert Schwentke
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Eric Bana
Genre: Sci-fi Romance
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for thematic elements, brief disturbing images, nudity and sexuality)
Plot Summary: When a teenage boy (Penn Badgley) begins to suspect that his new stepfather (Dylan Walsh) is a notorious serial killer who preys on broken families, he races to gather the evidence that will back up his radical claim before it's too late. The 1987 thriller that shot Lost star Terry O'Quinn to cult stardom serves as inspiration for this remake penned by J.S. Cardone and directed by Nelson McCormick. Sela Ward, Jon Tenney, and Amber Heard co-star in a Screen Gems release. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Director: Nelson McCormick
Starring: Penn Badgley, Dylan Walsh
Genre: Thriller
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence, disturbing images, mature thematic material and brief sensuality)
Plot Summary: Directed by former Starsky and Hutch TV star Paul Michael Glaser, this post-apocalyptic science fiction yarn satirized American entertainment, mocking pro wrestling, game shows, and law-and-order reality programming. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Ben Richards, a cop in the totalitarian America of 2019, framed for massacring rioting civilians during a famine. After escaping from jail, Richards tries to prove his innocence, but his efforts are thwarted at every turn by a regime in need of a scapegoat. Richards is captured along with an innocent civilian, Amber Mendez (Maria Conchita Alonso), and they are forced to participate in a violent game show called "The Running Man," hosted by the unctuous Damon Killian (Richard Dawson). The object of the game for Richards and Mendez: obtain freedom by staying alive against a gauntlet of skillful assassins like "Subzero" (Prof. Toru Tanaka) and "Captain Freedom" (Jesse Ventura), each armed with unique weapons like razor-sharp hockey sticks and chainsaws. With the help of some fellow "contestants," Richards is able to tap into government computers and prove his innocence. The Running Man was very loosely based on a short story by Stephen King, who wrote it under the name Richard Bachman. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Director: Paul Michael Glaser
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Genre: Action/Adventure
MPAA Rating: R (language, intense violence)
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