NEW ON DVD AND BLU-RAY:

“THE BOUNTY HUNTER,” starring Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. A diverting enough rom-com finds bounty hunter Butler ecstatic upon receiving his new assignment: hunting down his ex-wife (Aniston), a journalist who has skipped bail to pursue a hot story. Much bickering interspersed with smoky glances ensues. For viewers who felt “Midnight Run” lacked sexual tension, “Hunter” should prove a worthy watch, and an excellent supporting cast (including Christine Baranski, Jeff Garlin and Carol Kane) helps matters considerably. Special features, including making-of featurettes. Rated PG-13 for sexual content including suggestive comments, language and some violence. Running time: 1:50.

Suggested retail price: DVD $28.95; Blu-ray $38.96.

 

“THE GREATEST,” starring Pierce Brosnan and Carey Mulligan. Following the death of their teenage son, a bereaved couple (Brosnan and Susan Sarandon) struggle to regain footing, a process interrupted by the appearance of Rose (the always excellent Mulligan of “An Education”), the feisty young woman carrying their late son’s baby. Impressive directorial debut from Shana Feste is a high-grade tearjerker that took Sundance by storm but unfortunately failed to secure much of a theatrical run. Special features include deleted scenes and cast interviews. Rated R for language, some sexual content and drug use. Running time: 1:39.

Suggested retail price: DVD $26.98; Blu-ray $26.98.

Advertisement

 

NEW ON DVD:

“PSYCH: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON,” starring James Roday and Dule Hill. Ever since stepping up its game with “Monk,” the USA network has proven to be a reliable source of high-quality guilty pleasures, and “Psych” is a prime example, with faux-psychic Roday teaming up with the exquisitely reluctant Hill to solve crimes, generally through sheer chutzpah alone. Funny and exciting, the fourth season piles one ridiculous situation after another with the usual aplomb. Special features include gag reels and commentary on select episodes. Not rated, contains language and violence. Running time: 11:12.

Suggested retail price: $59.98.

 

“STREET HAWK: THE COMPLETE SERIES,” starring Rex Smith and Jayne Modean. The Shout! Factory comes to the rescue once again, rescuing this forgotten-but-fun action series from the flotsam and jetsam of the early ’80s. “Hawk” is essentially “Knight Rider” on two wheels, with the expertly coiffed Smith escaping the doldrums of his desk job to fight crime on an prototype “combat motorcycle,” which unfortunately doesn’t talk but does just about everything else. Good cheesy fun. Running time: 11:30.

Advertisement

Suggested retail price: $39.97.

 

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

“ALPHA DOG,” starring Emile Hirsch and Justin Timberlake. Frenetic, fact-based crime drama of errors involving the questionable business practices and subsequent violent outbursts among middle-class, drug-dealing 20-somethings in late ’90s California. Nothing if not energetic. Special features including a making-of featurette. Rated R for drug use and language, strong violence, sexuality and nudity. Running time: 2:02.

Suggested retail price: $26.98.

 

Advertisement

“ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13,” starring Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne. Bullet-riddled 2005 update of John Carpenter’s cult 1976 actioner finds Sgt. Hawke teaming up with inmate Fishburne to fend off a marauding band of corrupt cops surrounding the police station on New Year’s Eve. Purists will want to stick with the original (and with good reason, as it’s a classic of its genre), but as remakes go, “Assault” is actually pretty fun, not once letting plot logistics stand in the way of a bloody good time. Special features include deleted scenes and several making-of featurettes. Rated R for strong violence and language throughout, and for some drug content. Running time: 1:49.

Suggested retail price: $26.98.

 

VIDEOPORT PICKS:

“CHLOE,” starring Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried. Another stylish headscratcher from director Atom Egoyan (“Exotica”), this difficult-to-classify but thoroughly entertaining film finds suspicious wife Moore hiring a female escort (the newly ubiquitous Seyfried of “Jennifer’s Body”) to try to seduce her husband (Liam Neeson). Needless to say, if you’ve seen the trailer, things don’t go quite as planned, and we’ll just leave it at that. Entertaining and thought-provoking throughout, “Chloe” manages to simultaneously come off as both an art-house drama and a sleazy B-thriller, which is no mean feat. Rated R for strong sexual content including graphic dialogue, nudity and language. Running time: 1:36.

Suggested retail price: DVD $27.96; Blu-ray $34.95.

Advertisement

 

“GREENBERG,” starring Ben Stiller and Greta Gerwig. Not that it’s exactly a wide-reaching genre, but nobody does prickly character studies better than Noah Baumbauch (“The Squid and the Whale”). Here, he showcases a whole new side of Stiller as the title character, an unapologetically unpleasant former musician who relocates from New York to LA to house-sit for his brother and possibly make some sense of his seemingly stagnant existence. It’s arguably the smartest comedy of the year so far. Rated R for some strong sexuality, drug use and language. Running time: 1:47.

Suggested retail price: DVD $28.98; Blu-ray $39.98.

 

 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: