DVD Update: week of Dec. 17

Susan’s DVD Update for week of Fri., Dec. 17:

 

    With unprecedented access and the iconic comedienne’s cooperation, “Joan Rivers – A Piece of Work” is a reflective, insightful portrait of a consummate performer who candidly confesses, “When I am onstage, it is the only time I am truly happy.”

    In the same vein, “Robert Klein: Unfair & Unbalanced” features the observational comedian in his one-man show filmed at the Amaturo Theater in Fort Lauderdale.

    Emotionally edgy “Cyrus” focuses on a lonely, middle-aged man (John C. Reilly) who is attracted to a high-spirited, compassionate woman (Marisa Tomei). Problem is: she has infantilized her 21 year-old son (Jonah Hill), who views mom’s suitor as a threat.

    Emma Thompson scores again in “Nanny McPhee Returns,” an irreverent yet sweetly sentimental sequel, set in Britain during W.W. II and geared for family viewing.

    In the buddy comedy “The Other Guys,” Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg play hapless NYC detectives who are overshadowed by Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson with Eva Mendes as Ferrell’s unappreciated wife and Michael Keaton as their captain.

    Based on the campy ‘80s TV series, “The A-Team” stars Leslie Nielsen, Bradley Cooper and Jessica Beil, as a wisecracking quarter of military misfits cause mindless mayhem during the American invasion of Iraq.

    An intense study on modern warfare, the documentary “Restrepo” follows the daily activities of American soldiers deployed in Afghanistan’s dangerous Korengal Valley. Another documentary, “Ghost Bird,” explores how one phantom woodpecker changed a Southern town forever. And “Skin Deep: An Unauthorized Story on Angelina Jolie,” reveals the unconventional actress as mother, philanthropist and goodwill ambassador.

    “Exit Through the Gift Shop” is either an instructive documentary or an elaborate hoax, revolving around a French graffiti artist – I suspect the latter.

    For sports enthusiasts, “Baseball’s Greatest Games: 1960 World Series Game 7” chronicles how the Pittsburgh Pirates upset the New York Yankees.

    PICK OF THE WEEK: Entering the annals of dastardly animated supervillians is Gru (voiced by Steve Carrell), star of “Despicable Me,” a visually engaging tale about how his wickedly cold, evil heart is melted by three adorable orphan girls.

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