Susan Granger’s DVD UPDATE for week of Friday, April 1:
“Fair Game” stars Naomi Watts and Sean Penn in the Valerie Plame Wilson/CIA-story delving into President George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq on the basis of faulty intelligence that Saddam Hussein was ready to launch weapons of mass destruction.
Based on the real-life escapades of Robert Durst, the psychological thriller “All Good Things” proves that truth is stranger than fiction, revealing the troubled scion (Ryan Gosling) of a Manhattan real estate entrepreneur (Frank Langella) who makes his wife (Kirsten Dunst) so miserable that she mysteriously disappears.
Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd are both in love with Reese Witherspoon in the tepid romantic comedy “How Do You Know,” while Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp lead ruthless Russian gangsters and detectives from Scotland Yard on a merry chase around picturesque Venice in the frothy, formulaic, mistaken identity thriller “The Tourist.”
Provocative new documentaries include “Cool It,” controversial author/economist Bjorn Lomborg’s take on the global warming debate; “The Human Experience,” a spiritual meeting with the world’s forgotten souls; “Ingredients” about the lively local food movement; “Colony,” examining the circumstances and impacts of the honeybees’ colony collapse disorder and “Heavy Water,” commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. And for sheer delight, there’s “Kings of Pastry,” cataloguing preparations for the annual French culinary competition to create delectable delights.
From sublime to ridiculous, “River of Darkness” is an action-packed gore-fest, a nightmare of death and mayhem, featuring some of professional wrestling’s biggest names: Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash and psycho Sid Vicious.
Classic film buffs will enjoy “Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Collection,” containing all 14 mysteries starring legendary Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce on five Blu-ray discs.
PICK OF THE WEEK: “Tangled” is Disney’s awesome, animated revisionist take on the Grimms’ “Rapunzel” fable, as a young princess, kidnapped and raised in seclusion by an evil witch, runs off with a cocky, handsome thief. Soon, savvy, strong and spunky Rapunzel discovers that she can not only take care of herself, outwitting thick-necked thugs and a band of hooligans, but also find her way back home.