Susan Granger’s DVD Update for week of Fri., Sept. 14:
Give “Piranha 3DD” credit for truth in advertising. In this tacky horror-comedy sequel, a marine biologist discovers that deadly, supersized piranha have found their way into The Big Wet, a mature-themed water park designed by her sleazy stepfather.
Rutger Hauer stars in “The Heineken Kidnapping,” a fact-based thriller, centered on how the beer baron behind the Dutch brewing giant plotted revenge, turning predators into prey.
There are three new ‘chick flicks.’ In “Lola Versus,” Greta Gerwig stars as a narcissistic New Yorker whose life falls apart as her 30th birthday approaches, while Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks and Anna Kendrick encounter reproductive angst in “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.” And “Girl in Progress” is a sudsy melodrama about a self-absorbed Seattle single mom (Eva Mendes).
Andy Garcia stars in “For Greater Glory,” an inspirational, historical drama about Mexico’s Cristero War (1926-1929), when Roman Catholics rebelled against the government’s repression of their religion. And the Christian-themed “October Baby” delivers an anti-abortion message.
Though divided by race, class and dysfunctional relationships, “Game of Life” shows how a children’s soccer team links five families living in Los Angeles as they unite in a common goal.
“The Tim Burton Blu-ray Collection” includes “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” “Batman,” “Batman Returns,” “Beetlejuice,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride” and “Mars Attacks!” “The Complete Hammer House of Horror” encompasses all 13 episodes in one five-disc collector’s edition. And “The Magic School Bus: The Complete Series” celebrates its 25th anniversary.
Koji Fukada’s Japanese comedy “Hospitalite” tells the story of a middle-class family in Tokyo whose life is turned upside down by the arrival of a mysterious new boarder and his ne’er-do-well visitors. And “Polisse” is Maiwenn’s French crime drama set in the Child Protection Unit in Paris, where weary detectives coax horrible tales from confused children, pedophile fathers and sobbing mothers.
PICK OF THE WEEK: “Snow White and the Huntsman” is a sumptuous yet grimly revisionist Grimm fantasy in which the vain, scheming Queen (Charlize Theron) is determined to destroy the alabaster-skinned, ruby-lipped feminist heroine (Kristen Stewart).