Susan Granger’s dvd update for week of Friday, August 8th:
After acclaim for “Super Size Me,” Morgan Spurlock headed to the Middle East for “Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?” a dumbed-down travelogue documentary that tries to be funny despite its serious subject matter, as Spurlock faux-quizzes ordinary folk in Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan. The answers may surprise you.
Dublin-born Steve Barron’s quirky drama “Choking Man” is about a shy, lonely Ecuadoran immigrant, Jorge (Octavio Gomez Berrios), struggling to make a life in New York’s Jamaica, Queens, while working as a dishwasher at a diner run by Mandy Patinkin; the title comes from a Heimlich-maneuver poster hanging over Jorge’s work station.
If you’re a Paul Hogan fan, “Crocodile Dundee” and “Crocodile Dundee 2” are finally available, chronicling the adventures of the irrepressible Aussie and his reporter girl-friend, played by Linda Kozlowski.
Continuing the legend of Batman, “Birds of Prey: The Complete Series” was produced in 2002 for the WB network and is loosely based on the DC Comics series of the same name; it’s just been released with a host of special features including “Gotham Girls S1-3,” an animated series of shorts starring the “Birds of Prey” characters.
Everyone’s favorite morning-loathing, Odie-taunting, tart-tongued tabby is back in “Garfield’s Fun Fest,” a full-length computer animated feature, about the town’s annual talent show; having won every year, Garfield’s convinced he can’t lose. And “The Super Fun Show!” hosted by Shawn Brown gets kids moving and grooving, learning aerobics and burning (calories).
PICK OF THE WEEK: Winner of the Best Foreign Language Oscar, “The Counterfeiters” is a true W.W.II drama that poses a provocative moral dilemma about Jewish collaboration with the Nazis. What makes it worthwhile is its depiction of a struggle of conscience, chronicling the currency of desperation.