Susan Granger’s DVD UPDATE for week of Friday, Nov. 26:
Sylvester Stallone’s savage, testosterone-propelled “The Expendables” revolves a battered, bickering band of hard-bodied mercenaries (Stallone, Jasan Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, former NFL player Terry Crews, Ultimate Fighting champ Randy Couture) with cameos by Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Shallow, superficially spiritual “Eat Pray Love” stars Julia Roberts as a self-involved, yuppie New Yorker who leaves her adoring husband (Billy Crudup) to embark on an exotic New Age journey of self-discovery, winding up in Indonesia with a delectable Brazilian (Javier Bardem).
“I’m Still Here” is Casey Affleck’s satirical psychodrama disguised as a documentary, focusing on Joaquin Phoenix’s take on the Entertainment Industrial Complex, as the actor impersonates an overweight Method movie star who ingests piles of cocaine, abuses his staff and makes humiliating visits to Sean Combs and David Letterman.
Based on an E.L. Doctorow short story, “Jolene” follows a beautiful young red-headed Southern girl (Jessica Chastain), as she makes her way through bad foster homes and a failed marriage, escapes from a mental hospital and looks for love and adventure.
For gift-giving, “The Six Million Dollar Man: The Complete Collection” is a whopping 40-DVD set with all 100 hour-long episodes and more than 17 hours of bonus features, including interviews with Lee Majors, Richard Anderson and Lindsay Wagner.
For preschoolers, “Animal Tales” has Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder, Barney, Fireman Sam and Kipper in an animal-themed collection and “Thomas & Friends: Adventure Pack” is a four DVD set. Plus, Walt Disney Entertainment launches a new child-sized remote control with “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Number Roundup” and “Handy Manny: Big Construction Job.”
PICK OF THE WEEK: Rob Reiner’s “Flipped” is a fresh, funny, totally engaging coming-of-age comedy that gently, sweetly captures the emotional pain of growing up. It’s 1957 when second-graders Juli (Madeline Caroll) and Bryce (Callan McAuliffe) first meet. She adores him; he’s embarrassed by her attention. But, gradually, as years pass, he sees her, her free-spirited relatives and his own judgmental family from a different point-of-view and realizes the real value of friendship and compassion.