“All the King’s Men” (PG-13) - At one time thought to be an Oscar contender, the long delayed release of this film of the Robert Penn Warren novel evidently signaled trouble as critics and audiences largely dismissed it when it hit theaters this past fall. Could a movie that has a cast of Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Anthony Hopkins really be bad? Find out for yourself, if you desire.
Extras: Multiple featurettes, deleted scenes, a documentary on politician Huey Long and an alternate ending.
Official Web site
“ER: Season 6” - By this point in its run, the show was at the peak of popularity, even with the departure of George Clooney and the arrival of fresh blood such as Maura Tierney and Goran Visnjic.
Extras: Deleted scenes and a gag reel.
Official Web site
“Jet Li’s Fearless” (PG-13/Unrated) - What was being billed as Jet Li’s final martial arts epic, this action pic was a big hit overseas. Li plays a true life Chinese folk hero who becomes a legendary martial arts master and a symbolic figure of the strength China had in resisting Western culture at the arrival of the 20th century.
Extras: A featurette and a deleted scene (just one?!).
Official Web site
“Invincible” (PG) - The true story of Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg), a Philadelphia bartender who earns an unlikely spot on the Philadelphia Eagles football team, comes to the big screen. Featuring Greg Kinnear as then-head coach Dick Vermeil, the crowd-pleasing movie was a solid late summer hit for Disney.
Extras: A featurette on Papale, as well as commentary by Papale and a number of crew members.
Official Web site
“Lady in the Water” (PG-13) - Following the disappointment of “The Village,” M. Night Shyamalan’s follow-up was widely perceived as, well, another disappointment. The great Paul Giamatti stars as an apartment building superintendent who finds a young woman (Bryce Dallas Howard) in a swimming pool, only to discover that she’s more than she appears and that there are creatures who are coming for her.
Extras: A documentary on the making of the film, a featurette, deleted scenes, a gag reel and audition footage.
Official Web site
“Little Miss Sunshine” (R) - Both a critical and commercial success, the debut feature film from directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris follows the Hoovers, a dysfunctional family that heads on a road trip to California for a “Little Miss Sunshine” pageant. Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carrell and Alan Arkin head up the solid cast.
Extras: Commentary by Dayton and Faris with writer Michael Arndt, and four (!) alternate endings. (Was there some uncertainty on how to end the film?).
Official Web site
“My Super Ex- Girlfriend” (PG-13) - Luke Wilson, Uma Thurman, Anna Faris and Eddie Izzard star for director Ivan Reitman in a comedy about an average joe (Wilson) who falls in love with a superhero (Thurman), who has definite anger management issues. He quickly learns this when he breaks up with her and she decides to make his life a living hell.
Extras: Deleted scenes and a music video.
Official Web site
“A Scanner Darkly” (R) - Director Richard Linklater’s adaptation of Phillip Dick’s novel makes use of the same animation over live action format that he used to good effect in “Waking Life.” Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson and Robert Downey Jr. are among the good cast in a story that deals with a dangerous drug culture and an undercover agent’s attempts to find the source of a particularly potent substance.
Extras: Commentary by Linklater, Reeves and others, along with a couple of featurettes.
Official Web site
“The Simpsons: Season 9” - The animated classic is back for another season of hijinks, featuring some classic episodes such as “The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson” and “Trash of the Titans,” featuring Steve Martin and U2.
Extras: Commentary on select episodes from cast and crew, deleted scenes and a sketch gallery.
Official Web site
“When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts” - In my estimation, this thorough and emotionally involving four-part documentary is the finest piece of work Spike Lee has ever assembled, and ranks up there with the best documentaries of all time. An examination of Hurricane Katrina and its devastating aftermath, particularly in New Orleans, is the focus of this ambitious project. Lee himself wisely stays out of the picture, leaving the story to be told by those who were unfortunately a part of one of the most tragic natural disasters to ever strike the United States. If you missed this when it aired on HBO earlier this year, it’s very much worth a look on DVD.
Extras: Commentary by Lee, as well as an epilogue featuring new interviews and insights.
Official Web site
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