And here we are, a little late but back in the saddle back with a couple of very TV-oriented weeks in worthwhile DVDs. Check out what I like from the last two weeks below:
Grab ‘Em Right Away
Glee: The Complete Fist Season (Bluray)
Created by: Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk & Ian Brennan
Cast: Matthew Morrison, Jane Lynch, Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Finn Hudson, Amber Riley, Mark Salling, Jenna Ushkowitz, Naya Rivera & Heather Morris.
Why should you buy this? Because it’s without a doubt the best new TV show from last season. The show does take about three or so episodes to really hit its stride, but take the time necessary. Every cast member sports an amazing voice and even better comedic timing which is what makes the show work. Jane Lynch is perfect; she is unrelenting in her desire to best Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison). She is definitely going to be the biggest thing that any non-musical fans will latch onto with this show, but then the show really isn’t for them in the first place.
How I Met Your Mother: Season Five
Created by: Carter Bays & Craig Thomas
Starring: Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, Alyson Hannigan & Neil Patrick Harris
Why should you buy this? Because it’s one of the funniest sitcoms since Cheers. This is the show that restored faith in the traditional multi-camera sitcom. Neil Patrick Harris’ comeback turn as the Barney Stinson is literally my top sitcom character of all time at this point. This is the kind of show that can brighten a bored/depressed day, helping you laughs to tears. If you’re not watching this show I weep for you.
Community: The Complete First Season
Created by: Dan Harmon
Starring: Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Chevy Chase, Jim Rash & Ken Jeong
Why should you buy this? Because if it weren’t for the aforementioned Glee this would be the best new show from last season. Stepping away from the obvious amazingness that is Joel McHale (the host of The Soup) in the lead role as the lawyer who has to go to community college to actually get law credentials. This show is just an amalgamation of everything that is pop culture for any movie geeks out there to love. With the character of Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed (Danny Pudi) the show makes itself more than infamous in my mind. Everyone in the cast plays off each other with such ease and authenticity it feels real. There’s no need to watch it in order, episode to next episode, because the jokes, like the characters, stand alone.
Check it Out
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Directed by: Mike Newell
Written by: Boaz Yakin & Doug Miro
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Toby Kebbell & Richard Coyle
Why you should rent it? If you missed this one in the theater it’s totally worth a watch on a boring Thursday evening. It’s not the greatest action/adventure film that you’ve not seen, but it is a passable one. Is it the greatest film based on a video game? Sure, why not? And even though the faux-British accents do get on my nerves, the movie never stops being a fun romp through a lot of sand. Who stood out for me is Alfred Molina, who plays a business man who’s trying to make an extra dollar outside of the legal system. He definitely gives his best effort, hitting the level of fun that Johnny Depp hits in the Pirates films.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season Five
Created by: Rob McElhenney
Starring: Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson, Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney & Danny DeVito
Why should you rent it? It’s one of those shows that’ jokes stay with you after the show’s over. Some people have told me that it’s really just five idiots doing ridiculously stupid things. They may be right, but the truth of the matter is that those stupid things are funny. For those of you out there who’ve just discovered Charlie Day in the recent film Going the Distance you have to watch this show to see where most first noticed him.
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done.
Directed by: Werner Herzog
Written by: Herbert Golder & Werner Herzog
Starring: Michael Shannon, Willem Dafoe, Chloë Sevigny, Michael Peña, Udo Kier & Grace Zabriskie
Why should you rent it? It’s one of those interesting one-of-a-kind stories you’d more likely here on CNN than your local multiplex. After Brad (Michael Shannon) murders his mother he barricades himself in his home with hostages. Brad’s fiancé (Sevigny) and good friend come on the scene to explain to the detectives (Dafoe, Pena) on scene what kind of man Brad is and what’s happened to him recently that’s changed his outlook on life. Watching this dynamism is spelled out but intriguing. Unfortunately, it’s flaws match its ambitions, making it a rental, nothing more.
Robin Hood
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Written by: Brian Helgeland
Starring: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Max von Sydow, William Hurt, Mark Strong, Mark Addy & Oscar Isaac
Why should you rent it? If you’ve already seen all of the films above, check this one out. It isn’t a bad movie, it’s just one you’ve seen way too much of. It’s the Robin Hood story that you already know, plus a little bit of pseudo British-French history. This is the origin story of Robin of Loxley. He returns to Nottingham and sees bad things happening to regular people and decides to step in. He then eventually makes himself an outlaw. Check out my full review here.
Also worth renting: 30 Rock: Season Four, Human Target: The Complete First Season & Bored to Death: The Complete First Season
The Rest
The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Third Season
Grey’s Anatomy: The Complete Sixth Season
Glee: Season One, Vol. 2 – Road to Regionals
Letters to Juliet
Fringe: The Complete Second Season
Just Wright
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Season 2
James and the Giant Peach
Rules of Engagement: The Complete Third Season
Spartacus: Blood and Sand – The Complete First Season
Modern Family: The Complete First Season
Castle: The Complete Second Season
El Secreto de Sus Ojos
Ondine
The Experiment
Bluray
Monster House (3D)
Seven
The Twilight Zone: Season One
Breathless (The Criterion Collection)
Delicatessen (Studio Canal Collection)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Collector’s
Unleashed
American Beauty
The Peacemaker
Xam’d: Collection 1
What are your renting this week?