"Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Woody Allen made one of his periodic returns to commercial status and also scored some of his highest marks with critics in years on this romance set in Spain. Allen collaborates for the third time with Scarlett Johansson, who stars as an adventurous American on vacation in Spain with a staid pal (Rebecca Hall), the two of them caught up in a love quadrangle with a lusty painter (Javier Bardem) and his volatile ex-wife (Penelope Cruz). Fans will have to do without DVD extras, as Allen prefers to let his movies speak for themselves.
"Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys"
Filmmaker and co-star Perry offers up another domestic tale with this drama about two women (Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates) who hit the road to escape turmoil as their families tumble into adultery scandals, business corruption and other infamy. The DVD comes with deleted scenes and four behind-the-scenes featurettes, among them one on the movie's New Orleans settings and one on the cast, which includes Sanaa Lathan, KaDee Strickland and Robin Givens.
People are also reading…
"Mirrors"
Kiefer Sutherland stars as a disgraced ex-cop whose new job as watchman at a defunct department store hurls him into a supernatural mystery as terrifying images in the building's mirrors threaten his family. Along with the R-rated theatrical cut, the DVD and Blu-ray include an unrated extended version of the horror flick. Among other extras are an alternate ending and deleted footage accompanied by commentary with director Alexandre Aja.
"Appaloosa"
Ed Harris does just about everything in this old-fashioned Western, which he co-wrote, produced and directed while starring alongside Viggo Mortensen. Harris and Mortensen play longtime partners in the lawmen-for-hire game who sign on to clean up a town overrun by outlaws working for a murderous rancher (Jeremy Irons). Renée Zellweger co-stars as a fickle widow who complicates the good guys' friendship. Harris and writing-producing partner Robert Knott offer commentary, while the DVD and Blu-ray also pack deleted scenes and background features.
"Swing Vote"
Kevin Costner's a middle-age slacker who winds up with the deciding vote in a presidential election. The DVD and Blu-ray release have deleted and extended scenes with commentary from director Joshua Michael Stern, who also offers commentary for the full movie.
"My Best Friend's Girl"
Kate Hudson is at the center of a love triangle between the guy she dumped (Jason Biggs) and his best buddy (Dane Cook). The movie is available in the R-rated theatrical version or an unrated cut. DVD and Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes, commentary with Biggs and a handful of featurettes.
TV on DVD
"Dallas: The Complete Tenth Season" — J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) and his scheming relations are back in the prime-time soap set among a wealthy Texas oil family. The three-disc set has year 10's 29 episodes.
"Walker, Texas Ranger: The Sixth Season"
"Matlock: The Second Season"
"Reba: Season Five"
"Lovejoy: The Complete Season Four"
Coming next week
"Election" — Director Alexander Payne delivered an under-the-radar gem in 1999 with his dark comedy about a contentious high school election, starring Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick. The film is debuting on Blu-ray, although apparently with no more special features than the DVD release, with a commentary track as the only significant extra.
"The Express" — A powerful true-life tale of race and sportsmanship comes to DVD and Blu-ray. Rob Brown plays Ernie Davis, the first black man to win the Heisman trophy, and Dennis Quaid plays his coach, Ben Schwartzwalder. Extras include deleted scenes and commentary. The Blu-ray has those as well as archival footage of the 1959 Syracuse season.
— Phil Villarreal
