"Knocked Up" — Writer-director Judd Apatow ("The 40-Year-Old Virgin") strikes again with one of the summer's funniest and smartest comedies. Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl star in the story of a slacker forced to grow up and become a man after his drunken one-night stand with a career-minded woman leaves her pregnant. The movie is available in single-disc DVD editions containing either the R-rated theatrical release or an unrated version, a two-disc DVD set with the unrated version and more extras, and a combination disc with the unrated cut on standard DVD and high-definition HD DVD. Among the bonus materials are a huge collection of deleted and extended scenes, a mock segment on other actors considered for Rogen's role and commentary with Apatow and Rogen.
"Evening" — The filmmakers rounded up a remarkable cast for this yawner of a chick flick, including Vanessa Redgrave, Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, Claire Danes, Toni Collette and Natasha Richardson. Based on Susan Minot's novel, the weepy romantic drama flits back and forth in time as a woman on her deathbed (Redgrave) relates to her daughters the story of a weekend 50 years earlier when she met the love of her life. Available in a standard DVD or a combination disc with the standard DVD and HD DVD formats, the movie is accompanied by deleted scenes, a making-of featurette and a segment with Minot and co-screenwriter Michael Cunningham.
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"Black Book" — After years of making Hollywood sci-fi and thriller hits such as "RoboCop," "Basic Instinct" and "Starship Troopers" (along with the notorious bomb "Showgirls"), director Paul Verhoeven returned to his more character-driven European roots with this foreign-language mini-hit set during World War II. The film follows the undercover adventures of a double agent (Carice van Houten), a survivor of a Nazi assault against Jews fleeing Holland who infiltrates the enemy's ranks for the Dutch Resistance by seducing a German captain. Along with a making-of featurette, the DVD and Blu-ray high-definition disc include commentary by Verhoeven. TV on DVD
"As You Like It" — Bryce Dallas Howard, Kevin Kline and Alfred Molina lead the cast as filmmaker Kenneth Branagh ("Henry V," "Hamlet") returns to Shakespeare with this adaptation of the romance between a banished woman disguised as a man and the lover who fails to recognize his lady in guy's garb. The DVD has a behind-the-scenes featurette.
"The Streets of San Francisco: Season 1, Volume 2," "The Untouchables: Season 1, Volume 2" — Two venerable crime dramas resume their DVD afterlife in four-disc sets with the second half of their first seasons. "The Streets of San Francisco" stars Karl Malden as a veteran cop and Michael Douglas as his young partner. The set has 13 episodes. Robert Stack plays Eliot Ness in "The Untouchables." The set has 14 episodes.
"George Carlin: All My Stuff" — The stand-up comic's 12 HBO specials, from 1977's "On Location: George Carlin at USC" through 2005's "Life Is Worth Losing," are collected in a 14-disc set. Extras include a full disc of interviews.
"The King of Queens: 9th Season."
"My Name Is Earl: Season Two."
"Numbers: The Third Season."
"The Unit: Season 2."
"What About Brian: The Complete Series."
"Midsomer Murders: Set Nine."
"Cracker: A New Terror."
"Drawn Together: Season Two."
Coming soon
"Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" — This superhero sequel was pretty much panned, but I enjoyed its over-the-top action and preferred it to the first film. This time the crew is joined by the Silver Surfer, a poorly computer-animated herald for a planet-eating monstrosity. The DVD includes behind-the-scenes docs and deleted and extended scenes.
"Misery: Collector's Edition" — This thrilling but not quite classic 1990 drama, based on a Stephen King novel, stars the incomparable Kathy Bates as an obsessive book fan who leeches onto her favorite author (James Caan) after he suffers a car wreck. The new DVD includes five new featurettes, as well as the extras from the last "Misery" DVD.
— Phil Villarreal
