New On DVD: November 16, 2010

A scene from 'The Kids Are All Right'. Courtesy Alliance Films.

The Kids Are All Right (Blu-ray) Criticize This! Pick of the Week – When siblings Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson) go looking for the sperm donor who helped conceive them, and then invite him into their lives, their lesbian parents Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julainne Moore) are not happy. Will they be able to move forward with this new arrangement or will the family they have worked hard on building fall apart?

Directed by Lisa Cholodenko (Laurel Canyon, High Art), The Kids Are All Right is a great dramatic-comedy that features some excellent performances (Mark Ruffalo also stars as Paul, the donor), and one of the best written scripts of the year. If you enjoyed films like Laurel Canyon or Sideways, this has a similar feeling to it and is sure to grow many devoted fans over the years to come.

The Blu-ray release has a great 1080p transfer and 5.1 DTS-HD audio mix. That said, this is not a movie that is a must-own on Blu-ray unless you adore it the way I did and just want the best quality version of it in your collection. Special features include audio commentary with Lisa Cholodenko, a making-of featuette, a featurette on the writing process with Cholodenko and co-writer Stuart Blumberg, BD-Live capabilities, and more. Film **** Blu-ray *** (out of 5 stars).

The Last Airbender (Blu-ray) – M. Night Shyamalan’s live-action adaptation of the animated Nickelodeon show Avatar: The Last Airbender is a complete disaster of a movie and is extremely painful to watch. Terrible writing, acting (Jackson Rathbone and Nicola Peltz need to go back to acting school if they plan on sticking around Hollywood any longer), and very weak special effects solidifies The Last Airbender’s spot as not only one worst films of the year, but one of the worst films ever made. If you’re interested in the story, pick of up one of the box sets of the show.

The one plus of The Last Airbender on Blu-ray is that it’s not presented in the horrible fake 3-D that it was in the theatre. This helps make the effects look a bit better, but still doesn’t save the overall movie. The special features are plenty and include a nine-part making of documentary, picture-in-picture commentary on select scenes, outtakes, and more. A regular DVD and digital download of the film are also available. Film * Blu-ray ** (out of 5 stars).

Coopers’ Christmas (AKA Coopers’ Camera) – It’s Christmas Day, 1985, and the Cooper family just got a fancy new VHS camcorder to document their joyous celebration. What they capture with it though is a hilarious, drunken “home movie” of their dysfunctional suburban family.

Starring Jason Jones and Samantha Bee (both of The Daily Show), and Kids in the Hall alum Dave Foley (who surprisingly shows his penis in an early scene), Warren P. Sonoda’s Coopers’ Christmas is a wickedly funny comedy that will tickle you pink from laughter and make you want to relive it over and over. It’s also one of the more memorable non-traditional holiday films to come along in a few years.

Special features on the DVD include audio commentary with director Warren P. Sonoda and producer Sean Buckley and a making-of featurette. Film *** DVD ** (out of 5 stars).

Also available on DVD and Blu-ray this week:

Disney’s A Christmas Carol (DVD/Blu-ray/3-D Blu-ray)
Lottery Ticket (DVD/Blu-ray)
The Extra Man (DVD/Blu-ray)
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (DVD/Blu-ray/3-D Blu-ray)
Avatar (Three-Disc Extended Collector’s Edition) (DVD/Blu-ray)
Mutiny on the Bounty (Blu-ray)
Polar Express (3-D Blu-ray)
Under the Sea (3-D Blu-ray)
Open Season (3-D Blu-ray)
Flashpoint: The Complete Second Season (DVD)
Republic of Doyle (DVD)