Battle: Los Angeles (Blu-ray) Criticize This! Pick of the Week – You know it’s a bad week for DVD releases when Battle: Los Angeles is our pick of the week. That said, it’s not that bad if you look at it more as a war movie and less of an alien invasion movie (it felt more like Black Hawk Down than Independence Day). And while some of the writing is disgraceful, Aaron Eckhart does a decent job with the material and delivers a fine performance as a U.S. Marine leading his troops during a fight against giant extraterrestrials taking over Earth. This is not about performances or writing though, and is all about visual and sound effects. Get past the shaky camera and it succeeds at both and rocks, especially on Blu-ray. Special features include making-of featurettes and more. Film *** Blu-ray *** (out of 5 stars).
The Other Woman – Irritated, angry, and appalled. That’s how I felt while watching The Other Woman, a movie so annoying it made me hate everyone involved with it, including the usually likeable Natalie Portman. Portman stars as Emilia, a woman who has an affair with a married man and gets pregnant by him. When she tells him she’s with child, he drops everything for her, divorces his wife and marries her. Then the baby dies. Now a mess, Emilia takes out her anger on the people around her, including her stepson, who she seems to spend a lot of time with for no reason. Sadly, the movie is so poorly made none of this affected me in the slightest and the whole ordeal felt like the filmmakers were sticking their noses up at the audience. A much better film about the loss of a child is Rabbit Hole, which actually gets how to handle material like this. No special features on the DVD. Film * DVD * (out of 5 stars).
Red Riding Hood (Blu-ray) – You can sum Red Riding Hood up into two sections: werewolves = good, everything else = bad. It doesn’t know if it wants to be The Wolfman or Twilight, and fails at both. There is no amount of words that can describe how painful it is to sit through either, and I just can’t muster up the energy to write about it (we do have a full review of the film here if you want to read more about how crummy it is). It did make me want to watch better werewolf movies though, such as Ginger Snaps, An American Werewolf in London, and even The Wolfman. The Blu-ray is crisp, which is not a good thing in this case as it makes all the digital sets and effects look very fake. Special features include the theatrical and alternate versions of the film, music videos, additional scenes, and more. A regular DVD and digital copy of the film are included as well. Film * Blu-ray * (out of 5 stars).
Point Break (Blu-ray) – Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 movie about surfing and bank robbing holds a special place in my heart as I remember watching it nonstop for an entire summer when it first hit VHS. Revisiting it on Blu-ray for its 20th anniversary confirms it’s still a fun summer movie. It also confirms just how bad an actor Keanu Reeves is (Patrick Swayze and Gary Busey are also bad, but in a good way). The film has held up surprisingly well over the years and looks and sounds quite good in high-def. Fans of the movie will be pleased with this release and newcomers should find much to enjoy out of it. Special features include additional scenes, making-of featurettes, and more. Film *** Blu-ray *** (out of 5 stars).
Snoopy’s Adventures - Fans of Peanuts will be happy to learn that Warner Home Video is planning a ton of new DVDs in their Happiness is… series starting with Snoopy’s Adventures, which includes the TV special Snoopy’s Getting Married, Charlie Brown and a classic episode of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show. The disc is priced right and is not only fun for nostalgia purposes, but my kid just loves watching these old shows with me and it proves how timeless Snoopy and Charlie Brown are. DVD *** (out of 5 stars)
Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son – It’s the summer. There are so many things you could be doing. Watching Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son is not one them. So don’t. Ever. Special features include the theatrical and extended cuts of the film, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and more. Film 0 DVD 0 (out of 5 stars).
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Top image: A scene from Battle: Los Angeles. Courtesy Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
