Friends With Kids (Blu-ray) Criticize This! Pick of the Week – As a father of two with many friends planning to have kids in an unconventional manner, Friends With Kids really spoke to me and I immediately connected with it. Written and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt, the film revolves around best friends (Westfeldt and Party Down’s Adam Scott) who decide to have a baby together when they realize they might never find the right people. For the most part it’s a raunchy adult comedy with a few sentimental moments thrown in for good measure and it works well. Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Chris O’Dowd also star and all give great performances. The Blu-ray has a great 1080p image transfer and very clean 5.1 sound mix. Special features include audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a making-of featurette. Film **** Blu-ray **** (out of 5 stars).
Silent House (Blu-ray) – Technically speaking, Silent House is a marvel in film editing as it really does look like one long take (in reality they filmed it in 10 minute chunks). Story and performance wise, it lacks anything substantial and only offers a few jump scares here and there and kind of craps out in the end. Not the worst horror movie I’ve seen this year, but far from anything I’d recommend. Elizabeth Olsen stars. The film is extremely dark and the Blu-ray release does nothing for the movie. I even found it made it the darker scenes look worse. Special features include interviews and a set featurette. A regular DVD is included as well. Film ** Blu-ray ** (out of 5 stars).
Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham and Other Stories (Blu-ray) – Originally made for TV as Dr. Seuss on the Loose in 1973, this collection of Seuss adaptations includes Green Eggs and Ham, The Sneetches, and The Zax. The three stories combined only cover 25-minutes in total, but for Seuss fans, or fans of older animation, it’s a nice set to add to your Blu-ray collection. Special features include four interactive puzzles. A regular DVD is included as well. Blu-ray collection *** (out of 5 stars).
Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu Season 1 – If your kids are into LEGO as much as my 5-year-old is, Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu is a must-watch show. The computer animation looks great, the voice work is decent, and the episodes are all pretty fun and action-packed. The 2-disc season one set includes all 13 episodes and will definitely help pass the time on rainy summer days. DVD set *** (out of 5 stars).
Also out this week to Watch @ Home is the sci-fi thriller Lockout, The Three Stooges, Get the Gringo, starring Mel Gibson, and the Blu-ray releases of Singin’ in the Rain, Altered States, and Mean Streets.
Top image: A scene from Friends With Kids. Courtesy VVS Films.
