As the summer season closes out, what's probably the slowest week of the year for DVDs has arrived. Only one wide release film is on the slate, and even the catalog titles and television box sets are light. Regardless, we'll stifle a sigh and press on like always with this week's DVD Report.
"State of Play" is a murder mystery whodunit, subbing in reporters for cops. Russell Crowe plays an old school, boots-on-the-ground investigative journalist who doesn't get the whole blogging thing. He also happens to be old college roommates with a powerful politician who, whoops, just had his mistress offed, sending Crowe on a mission to uncover a growing conspiracy behind the killing. The film comes from director Kevin MacDonald, who showed great promise with "Last King of Scotland," and its cast roster is filled with heavy-hitting names like Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Jeff Daniels, Robin Wright Penn, Ben Affleck and Jason Bateman.
It's a snappy if forgettable pic, bringing little that's new to the genre other than some good performances: Crowe is particularly great, although it feels like he's channeling Robert Downey Jr.'s character from "Zodiac." It's one of those films that's worth watching at least once, but it probably won't rate very high for repeat viewing. Universal apparently thinks the same, as they've delivered the title on DVD and Blu-ray with fairly minimal extras. We get a short "making of" featurette, a couple of spotlights on Washington, D.C. locations and some deleted scenes.
The only other new home video release is "The Girlfriend Experience," Steven Soderbergh's experimental film starring adult film actress Sasha Grey. A day-in-the-life snapshot of a young Manhattan call girl, the film is considerably less savory than you'd expect, highlighted by a low-key rookie offering from the impressive Grey.
One other film that's new for audiences is the straight-to-video "Bring It On: Fight to the Finish," Universal's fifth entry to the venerable cheerleading franchise. You can catch all our coverage of that release over on Hollywood Crush.
DreamWorks launches their "Sapphire Edition" Blu-ray line with two sword-and-sandal (or kilt) titles, "Gladiator" and "Braveheart," offering the Oscar-winning films on HD for the first time with a few updated extras (timelines and some new interviews). Also new on Blu-ray, Emile Hirsch's underrated "The Girl Next Door," and Robert Altman's 1970 anti-war opus "M*A*S*H."
On the music front, "Unwigged & Unplugged: An Evening with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean & Harry Shearer" comes to DVD, spotlighting the trio performing music from "This Is Spinal Tap," "A Mighty Wind" and more at the last stop on their recent nationwide tour.
Television is also light this week, with the third season of "Heroes," the fourth season of "Supernatural" and the ninth season of "CSI."
BLU-RAY/DVD NEWS:
The second season of "Star Trek: TOS" arrives on Blu-ray on September 22, a massive 19-disc box set collecting the entire "Futurama" series will drop October 13 and teen comedy "I Love You, Beth Cooper" hits November 3.
NEXT WEEK:
Did I say this week was slow? Next week is slightly better but that isn't saying much. The first season of "Fringe," "Crank 2: High Voltage," and Blu-ray releases of "Requiem for a Dream," "The New World: Extended Cut," "The Postman" and "Menace II Society" top-line next Tuesday.
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