It's a busy time for Sookie Stackhouse.
Dead and Gone, the latest of Charlaine Harris' books about the woman living in a world of Southern vampires, landed in stores recently. (See a review on Page E3.) True Blood, the HBO series adapted from the novels, begins its second season on June 14. And the 12-episode first season comes to DVD and high-definition Blu-ray on Tuesday (HBO Home Entertainment, $59.99 DVD, $79.98 Blu-ray).
Adapted by Alan Ball (Six Feet Under), True Blood is a swampy, sweaty, tension-laden tale of Sookie (Anna Paquin), a young woman in the off-the-tracks town of Bon Temps, La., in a country where vampires have come out of the coffin. Thanks to the development of a synthetic blood, they no longer have to feed on humans, and are fighting for the same basic rights as the living.
Sookie, as we see soon enough, is different from other people as well, which helps draw her toward vampires, particularly the handsome and courtly Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), who is attracted to her. (I should note right here that, if you're thinking this sounds a lot like Twilight, True Blood is a much more graphic piece of work, full of raw sex and violence.) And the two of them are part of a larger, and often more frightening, world.
I didn't think much of True Blood when I first saw it, and I still find parts of it rather awful. But that does not make it unwatchable. When I revisited it on DVD, I was drawn in more by the pulpy energy of the story, the odd little jokes and the heat coming off the whole enterprise. Good cast, too.
The DVD has some nice extras, including ads for Tru Blood, the new vampire beverage; spots for hotels, lawyers and dating services catering to vampires, and a mockumentary about vampires in America. There are also commentaries on six episodes.
The Blu-ray version adds pop-up information and other material.
Russell Brand was very funny as the rock star Aldous Snow in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, far funnier than he is on Russell Brand in New York City: Extended and Uncensored (Paramount, $16.99). I have to give him points for including as an extra his notorious Jonas Brothers-bashing monologue from the MTV Video Music Awards, since it caused him considerable grief.
But the biggest problem with his jokes and the brothers and their virginity pledges is that Brand wasn't funny. And you can see by comparing his stand-up special with the VMA bit that Brand was off his game at the VMAs — even with the jokes used in both places. But even game on, he's more outrageous than he is genuinely funny.
Besides the VMAs, as bonuses the DVD includes a deleted segment and bits shot around New York City.
On the movie side, Tuesday brings Paul Blart: Mall Cop (Sony, $28.96 for DVD, $38.95 Blu-ray, $24.94 UMD). The Kevin James film was a big success, taking in more than $145 million in North America with its tale of a deluded mall security man. Its relatively gentle humor proved far more appealing than the similarly themed but grimmer Observe and Report, as well as underscoring the box-office appeal of James, who co-wrote the film as well as starring in it.
The DVD adds deleted scenes, an audio commentary, featurettes on James, the stunts and other elements, and — so appropriate for a movie about a mall — a coupon for a free roll from Cinnabon. The Blu-ray release also includes a digital copy.
Make of this what you will, but Paul Blart: Mall Cop made more money in the United States than Valkyrie, the thriller with Tom Cruise. (Valkyrie topped Blart when you count foreign revenue.) Still, Valkyrie — based on the story of one of the attempts to assassinate Hitler — was a rebound for Cruise, posting respectable numbers and some decent reviews, as well as overcoming controversy during its making.
The movie arrives Tuesday on single-disc DVD ($29.98), a two-disc special edition ($34.98) and Blu-ray ($39.98). The basic DVD has two commentary tracks, one of which includes Cruise; a making-of segment; and a documentary about the real plot portrayed in the movie. The two-disc version adds a digital copy. The Blu-ray has the digital copy and adds more pieces about the making of the film.
Terminator Salvation, the latest film in the long-running movie and TV franchise, arrives in theaters on Thursday, and a couple of home-video sets tie in. One, on regular DVD, is The Arnold Schwarzenegger DVD Collection (Lionsgate, $29.98). Besides the two-disc ''extreme DVD'' version of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, it includes special-edition releases of The Running Man (one of my favorite Arnolds), Red Heat and Total Recall.
In addition, a Terminator 2 Skynet Edition will be released on Blu-ray by itself ($29.99) and in a Blu-ray T2 Complete Collector's Set with the Skynet, extreme and ultimate editions — six discs in all — in what Lionsgate calls ''a collectible 14-inch T-800 Endoskull bust'' with sound effects and eyes that light up. The limited edition set lists for about $175.
0 comments:
Post a Comment