This Week on DVD and Blu-ray - November 24th, 2009

Welcome back to DVD Town Citizens to another look at the week's biggest releases. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I hope everyone has a great feast and a fun time with family and friends. Of course, right after Thanksgiving is the frantic shopping frenzy known as Black Friday. Ads have been leaking across the internet and there look to be some pretty good deals. Plenty of Blu-Rays will be on sale for as low as $7.99. Just don't trample on any Wal-Mart employees to get at them.

First up is "The Da Vinci Code" sequel, "Angels & Demons" starring Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Stellan Skarsgaard. "Angels & Demons" isn't exactly a great film, but I enjoyed a bit more than I did its predecessor. The sequel isn't bogged down too much by unwieldy scenes of exposition and Hanks has a much better hairdo this time around. My fellow DVD Towner, James Plath, seemed to like it too, according to his review of the Blu-Ray. "Angels & Demons" will also be available on a single-disc DVD and a two-disc extended edition. The Blu-Ray will have both the theatrical version and the extended version with seven more minutes of footage.

Almost a year after its theatrical release, "Four Christmases," finally hits DVD and Blu-Ray. The film was directed by Seth Gordon (who helmed the excellent documentary "The King of Kong") and starred five Oscar winners in Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen, and Jon Voight. Toss in Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, and Kristin Chenoweth and you'd think sparks would fly, right? No, instead "Four Christmases" is a tiresome jumble of crass, lowbrow humor. It is yet another example of the continuing downward spiral of the once-funny Vince Vaughn who apparently didn't learn his lesson about horrid, holiday pictures after "Fred Claus." Proving he's got good taste, our friend John J. Puccio didn't care for it either as evidenced in his reviews of the DVD and Blu-Ray.

Criterion releases one of the best films of 2008 in "Gomorrah," an extensive look at the Camorra, a criminal organization as integrated into Italian society as any other corporation. The film was based on an award-winning book by Robert Saviano whose life was threatened by the same gangsters he wrote about so much so that the Italian government assigned an escort to protect him. The Godfather of DVD Town, Chris Long has reviewed both the Blu-Ray and DVD editions.

Also coming out courtesy of Criterion is "The Golden Age of Television," a collection of dramatic teleplays that were broadcast live during the early days of TV. The DVD includes "Requiem for a Heavyweight," written by "Twilight Zone" creator Rod Serling. "The Golden Age of Television" has also been reviewed by Mr. Long.

With so many families getting together for the holidays, you'll likely need a good movie to keep those kids out of your hair while you're stuffing the turkey. Unfortunately, there aren't any good kiddie movies about this week. Would you settle for a pair of mediocre ones? Disney releases "Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws," yet another installment in the furry franchise which began with "Air Bud." This time around Air Bud's puppy progeny take a trip to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus and his doggy doppelganger, Santa Paws. Far be it for me to hate on a bunch of cute little puppies, I'll leave that up to Mr. Plath and his Blu-Ray review.

When he's not making ultra-violent films like "Sin City" and "From Dusk Till Dawn," writer/director/producer Robert Rodriguez makes DayGlo, FX-laden family films like "Spy Kids" and "The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava-Girl." Rodriguez continues that trend with "Shorts," which is about a small tech-savvy community turned upside down by a wishing rock that fell from the sky. The picture is the kind of movie a kid might dream up after eating too much candy and gulping down a liter of Jolt Cola. "Shorts" comes to us on DVD and Blu-Ray.

An assortment of films makes their debut on Blu-Ray this week. The 80's cult classic, "The Monster Squad," is the most notable. Lionsgate finally released the film on DVD back in 2007 and in a 2-disc special edition no less. All those same extras have been ported over for the high definition release. If you haven't seen the movie just imagine the Goonies battling Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman and you've got "The Monster Squad." Ranjan Pruthee has a great review of the Blu-Ray.

Also available on BD are the underrated horror film "Frailty", the noir thriller "Angel Heart," starring Robert DeNiro, Mickey Rourke, and Lisa Bonet; the sci-fi anime "Ghost in the Shell 2.0," featuring updated animation and re-recorded dialogue; and the Christoper McQuarrie flick "The Way of the Gun."

The perfect segue from Blu-Ray to TV releases is one that fits both categories. HBO puts out "The Sopranos: The Complete First Season" this week on Blu-Ray for the first time. Previously, the only "Sopranos" releases on BD were two volumes of Season Six which came out back in 2006 and 2007.

Two big complete series boxsets will hit stores this Tuesday. You can follow the wacky antics of Col. Hogan and his fellow POWs of Stalag 13 as they outwit Col. Klink with "Hogan's Heroes: Kommandant's Kollection". Or take a trip to the planet Krypton with "Superman: The Complete Animated Series" which should fit well on your shelves if you own the similar sets for "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Justice League.'

That wraps things up for this week. I hope you all enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving feast and a bargain-filled Black Friday.