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Noteworthy DVDs released 1/12/10
PICK OF THE WEEK
“The Hurt Locker” (Summit) and “In the Loop” (IFC): Two of 2009’s best movies address the Iraq war from very different angles — “Locker” as an intense trip into the psychology of men who dispose of battlefield explosives, “Loop” as a bitterly funny re-imagination of how we got into Iraq in the first place.
OTHER TOP PICKS
“Moon” (Sony): Will Sam Rockwell get an Oscar nom for being the sole actor onscreen in this fascinating sci-fi head trip? Probably not, but both he and the movie deserve more credit than they’ve received so far.
“Passing Strange” (IFC): In this critically lauded performance documentary, Spike Lee adapts the Tony-winning stage musical by a writer and musician known only as Stew.
“Departures” (E1 Entertainment): This import didn’t deserve the Oscar for foreign film, but its glimpse into Japanese burial customs makes it worthwhile for Nipponophiles.
“Goliath” (IFC): Austin’s Zellner Brothers offer a deadpan, deliberately patience-testing look at a troubled man for whom the loss of a pet cat may be the last straw.
NEW ON BLU-RAY
“8 1/2” (Criterion); “Cliffhanger,” “Last Action Hero” (Sony)
FRESH FROM THE MULTIPLEX
“The Brothers Bloom” (Summit); “The Burning Plain” (Magnolia); “Fame” (2009) (MGM); “Halloween II” (2009) (Weinstein Co.); “Post Grad” (Fox); “Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself” (Lions Gate)
ARTHOUSE/FOREIGN
“A l’Aventure” (IFC); “Amreeka” (Virgil Films); “The Drummer” (Film Movement); “Like Stars on Earth” (Walt Disney); “Onimasa: A Japanese Godfather” (AnimEigo); Thomas Mann’s “Doktor Faustus” and “The Magic Mountain” (E1 Entertainment); “You, The Living” (Palisades Tartan)
FROM THE VAULTS
Ray Charles plays himself in “Ballad in Blue,” Sammy Davis, Jr. in “A Man Called Adam” (Lions Gate); Tom Beringer in “In Praise Of Older Women” (E1 Entertainment)
DOCUMENTARIES
“By the People: The Election of Barack Obama” (Sony); “March On!… and More Stories About African American History” (Docurama); “Pezheads: The Movie” (Passion River)
BEST OF TV
“Acting Shakespeare” (E1 Entertainment); “Becker” Season 3 (Paramount); “The Detonators,” “Volcanoes of the Deep Sea” (Image); “ER” Season 12 (Warner Bros.); “ESPN Game of the Century: 1969 Texas Longhorns vs. Arkansas Razorbacks” (Virgil Films); “Fame” Seasons 1 & 2 (MGM); “Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht” Season 5 (Gaiam); “Robin Hood” Season 3 (BBC); “The Simpsons” Season 20 (Fox, on DVD and Blu-ray); “Transformers” Season 2, Vol. 2 (Shout! Factory); “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” Vol. 5 (Lions Gate)
REISSUE/REPACKAGE
“Buena Vista Social Club,” “Beyond the Sea” (Lions Gate)
STRAIGHT(ISH) TO VIDEO
Maria Bello and Jason Patric in “Downloading Nancy” (Strand)
KIDS’ STUFF
“The Best Of Bob The Builder,” “Care Bears: Helping Hearts” (Lions Gate); “Bugs Bunny’s Cupid Capers” (Warner Bros.); “The New Adventures of Black Beauty” Season 1 (Image)
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