Media | DVD Releases | Add to Queue Podcast | December 04, 2007: Welcome to this week's mclovin' home video releases, focused entirely on the American market. Sorry, rest of the world.

Roundup by VsRobot | Posted December 03, 2007

Pick of the week

Superbad
Is there anything Judd Apatow and his circle of friends can't do? After American Pie repopularized the teen-sex comedy, the glut of movies that copied the vulgarity and nudity but forget the heart and the humor pretty much destroyed the genre. Again. Even the American Pie sequels didn't get it. Now, with Superbad, we get a movie that is at once convulsively funny and yet stocked with rich, believable characters and a generation-defining coming of age tale. The real star of the film is not the sex or the jokes; rather, what sells Superbad is its pitch-perfect portrayal of male friendship. A natural evolution of Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, anyone who was awkward as an adolescent -- which is to say, everyone -- will find something to love about this film.

Also out this week

Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End
Summer 2007 will be remembered for its disappointments, especially where sequels are concerned. While no one expected Rise of the Silver Surfer or Rush Hour 3 to be any good, Shrek the Third, Spider-man 3 and At Worlds End were all ill-received by the public and fans.

The original Pirates of the Caribbean was a revelation, a formulaic genre flick saved (and defined) by a fantastic character and performance from Johnny Depp. The movie balanced its characters and its stunning action setpieces brilliantly. Both sequels had the same characters and similar scope, but both were bogged down by an increasingly dense and over-complicated plot. The third film in particular demonstrates a lot of choices that really hurt it. At World's End completely wasted Chow-Yun Fat, and I really hate the fate of the Kraken from the last film.

All that being said, I still recommend it as a rental. Jack Sparrow remains a fantastic character, and his adventure this time around heads into some incredibly surreal territory. The action and visual effects are as stunning as ever, and even the film's overplotting doesn't detract from its simple pleasure as a spectacle.

Battlestar Galactica: Razor
I avoided this because I hadn't seen Season Three yet (as it's not yet available on DVD) and I didn't want to be spoiled. Joke's on me, though, as this telemovie takes place prior to the events of Season Three and dives into the backstory of the Battlestar Pegasus. If, like me, your only access to Galactica is on DVD, you can rent or buy this flick without fear, as it won't effect your enjoyment of the eventual DVD or HD-DVD release of Season Three.

The Nanny Diaries
Attention Scarlett Johansson: making terrible movies doesn't change anything. You were in Ghost World, and Lost in Translation. I will forgive you for everything forever.

4 by 3 Blues: TV on DVD

The Jack Bauer Power Hour highlights the week's TV releases and is a significant enough title to prompt the return of the TV On DVD section. Personally, though, I found myself really bored half-way through this season and stopped watching the new episodes as they piled up on my DVR. Eventually, they all ended up recorded over with new shows and soccer matches. I've been told that things improve significantly toward the end of the season, so I'll give it another try on home video.

High-Def Alert: The World of Blu-Ray and HD DVD

Another fairly light week on the high-definition formats. Mr. and Mrs. Smith was an above average action-film, which isn't surprising since it was directed by Doug Liman, who also directed Swingers, Go, and The Bourne Identity.

Of course, the real treat this week is on HD-DVD, and it's ''Battlestar Galactica: Season One". A fantastic show, and HD is an ideal way to experience its many pleasures.

Pain Doesn't Lie: Horror on DVD

A few weeks ago, Omega Man, a film version of Richard Matheson's novella I Am Legend starring Charleton Heston was released on DVD. This week, we get the Vincent Price version, The Last Man on Earth. Read the novella and watch both of these so you are completely prepared to complain about the Will Smith version once it's released in theaters later this year. I for one will give the film a complete pass if he tells one of the zombies "Welcome to Erf" before he punches 'em.

This Week on the Podcast

Big news, everyone! The column you've all grown to tolerate is now a podcast you won't be able to stand listening to! Seriously, I've been told I have a very soothing voice, so make the new weekly Add to Queue: Podcast Edition a part of your nightly routine.

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Feedback is the cap which keeps the soda of Add To Queue from spilling all over the newly mopped floor. The maid at Add to Queue HQ has the week off, so this is a good thing. This week's topic of discussion: Summer 2007, Bust? We did get a great Harry Potter movie and a mediocre Die Hard sequel, not to mention Stardust. We also suffered through Transformers. How would you assess it, now that most of the big summer movies are on DVD?

Cover art courtesy of Amazon, where you can purchase any of these titles. Rent all of the movies covered in the column online at Netflix. We recommend waiting until the format war is over before investing in an HD player, but if you have to do it right away our money is on Blu-ray. Be sure to PM the author via the forums if you have any suggestions for the column. I don't want you to be the guy in the PG-13 movie everyone's *really* hoping makes it happen. I want you to be like the guy in the rated R movie, you know, the guy you're not sure whether or not you like yet. You're not sure where he's coming from. Okay? You're a bad man. You're a bad man, Mikey. You're a bad man, bad man. Thanks for reading!