New DVD releases
"3:10 to Yuma"
Russell Crowe and Christian Bale bring the Western back to the
big screen with class and style in this compelling remake of the
1957 Glenn Ford tale. Crowe stars as a flamboyant outlaw captured
by the law, with Bale a financially ailing farmer who hires on to
help escort the bad guy through rough country where they face
threats from Indians and a gang of Crowe accomplices aiming to
spring their boss. The DVD has deleted scenes, a handful of
featurettes and commentary with director James Mangold. The Blu-ray
high-definition release comes with those extras plus more detailed
making-of segments, including a featurette on the effect of the
railroad on 19th century America and a conversation with Elmore
Leonard, whose short story was the basis for both films. DVD,
$29.95' Blu-ray, $39.99. (Lionsgate)
"Sunshine"
The end of the world is at hand in Danny Boyle's sci-fi saga set
50 years from now, when the sun is dying and a band of astronauts
sets out on a daring last-gasp mission to re-ignite the fading
star. Cillian Murphy leads an ensemble cast as the scientist who
developed the bomb that the crew aims to deliver into the sun, with
Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, Troy Garity and Rose Byrne co-starring
as fellow space travelers. The DVD and Blu-ray releases have a huge
batch of deleted scenes - including an alternate ending - all
accompanied by commentary from director Boyle. Other extras include
a collection of production-diary segments for the Web offering
behind-the-scenes glimpses of the film. DVD, $29.98; Blu-ray,
$39.98. (20th Century Fox)
"Zodiac: The Director's Cut"
David Fincher's very long dramatization about the 1970s serial
slayer known as the Zodiac Killer grows even longer in this
extended version that clocks in at nearly three hours. The film
stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a newspaper cartoonist obsessed with
uncovering the identity of the killer, whose string of unsolved
slayings terrorized the San Francisco area. Co-starring are Robert
Downey Jr. as a newsman and Mark Ruffalo as a police detective also
on the trail of the killer. The two-disc DVD and HD DVD
high-definition sets have commentary with Fincher, Gyllenhaal,
Downey and others, a feature-length documentary about the Zodiac
case and a segment on a key suspect in the slayings. DVD set,
$36.99; HD DVD, $39.99. (Paramount)
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TV on DVD:
"Two and a Half Men: The Complete Second Season" - Charlie
Sheen returns as a guy trying to maintain his swinging bachelor
lifestyle while sharing a home with his divorced brother (Jon
Cryer) and 11-year-old nephew. The four-disc set has all 24
episodes from year two. DVD set, $44.98. (Warner Bros.)
"The Waltons: The Complete Sixth Season" - The Depression is
coming to an end, but World War II looms for the wholesome Walton
clan. Season six of the family drama arrives in a five-disc set
with 22 episodes. DVD set, $39.98. (Warner Bros.)
"Gunsmoke: The Second Season, Volume 1" - James Arness is back
as lawman Matt Dillon in the Western series that debuted in the
1950s and ran a phenomenal 20 seasons. The first half of year two
comes in a three-disc set with 20 episodes. DVD set, $36.99.
(Paramount)
"Lovejoy: The Complete Season Two" - Another Western TV star,
Ian McShane of "Deadwood," previously played an antiques dealer
who solved crimes on the side in the British series that debuted in
the mid-1980s. A three-disc set has year two's 12 episodes, plus an
interview with McShane. DVD set, $49.98. (BBC)
"MI-5: Volume 5" - The spy series centered on operatives of
Britain's intelligence agency carries on with a five-disc set
packing the fifth season's 10 episodes, with commentary on two and
a sneak preview of season six. DVD set, $79.98. (BBC)
Other new releases:
"Joshua" - Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga star in this creepy
tale of a bad-seed child, playing parents to a precocious boy
(Jacob Kogan) who begins to act out in subtle and sinister ways
after his parents bring his new baby sister home from the hospital.
DVD, $27.98. (20th Century Fox)
"Eagle Vs. Shark" - New Zealand gets the "Napoleon Dynamite"
treatment in this weird romance among misfits whose tone bears
great resemblance to that earlier independent hit. The film follows
the misadventures of a boorish video-game geek (Jemaine Clement)
and the fast-food employee (Loren Horsley) who inexplicably adores
him. DVD, $29.99. (Miramax)