New DVD Releases to Crave This Week: Things Get Furry, Weird and Final

By Chris Kavan - 08/17/10 at 09:29 AM CT

Someone is bound to be happy with the releases coming this week, but when the best film stars a guy interacting with a bunch of animals, it's going to be a weak lineup. But I know that not everyone shares my taste, so here are the top picks:

1) I'm not saying that Brendan Fraser has fallen on hard times, but Furry Vengeance? Really? It looked mildly amusing from the trailers, but the severe lack of any kind of box office support soured my outlook considerably. Still, it has to have a few decent laughs and may work for a family film.

2) This drama may be under the radar, but the premise looks interesting. In The City of Your Final Destination a biographer has won a grant to write about Latin American writer Jules Gund, but must get permission from three people who were very close to him before writing. Honestly, it doesn't sound like the most exciting movie ever, but it has Anthony Hopkins, Laura Linney and Charlotte Gainsbourg, amongst others, so at least it should be well-acted.

3) Even though it's the most popular film tracking this week, I have no intention of ever watching The Last Song. Maybe if I was about 20 years younger... and female, I might get the appeal.

4) In the category of strange ideas that might actually turn out well, is the Korean film The Good, the Bad, the Weird. Once again, I'm highlighting the Blu-ray release because the price is virtually the same as the DVD. Anyway, this take on the Sergio Leone classic won a few festival awards and is one of the most expensive films to come out of South Korea. If you're looking for something a little different, I would check it out.

Not much on the Blu-Ray front either, you do have Nanny McPhee, probably being released to capitalize on the impending sequel. It is a nice little family film, but I'll stick to Mary Poppins myself. Once again Criterion is re-releasing an earlier film in its library with new features. This time it is Black Orpheus. The features include a new transfer and video interviews, along with the full-length documentary Orfeu negro and booklet.

For information on all these releases, plus many more, visit the FilmCrave New DVD Releases page today.