By Chris Kavan - 01/03/12 at 11:43 AM CT
Out with the old, in with the new. Hollywood isn't wasting any time with presenting a decent lineup for the start of the 2012 new DVD releases season. Last week was scant, at least this week you have a few choices. Whether you approve of them or not is another matter.
1) If you're not a germaphobe already, Steven Soderbergh will try his best to make sure you think twice about touching ANYTHING ever again. Contagion
takes a realistic approach to a global pandemic and brother, things don't look pretty. You think all Hollywood films are glamorous? I don't know what it takes to make people look sick - maybe it's an anti-makeup approach, but it's just one of the touches I like about this film. If you don't find yourself compulsively washing your hands after this one, your will is stronger than mine.
2) In terms of horror, I had high hopes for Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
. A screenplay by Guillermo del Toro is always a good start, but too bad he wasn't behind the camera as well. By all accounts the idea is sound but the execution is terrible. Bad CGI and lackluster acting doom this. I'll probably still watch it at some point in the future, but my expectations are decidedly low.
3) I shouldn't even bother with my opinion on I Don't Know How She Does It
. I mean when your target audience thinks the movie is terrible, what do you think your non-target audience is going to think? Unless you can't get enough of Sarah Jessica Parker, I would avoid this like the plague. Though it might make a great gag gift for some people or a good method of torture for the government.
4) For those who love the B-movie feel of modern horror, it doesn't get much more B-movier than Shark Night
. However, if you're holding your breath for the 3D version, you may want to rethink your strategy, as only the good-old 2D version is currently available. But, hey, if you like watching nubile women and pretty boys get chomped and otherwise killed in merry ways, well, then settle down with this one on a boring night and have at it.
On the Blu-Ray front there are only two movies of note, both in the romance department. First you have the king of the "ugly/pretty" girl dynamic with She's All That
in which Rachael Leigh Cook transforms from "not-unattractive at all artsy girl" into "conformist cute girl who now wears dresses" and we all learn a valuable lesson about how individuality is keeping you from landing a boyfriend. On the flip side Serendipity
is all about finding out if fate truly plays a part in our love lives and whether there is that one person for us out there. John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale seem like a strange pairing, but I can think of stranger ones out there. I'm sure this is pure fluff, but you could do worse.
There are other films coming out this week, simply head on over to the FilmCrave New DVD Releases and FilmCrave New Blu-Ray Releases pages today to check them out.
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