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Couch Potato – DVDs out this week

Okay folks we are now officially one month out from Christmas. Now the real fun begins with shops opening later and later in an attempt to syphon what meagre earning we have from our pockets. Looking to tempt us into a spending spree this week is a new line-up of shiny goodness for your home entertainment pleasure.

See let’s looky what we have here…

Our first movie out this week is one of the summer’s big block-buster special effects leaden Hollywood franchise films. Terminator Salvation is the fourth installment of the Terminator franchise and is the first without muscle-bound Austrian superstar, and current Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. In a change from previous Terminator’s this movie takes place in the future, 2018 to be precise, and focuses on the war between humanity and the artificial intelligence Skynet. Christian Bale plays John Connor, the future supposed saviour of mankind, here seen as a leader in the resistance. Sam Worthington plays Marcus Wright, a former death-row inmate who has been given a second chance at life after handing his body over to some decidedly dodgy scientists, led by Helena Bonham Carter. The strong cast is given further impetus by the inclusion of Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood and Bryce Dallas Howard in supporting roles. Despite Christian Bale not overly-exerting himself the acting is of a high calibre. What isn’t is the direction from Charlie’s Angels helmer McG and the overall story from John Brancato and Michael Ferris is a bit of a mess. Visually the movie looks astonishing with ILM having done exceptional work. The score from composer Danny Elfman is also really rather good, ominous and brooding when it needs to be. Ultimately it’s a decent enough attempt as no-one really expected it to live up to James Cameron’s first two. It would have served as a good jump-off point for further exploration of the man-machine war had circumstances gone differently. As it is, in the wake of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles cancellation, the mediocre box-office numbers and the fact that the rights for the Terminator franchise are up for sale again, it is unlikely that we will see the T-800 back any time soon. Terminator Salvation is out now on DVD and Blu-ray.

Second out is the third part of Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox’s family fun-filled computer animated adventure series Ice Age. Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs sees our favourite prehistoric mammoths Manny and Ellie settling down to start their family. This sees friends and fellow pack members Diego and Sid on the periphery. When Sid happens open some eggs he takes them home so that he can start his own family. The female Tyrannosaurus whose ages they are is none to happy about this and takes the eggs and Sid to a tropical lost world inhabited by dinosaurs beneath the ice. And so the chase is on as the rest of the gang set out to rescue Sid. Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary and John Leguizamo all return to lend their voices to the principal cast. They are joined by Shaun of the Dead star Simon Pegg as a crazy, one-eyed weasel named Buckminster, or Buck for short. Pegg is the stand-out of the movie and the wild energy of his character sustains the film through some lulls in the action. Overall it’s a fun film with some very funny moments and some wild action. The cinema version benefited from the use of 3D effects and a lot of the later action in the movie was designed with this in mind. It will be interesting to see how they hold up on DVD. If you have kids or know someone that is one (whether big or small) stick this in their stocking and make them very happy. The movie is out on DVD and Blu-ray.

The third and last big movie release this week is Coco Before Chanel. The movie centres on the life of the famed French fashion designer Coco Chanel before she became famous. Having been abandoned by her father in an orphanage Gabrielle Chanel starts to work in a local bar, as a seamstress and part-time performer. It is there that she is given the nickname Coco for song which she sings with her sister. An encounter with Baron Balsan gives her a avenue into French society and she is soon making elegant hats for powerful powerful people. As her career sky-rockets her life becomes ever more complicated. Amelie star Audrey Tatou plays Chanel and she really embodies the role, playing the charming yet focused fashion designer to a tee. The cinematography is top notch too, showing certain clothes and patterns through unclear lens to envisage how Chanel herself was influenced and saw these in her designs. The whole atmosphere of the movie is very warm and easily absorbed. This movie is not a History Channel documentary, instead is a loving and beautifully made look at one of fashions most iconic figures, during her formative years. The movie is out now on Blu-ray and is a perfect gift for mothers or the woman in your life.

Comedy & Music

So on to comedy and music DVDs and the big release is Take That Present: The Circus Live. This DVD comes hot on the heels of the bands fifth studio album, The Circus, and follows the band on their tour of the same name around the UK and Ireland. The DVD was recorded on Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th July 2009 at Wembley Stadium. The DVD is set to be followed next week by a 2-CD live album containing the entire Circus tour on the first CD and an exclusive performance recorded at Abbey Road on the second disc. It’s sure to be a must have for all Take That fans and is available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Next up is a new release from British comedian Bill Bailey. Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra was the name of the comic stars last tour and the DVD was recorded during his stint in the London Royal Albert Hall. The show went down a treat on Saturday night in Dublin so fans who missed out can catch all the excitement on this DVD.

The second comedy release this week is Eddie Izzard: Stripped, and is a live recording of his performances on the tour of the same name in the the Lyric Theatre in London’s West End last December. The tour was apparently called stripped because Izzard could no longer wear his trade-mark transvestite outfit as much as high-heels were killing him.

Television

Grey’s Anatomy – Season 4 follows the lives of five surgical interns, now residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital in Seattle, Washington. The fourth season, which was affected by the writers strike, saw Dr. Addison Montgomery leave the cast to set up her own Private Practice, while Dr. Erica Hahn joined as as head of Cardiothoracics replacing Preston Burke. 16 episodes aired in the truncated season, which avid fans have ensured me is one of the best. A must have for fans of the show and fans of medical dramas.

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