This week, some of the bigger summer releases of the year are hitting Blu-Ray/DVD, and each is a unique representative of the 2012 summer slate. One is that rare bit of original material, one is a franchise reboot/sequel/spinoff, and another is a straight up sequel. There’s certainly other films on shelves today, but those are the biggest ones. My top pick this week wasn’t a hard choice, but it’s hardly a bad group of movies overall. For my PICK OF THE WEEK, I opted to cite what might be my favorite comfy of the year. There weren’t too many strong comedies this year to choose from (most top tier ones are more dramedies than anything else), but I’m very fond of this flick. Which one is it? Well, it’s:
Ted
Seth MacFarlane’s first big screen endeavor was a suitably raunchy comedy that also managed to be surprisingly sweet as well at its core. Voicing the talking teddy bear that gives the film its title, he teams with Marky Wahlberg and Mila Kunis to form a comedy team I’d love to see continue to make me laugh in sequels. MacFarlane managed to make one of the best bromance/buddy movies of the year, in my humble opinion (as I first talked about in my review here). It’s hardly high entertainment, but it’s downright hilarious and well worth picking up. On a pure entertainment level, it’s a real winner!
-Also out today getting a recommendation from me is the comedy Gayby. I wasn’t in love with this indie flick, but Jenn Harris gives such a good central performance that I can’t help but give the movie a thumbs up despite its flaws. It’s a solid and more satisfying choice on the home video front, so perhaps give it a look now…
-The rest of the releases this week include the newest Bourne installment, which goes by the title The Bourne Legacy, the animated sequel Ice Age: Continental Drift, the disappointingly bland Jesse Eisenberg/Melissa Leo dramedy Why Stop Now, plus the Morgan Spurlock documentary Mansome, the drama Trade of Innocence, and finally the dueling romantic dramas Backwards and Beloved. I’ve actually only seen the Eisenberg/Leo flick (though I’ll likely be watching Bourne very soon), so I can’t speak to the quality of most of these movies, but none scream “must own” to me. If you feel differently about one or more of these films however, pick them up and enjoy.
-My Vintage pick, in honor of this week’s release of Any Day Now (my rave Early Review is found here), is another film surrounding gay rights. It’s Milk, another true life story of same sex injustice. This is the Academy Award winning biopic of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in the United States, and it’s a terrific film, anchored by a magnificent performance by Sean Penn. I may have preferred if Mickey Rourke had won the Oscar that year, but that takes nothing away from this movie. The film opening on Friday is a buried treasure, and this modern classic is great too. Definitely give it a view this week, especially if somehow you’ve never seen it.
-What will you be watching on Blu-Ray/DVD this week? Discuss in the comments!
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Tags: blu ray, DVD, Joey's DVD Column, Joey's DVD Picks of the Week, joeys dvd pick of the week, weekly DVD column
3 Comments
I have to imagine that Ted will be a popular holiday gift this month…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
I loved Ted!
Jessie Makowski(Quote) (Reply)
You’re certainly not alone there…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)