It's a pretty weak week for DVD releases, and I’m about to head to the internet free and wonderfully relaxing Lake of the Ozarks, so I’ll skim over a few of the more notable releases and be back next week with a much better release schedule.

The Bank Job
d. Roger Donaldson
c. Jason Statham, Saffron Barrows,

• Extended scenes
• “Inside The Bank Job” making-of featurette
• “The Baker Street Bank Raid” - profile on the real bank robbery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Standard definition digital copy of the film
 

I love Jason Statham in almost everything I have seen him in. I enjoyed his breakout roles in Snatch and Lock, Stock as well as his minor, memorable roles in The One and The Italian Job, where he rises above the scripts in both movies. However, my true love affair for Statham came when I witnessed his beautifully over-the-top performances in the two Transporter movies as well as the fantastic Crank. I think Crank is the movie that actually sent me over the edge, never looking back. Now, following back-to-back stinkers (In the Name of the King and War), I am hoping he rebounded with this film. I also have all the faith that no matter how bad Death Race is posed to be, Statham will be the best part of it. Now for the part that pisses me off. There is a single disc edition with nothing on it. There is also a double disc edition, but the second disc only includes the digital copy of the film. All the extra features are on the first disc only, which means they could have included them on the single disc edition.

Step Up 2 The Streets
d. John Chu
c. Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman

• Thru Fresh Eyes - Take a look behind the scenes at the making of Step Up 2 the Streets. You’ll also meet the choreographers and dancers who bring it all to life.
• Outlaws of Hip Hop - Meet the 410’s – An exclusive profile of the film’s real life underground hip hop dance crew.
• Robert Hoffman Video Prank
• Deleted Scenes and Bloopers
• 5 Music Videos - Flo Rida (featuring T.Pain) “Low” , Missy Elliott “Ching-A-Ling” , Cherish (featuring Yung Joc) “Killa” , Plies (featuring Akon) “Hypnotized” , Brit and Alex “Let It Go”

The best part of Step Up was Channing Tatum. He is one of the more charismatic young actors working today and was actually one of my picks in the recent repertory draft. I think the kid has a great future ahead of him and G.I. Joe might be the springboard that launches him into the limelight. Well, we get a small cameo from Tatum in the sequel to the first dance movie but he is replaced in the starring role by Robert Hoffman. If you have followed the career of Tatum, you will recognize Hoffman as the romantic rival to Amanda Bynes in She’s the Man. It is funny that they replaced Tatum with an actor that could barely hold his own acting alongside Tatum in an Amanda Bynes vehicle. Eh, for those who liked the first movie (like my wife), you should like this one as well (as my wife did).

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest [Blu-ray]
d. Milos Forman
c. Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Louise Fletcher

• Audio Commentary with Director Milos Forman and producer Saul Zaentz
• Documentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Digi-Book Packaging with 36-page Collectible Booklet

This release is the latest in the digi-book packaging releases Blu-Ray has been putting out (see Natural Born Killers). What does that mean? Well, included with the Blu-Ray copy of the movie is a book. Sounds like Criterion to me, except instead of good essays, we get pictures. Yea! With Cuckoo’s Nest, we get a 36-page collectible booklet with rare photos, script excerpts, and other archival materials. What annoys me about these new releases is the extra features are not presented in high definition. The movie will be 1080p, but how much better will it look? Recent classic releases such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid got a pretty damn poor transfer. Bonnie and Clyde got an almost flawless transfer. I guess it’s a crapshoot with these old releases. All the supplemental features are in standard edition, so that blows.

Trafic - Criterion Collection
d. Jacques Tati
c. Jacques Tati, Marcel Fraval, Honore, Bostel, Francois Maisongrosse

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer
• In the Footsteps of Monsieur Hulot (1989), a two-hour documentary tracing the evolution of Jacques Tati's beloved alter ego
• Interview from 1971 with the cast of Trafic, from the French television program Le journal de cinéma
• "The Comedy of Jacques Tati," a 1973 episode from the French television program Morceaux de bravoure
• Theatrical trailer
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A new essay by film critic Jonathan Romney
 

Jacques Tati is a French filmmaker who created a unique character named Monsieur Hulot and created four films with him starring as that character. Hulot is a speechless, umbrella carrying bumbler who was the feature character in My Uncle (a visit to the relatives), Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (a trip to a beachside hotel), and Playtime (his masterpiece concerning modernity in the city). Trafic is the fourth and final Hulot adventure, sending Monsieur Hulot to Paris's highways and byways. He is employed as an auto company’s director of design, and accompanies his new vehicle to an auto show in Amsterdam. This Criterion DVD includes a 2-hour documentary specifically tracing the development of the Hulot character.

OTHERS

TELEVISION ON DVD

Eureka - Season Two
Dallas - The Complete Ninth Season
Birds of Prey: The Complete Series
Saving Grace - Season 1
Reno 911 - The Complete Fifth Season
Swamp Thing: the Series Vol. 2
B.L.Stryker: The Complete Second Season

THE BARGAIN BIN

The Bank Job  $14.99
The Bank Job: 2 DVD Special Edition w/Digital Copy  $22.99
College Road Trip  $16.99
Penelope  $19.99
Vantage Point  No Price Listed
Rihanna: Good Girl Gone Bad – LIVE  $8.99

Step Up 2 The Streets  $14.99 *
* 2 Free Ring tones with purchase

Shutter: Unrated  $16.99 *
Asylum  $19.99 *
* Buy both marked titles together on the same receipt and save $5

$6.99 DVDs:
The Transporter: Collector’s Edition, The Transporter 2, Crank, Smokin’ Aces, Inside Man, Man On Fire, Snatch, Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Collateral, A History Of Violence, Waist Deep, The Marine, The Professional, Two For The Money, My Super ExGirlfriend, BORAT, Eragon, Ocean’s Twelve, The Italian Job (Wahlberg / Caine / Theron)

$7.99 DVDs:
Tears Of The Sun, Stealth, The Patriot: Extended Cut, Ghost Rider, Gridiron Gang, Legends Of The Fall: Deluxe Edition, The DaVinci Code, Curse Of The Golden Flower, The Fifth Element: Ultimate Edition, Perfect Stranger, Stomp The Yard, Boyz In The Hood: 2 DVD Anniversary Edition, Rocky Balboa, Facing The Giants, Vacancy, Premonition, Hostel – Part II: Unrated Director’s Cut, Catch & Release, The Grudge 2, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children – 2 DVD Special Edition, Monty Python & The Holy Grail: Special Edition, XXX: Unrated Director’s Cut, Gattaca FDC, Ultraviolet FDC, Krull FDC, The 6th Day FDC, The Messengers FDC, Talladega Nights: Ballad Of Ricky Bobby FDC
* FDC Free Digital Copy included these marked titles

Blu-Ray High Definition Discs:
The Bank Job  $27.99
Step Up 2 The Street  $27.99
College Road Trip  $29.99
Shutter: Unrated  $29.99
Surf’s Up  $24.99
First Sunday  $24.99
Across The Universe  $24.99
Perfect Stranger  $24.99
Untraceable  $24.99
Ghost Rider  $24.99
Superbad: 2 Disc Unrated Extended Edition  $24.99
Vantage Point  $24.99
Casino Royale  $24.99
Spiderman 3  $24.99
Resident Evil: Extinction  $24.99

DVD Sets:
Reno 911!: Season 5  $27.99
Saving Grace: Season 1  $34.99

Bratz Interactive: Lil’ Bratz Party Time  $9.99
Shutter  $17.99

The Bank Job  $17.99
The Bank Job: 2 DVD Special Edition w/Digital Copy  $22.99 *
* Exclusive bonus disc

Step Up 2 The Streets  $16.99 *
College Road Trip  $16.99 *
* Purchase both marked titles together on the same receipt and receive a $10 Target gift card

Penelope  $16.99
Penelope: Deluxe Edition  $22.99 *
* Target Exclusive Deluxe Edition with collectible packaging and Penelope novel

Blu-Ray High Definition Discs:
Shutter  $29.99
The Bank Job  $29.99
Step Up 2 The Streets  $29.99 *
College Road Trip  $29.99 *
* Purchase both marked titles together on the same receipt and receive a $10 Target gift card

DVD Sets:
Reno 911!: Season 5  $27.99