Going the Distance (2010) on DVD

A cute, foul-mouthed, romantic comedy you want to watch again and again.

Eat Pray Love on DVD

A woman travels around the world for a year to find herself. The rest of us can stay at home with our best friends and our favorite pint.

The Expendables on DVD

Jacket: "Sylvester Stallone stars as Barney Ross, leader of The Expendables, a tight-knit team of skilled combat  vets turned mercenaries. Hired by a powerful covert operator, the team jets off to a small South American country to overthrow a ruthless dictator. Once there, they find themselves caught in a candy deadly web of deceit and betrayal. Using every weapon at their disposal, they set out to save the innocent and punish the guilty in this blistering action-packed thriller."


A throw-back to the '80s action flicks, including painfully corny one-liners, but without the cheesy soundtrack. Rental-worthy.

44 Inch Chest on DVD

The Measure of Revenge

Official Site: "Provocative, outrageously profane and surprisingly tender amidst an explosion of unbridled testosterone, 44 INCH CHEST explores the masculine ego at breaking point, testing whether fear is stronger than love. Colin (Ray Winstone) is in agony, shattered by his wife’s (Joanne Whalley) infidelity. However, he has friends who do more than stand by - they kidnap the wife's French lover and hold him prisoner so that Colin can restore his manhood with revenge. A kangaroo court takes place and as the situation escalates Loverboy's life hangs in the balance as Colin wrestles with revenge, remorse, grief and self pity, all the while egged on by his motley crew of friends who just want him to get on with it so they can get down the pub.

44 INCH CHEST marks the debut feature of noted photographer and filmmaker Malcolm Venville, and is produced by Richard Brown and Steve Golin, who with (BABEL, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH and ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND) among many others, has specialized in innovative pictures that take challenging risks.

The film stars John Hurt, Ray Winstone, Ian McShane, Tom Wilkinson, Stephen Dillane, Melvil Poupaud and Joanne Whalley."

An intriguing and trippy film. Rental worthy for the indie lovers.

Nativity! (2009) on DVD

 

From the British Comedy guide: "Directed and conceived by Debbie Isitt (Confetti), Nativity is an improvised comedy which will star Martin Freeman, Ashley Jensen, Jason Watkins and Marc Wootton.

Mr Maddens is a frustrated under-achieving primary school teacher. His long time adversary, Gordon Shakespeare, is the teacher at the posh independent school up the road.

Every year, the two schools are embroiled in a bitter rivalry to achieve a five-star review for their Christmas nativity play. Maddens' class always comes runner-up. The story of his life.

This year, Maddens makes an idle boast to Shakespeare that his school's showstopping musical has attracted the attention of his ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Lore - who happens to be a big time Hollywood Producer. They want to make a movie starring his kids - Hollywood is coming to Coventry!

When over-enthusiastic new classroom assistant, Mr Poppy, overhears the lie, Maddens suddenly finds himself a local celebrity and at the centre of quarrelling parents, a wannabe show director, and more Mary and Josephs than he can shake a stick at.

Now all he needs to do is persuade Jennifer to make Hollywood pay attention and make their dreams come true."


This is an instant classic and I'm adding it to my holiday collection!

Charlie St. Cloud on DVD

Official Site: "Zac Efron stars as Charlie St. Cloud, a small-town hero and an accomplished sailor who has it all: the adoration of his mother and younger brother, and a Stanford scholarship. His bright future is cut short when tragedy strikes, taking his dreams with it. Now Charlie is torn between honoring a promise he made years ago and pursuing his newfound love with a former high-school classmate. Based on the acclaimed bestseller, comes a story of hope, second chances and the transformative power of love, also starring Ray Liotta and Academy Award® winner Kim Basinger."

Aside from a weak story line, I kept getting distracted by how pretty Efron looked in this film. They must've had some really good lighting and makeup on this one. I get the concept of life & death experience, survivor guilt and the whole "I see dead people" thing they were shooting for, but it was poorly executed. Anyways, it's been done so many other times ... and better.

Burlesque (2010)

The show numbers were exciting, the costumes hot, but there was no story to pull it all together. Aguilera could use a few more acting lessons as well. As many patrons summarized in one word while walking out: CHEESY.

Wait for the rental.