Woody’s winning comedy
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Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Weinstein, $28.95; Blu-ray, $34.99
Fresh off its Golden Globe victory, Woody Allen’s breezy romantic comedy “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” debuts on DVD, where it’s likely to surprise viewers who might be expecting a conventional Allen picture. Yes, the movie is about gorgeous female intellectuals, played by Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall and Penelope Cruz, all circling around a lusty painter (Javier Bardem). But with its sun-dappled Spanish locations, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” feels far frothier and sexier than anything Allen’s been involved with of late. One thing hasn’t changed though; in keeping with Allen’s other DVD releases, this one arrives with no special features.
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Lakeview Terrace
Sony, $28.96; Blu-ray, $39.95
Is this lurid, racially charged domestic thriller a better movie because provocative auteur Neil LaBute is at the helm, or is it yet another example of LaBute dinging his reputation for the sake of a paycheck? Certainly “Lakeview Terrace” is a gripping movie, with Samuel L. Jackson at his over-the-top, menacing best as a cop who objects when an interracial couple moves into his upscale L.A. neighborhood. But if you believe that LaBute’s involvement makes the film something more than just an overheated suspense flick, consult the DVD and Blu-ray, which support that claim with a navel-gazing director’s commentary, deleted scenes and a 20-minute promotional featurette.
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Pride and Glory
New Line $28.98/$34.98; Blu-ray, $35.99
Edward Norton turns in a typically measured and magnetic performance in “Pride and Glory,” playing a cop who begins to suspect that several members of his multi-generational cop family (including his father, played by Jon Voight, and his brother-in-law, played by Colin Farrell) might be corrupt. Director Gavin O’Connor, who wrote the screenplay with Joe Carnahan, doesn’t bring anything new to the “Who polices the police?” genre, but “Pride and Glory” is slick and earnest and will do if none of the hundred or so similar movies or TV shows happens to be handy. The double-disc DVD and Blu-ray editions include a lengthy making-of.
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The Rocker
20th Century Fox, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.98
“The Office’s” sublimely creepy Rainn Wilson plays an aging heavy metal castoff who gets a second chance with a band of youngsters in “The Rocker,” a largely uninspired loser-makes-good romp that gets by thanks to a cast of modern comedy powerhouses. Will Arnett, Jane Lynch, Fred Armisen, Christina Applegate, Jason Sudeikis, Jane Krakowski, Jeff Garlin and Demetri Martin (among others) make the most of their few minutes of screen time, keeping a middling movie lively. They also help pep up the DVD and Blu-ray’s two commentary tracks and assortment of tongue-in-cheek behind-the-scenes featurettes.
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RocknRolla
Warner, $27.98/$34.99; Blu-ray, $35.99
Guy Ritchie’s latest British gangster saga is arguably the writer-director’s strongest, setting a shrewd minion played by Gerard Butler against his manipulative, stingy boss, played by Tom Wilkinson (while in the background, the likes of Thandie Newton and Toby Kebbel provide colorful supporting turns). As usual, Ritchie is too in love with tough-guy poses and underworld minutiae, but this time there’s an element of social criticism in his vision of a world where leaders proceed out of a combination of ignorance and arrogance and wind up spiting themselves. The double-disc DVD contains a Ritchie commentary and a guide to his version of London; the Blu-ray adds an extra behind-the-scenes featurette.
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Also this week
The Lucky Ones
Lionsgate, $27.98
Mary Poppins
45th Anniversary Edition
Disney, $29.99
The Secret of the Magic Gourd
Disney, $29.99
The Secret Policeman’s Balls
Shout! Factory, $39.99
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