The final week of the year is traditionally not the time for the finest home entertainment releases, but amidst the sweepings from the shop room floor of 2011, there are a few very interesting offerings including the second season of the adult-oriented animated spy spoof Archer, the DVD debut of a little known but painfully funny new series from David Cross, and the Blu-ray bow of a film that contain one of the most consistently humorous and exciting chase sequence in the history of movies.

 

 

Once again it’s a slow week for “TV on DVD” releases, but there are a few gems including The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, Series 1 (MPI, 138 min., $24.98), a British/American sitcom written by David Cross (Mr. Show).  Judging from Todd Margaret, which follows the misadventures of an American office temp who bluffs his way into a senior sales job at a British company, Cross, who appeared on Arrested Development as Tobias Funke, has the “alt-comedy” thing down—AD fans will definitely want to check out The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, which aired on the trendsetting “fringe cable” network IFC in 2010.

 

Also of interest to connoisseurs of off-kilter TV is Archer: Season 2 (Fox, 286 min. $29.99, BD $39.99).  This adult-oriented animated series appears on FX and has a lot of fun with the conventions of the suave international spy genre as it mixes elements from various decades.  The characters all look like they just stepped out of In Like Flint(1967), but the technology they employ is often of a much more recent vintage.  Note that while this is an animated series, it contains plenty of sexual elements and is definitely not for kids.  Archer Season One (Fox, 211 min., BD $39.99), which was previously released on DVD, is making its Blu-ray debut on Tuesday.

 

Other animated releases due on Tuesday include Happiness Is… Peanuts: Friends Forever (Warner Bros., $14.97), which includes the 13th episode of the Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, which aired on CBS from 1983-1985, and The Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes Comedy Hour: Pepe Le Pew, Zee Best of Zee Best (Warner Bros. 120 min., $19.98), which includes 17 iconic theatrical shorts featuring the amorous skunk.

 

The top live-action release of the week is The Borgias: The First Season (Showtime, 467 min., $49.99, BD $65.99), the cable miniseries that tracks the nefarious doings of the powerful clan that attempted to gain control of the Catholic church (and thus much of Italy) during the Renaissance.  Jeremy Irons stars in this deliciously Machiavellian narrative, which Irish director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game) has developed for TV.  Also due out this week is Shameless: The Complete 1st Season (Showtime, $39.98, BD $49.99), which stars William Macy, Emmy Rossum, and Joan Cusack in an American version of the cutting edge U.K. series. 

 

 

 

The top release this week is Fairy Tail Part II (Funimation, “14+,” 300 min., BD/DVD Combo $54.95), which contains episodes 13-24 of the anime series produced by Satelight and A-1 Pictures and based on the popular shonen manga series by Hiro Mashima (Rave Master).  The Fairy Tail anime series is still ongoing in Japan where it has reached 111 episodes so far.

 

The only other new release this week is Himawari, Too!! Season 2 Complete Collection (Maiden Japan, “13+,” 325 min., BD $49.98), which contains all 13 episodes of the second season of the often wacky martial arts adventure comedy.

 

Re-priced re-releases range from the relative modest reduction in the Eden of the East Complete Series Blu-ray (Funimation, “17+,” 275 min., $49.98), which was originally released on BD in 2010 at $59.98, to the more deeply discounted S.A.V.E. editions of D.Gray Man Season 1 Complete Set (Funimation, “14+,” 600 min., $29.98), Guyver Complete Series (Funimation, “17+,” 625 min., $29.98), and the Heroic Age Complete Collection (Funimation, “13+,” 630 min., $29.98).

 

Another great deal is the Slayers Seasons 4&5 Blu-ray (Funimation, “13+,” 650 min., $59.98), which includes both BD and DVD editions of the final two seasons of the Slayers series (Slayers Revolution and Slayers Evolution-R), which had been released on BD before at $59.98 each.

 

 

 

By far the best comedy film released during the past few weeks is the Blu-ray edition of Buster Keaton’s 1925 masterpiece Seven Chances: Ultimate Edition (Kino, DVD $29.95, BD $34.95).  Painstakingly restored by the Library of Congress and with its two-color Technicolor sequences intact, this is the best version of the film we are ever likely to see with crisp sharp images throughout.  Kino has avoided “overprocessing”—the film’s original rich nitrate stock grain comes through, the tonal balance is near perfect, and there are no unnecessary digital alternations.

 

While not Keaton’s best film, the second half of Seven Chances nevertheless contains perhaps his finest sustained chase sequence, a consistently brilliant concatenation of set pieces that rocks with a breathtaking pulse rarely achieved or sustained for such an extended period.  The film, which is based on a David Belasco stage comedy, starts out at a moderate pace as the movie’s elaborate premise is painstakingly set up.  But once Buster, who stands to inherit a million dollars if he can get married that day, shows up at church filled with prospective brides, Keaton’s athleticism (matched by few in the history of cinema) is on full display, along with the inventiveness that makes his movies among the best ever.

 

 

The last week of the year is, quite appropriately, the worst when it comes to theatrical movies on DVD. Topping an extremely weak list are Apollo 18 (Weinstein, “PG-13,” $29.99, BD $39.99), a “found-footage” faux documentary about a mythical last moon mission, and Final Destination 5 (Warner Bros., “R,” $28.98, BD $35.98), the latest in the fatalistic franchise in which a group of generally good-looking young people narrowly avoid disaster only to suffer anew at the hands of a remorseless Fate working systematically to claim the victims who initially escaped his clutches.

 

Equally lame is the unrated (though it certainly rates an “R”) A Good Old Fashioned Orgy (Sony, Not Rated, $26.99), a throwback to the “R-rated” comedies of the 1980s.  The movie tries to have it both ways with it raunchy title undermined by a narrative about a group of “thirtysomethings,” who in spite of their hedonistic intentions, manage to learn some life lessons in a narrative that suddenly develops a case of modern Hollywood “heart” that belies its title’s antisocial protestations.  The problem for the audience is caring about the overly-entitled characters in this film, which the studio pulled after a dismal theatrical run that earned a paltry $220,000.  The movie’s doughy males initially appear incapable of anything other than infantile behavior, while the universally slim female characters are apparently concerned only with their own glamorous appearances.

--Tom Flinn

The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.