The first week of the new year is hardly a banner period for DVD releases, but one of the best (and funniest) dark comedy thrillers of 2011 debuts on Tuesday along with the second season of Justified, one of the most underrated gems of the “basic cable” programming revolution that also includes such high profile projects as Mad Men, and The Walking Dead.
 
Theatrical Movies
 
The most popular movie hitting DVD this week is Contagion (Warner Home Video, “PG-13,” $28.98, BD $29.99, BD/Combo $35.99), Steve Soderbergh’s medical thriller, which earned $75 million at the domestic box office, by far the most of any of the new films due this week.  A strong cast (Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, and Bryan Cranston) and a powerful subject (a worldwide virus pandemic) made this film a winner for the critics (84% positive on Rotten Tomatoes), but Contagion’s “documentary” style gets in the way of a truly compelling narrative.  Plausible, but not immersive or compelling, Contagion is a “natural” for the thankless role of kicking off DVD sales in 2012 as the most well known title in a weak slate.
 
Altogether better is The Guard (Sony, “R,” $30.99, BD $35.99), an off kilter police drama set in Ireland that chronicles the unlikely collaboration between a straitlaced American FBI agent (Don Cheadle) and a freewheeling Irish rural policeman (Brendan Gleeson).  Gleeson (In Bruges) totally steals the show here, and the result is one of the best films of 2011, a delightful black comedy that has been referred to as “Fargo in Ireland.”  How good is The Guard?  It earned a sterling 95% positive rating from the critics on Internet review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.  The Guard is hands down DVD Round-Ups “Pick of the Week.”
 
Another film that received excellent notices was Higher Ground (Sony, “R,” $30.99, BD/Combo $45.99), Vera Farmiga’s directorial debut.  Higher Ground, which is based on a novel by Carolyn S. Briggs, is not for all viewers.  It is a very serious look at people who are struggling with issues of religious faith and doubt.
 
Horror movie fans will want to check out Guillermo Del Toro’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (Sony, “R,” $30.99, BD $35.99), a loving remake of the surprisingly chilling 1973 TV movie.  Del Toro’s remake, which stars Guy Pearce and Katie Holmes, is a far better film than the original, and the director’s personal touches will be noted and enjoyed by genre fans, but the crudely-made original had more thrills and chills.
 
But, whatever its shortcomings, horror fans are far better off with Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark than with Shark Night (Fox, “PG-13,” $30.99, BD $39.99), the very definition of a cheesy modern horror flick complete with wafer thin unlikable characters, sloppy visuals and an atrocious sound track.  At least home video viewers have been spared the true horror of this film’s lame 3-D effects—only to be haunted by the prospect that there will be a 3-D BD release for the movie in the future?
 
Also out this week is I Don’t Know How She Does It (Weinstein, “PG-13,” $28.98, BD $39.99), a clichéd drama about a successful businesswoman played by Sarah Jessica Parker, who manages to juggle the competing challenges of career and family in a manner that would have been relevant in say the “age of Donna Reed,” but seems curiously old-fashioned in its approach to this very real dilemma today.
 
TV on DVD
 
Not a lot of great releases this week, but there are some choice offerings led by Justified: Season 2 (Sony, 550 min., $39.95, BD $49.95), which collects all 13 episodes of the highly underrated FX series, which is based on stories and characters created by Elmore Leonard.  Timothy Olyphant stars in this Emmy Award-winning series that is really starting to come into its own.
 
Also of great interest is Todd Haynes’ five-part miniseries adaptation of James M. Cain’s Mildred Pierce (HBO, 260 min., $39.99, BD $49.99).  Haynes provides a much more faithful adaptation of the Cain novel than Michael Curtiz did in his 1945 movie version starring Joan Crawford. Kate Winslet is excellent in the title role, and she is ably supported by Guy Pearce, Evan Rachel Wood, and Melissa Leo in this superb HBO production.  There is no doubt that Curtiz’s film is just a lot more fun, but there is a lot to recommend in this meticulous modern adaptation.
 
The only other contemporary drama series out on Tuesday is Royal Pains: Season 3, Vol.1 (Universal, 432 min., $29.98), which includes 10 episodes of the popular USA series that follows the adventures of a “concierge” doctor in the Hamptons.
 
Fans of classic TV should rejoice at the release of Alfred Hitchcock Presents Season 5 (Universal, 985 min., $39.98), which includes all 38 episodes of the great suspense series with solid performances from legendary guest stars including Peter Lorre, Steve McQueen, William Shatner, Dick Van Dyke, and Burt Reynolds.
 
The single-disc, eight-episode, SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeBob’s Frozen Face-Off (Nickelodeon, 88 min., $16.99) leads a weak slate of animated offerings that also includes The Care Bears: Helping Hands (Lionsgate, $14.98), and Flipper and Lopata: The Complete Season One (Echo Bridge, 850 min., $14.99).
 
The only non-documentary U.K. releases this week are a couple of comedy shows led by Only When I Laugh: Ultimate Collection (First Look, 380 min., $29.98), an early 1980s comedy about three hypochondriacs who wreak havoc in an NHS hospital.  Also due this week is That’s My Boy: Complete Series (First Look, 900 min., $29.98), which includes all 37 episodes of the series that aired on the ITV network from 1981 to 1986.
 
Royal watchers could do a lot worse than The Windsors: From George to Kate (Acorn Media, 106 min., $29.99), a respectful and informative documentary about the history of the current English royal family.
 
Anime
 
There are two new anime releases this week, Sekirei 2: Pure Engagement (FUNimation, “17+,” 350 min., BD/Combo $69.98), which collects the 13 episodes (plus an OVA) from the Seven Arcs anime series that is based on the sexy seinen manga by Sakurako Gokurakuin.  This second season of the popular action-packed, harem saga aired in Japan in 2010. Sekirei 2 is also available in a BD only version for $64.98.
 
This week’s other new releases is And Yet the Town Moves (Sentai Filmworks, “13+,” 300 min., $49.98), a 2010 series produced by Shaft and based on the manga series by Mazakazu Ishiguro.  This 12-episode slice-of-life comedy series follows the adventures of waitress Hotori Arashiyama, her friends, family, and fellow workers at the local maid café.
 
Re-priced re-releases include Dragon Ball Z Movie Collection 3 (FUNimation, “13+,” 210 min., $29.98), which contains movies 10 through 13 from the popular franchise, Gun x Sword Complete Series (FUNimation, “14+,” 650 min., $29.98), My Bride Is a Mermaid Complete Series (Funimation, “17+,” 600 min., $59.98), and the Clamp-based ‘X’ TV Series Complete (Funimation, “14+,” 625 min, $39.98).
 
--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.