This week’s home entertainment releases are headlined by a handful of interesting theatrical movies including a near note-perfect revival of The Muppets, the American version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, a compressed but elegant adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Hop, a glitzy confection for very young viewers, plus from the world of TV animation, a second helping of faithful Tintin cartoons from the early 90s.

 
 

 

Disney’s reboot of The Muppets (Disney, “PG,” $34.99, BD/Combo $39.99, BD Combo+Soundtrack $49.99) leads a very strong group of theatrical releases this week.  Written by Jason Segel and Nick Stoller, The Muppets gets the appeal of the original Jim Henson TV series just about exactly right.  The result is what passes for a modern Hollywood “musical” these days, and if it isn’t exactly Singing in the Rain, at least it possesses the delightful earnestness of Henson’s work at its best.   Yes, there’s a post-modern self-awareness about the proceedings, but Henson was all about breaking the fourth wall when it suited him, and it never gets in the way of the fun.  Speaking of fun, there are more cameos in The Muppets than there are stars in the skies and especially fine bits from Zach Galifianakis, Jim Parsons, and Neil Patrick Harris.  Anyone who enjoyed The Muppets TV series should find plenty to like in this latest iteration of the franchise.  The movie sounds especially great in the Blu-ray format with its DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track, and the Blu-ray visual transfer is near perfect.  Extras on the BD Combo include the obligatory documentary about the making of the film, deleted scenes, and the not-to-be-missed “Longest Blooper Reel Ever Made (In Muppet History).”

 

The most unnecessary film of the week is admittedly also one of the best, David Fincher’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Sony, “R,” $30.99, BD $40.99).  Unnecessary because there already is an excellent Swedish version of the first volume in Steig Larsson’s Millennium trilogy, but then there is also no denying that Fincher has produced what is an excellent film in its own right with strong performances from Rooney Mara as the film’s eponymous heroine and Daniel Craig as a left-wing journalist who tracks down a serial killer.  It almost feels that Larsson’s saga is such a strong narrative that it limits what Fincher can do with it, but his directorial restraint actually works in this context, since Larsson’s tale is so bizarre by itself.

 

Thomas Alfredson’s film of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Universal, “R,” $29.98, BD $34.98) is a stylish well-acted feature film adaptation of the John LeCarre’s cold war masterpiece of mole-hunting within MI-5.  Viewers who have read the novel will have a huge advantage when it comes to deciphering the film’s plot which compresses LeCarre’s saga to fit into the movie’s two-hour and seven minute running time. In spite of technical advances and Alfredson’s smooth direction, the miniseries adaptation that starred Alec Guinness remains the definitive screen version of LeCarre’s book.  Still the cast of the new movie that includes Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Ciaran Hands, Colin Firth, and Benedict Cumberbatch (from the BBC’s Sherlock) is simply superb.

 

Just in time for Easter comes Hop (Universal, “PG,” $29.98, BD $34.98), a hybrid animated/live-action film that features James Marsden, Kaley Cuoco, and the voice of Russell Brand as the film’s protagonist, a young rabbit named E.B. that wants to be a rock and roll drummer.  Produced by Illumination, the same outfit that created Despicable Me, Hop is technically sound, occasionally diverting, and should appeal to young audiences, though it should be noted that cheese factor in this movie is simply stratospheric, and the way it promotes the sickeningly sweet mythology of the “Easter Bunny” (complete with candy factory on, you guessed it, Easter island) is simply shameless.

 

This appears to be the week for releases that revive long dead Hollywood genres.  The Muppets brings back some of the joy of the big studio musical, and Roman Polanski’s Carnage (Sony, “R,” $30.99, BD $35.99) brings some of the dry, witty black humor of the Broadway stage to the screen.  Based on a play by Yasmina Reza’s Tony-winning play God of Carnage, Polanski’s film about two sets of parents attempting to mediate a dispute among their children, hearkens back to the days when Broadway plays that tackled difficult subjects were frequently adapted into films.

 

One genre that is so plentiful it is in no need of revival is the “R” rated comedy.  Not inherently a bad idea of course, but unfortunately for every Bridesmaids there are five nasty duds like The Sitter (Fox, “R,” $29.99, BD $39.99), which could only earn a miserable 22% positive rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

 

 

Since Stephen Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin was released last week it makes perfect sense that Shout Factory is putting out The Adventures of Tintin: Season 2 (Shout Factory, 300 min., $19.93), which includes 13 episodes of the series produced in the early 1990s that hews very closely to Herge’s original adventures and is thus recommended for those who enjoy the Tintin graphic novels.

 

Another TV animated release of interest this week is Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Season 2 Part 2 (Warner Bros., 325 min., $19.98), which includes 14 episodes of the series in which the Dark Knight teams up with other DC heroes including in this 2-disc set Aquaman, Blue Beetle, Red Tornado, Green Arrow, Deadman, Wildcat, Bronze Tiger, and Atom.

 

Also due this week is Hey Arnold!: Season 2, Part 1 (Shout Factory, 450 min., $19.93), which contains some of the best episodes of the Nickelodeon series created by Craig Bartlett that aired from 1996-2004, and the single-disc Arthur: Arthur’s Travel Adventures (PBS, 100 min., $12.99) that contains material from the gentle PBS animated series designed for young viewers.

 

The live-action TV releases this week are all of the vintage persuasion. They include the often pleasantly humorous and occasionally exciting “espionage” series Scarecrow and Mrs. King: The Complete Third Season (Warner Bros., 900 min., $39.98), which starred Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner, a first Blu-ray edition of That 70’s Show: Season 1 (Mill Creek, 548 min., $24.98), the gritty 1970s cop series, Kojak: Season 3 (Shout Factory, 1140 min., $44.99), the nauseating series that was TV’s first reality show smash, People Are Funny: Season 1 (Film Chest, 400 min., $24.98), and a documentary about the always gentle kids series, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood--Mr. Rogers & Me (PBS, 80 min., $24.99).

 

 

The top release this week is Dragon Ball Z Kai Part 7 (Funimation, “13+,” 275 min., $29.98, BD $34.98), the latest release featuring the restored and streamlined version of the popular DBZ anime series.  For DBZ Kai it’s definitely worth it to pay the extra money for the high-def version of the series.  Some fans may not like the fact that many story elements in the original DBZ anime, which were not based on the narrative of Akira Toriyama’s DBZ manga, have been eliminated from DBZ Kai, but there is little doubt that the narrative flows better in the streamlined Kai version.

 

Also due this week in both the DVD and BD formats is Ef: A Tale of Melodies Complete Collection (Sentai Filmworks, “17+,” 300 min. $59.98, BD $69.98), which collects all 12 episodes from the anime series produced in 2008 by Shaft that is based on an adult visual novel series produced by Minori.

 

For those who enjoy humorous harem comedies there is Heaven’s Lost Property Season 2 Limited Edition (Funimation, “17+,” 300 min., $64.98), which collects all 12 episodes from the second season of the anime series produced by AIC in 2010 and based on the manga series by Suu Minazuki.

 

--Tom Flinn