This summer’s Pixar blockbuster Cars 2 will surely be the bestselling release this week, but there are a number of items of interest including one of the year’s top romantic comedies, a brilliant documentary about a famous example of tabloid journalism, plus what might be the most entertaining and amusing crime show of the past two decades.

 

 

Cars 2 (Disney, “G,” $29.99, BD/Combo $39.99, 3-DBD $49.99) received the worst reviews ever for a Pixar release (only 38% positive on Rotten Tomatoes), but still managed to earn $551.4 million worldwide.  The critics couldn’t get past Larry the Cable Guy’s tow truck character Mater, and indeed there is a lot more of the “smarter-than-he-sounds” rusty tow trucker than there is of Owen Wilson’s Lightning McQueen in this fast-moving tale of international intrigue.  The plot of Cars 2, which harkens back to the early James Bond novels, is so fast-moving that critics complained it would only appeal to kids with ADD, but the underlying story does have some heart and reinforces the film’s central theme of friendship.  With a fleet of inspired automotive puns and lots of racing action in colorful locales across the globe, Cars 2 is in many ways the perfect entertainment for young boys.  Cars 2 looks especially good on Blu-ray, which captures every visual and audio nuance.  The opening action sequence on an oil platform is brilliantly staged and sets the tone for relentless action that follows.  The Blu-ray comes with two new short films including the Toy Story cast in “Hawaiian Vacation,” and the Cars gang in “Air Mater.”  Yes Disney and its partners have sold tons of Cars 2 merchandise, but this movie is more than just a commercial for boys’ toys.

 

Also out this week is Crazy, Stupid Love (Warner Bros., “PG-13,” $28.98, BD/Combo $35.99, BD only $29.99), one of the better (and more traditional) romantic comedies of the year.  Steve Carell cements his position as Hollywood’s reigning “ordinary guy” and gets able support from Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, and Julianne Moore.  With a lot more heart than its “R” rated comedy competitors of the past summer season, it is easy to understand why Crazy, Stupid Love managed to earn a solid 77% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

 

Critics (and audiences) were a good deal more mixed in their reaction to Water for Elephants (Fox, “PG-13,” $29.98, BD $39.98), which stars Robert Pattinson (Twilight) and Reese Witherspoon in an adaptation of Sara Gruen’s novel about a young veterinarian, who finds love in the circus.  Set in the dusty days of the Great Depression, Water for Elephants is a kind of a throwback to those old-fashioned “romance” movies, but it’s not the white hot relationship between the young lovers that makes this film worth checking out, it’s Christoph Waltz as the ringmaster who steals this circus drama.

 

In many ways the most interesting theatrical release of the week is a documentary, Errol Morris’ Tabloid (MPI, “R,” 88 min., $24.98), a delicious cocktail of movie about a former beauty queen who became infatuated with a Mormon missionary, pursued him to England and kidnapped him—leading to tabloid headlines like “The Case of the Manacled Mormon.” Morris mixes interviews with archival footage and photos to tell a deeply disturbing and wonderfully weird saga of real life obsessions—both the romantic fixation that drives this strange saga, and the public’s thirst for this kind of vicarious titillation that is the secret to the continuing popularity of tabloid journalism.

 

 

Once again it’s the animated offerings that dominate, at least on the American side of the ledger. Beast Wars: Transformers--The Complete Series (Shout Factory, 1,200 min., $54.97) includes all 52 episodes of the CGI incarnation of the long-running toy inspired series.  The computer-animated Beast Wars cartoons, which were produced by Mainframe Entertainment in Canada, debuted in 1996 and managed to win a Daytime Emmy Award.  Though not as fondly remembered as the original Transformers series, Beast Wars delivers plenty of the robot-stomping action for which the property is justly famous.

 

Those who prefer 1980s cartoon fare might gravitate toward Voltron: Defender of the Universe—The Final Battle (Classic Media, 194 min., $12.99), which includes 8 classic action-packed episodes of the 1980s anime-based U.S. series leading up to the planet-busting finale of the show’s first season.  Voltron is a series that is fondly remembered by many—and like that other 1980s cartoon series Transformers, there is a live-action Voltron movie in development (as well as a new Voltron Force cartoon series).

 

For those who love classic Hollywood theatrical animation (also a staple of Saturday morning kid shows in the later decades of the 20th Century) there is the Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes Comedy Hour: The Essential Daffy Duck (Warner Bros., $26.98), which includes 21 great theatrical cartoons featuring the irascible waterfowl.  The only reason not to get this great 2-disc collection is if you already own some of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection.

 

Also out this week is the seasonally-themed Alvin & The Chipmunks: Christmas With the Chipmunks (Bagdassarian Productions, 88 min. $14.99), which includes 4 Christmas episodes featuring the squeaky-voiced singing rodents.

 

Continuing series debuting on Tuesday include the contemporary cable version of Peyton Place, Californication: Season 4 (Paramount, 338 min., $38.99), the short-lived Matthew Perry vehicle Mr. Sunshine: The Complete Series (Sony, 279 min., $30.99), Rawhide: Season 4, Part 2 (Paramount, 709 min., $38.99), the classic TV western starring Clint Eastwood, and the Nickelodeon tween hit Victorious: Season 1 Volume 2 (Nickelodeon, 240 min., $19.99).

 

Fortunately there are some strong dramatic offerings from the U.K. to offset a weak slate of U.S. releases. Pie in the Sky: The Complete Collection (Acorn Media, 1950 min., $119.98) includes all 40 episodes of the delightful crime series starring Richard Griffiths and Maggie Steed that mixes fine dining and good sleuthing with superb character-driven comedy to create the most entertaining crime series of the past two decades.  If you like mysteries and haven’t seen an episode of Pie in the Sky, track one down, you will not be disappointed. Having all 40 episodes in one 13-disc collection is a real treat.

 

Another U.K. crime series of interest is Luther: Season 2 (BBC, 240 min., $34.98), which features Idris Elba as Detective Chief Inspector John Luther, who works for Scotland Yard’s Serious Crime Unit, which means he is often tracking down the most heinous serial killers.  The series combines elements of the traditional deductive detective tale (Luther is as much a genius in his own way as was Sherlock Holmes), and the structure of a series like Columbo, in which the audience is aware of who the criminal is, but not how he will be caught.

 

But the most intellectually challenging and thought-provoking release of the week is a new 30th anniversary edition of the 1981 Granada Television adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisited.  Brideshead Revisted: 30th Anniversary Collection (Acorn Media, 659 min., $59.99, BD $69.99).  This esteemed series set the pattern for the increasingly faithful adaptations of major novels via the expansive format of the TV miniseries, and it made a stars of Jeremy Irons, Anthony Andrews, and Diana Quick.  Co-director Michael Lindsay-Hogg it turns out is actually the son of Orson Welles, and there is definitely something very Wellesian about this ambitious adaptation that manages to capture the spirit of Waugh’s novel, with its mixture of cynicism and nostalgia, in much the same way that the surviving portions of Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons manage to corral the spirit of Booth Tarkington’s portrait of the fading mercantile aristocrats of the Midwest.  A new transfer has produced the best home entertainment version yet.  The Blu-ray is especially sharp, and the high production values of this series shine through.  Extras include the excellent 2006 documentary “Revisiting Brideshead,” plus 10 minutes of outtakes, a 20-page full-color viewer’s guide, and commentaries from Jeremy Irons, Anthony Andrews, Diana Quick, and Michael Lindsay-Hogg.

 

 

It’s a very light week for anime releases.  The best new release due out is Gakuen Alice DVD Collection (Right Stuf/Nozomi, “13+,” 650 min., $39.99), which includes all 26 episodes of the 2004-2005 anime series produced by Aniplex and based on the Higuchi Tachibana manga series that was published here by Tokyopop.  The anime is lighter in tone than the manga, but preserves the wacky, fast-paced charm of Tachibana’s amusing saga of two friend “trapped” in a most unusual school (“Alice Academy”).

 

Also new this week is the Amagami SS Collection Part 2 (Sentai Filmworks, “13+,” 300 min., $49.98), which contains the final 13 episodes of the 2010 anime series produced by AIC and based on a Japanese dating simulation game developed by Enterbrain for the PlayStation 2.

 

Only one re-priced edition out this week, though it’s a good one, Dragon Ball Z Movie Pack 1 (Funimation, “13+,” 287 min., $29.98), which includes the first five DBZ movies, Dead Zone, The World’s Strongest, The Tree of Might, Lord Slug, and Cooler’s Revenge.