This week’s new DVD releases range from a dance film remake to a brilliant premium cable series.
n “Footloose,” Grade B: Hollywood’s trend of cannibalizing itself continues with an updated version of the 1984 Kevin Bacon-Lori Singer dance bonanza “Footloose.” This time it’s former “Dancing With the Stars” beauty Julianne Hough and newcomer Kenny Wormald who want to make a small Texas town footloose and fancy free.
Does the world need another “Footloose?” Probably not. But, this version has just the right mix of nostalgic nod to the original and modern variation on the theme to make it fun. It won’t have you dancing in your seat like the original, but it has enough energy to get your toes tapping.
n “Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season,” Grade B-plus: The HBO series is filled with the trappings of a typical fantasy tale: kings, knights, dragons and mysterious creatures. But at its very dark heart, this series based on George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, is closer to a medieval version of “The Sopranos” or “Dallas” than it is to a “Lord of the Rings.”
Like those series about families, feuds and fortunes, “Thrones” explores obsession with power and how it’s achieved by any means.
This is a fantasy that rivals the greats in the genre.
n “Like Crazy,” Grade B-plus: The movie version of falling in love generally takes a very linear emotional path. Boy meets girl, they face some contrived conflict and then live happily ever after. Anyone who’s been in love can tell you that the path is rarely that simple. This film from director Drake Doremus shows the complications, questions and hurdles that often accompany affairs of the heart.
The film — starring Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones — shows that falling in love is easy. Staying in love takes lots of work.
n “Jack and Jill,” Grade F: There are more laughs in those car-wreck movies shown to driver’s ed classes than in this new release. This dreck was directed by Dennis Dugan, whose credits include “Grown Ups” and “The Benchwarmers.” In his case, direction means allowing Adam Sandler to rant and rave in hopes of saying something that is at least marginally funny, ignoring all continuity and letting scenes run on until your eyes start bleeding.
Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2012/03/08/3924604/whats-new-on-dvd-this-week.html#storylink=cpy
