Our Picks Reviews - Page 39

A pre-Indiana Jones Harrison Ford plays a futuristic cop tracking down genetically engineered, renegade humanoid “replicants” in this commemorative 25th-anniversary DVD re-issue of director Ridley Scott’s sci-fi movie masterpiece from 1982. In addition to four separate versions of the film, each with slightly different editing and enhancements, there’s also a making-of documentary, commentary tracks and featurettes on the film’s groundbreaking special effects. You’ll also bask in a barrage of factoids—including that Ford accidentally bloodied co-star Darryl Hannah’s nose in a fight and how production designers recycled part of the spacecraft from Close Encounters of the Third Kind for one of the movie’s 21st-century sets.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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You can get a mega-load of America’s favorite make-believe pugilist, Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa, in this DVD collection that ropes together for the first time the complete Rocky story cycle. From the original 1976 underdog epic, through Rocky II, III, IV and V, and finally to the fist-swinging finale, last year’s Rocky Balboa, it’s a rousing, 10-hour tribute to one of moviedom’s most inspiring, never-give-up characters.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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Football fans will do a touchdown dance when they open up this collection of season highlights from every Super Bowl-winning team from 1967 to 2007. Each hour-long DVD includes archival game footage, sideline drama, fly-on-the-wall meeting-room moments and interviews with players, including Joe Namath, John Madden, Bart Starr and more than 80 other current and former NFL superstars. A bonus booklet provides insight into four decades of Super Bowl history, statistics, photos and a look at all past Super Bowl championship rings, the coveted mementos given to members of the winning team after each year’s epic clash on the gridiron.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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Draping her languid voice around the repertoire of late British songbird Dusty Springfield, Shelby Lynn lovingly re-creates the studio feel of the ‘60s with stripped-down arrangements, old-school recording technology and a spiritual alignment with the sensual, blue-eyed soul of “Breakfast in Bed,” “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” “How Can I Be Sure” and seven other ear-caressing tracks.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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Two good friends (Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan) wade cautiously into a romantic relationship in this beloved, critically acclaimed romantic comedy from 1989. DVD extras include deleted scenes, commentary and seven featurettes, one of which explores how director Rob Reiner found his own true love during the making of the movie in Manhattan. (Rated R)
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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This well-made 2007 shoot-‘em-up remake (of the 1957 original) stars Russell Crowe as a finally-captured Old West outlaw and Christian Bale as the cash-strapped rancher who signs on for the dangerous job of transporting him to the train that will take him to jail. Both actors are terrific, and the volatile bond of circumstance that unites the two characters is a burning fuse hissing ominously along the sometimes-smudgy line between good and evil. (Rated R)
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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With a clever cover treatment that makes it look “retro” and well-browsed, this slender little tribute to one of winter’s best, most universal pastimes is packed with sled facts and trivia (such as a sidebar on Hollywood’s most famous sled, Rosebud from Citizen Kane), sledding tips and techniques, suggestions on “making do” with cafeteria trays and garbage-can lids, and advice on how to stay safe and warm on the slopes. And to top it all off—“après sledding” recipes for hot cocoa and hot toddies! If you haven’t swooped and swooshed down a snow-covered slope in ages, The Sled Book will make you feel a kid again.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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Loaded with laughs, way-out action and outrageous kung-fu stunts, the third installment of the successful Rush Hour franchise is another wild ride for Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, reprising their roles as fish-out-of-water, odd-couple police detectives. Partnered together this time in pursuit of an international criminal overlord, they travel to Paris, where the crazy-quilt plotline climaxes with a dazzling chase to the top of the Eiffel Tower. DVD extras include bloopers, outtakes, an extended making-of documentary and commentary by the director. (Rated PG-13)
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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Amaze friends, baffle family members and confound co-workers with this collection of close-up, “on the street” tricks and illusions that anyone can easily master. Step-by-step instructions and photo illustrations make all the moves clear, and dozens of sidebar tidbits offer performance suggestions and additional advice. Even if you’ve never wanted to make people think you can float, push your thumb through your ear or make any number of everyday items do extraordinary things, you’ll nonetheless get a kick out of seeing just how such slight-of-hand is done by David Blaine, Chris Angel and other polished pros.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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Network television’s spoof of James Bond and The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Get Smart was a brilliant parody of the secret-agent craze of the 1960s. This mega-collection, containing all 138 episodes of its five-year run, follows the half-hour antics of bumbling special agent Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) and his svelte sidekick, Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon). Outstanding bonus features include audio commentary by Feldon, creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry and numerous series guest stars, including Don Rickles; five featurettes; bloopers; footage from star Adams’ 75th birthday roast at the Playboy Mansion and his 2005 memorial service; and the 1964 hair-product TV commercial that won Feldon her role.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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