Joey's DVD Picks of the Week (4/19/2011)

This week, there's a welcome return to the bigger DVD hauls of weeks past. 3 of the releases this week received 3 and a half stars from me, with 1 of them actually cracking my top 10 list last year. All in all, this is one of the better releases days in a while, for me at least. It's a pleasing thought after some of the annoyingly lacking weeks that have preceded this. So let us rejoice! (Also, Happy Passover!)
For my PICK OF THE WEEK this time around, I went with one of my favorite films of 2010. I was in the minority with my deep admiration for the flick, but I'm getting used to that one as of late. Regardless, I love this movie. It's:

Somewhere

Sofia Coppola's deliberate meditation on celebrity and absentee parenting is sparse and intentionally obtuse, but somehow it worked for me in a big way. This film takes its time, and where some movies of this nature come off as too pretentious and turn the viewer off, this one becomes hypnotic and poetic. Coppola already made one masterpiece with Lost In Translation, and while I don't think this is on that level, it's still a rather great film. Throw in a performance by Stephen Dorff that shows previously untapped talent as well as an outstanding job by Elle Fanning that ranked as one of my very favorite supporting roles last year, and this is a winner of a film. It cracked my Top 10 of 2010 list last year, and now that it's out on DVD, I again recommend that you seek it out. It's not for everyone, but if you can take the pace, you'll be rewarded.

-Also out getting good marks from me are the defending Oscar champion The King's Speech and the heartbreaking grievance drama Rabbit Hole. There's been more than enough said about the former, and not enough about the latter. Both are very good movies (with winning performances all around), and deserve a place on DVD shelves. I'll concede that the first flick is overrated while arguing that the second is underrated, but overall they're of similar quality. Give them both a shot if you missed either in theaters, they're definitely worth your time.

-The other releases this week are a film I missed theatrically and one I wished I did. The first is The Way Back, and while I wasn't blown away, I definitely recognize that it's a quality work. I just with it had a better pace to it. I still say check it out, though. The other movie is the remake Gulliver's Travels, and well...the less said about that one, the better.

-My Vintage pick this week is, in honor of the release of Morgan Spurlock's new documentary POM Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, the doc that put him on the map. It's Super Size Me, and it's one of the most entertaining and yet scary documentaries I've ever seen. His expose of just what fast food does to you should give all of us pause. If you never saw it, now's your chance!

-What will you be watching on DVD this week?