ClubHooligan.com - Burning it up at both ends

Web posted June 7, 2007

Eddie Murphy busts out on DVD

By DAVID GERMAIN
the associated press

Eddie Murphy, the man of many comebacks, missed out on his Academy Award for "Dreamgirls" but had a good year, anyway, earning rare critical praise for his role in that musical while returning to commercial form in the critically maligned but audience friendly "Norbit." As he did in "The Nutty Professor" flicks and other movies, Murphy handles multiple roles, starring as sheepish Norbit and his own bullying behemoth of a wife, the obstacle to Norbit's chance to rekindle romance with a childhood sweetheart. DVD, $29.99; Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, $39.99 each.

Timed to the release of "Norbit" are new DVD releases of two old Murphy comedies, 1983's "Trading Places," and "Coming to America." DVDs, $14.99 each; Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, $29.99 each.

'The Messengers'

Hollywood's love affair with low-budget horror continues in this haunted-house thriller directed by Hong Kong brothers Danny and Oxide Pang ("The Eye"), making their first English-language feature. The cast is led by Dylan McDermott and Penelope Ann Miller as parents trying to save their shaky marriage by moving from the city to a remote farmhouse in North Dakota. Their teen daughter (Kristen Stewart) and her 3-year-old brother start seeing spirits no one else sees, and the ghostly suspense grows as a drifter (John Corbett) shows up looking to hire on for work. Stewart and the filmmaking team provide commentary, while the movie is accompanied by profiles on her and Corbett plus visual-effects, set-design and other featurettes. DVD, $28.95; Blu-ray disc, $38.96.

'Fantastic Four: Extended Edition'

The 2005 superhero hit mutates into a longer adventure with this extended version that serves as a prelude to the upcoming sequel, "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer." The new cut adds 20 minutes of footage to the original movie, which tells the story of four astronauts who encounter a blast of radiation in space that transforms them into beings with strange powers. DVD set, $26.98.

'The Sergio Leone Anthology'

Four rugged tales from the Italian director who invented the spaghetti Western are gathered in this eight-disc set, which includes the previously released two-disc release of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," new two-disc versions of "A Fistful of Dollars" and "For a Few Dollars More," and the DVD debut in a two-disc set of "Duck, You Sucker." The first three films star Clint Eastwood in the gunslinger and fortune-seeker role that established his big-screen career. "Duck, You Sucker" stars James Coburn as an explosives expert and Rod Steiger as a bandit who get caught up in the Mexican revolution. DVD boxed set, $89.98; two-disc sets, $26.98 each.

TV on DVD:

"CHiPs: The Complete First Season" - DVD set, $39.98.

"The Fall Guy: The Complete First Season" - Six-disc set, $59.98, three-disc sets, $29.98 each.

"Robin Hood: Season One" - DVD set, $79.98.

"Hex: The Complete First Season" - DVD set, $49.95.

"Prehistoric Park" - DVD set, $24.98.

"Seinfeld: Season 8" - DVD set, $49.95.