ClubHooligan.com - Burning it up at both ends

Web posted July 5, 2007

Geeks and fantasy lands arrive on DVD

By DAVID GERMAIN
the associated press

We've watched Ron Weasley grow up from gangly, geeky kid to gangly, geeky teen as one of boy wizard Harry Potter's posse at Hogwart's. Now we can see Rupert Grint, who plays Ron, do the gangly, geeky thing in the real world as a British teen in this quirky coming-of-age story. Grint plays a youth who's tired of being under the thumb of his self-righteous mother (Laura Linney), who takes her Christian faith far too seriously for her own good and the good of her family. Grint winds up the object in a war of wills between his mom and a has-been actress (Julie Walters) with a foul mouth and devil-may-care attitude who hires the boy to handle odd jobs, including chauffeuring her about. DVD extras include deleted scenes and outtakes and a making-of featurette. DVD, $24.96.

This charming little combination of psychological drama and fantasy missed out on a theatrical release but comes straight to DVD with an all-star cast that includes Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, William Hurt and Ian McKellen. Written and directed by Joshua Michael Stern, the film stars Aaron Eckhart as a young therapist who takes a job at the run-down mental hospital that once treated his father (Nolte), a manic depressive who killed himself after writing a phenomenally successful children's book about a magical realm called Neverwas. There, the young doc meets a patient (McKellen) whose detailed descriptions of that land of make-believe start our hero thinking that Neverwas might actually exist. The cast also includes Brittany Murphy and Alan Cumming. DVD, $29.99.

"George Lopez: America's Mexican" - The star of the recently canceled self-titled sitcom headlined his first standup TV special with this performance at the Dodge Theater in Phoenix, in which he riffs on his Hispanic roots and jokes about the state of immigration in the United States. The DVD has extra footage and an interview with Lopez. DVD, $19.97.

"Chancer: Series 1" - Clive Owen hit the road to stardom with this early 1990s British series, playing an unscrupulous investment banker who gets sacked and ends up insinuating himself into the financial and personal lives of a family that runs a faltering car company. A four-disc set has the first 13 episodes. DVD set, $59.99.

"Slings & Arrows: Season 3" - This Canadian series centers on the backstage mayhem of a regional theatrical troupe, whose big productions include "King Lear" and a musical set among drug addicts and other lowly urbanites that bears a sneaky similarity to "Rent." Regulars and guest stars include Paul Gross, Don McKellar, Mark McKinney and Sarah Polley. Year three's six episodes come in a two-disc set, with extended and deleted scenes. DVD set, $29.99.

"Batfink: The Complete Series" - The cartoon superhero debuted in 1967, fighting evil doers with his metal bat wings and super sonar. A four-disc set has all 100 five-minute cartoon shorts. DVD set, $34.99.