This Week in DVD

Yes, just a few days before Black Friday, a day when retailers tried to lure shoppers in by discounting some recent DVDs, the studios gave us some brand-new discs, including the following:

Live Free or Die Hard: Wow, I saw less movies this summer than I have in probably over 10 years. Case in point: This fourth installment in the series, a movie which I really did want to see even though I feared it could never live up to the first two and that it could, in fact, very well suck. But I didn't see it, so I have nothing intelligent to say about this one. I can, however, report that my dad saw it last week and thought it was pretty good.

Hairspray: You know, that "didn't see many movies" excuse may not hold up because while I didn't get around to seeing the Die Hard flick...I did see this one! Hey, don't judge me. It was Date Night with my wife, OK? Besides, this was an enjoyable musical that did exactly what it set out to do: provided a few hours of feel-good entertainment without burdening folks too much with the Serious Message underneath it all. If you're into musicals, 60s dance shows, or Travolta in drag, check this one out.

Rescue Dawn: Acclaimed director Werner Herzog received fine critical notices for this gripping wartime rescue drama...but 5 years from now, it'll still probably be remembered as the movie in which Christian Bale ate bugs for real.

Love, American Style Season 1 Part 1: This will be a rental for me, not a buy, but I'm sure glad Paramount is putting it out there. I wonder how big this anthology show's profile is today, when it's not syndicated and if people remember it, it's likely for the fact that it gave us a "Happy Days" pilot and for its catchy theme song ("truer than the red, white, and blu-hoo-hoo!"). I barely remember the reruns, but I do know this: One of the episodes in this set features both Harrison Ford AND Norman Fell. 'Nuff Said!

Dr. Katz: The Complete Series: Hey, great move to get the rest of the episodes out there...except for the fans who already bought the first two seasons.

Mission Impossible Season 3: Hey, you guys know about these releases, right? The episodes look great and are uncut. Presumably they're selling well enough for Paramount to shell out for a few extra features. Come on, guys!