This Week in DVD

What Happens in Vegas: Ah, seeing this on the release list makes me smile Oh, it's not the movie itself, though I am amused by the ads which make it evident that someone decided showing Cameron Diaz in her underwear was the best way to sell the DVD. It's the thought that the movie that kicked off the Crummy Movie Cavalcade is already on video. Uh, wait. Speaking of the Cavalcade...well, I've got some catching up to do with that, OK?

Redbelt: David Mamet meets mixed martial arts in my personal Must Rent of the week. I would say MMA should have more shocking twists, elaborate cons, and verbal pyrotechnics, but then I guess it would be boxing.


Three Stooges Volume 3: Hey, I still have to get Volume 2! No complaints, though, as Sony has set a blazing pace for these chronological, comprehensive collections, with number 4 due in early October!


Color Honeymooners Season 4: I really don't want to complain about MPI releasing these, but I'm kind of hoping they get them out ASAP so that they can go back and do a proper release of the original B&W Lost Episodes.


Legend of the Lone Ranger: I have vague memories of this being promoted heavily when I was a young'un. I remember seeing a bunch of ads somewhere, whether it be in the comics I was reading or maybe magazines or whatever. Of course, this 1981 update of the classic character flopped. My recollection is that I was somehow aware the flick was a turkey even as I saw all the ads, and since the world wasn't as box office crazy back then, this must have been quite the stinker indeed. I still have never seen the whole thing, but maybe Lions Gate has put together a DVD package that will shed new light on this one, perhaps revealing it as a neglected gem which was unfairly panned in its time.

Nope. The DVD is pan-and-scan, and that tells you pretty much all you need to know about what Lions Gate thinks of the movie. Actually, it tells you a lot about Lions Gate, too, but never mind that. Don't expect a retrospective documentary putting the film in context, either, although that could have been a fascinating piece of work. Expect nothing, 'cause that's what you're getting.

Westerns Galore: As if "Legend" weren't enough, Warner Brothers makes it a big week for oater fans (Sorry, but I try to use "oater" whenever I can) with several box sets. The "Western Classics Collection" is a hodgepodge of catalogue titles like "Escape to Fort Bravo," while the "Errol Flynn: The Warner Brothers Westerns Collection" proves the legend was more than just a swashbuckler. I'll cop to not having seen most of these movies. All I can say is WB looks to have put a heck of a lot more effort into the Flynn collection, loading it with features, while its other set makes us settle for trailers.

I'm impressed that Flynn apparently does well on DVD. He may not have as high a profile as some of the other Warner legends of his era, but he's clearly "still got it," as Ralph Malph would say. And now that I just mentioned Ralph Malph in the same breath as Errol Flynn, I'm outta here.