This week and last week in DVD

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1: I'm still two movies behind on this franchise, but I feel better about that when I think that I'm still ALL books behind. If I start reading them now, maybe I can catch up by the time the movie comes out. Or I could take them TO the last movie, which I'm sure will be long enough for me to plow through a few thousand pages/

Country Strong: Gwyneth Paltrow, not content to be a mere actress/lifestyle expert/pop singer, adds COUNTRY CHANTEUSE to her resume. Is there anything Gwynnie can't do...other than win an invite to a Mayberry marathon at Rancho Yesteryear?

The King's Speech: You know, I JUST realized that the title is a pun in that ol' Kingy has to give a speech, but the movie is also about his speech impediment. I'd like to think part of me realized that all along on some level, but still, bear that in mind as you read my opinions on these movies.

The Way Back: Colin Farrell, Ed Harris and friends escape a gulag and walk a long, long way to freedom. OK, so let me see. It's called "The Way Back" because...it's a backbreaking task to walk thousands of miles? Or because they are...going back? Uh, what about "Way?" Let me see, the trip "weighs" heavily on them? OK, I'm stumped. I just can't figure out the pun in this title.

Gulliver's Travels: Jack Black is a guy who goes to a land of little people and towers over the population as a giant. Kind of like the opposite of his career path lately.

Rabbit Hole: Ncioe Kidman and Aaron Eckhart grieve over the loss of their young son in what sounds like the most depressing release of 2010...except maybe "MacGruber." Seriously, that got made?

Car 54 Where Are You Season 1: I talked about the sillier aspects of this release last week, but for now let me praise the show itself, an underrated classic that merits a spot in any classic TV lover's library.

Definitive Tracy/Hepburn Collection: A lot of the same stuff you've already seen, plus a few new-to-DVD to rook you into buying the whole big set. This is typical, Warner Brothers! Talk about the definitive GREED of a company! I mean, making fans buy--

What? You can buy "Keeper of the Flame" and "Sea of Grass" separately? You DON'T have to buy the whole set and endure multiple double-dips to get them?

Never mind.

Bob Hope Collection II: Shout Factory delivers another set of Hope's films, and these ones are clearly in the "less-beloved" part of the ledger, but that's no excuse for Shout to issue cropped versions of widescreen films, as an Amazon review indicates. I don't want to get ahead of myself like on that Hepburn and Tracy thing, but considering Volume ONE had issues, too, I am inclined to trust this review.

Jews and Baseball: What a great title. Add "egg creams" and t would be, like, Larry King's dream documentary. Seriously, though, I saw this on PBS a few weeks ago, and, uh, it lived up to its title. It's a cool flick.

Ernie Kovacs Collection: Big box set of TV pioneer Kovacs' work from the Golden Age of Television (or thereabouts). When I say it's too rich for my blood right now, it doesn't mean that this fantastic-looking set isn't worth the hefty price tag. It just means I have a family and a mortgage. But, yeah, it is pretty expensive--50 bucks at Amazon, 55 plus shipping direct from Shout if you want an exclusive bonus disc.