This Week In DVD: Street Fighter, 12 Rounds, Entourage, Eastbound & Down, And More

By Adam Quigley/June 30, 2009 7:00 am EST

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EXCLUSIVE DEAL:What? Free $5 GiftCard when you buy both Eastbound & Down (Season 1) and Entourage (Season 5) on DVD.Where? Best Buy.THE IT CROWD (SEASON 2)

There are certain comforts we have in life; small things we’ve come to accept that help dictate the choices we make. I had one such comfort: that, unless the show was called either Seinfeld or Friends, no sitcom with a laugh track would ever be funny. But over the course of the last several months, two shows have taken this useful philosophy I’ve come to live my life by, and reduced it to nothing more than unfounded ramblings. The first is How I Met Your Mother. The second, as I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, is The IT Crowd. While I’m not quite as enamored with it as so many others seem to be, there’s a lot to love about this addictively watchable British comedy series. My only real complaint about it is that two out of the three main characters are almost more annoying than funny (Roy is mostly just loud and obnoxious, while the actress who plays Jen overacts to an aggressive degree). This leaves it to the third character, the socially oblivious yet charmingly innocent Maurice Moss (played by the hilarious Richard Ayoade, who also appeared in The Mighty Boosh), to basically carry the whole show. Impressively enough, he succeeds.

Blu-ray? No.Notable Extras: An audio commentary by creator Graham Linehan, a making-of featurette, and outtakes.

TOKYO!

Similar to Paris, je t’aime, Tokyo! is a compilation of shorts that act as a love letter of sorts to its respective city. The main difference though, is that Tokyo! simplifies the formula by limiting things down to a much more manageable 3 segments instead of 18. Some may be put off by that, but hopefully that will change once you hear who the directors are: Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Bong Joon-ho (The Host). I’m unfamiliar with the third director (Leos Carax), but no matter; those first two are already more than enough to perk my interest and guarantee a rental.

Blu-ray? Yes.Notable Extras: Three making-of featurettes and director interviews.

TWO LOVERS

When in doubt, trust Rotten Tomatoes. This isn’t normally the type of film that would interest me, but I’m a big fan of Joaquin Phoenix and am always open to seeing what else he has to offer. Or at least, that’s what I would’ve said before he decided he should grow a massive beard and start a rap career. His recent mental collapse aside though, I still have complete faith in his acting abilities. And from the sounds of it, this is the type of romantic drama that both guys and girls can appreciate.

Blu-ray? Yes.Notable Extras: An audio commentary by director James Gray, a behind the scenes featurette, deleted scenes, and a HDNet: A Look At Two Lovers featurette.

ENTOURAGE (SEASON 5)

This show has become so repetitive and devoid of originality, even the parodies making fun of it have started to repeat themselves. At least seasons 1 through 4 had the illusion of story progression. But as season 5 lurched onward, the recycled formula we had become so accustomed to seeing season after season really started to reveal its transparency. Despite this, I kept watching, hoping that the writers would realize that audiences had caught on and decide it was time to change things up. Instead, we received the show’s weakest, most unoriginal season yet. It was almost as if the writers deliberately crafted situations where characters have to make decisions that could either significantly alter what we’ve come to expect from the series, or have them do the same damn thing we’ve seen them do countless times before. Guess which path all of the characters end up taking?

Blu-ray? No.Notable Extras: Three commentary tracks and a Celebrity Factor featurette.

EXCLUSIVE DEAL:What? Free $5 GiftCard when you buy both Eastbound & Down (Season 1) and Entourage (Season 5) on DVD.Where? Best Buy.STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI

EXCLUSIVE DEAL:What? Free $5 GiftCard when you buy both Street Fighter and 12 Rounds on DVD or Blu-ray.Where? Best Buy.12 ROUNDS

There are two distinct categories that a B-action flick such as this can fall into: (1) dumb but fun, or (2) fun because it’s dumb. There’s also a third more unfortunate category: (3) dull, excruciating awfulness with no semblance of fun whatsoever. Whichever option you end associating with 12 Rounds depends largely on your personality, but for most, I’m going to assume #3. Others though, may find themselves in bad-movie heaven (good ol’ #2). If you’re having trouble figuring out which group you fall into, allow me to help. One of the rounds in the film, as concocted by the diabolical mastermind who has set all these elaborate “games” in place, prompts the following question: Can John Cena lift a fat guy out of an elevator before time runs out? I won’t spoil the nail-biting conclusion, but if that scenario makes you laugh, you’ll probably enjoy this movie.

Blu-ray? Yes.Notable Extras: Commentary by director Renny Harlin, writer Daniel Kunka and actor John Cena, 2 alternate endings, a Crash Course: John Cena Stunts featurette, and a gag reel.

EXCLUSIVE DEAL:What? Free $5 GiftCard when you buy both Street Fighter and 12 Rounds on DVD or Blu-ray.Where? Best Buy.Other noteworthy DVDs available this week…

Jonas Brothers: The Concert Experience (Single-Disc Edition / Two-Disc Extended Edition) – Do the Right Thing (20th Anniversary Edition) – Eureka (Season 3.0) – Tunnel Rats

NOTE: Some deals may be in-store only.$16.99 – Entourage (Seasons 1 – 4), Flight of the Conchords (Season 1), SNL (Seasons 1 – 4), Friends (Seasons 1 – 10), How I Met Your Mother (Seasons 1 or 2), and more…Exclusive: Free Collector’s Pin Set when you pre-order Watchmen on DVD or Blu-ray.Exclusive: Free movie voucher to see Public Enemies or Bruno with purchase of select DVDs, such as…

$7.99 – American Gangster (2-Disc Unrated Extended Edition), Scarface

$11.99 – The Big Lebowski (10th Anniversary Edition), Burn After Reading

$16.49 – Reaper (Season 1)$19.99 – Supernatural (Season 1)$21.49 – Smallville (Season 1)$24.49 – Veronica Mars (Season 1), Nip/Tuck (Season 1)