New DVDs: Buy, rent or ignore?
Photos:
"Year One" "Year One" "My Life in Ruins" "My Life in Ruins"

You loved the movie, what about the DVD?

Find out as we examine the extras on this week's best movie DVDs...

"YEAR ONE"

Stars: Jack Black, Michael Cera, Oliver Platt
Director: Harold Ramis ("Caddyshack")
Format: DVD, Unrated DVD, Blu-ray
What we said: "Unfortunately, consistent laughs weren't discovered until year two."

Extras: DVD: Commentary by Ramis, Black and Cera; deleted, extended and alternate scenes; gag reel; “Line-O-Rama”; “Year One: The Journey Begins” featurette.
Unrated DVD: The above extras plus both the theatrical and unrated versions of the movie; “Sodom's Got'em” and “Leeroy Jenkins: The Gates of Sodom” featurettes.
Blu-ray: All of the unrated DVD extras plus “Year One: Cutting Room” editing abilities; cinechat; movieIQ; digital copy.

Worth watching: Some of the deleted/extended/alternate scenes and parts of the commentary are very funny.
Worth skipping: The pretty basic “Journey Begins” featurette.
Worth adding: It's always nice to have the original trailer.

Buy, rent or ignore: Rent the Blu-ray or unrated DVD; Ignore the DVD.


"MY LIFE IN RUINS"
Stars: Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, Alexis Georgoulis
Director: Donald Petrie ("Just My Luck")
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray
What we said: "Greek Wedding wasn't high art, or even high comedy, but it had a semblance of charm ... Ruins is just a wreck."

Extras: Commentary by Petrie, Vardalos and writer Mike Reiss; deleted scenes; alternate ending; “Everybody Loves Poupi” featurette.

Worth watching: The commentary is not only insightful but engaging in its own right.
Worth skipping: OK, he's probably a nice guy and all, but the “Everybody Loves Poupi” featurette on Georgoulis just makes us feel insecure.
Worth adding: While the commentary is already entertaining, it would've been even better with Dreyfuss in the mix.

Buy, rent or ignore: Rent.


"ANVIL: THE STORY OF ANVIL"
Stars: Steve Kudlow, Robb Reiner, Lars Ulrich
Director: Sacha Gervasi
Formats: DVD
What we said: "What a sad, funny, inspiring story. Even those who hate metal may appreciate the form when seeing these guys' commitment to each other and to the music."

Extras: Commentary by Gervasi, Kudlow and Reiner; an extended interview with Ulrich; deleted scenes; “'School Love' in Japan with Sacha.”

Worth watching:
Getting to see Gervasi's face as he performs the song “School Love” with Anvil in Japan is just priceless.
Worth skipping: As he tends to do, Ulrich rambles a bit too much in his interview.
Worth adding: A second commentary by the other Rob Reiner, a.k.a. the director of "This is Spinal Tap."

Buy, rent or ignore: Rent.


Other DVDs out this week:
— Gee, what a shock: Eddie Murphy isn't funny in "Imagine That" (also not funny on Blu-ray)
— Discover the wild world of Australian exploitation movies in "Not Quite Hollywood"
— Mischa Barton and Bruce Willis star in the direct-to-DVD noir comedy "Assassination of a High School President"
— Even though it never got a theatrical release, there's already a cult following building around the horror anthology "Trick 'r Treat" (also on Blu-ray)
— Have an evil kids double feature with the British thriller "The Children" and a remake of killer baby cult classic "It's Alive"
— Disney kicks off their new line of deluxe Blu-rays with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Collection"
— Martin Scorsese and Andrew Lloyd Weber share their thoughts on one of the best movie musicals for the new version of "My Fair Lady"

Also on Blu-ray:
"Audition: Collector's Edition"
"Contact"
"Dracula"
"Dracula/Mary Shelley's Frankenstein/Wolf Three-Pack"
"Ghost Ship"
"Home Alone 2: Lost in New York"
"Mary Shelley's Frankenstein"
"Miracle on 34th Street" (1947)
"Miracle on 34th Street" (1994)
"The Number 23"
"Wolf"

Also released:
"Crazy as Hell"
"Dark Country"
"The Gate"
"Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics"
"Offspring" (also on Blu-ray)
"Seventh Moon" (also on Blu-ray)
"TCM Spotlight: Esther Williams: Volume 2"
"The Thaw" (also on Blu-ray)

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