Jack Black wrestles with comedy
"Nacho Libre" (Paramount): For his follow-up to "Napoleon Dynamite," writer-director Jared Hess essentially does "Nacho Napoleon Dynamite," transplanting things south of the border for another tale of odd outsiders finding kinship. With a shock of hair reminiscent of Napoleon's, Jack Black stars as a cook at a Mexican orphanage who moonlights as a masked lucha libre wrestler to buy better food for the kids and earn respect for himself. And, like Napoleon, he finds a stoic sidekick and strikes up a chaste relationship with a wallflower, in this case one of the orphanage nuns. Black and his producing partner, co-writer Mike White, join Hess for audio commentary. The DVD also has deleted scenes and five behind-the-scenes featurettes.
"Monster House" (Sony): This film was created through the same motion-capture technique used in the holiday tale "The Polar Express," in which live actors are filmed with dozens of infrared cameras that render 3-D images of movements and facial expressions, which animators use as the basis for the finished characters. The story centers on three kids who try to unravel the spooky mysteries lurking in the home of a crazy old recluse. The DVD comes with seven featurettes examining the technology and methods of motion-capture, along with commentary from the filmmakers. The movie is available in regular DVD format or as a high-definition Blu-Ray disc.
"An American Haunting" (Lionsgate): Sissy Spacek and Donald Sutherland star in the story of a 19th-century farmer's daughter (Rachel Hurd-Wood) who's the focus of manifestations by a wicked spirit. Available in the PG-13 theatrical release or an unrated version, the DVD has deleted scenes and commentary.
"Slither" (Universal): Nathan Fillion ("Firefly," "Serenity") heads a cast of small-town yokels battling killer slugs from space in this gory spoof of horror conventions. The DVD has deleted footage, commentary and making-of featurettes. The movie comes in DVD format or in a combo disc with the DVD release and high-definition version.
"Astaire and Rogers: The Complete Film Collection": Following up on an earlier five-film collection, all 10 of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers' song-and-dance collaborations are gathered in a 12-disc set: "Top Hat," "Swing Time," "Follow the Fleet," "Shall We Dance," "The Barkleys of Broadway," "Carefree," "Flying Down to Rio," "The Gay Divorcee," "Roberta" and "The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle."
The films are accompanied by vintage shorts and cartoons, plus a new documentary on Astaire and Rogers. If you already bought the Volume 1 boxed set, Volume 2 with the last five films is available separately. If you bought the earlier set but want the whole thing in one box, there's a partial "Complete Film Collection" set for sale with the final five movies plus empty cases for the first five. The films also are available as single DVDs.
TV on DVD
"The Addams Family: Volume One" (20th Century Fox): The creepy and kooky family of the 1960s sitcom debuts on DVD. John Astin and Carolyn Jones star as Gomez and Morticia, heads of the macabre household that includes towering butler Lurch and a meandering severed hand. The three-disc set has 22 episodes, with two featurettes and commentary.
"That's My Bush!" (Paramount): "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone spoof sitcoms and the White House with this short-lived 2001 comedy about the wacky domestic life of George W. Bush (Timothy Bottoms). The two-disc set has all eight episodes, plus commentary.