Arts & Entertainment

DVD Shelf: New Releases Include Cars 2, Harry Potter

Many summer films come out on DVD this month, running the gamut from big-budget fantasy to terrible comedy.

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Lightening McQueen is back and this time he’s far away from Radiator Springs, the backwoods town from the first film.

But this isn’t really McQueen’s movie. It’s more about Mater, the rusty, dimwitted tow truck voiced by Larry The Cable Guy, who unintentionally gets wrapped up in an international espionage mission run by Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell.

There are some inspired funny jokes and the animation is bright and eye-grabbing, but the mixture of goofy-yet-sentimental buddy comedy and spy satire never quite gel, leaving the film more confused then fun.

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Young kids might enjoy “Cars 2,” but those familiar with Pixar’s illustrious catalogue will find the film lacking in their usual wit and emotional connection. (Released on Nov. 1)

Water For Elephants” 

The beautiful novel “Water For Elephants” was a captivating read, with a beautiful story, lushly told with larger-than-life characters and rich historical details, which spent many months on bestseller lists. But the film, staring Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz, stalls where the novel took flight.

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Although the film sticks closely to the book in telling the depression-era story of Ivy League educated vet Jacob who finds himself in charge of the animals on a third-rate circus, the film adaptation looses the grit and dirt of the novel in favor of a shiny, romantic fable.

At times it’s “Titanic” on a train. Sure it’s beautiful, but a little too beautiful in my opinion. (Released on Nov. 1)

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Hands down the worst film I saw over the summer and one of the most unpleasant and brainless movies I’ve ever had the misfortune of sitting through.

It’s “Freaky Friday” with Lindsay Lohan (or Jodie Foster) being replaced by a workaholic, henpecked lawyer and Jamie Lee Curtis (or Barbara Harris) being replaced by a kinky, two-bit actor. If that plot sounds thin and stupid, it’s because it is, with unlikeable characters and pointless, sophomoric potty humor.

There’s not much more I can say about “The Change-Up” other than employing you not to rent it unless you’re trying to devise a new form of suspect interrogation. (Released on Nov. 8)

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I’ve already written about the last “Harry Potter” film a few on Patch, but given it’s the last film and a truly magical end to one of the biggest franchises in film history, it deserves a place on this list, too.

Harry Potter was a huge part of my childhood and that is an understatement for many in my generation. The last film concludes Harry’s quest to kill He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named with the help of Ron, Hermione and the whole Hogwarts ensemble.

With the film’s lack of exposition might confuse some HP newbies, those who are well versed in the Harry Potter universe will really enjoy the film’s epic conclusion to a truly epic series. (Released on Nov. 11)

Super 8” 

If you threw "E.T.," "Close Encounters," a "Twilight Zone" episode and "The Goonies" in a blender, you'd probably end up with something like "Super 8."

It tells the tale of a group of pint-sized amateur filmmakers who stumble across a deadly secret after accidentally filming a catastrophic train crash. Although the monster-run-amok theme is hackneyed and the themes heavy-handed, the child actors are fresh-faced and likeable and director JJ Abrams films the movie with an exciting, nostalgic sheen that could make anyone feel like a kid again. (Release date Nov. 22)

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