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Play All 5.13.08
by Brian Tallerico
Mother's Day is done and now we can move on to hot chicks, dumb comedy, and killer TV action. Thank God. We made our selves a little sick with the sugar shock of last week's releases. This week, the big stores will throw Untraceable, The Great Debaters, Youth Without Youth, and those Special Editions of the Indy movies on the new releases shelf, but Play All digs deeper. This week we unearth two later seasons of shows that we know you love and a straight-to-DVD movie that is sure to intrigue most heterosexual male viewers of Battlestar Galactica. Heck, even the ladies might want to check this one out. But, in general, Play All was for the moms last week and this week is for the men. Forget "important" directors like Denzel Washington or Francis Ford Coppola. You won't find anything nearly so pretentious in this week's Play All...
Mission: Impossible: Season Four
Studio: Paramount
Starring: Peter Graves, Greg Morris, Peter Lupus, and Leonard Nimoy
Features: None
How about this for a fascinating piece of trivia? There has been some incarnation of Mission: Impossible in every single decade since the '60s. The original show ran from the late '60s into the early '70s. It was revived from 1988 to 1990 and movies came out in the '90s and '00s. There are very few pop culture phenomena that can claim some popularity in every decade for a half-century. However, for many, M:I ended back in 1973 when the Peter Graves version went off the air. The fourth season of that landmark series hits DVD this week. We're right at the midpoint of the 7-season run and the show was still at its peak. Fans will find 26 episodes and they've all been digitally remastered, looking better than the ever have before. Honestly, it's incredible how well M:I holds up, just proving that not only was the show ahead of its time but how much it influenced what came after it. We don't often recommend that you pick up a mid-series season, but the fourth installment of M:I is entertaining enough that you could do just that. Don't be surprised if you go back and pick up the first three.
Two and a Half Men: Season Three
Studio: Warner Brothers
Starring: Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, Angus T. Jones, Holland Taylor, and Conchata Ferrell
Features: Gag Reel
The love for Two and a Half Men appears to have no end. The fifth season just ended and the show finished higher for the '07-'08 season than it had since season two, claiming the #14 position on all of television. For five seasons, Two and a Half Men has finished every year in the top 20. With so many shows coming and going, it's one of the few reliable sitcoms in the ratings. I have a strange feeling it's going to be on for at least another five years, maybe longer. That once-awkward kid is going to college before this thing ends. The third season, which finished #17 for '05-'06, hits DVD this week. The video and audio on WB TV series continues to impress, but that's all fans will find, as they've given up on even the low-rate featurettes that were included on the first two seasons. For more on Two and a Half Men, check out our reviews of season one and season two. This one's a lot more of the same.
Walk All Over Me
Studio: Weinstein Company
Starring: Leelee Sobieski, Tricia Helfer, Jacob Tierney, and Lothaire Bluteau
Features: Feature Commentary by Leelee Sobieski & Tricia Helfer and director Robert Cuffley, Behind-the-Scenes of Walk All Over Me, Deleted Scene with Optional Director Commentary, Outtakes, Music Video, Still Gallrey, and Theatrical Trailer
Tricia Helfer (from BSG) and Leelee Sobieski star in a film about sexual domination. How did we miss this in theaters? Of course, it never came out in theaters. The film debuted to mediocre reviews at the Toronto Film Festival and now it hits DVD with pics of a latex-wearing Helfer and lines like "A dangerously deviant ride that will leave you begging for more!" Sometimes that's all the pitch you need. In the film, Sobieski plays a small-town screw-up who is forced to take on the dominatrix duties of her roommate. Helfer plays "the ultimate S&M mistress". If you listen carefully, you can actually hear the BSG fans ordering their copies. The movie got pretty bad reviews, but the words "Love, Latex, and Larceny" with two stunners like Leelee and Tricia on the cover can make things like reviews a very low priority.
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