Yawn. We're sorry about that but some weeks get us more excited at Play All than others. It's not because this week was slow. In fact, that's far from the truth. And there could even be an Oscar winner in here by this time next year. No, we're kind of burned out on DVD. You may have already seen the TV on DVD Spectacular that details hot new TV releases like Chuck, Pushing Daisies, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (if not, it's coming soon) and we also broke out a few classics like An American in Paris into its own feature. What does that leave for Play All? Well, it's mostly just movies that didn't get a wide release and aren't really gathering a lot of attention on DVD. Now, does that mean these title are any "less" than what we usually feature in Play All? Of course not. And all of these films are likely to find someone interested in renting or buying them. We wouldn't write about them otherwise. But you can understand why we're exhausted. Brew a pot of coffee before you hit Play All.

Never Cry Werewolf
Studio: Genius Products
Starring: Nina Dobrev, Peter Stebbings, Spencer Van Wyck, and Kevin Sorbo
Features: None

Short of porno, nothing could be further from a "A Merchant-Ivory Film" than a Kevin Sorbo flick called Never Cry Werewolf. Actually this may be further away from the films of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory than most Jenna Jameson flicks. The hilariously titled Never Cry Werewolf debuted on The Sci-Fi Channel, home of other instant cheese classics like Mansquito, Volcano in New York and SS Doomtrooper. Honestly, Sci-Fi Channel is quietly putting together a string of hilarious B-movies a la Ed Wood or midnight marathons that used to be more common in the '70s and '80s. I dare a movie theater owner to put together a festival of Sci-Fi Channel movies. I know a lot of fans of B-movie glory who would travel a long distance to attend such a mind-numbing festival of bad special effects and worse acting. In the center, you could feature Never Cry Werewolf, a title better than most would make up in a "Most Hilarious Sci-Fi Channel Movie Naming Contest." Nina Dobrev plays a poor girl who happens to be living next to a man who gets a little hairy under a full moon. Of course, no one believes her and she has to turn to a television action star played by, of course, Sorbo, to expose the truth and stop the monster. If you like your horror with a heavy serving of cheese, Never Cry Werewolf is for you.

Before the Rains
Studio: Lionsgate
Starring: Linus Roache, Nandita Das, Jennifer Ehle, and Rahul Bose
Features: None

Merchant-Ivory films used to be instant contenders for Best Picture and more every single year. Remember the late '80s and early '90s when A Room With a View, Howards End, and The Remains of the Day rocked critics, audiences, and awards groups? The brand name of Merchant-Ivory seems to have slipped in recent years with releases like Le Divorce, Heights, and The White Countess. They get (mostly) good reviews, but they don't make the ripple they did when Ismail Merchant was alive and truly involved. But there are still some interesting movies being released under the legendary and influential banner that has been making art films so successful for over four decades that "A Merchant-Ivory film" has become widely recognized. The latest film "Presented by Merchant Ivory" is Santosh Sivan's Before the Rains. The well-received but not widely distributed film stars Linus Roache (Law & Order) as a British spice planter who falls in love with his Indian housemaid Sajani (Nandita Das). Henry happens to be married and when his wife (Jennifer Ehle) returns home from a journey abroad, Henry has to keep his affair quiet. As the back of the DVD states, "Before the Rains eloquently reveals the fragile divide between love and lust, order and chaos, honesty and deceit."

Young@Heart
Studio: Fox
Directed by: Stephen Walker
Features: 10 Deleted Scenes, Young @ Heart Goes To Hollywood Featurette

A movie that did play in theaters and wowed most of the audiences that saw it was the crowd-pleasing Young@Heart, a gem of a documentary that is likely to find an extended life on DVD and possibly even an Oscar nomination. When Young@Heart was on the horizon this spring, I think a lot of people expected it to be a breakout arthouse hit like Spellbound or The March of the Penguins but that didn't really happen. To be fair, Young@Heart did amass almost $4 million, which may be nothing compared to major summer hits but is quite a bit in the world of documentaries. Even a "hit" like The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters didn't make $1 million. But I think DVD is where Young@Heart will shine. The film, which is a truncated version of a series shot for British television, details the singing group of the same name. They are a senior citizens chorus who don't sing traditional choir songs. They rock. You haven't really lived until you've seen an octogenarian sing Coldplay. Most critics and audiences found Young@Heart to be an uplifting delight and you probably will too, now on DVD.

Noise
Studio: Anchor Bay
Starring: Tim Robbins, Bridget Moynahan, and William Hurt
Features: Audio Commentary with Director Henry Bean, Cast and Crew Interviews, Behind the Scenes

The head-scratcher this week is Noise. How bad does a movie have to be to star two Oscar winners and widely acclaimed actors like Tim Robbins and William Hurt and not even merit a theatrical release? Rent or buy Noise and find out. Robbins plays David Owen, a Manhattan husband and father gone mad by what I like to call auditory pollution. As a city dweller, I'm well annoyed by the people yelling on their cell phones, honking their horns, and generally stinking up the air with their unnecessary noise. I haven't gone crazy like David, but I relate. David starts by declaring war on the car alarms in his neighborhood but becomes a city-wide "noise vigilante" in New York. The Mayor (played by William Hurt) is forced to step in and try and stop our poor hero in this "wickedly funny black comedy". The New Yorker, not an easy magazine to impress, said that Noise was "a splendidly eccentric film alive with the creative madness of New York City." Check it out and decide for yourself.