Silver Linings Playbook David O. Russell extracted some excellent performances from his A-list cast that inject new life into tried-and-true romantic comedy tropes here with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence as two variously crazy people who fall in love. The thing is, are they too damaged to deal with it? He's just come home from a mental hospital to live with his neurotic parents (Jacki Weaver and Robert De Niro); she's a widow slash town hussy dealing with her own lonely existence. All you need is love--and meds? Extras: Featurettes "The Movie That Became A Movement," "Dance Rehearsal," "Going Steadicam with Bradley Cooper," deleted scenes (DVD/BD); the BD combo pack adds featurettes on learning to dance like Pat and Tiffany, Q&A highlights, digital copy.
The Guilt Trip No coincidence this sweet Barbra Streisand/Seth Rogen comedy is being released just in time for Mother's Day; the two play a mother and son on the road so he can pitch his new product around the country and she can be reunited with an old flame (or so he's hoping). Shenanigans ensue: Mom downs a giant steak for a free meal, car trouble leads them to a strip joint, and that sort of thing--like you can see here in this deleted scene:
Extras: Five featurettes, alternate openings/endings, gag reel, 10 deleted scenes (BD only)
Win It, Plus a Special Gift Basket!
We have four (4) gift baskets specially for Mom that include a copy of the movie on Blu-ray. Each basket includes an array of Kiss My Face products, including olive & aloe soap, shampoo and conditioner, anti-stress shower gel, moisturizer, foot scrub and more. Approximate value $50. Simply answer by commenting below: What is your favorite Barbra Streisand movie, and why? Winners will be chosen May 7 and notified via email with three days to respond before alternates are chosen. Open to U.S. residents 18 and older only.
The Notebook Another movie for the lady in your life, The Notebook: Ultimate Collector's Edition is also new this week, including a vintage-style journal with film photos and letter reproduction, a blank journal for you (or her), and a heart-shaped silver locket with chain. Based on the hugely popular Nicholas Sparks book, The Notebook introduced Ryan Gosling to the moviegoing women of the world as a country boy who woos a rich girl (Rachel McAdams) into a rocky romance threatened by family, class warfare and time.
Also New
This column was dark last week, but there were a couple of noteworthy releases we'll include here in case you missed 'em:
Gangster Squad Los Angeles gets the late-1940s treatment and looks mob-tastically glossy and slick in this based-on-truth story about New York mobster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn), who is running drugs, guns and prostitution rings all the way to the West Coast--until a super-secret section of the LAPD decides enough is enough, and takes the mobster to task with violent and bloody results.
The Impossible Naomi Watts gives an amazing performance, well worthy of that Oscar nod, as a woman desperate to find her family after the great tsunami of 2004 wipes out the Thailand resort they're staying at. A fascinating bonus feature shows how filmmakers created the awesome shot of the wave crashing through, and the woman on whose experience the movie was based is also interviewed.
