Blu-rays and DVDs: Judd Apatow's latest comedy 'Pineapple Express' and 'Bangkok Dangerous' with Nic Cage

“PINEAPPLE EXPRESS”

Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2008, R for violence, language, heavy drug references

Best extra: A gag reel featuring flubs from the film’s characters

ESSENTIALLY A STONER comedy with action tendencies, “Pineapple Express” pursues the exploits of a goofball pothead and his dealer who suddenly find themselves on the run from unscrupulous characters as a result of leaving their exotic marijuana – the Pineapple Express – at the scene of a crime.

This being a Judd Apatow film starring bro-next-door Seth Rogen, “Pineapple Express" is packed with smart, understated humor and gags. But for such a lovable film that one neither needs to be zooted or even tolerant of the green stuff to appreciate, it seems folks got a wee bit lazy when it came to the single disc DVD. On the other hand, the two-disc DVD and Blu-ray includes tons more extras, including rehearsal footage, first table read, raw footage and Comic-Con panel.

All versions include deleted scenes and alternate endings, which, to be fair, are nearly as hilarious as the film itself and fit into the film nicely. There’s a gag reel which – well, you know what a gag reel is: boo-boos and mistakes from the film. The hi-def “making of” is pretty standard; of course, this being a weed comedy and not, say, a costumed historical saga set in the 18th century, the precise details of this film’s maturation are not exactly rapturous.

Additional features include a run-down of injuries incurred while filming and homage to “Stuntmaster Ken,” who coordinated the film’s physical hi-jinx. And let's not forget the crazy commentary with filmmakers and cast.

— Malcolm Venable

Best extra: "From Hong Kong to Bangkok," presented in hi-def, is a nice introduction to the Hong Kong action movie genre.

CRITICS MADE MORE FUSS about Nicolas Cage’s awful hairstyle than anything else when “Bangkok Dangerous” was released last fall. And that’s a shame. An American remake of a decade-old Hong Kong action flick, both versions were directed by the Pang brothers, heroes in their native Hong Kong for reviving an action genre popularized there a generation ago. While critics seemed to expect something twisty and dense, the Pang brothers used their own effectively straightforward, atmospheric style, exposing the raw underbelly of the city of Bangkok with breathtaking imagery and sequences. The biggest downside is the American version of the script, which does it no favors. And Cage's expressionistic eyes have always seemed too compassionate for a stone-cold contract killer. Still, as a straight-up action thriller, it's a decent ride – especially on Blu-ray, with a robust, film-like picture. The superlative DTS HD sound also helps.

Watching the two hi-def 15-minute featurettes on the directors' style and production work before seeing the film will give you a better idea of what they intended with the remake, and may even heighten your enjoyment of it. An alternate ending and a digital copy is included.

“RIGHTEOUS KILL”

Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2008, R for language and a scene of violence

Best extra: Director Jon Avnet provides a low-key commentary, in which he discusses getting two of Hollywood's most legendary actors back together.

DE NIRO. PACINO. SOUNDS great, right? Sorry, folks, this is no "Heat." Released to astoundingly bad reviews, Avnet's follow up to his Pacino thriller "88 Minutes" (also released to scathing reviews) is a dumb-as-a-doornail serial killer flick, with the principals hamming it up as if they were in a "Saturday Night Live" sketch.

It's too bad, because "Kill" looks spectacular in hi-def, with 3D pop and incredible detail. The lossless soundtrack is just okay, with well-presented dialogue; but the rear channel sound is on the hot side.

Two featurettes, both presented in HD, "The Investigation: An In-Depth Look at Rigteous Kill" and "The Thin Blue Line - The Darker Side of the Police Force," run about 15 minutes apiece. The "In-Depth" look at the making of the film is just a run-of-the-mill talking heads piece, paper-thin and self congratulatory. More interesting is the "Dark Side" featurette, which has interviews with real cops and looks at some of the real life incidents that inspired the film.

Also included is a digital copy for iPods.

— Josh Boone

“THE TUDORS: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON”

DVD widescreen, 2008, unrated but absolutely for adults only

GET READY FOR 10 more hours of sex, mead and madrigals, 16th century-style. Jonathan Rhys Meyers (and his luscious lips) returns as Henry VIII in the second season of Showtime’s “The Tudors,” a guilty pleasure if there ever was one. Viewers will be regaled with more beautiful ladies and handsome men of the court, as well as the requisite glut of flesh, intrigue, graphic violence and most excellent jewelry. This glossy chunk of Henry’s life deals with his much-contested divorce from Catherine of Aragon and subsequent marriage to Anne Boleyn, her unfortunate loss of his affections and, finally, the even more unfortunate loss of her head.

In “The Tower of London” extra, Natalie Dormer (who plays Anne Boleyn) visits the cell in which the real Anne was imprisoned. When shown the marker of Boleyn’s grave, the actress is moved to tears by its plainness. Other features include a rather silly “Descendants of Henry” documentary, in which a genealogist finds and interviews a few very distant relatives of the king and Boleyn. The box set also contains premiere episodes of the second seasons of “Californication” and “This American Life,” as well as PC-only premieres of “Dexter – Season 3” and the first two episodes of “United States of Tara.”

“BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: SEASON 4.0”

DVD widescreen, 2008, not rated

Best extra: Lucy Lawless, who plays a gleefully amoral Cylon, gets in touch with her inner troublemaker, vamping it up for a video blog entry.

IS IT A SIGN of obsession to be dissatisfied with simply watching a show -- to long to own it, study it, dissect it and hold a bit of it in your hands?

If that’s the case, the latest installment of “Battlestar Galactica,” the four-disc season 4.0 set, is a bit of a tease. The show itself is worthy of the frothing devotion it has attracted; this epic reimagination of the old series about human-robot entanglement is easily the most intellectually challenging science fiction to hit a screen since “2001.” As abundant as the extras are, however, there’s not much material that’s truly new.

The collection (which is the first half of the show’s final season), recognizes a hard-core fan’s need for lavish discussion and commentary. The extended cut of the between-seasons mini-movie “Razor” is included, along with commentary, and each of the 10 episodes also has a commentary of some sort -- either a traditional one or a podcast -- led by executive producer Ronald Moore. There is also a series of “video blogs” by executive producer David Eick, a vast array of deleted scenes, and a collection of featurettes, most of them rather repetitive and weak, about the show’s 12 Cylon models, the plot’s twists and turns, the music and Battlestar’s planned demise at the end of season 4.

The unfortunate thing is that (as many an obsessive viewer already knows), the video blogs and podcasts are already available online, and much of the other material is pretty shallow. A handful of the commentaries, however, are new -- and an interesting reminder of how collaborative an effort the show is, with major rewrites, re-edits and new plot permutations the rule rather than the exception.

Even though some of this material is old hat, for a fan already grieving the inevitable loss of the best show on TV, it’s a fine collection to have, to hold and to obsess over -- at least, until the next big thing comes along.

— Caroline Luzzatto

“FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS”

Blu-ray widescreen, 2004, PG-13 for thematic issues, sexual content, language, some teen drinking and rough sports action

Best extra: A documentary highlighting the 1988 Permian Panthers, the basis of the football tale with interviews from the former players and cheerleaders.

IT”S ALMOST “lunar like,” says director Peter Berg – who sets up a mini-Hollywood in the depressed oil fields of west Texas. His screen adaptation of cousin H.G. “Buzz” Bissinger’s bestselling novel is hard-hitting, fast paced and lifelike in a razor-sharp Blu-ray edition with superb contrast. And the DTS HD soundtrack features a major boost compared to the previous HD DVD and DVD editions, highlighting those thundering tackles.

Football is a way of life in Odessa – where the whole town shuts down before each Permian High game. “It’s a religion,” says producer Brian Grazer, during one of the five documentaries. “They go to that church every Friday night,” packing the 19,000 seat stadium.

Berg, an inexperienced director at the time who was best known as a TV actor (“Chicago Hope”), wanted a stab at his cousin’s book, he says during the commentary with Bissinger. With nearly a dozen directors ahead of Berg, the chances were slim. But, after a decade and plenty of false starts, he finally got the call – especially after his successful “The Rundown” (2003) starring The Rock.

After watching dozens of high school games, Berg assembled a wonderful cast, including Billy Bob Thornton, son of an Arkansas basketball coach, as coach Gary Gains; Lucas Black (“Sling Blade”) as the quiet quarterback; Derek Luke (“Antwone Fisher”), a motormouth running back; and country singer Tim McGraw, in his first starring role, as a boozy former all-stater – who’s always jabbing his fumbling running-back son.

In hi-def, this sports flick shouldn’t be missed.

— Bill Kelley III

“DISASTER MOVIE: CATACLYSMIC EDITION – UNRATED”

Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2008, unrated but definitely filled with innuendo, language and scantily clad women and men

Best extra: An R-rated-for-language cast and crew commentary, including leads Vanessa Minnillo, Gary "G-Thang" Johnson and Matt Lanter

SEEMS LIKE THE makers of "Date Movie" now have a spoof every six months to poke fun in an amazing turnaround at the pop culture in our lives, i.e. Jessica Simpson, Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus and Kung Fu Panda, yes, even the adorable character played by Jack Black is fair game.

This latest Blu-ray release is a no-holds barred movie about the Earth under siege and one man, Will (Lanter) who can save it and his relationship with Amy (Minnillo).

What you get is a disc, both hi-def and regular format, jammed with extras from behind-the-scenes looks at some of the characters and the actors, including three "Mad TV" actors who play a combined total of 10 characters that make the movie. They are Nicole Parker, Crista Flanagan and Ike Barinholtz.

The extras are filmed in HD, and jump off the screen, sometimes it’s disturbing like watching one of Parker’s characters chew glass as the blood spurts from her lips; it’s all in good fun, though. The wounds disappear in subsequent scenes just as quickly as they appear.

The commentary with the leads, as well as associate producer Kenny Yates and writers/directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, adds laughs. It’s actually funny listening to them talk about some of the gags and chuckling along with them again.

Other extras include the picture-in-picture cast and crew commentary, MoLog, which can let you insert and animate shapes, text, audio and other graphics while watching the flick and create "blogs" to share with a computer connection, and two songs with pop-up lyrics clearly not for anyone under 14.

Sound is also loud when needed, like for explosions, and just right, like when people are talking.

It’ll be interesting to see what the next spoof movie holds.

“DEXTER: THE FIRST SEASON”

Blu-ray widescreen, 2006, unrated, gruesome violence, language, sexuality

Best extra: Two commentaries with the cast and producers – by default only

IT’S HARD TO recommend picking up “Dexter” on Blu-ray.

On the one hand, the Showtime series, adapted from Jeff Lindsay’s darkly comic novels about a Miami police blood splatter expert who happens to be a serial killer (he only offs people who deserve it), is a must-see in any format. Michael C. Hall (“Six Feet Under”) is perfect in the title role, and he’s surrounded by a more-than-able supporting cast.

But the picture is just marginally better than the standard DVD that came out in 2007. More grievous are the extras. It’s not that they aren’t in high-def or are mostly the same ones from the earlier set; it’s that your player has to be hooked up to the Internet to access them. Besides the hassle, it smacks of a cheap marketing ploy to push more product.

So what’s that leave? A couple of weak commentaries, one with co-stars Jennifer Carpenter, David Zayas, Lauren Velez and Erik King and the other with producers Sara Colleton, Clyde Phillips and Daniel Cerone. The latter isn’t bad, but the best the other has to offer is that Carpenter, who plays Dexter’s sister, Debra, likes pressed coffee.

“THE FILMS OF MICHAEL POWELL”

(“A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH” AND “AGE OF CONSENT”)

DVD full-screen and DVD widescreen, 1946/1969, rated PG/unrated

Best extra: Helen Mirren interview

THIS DELIGHTFUL two-disc set contains beautifully restored versions of “A Matter of Life and Death” (released in the U.S. as “Stairway to Heaven”) and “Age of Consent,” Powell’s last feature film and Helen Mirren’s first.

“Life and Death,” which was written, produced and directed by Powell and Emeric Pressburger, stars David Niven as Peter Carter, an RAF pilot during World War II, who jumps out of his bombed plane without a parachute after falling in love with the voice of a young American woman (Kim Hunter) whom he radios before bailing out. He manages to survive the jump; the two meet and begin a whirlwind romance. He soon discovers he was supposed to die and is expected in heaven, shown as a cheerful bureaucracy where the dead are handed their wings in nifty plastic packages. Peter’s protests that his life should be spared leads to a trial in heaven pleaded by an American revolutionary (Raymond Massey) and a British doctor (Roger Livesey).

“Age of Consent” is a Technicolor lark, based on a novel by the Australian artist Norman Lindsay (who was, himself, later portrayed by Sam Neill in “Sirens”) and set on an island in the Great Barrier Reef. James Mason, who co-produced the film with Powell, stars as a successful painter who leaves civilization to live alone on the island. But he’s frustrated to find other people there, including a nubile, innocent girl (Helen Mirren) who lives by her wits and eventually becomes the artist’s model and his muse.

The many fine extras include introductions to both films by Martin Scorsese, a well-known Powell-Pressburger booster; an interview with the underwater photography team that worked on “Consent,” a making-of documentary for “Consent”; and enlightening commentaries by Ian Christie and Kent Jones. A recent interview with Mirren is the most fun, as she talks about learning to act in front of a camera for the first time, relying on “the instinct of youth”; doing (many) nude scenes and her own shell diving along the reef; traveling alone to Australia, and basically having a terrific time doing it all.

“MANNIX: THE SECOND SEASON”

Full-screen, 1968-1969, not rated

JOE MANNIX is a Los Angeles gumshoe who has struck out on his own after working for a large detective agency called Intertect. With the help of his capable assistant, Peggy Fair, Mannix metes out justice for his clients from outside the traditional confines of the law.

In this digitally remastered, six-disc DVD set from CBS television, Golden Globe winner Mike Connors plays smooth operator Mannix, who goes toe to toe with the bad guys for the sake of the his clients. The award-winning actress Gail Fisher is Fair, a young widow and mother whose police officer husband died in the line of duty. Of note, Fisher was the first black actress to have a regular television series role with this series.

Though lacking extras, this DVD set is so packed full of action you probably won’t be upset by their absence. There are even several well-known faces in the second season: Harry Dean Stanton, Slim Pickens, and Sally Kellerman, to name a few.

Twenty-one hours and 17 minutes. Six discs. Plenty of action. “Mannix” holds up.

— Cliff Redding

DVD full screen, 2008, not rated (gory cartoon violence, language, adult situations)

Best extra: None.

THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS that Obama became president this year, and not the other guy. I refer, of course, to Killface, an alien bent on destroying the world with a machine called the Annihilatrix. When the activated machine merely pushes the planet three feet away from the sun, thus fixing global warming, Killface takes advantage of the windfall by running for office. He faces the same obstacles to his success as last season, including clueless on-again, off-again, billionaire Xander Crews and Antagony, a reporter-turned supervillainess by radioactive keyboards.

If it sounds completely nuts, it is. It's also one of the most imaginative parodies that Adult Swim has yet to offer.

The two extras are small enough to be nonexistent: a promo for the DVD set, and an animated skit that suggests the possibility of a spinoff. We'll be there.