Home Theater, June 2012

The Artist
DVD Release Date: June 26, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
People might’ve complained that The Artist was such a frontrunner for this year’s Oscars that it took the fun out of the awards ceremonies. Those people forget how much of a feat the win actually was. The film is near-silent. It’s black-and-white. It features tap-dancing numbers. It doesn’t have big-name stars or showy special effects. It’s not even in widescreen. The fact that it was a frontrunner at all was simply amazing. If you were somehow immune to its retro charms during the awards season, catch it at home to see how such a different little movie bowled over Academy voters.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
DVD Release Date: June 12, Warner Home Video
The second season of PBS’s excellent Sherlock has just finished airing in May—what’s a mystery fan to do? Let this movie, which features a more amped-up version of the master detective, satisfy your elementary cravings for a while. After you’ve seen it, you can debate who makes a better Holmes: Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch, or A Game of Shadows’s Robert Downey, Jr. (“Benedict Cumberbatch” sure is more fun to say out loud.)

Wanderlust
DVD Release Date: June 19, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Sometimes, putting a film together isn’t just about choosing between a good take of a scene and a bad take. Often, there are multiple great takes—and they’re wildly different from each other, especially if the cast is skilled at improv. Spring for the Blu-Ray of Wanderlust—a fun little comedy about a couple, played by Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd, who trade their stressful city life for one on a hippie commune—and you’ll be able to see the “Bizarro Cut” of the movie, which features different takes from the theatrical version. Comedians in the cast such as Justin Theroux, Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, and Kathryn Hahn come up with new jokes for nearly every scene.

Safe House
DVD Release Date: June 5, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Since Denzel Washington is a Mount Vernon boy, we’ll support his movies no matter how sweaty and huge his face looks on the packaging artwork. All the perspiration is because Washington plays a CIA agent targeted for assassination whose only hope lies in a rookie, played by Ryan Reynolds. Extra features on the Blu-Ray and DVD show how the movie was filmed on location in South Africa.