DVD Corner

“Caroline in the City: Season One”: Not exactly “Sex and the City” (but then again, what is?), though sex does enter into the equation in this 1995 throwback, even if it is of the perky, well-scrubbed, family-friendly variety. Inspired by Cathy Guisewite’s long-running comic strip, the show follows cartoonist Caroline Duffy (Lea Thompson) and her relationships with her sometimes boyfriend Del (Eric Lutes), her best friend Annie (Amy Pietz, easily stealing the show – and giving it the edge it needs), and Caroline’s colorist Richard (Malcolm Gets), who’s here to drop his share of bons mots, which the show also needs. Though subsequent seasons were an improvement over the awkward growing pains this season endured, throughout are glimpses of the quick-witted show “Caroline” aspired to be – and, for the most part, eventually became. Grade: C+

“Dark City: Director’s Cut” Blu-ray: The visual influences are obvious – Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis,” Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner,” Victor Fleming’s “The Wizard of Oz.” But “Dark City” nevertheless is director Alex Proyas’ own. Now out on Blu-ray disc, this 1998 sci-fi film offers a haunting vision infused with staccato editing, retro-futuristic set designs and hallucinatory images that are beautiful in their grandeur. Rufus Sewell is John Murdoch, who as the movie begins is told by a breathless Dr. Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland) that men are coming to kill him. Turns out he’s right. Soon, Murdoch is on the run from a band of bald, gray-faced Strangers seeking the key to the human soul in an effort to prolong their own doomed race. Their quest is at once frightening and thrilling, deadly and macabre, with the story lifted considerably when Murdoch learns he has telekinetic powers that can alter shapes and give him extraordinary powers. It’s an enjoyably twisted film that pushes toward truths that could be mistruths – and lies that might be at the cornerstone of a warped reality. Rated R. Grade: B+

“The Perfect Storm” Blu-ray: On Blu-ray, Wolfgang Peterson’s “The Perfect Storm” is a fine example of how special effects, when backed by a strong script and an even stronger cast, can create terrific, rousing entertainment – the sort that creates a sustained, meteoric high even in the face of the low pressure it depicts. Based on Sebastian Junger’s true account of events that occurred off Gloucester, Mass., in the fall of 1991, the film isn’t just about the category 5 hurricane that gives the movie its title, but also about the working-class characters (George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly, Allen Payne, William Fichtner) caught in that storm and who must ride it out. For them, everything in the end comes down to timing and luck; nothing can be lost to chance. “The Perfect Storm” knows this, it respects it – and it gets it right. Rated PG-13. Grade: A

“Prison Break: Season 3” Blu-ray: The conspiracy deepens, the pace quickens, the series finds its legs and, man, does it run. After the last season, in which Michael (Wentworth Miller), Linc (Dominic Purcell), Sucre (Amaury Nolasco), C-Note (Rockmond Dunbar), and John (Peter Stormare) broke free from prison, now some find themselves in a Panamanian prison, where ugliness rears its head. What can be said for this truncated, 13-episode season (blame the writers strike) is that the series remains a kinetic ride, but one that shrewdly pauses long enough to deepen its characters. In some ways, the show reminds you of the old Saturday matinee serials – at every turn, there’s a cliffhanger. The good news about this show? You don’t want to throw yourself off one while watching it. Grade: B+

“South Park: Complete Eleventh Season Uncensored”: For those wondering what really can come out of the mouths of babes, look no further. Eleven seasons out, “South Park” hasn’t lost its subversive brilliance, with creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone happily pressing against the boundaries of what’s “appropriate” with such episodes as “Night of the Living Homeless,” “Lice Capades,” “Cartman Sucks” and the very funny “Le Petit Tourette,” which offers several reasons this set is labeled “Uncensored.” Throughout, it’s the smart writing and the insights into childhood, whether parents want to face it or not, that save this series from being just the crude venture some perceive it to be. Grade: B+

“XXX: State of the Union” Blu-ray: A parody of the action-espionage genre filled with impossible stunts and an air of absurdity. And it works. Audiences learn early on that the original XXX, Xander Cage (Vin Diesel), bit the big one in Bora Bora. But who cares? Now, we have a new XXX in Ice Cube’s Darius Stone, who is recruited by Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) to save the president of the United States (Peter Strauss) from certain death by his evil secretary of defense, Gen. Octavius Deckert (Willem Dafoe). As such, this new XXX must be more dangerous than the last XXX. They’ve found that person in Stone, an imprisoned Navy SEAL who enjoys his own hip-hop soundtrack whenever he’s onscreen and who holds the record for the highest dive in SEAL history – 250 feet. Impressive? Absolutely. And with Cube selling his performance to the back row, few will miss Diesel at all. Rated PG-13. Grade: B

Also new on DVD:

Three more television series are now available, the best of which comes down to the fifth and final season of HBO’s excellent, character-driven “The Wire,” with Baltimore rarely looking this unappealing – or coming off this corrupt. Drugs, hoods and hustlers are the mainstay – in this case, on every level of society – with the show’s creators too smart to end any of it with a false measure of hope. It’s a terrific show, another reason HBO matters. Far-lighter-than-air fare is found in the first season of “Dave’s World,” with Harry Anderson playing the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Dave Barry. It’s a good first effort, but, like “Caroline in the City,” it doesn’t find itself until midseason, when the humor for which Barry is known is fully revealed. Given the dated, unbridled kitsch that is “The Love Boat: Season One, Vol. 2,” there’s no waiting for this series to hit its stride. Amid the romantic dilemmas offered by those love-pushing pimps – sorry, the cheerful staff – of the Pacific Princess, the show has lost none of its corny, Club-Med vibe. The guest appearances alone are a faded red carpet of has-beens, and they are reason enough to watch. In this edition, look for Pearl Bailey, Scatman Crothers, Nanette Fabray, Karen Valentine and a grown-up Maureen McCormick and Eve Plumb to take to the high seas for messy adventures in love, limbo and loss, all of which naturally are fueled by the incessant grind of the show’s looping laugh track.

WeekinRewind.com is the site for Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s blog, video podcasts, iTunes portal and archive of movie reviews. Smith’s reviews appear Mondays, Fridays and weekends in Lifestyle, as well as on bangordailynews.com. He may be reached at Christopher@weekinrewind.com.