New on DVD: ‘Lost: The Complete Collection’
Lost: The Complete Collection
ABC, $229.99; Blu-ray, $279.99
Fans may argue for decades about whether ABC’s “Lost” ended beautifully or with a humongous cop-out, but those arguments alone are a testament to the power of a show that turned one harrowing plane crash on a remote island into six years of globe-hopping, genre-spanning adventure. The entire series is now available in a DVD and Blu-ray package worthy of “Lost” obsessives, complete with a replica board game, hidden clues, a bonus disc of behind-the-scenes footage and all the original season sets’ commentaries and featurettes — including the Season 6 set’s 15-minute “epilogue.” But the real reason to own “Lost: The Complete Collection” is the replay value of the show’s individual episodes, which are so well-constructed that they’re beguiling even now, after “Lost’s” big puzzle has been solved.
Ajami
Kino, $29.95; Blu-ray, $34.95
The Oscar-nominated “Ajami” tells five interlocking stories set in and around one Tel Aviv neighborhood where Israelis and Palestinians — and criminals and cops — coexist uneasily. Writer-directors Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani take a clear-eyed approach to their characters and their setting, depicting situations where the volatility is due to more than just religion; and they have a real feel as well for the details for the places where organized crime and youth culture intersect. The DVD and Blu-ray add deleted scenes and a featurette.
The Back-Up Plan
Sony, $28.95; Blu-ray, $34.95
Jennifer Lopez makes a semi-successful return to romantic comedy in “The Back-Up Plan,” playing a baby-craving bachelorette who meets the man of her dreams ( Alex O’Loughlin) after she’s already given up on romance and decided to settle for artificial insemination. Lopez has a great screen presence as always, but the plot elements here are strictly mix-and-match rom-com stuff. The DVD and Blu-ray are nothing special either, adding only deleted scenes and a featurette.
George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead
Magnolia, $26.98/$29.98; Blu-ray, $29.98
George Romero follows his low-budget zombie reboot “Diary of the Dead” with a more polished sequel starring Alan Van Sprang as a soldier who leads a band of scavengers to an isolated island populated by two warring families with different ideas on how to treat the undead. Romero offers just a little social commentary here, dealing with family values and religious indoctrination, but “Survival” is primarily a straight-ahead action-horror movie, heavy on the clever “kill” scenes. It’s hardly top-drawer Romero, but it’s better than the average genre schlock. The DVD and Blu-ray include a director’s commentary, a short film and a featurette.
And...
“Abandoned” (Anchor Bay, $26.97; Blu-ray, $34.98); “City Island” (Anchor Bay, $29.98; Blu-ray, $34.98); “Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Collection” (HBO, $49.98); “The Square” (Apparition, $24.96; Blu-ray, $30.95)
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