New DVDs: ‘Gridiron Gang,’ ‘Dr. Who’

REVIEWS

By David Germain

updated 4:27 p.m. ET Jan. 15, 2007

“Gridiron Gang”
A dedicated mentor takes a scruffy band of youths and whips them into a tight, disciplined sports team overnight. What a great idea for a new genre of inspirational flicks. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s the man this time in Hollywood’s ceaseless parade of feel-good sports tales that are based on true stories, playing a probation officer who teams with a colleague (Xzibit) to convert a gang of juvenile delinquents into a high-school football squad. DVD extras include deleted scenes and featurettes on The Rock and the football training the actors underwent. There’s also a profile of director Phil Joanou, who provides audio commentary. DVD, $28.95. (Sony) Read the review

“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning”
Those wondering how chainsaw-wielding madman Leatherface came to be now have an answer in yet another needless prequel of gore and guts from the Hollywood horror factory. Setting up the action for the 2003 remake of Tobe Hooper’s original low-budget shocker, this new installment spills the beans on abandoned baby Leatherface’s adoption by a twisted cannibal clan, his upbringing as a self-mutilator and animal torturer and emergence as a full-blooded psycho killer. R. Lee Ermey’s back as a crazed lawman who ushers four traveling young people, led by Jordana Brewster, into this chamber of horrors. The DVD is available in both the R-rated theatrical release and an unrated edition. Among the extras are deleted scenes and commentary from director Jonathan Liebesman. DVD, $28.98. (New Line) Read the review

“Employee of the Month”
It’s amiable slackers vs. insufferable super workers in this lame on-the-job comedy starring Dane Cook, Jessica Simpson and Dax Shepard. Cook plays a laid-back, popular, glorified stock boy at a Costco-style warehouse store, where a smarmy, career-oriented rival (Shepard) rules with an endless streak of employee-of-the-month citations. When rumors circulate that a gorgeous new cashier (Simpson) will only date top employees, slacker boy sets out to win the employee-of-the-month crown for himself. Along with a handful of behind-the-scenes featurettes, the DVD has deleted scenes and two commentary tracks, one with Cook and director Greg Coolidge, the other with Coolidge flying solo. DVD, $28.98; Blu-ray disc, $39.99. (Lionsgate) Read the review

“Border Radio,” “Mouchette”
Two art-house titles land on DVD: “Border Radio,” the 1987 debut feature from Allison Anders (“Gas Food Lodging,” “Mi Vida Loca”), and “Mouchette,” Robert Bresson’s 1967 drama of troubled adolescence. Film student Anders and classmates Dean Lent and Kurt Voss directed “Border Radio,” featuring 1980s rockers such as Chris D., John Doe and Dave Alvin in the story of a musician whose wife and friends hit the road to track him down after he vanishes with a stash of stolen cash. The filmmakers and actors contribute commentary and interviews, and the DVD has nine deleted scenes. “Mouchette” centers on a teenage girl looking outside her home for escape from her terrible family life. The DVD has vintage interviews with Bresson and cast members, a documentary on the filmmaker and commentary from critic Tony Rayns. DVDs, $39.95 each. (Criterion)

TV on DVD:

“The King of Queens: 7th Season” — Television’s favorite delivery man (Kevin James), his wife (Leah Remini) and her weird father (Jerry Stiller) are back for a seventh season. A three-disc set packs 22 episodes. DVD set, $39.95. (Sony)

“Doctor Who: The Complete Second Series” — Another season, another actor stepping into the title role in this latest incarnation of the British sci-fi series. David Tennant debuts as the scientist who travels through space and time to save the Earth. The six-disc set has 14 episodes, with extras that include deleted scenes and commentary. DVD set, $99.98. (BBC)

“The Best of Hootenanny” — Johnny Cash, Ian and Sylvia, Judy Collins, Doc Watson and Miriam Makeba are among the musicians captured in this three-disc set that features almost 90 musical performances from the short-lived 1960s folk show. The set also has standup comedy by Woody Allen, Bill Cosby and others. DVD set, $44.98. (Shout)

“The Street: The Complete First Season” — Jim Broadbent, Jane Horrocks and Timothy Spall head the cast of this British series set among an ensemble of neighbors living in a northern England working-class district. The two-disc set has six episodes. DVD set, $29.98 (Koch)

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