Our final DVD review of November takes a look at Step Brothers: 2-Disc Unrated Widescreen Edition. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly star as 40-year-old slackers who become stepsiblings when their parents (Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins) marry. That concept is mined for most of its ridiculous potential in this crude comedy. Sony's premium DVD holds both the theatrical and extended cuts; loads of deleted, extended, and alternate scenes; the world's first musical audio commentary; two making-of featurettes; a digital copy; and more. Read our detailed review.

November 28, 2008 - DVD and Blu-ray information, along with pre-order links, have been posted for Disney's latest talking dogs hit Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Click here to view.

Our latest DVD review covers The Best of "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist". This forthcoming disc compiles some of the most entertaining guest star "patients" of Comedy Central's 1990s animated series. Among the eighteen famous guests are Ray Romano, Dave Chappelle, David Duchovny, Denis Leary, Kathy Griffin, and Conan O'Brien. The disc also includes six clips highlighting the show's three core characters. Read the full review.

As a relaxed alternative to fighting the crowds, Amazon.com is offering their own Black Friday Deals.

November 26, 2008 - This week, writer/director Wes Anderson's first film gets an upgrade with Bottle Rocket: The Criterion Collection. The 1996 cult classic marks the debut of brothers Luke and Owen Wilson, who play young men aspiring to a life of petty crime. The two-disc set adds an audio commentary by Anderson and co-writer Owen, the Sundance-exhibited short that the feature expanded, nearly 20 minutes of deleted scenes, a new making-of retrospective, the half-hour short Murita Cycles, storyboard and photo galleries, and more. Don't miss our full review.

November 25, 2008 - Kelvin Cedeno looks at The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 in our latest Blu-ray Disc review. Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, and Blake Lively all return for this satisfying sequel adapted from Ann Brashares' books. Warner's high-def disc is now available. More...

Check out our Schedule for a thorough look at today's new releases and your last chance to look over November's releases before they're bumped and archived.

If you've been holding off buying the latest wave of Walt Disney Treasures, you may want to reconsider. Reflecting the newest batch's unprecedentedly low print count, Amazon.com has already depleted its stock of Dr. Syn, Alias The Scarecrow. Can The Chronological Donald, Volume 4 be far behind?

November 24, 2008 - Our newest DVD review covers Fred Claus. This PG-rated comedy stars Vince Vaughn as the ne'er-do-well older brother of the saintly Santa Claus (Paul Giamatti). To help fund his latest business idea, Fred must pitch in with Christmas preparations at the North Pole, while an efficiency expert (Kevin Spacey) threateningly observes. Warner's DVD treats the film to widescreen and fullscreen versions, a digital copy, 25 minutes of deleted scenes, and an audio commentary by director David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers). More...

November 23, 2008 - Disney will announce DVD and Blu-ray information for their unfortunate hit Beverly Hills Chihuahua on Friday. In the meantime, we can tell you that they'll be cross-promoting the release with an unexpected rerelease: Air Bud: Special Edition. Reaching stores on March 3rd, the new edition should grant the 1997 family dramedy a widescreen presentation, but Disney has yet to confirm. Air Bud: SE is now up for preorder at Amazon.com. UPDATE: Disney has confirmed that the new release will include an anamorphic widescreen and Dolby 5.1 feature presentation. Bonus features will include a character audio commentary by "The Buddies", special packaging (with a dimpled-basketball texture on the slipcover), and a "Buddy" dog tag.

November 22, 2008 - We've just posted our Hancock DVD Review. Will Smith stars as a lonesome, unpopular Los Angeles superhero guided through a PR makeover by a man he saved (Jason Bateman). That's the first of two stories this blockbuster action comedy tells. We look at the Unrated Edition, available from Sony next Tuesday. Read on...

November 21, 2008 - Our latest DVD review looks at Alvin and the Chipmunks: Special Edition. Fox's live-action/CGI feature film blew away all expectations in theaters last Christmas and quickly became 2008's top-selling DVD. Seven months after its originally announced date, the blockbuster gets two-disc treatment with deleted scenes, music videos, featurettes, a sound mixing activity, and a digital copy. Jason Lee plays Dave Seville, a struggling songwriter who gets a career boost when three singing Chipmunk brothers enter his life. Read our full review.

November 20, 2008 - Aaron Wallace brings us a WALL-E: 3-Disc Blu-ray review, giving Pixar's latest a second perspective and focusing on the numerous bonus features that are exclusive to Blu-ray. Read on...

November 19, 2008 - Our latest DVD review looks at Tropic Thunder: 2-Disc Director's Cut, now available. Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., and Jack Black star as three of five movie actors who encounter real danger while making a costly Vietnam War drama. Written, directed, and produced by Stiller, this action comedy gets tactfully extended by about 15 minutes. DreamWorks' set includes two audio commentaries (one featuring an in-character Downey), 4 making-of featurettes, 7 cast shorts, an hilarious half-hour mockumentary which carries over to another half-hour of shorts, extended takes, an alternate ending & additional deleted scenes, a make-up test, the MTV Movie Awards' viral video sketch, and more. Get some in our review.

November 18, 2008 - Check out our DVDizzy.com DVD/Blu-ray Schedule for the scoop on today's many new releases. Go wild and you could just wind up informed about what's due through next February!

November 17, 2008 - Our coverage of this year's Walt Disney Treasures wraps up with Aaron Wallace's review of The Chronological Donald, Volume 4. The studio's most employed animated star sees his career in short films come to a close with 31 cartoons spanning from 1951 to 1961. In them, the grumbling duck dabbles in CinemaScope and finds opposition in Chip 'n Dale, Humphrey the bear, Spike the bee, and his triplet nephews. The limited issue set also holds two audio commentaries, 10 Donald segments from the turn-of-the-millennium "Mickey Mouse Works", and a pair of featurettes. Read on...

Tomorrow, Disney tries yet again to find an audience for DVD gaming, this time aiming at the tween demographic with Disney Channel properties. Our latest review looks at Hannah Montana DVD Game, which serves up a number of activities for individuals, groups, and parties, the biggest of which is a 20-question Trivia Challenge. In voice alone, Emily Osment (Lilly on the show) hosts the disc. Read the full review.

November 16, 2008 - A Mom for Christmas, Olivia Newton-John's much-requested 1990 television movie is the latest Disney Movie Club Exclusive DVD available for enrollment. The concurrent additions, individuals volumes from Season 2 "Zorro", remain limited to registered club members. As always, check out our Disney Movie Club Exclusives thread for the full list with links.

November 15, 2008 - Our latest DVD review looks at WALL•E: 3-Disc Special Edition. Pixar's eighth feature film takes them to new heights with a futuristic story of robot love and space travel that's largely free of ordinary dialogue. The DVD serves up an audio commentary, three shorts including the all new BURN•E, 7 making-of featurettes, Leslie Iwerks' documentary film The Pixar Story, deleted scenes, a read/play-along activity, robot profiles, 3 Easter Eggs, and a digital copy. Our thorough review covers it all and includes a look at the unique environment-friendly packaging of the set's initial printing. Read our full review.

Recent Disney DVD Reviews:
• Walt Disney Treasures: Annette - This limited-issue 2-disc set holds all 20 episodes of the serial that first ran on "The Mickey Mouse Club" in the winter of 1958. Beginning her transition from popular Mouseketeer to full-fledged actress and musician, Annette Funicello stars as an orphaned 15-year-old country girl who moves in with her aunt and uncle and adjusts to a new town and high school. The collection includes two full "Mickey Mouse Club" episodes plus two special featurettes on Funicello.
• Walt Disney Treasures: Dr. Syn, The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh - This much-requested live-action drama appears in both of its accepted forms, as three consecutive 1964 episodes of "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" and as a 98-minute feature film released theatrically abroad. Extras include Walt Disney's introductions in widescreen and two featurettes.
• Tinker Bell - This new computer-animated movie reveals the origins and voice of Peter Pan's spunky pixie. Debuting with higher production values and more fanfare than your typical DVD premiere, the G-rated film is the first of four Disney Fairies productions coming over the next few years. The disc may seem light on extras at first, but a further look reveals some substantial supplements. (Related Report)

Recent Non-Disney DVD and Blu-ray Reviews:
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars - This computer-animated film spends more time exploring the the intragalactic conflict occurring between Episodes II and III. Anakin Skywalker takes on a Padawan in the headstrong girl Ahsoka Tano. Together, they're called to rescue Jabba the Hutt's kidnapped son. To the single-disc's filmmaker commentary, Warner's Two-Disc Special Edition adds a lengthy preview for Cartoon Network's TV series, deleted scenes, featurettes on voice cast and music, Webisodes, trailers, a still gallery, and a digital copy.
• A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! - Hour-long musical holiday TV special takes us to Stephen Colbert's forest cabin, where he's joined by a number of special guests. Comedy Central's disc offers the feature presentation with or without laugh track, a bonus Colbert song, 3 alternate endings, a book-burning Yule Log, and a Video Advent Calendar.
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Guillermo del Toro's sequel improves upon his 2004 original with high-end fantasy, character, and more subdued humor. Universal's 3-Disc Special Edition comes loaded with bonus features, including a 2½-hour making-of documentary, two audio commentaries, deleted scenes, an animated comic, extensive galleries, featurettes, and a digital copy.
• Kung Fu Panda (with Secrets of the Furious Five) - DreamWorks' latest computer-animated hit centers on a lowly noodle shop panda proclaimed China's master warrior. Bonus features on the Pandamonium Double Pack include an all-new 25-minute short, an audio commentary, a music video, challenging set-top games, a slew of DVD-ROM material, and many a kid-tailored featurette.
• "Scrubs": The Complete Seventh Season - Cut in half by the writers' strike and NBC's disregard, the non-ultimate season nonetheless keeps the hospital comedy on course with its winning established comedy stylings. The 2-disc set serves up commentaries on all 11 episodes, deleted scenes, alternate lines, an 18-minute featurette on the making of the fanciful fairy tale season finale, an Easter egg, and an interview with Ken Jenkins (Dr. Kelso).
• Planet of the Apes (Blu-ray) - Charlton Heston stars as an American astronaut of the future who crash-lands on a planet where apes are the dominant species. Fox's 40th Anniversary hi-def debut of the sequel/remake/series-spawning blockbuster ports the many extras from 2003's two-disc DVD and adds a number of exclusives.
• Get Smart - Steve Carell steps into the Don Adams role as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 of a top-secret government spy agency. He joins forces with the experienced Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) in an effort to thwart KAOS' destructive plans. Warner's Two-Disc Special Edition serves up a "Smart Takes" viewing mode with over 25 minutes of alternate jokes and deleted scenes, a gag reel, a digital copy, and four featurettes.
• The Godfather Trilogy: The Coppola Restoration - Francis Ford Coppola's beloved, flavorful dramas study the Corleones, a powerful Italian-American family of the 20th century whose bonds and beliefs are ever threatened by death and deception. Paramount's new 5-disc set offers improved picture and sound, the epic Part II on just a single disc, the previous collection's bonus disc, and an additional disc holding over an hour of all-new special features.

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