New on DVD & Blu-ray This Week: November 24, 2009

This Week's Must Have:
Four Christmases
Say what you will about the critical response to the theatrical release of Four Christmases, but I implore you to find a more awesome cast in a recent Christmas movie. I mean, come on! Just look at who we've got here: Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Jon Favreau, Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Dwight Yoakum, Kristin Chenoweth, and Mary Steenburgen. Not only is that a flick I'd love to see time and time again, but that's a family I'd be thrilled to spend my Christmas vacation with!

Alas, it's not all gumdrops and candy canes in this hilariously neurotic Christmas comedy. There's familial discord, dreaded flight cancellations, and four christmases to survive in one long day. You try it. Go ahead. I dare you. Exactly! Not so much fun now, right? The good news, however, is that it all leads to some really funny moments as Vaughn and Witherspoon do their best to navigate their most stressful holiday ever.

While this may not be quite as feature-packed as some of the rest of this week's discs, Warner Bros. has given viewers a few neat bits to chew on. There's a fun "Seven Layer Holiday Meals in a Flash" featurette, some Holiday Moments, and (via BD-Live) additional scenes, a gag reel, and an HBO First Look documentary.

It all adds up to the most fun you'll have on DVD or Blu-ray this week and the perfect package to get you in the mood for a hilarious (and just a little bit crazy) holiday season. Check it out now!

Also on DVD & Blu-ray:
Funny People
Judd Apatow's films are always going to be funny. That's just a given at this point. Be it his hilarious casts, his knack for picking well-written material (or simply writing it himself), or his always-interesting directorial style, Apatow delivers time and time again. With Funny People, however, keeps all the funny, but also infuses the film with some serious drama. It's clearly his most personal film, and it's easily one of his very best. Sandler is excellent, Rogen is his usual laugh-inducing self, and the list of cameos by actors and comedians could go on for days. If you love Apatow, you'll love Funny People. If you're lukewarm on his films, give this one a chance anyway. You'll probably learn a little bit more about Apatow himself.

Universal's Blu-ray will keep you busy for days. Literally. There's that much bonus material to sift through here. Gag reels, diaries, documentaries, commentary tracks, another Line-O-Rama, and so much more. Another easy choice if you're looking for a fun comedy to watch this week.

Angels & Demons
I'd be incredibly shocked if you actually need me to explain to you what Angels & Demons is. Based on the blockbuster best-selling book by Dan Brown, the film finds Tom Hanks back in the role of Symbologist Robert Langdon running through the Vatican, the City of Rome, and just about anywhere else you can think of. Ron Howard keeps the thrills coming throughout the lengthy runtime and, in the end, it's passable fun.

The Blu-ray features your usual smorgasbord of bonus goodies, including a few interesting Blu-ray exclusives that will be sure to please fans of both the film and the high-def format.

Gomorrah: Criterion Collection
Matteo Garrone's Gomorrah firmly plants the director as one of the premiere new voices in Italian Cinema. By linking five seemingly separate stories, Garrone tells the unique and shocking true crime tale of Naples' bristling gangster underworld. It's a stark portrait of a truly contemporary gangsterdom and one that is not to be missed.

As is par for the course with The Criterion Collection, both the DVD and Blu-ray packages are superb efforts. Aside from the stunning visual and audio components, this release is packed with fantastic extra material. There's an extensive 60-minute documentary on the making of the film, interviews with Garrone and his writer Roberto Saviano, a short video piece, deleted scenes, and the theatrical trailer. It's a stacked package for a film that will at one surprise and shock you. Highly recommended.

New on Blu-ray:
A TON of Lionsgate Horror Releases which I wrote about here.

New on DVD Only:
Alfred Hitchcock Presets: Season Four
Yet another season of this classic mystery series comes to DVD with all 36 episodes in tact. The series really started to gain some great momentum around this particular season and it's not hard to see why with the amazing list of guest stars. This is, undoubtedly, the best the source material has ever looked and we even get treated to a fantastic little featurette called "Fasten Your Seatbelts: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock" this time around. After quite the lag between DVD releases, it's great to see Universal give fans another thrilling season to take home.

Check back next week for more great DVD and Blu-ray releases!