Bauer lives on in newest ‘24’ installment
This week’s DVD offerings deal with tough guy battles.
• “24: Live Another Day,” B-plus: The steely-eyed Kiefer Sutherland returns as Jack Bauer for another complicated spy storyline. The action has shifted to London, and instead of the season running 24 episodes, it is only 12. But everything else is pure, high-octane Bauer.
It’s safe to say “24” works so well because Sutherland has found the right mixture of patriot, renegade, humanitarian and rebel.
It’s been awhile since Bauer has saved TV at least one day a week with his reluctant hero antics. Even though the series is shorter, it is still twice as good as most of the action shows on TV.
• “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” F: The film is the crown jewel in director Michael Bay’s career of making bloated and juvenile action pictures that put more emphasis on product placement than script. This movie isn’t as much entertainment as an attempt to beat the moviegoer into submission with repetitive action scenes and two-dimensional characters.
Mark Wahlberg, who plays master tinkerer Cade Yeager, replaces Shia LeBeouf as the human buddy to the giant robots known as Autobots. This friendship is sparked when Cade finds a badly beaten Optimus Prime, disguised in his semitruck state, hiding in a rundown theater. He manages to bring Prime back to life, setting off a battle with a Black Op CIA group run by the overly melodramatic Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer).
Plot and dialogue are just distractions for a movie that is designed to sell merchandise and appeal to the growing foreign market.
Also new on DVD
“Chef”: A chef who loses his restaurant job starts a food-truck business.
“Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever”: The 1983 TV special best remembered for Michael Jackson’s moonwalk.
“Leprechaun: Origins”: Two young couples discover a town’s secret.
“The Mentalist: The Complete Fifth Season”: Simon Baker stars.
“Sordid Lives”: Actor faces truth about his dysfunctional family.
“Thunder And The House Of Magic”: Go inside a mansion full of endearing animals.
“The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill”: Six investigators head to one of the world’s most haunted places.
“Mike & Molly: The Complete Fourth Season”: Melissa McCarthy and Billy Gardell star.
“The Field of Blood, Set 1”: Newspaper employee learns a murder story involves her family.
“NYPD Blue: Season 7”: Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) finds solace in his new partner.
“Walker, Texas Ranger: The Reunion”: Walker’s asked to help investigate a potential assassination attempt.
“Martin Clunes’ Wild Life”: Five documentaries about animals.
“Third Person”: Paul Haggis film starring Liam Neeson.
“Agatha Christie’s Marple, Series 6”: Julia McKenzie stars in the final three episodes from the TV series.
“Ivory Tower”: Documentary about the American higher education system at a crisis point.
“Color of Rain”: Two single parents realize they are kindred spirits. Lacey Chabert stars.
“Delivery: The Beast Within”: Couple’s first pregnancy becomes a nightmare event.
“My Little Pony The Complete Series”: Includes 65 episodes in the series.
“Nightcap”: Thriller with comic undertones about the fine art of killing.
“The Mystery of Agatha Christie with David Suchet”: David Suchet goes on a journey to learn more about the author.
“Audrey Hepburn Collection”: Includes “Sabrina,” “Funny Face” and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
“Enemy of the Reich: The Noor Inayat Khan Story”: Woman serves as a British spy in Paris during World War II.
“Gone with the Wind 75th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition”: New special features include Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh attending Atlanta premiere.
“Sniper: Legacy”: Tom Berenger returns as Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett.
“American Muscle”: Ex-con has 24 hours to exact revenge.