Review: New Paul Newman, Ghost Whisperer & Star Trek on DVD Special

From a stunning DVD collection of Paul Newman classics to traveling with Kirk & Spock to where no man has gone before in Star Trek to chatting with the dead in Ghost Whisperer & Friday The 13th, this week, there's something for everyone on home video.

Purchasing an “Ultimate” DVD box set or Blu-ray compilation – featuring the best films of a particular actor or actress – is, quite often, a risky proposition. As a rule, most collections are usually filled with one or two of the entertainer's greatest movies and four or five of their lesser known or completely unforgettable motion pictures. Most of the time, it's a big waste of effort and cash. However, once in a great while, an incredible, must-have box set of an actor's best works will come along to surprise and excite you. Teh just-released The Paul Newman Tribute Collection is one such release. It's an essential DVD box set for any and every serious motion picture-loving home video collector. Additionally, fans of current hit shows such as The Mentalist and Ghost Whisperer (which begin their new seasons this month on television) can catch up on what they might have missed last year; or they can watch the series that weren't given a chance to flourish or ended their scheduled run – like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Brotherhood; or they can add another season of a classic TV series series such as Star Trek, Taxi and Friday The 13th to their ever growing Blu-ray and/or DVD collections. Fans of TV-On-DVD have a real reason to rejoice this week with sensational new editions of current and iconic television series now on disc. And, if you happened to miss summer big screen comedies such as Observe & Report or Ghost Of Girlfriends Past at you neighborhood multiplex, you can now see them in the comfort your own home. Happy viewing! The Paul Newman Tribute Collection - We lost one of the greatest actors of all time when Paul Newman passed away last year. A true movie legend, in every sense of the term, Newman possessed more talent, stamina and charisma in one lock of his sex symbol/matinee idol head of hair than most contemporary actors contain in their entire overly-bulky, plastic surgery-enhanced bodies. Paul Newman was, and will always be, a star. Acting in more than 65 movies spanning over 50 years, his striking grace, unassuming intelligence and good humor seemed effortless -- Newman's magnetism and passion was almost impossible to resist. To commemorate some of Newman’s greatest movies made during his tenure at 20th Century Fox, the legendary studio has put together (for the first time) a stunning 17-disc DVD collection of thirteen classics including The Long Hot Summer, The Hustler, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Hombre, The Towering Inferno, The Verdict and seven more brilliant cinematic masterpieces. If you are any kind of fan of the iconic actor, you owe to yourself to pick up this one-of-a-kind DVD compilation. Bonus Feature: An exclusive 136 page soft-bound book loaded with a stunning array of photos, some of which have never been seen before, of the Hollywood icon on the set with his fellow cast and crew, excerpts from each film and personal quotes from Newman himself. Star Trek – The Original Series: Season 2 - Boldly going where no man (or Vulcan) has gone before, in this 1968 season, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise (led by William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan and Nichelle Nichols) find themselves battling Klingons, Romulans, time paradoxes, genetic supermen (led by Khan Noonian Singh) and learning the real trouble with tribbles. The seven-disc set features all 26 sophomore season episodes, each with superior picture and pristine audio, bringing fans closer than ever to the history and characters of Star Trek. An entire disc is dedicated to “The Trouble With Tribbles,” arguably the franchise’s most famous episode for its depiction of the cute and fuzzy, though ultimately quite dangerous, creatures. Blu-Ray Bonus Features: Seamless Branching technology that allows fans to toggle between the newly-enhanced and original special effects. Beyond the Tribble-specific bonus disc, this set also includes “Starfleet Access” content on select episodes which provides fans with special pop-up trivia and picture-in-picture video commentaries, rare on-set home movie footage and new special features on BD Live. Also, every disc is Mobile Blu enabled. Once downloaded, Mobile Blu allows Trekkies to turn their iPhones into Blu-ray player remote controls and download exclusive featurettes for on-the-go entertainment. Exclusive Star Trek Monopoly cards will also be included in early shipments of the Blu-ray set, while supplies last Ghost Whisperer: The Fourth Season - Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt) communicates with earthbound spirits, ghosts who cling to the living because they have unfinished business that prevents them from moving beyond the familiar plane of existence that we call life. Inspired in part by the work of famed medium James Van Praagh and of Mary Ann Winkowski, a real-life communicator with spirits, Ghost Whisperer explores the spiritual side of life and death as Melinda navigates among the dead and the living in her sometimes chilling, sometimes heart-rending and sometimes amusing attempts to act as an intermediary between the ghosts and those they haunt. Jim (David Conrad), her husband, worries about the emotional toll this work is taking on his wife as they embark on a new life together. For her part, Melinda accepts her unique abilities as a blessing and sometime curse, but always helps her clients, alive or dead, find emotional closure. Bonus Features: “The Other Side III” webseries, two featurettes,“Grave Mistakes” interactive game and Interactive Dollhouse & Interactive Fashion Style Guide. Friday The 13th: The Series – The Final Season -The suspense-drama series that brought back the serial horror genre to television features intense psychological terror and chilling suspense. Starring Louise Robey, John D. LeMay, Steve Monarque and Chris Wiggins, each eerie episode centers on an unlikely trio who run a shop full of rare and mysterious antiques whose previous owner was killed after making a sinister pact with the devil. The team must race against time and fate to retrieve each diabolically cursed item sold from the hexed store before it unleashes its deadly force. Bonus Feature: Episodic Promos on selected episodes. Taxi: The Fourth Season - A three-time, Emmy-winner for Best Comedy, the iconic Taxi continues to entertain television viewers three decades after its debut. A wacky, crazy sitcom about the life of a group of cabbies from the Sunshine Cab Company in New York, Taxi made famous (and some infamous) stars out of its all-star cast, which included Jeff Conaway (Bobby), Tony Danza (Tony), Danny DeVito (Louie), Christopher Lloyd (Jim), Marilu Henner (Elaine), Andy Kaufman (Latka), Carol Kane (Sitka) and Judd Hirsch (Alex). In this 1981-82 season, Alex has run-ins with his dad and ex-wife, Bobby could become a real actor, Tony might be boxing his way to the top and Latka is finally marrying longtime girlfriend Sitka, unless his alter-ego, Vic Ferrari, gets in the way. Bonus Features: Episodic Promos. Observe & Report - Directed by Eastbound & Down veteran Jody Hill, Observe & Report finds funny man Seth Rogen playing Ronnie Barnhardt, the head of security at a suburban mall. But, Ronnie is not your typical comic mall cop, although he has aspirations to become a real law enforcement officer one day. His chance to impress Brandi (Anna Faris) the make-up counter girl of dreams and garnering a chance to attend the police academy, comes in the form of a flasher. But, as the unidentified naked mall runner continues to elude Ronnie, he only becomes more driven to find the lawbreaking, fast-flying nudist and bring him to justice. From his hilarious daydreams about becoming a policeman to his hysterical case-cracking methods, the closer Ronnie gets to finding the culprit, the more sinisterly funny his persona becomes. Blu-ray Bonus Features: Audio commentary with Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, and Jody Hill, three featurettes including “Forest Ridge Mall: Security Recruitment Video,” deleted scenes/alternate jokes, gag Reel, BD- LIVE with Media Center, My Commentary, Live Community Screening and a Digital Copy of the film. (Also on DVD.) Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past - Filled with a cast of such Hollywood heavyweights as Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner and Michael Douglas, Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past is a first-class romantic comedy about second chances. The hilarious and sexy Mark Waters-directed film focuses on celebrity photographer and playboy bachelor, Connor Mead (McConaughey) as the apparitions of jilted girlfriends from his past, present and future visit him to offer up one last go at true love. Sent by his late uncle (Douglas) during the wedding of his childhood friend, Jenny (Garner), he tells Connor that if he doesn’t heed the warnings of his ghostly ex-gal pals, he could lose his true love forever. Blu-Ray Bonus Features: Additional scenes, two featurettes including interviews with McConaughey, Garner, Douglas, Lacey Chabert and Anne Archer, a Behind-the-Scenes featurette, Digital Copy and the BD LIVE! exclusive “A Sea Of Women.” (Also on DVD.) Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season - In the second and final season of the dynamic, adrenaline-pumping tale of man-versus-machine, it’s becoming increasing more and more difficult for Sarah (Lena Headey) and her robotic ally Cameron (Summer Glau) to protect the future leader of the resistance, John Connor (Thomas Dekker), from the Terminators send from the future. With a new enemy possibly leading the robots (Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson), John’s days appeared to be numbered. But, as Terminator mythology has proven before, Sarah Connor is not an easy woman to take down as we continue to find out in the brilliant, sadly short-lived series based on the classic sci-fi movies. Blu-Ray Bonus Features: Audio commentary with Headey, Dekker, Glau and Manson and producers Josh Friedman, James Middleton and John Wirth ten featurettes, Terminated Scenes, gag reel and the interactive “Collision with the Future: Deconstructing the Hunter Killer Attack” feature. (Also on DVD.) Brotherhood: The Final Season - A sensational, deeply-moving episodic blue collar series about two working-class, Irish-American brothers (Jason Isaacs and Jason Clarke) who are always at odds, Brotherhood focuses on the siblings’ skewed, often twisted, idealistic vision of the American dream. With a brilliant ensemble cast that also includes Ethan Embry, Fiona Erickson, Fionnula Flanagan, Kevin Chapman, Annabeth Gish and Stivi Paskoski, Brotherhood takes viewers inside the hearts and souls of an Irish family constantly torn between right and wrong as the two brothers — each searching for their destinies — clash while living their lives on opposite sides of the law. Featuring all eight episodes from the third and final season, Tommy (Clarke) pursues ambitions as a political star, Michael (Isaacs) seeks power the only way he knows how, amidst the gritty underworld of crime and violence. In a world where mothers choose favorites, wives keep secrets and friends are won and lost by the deals they make, doing what is right and doing what is necessary are rarely the same. The Mentalist: The Complete First Season - Television viewers went absolutely mental over The Mentalist and Aussie actor Simon Baker in his lead role as Patrick Jane. “mentalist,” noun -- “A master manipulator of thought and behavior.” Thomas Jane is the hit series' mentalist. Jane is a former, self-professed fake mind-reader who becomes a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) when his wife and child are savagely murdered by the notorious serial killer Red John. Targeted by Red John for performing his phony paranormal act, Jane uses his astonishing skills of observation and analysis talents to bring killers to justice (with the help of a CBI team led by actress Robin Tunney). Jane’s keen powers also aide him in his search for the vicious, taunting murderer who took away his loved ones. Also starring Tim Kang, Owain Yeoman and Amanda Righetti, The Mentalist: The Complete First Season is a six-disc collector's set containing all 23 of the inaugural season's one-hour episodes. Bonus Features: “Evidence of a Hit Series” - interviews with the creators, directors and cast, two additional featurettes and “Surveillance Video: Gag Reel.”