Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray releases and let you know whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art to purchase the Blu-ray from Amazon, and be sure to share each week’s column on Facebook and Twitter with your friends.

WHAT: After she wrecks her car, is fired from her job and discovers that her husband has been cheating with their neighbor, all in the same day, Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) is desperate to leave town as quickly as possible, and her alcoholic grandmother Pearl (Susan Sarandon) – who has the two things Tammy needs most: a working car and some cash – decides to tag along. But when they end up driving the wrong way, the two women decide to make the most of the mishap in an attempt to patch up their troubled past.

WHY: Like pretty much anything that Melissa McCarthy does these days, your enjoyment of “Tammy” will depend entirely on how you feel about the actress as a performer, because for those who were already sick of her tedious, one-trick pony act after “Bridesmaids,” sitting through McCarthy’s latest movie is about as pleasant as a punch to the face. It’s bad enough that Tammy never shuts up, but director/co-writer Ben Falcone wants the audience to sympathize with her as well, even though she’s largely to blame for much of what happens over the course of the film. She’s not as mean-spirited as Diana from “Identity Thief,” nor as vulgar as Shannon from “The Heat,” but she’s not someone you’d necessarily want to be friends with either. So when the movie suddenly tries to manufacture a romance between Tammy and Mark Duplass’ nice-guy farmer in the final act, it doesn’t just feel unearned, but completely unrealistic considering he had zero interest in her only a few days prior. That initial meeting takes place shortly after an exceedingly confident Tammy brags about how men are attracted to her like “flies on shit,” and in that instant, McCarthy provides the perfect ammunition to describe her recent career, because that’s what this movie is – a big, steaming pile of shit.

EXTRAS: In addition to a short featurette about a family road trip that Melissa McCarthy and director Ben Falcone took following production on the film, there are four deleted scenes, some alternate takes and a gag reel.

FINAL VERDICT: SKIP

WHAT: The story of Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young) and the Four Seasons, from their early days as two-bit gangsters in New Jersey, to their rise to fame thanks to hits such as “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a Man.”

WHY: Clint Eastwood is one of the last people you’d expect to direct a film adaptation of “Jersey Boys” – or any stage musical, for that matter – and it definitely shows, because it’s one of the worst stage-to-film adaptations in recent memory. In fact, the movie isn’t really a musical at all (save for the end medley/production number), instead going for more of a rockumentary feel that doesn’t translate very well to the screen. The main problem is that with the exception of the great catalog of songs, the film isn’t terribly interesting, barely scratching the surface with its “Behind the Music”-esque narrative. It’s rife with all the usual melodrama of a music biopic, but the characters are never fully developed, despite the fact that the film’s bloated 134 minute runtime gives plenty of opportunities to do just that. Vincent Piazza (as group member Tommy DeVito) and Christopher Walken (as Jersey mobster Gyp DeCarlo) both shine in supporting roles, but the rest of the acting is mediocre at best, particularly theater vets John Lloyd Young and Michael Lomenda. Eastwood was clearly having a senior moment when he agreed to do “Jersey Boys,” because not only is it one of the weakest movies in his oeuvre, but it fails to showcase why the Broadway production was such a huge hit.

EXTRAS: There are three featurettes in total, covering the movie’s journey from Broadway to the big screen, actor Donnie Kehr’s experience working with Christopher Walken, and filming the grand finale.

FINAL VERDICT: SKIP

WHAT: After agreeing to serve as the temporary Director of Medicine in the Extended Care Unit at Mount Palms Hospital, Dr. Jenna James (Laurie Metcalf) is disheartened when the assignment is made permanent, relegated to work in the soul-crushing facility alongside new supervising nurse Patsy De La Serda (Mel Rodriguez), head nurse Dawn Forchette (Alex Borstein) and rookie nurse Denise “DiDi” Ortley (Niecy Nash).

WHY: Though it flew pretty far under the radar during its first season, this U.S. remake of the BBC series of the same name is one of the more underrated shows in HBO’s lineup. Every bit as much a satire as it is a drearily honest and sobering look at our country’s broken healthcare system, “Getting On” makes the typical black comedy seem lighthearted in comparison. Though the humor on the show can be a little too dry at times, and some of the in-jokes are only funny if you’ve worked in a hospital setting before, it features sharp writing and excellent performances from its cast. Laurie Metcalf, Alex Bornstein and Niecy Nash all deliver great work in their respective roles, while the guest stars (including Molly Shannon, Daniel Stern and a potty-mouthed June Squibb) provide many of the best moments. The only weak link is Mel Rodriguez’s sexually ambiguous Patsy De La Serda, whose character is so annoying (even if that’s kind of the point) that the show becomes infinitely less entertaining whenever he appears on screen. That’s not the only area where “Getting On” could improve, but although it’s not quite the hidden gem that it could have been for HBO, it’s definitely worth checking out for fans of likeminded comedies like “Derek.”

EXTRAS: The Blu-ray release includes some deleted scenes and a gag reel.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Mark Duplass, Gary Cole, Kathy Bates

Ben Falcone

Like pretty much anything that Melissa McCarthy does these days, your enjoyment of “Tammy” will depend entirely on how you feel about the actress as a performer. Those who can’t get enough of watching her play the same sloppy and obnoxious character over and over again will probably think that it’s the funniest comedy of the year. But for those who were already sick of her tedious, one-trick pony act after “Bridesmaids” launched the actress into superstardom, sitting through McCarthy’s latest movie is about as pleasant as a punch to the face. “Tammy” is so groan-inducingly dumb that it rivals some of Adam Sandler’s worst comedies, placing so much faith in its leading lady’s raucous, over-the-top antics that it doesn’t even consider it might not be funny.

McCarthy stars as the title character, a slovenly loser who wrecks her beat-up car, gets fired from her job at the local fast food joint, and discovers that her husband (Nat Faxon) has been cheating with their neighbor (Toni Collette), all within the same day. Desperate to get out of town for a while, she agrees to let her alcoholic grandmother, Pearl (Susan Sarandon) – who has the two things that Tammy needs most: a working car and some cash – tag along with her on a road trip to Niagara Falls. But when they end up driving the wrong way, the two women decide to make the most of the mishap in an attempt to patch up their troubled past.

Read the rest of this entry »

After a mostly disappointing June that saw the release of very few summer tentpole films (and even fewer that were any good), this month seems poised to follow suit with an equally lackluster lineup. There are a couple blockbuster-sized movies on tap in July (like the follow-up to the “Planet of the Apes” prequel and Dwayne Johnson’s long-gestating Hercules film), but everything else feels very un-summery, including a Fourth of July weekend devoid of a big action movie. Instead, America gets to celebrate its freedom with Melissa McCarthy, and that’s pretty telling of just how poor this summer season has been.

Who: Eric Bana, Edgar Ramirez, Olivia Munn and Chris Coy
What: NY police officer Ralph Sarchie joins forces with a priest schooled in the rituals of exorcism to combat the possessions that are terrorizing their city.
When: July 2nd
Why: I know what you’re thinking: yet another horror movie that’s supposedly inspired by real-life events? But while the setup may seem more than a little contrived, Hollywood has proven on numerous occasions that you can still make an excellent horror film no matter how preposterous its claims may be. (Remember a little movie called “The Exorcist”?) Scott Derrickson is also one of the better directors currently working in the genre, and with a cast that includes Eric Bana and the underrated Edgar Ramirez, “Deliver Us from Evil” certainly has the potential to follow in the footsteps of last year’s “The Conjuring” as one of the surprise hits of this summer.

Who: Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Dan Aykroyd and Mark Duplass
What: After losing her job and learning that her husband has been unfaithful, a woman hits the road with her profane, hard-drinking grandmother.
When: July 2nd
Why: Melissa McCarthy clearly didn’t get the memo that her 15 minutes of fame are up, because the actress (who’s essentially a less talented female version of Chris Farley) keeps plugging away with dumb movie after dumb movie. And to make matters worse, studios continue to green light these so-called comedies because they make obscene amounts of money. Then again, so do those god-awful spoof films and just about anything produced by Tyler Perry. If “Identity Thief” and “The Heat” weren’t evidence enough that McCarthy is one of the most annoying, undeserving movie stars in Hollywood, then surely “Tammy” (which she co-wrote with husband/director Ben Falcone) will finally put an end to America’s baffling love affair with her.

Who: Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Jason Clarke and Kodi-Smit McPhee
What: A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier.
When: July 11th
Why: My expectations were pretty low going into “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” which is why it was such a pleasant surprise that the movie was actually good. But while another installment in Fox’s franchise reboot was inevitable, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” seems to have lost a lot of what made the prequel so unique from the rest of the series. It still takes place well before the 1968 original, but now the apes are walking, talking and even riding on horses while firing machine guns. That’s a far cry from Rupert Wyatt’s more down-to-earth prequel, so here’s hoping that director Matt Reeves is able to retain some of the humanity from that film.

Tammy has a hot little body with all the right curves and she’s happy to show it off! Here’s a great thong shot.