Welcome back to another edition of “Keeping It Reel” here on Real TV Addict. Hopefully you’re in good spirits after your Independence Day weekend. I know I am and thankfully, there’s some pretty darn good DVD releases this week to keep those spirits high. We have two films that are based on books, but don’t fret. I know it seems that everything out of Hollywood these days is either a remake or something based on a novel, but these ones are actually good. Come on, would I lie to you? Don’t answer that. In one we see a murder trying to be solved, and in the other we see a gay man in the sixties. Quite the contrast, but I assure you that they are both worth your time. Oh, and as for TV on DVD, well, let’s just say that you should stick with movies this week.

Hot Movie Releases

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Personally, I think tattoos on women are sexy, but that’s for another website.

We’re here to talk about this film, which is based on the book Men Who Hate Women by the late Stieg Larsson. The title may have changed, and some of the story may have been altered, but that’s the way it goes with Hollywood. Still it does a good job of capturing the characters, and leading you into one way of thinking, only to have something completely unexpected happen. A great adaptation of the Swedish journalists work, and the first in a trilogy. Hopefully we’ll see the other two books made into films as well. Wait, they were already made, but in Sweden. But don’t worry, Hollywood has the remake planned for those who don’t like English subtitles.

A Single Man

When you think of Colin Firth, you normally don’t think serious, dramatic roles. You think of Bridget Jones’ Diary or Pride & Prejudice. Well, A Single Man will surprise you if you’re looking for Firth to play his usual, quirky self. In this film, he stretches his acting chops (which got him nominated for an Academy Award) by playing a gay man in the sixties, who loses his lover and is left feeling alone. A simple story, but A Single Man is so much more than that. With the great Julianne Moore included in the cast, this film is filed with so many complex emotions that it can’t help but make an impact on you.

TV on DVD

Project Runway: Season 7

Fashion, models, clothes, cat fighting, and crying. Sounds like a family reunion, doesn’t it? No, instead it’s Project Runway, which should really be called Project Change-the-Channel, since that’s what it makes me want to do every time it’s on. Regardless, I know there are some of you out there who enjoy this kind of thing, so I won’t bash it too hard. The latest season is now on DVD just for you, as for me, I may use it as a door stop, but only after it hits the bargain bin.