January 23, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I, II, III & IV • Page 19 ‘End of Watch’ traces cop camaraderie and danger cently in the shower but freezes up at a professional audition, a fact that does not deter Jerry from making him the world’s newest and greatest opera sensation. All the stories have an element of fantasy, absurdity, and wish fulfillment: celebrity for Leopoldo, Giancarlo, and Milly; success for Jerry and Antonio; and a vicarious fling for Jack. You won’t find the quantity of one-liners that mark Allen’s earlier work, but “To Rome with Love,” rated R, is thoroughly engaging entertainment. A making-of featurette is contained on both the Blu-ray and DVD editions. “The Men Who Built America” (Lionsgate) is a documentary about the men who played a major role in the shaping of this country. The five main subjects are Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Henry Ford. Originally aired on The History Channel, the series begins in 1865, right after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Vanderbilt catapulted the nation into the modern age by creating a railroad empire, Ford originated the assembly-line method of mass manufacturing, Carnegie churned out steel, and Rockefeller made his fortune in oil. Rising from poverty, they repeatedly crossed paths as they influenced presidential elections, set economic policies, and influenced major events. As they prospered, they transformed the United States from a principally agrarian nation to one Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña star as Los Angeles police officers in ‘End of Watch.’ by Dennis Seuling “End of Watch” (Universal Home Entertainment) follows police officers Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Michael Peña), who are assigned to the tough South Central Los Angeles area. They are good cops who take the job seriously and, despite its countless dangers, love their work. The film is a series of episodes in their daily routine as they patrol in a squad car, taking calls and spotting potential trouble along the way. They joke freely and playfully insult each other, but it is apparent that they are as close as brothers and willing to look out for each other in dangerous situations. Writer/director David Ayer provides a gritty look at the day-to-day danger uniformed officers face in a neighborhood where lawlessness is the norm. Both Gyllenhaal and Peña are excellent. Viewers immediately believe their characters’ bond, and their dialogue has the spontaneous, natural sound of two pals talking about guy stuff, shifting back and forth from jokey to deadly serious. They may goof around like school boys, but they also listen to each other. Brian mentions he is taking a film class, a convenient throwaway line to account for the omnipresent cameras and “middle of the action” imagery. Sometimes, viewers even see them with a hand-held camera. What is most impressive about “End of Watch” is its ability to draw upon familiar action movie ingredients -- wise-guy cops, a disgruntled older cop, car chases, gun culture, and unsavory bad guys -- and mix them up into something fresh and new. Viewers will not feel like they have seen this movie before. The Blu-ray edition contains audio commentary by writer/director Ayer, deleted scenes, and five featurettes that are more promos than in-depth behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the film. “To Rome with Love” (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) is Woody Allen’s combination of quirky characters, fantasy, parallel stories, and witty dialogue. Allen focuses on several characters who fall under the spell of the Eternal City. Jerry (Allen) and wife Phyllis (Judy Davis) are an American couple visiting their daughter, Hayley (Alison Pill), and her new Italian fiancé, Michelangelo (Flavio Parenti). Architecture student Jack (Jesse Eisenberg) and girlfriend Sally (Greta Gerwig) are working and living together until her friend Monica (Ellen Page) visits and attempts, not too subtly, to distract him. John (Alec Baldwin), who years earlier lived on the same street as Jack and Sally, appears periodically to warn Jack about romantic machinations that are afoot. Antonio (Alessandro Tiberi) and Milly (Alessandra Mastronardi), are honeymooning in Rome, where Antonio’s straight-laced uncles are about to offer him a lucrative position, but not before he finds himself passing off a prostitute (Penelope Cruz) as his wife. Leopoldo (Roberto Benigni), an ordinary clerk, is beset one day by paparazzi who mob him and track his every move. This fascination with such an average soul is never explained, giving the sequence an air of the surreal. Giancarlo (real-life opera singer Fabio Armiliato), sings magnifi- characterized by factory production, with people gravitating to cities for jobs. Modern business moguls Mark Cuban, Jack Welch, and Steve Wozniak provide their thoughts on these early titans of industry. The Blu-ray edition contains all eight episodes on three discs. Bonuses include footage not shown on TV and eight featurettes on aspects of the era covered. “Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis” (Anchor Bay) examines the career of one of the most comedic personalities of the past 60-plus years. The film covers his life from his early days on the road with vaudevillian parents to his rise to fame when, in 1946, he first partnered with Dean Martin. His career is then traced from their nightclub appearances and a series of popular comedy movies for Paramount Pictures through a directing career that included 22 films – among them “The Nutty Professor,” “The Bellboy,” and “Hardly Working.” Included are several in-depth and candid interviews with Lewis, never-before-seen film footage, and on-screen thoughts about Lewis from Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Chevy Chase, Billy Crystal, Eddie Murphy, Carl Reiner, Jerry Seinfeld, Steven Spielberg, and Quentin Tarantino. Lewis is definitely an acquired taste, but he has endured and his films continue to be popular. With director Gregg Barson’s unlimited access to Lewis, what emerges is a fascinating portrait of a performer/director who greatly influenced the art of comedy.