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Mysterical-Eye Holiday Gift Guide
There's Always Some Holiday Coming Up

Happy Holidays. Even after Christmas, you can still treat yourself or those on your shopping list to some of my favorite movies, DVD sets, and video games of 2011. I've focused here on new standalone products and first seasons, so you can enjoy each one from the beginning:

DVD / Blu-ray Disc

On January 18, 2011, Season 1 of A&E's Justified was released on DVD and Blu-ray. The series represents one of the few times Elmore Leonard's quirky crime fiction has been captured accurately onscreen. The role of Raylan Givens--the present-day U.S. Marshal with Old West sensibilities from Leonard's novels Pronto and Riding the Rap--may define Timothy Olyphant for a generation of viewers.

On April 17, USA Network aired the original movie Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe. Though linked to Burn Notice by name, the movie centered on Michael Westen's affable Navy SEAL friend (Bruce Campbell), detailing the fallout from his final mission in Colombia. If you're not a fan of Burn Notice yet, the movie gives you some idea what the series is like. Also marking Burn Notice star Jeffrey Donovan's feature-length directorial debut, The Fall of Sam Axe was released on DVD and Blu-ray July 26.

On May 17, Universal released the first season of USA's newer female spy drama Covert Affairs on DVD. Produced by Doug Liman (The Bourne Trilogy, Mr. and Mrs. Smith), the series proved to be more than breakneck action. Piper Perabo pulls off the role of competent rookie CIA operative Annie Walker, and the supporting performances are nuanced as well, particularly Christopher Gorham as Auggie Anderson, a blind ex-Special Forces soldier who supports Annie from headquarters.

On June 28, Warner Home Video released the first season of TNT's Rizzoli & Isles. Based on the mystery novels by Tess Gerritsen, the TV series, starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander, was developed by former Bones producer Janet Tamaro and takes the same loose yet appealing approach to adaptation.

On July 11, The feature film adaptation of Michael Connelly's The Lincoln Lawyer was released on DVD and Blu-ray. Having read the novel a few months earlier, the casting (Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei) and production value struck me as near perfect. There's always the concern that a 500-page novel can't be condensed into two hours-plus, but when I consider that the previous Connelly adaptation (Blood Work, 2002) was a misfire and he could have received the half-baked TV treatment other authors in his class have, I'm once again grateful for the big screen.

On August 30, Paramount released the first and only season of the 2010 CBS series The Defenders. It starred Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell as flashy Las Vegas lawyers, their most adult, most dramatic roles to date, in my opinion. The show was a mild ratings success out of the gate, but lost steam after a timeslot change. Still, I'm glad the show had the chance to play out over a full season. There are other shows I would recommend if only they received the same amount of time.

On October 18, Warner released the latest direct-to-video animated feature based on DC Comics, an adaptation of Batman Year One, the classic four issues in 1987 that brought Gotham City and Batman back to their hardboiled roots. Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston carries the movie as a flawed, but honest Lt. Jim Gordon transferred from Chicago to Gotham just as a young Bruce Wayne (Ben McKenzie) returns from twelve years of training in Asia. This is the most faithful DC animated adaptation yet. I recommend it to older teens and adults.

On October 25, Disney Home Video released the final two volumes of Season 1 of The Avengers: Earth's Mightest Heroes. I passed on seeing any Marvel's live-action movies in theaters this summer, but I heartily recommend this cartoon rivaling Warner's excellent DC Comics projects of the past twenty years. Season 1 prepares you as well as any live-action movies could for next summer's The Avengers directed by Joss Whedon.

On November 15, Entertainment One released a complete box set of It Takes a Thief, the 1968-70 series starring Robert Wagner as Alexander Mundy, the world's greatest cat burglar, who strikes a deal to work for an American espionage agency in exchange for a full pardon.

Books

The Garner Files, published November 1, is James Garner's much-anticipated memoir, co-written with Jon Winokur. Garner is best known to mystery fans for playing iconic TV P.I. Jim Rockford and, like Rockford, the memoir reflects Garner's plainspoken charismatic personality.

Video Games

I've largely given up video games in the past fifteen years, but I can't ignore some games that reproduce the feel of my favorite movies. L.A. Noire, released May 17 by Rockstar Games, puts the player in the role of WWII hero-turned-policeman Cole Phelps (voiced by Aaron Staton of Mad Men) as he rises through the ranks of the LAPD, assigned to five different crime desks. L.A. Noire features a level of deductive reasoning rare in recent games, as well as a fully-realized graphical environment drawn from real maps of 1947 Los Angeles. To give you a sense of the game's impact, it inspired an original collection of short stories published by Mulholland Books.