DVD
'Kennedys' a bit bland
The three-disc, eight-part miniseries "The Kennedys" (New Video, $30-$40) was rejected by the History Channel and was broadcast instead on Reelz. Joel Surnow's lavish but dullish miniseries favors a curiously prim restraint as it speedily tears through the story of the political dynasty. It all ends up being as harmless as a game of Kennedy paper dolls, starring Greg Kinnear as JFK and Katie Holmes as Jackie. "The Kennedys" bashfully looks askance at so much of the scandal that it wishes to plumb; Jack's sexual peccadilloes are portrayed as infrequent and with abbreviated modesty. Barry Pepper, though, is astonishingly good and often eerily spot-on in his Bobby Kennedy portrayal, matched by an equally shining, spunky turn by Kristin Booth as Ethel. When Bobby and Ethel are on the screen, "The Kennedys" finally feels like it has a story to tell.
WASHINGTON POST
Out Tuesday: "Adventure Time: My Two Favorite People," "Army Wives" (Season 5), "Carlos," "CSI" (Season 11), "CSI: Miami" (Season 9), "CSI: NY" (Season 7), "The Hour," "How I Met Your Mother" (Season 6), "Hung" (Season 2), "The Ledge," "The Middle" (Season 2), "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," "Treasure Island" (1990), and Blu-rays of "Basket Case," "Ben-Hur," "Footloose," "Gamera Trilogy," "Mimic," "The Phantom Carriage," "Torso."
GADGET
Get iPad connected Getting an Apple portable electronic device to be displayed on a TV should be an easy chore, but it's difficult unless you have the right hardware. The Dexim AV Adapter kit (DWA037, $30; www.dexim.com) has all the connections needed to make this simple. Included is a standard Apple 30-pin dock connector, a micro USB, mini HDMI and component cables. Once you choose the proper connection for your TV, any content stored on the device including digital photos and videos can be watched in 720p resolution. And music can be played on your home stereo system. The USB also lets the device charge (and sync) for endless hours of use.
MCCLATCHY NEWS SERVICE
GAME
Time to get 'Ugly' "Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon" ($10 download for Xbox 360, PS3; rated Mature) gets the rare distinction of being a game that animates better than the cartoon on which it's based. But if you're familiar with the low-rent Comedy Central cartoon, you know that's a small hurdle to clear. You also know what to expect from the game's audiovisual department -- namely, ugly characters, gallons of blood, bizarre weaponry ( rubber chicken rockets, for example) and several premium cable channels' worth of blue language flying freely and repeated ad nauseam. Whether you love it, hate it or simply enjoy the bewilderment it engenders, the presentation is the most unique thing about "Apocalypsegeddon," which otherwise combines a decent side-scroller and a decent twin-stick shooter into something that is neither exemplary nor bad.
MCCLATCHY NEWS SERVICE
