New in Home Entertainment
May 8, 2012
Underworld: Awakening
Rated R for strong violence and gore, and for some language
Available on DVD, Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D
Desperate to keep this franchise alive, Michael Sheen’s Lucian is out and Kate Beckinsale’s Selene is back in as she leads a battle against humans who have finally discovered the existence of Vampire and Lycan clans. The film itself is pretty week in the writing department, but Kate does her best to make the movie as entertaining as possible in spite of its limitations. Her beautiful yet deadly Selene prances around in tight leather to the extent where you almost feel the film could be rescued if that’s all they showed. The special effects are also a vast improvement over the three previous films, and were it not for the fact that the tale has worn itself thin, you would think the movie has some real potential for entertainment. C+
Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie
Rated R for strong crude and sexual content throughout, brief graphic nudity, pervasive language, comic violence and drug use
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
With the help of Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, John C. Reilly, Will Forte and many others, comic actors Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim star in this sketch comedy-like movie about two idiot filmmakers that lose everything and are forced to run a mall that has been rundown. One of the stores in the mall sells “used toilet paper.” When asked if that was a big market for this mall, the shopkeeper responds “it’s more of a gourmet operation.” Well that precisely describes the movie. It’s definitely not a film for everyone and I would suspect it would be a huge turn-off for most audiences. As for me, I sat through 90 minutes without laughing. I found it to be peculiar and unique, but the comedy it has been billed as was nowhere to be found. I expected Mr. Show and instead got a strange and quirky amateur film. The cameos are everywhere you look, but the performances are completely uninspired. Since this is a Funny or Die film, I’d have to pick “die” but I can appreciate that some will click the other button. C-
The Big C: The Complete Second Season
Available on DVD
In the first season of Showtime’s hit show, Laura Linney discovered she had cancer. Now in the second season, she has finally shared her diagnosis with her family and is learning to live with the disease. It’s tough to laugh at such a subject, but the writing and acting here are so strong that it’s hard not to. And having the ability to know when to make you laugh and when to cry, the show really excels at toying with your emotions as it puts you right there in her world. A-