Category: DVD Pick of the Week

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Starring Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, and Sam Rockwell
Rated R for strong violence and brief sexual references
Appropriate for ages 17+
Release Date: February 12, 2008
Available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD

2007 was a great year for westerns, and Jesse James was the cream of the crop.  Based on the brilliant book by Ron Hansen, the pic follows the infamous Jesse James and his gang and how he came to his demise.  Yes, the story is all there in the title, but the journey is very much worth taking. Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck turn in amazing, award-worthy performances as the titular characters.   The screenplay , like the book, comes across like poetry.  The biggest standout is the breathtaking look of the film shot by legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins.  I must recommend a wait on purchasing this one at this time.  Due to the fact that this is a bare-bones disc with movie only, a rental will suffice.  While I wasn’t able to inspect the Blu-Ray or HD-DVD versions, my research shows that they are laid out the same way.  I’m sure a special edition will be on it’s way. 

Across the Universe

Starring Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, and Joe Anderson
Directed by Julie Taymor (Frida)
Rated PG-13 for some drug content, nudity, sexuality, violence and language
Release date: February 5, 2008
Available on 2-Disc DVD and Blu-Ray

Building a musical based on Beatles music is no easy task.  First problem, how do you connect the dots for a real story without creating some silly musical review?  Second, how do you make the fans happy?  The very eclectic and brilliant Julie Taymor figured it out.  Set in the 1960s, Across the Universe tells the love story between a young Brit named Jude and sweet all-American girl named Lucy.  It also incorporates a modern political message, while pretending to be focused on the Vietnam War.  The voyage taken here is spectacular and you’ll find yourself digging through all the little corners of the discs, including several documentaries about the film’s making, as well as loads of extended musical numbers.  The Blu-Ray disc also offers an art gallery from the movie, set to the pic’s fantastic soundtrack.

Once

Starring Glenn Hansard and Marketa Irglova
Rated R for language
Appropriate for ages 15+
Release Date: December 18, 2007

This little independent film from Ireland took the world by storm this year.  Many of you probably made the trip to Houston to catch it, but just in case you didn’t, the DVD is finally here.  The story revolves around a street singer in Dublin that falls in love with a young immigrant woman.  The two take a musical journey as they write songs and record an album.  The relationship is sweet, but the music makes this film very special.  Glenn Hansard, the lead singer of The Frames, puts on one of the best performances of the year in this little indie that could.  Warning: I have not spoke with anyone that has seen this film and didn’t buy the soundtrack afterwards.  The tunes here provide what could be the best album of 2007. 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Ralph Fiennes, and Imelda Staunton
Rated PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images
Release Date: December 11, 2007

The book series may be complete, but there are still two more movies and a lot of Hogwarts excitement to go around.  This fifth movie in the series is a well-crafted film about Harry and his rebellion against the Ministry of Magic when they refuse to believe that Voldemort is back in action.  While most of the usual suspects like Hermione and Ron have been sentenced to supporting roles for the sake of time, the performance of new evil headmaster Umbridge is beautifully played by Imelda Staunton and she steals every scene she is in.  This two-disc set has some hits and misses.  The deleted scenes should have been vanished, but there is an editing section that teaches you about film making and then allows you to edit your own scene.  You also get a chance to follow Tonks around the studio in order to discover how Harry comes to life. 

Superbad 2-Disc Unrated Extended Edition

Starring Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, and Seth Rogen
Unrated for excessive language and sexual situations
Appropriate for ages 17+
Release Date: December 4, 2007

Two friends attempt to score liquor for their high school graduation party in the the hope of possibly hooking up with their respective dream girls.  One bad incident follows another and the two end up on an absurd adventure that they will never forget.  This huge sleeper hits DVD this week with a phenomenal two-disc unrated set.  Caution to the young and easily offended: there is some really raunchy stuff on this disc, even more so than in the raunch-filled R rated theatrical release.  The second disc proves to be almost as funny as the first, containing tons of extras like a Taxi Cab Confessions spoof titled Cop Car Confessions and Everyone Hates Michael Cera – The Unfortunate True Story.  Also included is a junket meltdown that looks a little too real to be faked.  All in all, I laughed hard for almost four straight hours with this set.  If laughter really is the best medicine – this DVD could cure cancer. 

Ratatouille

Starring the voice talent of Patton Oswalt, Peter O’Toole, and Ian Holm
Rated G
Appropriate for all ages
Release Date: November 6, 2007

Remy is one of the most gifted chefs in France.  He has talents and skills that most chefs can only dream of.  Unfortunately for Remy, he is rat.  When Remy finds a young dishwasher named Linguini that he can control like a puppeteer, he hides behind the hat so that he can practice his craft without anyone seeing a rodent in the kitchen.  We have come to expect certain excellence from Pixar and this film adds to the long list of amazing films from the Disney partner.  Entertaining for both children and adults, Ratatouille should be a big home run on DVD.  While there will probably be a nice two-disc special edition coming out soon, this single disc version is good for now and has a couple of short films: Lifted and Your Friend The Rat, as well as an interesting documentary comparing filmmaking to cooking.  I will admit, the deleted scenes, comprised of pencil sketches from an original unused plot line, are less than impressive and could be easily skipped over. 

Sicko

Directed, Written, and Starring Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine)
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language
Appropriate for ages 10+
Release Date: November 6, 2007

I am saddened to know that many of the readers of this column will ignore this review, simply because they think that they don’t agree with the man who made it.  Let me start off then with a huge spoiler: THIS IS NOT A HILLARY COMMERCIAL.  In fact, he dismisses Hillary based on the amount of money that she accepts from the healthcare lobby.  Yeah, that surprised me too.  Sicko, being more like Bowling for Columbine, than the Bush-bashing Fahrenheit 911, provides for a very insightful, funny, yet powerful documentary on a very serious issue: Healthcare.  While some of it is a bit naive, and the last thirty minutes consists of Moore showboating in Cuba, there is no doubt that this is the most important film of the year and will cause much discussion, whether it is seen or unseen.  There is no doubt that the healthcare machine is broken in America, and as long as we have such a corrupt Washington, that will no change.  This is why I am thankful for people like Moore that are willing to take such a public stance on the issue and he is still fighting the system even after the movie release.  I highly advise watching the extra scenes on the special features of the DVD after viewing the film.  Due to time constraints, he was forced to cut them out, but many of the extra interviews and segments are very thought-provoking and worth watching.

Starring Shia LeBeouf, Josh Duhamel, and Jon Voight
Directed by Michael Bay (Armageddon)
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, brief sexual humor and language
Appropriate for boys of all ages (and maybe a few older girls as well)
Release Date: October 16, 2007

While the film hit theaters only a few months ago, Transformers decided an early DVD release date, and providing it’s fans with this huge two-disc special edition.  Based on the original toys and subsequent cartoon, Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay had the idea to create this mega tent pole that studies the basic story of a boy and his car.  When young Sam Witwicky (LeBeouf) discovers that his new car is really a robot from another planet, he is thrust into the middle of a battle that could lead to the destruction of Earth.  While the CG is out of this world (no pun intended), the special features on disc two show the impressive amount of non-CG that went into the picture.  The scope and scale of this film are enormous and make the second viewing even more fun.  The set includes hours of extras including a commentary and tons of documentaries.  Also, while I loved watching the HD-DVD version, if you purchase the regular DVD two-disc set at Target stores, the case turns into a robot.  I’m sorry, but that is just way too cool!

The War – A Ken Burns Film
Release Date: October 2, 2007

Ken Burns is famous for his hard-hitting documentaries, but never before has he put together such a remarkable piece of film making as his new picture The War.  This seven-part PBS series takes a never-before-seen look at the Second World War and the effect it had on American lives.  This six disc set contains all fifteen hours of unbelievably impressive footage, much of which has been newly discovered.  With narration by some of the biggest names in Hollywood and the intellectual community and music by famed jazz musician Wynton Marsalis, this film will go down as the crowning achievement of Burns, as well as the defining archive of information about the war.  As an added note, Burns will be speaking at the Lutcher theater in Orange on October 17, 2007 at 6:30 PM.