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.
Enchanted – An Adult Fairytale That Kids Will Enjoy
Enchanted A-
Starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, and Susan Sarandon
Directed by Kevin Lima (Tarzan)
Rated PG for some scary images and mild innuendo
Appropriate for all ages
The Story: Cartoon princess Giselle (Adams) is as happy as she can be. She has met her prince Edward (Marsden) and they are to marry. The queen/witch (Sarandon) has other plans however, and casts the simple princess into the real life world of New York City. When a young attorney (Dempsey) rescues her thinking that she is just a pretty young woman that has lost her marbles, it is up to the prince to head to New York and rescue her before he loses her.
The Good: The first half of this film is just pure joy. Every minute will make you smile and laugh and cry. There are some very memorable moments here that can only be described as brilliant. I am so glad that Amy Adams is finally starting to make a name for herself (you might remember her from her Oscar nominated role in Junebug). She is so perfect for Giselle that you can almost feel that she might be a real princess trapped in a New York wonderland. The rest of the cast performs solidly as well and the production is top notch.
One of the best aspects of this film is it’s appeal for adults. Because of the real human (and animal) nature presented here, the tale has an adult feel that is still kid-friendly. The innuendo will escape most young minds and make most grown-ups laugh wickedly.
The Bad: I have a feeling that Disney had a great premise but couldn’t figure out how to get the story to end right. Sarandon’s queen/witch/dragon wasn’t convincing and pretty nonsensical. Because of this ending dilemma, the film drags a bit and then ends after a confusing finale. But never fear, even with this problem, you will still walk out of the theater with a smile on your face.
The Summary: Disney knocks yet another fairytale out of the park.
Hitman – Misses By A Mile
Hitman D+
Starring Timothy Olyphant, Dougray Scott, and Olga Kurylenko
Rated R for strong bloody violence, language, and some sexuality/nudity
Appropriate for ages 17+
The Story: A trained-from-birth assassin finds himself in a pickle when a confirmed dead target turns up alive. Since he is the scapegoat, he attempts to go after the people that have set him up in order to make a cleaner escape from the authorities possible.
The Good: If you are fans of the game, you might enjoy this minor thrill ride. There is lots of violence and nudity which might excite the target audience appropriately. Olyphant, while not as good as usual, is still fun to watch for most of the film and gives his all to make this another Bourne Identity.
The Bad: The acting by the rest of the cast is simply atrocious. Of course the script doesn’t help the film’s cause. The writing and directing are both novice and make this film very forgettable. It might have helped to give the hero a real back story, rather than a jumbled montage opening credit sequence, but overall, this film is pretty much an unfixable mess from the start.
The Summary: This video game based pic should get assassinated at the box office.
Stephen King’s The Mist – Fear of the Fog
The Mist A-
Starring Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, and Toby Jones
Directed by Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption)
Rated R for violence, terror and gore, and language
Appropriate for ages 17+
The Story: The day after a major storm, a mist rolls into a small New England town. Collecting post-storm supplies, many of the townsfolk find themselves trapped in a grocery store after they discover that there are deadly creatures in the mist that kill those that might venture outside.
The Good: You want scary? You got it here. Both psychologically and physically frightening, The Mist delivers big chills and keeps the goosebumps a’bumpin. While the monsters are truly terrifying, much of the frights arise from the dialogue of the great Darabont screenplay. The ensemble acting by the entire cast is very good and the directing is just what you would expect from someone such as Darabont trying to make a horror flick.
The Bad: Earlier this week, Stephen King commented “Frank wrote a new ending that I loved. It is the most shocking ending ever and there should be a law passed stating that anybody who reveals the last 5 minutes of this film should be hung from their neck until dead.” That being said, the end of this film is super bleak. Many will not like it. I won’t give it away, but will merely say that it is very disturbing and sickening. I guess it’s just what the King ordered.
The Summary: This pic is scary enough to make you think twice before setting foot in the fog again.
Beowulf – An Army of One
Beowulf B-
Starring Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, and Angelina Jolie
Directed by Robert Zemeckis (Forest Gump)
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sexual material and nudity
Appropriate for ages 15+
The Story: Loosely based on the epic poem that most of us were forced to read in high school, Beowulf follows the adventures of the titular hero as he fights his way through medieval Denmark. First he must battle the powerful demon Grendel, only to find Grendel’s mother is an even more difficult foe.
The Good: Director Zemeckis uses here the same style of motion-capture animation he used in his Christmas tale Polar Express. The years have been good to the technology and the look of the film is stunning. If you really want to see the best possible version of the film, take the 90-minute drive to Houston and see it in 3-D IMAX at the Marquee theater on IH-10 and Silber (just get your tickets early on www.fandango.com as it certain to sell out all of it’s showings over the next ten days). The production, overall, is truly excellent and the whole experience is very entertaining. The dragon fight scene at the end of the film is one of the most amazing and breathtaking action sequences I’ve ever laid eyes on.
The Bad: I wasn’t so sold on the story, and while it’s not bad, the screenplay drags a bit at times and two hours seems a little long for the material. Also, while it might be a fun film for teenage boys, it is violent and sensual enough to have garnered an R rating. While blood was spared to achieve a PG-13, I would have given the flick a stronger rating and advise parents of small children to take them to a different movie.
The Summary: While the pacing could have been better, Beowulf still turns out to be a fun-filled action pic with eye-popping visuals.
Ratatouille – Take Home Food
RatatouilleStarring 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 – Warning! Do Not Ignore This Film
SickoDirected, 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.
American Gangster – A Story You Wish Wasn’t True
American Gangster A
Starring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, and Josh Brolin
Directed by Ridley Scott (Gladiator)
Rated R for violence, pervasive drug content and language, nudity and sexuality
Appropriate for ages 17+
The Story: Based on the life of drug-kingpin-turned-informant Frank Lucas (Washington), American Gangster tells the tale of the infamous drug lord’s rise to to power and the police officer that wants to take him down (Crowe). Responsible for most of the early heroine trade in Harlem, Lucas became a multi-millionaire by personally traveling to Vietnam to buy the drugs, and then having them shipped back to the states in the coffins of American soldiers. By doing this, he became more powerful than even the mafia during this dark chapter in American history.
The Good: Not since the 70s have we seen such a gritty and intense crime drama. Throw Scarface and The French Connection in a blender and you might come up with something that looks like American Gangster. Washington and Crowe are so good here that I can see both being brought up for Oscar nods for best actor. The supporting cast is just as good. The script by Shindler’s List scriber Steven Zaillian is a tremendous piece of work that gives the actors and director Ridley Scott an easy road map to work with. While almost three hours long, the pacing makes the time go by fast, although I would recommend the small drink so that you don’t have to take a bathroom break and miss any of this great film.
The Bad: This movie is almost perfect, until the last five minutes. If I could have left five minutes early, I would already be declaring my best film of the year choice in October. I won’t spoil it for you, but let’s just say that I was very disappointed in the way the ending was handled.
The Summary: In the world of crime thrillers, American Gangster will go down as a classic.
Across the Universe – Beatlemania
Across the Universe A
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
Appropriate for ages 13+
The Story: This musical, set to the music of the Beatles, follows a young British man named Jude (Sturgess) that comes to America and falls in love with a young girl named Lucy, all against the backdrop of 1960’s Vietnam.
The Good: As a huge musical fan, and as a huge Beatles fan, one can easily understand why I would love this film. Not only are the songs some of the best the Fab Four wrote, but the arrangements here are fantastically put together with a wild spectrum of beautiful voices performing them. I will go so far as to say that some of the pieces are better than the originals such as Come Together (performed by Joe Cocker), I Am the Walrus (performed by Bono), Strawberry Fields Forever, and an incredible rendition of Dear Prudence. Brought to the screen by famous stage director Julie Taymor (Broadway’s The Lion King), it is no surprise that the look and choreography of the film are quite stunning.
The Bad: While there are a few little plot problems here and there, and some of the film feels disjointed at times, the movie is so likable that one can’t help but overlook these forgivable offenses. Also, the pic tends to feel like a large scale music video at times, but I think that’s what most people expect anyhow.
The Summary: This addictive and ambitious little pic will help you remember why you loved the Beatles so much in the first place.
Transformers – Monster Truck Show
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!