DVD Releases

Chris Columbus, how hard we fall. Since directing Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the director has provided audiences with two brain-numbing pictures: the adaptation of the musical Rent and this year’s atrocity, I Love You, Beth Cooper. Based on the novel by Larry Doyle, who subjected audiences to the Ben Stiller travesty that was Duplex, I Love You, Beth Cooper is shockingly one of the worst movies of 2009.

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John Goodman are back and Billy Crystal are back… on Blu-Ray! OK, so Monsters, Inc.‘s release on Blu-Ray isn’t that exciting since we’ve now determined that it really isn’t worth upgrading from DVD to Blu-Ray, but at least be excited that the beloved Disney-Pixar movie now comes with some great new special features. And some not-so-great ones.

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Surprise! It’s Matthew McConaughey! In a romantic comedy! Surprise! Yes, the McConaughey is back with another predictable romantic comedy, this one starring Jennifer Garner. Thankfully, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past has a funny enough premise that it can at least somewhat make up for its cliché pitfalls.

View this Ghosts of Girlfriends Past movie review at its original location – FilmJabber!

Just when you thought Battlestar Galactica was over, it starts all over again with Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, which looks back at the nuclear assault on Caprica and the months that followed from the Cylons’ point of view. The return to the beloved series, however, is not as incredible as you’d expect.

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Ellie, Diego, John Leguizamo, Manny and the rest are back in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, but hold the celebration: the movie is the weakest of the franchise, and that’s saying something when the franchise has never been very good to begin with.

I’ve never understood why the Ice Age movies have been so popular; the three films made so far have made nearly two billion dollars worldwide, not counting DVD and merchandise sales. The first one was boring and the second, while better, was still lackluster. The third film, unfortunately, is the weakest of the three.

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Battlestar Galactica may be done, but is it really? Battlestar Galactica: The Plan debuts on Blu-Ray and DVD on October 27 (we’re giving away a copy here), Caprica arrives early next year, and BSG hotties Tricia Helfer and Grace Park are on the cover of Maxim, looking hotter than ever. Here are some pics from the November issue:

In American Violet, Nicole Beharie makes a strong debut as Dee Roberts, an African-American single mother of four who finds her life turned upside down when she is falsely arrested for selling crack cocaine. After the chief D.A. offers her a plea deal in exchange for no jail time – versus a long, expensive court battle in which she could face years in prison away from her children, she becomes aware of a plot that involves racism and manipulation of the U.S. legal system.

Based on a true story, American Violet is essentially a direct-to-DVD release, having earned just over half a million dollars during its theatrical run earlier in 2009. Most movies go straight to DVD for a reason, but every once in a while one slips through the cracks. American Violet is one of those films. Why Samuel Goldwyn chose to sit on this one is anyone’s guess.

Beharie is excellent in the lead, delivering an emotional, heartfelt performance. She’s supported by a very good and more experienced supporting cast that includes Will Patton, Alfre Woodard, Michael O’Keefe and Tim Blake Nelson. O’Keefe does a particularly good job playing the film’s villain.

The movie works on account of its story, which tackles the issue of racism in the legal system. The plot drives the film more so than anything else, and this works both for and against it. American Violet is succinct and to-the-point; it moves along at a fast clip, presenting the plot points, turns and developments in an engaging and entertaining way. And yet, when you compare it to the great legal films of the last several decades, it feels small and insignificant, not because of what it’s about but because of what it’s missing. The characters are good but not particularly developed; what drives them and keeps them up at night is never explored. How Dee is affected by her circumstances are shown but never felt. American Violet is an engaging film, but not a gripping one. It lacks the emotional drama necessary to take it to the next level.

Nonetheless, the movie’s still worth seeing; it just isn’t award caliber. American Violet is remarkable for the story it presents and the actress it introduces – Nicole Beharie. Recommended.

View this American Violet movie review at its original location – FilmJabber!

Rising and fading stars converge in The Proposal, a pretty typical romantic comedy from the director of 27 Dresses and Step Up. And yet, just like Anne Fletcher’s other films, there’s something that just works about the movie.

Ryan Reynolds, who after years of circling mainstream exposure finally burst onto the scene with such 2009 hits as X-Men: Wolverine and this film (and has subsequently been given his own Deadpool and Green Lantern movies), stars as Andrew Paxton, a young, ambitious man who’s worked as an assistant to a bitch of a boss, Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock). Margaret has ruled his life with an iron fist, but when she learns that she is to be deported to Canada, she finds herself as Andrew’s mercy. Though the government suspects their deception, the two head off for a weekend with Andrew’s family in preparation for the big day: their sudden wedding.

The Proposal is your standard romantic comedy: the two leads hate each other and due to a goofy premise, they slowly warm to one another. Some conflict arises, the two go their separate ways, and then the man has to chase the woman down to confess his true feelings. Yep, pretty standard. Still, as mentioned earlier, The Proposal clicks more often than not. Writer Pete Chiarelli has devised a decent screenplay with enough funny lines and moments to string audiences along. Bullock, an unlikely candidate to play a cold boss-witch, is actually quite good, and Reynolds is as enjoyable as always, bringing his ability to deliver sarcastic one-liners with him. The Proposal benefits from the odd chemistry the two have.

Nevertheless, The Proposal suffers from a stereotypical third act that doesn’t live up to what’s presented earlier. This is one of those rare romantic comedies that could have actually worked had the two leads not gotten together at the end. In fact, it would have felt much more natural. While Bullock and Reynolds have good comedic chemistry together, their romantic chemistry isn’t nearly so strong; they’re funny, but it’s hard to see them as anything more than that. The transition from enemies to lovers is pretty questionable, and The Proposal would have been much more satisfying had Chairelli and Fletcher taken things in a more believable direction.

Beyond the sketchy romance that evolves in the final act, The Proposal also becomes dull as it nears the end. Its cleverness fades as it becomes more and more routine. There aren’t many funny moments in the final moments, and the romantic reunion isn’t anything to scream home about.

And still, The Proposal is a generally entertaining romantic comedy with enough laughs to keep both guys and girls engaged. Bullock still looks in form, and Reynolds shows that he can headline a major release. Betty White is also a show stealer in many of her scenes. Recommended.

The Blu-Ray includes outtakes, as well as an alternative ending and some deleted scenes, all with optional commentary. The only item exclusive to the Blu-Ray is an additional deleted scene – wow. Strangely, when I started the film, it defaulted to subtitles of the director’s commentary, which, in fact, made the movie all that more amusing.

View this Proposal, The movie review at its original location – FilmJabber!

Steven Soderbergh is one of those directors that just doesn’t seem to care how marketable his films are. Here’s a man who put himself on the map in the early 2000′s with such popular films as Erin Brockovich, Traffic and Ocean’s Eleven, but who then followed those up with Solaris, Eros, The Good German and Che. His movies fluctuate between pitch perfect mainstream films and niche art, which is quite rare this day and age; even the most independent of directors, once they hit the big time, seem to sell out. But that’s not Soderbergh.

In his first of two 2009 films (the other being The Informant, which I saw last night), he hires gorgeous porn star Sasha Grey to play Chelsea, a high-end Manhattan call girl who’s attempting to balance her boyfriend, clients and career. Seeking “reviews” to take her prominence to the next level, she finds herself at odds with her boyfriend, a rare man who’s willing to look the other way – most of the time – while she goes out and pleasures other men. When she meets a client who could be something more, however, she puts everything in jeopardy.

The Girlfriend Experience follows Chelsea as she navigates these dilemmas, presenting them as fragmented snapshots out of chronological order. Surprisingly, the movie’s narrative is strong and easy to follow and is not nearly as confusing as expected. The movie, shot on a budget of less than $2 million, is simple, and yet Soderbergh makes it look like it could have cost ten times as much. The direction is superb.

Grey, of course, is an unlikely choice to headline a drama by an Oscar-winning director. The 21-year old actress has 180 movies to her credit, but almost all of them are pornos. That’s a lot of porn to do in just three years. Despite the odd choice, Grey turns out to be a good choice for Soderbergh; she’s gorgeous and has a surprisingly classy look. Furthermore, while she isn’t asked to have a lot of emotional range in the picture, she portrays a very likable and yet emotionally tragic figure with ease.

Thanks to Grey’s performance, Soderbergh’s direction and a pretty good screenplay, The Girlfriend Experience is an easy-to-watch drama that examines a career line that is rarely represented in such a humanistic way. The movie isn’t spellbinding or overpowering, but it works as an effective character study.

The Girlfriend Experience, for obvious reasons, is not for everyone, but if you’ve liked Soderbergh’s other indie films, this is another quality entry on his résumé.

View this Girlfriend Experience, The movie review at its original location – FilmJabber!

Sam Raimi’s return to horror – Drag Me to Hell – failed to register with viewers as it faded into the pits of heck faster than a cow at an Australian barbecue. It’s a shame, because the movie is an entertaining blast, full of demon hauntings, crazy old gypsie women and more than one kind of gross bodily fluid splattering all over the place. The movie, more a comedy and than a fright flick, rings similar to Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy in some ways, only with a bigger budget and more recognizable actors.

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Snow storms can be blinding. I can’t say I’ve been in one where I haven’t been able to see, but there was a movie released a few weeks ago that relies on this premise, so it must really happen. After all, Hollywood never lies. But in other news, I popped the all-new Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Blu-Ray into my player this afternoon to check out all the nifty special features packed within – and got lost.

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Every once in a while a movie comes along that defies expectations, that rocks its very essence, that destroys all hope of anything ever succeeding it. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is not that film.

If X-Men 3 was a disappointment – and it was – Wolverine is a mitigated disaster, full of hammy dialogue, rushed storytelling and crappy special effects. The good news is that the movie is now out on DVD and Blu-Ray, which means you can watch those embarrassing effects in crystal clarity.

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With season six looming, NBC is releasing The Office: Season 5 on DVD and Blu-Ray this Tuesday. With the 26 episodes comes the typical bonus feature culprits – deleted scenes, episode commentaries and a gag reel – but in this case, that’s actually a good thing.

As has been the case with other seasons of The Office, the deleted scenes are the highlight of the collection; each episode is filmed with a goal of 38-or-so minutes, which is then whittled down to 24 minutes or less for television. This means that for each episode, 25-40% of the footage is left on the cutting room floor. Most of this footage is actually quite entertaining. Overall, there’s three hours worth of deleted scenes, many of them laugh-out-loud funny.

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From the producers of Little Miss Sunshine comes another seemingly bright dramedy titled Sunshine Cleaning, about two down-and-out women who start a crime scene cleaning business. Though I’m generally not fooled by the “from the producers of” marketing spin films are often given, I did fall for this one: following the trailers, casting and even early reviews, Sunshine Cleaning did seem like another funny drama. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to sink your teeth into here.

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Those expecting Superbad things from director Greg Mottola’s follow-up comedy Adventureland may be disappointed. The R-rated drama-comedy, about a young man in the 1980′s who desperately takes a job at a trashy carnival and finds first love, is a well-made and engaging film, but it isn’t nearly as funny as Superbad, nor is it meant to be.

Jessie Eisenberg, Kristin Stewart and Ryan Reynolds star in the film, which, if anything, can be compared to the classic John Hughes films of the ’80′s. While it definitely offers more swearing and at times crude humor, at its heart is, well, heart, and believable nuances that capture youthful love surprisingly well. Adventureland is now out on DVD, but, unfortunately, the DVD doesn’t have much to offer.

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