Month: September 2010

разтегателни диваниThe Killer Inside Me (R, 2010, IFC Films)
You know how this goes: Guy fouls up, guy takes drastic measures to cover up the screwup, drastic action opens new cans of worms, and the cycle begins. That’s fun movie fodder, and that’s the story of Lou Ford (Casey Affleck), a small-town, engaged-to-be-engaged sheriff whose attempts to run a prostitute (Jessica Alba) out of town do not go as planned. The title is an unmistakable allusion to the details of that trouble, and the back of “The Killer Inside Me’s” box is happy to fill it all in for you if you don’t enjoy the element of surprise. But even complete familiarity with “Me’s” plot outline cannot undermine just how much fun it is not only to watch Lou solve one fiasco by making an even bigger mess, but especially what happens to his character when the rest of West Texas regularly hands him ways out of his troubles that he may or may not accept. “Me” is an extremely enjoyable (and, in spite of the noir pretense, unabashedly and darkly humorous) picture of complete character degeneration, and the only thing more satisfying than the journey is the wild turn of events the movie assembles for its conclusion. Kate Hudson, Elias Koteas, Tom Bower, Ned Beatty and Simon Baker also star.
Extras: Three behind-the-scenes features.

Iron Man 2 (PG-13, 2010, Paramount)
The huffy critical blowback “Iron Man 2” endured for not being as good as the original was pretty unfair, because outside of complete self-sabotage, there was nothing the film could possibly do to surprise us the way its predecessor did. Like that movie, this movie is as much about Iron Man’s alter ego, eccentric, sharp-tongued mega-industrialist Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), as it is Iron Man himself. Also like that movie, “IM2” skirts superhero movie conventions by leaning on a sharply funny script that resonates in our world as well as theirs. The difference this time is that, in addition to not being able to surprise us with all that wit, “IM2” also is obligated to detail the fallout from the first movie, which concluded with Stark coming out as Iron Man. That takes us down some bumpy roads in which Stark deals with celebrity, infamy, a United States military that wants his toy and the drain his suit’s chemistry has on his failing health. So much fallout is bound to make for a less snappy film, and not every road feels narratively essential. But “IM2” deserves points for going there at all instead of lamely pretending things are business as usual, and it maintains its sense of humor while doing so. And with respect to Jeff Bridges, the first film doesn’t have Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), an outstanding adversary who plays both sides of the coin and whose grand unveiling in “IM2’s” early going should make other comic book movie villains jealous.
Extras: Director commentary, deleted scenes, two behind-the-scenes features, music video.

Babies (PG, 2010, Focus Features/Universal)
Your enjoyment of “Babies” can be gauged by one factor and one factor alone: How much do you love babies? “Babies” chronicles the first years of four newborns in Namibia, Mongolia, Tokyo and San Francisco. But while the overlying message is hit-you-over-the-head obvious — the love between parent and child knows no border — the movie itself is surprisingly (and admirably) hands-off. There is no narrator, no explanatory setup, no overlying text beyond names and locations. No filmmakers enter the frame, and the only ones readily acknowledging the presence of a camera are the babies (and pets) who can’t help but stare. Even they seem to get used to it, though, and while the message behind “Babies” certainly deserves commendation, it’s the stars of the show and their candid displays of curiosity, mischief, self-amusement and general confusion that makes watching 93 minutes of mostly dialogue-free footage so much sweeter and funnier than a description on paper might imply. With that said, a fair (and obvious) warning: If babies don’t really do it for you, this won’t either, and even those who appreciate “Babies” might also appreciate being able to pause the movie and catch a breather from what essentially is a cute train that never stops rolling.
Extras: A feature on the babies three years later, “Babies” contest winner feature.

Frozen (R, 2010, Anchor Bay)
Let this be a lesson for the few of you lacking the ground-level common sense to figure this out: When it’s dark outside and a ski resort says it’s closing down for five days, don’t bribe the chairlift operator into letting you go for one last ascent up what otherwise is a deserted trail. Thats what Parker (Emma Bell), Joe (Shawn Ashmore) and Dan (Kevin Zegers) did, and as you might guess, a sequence of events leads to both the operator leaving the scene and the lift shutting down mid-trip, leaving the three stranded high above the ground amid freezing temperatures. “Frozen” puts itself in a tricky spot, because it’s a movie that both takes place almost entirely in the same small area and also one that really wants to touch some nerves by not blowing absurd holes in its logic. As such, there is a limited number of ways this can go. But limited options doesn’t hurt like it could have, because once “Frozen” makes its selections for how it wants to scare audiences, it mines those selections for gold and does a lot with a little. Skiing and snowboarding aficionados will certainly get more rattled by the dramatization of worst fears realized in bad ways, but anyone afraid of heights, the dark, the elements, tight spaces or being stranded will get theirs as well.
Extras: Cast/writer/director commentary, deleted scenes, four behind-the-scenes features.

Suck (R, 2009, E1 Entertainment)
The disheartening laws of banality suggest that any movie that’s doused with loud music, loud makeup, caffeinated acting and an attention deficit disorder can also stake a claim as a potential cult classic. In actuality, most of these movies are just bad — and that’s a bummer for “Suck,” because it’s entirely too much fun to deserve getting lost in the playground of calculated cult classic wannabes. In “Suck,” the only fetching member (Jessica Paré as Jennifer) of a floundering indie band transforms into an object of hysterical fascination when she disappears one night and reemerges as a vampire capable of hypnotizing audiences. Her bandmates (Rob Stefaniuk, Chris Ratz, Paul Anthony) are predictably rattled — catching her feeding on a convenience store clerk tends to do that — and in the meantime, a weathered vampire hunter (Malcolm McDowell) seeks to vanquish the spell that both transformed Jennifer and previously killed his wife. Does “Suck” sound like yet another morose story about vampires? Yes it does. But in addition to being a comedy that’s too clever to fall prone to dreariness, “Suck” really is a movie about rock and roll. The vampires are a device, but the real story — how long do we look the other way if audiences are buying tickets to look at us? — is so much more, and “Suck” has a legitimately entertaining time milking it from start to finish. Dave Foley, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop and Dimitri Coats also star.
Extras: Writer/director/cinematographer documentary, making-of documentary, music video.

Get Him to the Greek: Unrated Collector’s Edition (R/NR, 2010, Universal)
It’s understandable why someone decided to write a movie centered around rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), because while a bunch of characters stole scenes in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” he came away with two handfuls and parts of the soundtrack as well. But if “Get Him to the Greek” leaves us with any lasting lesson, it might be that a little Russell Brand is better than an entire movie’s worth of him. “Greek” takes place long after the events of “Marshall,” and Aldous’ stardom has peaked and faded. But with the 10th anniversary of his Budokan-esque show at the Greek Theatre looming, and with music executive Sergio Roma (Sean Combs) needing a sure thing after numerous failures, an anniversary show seems like a good idea. So Sergio sends a minion (Jonah Hill, playing a completely different character than he portrayed in “Marshall,” so just play along) to fetch the perennially intoxicated Aldous, the job proves more challenging than originally envisioned, and from there, wackiness — and lots of it — ensues. Moments of that wackiness are amusing and even sharply funny. But mostly, “Greek” reaches and strains itself to fill nearly two hours with what essentially is an empty excuse for Aldous to be Aldous. As it turns out, while he’s really funny in short bursts, he’s harder to take in longer form. “Greek” goes through the usual motions — wackiness, loud wackiness, heartfelt turnabout, happy ending — and it does a reasonably entertaining job at it, but little more than that.
Extras: Theatrical and extended (by four minutes, don’t get excited) cuts, cast/crew commentary, deleted/extended scenes, alternate beginning and ending, uncut music scenes, two behind-the-scenes features, bloopers, line-o-rama.

Worth a mention
— “Astonishing X-Men: Gifted” (NR, 2010, Shout Factory): The torrent of animated comic book shows and movies might leave non-devotees completely overwhelmed, but “Astonishing X-Men: Gifted” merits a little extra attention. Instead of a full-fledged cartoon, “Gifted” is a motion comic, a hybrid between cartoon and static comic that’s a bit jarring the first time you experience it. In addition to being novel, though, the motion comic approach lets storytelling and sharp writing shoulder the entertainment burden instead of sleepwalking while flashy animation does the work. Fortunately, given the writing minds — Joss Whedon and John Cassaday — tasked with making that happen, that works out just fine. Includes six episodes (which, totaled together, form a feature-length presentation), plus interviews, a behind-the-scenes feature, a visual X-Men retrospective and a music video.
— “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Battle for Eternia” (NR, 2002, Mill Creek): The good news about this set is the reminder it serves about the relatively unheralded 2002 “He-Man” cartoon reboot, which did just about everything right by staying true to the original cartoon while enhancing the universe with more sophisticated animation and storytelling. The bad news about this set is that, while it’s affordably priced at $10, the complete 39-episode series is available for less than twice the price. This set includes 10 episodes, along with a commentary track on one episode and original scripts for all 10.
— “King Kong” (NR, 1933, Warner Bros.): Maybe the migration to Blu-Ray would accelerate if studios replaced those ugly blue cases with the packaging reserved for “King Kong’s” Blu-Ray coming-out party. “Kong” comes packaged like a hardcover book, and Warner Bros. binds an equally attractive 32-page companion booklet to the spine. Other bonuses include a commentary track with visual effects pioneers Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston, a seven-part making-of documentary, a profile on “Kong” writer Merian C. Cooper, high-definition transfers of test footage and the original trailer.
— “Scrubs: The Complete and Final Ninth Season” (NR, 2009, ABC/Disney): A lot of fans balked — hence the cancellation that followed — but “Scrubs” made a bold play to extend its life by moving the focus to a teaching school after a huge portion of its cast left town following the eighth season. It definitely isn’t the same, and this is the show’s weakest season if we’re keeping score, but even in this form, a down season of “Scrubs” can hang with most sitcoms’ best years. Despite the exodus, most of that old cast returns in some capacity at some point, and fans of J.D. (Zach Braff), Turk (Donald Faison) and Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) have much to look forward to in this set. Includes 13 episodes, plus deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes feature about the transformation, bloopers and a “Live from the Golf Cart” feature that will make more sense once you’ve seen the episodes.
— “Super Size Me: 6 1/2-Year Anniversary Special Edition” (PG-13, 2004, Virgil Films): The world has changed greatly in six and a half years’ time, but this film remains as scientifically dubious — and thoroughly, hilariously engrossing — as it was the day it arrived. The new edition follows up with a new Q&A with filmmaker and test subject Morgan Spurlock, as well as answers to the 10 most-ask questions about its creation.
— “Secret Agent Aka Danger Man: The Complete Collection” (NR, 1960, A&E): Like any series lucky enough to be ensnared by A&E’s DVD arm, “Secret Agent Aka Danger Man” finally gets the svelte megaset treatment, with all 86 episodes available on 18 discs packaged inside nine slim cases. Extras include a profile on series star Patrick McGoohan, the uncut U.S. show opener and a photo gallery.

Ondine (PG-13, 2009/, Magnolia)
Despite his sleepy existence off the Irish coast, fisherman Syracuse (Colin Farrelle) is hardly bored: He shares custody of his daughter Annie (Alison Barry), who suffers from kidney failure, and as consequence, he enjoys no shortage of colorful (albeit strangely genial) exchanges with his argumentative ex-wive (Dervla Kirwan). But all of that excitement pales in comparison to what happens when Syracuse catches a woman (Alicja Bachleda as Ondine) with no recollection of her past life in his net. Syracuse turns the mystery surrounding Ondine into a bedtime story for Annie, Annie does some spying and concludes Ondine is a real-life mermaid, and from there, a brilliantly original fairy tale with a strong distaste for compromise takes shape. “Ondine” never breaks contact with the world in which it is set: Syracuse’s existence is grimy and somewhat bleak, his daughter’s condition is demoralizing, and Ondine isn’t exactly The Little Mermaid if she’s a mermaid at all. But Annie’s convictions about Ondine’s past are disarmingly sweet, and her sweetness is merely enhanced by how snarky and sardonic she can be at the same time. The details of Ondine’s past gradually come to light, and without spoiling anything, what ultimately happens rather perfectly embodies how good “Ondine” is at continually playing two completely disparate moods off one another. It’s a dark, complicated story about some surprisingly complicated characters, but it never loses sight of the enchantment it teases in its very first scene.
Extras: Two behind-the-scenes features.

Bored to Death: The Complete First Season (NR, 2009, HBO)
Like many kids, Jonathan (Jason Schwartzman) fancies himself a private detective capable of solving mysteries for anyone willing to pay for his services. Unlike most kids, though, Jonathan is 30. And unlike most private detectives who are 30, Jonathan isn’t actually licensed to be a detective, but is instead a floundering writer whose dumping at the hands of Suzanne (Olivia Thirlby) motivates him to prioritize, chase a dream and post an (illegal) ad to Craigslist offering his (unlicensed) services. Occasionally, best friend Ray (Zach Galifianakis) joins the fray when his issues with emasculation aren’t flaring up. Ditto for Jonathan’s stoner boss George (Ted Danson), who is so bored with his post-divorce life and magazine empire that he’ll gladly risk his reputation for some danger. Given the emotional state of our three heroes, it probably goes without saying that while “Bored to Death” centers most episodes around a case, the real mystery comes from seeing which emotional wounds Jonathan, Ray and George will tear open en route to (maybe) solving it. “Death” regularly cuts deep with its writing, but it never loses sight of its completely silly disposition — a trait that’s entirely too uncommon amongst all these otherwise wonderful cable shows. In stark contrast to the show’s title, “Death’s” cast appears to be having a ball making this show, and between “Damages” and this, Danson has never been more fun to watch than he is right now.
Contents: Eight episodes, plus commentary, deleted scenes and two behind-the-scenes features.

(Untitled) (R, 2009, Screen Media Films)
Seriously, what did the art world do to deserve this? If “Boogie Woogie’s” indiscriminate spraying of venom last week wasn’t entertainingly vitriolic enough, “(Untitled)” offers a more intimate shanking by focusing on a handful of artists and entrepreneurs (Adam Goldberg, Marley Shelton, Eion Bailey, Vinnie Jones, Lucy Punch, Zak Orth, Ptolemy Slocum) trying to make it in a world that frowns on commercial viability and associates “making it” with being as penniless and misunderstood as most of these folks already are. Like “Woogie,” “(Untitled)” teases a full-blown farce, and it takes that tease even further with some wonderfully cringeworthy displays of pretense and some hilarious sight and sound gags that just dangle there while everyone walks around with a miserably straight face. But also like “Woogie,” there are too many moods in play — and too many of them illustrated with too much care and insight — to dismiss it simply as parody. “(Untitled)” lobs bombs at the art world, but it also cuts to the heart of what might drive people to torture themselves in pursuit of making something that touches someone else. The odd juxtaposition leaves the film with some meandering plot turns toward the end, but it’s a minor drawback in the face of all the bases it touches, and while the events depicted within represent an extreme case for entertainment’s sake, they’re a lot closer to the truth than many would prefer to admit. No extras.

Alien Autopsy (PG-13, 2006, Warner Bros.)
Does the name “Alien Autopsy” ring any bells for you? Does it, perhaps, remind you of a certain prime-time television special of the same name that aired on Fox 15 years ago and teased what might be real footage of an alien autopsy? This movie is the story of how two nobodies (Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly as Gary Shoefield and Ray Santilli, respectively) tricked that network, and numerous others worldwide, into giving them gobs of money for what essentially was a home video shot weeks earlier. The premise alone gives “Autopsy” all the ammo it needs to have a rousing good time, and that, happily, is precisely what it does. Creative liberty appears to run wild — the principal cast plays its parts to the nines, and with the real Shoefield and Santilli working behind the scenes as executive producers, the notion of dubiousness isn’t exactly farfetched — and anyone looking for a comprehensive, hard-hitting look at what happened in light of the hoax’s revelation won’t get it. As “based on true story” stories go, this one is positively bleeding out. But it’s just as well: “Autopsy” seems more concerned with being a hilariously fun story about two schmucks playing an epic prank on the establishment, and at that, it succeeds nicely.
Extras: Director commentary, deleted scenes (with commentary), outtakes, behind-the-scenes feature.

Robin Hood: Unrated Director’s Cut (PG-13/NR, 2010, Universal)
If you saw the commercials for “Robin Hood,” and if you have a good idea of how the obscenely glossy remake game is played, then you’re more than equipped to make a judgement about seeing the movie, which is exactly what you expect it is. For starters, it’s long — 140-156 minutes long, depending on which cut you watch. That’s at least 45 minutes too many because, in another non-surprise, “Robin Hood” takes every nod toward the character’s lore — here’s Mariam’s (Cate Blanchett) entrance, here’s the Sheriff of Nottingham, and of course, here’s Robin Longstride’s (Russell Crowe) meticulously illustrated coming into being — and wraps it in more padding than a glass vase being shipped around the world. The excess padding leads to scenes that drag out, scenes that didn’t even need to be included, and a continual buzz of self-indulgence that’s part and parcel with every glossy, big-budget remake of a cherished epic. The bulk of that money, naturally, goes toward the construction of elaborate set pieces and battles that dwarf those of the film’s forebears. But money can’t buy “Robin Hood” a soul, and there’s something completely dispiriting about how grey, dreary and completely telegraphed the movie’s aesthetic is. Only minimal knowledge of the story is needed to predict “Robin Hood’s” every mannerism, and you can call just as many shots simply by being familiar with the tired old roads down which these bloated remakes always seem to venture.
Extras: Theatrical and director’s cut, plus an hourlong making-of feature, deleted scenes, a shorter behind-the-scenes feature and a pop-up video-style director’s notebook.

The Experiment (R, 2010, Sony Pictures)
The experiment
in the experiment — take some law-abiding citizens and promise them a nice paycheck in exchange for role-playing as prisoners and guards in a real penitentiary for two weeks — is pretty intriguing. Problem is, it’s also been done for real — most famously during the 1971 Stanford Prison experiment — and it’s also been subject to a real-life documentary series (also called “The Experiment”) that aired on the BBC in 2002. In this incarnation, “The Experiment” is a work of fiction, pitting Adrien Brody in the prisoners camp and Forest Whitaker in the guards camp. As one might expect, it’s a gritty work of fiction, and as one might expect, some serious ugliness creeps in once the experiment gets fully underway. But the problem with a fictional movie that borrows so much from considerably more controversial documentary fodder is that most sentences describing it start with “as one might expect.” “The Experiment” is reasonably entertaining, and the script takes advantage of creative liberty in ways the true stories could not. But the most interesting thing “The Experiment” could have done is show us what happens to its characters after, not during, the experiment. We get a glimpse, but barely more than that, and it’s too bad the most unpredictable and creatively liberating part of this otherwise disadvantaged story is merely an afterthought to all the things we see coming from several scenes away. No extras.

Worth a Mention: TV on DVD Edition
— “Grey’s Anatomy: Complete Sixth Season (NR, 2009, ABC): When we last left Seattle Grace, two of “Grey’s Anatomy’s” regulars since day one were in severe peril — one at the hands of cancer, the other at the hands of a speeding bus. The consequences of those events naturally have a heavy pull on the mood of season six’s early going, but a merger with a nearby hospital and the influx of new cast members (Kim Raver most notable among them) pulls back. “Anatomy” did a similar trick the previous season by shaking up a staling formula with lots of new faces, and what worked that time also works this time. More notably (and at long last), the show shows willingness to center entire episodes around one character instead weaving multiple storylines through the whole cast. Includes 24 episodes, plus an extended (by 20 minutes) finale, a six-part “Seattle Grace: On Call” mockumentary Webisode series, deleted scenes and a behind-the-scenes feature.
— “Private Practice: The Complete Third Season” (NR, 2009, ABC): “Private Practice’s” third season begins in far less dire straits than its parent show’s sixth season, but the second season finale left enough relationships in enough disorder — to say nothing about the practice itself, which now faces competition from within the same office building — to provide fodder going into season three. The “Grey’s Anatomy” effect is present as ever, though: There’s another crossover episode between the two shows, “Anatomy” cast MVP Chandra Wilson makes a separate guest appearance, and while the cast begins the season in good health, one member doesn’t finish it that way.
— “Desperate Housewives: The Complete Sixth Season” (NR, 2009, ABC): “Desperate Housewives'” fifth season was supposed to reignite the series by jumping five years into the future. It worked … for a while, and then things went back to normal with regard to new neighbors hiding murky pasts and some calamity providing the season’s centerpiece. The sixth season bears no such pretense: There’s a mysterious new neighbor (Drea de Matteo), there’s a spectacular new disaster, and there’s a healthy load of new conflicts and misunderstandings between the same old residents on Wisteria Lane. “Housewives” no longer feels terribly fresh, but until the plateau turns into a downslope, there’s nothing wrong with the pace it’s keeping, either. Includes 23 episodes, plus deleted scenes, bloopers, series Creator Marc Cherry’s favorite scenes and two behind-the-scenes features.
— “Castle: The Complete Second Season” (NR, 2009, ABC): Longtime Nathan Fillion devotees might quietly curse the universe that canceled “Firefly” after 14 episodes while allowing something comparatively pedestrian like “Castle” — which stars Fillion as a mystery novelist whose expertise lets him tag along with and assist an NYPD detective (Stana Katic) as she cracks cases — to complete two seasons with a third on the way. But while “Castle” definitely adheres to formula — most episodes focus on a single case, and most cases run through the same motion of collaring a handful of suspects before clearing them and revealing the real culprit — it also is as good a showcase of Fillion’s charisma as any other show has been. Richard Castle is a funny, self-depreciating sidekick, and as result, “Castle” is more likable and entertaining than its formula might imply. Includes 24 episodes, plus deleted scenes, bloopers and three behind-the-scenes features.

Boogie Woogie (R, 2009, IFC Films)
Grab your notebooks, aspiring filmmakers, because “Boogie Woogie” is about to teach a lesson on how feasible it is to make a movie that’s completely unlikable but just as completely enjoyable anyway. There’s no good place to even start: “Woogie” is an indiscriminate spraying of gunfire at the world of art appreciation, and from the start, the bullets — a dying man (Christopher Lee) clinging to the $20 million masterpiece he purchased for $500 while everyone including his wife (Joanna Lumley) tries semi-tactfully to pry it away, a woman (Jaime Winstone) whose “art” is simply pointing a videocamera at everything she sees, a horribly insecure gallery owner (Danny Huston) who spies on competitors and privately wishes to ruin some of the same people to whom he publicly toasts — are everywhere. For good measure, “Woogie” throws in some adultery, sexual confusion, nepotism, betrayal of friendship, and a healthy number of misunderstandings and poor judgment. Just about everything and everyone is unpleasant, and while the film regularly flashes a sense of humor and initially hints it’s shooting for irony, it plays too many scenes with too straight a face to dismiss the unpleasantness as simple parody. Instead, it’s a rapid-fire assault on all the absurd things ambition can do to people, and its appetite for destruction, when written and carried out with this level of honesty and at this speed, is an asset rather than a downfall. You might walk away from “Wookie” hating just about everybody who waltzed through it, but that doesn’t mean you won’t love the horse they rode in on anyway. Alan Cumming, Heather Graham, Gillian Anderson and Jack Huston, among others, also star. No extras.

The Good Wife: The First Season (NR, 2009, CBS/Paramount)
The stoic celebrity wife standing beside the husband who cheated on her in front of the entire planet is an image that’s become depressingly iconic in the current era, so it wasn’t a case of if but when it also became the lynchpin for a television show. But what “The Good Wife” does with the device — wrap it inside a procedural courtroom show in which the wife (Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick) of a fallen and unfaithful Chicago politician (Chris Noth as Peter) resumes a law career she suspended 13 years prior in order to fend for her family (Makenzie Vega, Graham Phillips) while her husband does time — is a little more surprising. Using the concept as wrapping for just another courtroom show is bound to disappoint those who would rather “Wife” just hit that idea head on and mine it for some blackly funny or darkly serious material. But while “Wife” doesn’t do anywhere near that, it also doesn’t waste the gimmick. The baggage from the shaming seeps into Alicia’s career as well as her family — many of the faces she interacts with on the job have natural ties to Peter’s downfall — and “Wife” finds a way to keep the overriding story at the forefront without beating viewers over the head with everything it represents. As a nice bonus, the cases are interesting, and Alicia’s fellow attorneys (Josh Charles, Christine Baranski, Archie Panjabi, Matt Czuchry) are far more likable than the usual stock lot of wise-cracking courtroom drama supporting characters.
Contents: 23 episodes, plus commentary, deleted scenes and two behind-the-scenes features.

Afterschool (NR, Afterschool, IFC Films)
Living on the campus of a posh boarding school puts Robert (Ezra Miller) in an easier position to make friends than if he were a loner at a more traditional high school. Nevertheless, he closes the world off anyway, envying his more socially adept classmates while burying his face in whatever extreme videos he can dig up on the web. The obsession with watching video turns into a fascination with creating it after he chooses videography as his mandatory after-school activity, but it also brings him right into view of a tragedy that brings the campus to a standstill. Unfortunately, it also brings the movie to a standstill — which is a problem, because it wasn’t really moving with much purpose in the first place. “Afterschool” starts with promise by meticulously establishing Robert’s loner character in a way that’s extensively recognizable without feeling like a caricature. That equates to a slow start, which would easily be forgiven if the movie parlayed it into a more stirring back half. Instead, “Afterschool” gets lost, trading atmosphere for unnecessary pretense and saving most of its momentous scenes for portrayals of shocking teenage behavior that (a) are no longer shocking on their own and (b) do little more than send the characters running in developmental circles. “Afterschool” never stops displaying some kind of knack for subtly understanding the teenage mind, but it never really does anything with that knack beyond make a lot of empty noise. The ending, as result, feels stuffy and accidentally comical rather than haunting as intended.
Extras: Short film “The Last 15,” deleted/alternate scenes, outtakes/spare footage, Miller interview, storyboards.

America: The Story of Us (NR, 2010, History Channel)
Everything — the grand title, the attempted scope, the length, the budget, the glossy presentation — makes it completely plain that the History Channel wants “America: The Story of Us” to be a treasured magnum opus. Visually, it mostly earns it, with polished, high-definition dramatizations working in tandem with some slick computer animation to overload each episode with eye candy. Even the talking-head interviews look glossy. Structurally, though, “America” is considerably less inspiring: Each of the 12 episodes covers a portion of the history, which is nice for organizational purposes, but it also means some fairly major pieces of that history either get shortchanged or completely ignored. World War I gets a passing mention, and there’s some thick irony in a program called “the Story of Us” neglecting the origins of the Constitution and the American government as much as this one does. But perhaps the biggest disappointment lies in “America’s” details. The episodic structure means time already is at a premium for the subjects the show does cover in depth, and “America” fritters entirely too much time away by admiring all that eye candy and too often inexplicably interviewing celebrities instead of historians and newsmakers about their thoughts on the country’s history. Do you turn to Sheryl Crow, Michael Douglas, Donald Trump and Diddy for your history lessons? Because “America” does. And for those reasons and more, it’s little more than a beautiful assemblage of missed opportunity.
Contents: 12 episodes, plus deleted scenes.

Letters to Juliet (PG, 2010, Summit Entertainment)
Sometimes, a romantic comedy can’t help but be predictable. But “Letters to Juliet” sets its characters on a tee, gives viewers a driver, and then does the narrative equivalent of just looking the other way. “Juliet” finds fact-checker Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) on a pre-wedding honeymoon in Italy with fiancé and burgeoning restauranteur Victor (Gael García Bernal), and from Victor’s first appearance before the trip even starts, it’s clear he’s spending the entire vacation burying his nose in work. So Sophie, left to her own devices, visits the the Juliet Club, where the lovelorn write letters to Juliet (of Capulet fame) and a group of women send replies in her name. Sophie finds a long-lost letter, answers it with the women’s blessing, and shortly after, the recipient (Vanessa Redgrave as Claire) — with her cranky grandson Charlie (Christopher Egan) accompanying — revisits Italy in hopes of finding her old flame. “Juliet” could have thrived in spite of formula if it was about Claire and the Juliet Club (which, in addition to being a neat idea, is also real). Instead, it’s about Sophie and Charlie. The former is engag
ed to a much more likable (albeit clueless) man whose complete disappearance concerns nobody for most of the film. The latter is a charmless crank whose only sympathetic traits come from insulting ploys told in passing. But it doesn’t matter, because you already know where this is going. “Juliet” takes two characters with busted social compasses and uses them to feed its audience a broken, predictable lecture about true love. Bite down at your own peril.
Extras: Director/Seyfried commentary, deleted/extended scenes, two behind-the-scenes features.

Worth a Mention
— “Mad Ron’s Prevues From Hell” (NR, 1987, Virgil Films): The train of Halloween releases starts rolling in earnest next week, but it wouldn’t be right not to mention the DVD debut of this cult classic about cult classics. “Mad Ron’s Prevues From Hell” is a compilation of 47 horror movie trailers, many of them hailing from the zenith of the grindhouse era, and it ties the whole thing together with wondrously campy skits starring a magnificent cast of low-budget monsters. Watching all 47 trailers in succession can be tough, but thanks to the miracle of DVD, you can pause for air at any time. Extras include deleted scenes, two behind-the-scenes features and production and movie poster photo galleries.
— “Classic Artists: Jimi Hendrix: The Guitar Hero” (NR, 2010, Image Entertainment): If you’re looking for dirt, look somewhere else: The Classic Artists series would rather focus on the music than look behind it, and they make that point crystal clear on the back of “Jimi Hendrix: The Guitar Hero’s” packaging. Sure enough, that’s what this is — a loving, performance-filled look at Hendrix’s abilities, narrated by a fellow guitarist, Slash, who idolized his work. Extras include extended interviews, bonus Hendrix performance footage, image galleries and a 20-page, color photo-laden companion booklet.
— “Glee: The Complete First Season” (NR, 2009, Fox): “Glee’s” first season took longer to air than just about any successful first season in history, which is the non-cynical reason why this is actually the second batch of “Glee” episodes to hit DVD. The bad news for those who purchased “Season 1, Volume 1: Road to Sectionals” needs no explanation: Those 13 episodes and extras are in this set, which also includes the nine episodes that aired after its release. Extras include audition footage, sing-along karaoke, a jukebox, 10 behind-the-scenes features, video diaries and a music video.
— Latest wave of StudioCanal blu-ray releases (R/NR, Lions Gate): Longtime DVDs making their Blu-ray debuts no longer is remotely newsworthy, but when an imprint like StudioCanal jumps into the fray — and produces releases as pretty and noteworthy as these — exceptions are bound to be made. This week sees the release of 1991’s “Delicatessen” and 1949’s “The Third Man.” Per collection standard, both releases include liner notes written specifically for these editions. Additional extras include director (“Delicatessen”) and crew (“Third Man”) commentary, behind-the-scenes features, a retrospective documentary (“Delicatessen” only), alternate takes (“Third Man”) and photo galleries. StudioCanal is providing similar treatments for “Le Cercle Rouge,” “The Graduate,” “The Pianist” and “Mulholland Drive” in Europe, but licensing issues currently have their stateside releases in limbo.

Solitary Man (R, 2009, Anchor Bay)
The line between frustration and gratification is spectacularly thin in “Solitary Man,” which opens six years in the past, splashes some cold water on renowned car salesman Ben Kalmen (Michael Douglas), and then whisks us into the present for a full-on dunking. “Man’s” storyline is scattered, and instead of laying out what happened in those six years to explain all that presently lies in ruin in Ben’s formerly perfect life, the film lets you figure it out yourself by watching Ben do as Ben does. And therein lies the line. On one hand, “Man” is a fiercely aggravating (yet inspiring, if you buy what Ben’s selling) look at a man whose youthful indiscretions belie not only his age, but common sense, the wisdom of past mistakes and the repercussions those indiscretions have for family, friends and more. But “Man” is just as much an evisceration as a validation. Where most movies would forgive their protagonist’s selfish stupidity in time for the credits, “Man” continually bites back with a stark (but, if you buy what Ben is feeling, ever-so-slightly sympathetic) look at the private hell of a body aging when the mind fights fruitlessly to stay young. The mishmash of characters, situations and intentions makes for a chaotic story with time management issues. But when that chaos touches as many nerves as pointedly as this one does, it’s an asset more than a liability. Jenna Fischer, Danny DeVito and Jesse Eisenberg, among others, also star.
Extras: Writer/Director commentary, behind-the-scenes feature.

That Evening Sun (PG-13, 2009, Image Entertainment)
Though he seems entirely fit to fend for himself, old-timer Abner Meecham (Hal Holbrook) nonetheless finds himself bored and imprisoned in a retirement home. Worse still, when he breaks out of the home and escapes to the farmland he once owned and left to his son (Walton Goggins as Paul), he discovers Paul has leased the land to neighbor Lonzo Choat (Ray McKinnon), whom he has long detested. Fortunately for Abner, he possesses about as much humility as he now does land, and until someone forces him off the property, he’s planting a flag in the shed in the yard. The brazen disregard for written contracts should make Abner an easy man to root against, and if “That Evening Sun” was an easy movie to pigeonhole, such might be the case. But “Sun” isn’t really about Abner’s land so much as Abner himself, and his increasingly ugly fight against Lonzo — which is complicated by softer feelings toward Lonzo’s wife (Carrie Preston) and daughter (Mia Wasikowska) — isn’t really a fight about land so much as it is two men’s separate scratching and clawing for just a pinch of respect from anywhere or anyone. Holbrook plays the part to perfection — he’s a cantankerous grouch, but one with a cause, a capacity for reverence and a darkly enjoyable sense of humor — and his castmates just as capably do justice to a script that goes deeper and darker than initial impressions even remotely imply.
Extras: Director anti-commentary, interviews, two behind-the-scenes features.

MacGruber: Unrated (R/NR, 2010, Universal)
Yes, we know: Movies based on “Saturday Night Live” skits, which themselves usually wear out their welcome by beating the same gag to a pulp for six increasingly unfunny minutes, are generally pretty terrible. But “MacGruber’s” 90-second skits are different, because in addition to being short, they’re busy making fun of entire genres and eras (along with a show, “MacGyver,” that isn’t hurting for easy pickings) to hammer the same tired joke for too long. “MacGruber’s” movie incarnation obviously cannot switch gears every two minutes, and it does as so many awful “SNL” movies do by expanding our titular hero’s (Will Forte) backstory and parlaying that into an actual storyline. But where those other movies dared to insult us by telling those backstories with even a partially straight face, “MacGruber” pulls off the cool trick of giving us the details while simultaneously making fun of the act of doing so. That goes triple for the spectacular origins of arch-nemesis Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer). “MacGruber” plays the whole thing off with a terrifically deadpan style that lets the characters play it straight while the actors wink away, and the movie’s ability to jump from gag to gag without overstaying any welcomes is as perfect a tribute to the skit’s appeal as there could possibly be. This isn’t the funniest or most coherent comedy you’ll see this year by any metric, but in the realm of “SNL” film treatments, it’s a masterpiece. Ryan Phillippe, Kristen Wiig and Powers Boothe also star.
Extras: Unrated and theatrical cuts of the movie, cast/crew commentary, deleted scene, bloopers.

Wade in the Water, Children (NR, 2008, IndiePix)
“Wade in the Water, Children” wasn’t conceived as a documentary. Rather, a classroom of young students at one New Orleans charter school filmed their day-to-day lives in the wake of Hurricane Katrina’s arrival and aftermath, and from the 300 hours of footage the kids shot, this emerged. As such, “Children” also is exactly what you might fear it is — a collection of video diaries that show a lot of images, visit a lot of places and touch on a number of topics, but don’t necessarily say anything terribly profound when glued together under the guise of a documentary. The minds charged with putting “Children” together practice great restraint in letting the kids’ footage to do the talking, stepping in only to supply some text overlays with information about the kids featured within. The vignettes chosen for inclusion also run the gamut: Some are sweet, some are sad, a few are funny, most are candid, and a few perfectly convey just how slippery kids’ grasps on complicated current events can be. But every scene and every kid would have benefited immensely from more time and more context with which to let their stories breathe. “Children,” in this format, is continually forced to jump from one child and story to another, and it’s hard to develop a lasting attachment to the movie when such attachments never have a chance to form.
Extras: 2010 updates on the kids, extended scene, interviews.

The Norm Show: The Complete Series (NR, 1999, Shout Factory)
“Seinfeld” and other exceptions aside, sitcoms endured some uncomfortable growing pains in their transition from the mostly awful 1980s to today’s superior format, and few shows capture a vertical slice of that transition as acutely as this one does. The premise behind “The Norm Show” — Norm Henderson (Norm MacDonald) is a shamed former hockey player who got caught gambling on his own sport, but instead of sending him to prison, the judge sentences him to be a social worker — sounds like something “The Simpsons” would use for purposes of parody. The use of a laugh track — and the obligatory gags needed to meet the fake laugh-per-episode quota as demanded by the era — feels archaically trite. And McDonald, like most comedians who got their own show around the same time, is an abysmal actor whose delivery sounds the same when he’s happy, mad, sad or scared. Fortunately, McDonald’s stilted delivery — and if you’re familiar with his comedy, you know what that means — also happens to work for him. Additionally, while the show’s obligations to the premise are a drag, it gets away from it regularly enough for it not to matter too much. More than a show about a hockey player-slash-social worker, “Norm” feels like 22 minutes of McDonald indulging himself — which, thanks to his funny idea of self-indulgence, works just fine. Laurie Metcalf, Ian Gomez, Amy Wilson and Max Wright also star.
Contents: 54 episodes, plus commentary and liner notes.

The Exploding Girl (NR, 2009, Oscilloscope)
Movies prioritizing authenticity over everything else aren’t easy to pull off
, and depending on your thresholds for patience and entertainment, they aren’t necessarily all that enjoyable when someone actually gets it right. “The Exploding Girl” is the story of Ivy (Zoe Kazan), who comes home from college during spring break and, by doing so, gets to spend time with best friend Al (Mark Rendall) while boyfriend Greg hangs back at school. In case you can’t sense where this is going, Al’s asking about Greg almost as soon as the ride from the airport begins should offer a clue. But “Girl” isn’t as concerned with its transparent plot as it is with presenting this brief moment in time in obsessively authentic detail. At that, it does an exemplary job — right down to filling almost every square of dialogue with enough “ums” and “uhs” to aggravate those impatiently waiting for someone to do or say something with any kind of force. It doesn’t ever really happen, and in the grand scheme of Zoe’s and Al’s lives, “Girl” moves the needle a few inches at most. It’s a empathetic, meticulously constructed few inches, but if you need even a little oomph as a return on your 80-minute investment, the murmurs this one produces instead will likely just frustrate you.
Extras: Short film “Flutter,” behind-the-scenes feature, music video.