Ah, to be young again. As Finding Neverland taught us, J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan is really for the kids, but the overwhelming charm of this tale about an ageless boy’s carefree adventures makes it pretty much irresistible for the rest of us. That was true of the original stage production and of Walt Disney’s 1953 animated adaptation, with perhaps only its clichd Hollywood depiction of Native Americans looking the worse for wear these many years later.
Video: 3
Audio: 2
Extras: 2
Augusten Burroughs’ memoir Running With Scissors (the memoir that Oprah didn’t put on her book club, then rip the author a new one after learning it was fake) finally makes its way to the screen courtesy of Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy. For those unfamiliar, Burroughs had quite a bizarre upbringing. His mother (wonderfully played by Annette Bening) is a narcissistic, delusional dreamer who thinks her poetry is amazing and that she is someone important. Sadly, she neglects her son (Joseph Cross) to pursue her dreams, leaving him under the care of her eccentric therapist, Dr. Finch (Brian Cox), and his twisted family (including Jill Clayburgh and Gwyneth Paltrow) in a house packed to the gills with knickknacks, clutter, and junk. To call this boy’s upbringing dysfunctional is an understatement.
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 2 Trust the Man, Fox’s latest depiction of love in modern times, seems more of an anti-romance in that it focuses on the mundane realities of coupledom. Julianne Moore and David Duchovny are Rebecca and Tom, the film’s key married couple, and they’re headed for the inevitability of divorce. As an ambitious Broadway actress, Rebecca’s workaholic tendencies force her stay-at-home husband to stray into the dangers of infidelity. On the other side of town, Elaine (Maggie Gyllenhaal), now ready for marriage, struggles with her noncommittal boyfriend of seven years, Tobey (Billy Crudup). While Trust attempts to distinguish itself by focusing on reality over romance, the film is simply annoying, flat, and boring.
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 1
They say that you have to reach your nadir before you can start to rebound. If that’s the case, then Ben Affleck’s career might very well be on the upswing following his portrayal of a tormented Hollywood agent in this bland movie that seems to defy genre classification. Not funny enough to be a comedy yet too light on its feet to be a drama or character study, Man About Town is simply a low-budget throwaway that probably rated too poorly to merit theatrical distribution in the United States.
Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 2
As she walks down the aisle at her own wedding, Rachel locks eyes for the first time with the female florist, and it’s love at first sight (literally, as she says) in the BBC production Imagine Me & You, an amiable, innocuous, and no-surprises film that leads you exactly where you think it will. Coyote Ugly star Piper Perabo is the newly married and now torn Brit who just can’t ignore the feelings she has no matter how hard she tries, and Lena Headey is Luce, the gay florist who also happens to feel the same.
Video: 3
Audio: 2
Extras: 3 RV had good potential, but even Robin Williams’ presence fails to turn this retread into anything more than a forgettable evening’s rental. Everything about this story of a man dragging his family on a road trip in a rented recreational vehicle—from the overly enthusiastic but bumbling dad, to the resentful kids and the family bond forged on four wheels—was done better in National Lampoon’s Vacation. That doesn’t mean RV is devoid of laughs. There are enough chuckles to keep nondiscriminating viewers reasonably entertained, and the overly long waste-disposal sequence should evoke gales of laughter from the kids. But you’ll be left with a “been there, done that” feeling.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 4
I may have arrived a bit too late to the party to fully embrace Madea’s Family Reunion. Tyler Perry’s Madea character was born on stage and brought to life through a series of successful plays written, directed, and performed by Perry. Two of those plays have now become full-length feature films: 2005’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman and the film in question here, which recounts with humor and drama the personal struggles within one multigenerational family.
Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 1
When a slew of his cronies are arrested, already imprisoned and now newly indicted mobster Jackie DiNorscio (Vin Diesel) is given a proposition—testify for the government and get your 30-year sentence reduced. He says no, and, not only that, he will defend himself against these new charges.
Video: 2
Audio: 2
Extras: 2
It’s funny; I was just saying to myself the other day how much I wanted to see a remake of An Officer and a Gentleman, only more boring. Lo and behold, Annapolis answered my call. It tells the tale of a tough young Naval Academy recruit (James Franco) who doesn’t obey the rules at first but learns teamwork, respect, and honor through…boxing. Or something. I won’t lie: The film put me to sleep several times. And, while it’s not a terrible film, it certainly is a dull one.
Video: 4
Audio: 5
Extras: 3
Is it frightening or reassuring that the themes explored in V for Vendetta are as relevant now as they were when the graphic novel was first penned in the 1980s? Alan Moore and David Lloyd created the story about an antihero’s attempts to bring down a fascist government. In their film adaptation, the Wachowski Brothers didn’t have to veer too far from the original to strike a modern chord. It manages to address all the hot-button topics residing on our cultural and political plates—terrorism, immigration, gay rights, censorship, biological weapons, and how a government should best balance freedom and security—while remaining an engaging piece of fiction.
From the opening credits, to that crazy hitchhiker, to the ceremonial bones and feathers outside the old house, to the tooth (with filling) lying on the front porch, to the sudden, ugly killing of the first victim, we know that something ain’t quite right in Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. You can even feel a knot forming in your stomach during John Larroquette’s restrained narration that sets the stage for this road trip that’s about to take a tragic turn. I can’t even imagine how savagely this smart, brutal masterpiece of modern horror must have rocked moviegoers’ worlds back in a more innocent 1974. Dark Sky Films’ Ultimate Edition now transports us to those backwoods of the Lone Star State where it all began.
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 2
“Syriana is one of the most relevant stories in the world today,” says the film’s executive producer, Jeff Skoll, in the “Make a Change, Make a Difference” featurette on Warner Brothers’ new DVD release. He’s absolutely right, as even a cursory glance at world and domestic news will confirm. The film paints an unflinching portrait of the world’s dependence on oil and the lengths to which politicians and businessmen will go to maintain the status quo in the global oil fields, even as that status quo contributes to the rise of Islamic extremism in countries where people are afforded few other options.
Video: 3
Audio: 4
Extras: 5
The magical world of Narnia gets even more enchanted with this massive four-disc set, available both alone and as part of a gift package that includes collectible bookends. The film itself is seven minutes longer than the theatrical release and the two previous DVD versions, but there’s nothing to call out the new material.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
Michael Mann revisits the iconic ‘80s TV show he helmed with this humorless, straight-for-the-jugular film adaptation, which puts Colin Farrell’s Crockett and Jamie Foxx’s Tubbs deep undercover against a drug cartel. In his audio commentary, the director terms the DVD the “more extensive” cut—completed weeks after the release of the theatrical version—rather than the “extended” or “director’s” cut. In any case, this unrated version runs six minutes longer and, presumably, includes some violent moments not seen theatrically.
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