Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 1
Talented teenage artist Jerome (Max Minghella, son of Oscar-winning director Anthony) enrolls in a small New York City art college, and his world opens up in this bitingly original, funny, and scathing film from director Terry Zwigoff (Ghost World, Bad Santa). Set against the backdrop of a campus murderer who’s tallying up victims at a quick rate, Jerome becomes increasingly confused and angry at his overcritical classmates and his own insecurities. Worse yet, Jerome finds himself in a love triangle with fellow artist Jonah (Matt Keeslar) and the stunning model Audrey (Sophia Myles). This desperation and self-doubt lead him to consider extreme measures to win the affection and admiration of all.
Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 3
On the Bad News Bears DVD, cowriter Glenn Ficarra says, "I think the way you remake a classic is not to change it too much." Apparently, director Richard Linklater agreed, as the 2005 movie is a near scene-for-scene remake of the 1976 version, and not for the better. But it does serve a purpose—to let the audience appreciate just how great the original is.
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 3
I enjoy a good black comedy as much as anyone, but Bad Santa just didn’t work for me—and I can’t quite pinpoint why. It’s better than any recent holiday film that comes to mind. Billy Bob Thornton is outstanding as the truly distasteful Willie, a safe cracker who poses as Santa each year to pull off a master robbery. The movie’s ultimate triumph is that you find yourself caring about Willie by the end, not because he becomes much more likable but because his flaws are put into perspective as other characters’ true natures are revealed. Still, in the end, it just didn’t generate enough laughs to offset the cringes.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 1
“Your mother can’t be with you anymore,” intones the Great Prince, a regal buck, to young Bambi, thus setting into motion the events of this modern-day follow-up to the timeless classic. Voiced by Patrick Stewart, the Great Prince breaks with tradition by taking everyone’s favorite fawn under hoof, teaching Bambi the ways of the forest, while bonding with his son. Consider this Bambi: The Formative Year.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
After one of the best season-ending cliffhangers ever, Battlestar Galactica returns for a second season. Of course, calling 10 episodes a season is a bit of an overstatement. If you are a fan of sci-fi at all, you need to check out this show. It's one of the best-written shows on TV and is truly excellent television. Amazing everyone, the second season was even better than the first. Hyperbole? Not even close.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 4
I am a big Get Shorty fan. The dialogue, the acting, and the plot all just exude a coolness that is never struggled for, just achieved. The thought of a sequel seemed a little odd, but knowing that it is based on the Elmore Leonard sequel novel, I had high hopes. The end result was admittedly funny but nowhere near the quality of the original. The story takes place a few years after Get Shorty, and Chili Palmer is deciding to get out of the movie business. After a friend gets murdered, he decides to get into the music business instead. Far too many jokes are rehashed, but that in itself isn't the problem. Whereas the original was an effortless cool, this movie tries too hard to be cool—and rarely succeeds. Far too much time is spent on the (admittedly excellent) secondary characters, with Chili himself just kind of showing up to drive the plot along. The effect, though, highlights two of the best aspects of this movie: the Rock and André 3000. These two absolutely steal the movie, and this disc is worth a rental just for them. There are many musician cameos, but, unlike in Get Shorty, where actor cameos are natural (as in, they can act), the musician cameos are often awkward and distracting.
Video: 3
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
Directed by Garry Marshall, Beaches is a story about two 11-year-old girls who meet on the beach in Atlantic City and continue to keep in touch and weather the challenges of adult life throughout the years. The film is best remembered for its ability to turn on your waterworks, but the best thing about it is that it doesn't sugarcoat what really happens in a friendship, like the one between CC Bloom (Bette Midler) and her best friend, Hillary Whitney, (Barbara Hershey). Beaches is a moving story, filled with camaraderie, jealousy, glory, pain, and forgiveness.
Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 3
Join me if you will for a walk down memory lane, to a time when women dressed in pastels and got jobs as the leads in TV shows just because they could wrinkle their noses cutely.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 2
In this biopic of Bobby Darin, Kevin Spacey accomplishes quite a surprising feat: In addition to writing and directing the film and playing the role of Darin, he provides the vocals for all of the musical numbers featuring the entertainer. And he does a fine job. But, outside of this, the film sinks from the sky like a flaming zeppelin.
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 1
Following a difficult breakup with his girlfriend, Peter (Marcus Thomas) decides to audition for a community-theater production of Cyrano de Bergerac, even though he lacks any acting experience. Despite a less-than-stellar reading with the theater's star actor, Michael (John Corbett), the show's producer sees a spark in Peter and gives him the part. With a lot of advice from the rest of the cast, Marcus eventually finds his inner actor—and learns a little bit about himself along the way.
Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 5
Earning the cinephile treatment in a new three-disc collection, the Bill & Ted oeuvre is a sweet-natured reminder that movies don't have to be art to entertain. For anyone who grew up in the neon-colored '80s, this proto-Wayne's World duo of bumbling wisdom represented the heart of teenage angst without all of the rough edges. Their concerns were simple: impending homework, elusive girls, and ill-gotten beer.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 2
Neil Jordan serves up a taste of Ireland—with quite a bit of style and sass—with his latest film Breakfast on Pluto. It tells the story of Patrick, a very unusual man who enjoys the comfort of a good dress and high heels. He also goes by the name of St. Kitten and is played to peculiar delight by Cillian Murphy, from 28 Days Later. The film follows his exploits around Ireland in the 1970s and ’80s, as he searches for his birth mother who abandoned him on the steps of a parish. It’s filled with eccentric characters (populated with actors like Liam Neeson, Stephen Rea, and Brendan Gleeson) and a rocking soundtrack reflective of the times.
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