The Burning Plain (Magnolia) – Guilt, redemption and forgiveness are explored with schematically explored by writer-director Guillermo Arriaga. There’s strong acting by Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger as two women whose separate story threads are unpersuasively brought together at the end; Arriaga’s scrambled narrative—reminiscent of his scripts for Amores perros and 21 Grams—brings diminishing dramatic returns. The Burning Plain, set amidst the wide-open vistas of the American West—and the visuals are rendered superbly on Blu-ray. Special features include a 45-minute behind-the-scenes featurette.
Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (Fox) – Phoning in performances is becoming old-hat for Steve Martin, who’s a devastating satirist but would rather co-star with kids in a dopey (but successful) remake and it sequel. Co-stars Bonnie Hunt and Eugene Levy deserve better; Hilary Duff, Piper Perabo and Carmen Electra don’t even try so come off best. Directed by Adam Shankman, Dozen 2 never becomes the knockabout farce it wants to be. The Blu-ray image is good if unexceptional. Bonuses are two making-of featurettes that prove everyone had a good time on the set.
Fame (Fox) – This remake of Alan Parker’s 1980 drama about kids at a top performing-arts school in New York is directed with enthusiasm by newcomer Kevin Tancharoen. It’s refreshing to see unknown, talented young actors work opposite veterans like Bebe Neuwirth, Megan Mullally, Kelsey Grammer and Charles S. Dutton as the teachers. Decently paced without being particularly illuminating, Fame is fun, which is saying a lot nowadays. The Blu-ray transfer, while not outstanding in any way, does the job. Extras include an extended cut with 15 additional minutes, deleted scenes, a music video and character/performer profiles.
The Final Destination (New Line) – You’d think that, by now, there are no stupid characters left to kill, but you’d be wrong. This fourth entry in the Destination series starts off well with a fiery car-race pile-up then becomes the same old as those who survived that inferno are slowly picked off for the next hour. A few set pieces are clever, like the movie theater and car wash, but the last killings are anti-climactic. Watching this at home with 3-D glasses on gives the movie an extra kick—watching buckets of blood and guts flying at you on Blu-ray is certainly a selling point. The best extra is the blow-by-blow account of how the death scenes were shot.
The House of the Devil (MPI) – In this second-rate shocker, a college student babysits in the old mansion of a creepy family; her best friend warns her but to no avail. Writer-director Ty West has nothing to add to the “evil cult tortures pretty girl” genre, so he ramps up the “ick” factor with blood and gore, to no avail. Jocelin Donahue is a sympathetic heroine, Greta Gerwig has little to do as her ill-fated friend, and cult-movie stars Mary Woronov, Tom Noonan and Dee Wallace are present for old–times’ sake. This low-budget horror entry doesn’t gain much on Blu-Ray; extras include one commentary by West and Donahue and another with West and crew; cast and crew interviews; deleted scenes and a making-of featurette.
Magnolia (New Line) – P.T. Anderson’sexasperating mosaic of intersecting lives in Los Angeles has been praised as Altmanesque, but what in Robert Altman’s best films is a point-of-view and interest in several scarred characters comes across here as a young filmmaker trying too hard, showing off chutzpah more than talent. The frogs’ appearance is one headscratcher; misusing Aimee Mann’s brittle, witty songs—which say more in three minutes than the film does in three hours—is another. Magnolia looks superbly film-like on Blu-ray, with a decent amount of grain. Anderson’s career peaked, for me, with his debut, Hard Eight. The extras include two Aimee Mann music videos and an on-set video diary.
Paris Texas (Criterion) – Wim Wenders filmed Sam Shepard’s beautifully poetic script about a stranger making amends for past transgressions by looking up his estranged wife and brother in the American Southwest. The result is one of the most gorgeous movies ever made, shot by cinematographer Robby Muller and scored by musician Ry Cooder. Paris Texas–filled with wonderful grace notes displaying the tentative communication among people who have been apart too long—has sublime acting of Harry Dean Stanton, Dean Stockwell and Nastassja Kinski. Criterion outdoes itself with the Blu-ray transfer—approved by Wenders, it’s astonishing and demonstrates how every frame of this masterpiece is a work of art. Numerous extras include a documentary on the film, Wenders interviews and commentary, a look at the music and locations, deleted scenes and Super 8 home movies.
The Simpsons—the Complete 20th Season (Fox) – The 21 episodes making up last season are broken down neatly on disc: the first nine non-HD episodes are on disc one, the dozen HD episodes are on disc two. It’s like night and day when one leaves behind the full-frame, slightly lackluster-looking episodes to the bright, anamorphically-enhanced widescreen episodes that are the norm from now on. The season itself is hit-or-miss, of course, but perennials like Treehouse of Horror ensure that the laughs remain. There’s a disappointing lack of extras compared to previous stacked editions: only a three-minute sneak peek at the 20th anniversary special.
Surrogates (Disney) – Bruce Willis plays a detective investigating murders in a world where people outsource everything to others who live their lives for them. The Twilight Zone premise doesn’t hold up, but the best moments—like the surrogates breaking down en masse—make the movie mindless sci-fi entertainment. Joining Willis in the “slumming actor” category are Radha Mitchell and James Cromwell; director Jonathan Mostow is an old hand at making watchable flicks like this. On Blu-Ray, the image is far superior to the standard DVD. Extras include director commentary and music video; Blu exclusives include deleted scenes and two featurettes.
Whiteout (Warners) – Poor Kate Beckinsale opens this Antarctica-set thriller showing off her body for no reason, then spends the rest of the movie looking for the first killer at the bottom of the world bundled up. Another mediocre movie based on a comic book—I mean “graphic novel”—Whiteout certainly looks different thanks to its setting. Too bad the vastness and claustrophobia are never dealt with meaningfully. Still, Beckinsale is a first-rate action hero. Blu-Ray renders the visual extremes perfectly, so if you have to see Whiteout, Blu-ray is the way to go. Extras include two exclusive featurettes and deleted scenes.
Wild Ocean (Image) – This staggering IMAX film explores the seas’ expanses as the doorway to our existence. In addition, the filmmakers show the difficulties facing attempts to keep the oceans clean and usable for future generations. But the visual impact is most stunning: superlative footage of sharks, whales, dolphins and myriad sea creatures in their native habitat is quite remarkable on Blu-ray. Immersive extras include a directors’ interview, behind-the-scenes featurette, and a quiz and “fun facts.”
WWII in HD (History Channel) – In this remarkable documentary, hundreds of hours of rarely-seen color footage have been painstakingly preserved and restored to present an eye-opening look at the Second World War through a dozen men and women who helped the Allies win in both the European and Asia n theaters. Narrated by Gary Sinise, WWII in HD brings history to vivid life, with brief but informative extras on finding and preserving the footage that was culled from 3000 hours into this seven-and-a-half hour don’t miss program.
