| April "New" DVD Roundup |
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| Written by Kevin Filipski | |
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Page 2 of 4  Day of the Dead (First Look)Steve Miner’s unnecessary remake of the least of George Romero’s flesh-eating zombie flicks was unceremoniously dumped onto DVD without a theatrical release. It’s not that bad; Mena Suvari plays a resourceful soldier, and Ving Rhames is hilarious once he becomes a zombie. There's some gleeful gore, but at 85 minutes, it’s all over much too quickly. If you’re going to go the zombie route, show us more than just them getting shot or run over by Marines! EXTRAS: Commentary by director, writer, and cast; alternate ending; on-set footage.  Death at a Funeral (Fox)Frank Oz’s skewed sense of humor is a perfect match for Dean Craig’s script. This black comedy of family revelations that occur after the father kicks the bucket might not be subtle, but it hits bull’s-eyes more than it whiffs. Peter Dinklage as the lone American is out of his element; he lacks that classic British reserve even in the face of surprises no one should be put through on the day of his father’s funeral. Most welcome is the return of Jane Asher, who gives a gracious comic performance as Mum. EXTRAS: Director commentary; writer/actors commentary; gag reel.  The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Buena Vista) Julian Schnabel’s piercing drama is about Jean-Dominique Bauby, who suffered a massive stroke and lost control over his body except for his left eye, with which he blinks answers. With the help of patient hospital workers, Bauby “writes” a book about his experience. At first, it seems as if the entire movie will be a visual stunt, with actors talking to the camera (Bauby). But Schnabel varies the pacing and rhythm throughout, juxtaposing unsparing sequences of Bauby’s slow non-recovery with episodes from his pre-stroke life. Mathieu Amalric is miraculous as Bauby, and the women in his life -- the mother of his children, his current squeeze, his therapists -- are beautifully embodied by Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josee Croze, Anne Consigny, and Olatz Lopez Garmendia (the director’s wife). EXTRAS: Schnabel commentary and interview; two making-of featurettes.  The 11th Hour (Warner Home Video)Leonardo DiCaprio produced and narrates this call to action. After we see and her global-warming experts tell us that we’re doomed, that the planet isn’t salvageable, that in essence “the 11th hour” has passed, the final segment does an abrupt about-face and tells us that we can do something -- that, indeed, things are being done -- and it’s not too late. Perhaps in-your-face yelling will get everyone’s attention and the solutions will be listened to, but I wonder if many will be turned off by the downbeat hammering of the first hour. EXTRAS: Additional 90 minutes of interviews and featurettes.  A Global Warning? (History Channel)Less polemical than The 11th Hour, this film far more soberly recounts the cycles that the earth has gone through over eons of warming and cooling before making the case that our current situation is a crisis caused by humans. This History Channel special won’t win any Oscars a la An Inconvenient Truth, but it’s just at effective at relying the necessary information. EXTRAS: Deleted and extended scenes. |