TipsForTuesday Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Kind of a light week, but there seems to be just a little something for everyone this Tuesday: A classic piece of stand-up comedy, the first of two war films from Clint Eastwood, a family-friendly remake of an equine classic, yet another sequel to yet another J-horror remake, a Tara Reid horror movie that went straight-to-download, a noir-esque period piece mystery and an indie comedy about the dangers of wandering eyes.

Eddie Murphy: Delirious -- OK, so it debuted on HBO and not in theaters, but it's still one of the most drop-dead hilarious comedy concerts I've ever seen. Folks of my approximate generation still use phrases from this concert in everyday conversation! Most definitely NOT the Eddie Murphy you know from Dr. Dolittle, The Nutty Professor and Daddy Day Care, but a really, really funny Eddie Murphy. Remember that guy? I sure do. Extras include a pair of deleted scenes and a 40-minute interview between Byron Allen and the normally reclusive Mr. Murphy.

Flags of Our Fathers -- The first of Clint Eastwood's two WWII stories (the second one being Letters from Iwo Jima) is told from the American perspective. Critical consensus indicates that the second film is actually quite a bit more successful -- but it'd take a lot to keep me away from a new Clint Eastwood film, let alone two. Far as I can tell there are no extras whatsoever included on this DVD, which makes me think there'll be a big, swanky 2-disc edition somewhere down the line.

Flicka -- Alison Lohman, Maria Bello and Tim McGraw star in this cuddly sweet adaptation of the old-school "girl and a horse" story. Haven't seen it, have no real plans to, sorry. Extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette, three deleted scenes, a gag reel and one of Mr. McGraw''s music videos.

We're a few hours late with this report -- and when I say "we" I actually mean "me, Scott" -- but Sundance saps a whole lot of strength from even the most ardent movie freak. With apologies we I now offer you this week's big fat DVD titles ... and a few old-school pieces of ultra-cheese.

Catch a Fire -- Philip Noyce (Rabbit-Proof Fence) goes political again and delivers a fast-paced and very efficient thriller that focuses on the ways in which governments often create the very enemies they're trying to thwart. (Governments are ironic that way.) Tim Robbins and Derek Luke contribute some very fine work. Extras include a multi-filmmaker commentary and a few deleted scenes.

Farce of the Penguins -- From what I've been hearing from reliable sources, this simplistic spoof is way too little way too late. But if you simply must see a movie in which Bob Saget, Samuel L. Jackson, Dane Cook, Jim Belushi, Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Lovitz and the rest of the Friar's Club provide raunchy voice-over dialogue for a bunch of innocent penguins, hey, here's your dream come true. Extras include a Saget-track, deleted scenes, featurettes and a bunch of other penguin-related silliness.

Flyboys -- Big-budget derring-do war flick ... that dropped absolutely dead at the box office. (Budget: $60 million / Domestic Gross: $13 million) I've yet to see the movie myself, but I do look forward to giving it a fair shake -- even if that "running across the blimp" sequence looks like something out of a post-apocalyptic anime story. Extras include a Tony Bill / Dean Devlin audio commentary, more than a half-dozen featurettes and some deleted scenes.

Gymkata -- Yes! Mid-'80s kung fu wackiness combined with hardcore Mitch Gaylord gymnastical stuff! I swear this movie's funnier by accident than most comedies are on purpose. Extras include the knowledge that you now on Gymkata on DVD.

Brokeback Mountain -- Last year's controversially Oscar-snubbed romance drama earns itself a brand-new 2-disc special edition. Word is that this re-release contains only a trio of new featurettes, so don't be so quick to give in to that double-dip sensation. On the positive side, this edition DOES come with eight Brokeback Mountain postcards ... for that special someone.

The Guardian -- Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher star in a water-logged remake of An Officer and a Gentleman ... or any other military drama of the past 25 years in which a brash and headstrong recruit butts heads with a grizzled old veteran only to rely on the old guy's help when his lack of experience does indeed catch up with him, (Insert yawn here.) Extras include a director's commentary from Andrew Davis, a few deleted scenes, an alternate ending, and a pair of featurettes, one on the production and another focusing on the Coast Guard.

Jesus Camp -- Some people called it a stick in the eye to religion; others called it an impressively objective look at religious zealotry. I call it a pretty fascinating documentary either way. This eye-opening look at one particular religious camp may warm your heart or it could chill your blood, but it's a pretty compelling look at a section of people I don't normally come across, and that's generally a worthwhile way to spend 90-some minutes. Extras include a filmmaker commentary and some deleted scenes.

January's still being pretty skimpy with the DVD treats. This week we get another slob comedy, another football movie, another action movie, another slasher flick and another video-shelf sequel to a movie that nobody really enjoyed all that much in the first place. So please, friends, rent before you buy.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning -- So here we have a prequel to a remake of a classic, and the law of diminishing returns is in full effect. What we were promised -- a dark and nasty tale of Leatherface's icky origins -- is relegated to a sketchy prologue, and the rest of the movie is sub-standard slasher fare in every sense of the term. Points to the team for doling out the gory stuff, but with characters like this (and a pace this glacial) there's very little reason to care who gets sliced and when. Still, the mega-rabid R. Lee Ermey is always good for a few goofy laughs. Extras on the unrated edition include a producer/director audio commentary, a 46-minute 'making of' documentary, four deleted scenes and three alternate endings.

Just like last Tuesday, it's some pretty slim pickins, new disc-wise, but there's a small handful of interesting flicks that just might deserve a spot somewhere in your Netflix queue.

Bandidas -- This barely-released comedy western doesn't really sound all that hot ... but the leads are Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz, so us guys know what we're in for. Sounds a bit like Bad Girls (only this time the jokes are intentional), but with Sam Shepard,Steve Zahn and Dwight Yoakam on board, it sounds just colorful enough to warrant a rental. Weirdly enough, the flick was co-written by Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) and Robert Mark Kamen (The Karate Kid). Extras include a leading ladies' audio commentary, a featurette and a trailer.

Conversations with Other Women -- One of my very favorite movies of last year. Aaron Eckhart and the seriously awesome Helena Bonham Carter star as a boy and a girl who 'meet cute' at a wedding ... only it sure seems like they once knew each other long ago. Features a split-screen technique that's clever to some and annoying to others, but I think it's one of the most realistically romantic movies I've seen in a long time. Extras include a whole bunch of featurettes.

Crank -- If you liked Running Scared, you'll probably like Crank. If you have no interest whatsoever in action movies that take the laws of physics and twist them into bizarrely tasty pretzels, you will not like Crank. It's about a (rapidly) dying hitman who aims to get one last afternoon of high-end revenge out of his system. Imagine the classic noir D.O.A. did 140 lines of cocaine, and that's Crank. Extras include an audio commentary, some featurettes, a few interviews and a "family friendly audio option," which only partially makes sense because Crank has a lot more "adult material" than just salty language.

Idiocracy -- One of 2006's most overlooked little winners, this one comes from Mike Judge, creator of the insta-cult classic Office Space. Luke Wilson plays an exceedingly average schmo who gets frozen and wakes up 1,000 years later ... as the smartest man on Earth. Not all the jokes fly and the flick feels fairly scattershot from time to time, but there's some really quick-witted and clever stuff in there as well. Judge also does the relatively impossible by making Dax Shepard funny. Befitting the manner in which Fox totally abandoned the film, the DVD extras are limited to a few deleted scenes.

The Illusionist -- It's fun to hear film critics debate the quality of The Illusionist over the similarly-themed The Prestige, but I thought both of 'em were very well-made and eminently watchable. This one (the smaller one) stars Paul Giamatti as a police inspector who aims to expose a turn-of-the-century magician -- but finds the task more than a little difficult. Edward Norton stars, and he's backed up by folks like Jessica Biel and a wonderfully evil Rufus Sewell. Extras include a director's commentary and two featurettes.

The Night Listener -- Still haven't managed to catch up with this one, but it stars Robin Williams as a radio personality who gets involved in the life of a dying kid. No, it's not Patch Adams 2. Toni Collette and Rory Culkin co-star. Extras include a featurette and one deleted scene.

Coming next week: Brothers of the Head, Employee of the Month, Gridiron Gang, The Protector and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.

Woohoo! Happy New Year, DVD junkies! All right! Let's just kick off this year with a whole bunch of fantastic DVDs!

Beer League -- Low-grade softball comedy that's 100% positive there's nothing funnier in the world than poop, weiners, farts, pee-pee, boobs, burps, jugs, sluts, beer, penises and vaginas. Oh, and the word "joikoff," which is mentioned more times in Beer League than John F. Kennedy is mentioned in JFK. Aims (low) for the frat-boy crowd, but I lived in a frat house for two years, and we would have turned this thing off after nine minutes. Extras include an audio commentary, a few featurettes, and a whole bunch of Artie Lange-related wackiness.

The Covenant -- It's like The Craft got a sex change! A gang of goofy young warlocks make trouble for their enemies, or so I've heard; I haven't actually seen this one yet. But I got the "goofy" part from the trailer alone. Upside for schlock-fans: The director is Renny Harlin. Extras include a featurette and a (Harlin!) commentary.

Snakes on a Plane -- The worldwide mega-wild ultra-hip internet buzz sensation of the millennium ... that yielded a $13 million opening weekend and a total haul of about $34m. So much for internet buzz, eh? Still, a perfectly entertaining piece of mindless cinematic fluff, and one that'll almost certainly play better at home, because home is probably where you keep your beer and your bong. Extras include a bunch of featurettes, deleted scenes, gag reels, music videos ... but I just gotta hear the audio commentary between director Dave Eliis and mega-badass Samuel L. Jackson.

Oh, and new re-issues of Glory and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Hmph. Let's just write this week off as a New Years Hangover. We'll meet here next Tuesday to talk about DVDs worth renting, like Crank, The Night Listener, The Illusionist and (one of my 2006 favorites) Conversations with Other Women.

The Black Dahlia -- I'm a huge De Palma fan, but I somehow managed to miss this one during its theatrical run. Colleagues who've seen the film assure me to take my time catching up with it. And that makes me sad, kinda. Extras include three featurettes and ... that's it.

The Descent -- The best horror flick of the year finally hits R1 DVD ... even though I've owned the British DVD for about a year now. The good news is that there seems to be all-new goodies on the Lionsgate DVD, which means I'll be dropping another 17 bucks the day after Christmas. Extras include the "unrated" version (which offers the original UK ending), two commentaries, a 45-minute making-of doco, featurettes, outtakes, deleted scenes, etc. If you're a horror fan and you skipped The Descent during its theatrical run, you're forgiven. But buy/rent/borrow this DVD some time soon!

Factotum -- The always-good Matt Dillon goes extra-good in this sobering yet colorful piece of Bukowski-inspired storytelling. Excellent supporting cast boasts strong work from Lili Taylor, Fisher Stevens and Marisa Tomei. Extras include and making-of piece and the theatrical trailer.

Haven -- A bizarrely unsatisfying ensemble piece in which Bill Paxton, Agnes Bruckner, Orlando Bloom, Sarah Carter, Zoe Saldana and Stephen Dillane bounce around the Bahamas, occasionally stopping to pay attention to some stray plot thread. There's one featurette that might help to decipher the confused mess of a movie, but why bother? Oh yeah, Orlando Bloom....

Jackass: Number Two -- More of the same. Some love it, some hate it. The DVD comes with lots of extra footage: unrated stuff, deleted scenes, outtakes, bloopers, commentaries, random craziness, flatulence, etc.

The Last Kiss -- Zach Braff stars in a romantic drama that''s also a remake of an Italian film that's not even five years old. Co-stars include Jacinda Barrett, Rachel Bilson, Marley Shelton and Casey Affleck. Extras include two audio commentaries, four featurettes, deleted scenes, outtakes, and a music video.

All the King's Men -- An all-star cast delivers an all-night snoozer. Sean Penn's spittle-intensive tirades aside, there's just not a whole lot to enjoy here. Extras include five featurettes, some deleted scenes and a really terrible front cover.

American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile -- It's official: "American Pie" is officially the new "National Lampoon." I mean, how creative do you have to be to make an entire movie out of ONE Van Wilder joke? Extra wackiness includes frat-style featurettes, deleted scenes and oh-so-uproarious outtakes.

Fearless and Invincible -- One's a Jet Li kick-fest period piece, the other's a Marky Wahlberg Philly-based football flick. I just like the way the titles sound together.

Lady in the Water -- I really love that he shoots in Philly, but this Shyamalan dude is getting pretty silly. (Six-part behind-the-scenes documentary, featurette, deleted scenes, audition footage, gag reel, trailer.)

Little Miss Sunshine -- One of the year's best indies is slowly turning into a dark-horse Oscar pick. (I'm betting on Best Screenplay and Best Arkin.) Extras include a filmmaker commentary, four alternate endings, music video and trailers.

My Super Ex-Girlfriend -- Underrated rom-com that's sure to find a home on DVD. Uma's dreamy, Luke Wilson is actually funny, and there's some goofy FX stuff too. Extras include a music video and some deleted scenes.

National Lampoon's Pledge This! -- Good god! An American Pie AND a National Lampoon on the same day? And this one stars Paris Hilton? Are we being punished for something??

A Scanner Darkly -- Linklater's finely freaky rendition of P.K. Dick's short story will earn love and scorn in equal measure ... but I'm pretty much split right down the middle. Perhaps the multi-participant commentary track will decipher some of the mysteries, plus there's a pair of featurettes and some trailers.

Step Up -- Wait, is this the one about gymnastics? Volleyball? Girl surfers? No, wait. It's dancing! Yeah, teenagers who step up and dance! Yeah, go dancers. Anyway, extras include a filmmaker commentary, some deleted scenes, bloopers, featurettes and MySpace tie-ins.

The Wicker Man -- Neil La Bute went temporarily crazy and decided to remake one of the all-time cult-classic creepers. Why he did it is still sort of a mystery to me, even if I was one of the very few film critics who actually enjoyed (part of) this remake. Extras include a filmmaker commentary, some trailers and an all-new ending that wasn't seen in theaters ... as if the theatrical-version epilogue wasn't silly enough.

Barnyard: The Original Party Animals -- Only worth renting if your kids have already seen The Ant Bully, Flushed Away, Happy Feet, Ice Age 2, Open Season, Over the Hedge and The Wild. (At least three times apiece.) Plot: A bunch of cows do silly things in a barnyard. Extras include filmmaker commentary, four featurettes, seven deleted scenes, two music videos, etc.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe -- You know how New Line released those really nifty "extended edition" DVDs for The Lord of the Rings? Yeah, well Disney liked that idea so here comes the mega-huge Narnia release, complete with seven additional minutes of in-movie footage, three lengthy audio commentaries, and two full discs over-stuffed with lions and witches and wardrobes, oh my.

The Devil Wears Prada -- The chick-flick version of Hostel. Anne Hathaway plays a "fat girl" who allows herself to be abused by the evil boss Meryl Streep just long enough to earn an oh-so-important life lesson. Extras include a filmmaker commentary, four featurettes, a bunch of deleted scenes and other random trinkets.

Material Girls -- One of the worst studio releases of the past 15 years. Stunningly bad. Highly recommended, however, if you happen to be a member of the Duff family. Anyone who can make it more than 15 minutes into Martha Coolidge's audio commentary has the fortitude of an Egyptian pyramid-builder. Featurettes and music videos are also included.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby -- Will Ferrell brings his patented brand of stream-of-consciousness goofiness to the easy-target world of NASCAR, and the result is a movie just as funny as we expected it to be. OK, so it's not Anchorman, but it's still packed with laughs. (Plus John C.Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen and Amy Adams are actually allowed to steal a few scenes, with makes me think even more of Ferrell as a comedian.) Snag the unrated edition for extra footage and a truckload of commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, bloopers, promos and more assorted silliness.

World Trade Center -- The year's second 9/11 movie takes a decidedly different approach than its predecessor (United 93) and turns out to be one of Oliver Stone's more accessible projects. The horrible date is re-captured in chillingly realistic fashion, the performances are pretty great across the board, and the extra features (in the 2-disc commemorative edition) are as informative as they are entertaining. Fans of the film can pick through two separate audio commentaries and a second disc filled with mini-documentaries on the film, the survivors and the event itself.

Beerfest -- Those oh-so-wacky knuckleheads who brought you Super Troopers (yaaaay) and Club Dread (boooo) are back with a beer-soaked semi-sports comedy that celebrates the irreprressable beauty of yeast, malt, barley and fermented hops. (At least I think that's what beer is made of.) Haven't seen the flick yet, but I'm told it's actually pretty darn funny. Extras include two audio commentaries, a handful of featurettes and more than 20 deleted scenes.

How to Eat Fried Worms -- Yet another kid's book turned into a movie that nobody really cared to see. Then again, home video is where titles like this one make their bread and butter anyway. Extras include a director/kid actor commentary, a gag reel ("gag," get it? cuz it's about the eating of worms!), and a handful of featurettes.

Idlewild -- Kim was pretty surprised by how much she liked this flick, but going only by the box office numbers it seems she was most definitely in the minority. The "Outkast musical" was lauded by some and derided by others, but most seem to agree that it sure is ... different! Extras are pretty slim: two deleted scenes and a pair of music videos.

Miami Vice -- I think it's one of the worst movies of the year. Honest. But hey, if your idea of fun is 140 minutes of two preening actors wandering through a plotless and a stunningly generic plot construct, have a ball. Yeah, Michael Mann knows how to swing a camera around the room, but this flick's about as deep and edgy as an episode of Murder She Wrote. (Rant over. Sorry.) Extras include a director's commentary, six featurettes and a 15-minute-longer Director's Cut.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest -- I can be pretty critical of the Disney output from time to time, but where the Pirates movies are concerned, I'm little more than a hyperactive 8-year-old screaming "Yay, yippee, more!!" And the 2-disc release of DMC is an absolute treasure chest of digital awesomeness. The movie looks and sounds great, the screenwriter's commentary is quite illuminating, and there's more supplemental material to choke a Kraken: Blooper reels, documentaries, featurettes and yes: at least five hidden goodies!

Pulse -- The remake nobody asked for became the movie nobody went to see. I paid to see it only because of my Kristen Bell crush, and while it's certainly not a GOOD movie, I don't think it's as worthless as most PG-13 horror flicks I've seen lately. Extras include two commentaries, three featurettes, some deleted stuff and (of course) an "unrated" cut.

Rocky Anthology -- I'm pretty sure that all the sequels in this new collection are the same DVDs as before, but the original Rocky is given a rather swanky new digital release that should thrill anyone who loves the flick as much as I do. (Available separately) the Rocky 2-disc Collector's Edition comes with three audio commentaries, a half-dozen featurettes / mini-docos and some old-school archival footage that's never been released before. Yo, MGM! Thanks!