MCN DVD Reviews: November 24, 2009

..MCN Weekend

Angels & Demons: Blu-ray

Despite its great popularity as a novel, and all the attendant hype preceding the movie, I found both versions of the The Da Vinci Code to be tremendously unconvincing. Most institutions can’t keep a secret for 15 minutes, let alone hundreds of years. (The same theory applies to the Kennedy assassinations, which have conspiracy written all over them, but less-than-credible alternative explanations.)

If Ron Howard hadn’t directed The Da Vinci Code, and Tom Hanks’ name hadn’t been attached to the project, its release wouldn’t have inspired Page One reviews in newspapers across the country, magazine covers and a 60 Minutes segment. Martin Scorsese’s far more worthy adaptation of The Last Temptation of Christ – based on a infinitely better novel, by Nikos Kazantzakis – was deemed blasphemous by religious zealots who had neither read the book nor considered purchasing tickets, in the first place. This applied to Monty Python’s provocative Life of Brian, as well.

Sadly, the controversies surrounding those films cut deeply into box-office revenues. Not so, The Da Vinci Code, which practically treated Jesus Christ as a McGuffin. And, yet, as much as I disliked The Da Vinci Code, I saw in Angels & Demons an opportunity to create a franchise that would be less pretentious, but more fun to watch. By lowering my expectations, it was possible to imagine Hanks’ Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon being called not only to Rome and Paris, but also Mecca, Jerusalem, Istanbul, Salt Lake City, Tibet and other holy cities to rescue religious institutions from blasphemers, false prophets and End Times charlatans. Author Dan Brown probably would be up for the challenge, if not Hanks and Howard.

The novel upon which Angels & Demons was based served as a prequel to Da Vinci. In it, Langdon was summoned to Rome to save a conclave of cardinals from being obliterated as they deliberated on the appointment of a new pope. All of the hidden-in-plain-sight clues lead to the Illuminati, a mysterious organization that’s been carrying a 400-year-long grudge against the Church. Somehow, they’re still pissed off over the dissing of progressive scientists, including astronomers Galileo and Copernicus, by the Inquisition. It wasn’t until 1992 that the Vatican admitted that it might have overreacted to the scientists’ entirely accurate theories, but the Illuminati didn’t care. Like Michael Corleone in The Godfather III, Langdon’s mission was to save the Holy See from drowning in a tidal wave of rational thought.

It’s religious pulp, plain and simple. Hanks is joined by Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgard and sexy Israeli Ayelet Zurer, but it’s the work of cinematographer Salvatore Totino who makes the whole silly exercise look credible, at least. The three-disc Blu-ray edition includes both the 139-minute theatrical and 146-minute extended cuts of the movie; Sony's CineChat application; BD-Live functionality; "MovieIQ," which provides live, up-to-date details about every scene; the hi-def featurette, The Path of Illumination, in which viewers are given a tour of Langdon’s Rome; several making-of pieces;symbology lessons; and a tight focus of Hans Zimmer’s score. – Gary Dretzka

Funny People: Blu-ray
Dane Cook: Isolated Incident
Gilda Live

I don’t know what the proper way would have been to promote the Judd Apatow/Adam Sandler collaboration, Funny People, but to promise their many fans another out-and-out laugh riot wasn’t it. It is, in fact, a drama in which the primary characters are comedians and, as such, some hilarity ensues during the course of it … unless, of course, the boundaries of one’s sense of humor are drawn at a preponderance of penis, fart and mildly homophobic blow-job jokes. It explains why Funny People opened well theatrically, but plummeted the following weekend. The misleading ads precede the DVD launch, as well.

That caveat registered, Funny People offers much to recommend it to audiences not typically partial to Sandler’s usual shtick. Indeed, the former SNL regular is quite good as a stand-up comedian who found immense success as a film star, but has just been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Sandler’s George Simmons’ wealth and success have combined to distance him from humanity by a decade, at least. He’s isolated himself from old friends and family within the walls of his Malibu mansion, heavy with the trappings of wealth.

He spots a struggling comic, Ira (Seth Rogan), at a Hollywood club, and enlists him as a combination go-fer, joke writer and security blankets. Ira appreciates the bones thrown at him by Simmons, but values his company even more. As Simmons’ illness progresses, Ira also adds the roles of confidant and therapist. There’s no need to reveal what happens after Simmons is shown a ray of hope by his doctor, except to say that the emotional roller-coaster doesn’t stop there.

What I liked most about Funny People was its depiction of the struggles of a group of young comics to avoid starvation while staying sharp and waiting to be recognized. Characters played by Rogan, Jason Schwartzman, Jonah Hill and Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) represent the dozens of other of such aspiring entertainers, who, at any given time in L.A., crash on each other’s couches, bounce jokes and insults off each other while playing video games, share the stages of small clubs and occasionally sleep with each other. If they’re fortunate, they’ll go on to enjoy careers as productive as those of Sarah Silverman, Paul Reiser, Ray Romano, Norm MacDonald, George Wallace and Dave Attell, who provide cameos as cronies of Simmons. Funny People gets temporarily derailed by an improbable reunion between Simmons and the “girl who got away” (Leslie Mann) and her conveniently abusive Aussie husband (Eric Bana). The generous Blu-ray edition adds extended and alternate scenes; commentary by Apatow, Sandler and Rogen; making-of featurettes; pieces on the music, standup comedy and the home movies shown in flashbacks; a “Charlie Rose” excerpt; and several BD Live activities.

In some ways, Simmons isn’t all that different a comedian than Dane Cook. Their material overflows with scatological and anatomical references, only a tad more tasteful than the act that got Andrew “Dice” Clay skewered in the press and by feminists. Commonly showcased in stadium-size venues, Cook elected to film Isolated Incident in front of crowds of 400 at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood. It allowed him to interact with audience members, even if the gags were less than spontaneous. Cook isn’t for everyone, but his fans almost certainly will enjoy this DVD. A bonus featurette describes how different audiences react to the same material and how he responds to unexpected prompts from the crowd.

I don’t know if Saturday Night Live reruns on TV extend back to the golden years, when the original cast set the standard for three decades’ worth of “Not Ready for Prime Time” ensembles. Among the many unforgettable characters created by Gilda Radner, who succumbed to cancer in 1989, were Lisa Loopner, Emily Litella and Roseanne Roseannadanna, all of whom made appearances in Gilda Live. The one-woman show, directed by Mike Nichols, was performed at Broadways Winter Garden Theatre, during the “SNL” summer hiatus. Radner was joined here by musician Paul Shaffer and Father Guido Sarducci. – Gary Dretzka

Kobe Doin' Work: A Spike Lee Joint

Spike Lee, who stands at least a foot shorter than the basketball players he idolizes, went one-on-one with Lakers’ superstar Kobe Bryant in the tightly focused documentary, Kobe Doin’ Work. Lee was given extraordinary access to Bryant during a key late-season contest against the Spurs. Not only were 30 cameras stationed throughout the Staples Center to capture every detail, but the NBA’s MVP also was mic’ed, so as to capture the verbal sparring between opposing players and instructions to teammates. Lakers fans and students of the game will find it fascinating, especially the game-within-the-game minutiae. Bryant isn’t the most humble of athletes, though, so more casual followers of the game may choose to leave after the first quarter. – Gary Dretzka

Toi et Moi

Movies based on comic books have become a staple product of Hollywood and Japanese movie factories. Telenovellas have provided fodder for several recent romances from Mexico. Toi et Moi, a distinctly French confection, combines the schmaltz of popular photo-novels with the flesh-and-blood anxiety experienced by single men and women in their 30s. Julie Depardieu portrays the author of You & Me magazine as an achingly neurotic blond, whose rich and handsome boyfriend uses her as a doormat. Marion Cotillard plays her sister, a cellist, who’s too shy to act on her romantic impulses and too reserved to dump a self-absorbed boyfriend.

The sisters, who grew up in the shadow of an accomplished artist, ignore signals sent out by men far better suited to their personalities – a Czech violinist and a Spanish stone mason -- delaying happiness until the end of the movie. If nothing else, these messy entanglements provide Ariane with all the material she needs to complete her scenarios, which are replicated throughout the movie in frozen tableaus. Toi et Moi, which wasn’t released theatrically here, will look very foreign to American eyes. Lovers of romantic fantasies are the target audience. In Depardieu and Cotillard, they might find kindred spirits. – Gary Dretzka

The Canyon

This modest survival thriller has one great thing going for it: the Grand Canyon. If the story is familiar to the point of predictability – honeymooners put themselves in harm’s way by deliberately straying off the beaten path in a wilderness area – the splendid scenery provides enough reason to keep watching, until the nearly bitter end. Anyone who’s been to the Grand Canyon has thought about riding a mule to the bottom of the chasm. Nick and Lori (Eion Bailey, Yvonne Strahovski) get there too late in the season to get a reservation and, instead, hire a guide they meet in a local bar. As portrayed by Will Patton, the old coot could turn out to be the best bargain at the park or a psycho with a Bowie knife. It’s difficult to predict which way he’ll go.

Unfortunately, he makes an early departure, leaving the city slickers to their own devices. Their ordeal certainly could have been better handled by director Richard Harrah and Steve Allrich, whose deliberate pacing suggests they were measuring spaces for commercials to be inserted. Nonetheless, The Canyon is easy enough on the eyes to recommend it as escapist entertainment. The making-of featurettes help explain how some of the nature scenes were accomplished. – Gary Dretzka

Gotta Dance

While it could be argued that forcing senior citizens to learn and perform hip-hop-dance routines constitutes elderly abuse, the volunteers we meet in Gotta Dance appear to have relished the challenge and enjoyed the experience. Dori Bernstein’s emphatically upbeat documentary followed a group of 12 elderly women and a man as they prepared to perform before crowds at New Jersey Nets games, as the NETSational cheer squad.

Although all of the wannabes had enjoyed dancing at one time or another in their lives, they hadn’t attempted anything as daring as professional cheerleading, as practiced by the NetsDancer hotties a third their age. Gotta Dance makes a persuasive case for the ability of seniors to succeed at activities their children and grandchildren might have cautioned them against attempting. They’re having a good time, and so will viewers. – Gary Dretzka

Shorts

No filmmaker makes the leap between grown-up flicks and kids fare with more ease than Robert Rodriguez, whose credits include both the Spy Kids and Sin City franchises. Shorts is a movie that should enthrall younger pre-teens, especially those of the male persuasion. In it, a multi-colored rock falls out of the suburban America skies, landing in a one-company town named Black Falls.

It’s found there by a group of kids who quickly discover that it possesses magical properties, not unlike those available to the holder of a genie’s lamp. Rodriguez provides his cast with an interesting selection of wishes from which to chose, and he scrambles the half-dozen vignettes in ways that will keep younger viewers guessing throughout Shorts.

Among the adults who show up in the kids’ fantasies are James Spader, William H. Macy, Leslie Mann and Jon Cryer. The supplemental material adds an explainer on the special-effects tricks, an introduction the young cast members, a video recipe for making Chocolate Chip Volcano Cookies and instructions from Rodriguez on how kids can make the best use of home movies. – Gary Dretzka

Life on Mars: Series 2

I, for one, was disappointed when ABC canceled the American version of the BBC’s Life on Mars. The atypical New York-set police drama, about a cop who finds himself returned to a key point in his life, 30 years earlier, featured energetic performances by Harvey Keitel, Michael Imperioli, Gretchen Mol and Jason O’Mara, but the premise proved too much of a stretch for American audiences to buy.

The British original was based on the same conceit, but its texture and attitude were several times grittier. Each episode featured at least two parallel storylines. One followed a crime committed in contemporary times, while the other related to a traumatic episode in the protagonist’s youth. In both cases, the detective (John Simm) employed knowledge gained in the 21st Century to solve crimes in 1973. His fellow crime-fighters are a far nastier and skeptical group in the British version, as well.

It’s also possible that the cop is completely nuts, as he is visited regular by bizarre visions and voices from the future. The set includes a 45-minute documentary on the second season, behind-the-scenes footage, a set tour and 28-minute wrap-up of the series. – Gary Dretzka

Four Christmases
White Christmas: Anniversary Edition
Santa Buddies: Legend of Santa Paws
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Its A Very Sunny Christmas
Chasing Christmas
The Christmas Clause
Nothing Like the Holidays

Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon make an attractive, if physically mismatched couple in Four Christmases, a movie that unsuccessfully attempts to provide four times the nuttiness of Christmas Vacation. That it doesn’t, shouldn’t dissuade fans of raucous holiday pictures from giving it a shot. Yuppies Brad and Kate would love nothing more than to avoid sharing Christmas with their respective dysfunctional families, both of which have been split by divorce. When their flight to a faraway destination is canceled due to miserable weather in San Francisco, they make the mistake of providing an interview to a local news crew on holiday travel.

It immediately blows any excuse for not visiting their families out of the water, and they’re required to change plans. Obviously, if they make it to one parent’s home, they have to visit all three and their respective stepparents and other family members. The couple’s ordeal will make the Griswolds’ look like a Shirley Temple movies. Collectively, the in-laws represent a catalogue of 21st Century dysfunction, from physically and verbally abusive dads (Robert Duvall), to cougar moms (Mary Steenburgen) and sadistic siblings (Jon Favreau). Four Christmases has its hilarious moments, but they don’t come easily or often enough. Also in the supporting cast are Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight and Dwight Yoakam. The Blu-ray package adds deleted scenes, a gag reel, the cast’s holiday memories, a making-of doc and recipe short.

Michael Curtiz’ holiday chestnut didn’t introduce Irving Berlin’s White Christmas in the Paramount musical of the same title – that occurred a dozen years earlier, in Holiday Inn – but its encore appearance, in 1954, was much appreciated. Then, and now. The new Anniversary Edition, which also comes in an attractive gift-box edition, has been given a classy upgrade. The colors are noticeably brighter than in previous DVD and video versions, and the sound is excellent. What sets it apart, though, is the generous bonus package, which includes the featurettes, Backstage Stories from White Christmas, Rosemary's Old Kentucky Home, Bing Crosby: Christmas Crooner, Danny Kaye: Joy to the World, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, White Christmas: From Page to Stage, as well as the commentary and recollections of Rosemary Clooney and original trailers.

Disney's canine Buddies are back with a video-original Christmas special of their own. In Legend of Santa Paws, Budderball, B-Dawg, Rosebud, Buddha and Mudbud are given an opportunity to show the mischievous son of Santa Paws how to act like a normal pup. The gang also is enlisted in the cause of saving the true message of Christmas from oblivion. The bonus package adds Christmas-carol sing-alongs and a music video.It’s a Very Sunny Christmas plays like an elongated version of the offbeat fX sitcom, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, in which Danny DeVito plays a dad even Santa would have a difficult time liking. Each member of the Paddy’s crew may have reason to dread the approach of another traumatic Christmas, but they persevere, nonetheless. The idea is to get Frank to acknowledge his Scrooge-like behavior, which includes purchasing the gifts on his kids’ list and giving them to himself. If you enjoy the show, you’ll love this video-original special.Tom Arnold represents the Scrooge character in the Chasing Christmas version of A Christmas Carol. He becomes disillusioned with the holiday after he discovers that his wife has cheated on him during a pageant in which their daughter was performing.In Christmas Clause (a.k.a., The Mrs. Clause) Lea Thompson plays a flustered mom and overworked lawyer, who wishes for a more tranquil life. After a visit to a mall Santa, she’s given an opportunity to a find a more satisfying work environment and a studly suitor. In Hollywood, those are the ingredients not for bliss, but disaster.

John Leguizamo stars in a pair of movies that promote the Christmas spirit. Filmed primarily in Chicago, Nothing Like the Holidays describes what happens when a bodega owner and his wife (Alfred Molina and Elizabeth Peña) invite their Puerto Rican relatives to share Christmas. Each member of the clan has a different dream to pursue, but, first, they must get their hosts into a happier place. The ensemble cast also includes Freddy Rodríguez, Vanessa Ferlitto and Debra Messing.

Where God Left His Shoes follows a boxer and Gulf War veteran, who, after being evicted from his New York apartment, is left homeless and in desperate need of a job. On the day before Christmas, he traipses around the city with his son, looking for a break. – Gary Dretzka

Enlighten Up!

Kate Churchill’s diverting doc, Enlighten Up!, is for those among us who’ve had it with people espousing the amazing physical and philosophical benefits of yoga. Unlike too many of the people who proselytize on the subject, Churchill is willing to see things from a skeptic’s point of view. To this end, she convinces a former journalist to join her as she visits commercial yoga studios and individual practitioners with their own interpretations of the discipline. They even go to India, where every different yogi offers their own distinct version of the truth. It’s fun and not at all preachy. The extras include commentary, deleted scenes and extended interviews. – Gary Dretzka