Tuesday
28Oct2008
New to Home Video: 'Center of the Earth,' 'Kit Kittredge,' 'Zombie Strippers' and More
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at 6:00AM
Why are some weeks better than others when it comes to
DVD releases (or as my friend Brady would say, DVD-wise)? It's a really good
question, I think, and I'm sure if you ever had the ear of someone in the home
video racket they'd tell you that this weekend, for example, a lot of adults
will be out at Halloween parties or something.
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Hell Ride
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
The Polar Express
Zombie Strippers
Tinker Bell
Death Defying Acts
Prince and Me 3: A Royal Honeymoon
Journey to the Center of the EarthEven though the movie held a pretty strong audience this summer, I'm not sure how well a live-action 3-D film will really translate to home video. I mean, they're selling the 2-D version, which completely undermines at least 40% of the purpose of the film, and you can also buy a 3-D version that comes with the glasses. Really? You're going to watch a 3-D movie at home?
It's not a bad flick, and the 3-D is actually pretty good, but you need to see this in theaters for the full effect.
(Check out our review)
Hell RideJesus Quincy Adams, what a bad movie this is. It's inconceivably, rigorously awful. It's trying so hard to be a Grindhouse movie and with very few exceptions, movies that try hard to be something generally fail. And movies that try hard but have Tarantino-in-sheep's-clothing Larry Bishop writing their dialogue seem destined for ignominy. However, if you like breasts, there are plenty of 'em on display here, and I'm sure you'll be able to see even more on DVD, unless the Weinstein Company just doesn't care enough to go the extra mile.
(Here's our review, and it's not pleasant)
Kit Kittredge: An American GirlI think this movie would've done better with the family crowd this summer if it hadn't come out the month after Picturehouse announced it was shutting its doors. Tough to get motivated at that point. It has a much better opportunity on home video, because it will be more widely availability (or as my friend Brady would say, it will be easier to find, available-wise).
The Polar Express Here's the 3-D version of the new holiday tradition. I would have the same fears about this one as I do Journey to the Center of the Earth when it comes to the 3-D specs and everything, but this is a slightly different kettle of fish because of the extremely loyal following this film has been able to maintain over the past couple of years. I don't know that a digitally-created movie transferred to digital video necessarily needs a 3-D upgrade for DVD, but whatever.
Zombie StrippersThe name pretty much says it all. Strippers, led by Jenna Jameson, try to kill zombies, who I think have an entrance theme performed by The Cranberries.Oh, and Robert Englund cashes another check, and yet he won't make the next Nightmare on Elm Street Dignity first. Always, dignity first.
Tinker BellHave you noticed a trend here? There are either kid movies or sleaze flicks out on DVD this week. Don't get the connection. Anyway, this is another in the extremely long and well-managed line of animated extensions of premise from Disney, which has created quite the cottage industry with this idea over the years. Almost every major movie in their catalog has one of these DVD spin-offs, from Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch to Cinderella II and III to everybody's favorite, Lady and the Tramp Get Fixed. This one's about Peter Pan's little friend, obviously.
Death Defying ActsI actually wanted to see this film, but while it did enjoy a European release, we never saw it pop up in theaters here in the U.S. It played in two theaters and made less than $6,000 in domestic receipts. It does feature Guy Pearce as Harry Houdini, which intrigues me, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, which exponentially does not.
Prince and Me 3: A Royal HoneymoonWait...there was a Prince and Me 2?Really?But how can there be a part three if nobody saw part two? In any case, shouldn't they have had their honeymoon well before the third movie?
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