Tuesday
13Jan2009
New to Home Video - 'Appaloosa,' 'My Best Friend's Girl,' 'Mirrors,' and More
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 6:26AM
There aren't a lot of big winners on DVD this week, and the reason why is pretty
simple. The cycle in Hollywood puts summer theatrical releases back in your hands on home video right before
Christmas. That leaves the also-rans of late August and September for us to pick through in January and into
February.
Appaloosa
I had real affection for this Western, directed by and starring Ed Harris. Unlike a lot of movies in that
genre that we've seen over the past two or three years, Appaloosa was very much a traditional
Western, and man, is it well-cast. Harris is joined by Viggo Mortensen and Jeremy Irons, and for good
measure, throws in Renee Zellweger.
Like I said, this isn't The Assassination of Jesse James or The Proposition. This is a
Western with simple motives and definitively painted characters. It's also a lot of fun.
(Check out our review)
My Best Friend's Girl
Conversely, I did not have anything resembling affection for this sad little affair. Is there a committee
out there that reviews all romantic comedy scripts submitted in Hollywood and rips the heart and brains out
of them, replacing them with third act windsprints back towards the love the lead character never realized
was right in front of him/her the whole time?
To make matters worse: Dane Cook. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an unfunny comedian. If there's
something I hate worse than an unfunny comedian, it's one other comedians never even try to defend. And if
there's something I hate worse than that, it's when the unfunny comedian other comedians can't defend
becomes enormously successful.
(Here's our review. Please don't watch the movie.)
Swing Vote
Almost nobody saw Swing Vote, even though it didn't get the worst reviews of the year. I liked it,
particularly for Kevin Costner's work and that of young Madeline Carroll. The commercial failure of the
movie has to be linked to Costner, whose career has been really up and down. The shame is, though, this is
one of his better roles in a while.
As for the story, it's hard to believe people got so caught up in the notion that an election could come
down to one vote. "Like that would ever happen," said people of the Capra-esque concept. You're right. How
silly of me. Now enjoy your Bad Boys II.
(Read our review)
Mirrors
I'll be interested to check Mirrors out on DVD. It was a late summer horror movie, and by definition,
movie critics can't see those before they're released. Could I have checked it out while it was in theaters?
Yes, but I was busy checking out all the other bad movies studios didn't want me to see around the same
time, like My Best Friend's Girl.
But I'm a big Alexandre Aja fan; I think he has the most potential for greatness of any director working in
the horror genre today. I'm also curious to see what Kiefer Sutherland can do here. So, even though it
didn't perform like, say, The Strangers, I'd still want to check it out. Maybe as a rental first,
however.
The Family That Preys
If he's not already, Tyler Perry is well on his way to becoming a billionaire, and most of that wealth has
been amassed in the past five years. But the brand name is changing Yes, we'll have Madea movies, but The Family That Preys is completely
different, a family drama that even imports some significant talent from outside his usual circle (Kathy
Bates and Alfre Woodard).
The film was another hit for Perry, but certainly not among his biggest. I wonder if his audience wants him
to pay more attention to the comedies. After all, that's where his money is.
Brideshead Revisited
Emma Thompson stars in this new version of the classic 1940s novel by Evelyn Waugh. It's actually set a few
years earlier than that, around the time of England's involvement in WWII.
This is not the first time the story has been filmed. More memorably, Brideshead was a mini-series
back in the 1980s. I prefer that one over the new installment, primarily because you have to take so many
things out to fit into a smaller window of time. The new Brideshead is still pretty good if you're
into this sort of thing, but I'd still recommend the BBC version, even though it's 11 hours long.
Appaloosa
I had real affection for this Western, directed by and starring Ed Harris. Unlike a lot of movies in that
genre that we've seen over the past two or three years, Appaloosa was very much a traditional
Western, and man, is it well-cast. Harris is joined by Viggo Mortensen and Jeremy Irons, and for good
measure, throws in Renee Zellweger.
Like I said, this isn't The Assassination of Jesse James or The Proposition. This is a
Western with simple motives and definitively painted characters. It's also a lot of fun.
(Check out our review)
My Best Friend's Girl
Conversely, I did not have anything resembling affection for this sad little affair. Is there a committee
out there that reviews all romantic comedy scripts submitted in Hollywood and rips the heart and brains out
of them, replacing them with third act windsprints back towards the love the lead character never realized
was right in front of him/her the whole time?
To make matters worse: Dane Cook. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an unfunny comedian. If there's
something I hate worse than an unfunny comedian, it's one other comedians never even try to defend. And if
there's something I hate worse than that, it's when the unfunny comedian other comedians can't defend
becomes enormously successful.
(Here's our review. Please don't watch the movie.)
Swing Vote
Almost nobody saw Swing Vote, even though it didn't get the worst reviews of the year. I liked it,
particularly for Kevin Costner's work and that of young Madeline Carroll. The commercial failure of the
movie has to be linked to Costner, whose career has been really up and down. The shame is, though, this is
one of his better roles in a while.
As for the story, it's hard to believe people got so caught up in the notion that an election could come
down to one vote. "Like that would ever happen," said people of the Capra-esque concept. You're right. How
silly of me. Now enjoy your Bad Boys II.
(Read our review)
Mirrors
I'll be interested to check Mirrors out on DVD. It was a late summer horror movie, and by definition,
movie critics can't see those before they're released. Could I have checked it out while it was in theaters?
Yes, but I was busy checking out all the other bad movies studios didn't want me to see around the same
time, like My Best Friend's Girl.
But I'm a big Alexandre Aja fan; I think he has the most potential for greatness of any director working in
the horror genre today. I'm also curious to see what Kiefer Sutherland can do here. So, even though it
didn't perform like, say, The Strangers, I'd still want to check it out. Maybe as a rental first,
however.
The Family That Preys
If he's not already, Tyler Perry is well on his way to becoming a billionaire, and most of that wealth has
been amassed in the past five years. But the brand name is changing Yes, we'll have Madea movies, but The Family That Preys is completely
different, a family drama that even imports some significant talent from outside his usual circle (Kathy
Bates and Alfre Woodard).
The film was another hit for Perry, but certainly not among his biggest. I wonder if his audience wants him
to pay more attention to the comedies. After all, that's where his money is.
Brideshead Revisited
Emma Thompson stars in this new version of the classic 1940s novel by Evelyn Waugh. It's actually set a few
years earlier than that, around the time of England's involvement in WWII.
This is not the first time the story has been filmed. More memorably, Brideshead was a mini-series
back in the 1980s. I prefer that one over the new installment, primarily because you have to take so many
things out to fit into a smaller window of time. The new Brideshead is still pretty good if you're
into this sort of thing, but I'd still recommend the BBC version, even though it's 11 hours long.
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