This week, Javier Bardem romances Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson; Hulk smashes Wolverine and The Mighty Thor; and it’s politics as usual at Stuyvesant High School.
Vicky Christina Barcelona
The Weinsten Company
$28.95
Blu-ray: $34.99
Plot: Two American tourists (Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall) on an extended vacation in Barcelona get involved with a suave Spanish artist (Javier Bardem) and his crazy ex-wife (Penelope Cruz).
Opinion: After making a roaring comeback with Match Point, Woody Allen stumbled badly with his next two films, the diverting, but pointless Scoop and the almost unwatchable Cassandra’s Dream. While his 39th feature falls just short of his A-list, it fits snugly amongst such B-movies as Broadway Danny Rose, Mighty Aphrodite and Deconstructing Harry. All the credit has to go to the film’s cast, specifically Bardem, the best leading man in any Allen film since Sean Penn ran away with Sweet and Lowdown. Allen’s views about marriage and its impact on artistic expression will no doubt ignite spirited debates amongst the film’s audience. Fortunately, the actors make the questionable gender politics work, investing their characters with an emotional honesty that may not have existed on the page. The film is gorgeous to look at too; the sun-dappled Spanish metropolis has rarely been lovelier onscreen and Bardem, Johansson and Cruz register an off-the-charts sex appeal.
Bonus Features: Nada.
Verdict: Rent It
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Hulk Vs.
Lionsgate
Single Disc: $19.98
Two-Disc: $24.98
Blu-ray: $29.99
Plot: The titles of these two cartoons tell you everything you need to know about their respective plots, but for the record here it goes: Hulk Vs. Wolverine finds the Hulk and Wolverine battling it out in the Canadian wilderness before being captured by the surviving members of the Weapon X initiative, while Hulk Vs. Thor sends the not-so-jolly green giant to the gates of Asgard, where he tangles with the mythical God of Thunder.
Opinion: Perfectly timed to hit DVD before the May release of the solo Wolverine movie and the start of production on the Thor flick, the animated double-bill Hulk Vs. is first and foremost a Marvel Comics marketing gimmick designed to get viewers excited for their live-action wares. As marketing gimmicks go though, this one is a lot of fun. I should admit upfront that I’ve never seen the appeal of Thor and Hulk Vs. Thor didn’t do a lot to change my opinion of the character. That said, the cartoon does provide some terrific bone-crunching battles and it has a stronger story than Hulk Vs. Wolverine, which amounts to little more than a series of fight sequences held together by the thinnest of plot threads. Fortunately, those fight sequences are pretty damn kick-ass and much more brutal than you’d expect from one of these direct-to-DVD superhero cartoons. (Let’s just say it earns its PG-13 rating.) In terms of overall quality, DC is still producing stronger animated features than their funny page rivals, but Marvel wins mucho points for indulging fanboys’ dreams of watching colorful heroes whaling on each other for a half-hour.
Bonus Features: Both films come with two commentary tracks apiece featuring various members of the crew, as well as a pair of making-of featurettes. The Hulk vs. Wolverine disc also includes excerpts from a Q&A session at last year’s San Diego Comic Con and a first look at Marvel’s new Wolverine and the X-Men animated series. Hulk vs. Thor houses an early peek at the animated film Thor: Tales of Asgard and a featurette about legendary comics artist Jack Kirby’s groundbreaking work on the original Thor comic.
Verdict: Buy It (Fanboys Only)/Rent It (Everyone Else)
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Frontrunners
Oscilloscope
$29.95
Plot: A behind-the-scenes account of the 2006 student body president elections at New York’s famed Stuyvesant High School.
Opinion: If you’re looking for the antidote to the slicked-up, dumbed-down “this is what 21st century teens are really like” documentary American Teen, look no further than Frontrunners. Where the latter film used flashy editing tricks and a hit-stuffed soundtrack to convince you it was authentic, this one simply observes its subjects in their natural habitat: namely, the hallways and classrooms of Stuyvesant. Comparisons to films like Election and even the recent U.S. presidential race are inevitable, but the film is best enjoyed on its own terms as a thoughtful, entertaining profile of a few ambitious teens putting their minds to good use.
Bonus Features: Three out of the four kids profiled in the doc join director Caroline Suh on a commentary track recorded almost two years after filming wrapped. Unfortunately, their conversation isn’t quite as engaging as I’d hoped it would be–the track is filled with a few too many long pauses and discussions that trail off before any real points are made. The deleted scenes offer a few gems though and the inclusion of the full fifteen-minute debate between the final two candidates is a nice touch.
Verdict: Buy It
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Also on DVD
It didn’t do much business when it was dumped into theaters last August, but the heavy metal comedy The Rocker (Fox, $29.98) provides a few good chuckles, certainly enough to make it an above average rental. Credit the ensemble cast, which includes comic goldmines like Jane Lynch, Jeff Garlin and Will Arnett, and Rainn Wilson’s sly star turn. The DVD comes with copious extras, including one hilarious mock-featurette that finds Wilson’s co-stars angling for the chance to appear on The Office. Other 2008 flicks hitting DVD this week are Lakeview Terrace (Sony, $28.96), in which Samuel L. Jackson plays a retired LAPD cop who starts harassing the interracial couple living next door; Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (Thinkfilm, $27.98), an acclaimed documentary about the Oscar-winning director of Chinatown and The Pianist who famously fled the United States after being charged with having sex with a minor;
and The Lucky Ones (Lionsgate, $27.98), the latest Iraq War-themed drama about three combat veterans (Tim Robbins, Rachel McAdams and Michael Pena) who experience a rough homecoming when their tour of duty is up.
If you’re curious what a Thai superhero movie might look like, Mercury Man (Magnolia, $26.98) provides an answer. Borrowing heavily from the Spider-Man trilogy, this action flick follows a fireman who acquires super powers after being stabbed through the heart by a mystical relic. (Hey, that’s not any less believable than a radioactive spider when you think about it.) Clad in a skintight black ensemble, he patrols the streets of Bangkok, fighting crime and saving his kidnapped mom. In classic film news, Disney has put together a new extras-laden version of one of their most beloved musicals. Mary Poppins: 45th Anniverary Edition (Disney, $29.99) comes with vintage featurettes, a making-of documentary containing new interviews with Julie Andrews and other cast members and a deleted song. Finally, The Sidney Poitier Collection (Warner Bros, $39.98) packages four films from the screen icon, including The Edge of the City and A Patch of Blue.
