Reviews of Drag Me To Hell, American Violet and The Proposal
Drag Me To Hell
Universal
$30
Blu-ray: $40
Plot: After kicking an elderly lady out of her home, loan officer Christine (Alison Lohman) is hit with a supernatural curse that turns her life into a literal hell.
Opinion: Before he jumped to Hollywood’s A-list as the director of the Spider-Man franchise, Sam Raimi was best known for his groundbreaking Evil Dead trilogy. Raimi’s first post-Spidey outing Drag Me To Hell puts the filmmaker back in touch with his genre roots. But like the second and third Evil Dead outings, Drag Me To Hell is really a comedy in horror movie clothing with poor Lohman forced to endure all manner of slimy, gross humiliations because of her poor decision-making. Perhaps the film’s goofy tone (in addition to an underwhelming marketing campaign) is the reason it struggled to find an audience in its theatrical release last May; after all, the horror movies that tend to succeed these days are the ones that take death and/or dismemberment more seriously. Fortunately, there are still old-school folks like Raimi around who remember that sometimes it’s fun(ny) to be scared.
Bonus Features: A comprehensive production diary that focuses primarily on the impressive special effects.
Verdict: Buy It
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American Violet
Image
$28
Blu-ray: $36
Plot: A single mother (Nicole Beharie) takes on the Texas judicial system when she’s falsely imprisoned on drug charges.
Opinion: It’s hard to watch American Violet and not come away feeling outraged over what happened to Dee Roberts, the real-life person on whom this ripped-from-the-headlines courtroom drama is based. That fury is enhanced by a very strong lead performance from Beharie, who accomplishes the difficult task of playing Roberts as a three-dimensional person with flaws and faults, not just an innocent victim. As a movie though, American Violet is a little too static and bland, lacking the emotional fireworks that distinguish the best dramas about race relations in America. Still, it’s important that stories like these are brought to the attention of the moviegoing public.
Bonus Features: An impassioned, but dull commentary track from director Tim Disney (great-nephew of Walt) and a short interview with Disney and Beharie from the Telluride Film Festival.
Verdict: Rent It
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The Proposal
Touchstone
$30
2-Disc: $40
Blu-ray: $45
Plot: In order to avoid deportation, a high-powered, high-maintenance editor (Sandra Bullock) forces her ambitious assistant (Ryan Reynolds) into holy matrimony. But first, she’s got to survive a weekend meeting his family.
Opinion: The Proposal is Exhibit A in how casting can make or break a romantic comedy. If it weren’t for the unlikely pairing of Bullock and Reynolds as the central odd couple, this movie would be too obnoxious to endure. But the actors make this very familiar material play, generating a real romantic chemistry and a fair number of laughs as well. Unfortunately, even their appeal can’t enliven some of the film’s more tedious stretches, including the entirely too predictable finale.
Bonus Features: Two deleted scenes and a wisely jettisoned alternate ending, accompanied by commentary with Fletcher and writer Peter Chiarelli. The pair also contribute a yak track to the feature and a ten-minute gag reel gives you some pretty funny bloopers from the set.
Verdict: Rent It
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Futurama: The Complete Collection
Fox
$200
Plot: A pizza delivery boy is accidentally frozen and re-awakens in the year 3000 to a brave new world.
Opinion: Futurama, Matt Groening’s follow-up to The Simpsons, never really got the respect it deserved during its abbreviated four-season run on Fox. Funnily enough, it took premature cancellation to make viewers realize what a great series they were missing out on. Futurama‘s successful afterlife on cable and DVD eventually led the studio to produce four new direct-to-DVD movies, which weren’t quite as good as the original series but still offered more than a few great zingers. This past summer it was announced that the show would go back into production for 26 more episodes, to air sometime next year. In the meantime, Fox has put every Futurama-related DVD released to date in this new box set, making it an instant must-have for any geeks on your holiday shopping list. The future for Futrama has never looked brighter.
Bonus Features: All of the extras featured in this new set have appeared on previous editions, but there’s still plenty to chew on. You could spend a week combing through the copious commentary tracks, featurettes, deleted scenes and other goodies.
Verdict: Buy It
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Also On DVD:
A singular sensation in its day, A Chorus Line remains one of Broadway’s most beloved musicals. But don’t go into the documentary Every Little Step (Sony Pictures Classics, $29) expecting a full account of how the groundbreaking show came to be. The focus here remains primarily on the arduous casting process for A Chorus Line‘s 2006 revival. While skimpy on details of how this new production was conceived and mounted, Every Little Step does offer the immensely pleasurable sight of gifted performers dancing and singing their hearts out for the chance to make their Broadway dreams come true. It’s like America’s Got Talent…only with actual talent. Can’t decide between animated features starring The Hulk, Iron Man or Dr. Strange? Collect ‘em all courtesy of the Marvel Animtation 6-Film Gift Set (Lionsgate, $50), a box set of all six Marvel Comics animated features released in the past few years. While not up to the quality of the animated movies put out by their rivals over at DC Comics, movies like Hulk Vs. and New Avengers offer some fun. (Skip the turgid Dr. Strange movie though.) Finally, The Mighty Boosh: Special Edition (BBC, $80) offers all three seasons of the cult British comedy with lots and lots of excellent bonus material including commentary tracks, outtakes, galleries and a booklet.
