How to Spend $20
By Eric Hughes
December 23, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
*Note: all picks featured in this week's column are not available in stores today. Instead, they will be released on Saturday, December 27th.
Pick of the Week
For people who didn't see Shia LaBeouf burn enough calories in Transformers: Eagle Eye (Special Edition)
Someone wants to play a game. And no, this time it isn't the infamous Jigsaw and his complex set of deathtraps. In Eagle Eye, heartthrob Shia LaBeouf stars as Jerry Shaw, a Stanford University dropout who is forced to join forces with a single mother through an anonymous caller, whose mysterious voice demands that the pair carry out a secret plot. Jerry witnesses an interesting situation at an ATM, which leads to loaded guns and ammo in his apartment, which leads to Jerry standing on the edge of a skyscraper and being told to jump. And so forth. It's an adrenaline-rushed, 118-minute thriller.
However, this isn't to say critics loved the thing. A common complaint is the plot's general implausibility, which is best described as an assault on intelligence. Roger Ebert went one step further and called the D.J. Caruso-helmed actioner an "assault on consciousness." Ouch. Even so, this one still racked up just over $100 million Stateside and another $73 million and change abroad.
Disc includes: Deleted scenes, Road Trip: On Location with the Cast and Crew featurette, alternate ending, Asymmetrical Warfare: The Making of Eagle Eye featurette, Eagle Eye On Location: Washington, D.C. featurette, Is My Cell Phone Spying on Me? featurette, Shall We Play a Game? featurette, gag reel, photo gallery
For people who dread the day when Ricky Gervais keels over for real: Ghost Town
Co-written by David Koepp, whose writing credits include cult classic Death Becomes Her, Mission: Impossible and the original Spider-Man (you know, back when the franchise didn't suck), Ghost Town stars comic genius Ricky Gervais as Bertram Pincus, a misanthropic dentist who endures a near-death experience during a routine colonoscopy. After the close call, he goes all Haley Joel Osment on us by gaining the ability to see dead people, who ask Bertram to carry out some of their unfinished business.
One such befriending ghost is Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), who for reason's unknown asks Bertram to break up a blossoming relationship between his former wife, Gwen (Tea Leoni) and her new love interest, Richard (Billy Campbell). Alan Ruck and SNL's Kristen Wiig also appear, but in a limited capacity.
Disc includes: Audio commentary, Making Ghost Town featurette, Some People Can Do It featurette, Ghostly Effects featurette
For people who ever wondered what a lovechild between Supermarket Sweep and the cast of Comedy Central's Reno 911! would look like: 10 Items or Less: Seasons 1 & 2
Over the past couple years, comedy cabler TBS has transitioned from solely broadcasting funny reruns of Seinfeld and Friends to adding some original programming to its primetime lineup, like My Boys, Tyler Perry's House of Payne, The Bill Engvall Show and Frank TV. Series 10 Items or Less is on that list, too, a partially improvised program that is gearing up for its third-season premiere early next year.
The little-seen comedy, which has surprisingly been around since 2006, stars John Lehr as a down-and-out businessman who begins running his family's supermarket after his father dies. The store, Greens & Grains, is filled with a number of colorful characters, including a quirky customer service rep (Ingrid Wakowski), a butcher with NASCAR dreams (Todd Sykes) and a cashier who one day hopes to make it big in the professional ice dancing biz (Richard Mednick). Filmed in a real grocery store called Jon's in California, 10 Items or Less uses actual customers as its extras.
Disc includes: 10 Items or Less: A Look Behind-the-Scenes featurette, Notes from the Casting Couch featurette, blooper reel, Internet viral videos
For people who prefer to watch video games instead of playing them: Resident Evil: Degeneration
George Lucas found a way to do it with his Star Wars franchise, so why couldn't Sony do a similar thing with Resident Evil? Like Star Wars: The Clone Wars, released earlier this year as the franchise's first CGI entry, Resident Evil: Degeneration marks the first full-length, CGI feature for the popular Capcom video game series.
Unlike the trilogy of live-action movies before it, Degeneration is set within the same universe as the original video games, occurring after the events of Resident Evil 2 and 4. The direct-to-DVD movie made its world premiere at the Tokyo Game Show in October, and will be released in that country a day earlier than here in the States. A fourth live-action flick is also currently set up over at Sony.
Disc includes: Character profiles, bloopers, featurettes, sneak preview of Resident Evil 5 videogame
For people who have a costume drama fetish: The Duchess
Talk about a quick exit from theaters. Released here in mid-September, Saul Dibb's The Duchess is already available for home viewing. In it, Keira Knightley stars as English aristocrat Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, from the 18th century. Married to the older, blatantly unfaithful Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes), Georgiana became a fashion leader and beloved icon of her people. The movie � based on Amanda Foreman's best-selling biography, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire � focuses on Georgiana's doomed affair with future Prime Minister Earl Grey, as well as a complicated love triangle featuring herself, her husband and her best friend at its points.
Disc includes: How Far She Went...Making The Duchess featurette, Georgiana in Her Own Words featurette, Costume Diary featurette
December 23, 2008
99 Pieces
Anger
Beethoven's Big Break
Beethoven's Dog-Gone Best Movie Pack (Set)
Berserk: The Complete Series (Set)
Billy Crystal Triple Feature (Triple Feature)
Brad Pitt Triple Feature (Triple Feature)
Bruce Willis Triple Feature (Triple Feature)
Denzel Washington Triple Feature (Triple Feature)
Gene Hackman Triple Feature (Triple Feature)
Jake Gyllenhaal Triple Feature (Triple Feature)
John Travolta Triple Feature (Triple Feature)
Johnny Depp Triple Feature (Triple Feature)
Kevin Costner Triple Feature (Triple Feature)
Leonardo DiCaprio Triple Feature (Triple Feature)
Matt Damon Triple Feature (Triple Feature)
Queen Latifah Triple Feature (Triple Feature)
Renee Zellweger Triple Feature (Triple Feature)
Savage Grace (Widescreen)
Tom Hanks Triple Feature (Triple Feature)