How to Spend $20
By Eric Hughes
February 2, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Pick of the Week
For people who have always wondered whether Bill Murray would make a good zombie: Zombieland
I heart Bill Murray. The fact that he cameos in Zombieland as himself looking a whole lot like a zombie – but is not, actually, a zombie... he just wants to play golf amongst the infected without serious penalty – is yet another reason why I need to see this movie already. The trailer made it look super fun, what with a half-crazed Woody Harrelson offing zombies with a sawed-off shotgun. I mean really, who's better fit for something like that? (Well, maybe Cillian Murphy...). Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin are in this one too, all whom I adore. (Emma Stone in particular. She's been a favorite of mine since her break in Superbad as Jonah Hill's innocent crush, Jules. She was also a delight in, ahem, The House Bunny. Emma was, in fact, one of the few good things about that movie).
Based on the movie's modest success – a $24.7 million opening; $75.6 million domestic tally – a sequel is already planned, though no firm start date has been announced. Much of the blame rests on hot-shot writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who at the moment are busy penning scripts for Venom, Deadpool and an original feature based on a pitch they sold to Universal called Earth Versus Moon. It's a hard life.
Disc includes: Deleted scenes, audio commentary, In Search of Zombieland: Behind-the-Scenes featurette, Zombieland in Your Land featurette, visual effects progression scenes, trailers, Beyond the Graveyard: Behind the Scenes Picture-in-Picture Track, MovieIQ, digital copy
For people who think souls are overrated: Cold Souls
Typically, I'm game for actors who play themselves* in a movie. (An asterisk is necessary in a discussion such as this, since more often than not the "character" is a twisted version of how we'd expect X to act). What Ricky Gervais did with his guest talent on Extras is a perfect example. In film, there's the aforementioned Bill Murray in Zombieland, Bruce Willis and Sean Penn in What Just Happened, and probably most notably, John Malkovich in Charlie Kaufman's mostly brilliant, Being John Malkovich. Paul Giamatti joins the ranks in Cold Souls, playing an anxious actor named Paul who decides to deep freeze his soul courtesy of a unique company, only to want it back later. Due to a soul trafficking scheme, Paul's soul has ended up somewhere in Russia, leading him there in an effort to find his soul.
I was a bit shocked at how underwhelmingly this one performed at the box office, considering the noise it made at film festivals prior to its release. Never unspooling in more than 50 theaters in a given weekend, Cold Souls couldn't even budge $1 million, ending up with $903,000 and change.
Disc includes: Not available
For people who would have called the cops after catching their neighbor filming them with a cheap camera, instead of simply removing their top so said neighbor could get a good look at their jugs: American Beauty (Gold Collection)
A Mandarin-dubbed American Beauty disc could make its way onto store shelves and I'd still leave space for it in the column. I love this movie. I've watched it countless times. And if it isn't my favorite movie of all time – I have trouble picking favorites – it isn't too far behind. American Beauty stars Kevin Spacey as middle-aged cubicle worker Lester Burnham, who announces at the onset – as we're flying over his neighborhood – that this is his street, his life, he's 42-years-old and in less than a year, he'll be dead.
American Beauty is a slice of life, a snapshot of suburbia near the end of the 20th century. Sexually frustrated, Lester's wife (Annette Bening) takes a liking to a prominent real estate agent. Lester's angsty teenage daughter pursues a relationship with a strange boy next door. And Lester himself – experiencing an insanely epic midlife crisis – blackmails his boss, quits his job, chases after one of his daughter's friends, smokes pot regularly and, unbeknownst to him, falls under the suspicious eye of Col. Frank Fitts, a conservative, retired marine who suspects he's getting intimate with his son.
There's a whole lot going on in this flick. Enough, really, to fill a season's worth of episodes on a cable drama. In many ways, American Beauty feels like a precursor to Alan Ball's masterful Six Feet Under, which hit HBO two years after American Beauty was released in theaters.
Disc includes: American Beauty: Look Closer... featurette, cast and crew interviews, audio commentary, exclusive storyboard presentation with commentary, digital screenplay with corresponding film footage and storyboards (DVD-ROM), cast and crew bios, trailers
For people who enthusiastically believe they are, indeed, a golden god: Almost Famous (Gold Collection)
Like American Beauty, another movie I'm usually always in the mood for is Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical account of his teenage experiences on tour with bands like The Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd. In Almost Famous' case, the bands and their stories have fused into one – named Stillwater – led by guys like Billy Crudup and a pre-My Name is Earl Jason Lee. But you already know all of this, don't you? Forgive me.
What amazes me most about the movie, beyond its infectious ability to entertain, is its cast. They're quintessentially perfect. From Frances McDormand as William's "rockers have kidnapped my son" mother to Kate Hudson as the adorable Penny Lane to Philip Seymour Hoffman's bit part as "I'm always home because I'm uncool" journalist Lester Bangs, the faces in front of the camera were cast in Almost Famous because they deserve to be in it. Other performances by future stars include Zooey Deschanel, Anna Paquin, Jimmy Fallon, Jay Baruchel (who's poised to break out this year) and - believe it or not - Rainn Wilson.
Disc includes: "Fever Dog" music video by Stillwater, The Making of Almost Famous: The HBO Behind-the-scenes featurette, the Rolling Stone articles, trailers, cast and crew bios
February 2, 2010
Blu-ray
Amadeus
Amelia
An American In Paris
The Babysitters
Bonnie And Clyde
Casablanca
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Gold Collection)
The Departed
Dr. Who: End of Time Parts 1 & 2
Dr. Who: The Complete Specials
Dr. Who: The Waters of Mars
The Duchess (Gold Collection)
The Fallen Ones
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas
Gangs Of New York
Ghost Gold Collection
Gigi Oscars O-Sleeve
The Girl Next Door
The Godfather (Sapphire Series)
The Godfather Part II (Sapphire Series)
He Was a Quiet Man
Hellboy: Sword of Storms/Blood & Iron
The House of the Devil
Hustle & Flow (Gold Collection)
Jack Ketchum's The Lost
The Last King of Scotland
Liza's at the Palace
Love Happens
Maid In Manhattan
Man From Earth
March of the Penguins
Million Dollar Baby
Mona Lisa Smile
The Music Man
Mystic River
New York, I Love You
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning (Collector's Edition)
Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior
Pan's Labyrinth
Planet Hulk (Special Edition)
Spiral
There Will Be Blood
To Live And Die In L.A.
Top Gun (Gold Collection)
Training Day
Triangle
Unforgiven
Universal Soldier: Regeneration
The Untouchables
Virgin Territory
Walk the Line
Zombieland
DVD
Adam (Widescreen)
Air Bud: Golden Receiver (Widescreen Special Edition)
Almost Famous (Gold Collection)
Amadeus (Oscars O-Sleeve)
Amelia
American Beauty (Gold Collection)
An American In Paris (Oscars O-Sleeve)
Beverly Hills 90210: The Ninth Season
Braveheart (Gold Collection)
Casablanca (Oscars O-Sleeve)
Cold Souls
Dr. Who: End of Time Parts 1 & 2
Dr. Who: The Complete Specials
Dr. Who: The Waters of Mars
Dynasty: The Complete Fourth Season (Set)
Everybody Loves Raymond: Seasons 3 & 4 (Back-To-Back)
Ghost (Gold Collection)
The House of the Devil
Hustle & Flow (Gold Collection)
Larry The Cable Guy: Tailgate Party
Liza's at the Palace
Love Happens
Martin: Seasons 3 & 4 (Back-To-Back)
The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Season 6
Mister Ed: Complete Season Two
Murder, She Wrote: The Complete Eleventh Season
New York, I Love You
Night Court: Complete Seasons 1 & 2 (Back-To-Back)
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning (Collector's Edition)
Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior
Planet Hulk (Special Edition)
Stoned (R Rated Version)
There Will Be Blood (Gold Collection)
Top Gun (Gold Collection)
Training Day (Oscars O-Sleeve)
Triangle
UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin
Unforgiven (Oscars O-Sleeve)
Universal Soldier: Regeneration
The Untouchables (Oscars O-Sleeve)
Wanda Sykes: I'ma Be Me (Widescreen)
Whatever She Wants
Zane's Sex Chronicles: The Complete First Season (Widescreen)
Zombieland