How to Spend $20
By Eric Hughes
May 11, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Pick of the Week
For people who think they need to hook a brother up with some True Blood: Daybreakers
Men can’t get into Twilight. Unless they’re me. It’s scientifically proven. So what does Lionsgate do to tap into this potentially profitable market? It distributes a badass vampire movie where vampires don’t want to have sex with humans, but suck their blood and kill them. You know, do the things we imagined vampires did before Stephenie Meyer played a major part in rewriting what we thought we knew about bloodsuckers. Against a budget of $20 million, the vampire/Matrix mashup did profitable business for its studio, grossing $30.1 million domestically and another $7.9 million worldwide.
Starring Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill, Daybreakers takes place in 2019 – or during a time when vampires greatly outnumber humans. As the population of living beings decreases, the need for blood rises. (Simple supply and demand people, come on). A plan is put in place to research a synthetic blood substitute that would curb harmful vampire diets and therefore increase the population of humans to a healthier level.
Disc includes: Audio commentary, Making Of documentary, The Big Picture (directors’ short film), storyboards, script-to-screen featurette, poster art gallery
For people who are surprised to see Mel Gibson doing English-language movies again: Edge of Darkness
Look out, folks… Mel Gibson’s got a gun! Starring in his first big movie since 2002’s Signs, Gibson returned to his bread and butter in Edge of Darkness, a revenge thriller not unlike 2009’s largely well-received Taken. In it, Gibson plays the father of a twentysomething named Emma who dies in his hands after she’s blasted with two shotgun slugs in cold blood. Everyone and their mom suspects Craven (Gibson) to be the intended target. That is until Craven discovers a pistol in his daughter’s former nightstand.
Honestly, it was nice to see a dude like Gibson headline a movie that he very well could have a decade ago during his Ransom/Payback days. Like if Robin Williams were to do a movie today like Mrs. Doubtfire or The Birdcage from the ‘90s. Gibson was certainly in need of an image makeover, too, considering the controversies surrounding The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto. And let’s not forgot that embarrassing DUI in 2006, which later led to a public apology by Gibson due to anti-Semitic remarks he admitted to during the arrest.
As for Edge of Darkness, the flick did decent biz for Warner Bros. Produced for $60 million, the action-thriller based on a 25-year-old BBC television series made $56 million worldwide. It will undoubtedly be in the black once DVD sales and rentals are factored in.
Disc includes: Revising The Edge of Darkness Miniseries featurette, Mel’s Back featurette, Director Profile: Martin Campbell, Boston as a Character featurette, alternate scenes
For people who miss the funny Steve Martin: Father Of The Bride / Father Of The Bride 2 (Double Feature)
Just two weeks ago, I praised Nancy Meyers for her recent filmography, which includes Something’s Gotta Give, The Holiday and her latest pet project, It’s Complicated. Though the Meryl Streep vehicle’s home media release provided a nice platform for addressing what she did in the 2000s, it’s difficult to address Meyers’ Hollywood contributions without discussing Father of the Bride and its charming sequel, Father of the Bride: Part II. Both are being released today on DVD in a two-pack bundle.
A remake of the 1950 movie of the same name, Father of the Bride had Steve Martin and Diane Keaton playing parents to Kimberly Williams-Paisley’s character, Annie, who is 22 and opts to marry affluent computer consultant Bryan MacKenzie – despite the fact that they’ve known one another for just a few months. Among the calamities: The wedding ends up ballooning to astronomical costs, George (Martin) spends time in the slammer after preemptively breaking into a package of hot dog buns and an obnoxious wedding planner (Martin Short) takes over every aspect of the ceremony – deeming the wants and needs of Annie’s family practically useless. Father of the Bride is a delight, and in my book is about as good as romcom gets.
As expected, Father of the Bride’s sequel isn’t nearly as good as its predecessor. Its story follows an unusual twist where both a mother and daughter find themselves pregnant at the same time. Of course, this leads to the hilarious situation where a niece and her aunt end up sharing the same birth year.
Disc includes: N/A
For people who enjoy dry humor: Daria: The Complete Animated Series
Back in the days when MTV (formerly Music Television – but don’t call it that) actually played music videos, it also carried an impressive slate of original programming and animated cartoons*. It was a grand time, really. We hadn’t even been exposed to peeps like Spencer Pratt and Snooki yet. Instead, the cabler had shows like Daria, itself a spinoff from the crass and contentious Beavis and Butt-head. The series, which debuted in 1997, lasted for five seasons on MTV, including two made-for-TV movies that aired in 2000 and 2002. The second movie served as the show’s de facto series finale.
Received well for its criticism of all things pop culture, the series was best known for skewering then-current pop music like Britney Spears (and her carbon copies) and the healthy contingent of boy bands. It’s an interesting thing, really, as the music videos that would have been playing around scheduled episodes of Daria were, well, pop. Daria was doing to MTV what 30 Rock would later do to NBC in placing a critical eye on the network that carried it.
*Did I just type that?
Disc includes: “Freakin Friends” music video by Mystik Spiral, Daria Day Intros featurette, Top Ten Video Countdown Hosted by Daria and Jane featurette, Mystik Spiral Spin-Off Script featurette, cast and crew interviews
May 11, 2010
Blu-ray
Better The Devil You Know
Bollyrobics: Dance Like Bollywood Stars
Bon Jovi: Live at Madison Square Garden
Dawn Of The Dead / George A Romero's Land Of The Dead
Daybreakers
Doomsday / End of Days
The Edge
Edge of Darkness
Fletch / Bruce Almighty
Giant Panda
Hang 'Em High
High Anxiety
Hiromi Kandra: Hiromi In Love
History Of The World, Part I
Hulk / Doom Back-To-Back Action
Inside Man / Children of Men Back-To-Back Action/Adventure
Jarhead / Friday Night Lights Back-To-Back Drama
The Karate Kid
The Karate Kid / The Karate Kid Part II
The Karate Kid Part II
Legend of the Tsunami Warrior
Legion
M (Criterion Collection)
The Magnificent Seven Collection
The Man In The Iron Mask
Marked For Death
Megafault
Monsoon: India God of Life
Robin Hood: Men In Tights
Rock 'n' Roll High School
Rundown / Spy Game
The Strangers / The Thing
Tidal Wave
U-571 / Waterworld
DVD
The Abyss (Special Edition)
Better The Devil You Know
Bon Jovi: Live at Madison Square Garden
Carly Simon: Live from Martha Vinyard
Daria: The Complete Animated Series
Daybreakers
The Deadliest Warrior: Season 1
The Edge
Edge of Darkness
Father Of The Bride / Father Of The Bride 2 (Double Feature)
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air: Complete Fifth Season
Giant Panda
Hell's Kitchen: The Complete Second Season
History Of The World, Part I
The Karate Kid
The Karate Kid / The Karate Kid Part II (Double Feature)
The Karate Kid Part II
Legend of the Tsunami Warrior
Legion
M (Criterion Collection)
The Magnificent Seven Collection (Set)
Megafault
Monsoon: India God of Life
My Wife & Kids: Season 2
Paul McCartney: Good Evening New York City
Raising the Bar: The Complete Second Season (Widescreen)
Robin Hood: Men In Tights
Rock 'n' Roll High School
Signs / The Village / The Sixth Sense (Triple Feature)
Spy Kids Collection (Triple Feature)
The Strangers / The Thing (Double Feature)
Swords Life On The Line: The Complete First Season
Thirtysomething: The Complete Third Season
Tidal Wave
Toy Story (Special Edition)
Toy Story 2 (Special Edition)