How to Spend $20
By Eric Hughes
June 22, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Pick of the Week
For people who wouldn’t be opposed to free, albeit probably contaminated junk food falling from the sky: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 3-D
Based on the 1978 book of the same name by Judi Barrett, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is quite literally an insane animated comedy from the makers of Open Season and Surf’s Up. The flick is a quick witted, seizure inducing thrill ride that moves along at a frenetic pace.
The lead character, Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader), probably should have been diagnosed with some form of Attention Deficit Disorder. If anything, it’d explain why Flint incessantly bounces from one thing to the next with little time reserved for, you know, breathing. No worries on my end though; the dude is a charmer.
The movie at times plays like an extended comedy sketch. In one scene, Flint and his admirer are lively dancing within a castle of Jell-O. In the next, a former child star, eaten alive by a giant turkey, is redone as a bizarre half-turkey, half-human freak that definitely would have terrified me had I seen the movie as a child.
Cloudy’s humor, though relentlessly zany, also in parts caters to the older demos who may be watching the movie with young ones. Its unexpected crack at intelligent humor usually worked with me, and is probably the main reason why I came away enjoying what I saw.
Lovers of the book, however, will likely be ill impressed with Sony Picture Animation’s adaptation. It’s comparable to something like Where the Wild Things Are, in that there’s only so much the filmmakers could have done with just a handful of pages of source material.
Taking sizeable liberties in adapting Meatballs to the screen, Meatballs’ filmmakers all but gave up on the original story. In its place is a more complex storyline involving broken father-and-son relationships, an influx of secondary characters, puppy love and how the American way of aiming for “bigger and better” negatively influences the environment. The disc is now being released in 3-D, so it can be seen just as intended.
Disc includes: A Recipe for Success: The Making of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs featurette, “Raining Sunshine” by Miranda Cosgrove music video, interactive “Raining Sunshine” sing-a-long, Making of “Raining Sunshine” by Miranda Cosgrove featurette, Key Ingredients: The Voices of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, extended scenes, Progressive Reels with Introductions featurette, Early Development Scenes featurette, interactive splat button, Flint’s Good Fight game
For people who enjoy television shows that rely heavily on the male penis: Hung: The Complete First Season
People are talking about HBO again. Of course, this is thanks in large part to True Blood, which is performing absurdly well for the pay cabler. More than five million people tuned in for the vampire dramedy’s third season premiere, good enough for sixth place on the cable TV chart for the week ending June 13th.
Though Hung doesn’t perform as solidly in the ratings game, one could certainly make the argument that it carries decent buzz. And why shouldn’t it? Filmmaker Alexander Payne, who serves as one of the series’ executive producers, directed the pilot. And the show, a dramedy, revolves around a well-endowed dude who whores himself out as a male prostitute. Hung puts a literal face on the “sex sells” idea.
Bloggers seem to think Emmy nods could be in the cards for leads Thomas Jane and Jane Adams – and maybe even the series. This is something I can get behind, principally because a writers room awarded TV’s biggest prize for an episode titled “Do It, Monkey!” or “A Dick and a Dream or Fight the Honey” would make for an interesting story.
Disc includes: Behind the Scenes featurette, The Women of Hung featurette, Ray and Tanya’s Personal Ads featurette, three audio commentaries
For people who dig Matt Damon in uniform: Green Zone
Inspired by journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s Imperial Life in the Emerald City, Green Zone is Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass’ first collaboration post-Jason Bourne trilogy. And similarities between the two – of course, they really have little to do with each other – are pretty jarring. Green Zone borrows the trilogy’s “primitive” editing techniques and excessive action sequences. Even Green Zone’s movie poster could be mistaken as promotional material from the Bourne franchise.
Yet Green Zone, about a U.S. Army officer who goes rogue while hunting for WMDs in Iraq, underwhelmed at the box office. Just $14.3 million was collected from U.S. theaters over opening weekend. A soft $20.7 million followed, leaving the drama – produced for a hefty $100 million – with a sad $35 million domestic cume. Though foreign ticket sales ($59.4 million) saved the project from the dubious honor of being labeled an outright bomb, Universal will have to rely on home media sales and rentals to drive the title into the black.
Disc includes: Deleted scenes, Matt Damon: Ready for Action featurette, Inside The Green Zone featurette
For people who think it absurd that Jay Baruchel isn’t considered at least mildly attractive: She’s Out of My League
She’s Out of My League continues the played hot girl/ugly dude relationship we’ve seen countless times on traditional television sitcoms (According to Jim, The King of Queens) and movies like Knocked Up. I haven’t gotten around to seeing it (yet), but based on its ad campaign, the movie doesn’t seem to add much to the discussion. Critics were just about split on liking the thing: 58% of ‘em gave the movie a positive review, according to review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
She’s Out of My League opened two weeks before How to Train Your Dragon, which, as we know, demonstrated Pixar-like legs for DreamWorks. I mention this because Jay Baruchel, who is the male lead in League, voiced Hiccup Haddock. Dragon made a tremendous amount of money after an arguably soft $43.7 million opening. League, while no blockbuster, outdid its $20 million budget in the States by 58%. It’ll be interesting to see how The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, starring Baruchel and *shiver* Nic Cage, performs when it debuts at the box office on July 14th.
Disc includes: Deleted scenes, extended ending, blooper reel, Devon’s Dating Show featurette, audio commentary
June 22, 2010
Blu-ray
Afro Samurai: Seasons 1 & 2
The Bourne Trilogy
Bruce Springsteen: London Calling Live in Hyde
Close-Up (Criterion Collection)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 3-D
Death Race 2000
Entourage: The Complete Sixth Season
Green Zone
Guyver Complete Collection
Hung: The Complete First Season
The Last Station
Red Desert (Criterion Collection)
Remember Me
Riverworld
She's Out of My League
A Star Is Born
DVD
Anne of Green Gables: Complete Four-Part Set (Set)
Avatar, The Last Airbender: The Complete Book 1 (Collector's Edition)
Bruce Springsteen: London Calling Live in Hyde
Close-Up (Criterion Collection)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (3-D)
Death Race 2000
Entourage: Seasons 1-6 (Set)
Entourage: The Complete Sixth Season
Green Zone
Hung: The Complete First Season
The Last Station
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Live from Freedom Hall
Night Train To Munich (Criterion Collection)
Red Desert (Criterion Collection)
Remember Me
Riverworld
The Rolling Stones: Stones in Exile
She's Out of My League
A Star Is Born (Deluxe Edition)
Tom & Jerry Deluxe Anniversary Collection (Anniversary Edition)