How to Spend $20
By Eric Hughes
February 1, 2011
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Pick of the Week
For people who hold on dearly: Never Let Me Go
Fox Searchlight’s Never Let Me Go was nowhere near the breakout sleeper I was expecting it to be when it debuted in U.S. engagements in mid-September. The $15-million budgeted weeper grossed just a couple million in the States, and its receipts internationally was barely worth the energy I hastily used in typing out this sentence. I’m a bit shocked, really, considering how acclaimed its source material is. (I’ve read it, too, and it’s darned good. Simple, but thought-provoking).
Originally a book, Never Let Me Go is arguably a dystopian story centered about an English boarding school for girls, and the secrets that confound their existence and way of life. It’s told from the first-person perspective of a young girl, Kathy, who’s seemingly more aware of her surroundings than her peers, and quietly goes about putting pieces of her mysterious reality together.
Maybe the theatrical version was poorly executed, and audiences responded to it as such. Yet I think where Fox went wrong – easy to play Monday Morning quarterback here, but still… - is in releasing this one two weeks before The Social Network. Little did they know, I guess, that Andrew Garfield would turn into a breakout star so quickly. A windfall of acting prizes and nods have followed, as well as the Spidey suit. Fox coulda struck while the iron was hot, but instead settled for way less than that. Like it’s gonna take lotsa everything on home media for Never Let Me Go to get in the black.
Disc includes: The Secrets of Never Let Me Go featurette, Director Mark Romanek’s On-Set Photography featurette, Tommy’s Art featurette
For people who are welcoming: Let Me In
If its Rotten Tomatoes score is any indication, the Americanized redux of Swedish book-turned-movie, Let the Right One In, did what very few Hollywood remakes do: Not suck. The flick holds a beastly 89% positive rating on the movie review aggregator website, and already eclipsed its $20-million budget (USA + foreign gross) before exiting domestic theaters in December. Horror dramas are exhilarating when done well, and Let Me In appears to be exactly that.
I’ll admit I got anxious when Matt Reeves decided to take on Let the Right One In. I was of the mindset of the director of the Swedish adaptation, who issued comments that basically said, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” - albeit way ruder. Tomas Alfredson was even approached to direct the American version himself, but fantastically spat back: “I am too old to make the same film twice and I have other stories that I want to tell.” Not bitter at all.
Disc includes: Audio commentary, From the Inside: A Look at the Making of Let Me In featurette, The Art of Special Effects featurette, Car Crash Sequence Step-by-Step featurette, Dissecting Let Me In featurette, deleted scenes, trailer gallery, poster gallery, comic book (limited edition)
For people who are bored: Mean Girls 2
There’s an extra on the Mean Girls 2 DVD called “Catching Up with Tim Meadows.” Were I the interviewer, I certainly would be asking: “So, Tim. Why in the hell am I interviewing you for a Mean Girls 2 featurette?” Of course, work is work, and the dude hasn’t done much since his lengthy tenure at SNL ended anyway. But buddy, even Lindsay Lohan said no to this one! (Question: Did the producers even bother?) I just think that, for whatever reason - well, money - he’s taking a cheap shot at his dignity for taking a role in a straight-to-DVD copy of a movie that came out seven(!) years ago.
OK, my next question would be why I’m questioning the dignity of a guy who’s probably best known for uttering lines like: “Whip out everything you got and do it in the butt.”
A Mean Girls 2 synopsis snippet:
“Confident senior Jo begins the new school year by breaking her own cardinal rule: don't get involved in girl drama. But when she sees timid Abby preyed upon by Queen Bee Mandi and her minions, she takes sides in a viciously funny girl-world-war that turns the whole school upside down.”
Now tell me what’s different.
Disc includes: Inside the Clique: The Making of Mean Girls 2 featurette, Caught in the Act: On-Set Video Diaries featurette, In the Closet with Kitty Boots: A Look at the Fabulous Fashions of MG2 featurette, Catching Up with Tim Meadows featurette
February 1, 2011
Blu-ray
10
An Affair To Remember
Alice In Wonderland
All About Eve (60th Anniversary Edition)
Bad Boys
Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2
Big Momma's House 1 & 2
Boys Don't Cry
Chain Letter
Conviction
The Double Life Of Veronique (Criterion Collection)
Hatchet II (Unrated Director's Cut)
Highlander Collection (25th Anniversary Edition)
Hurricane Season
Jillian Michaels: 30 Day Shred
Let Me In
Monsters
Monsters (Special Edition)
Never Let Me Go
Night Catches Us
Our Planet: Artic Story
Out of Time
Pleasantville
Primeval Paradise
Ray
Road House
Shopping
The Tillman Story
Walking Tall
Welcome to the Rileys
A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop
WWE: Hell in a Cell 2010
You've Got Mail
DVD
Abbott & Costello: Who's On First
All About Eve (60th Anniversary Edition)
Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2
Chain Letter
Conviction
The Double Life Of Veronique (Criterion Collection)
Hatchet II (Unrated Director's Cut)
Highlander Collection (25th Anniversary Edition)
Leonard Cohen: Early Years
Let Me In
Mean Girls 2
Monsters (Special Edition)
Never Let Me Go
Night Catches Us
Our Planet: Artic Story
The Pregnancy Pact
Primeval Paradise
Shopping
SNL: Best of Chris Farley
SNL: Best Of John Belushi
Thoreau's Walden
The Tillman Story
Top 10 NFL's Greatest Players
TV Comedy Series Collectors Set (Set)
Welcome to the Rileys
A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop
You're Under Arrest: Fast & Furious Season 2
You've Got Mail