DVD Reviews – Zap2it
'Wall-E' (Three-Disc Special Edition)
"Wall-E" is art. Not only is the story compelling -- and amazingly emotional, considering its stars are mechanical -- but several sequences are outright beautiful. (Witness Wall-E's trip through space on the back of a recon rocket.) It's easily the best purely family film, appealing to family members of all ages, in the past couple of decades. On DVD, the film is just as beautiful as on the big screen without losing any of its heart. This is the movie kids and adults alike would be happy to unwrap for the holidays.
DVD New Releases
'Tropic Thunder' (Unrated Director's Cut): "Tropic Thunder," a war-movie satire that skewers everything Hollywood, is a welcome addition on DVD: While its release was overshadowed by criticism, the humor is sly and sharp and worthy of standing alongside classics like "Airplane!" While the unrated director's cut may be only marginally different from the theatrical version, the included extras are worth the price of admission. (Robert Downey Jr.'s brilliant performance as Aussie Kirk Lazarus playing African-America Lincoln Osiris is worth the price of admission on its own merits.)
The first disc features only the film and commentaries (one from the filmmakers, the other by Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr.). The second disc is where the bonus fun can be found: production diaries, deleted scenes, an alternate ending and a mock making-of feature called "Rain of Thunder."
DVD Bonus Features:
The Good: Other than the movie itself, one of the funniest of this young century? It's easy to forget how much work can go into comedy, but the production diaries shed some great light on the process. The cast commentary is funny, if mostly unenlightening.
The Bad: After the belly laughs of the main event, the attempted humor in "Rain of Thunder" is only marginally amusing. (There is one great reference to Jack Black's "Heat Vision and Jack.") Unfortunately, it continues in "Dispatches from the End of Madness," quick vignettes not included in the main mockumentary. And did we say the cast commentary was funny? We meant other than Downey doing the entire thing as Lincoln Osiris.
The Price: $34.98
"Tropic Thunder," a war-movie satire that skewers everything Hollywood, is a welcome addition on DVD: While its release was overshadowed by criticism, the humor is sly and sharp and worthy of standing alongside classics like "Airplane!" While the unrated director's cut may be only marginally different from the theatrical version, the included extras are worth the price of admission. (Robert Downey Jr.'s brilliant performance as Aussie Kirk Lazarus playing African-America Lincoln Osiris is worth the price of admission on its own merits.)The first disc features only the film and commentaries (one from the filmmakers, the other by Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr.). The second disc is where the bonus fun can be found: production diaries, deleted scenes, an alternate ending and a mock making-of feature called "Rain of Thunder."
DVD Bonus Features:
The Good: Other than the movie itself, one of the funniest of this young century? It's easy to forget how much work can go into comedy, but the production diaries shed some great light on the process. The cast commentary is funny, if mostly unenlightening.
The Bad: After the belly laughs of the main event, the attempted humor in "Rain of Thunder" is only marginally amusing. (There is one great reference to Jack Black's "Heat Vision and Jack.") Unfortunately, it continues in "Dispatches from the End of Madness," quick vignettes not included in the main mockumentary. And did we say the cast commentary was funny? We meant other than Downey doing the entire thing as Lincoln Osiris.
The Price: $34.98
'Wall-E' (Three-Disc Special Edition): "Wall-E" is art. Not only is the story compelling -- and amazingly emotional, considering its stars are mechanical -- but several sequences are outright beautiful. (Witness Wall-E's trip through space on the back of a recon rocket.) It's easily the best purely family film, appealing to family members of all ages, in the past couple of decades. On DVD, the film is just as beautiful as on the big screen without losing any of its heart. This is the movie kids and adults alike would be happy to unwrap for the holidays.
Other than the movie, the first disc also contains two shorts, "Burn-E" (about a welder droid briefly seen during the main feature) and the unrelated but amusing "Presto" (the story of a magician and his rabbit), deleted scenes and features about the production. The second disc is packed with extras, from behind-the-scenes looks to Buy N' Large commercials. The third disc is a digital copy of the movie.
DVD Bonus Features:
The Good: The movie looks amazing, as do the included shorts. "Presto," though, feels out of place among all the robotic content. The second disc is nicely split between "Humans" (in-depth features appealing more to film fans) and "Robots" (fun content for younger audiences).
The Bad: Kids won't find much of interest among the extras: Aside from the shorts, they'll find a humorous short of Wall-E and friends playing with his scavenged items, plus a look at the different robots and an interactive storybook.
The Price: $39.99
"Wall-E" is art. Not only is the story compelling -- and amazingly emotional, considering its stars are mechanical -- but several sequences are outright beautiful. (Witness Wall-E's trip through space on the back of a recon rocket.) It's easily the best purely family film, appealing to family members of all ages, in the past couple of decades. On DVD, the film is just as beautiful as on the big screen without losing any of its heart. This is the movie kids and adults alike would be happy to unwrap for the holidays.Other than the movie, the first disc also contains two shorts, "Burn-E" (about a welder droid briefly seen during the main feature) and the unrelated but amusing "Presto" (the story of a magician and his rabbit), deleted scenes and features about the production. The second disc is packed with extras, from behind-the-scenes looks to Buy N' Large commercials. The third disc is a digital copy of the movie.
DVD Bonus Features:
The Good: The movie looks amazing, as do the included shorts. "Presto," though, feels out of place among all the robotic content. The second disc is nicely split between "Humans" (in-depth features appealing more to film fans) and "Robots" (fun content for younger audiences).
The Bad: Kids won't find much of interest among the extras: Aside from the shorts, they'll find a humorous short of Wall-E and friends playing with his scavenged items, plus a look at the different robots and an interactive storybook.
The Price: $39.99
Upcoming DVDs
"HANCOCK" (Nov. 25): Will Smith plays a superhero with some bad habits, prompting a publicist ( Jason Bateman) to attempt damage control. Charlize Theron also stars. (PG-13 and unrated versions: AS, P, V)
"MEET DAVE" (Nov. 25): Eddie Murphy plays a spaceship – no kidding, it's designed in his image – and its miniature captain in this sci-fi spoof about aliens on a recovery mission on Earth. (PG: AS, P)
" SPACE CHIMPS" (Nov. 25): Jeff Daniels and Kristin Chenoweth are in the voice cast of this animated fantasy about several monkeys sent into orbit, not realizing they aren't meant to return. (G)
"THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN" (Dec. 2): The youngsters from the previous story return to Narnia and help the title prince (Ben Barnes) try to claim the throne that belongs to him. (PG: V)
"THE DARK KNIGHT" (Dec. 9): Batman ( Christian Bale) squares off with the Joker ( Heath Ledger) in director Christopher Nolan's box-office blockbuster. (PG-13: AS, V)
FAMILY VIEWING GUIDE KEY: AS, adult situations; N, nudity; P, profanity; V, violence; GV, particularly graphic violence