MCN DVD Reviews: January 12, 2009

The Wrap Up ...

Pineapple Express
Unrated & BD Live

	..Wilmington DVD Review
	..The MCN Reviews Vault
	..The MCN Critics Roundup

If James Franco is far more likely to receive an Oscar nomination for his superlative work in Milk, than for playing a space-case dope dealer in Pineapple Express, it's only because being stoned to the gills isn't up there with autism, cancer, elephantiasis or ALS as Oscar bait. In some ways, though, it's more difficult to play a credible dope fiend than a savant, quadriplegic or blind musician. Gifted actors are quick studies when it comes to duplicating the muscular and vocal manifestations of a debilitating malady. How many of the actors can say they've sucked on a bong long enough to know how it feels to sustain a permanent buzz and act as if it were second nature. In the old days, we knew when a character was high when the picture went in and out of focus, eerie music began to play and the protagonist went all googley-eyed on us. Junkies would sweat profusely, scratch their arms until they were raw and swat imaginary spiders from their legs. In Easy Rider, Dennis Hopper finally corrected decades-long misconceptions of vipers established in Reefer Madness, with Cheech & Chong following quickly in his wake. Jeff Spicoli, of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, defined the modern stoned surfer dude, while Dave Chappelle's Sir Smoke-a-Lot (Half-Baked) and Chris Tucker's Smokey (Friday) added urban flava to the recipe. Even if Franco's performance in Pineapple Express seemed to owe a bit too much to Brad Pitt's hilariously clueless bong-banger, Floyd the Roommate (True Romance), his sincerity as a dealer of prime herb was never in doubt … nor is that of Seth Rogan, as his over-imbibing customer. The plot, such as it is, balances unsteadily on the notion that a process-server observes a corrupt cop killing the man he's been following, and the roach he leaves at the scene can be traced back to Franco. The ensuing 90 minutes of the film are taken up by a slap-sticky chase and near-miss brushes with disaster. Rogan pretty much plays the same character he does in all of his collaborations with Judd Apatow. It's Franco, who, under the steady direction of David Gordon Green, keeps Pineapple Express from disappearing like a puff of smoke before our very eyes. (Apparently, when asked if he had prepared for the role by watching Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Franco said he prepared by making out with Sean Penn, the original Spicoli, who also played his lover in Milk.) The younger and more stoned the viewer, the more likely it will be that Pineapple Express is mentioned in the same breath as Up in Smoke and Half-Baked. The extras include deleted and extended scenes; much commentary; several making-of featurettes; and, on Blu-ray, a Ride the Express interactive game and a digital copy. The unrated version adds several dozen more F-bombs and faux carnage to the original. -- Gary Dretzka

Babylon A.D.
Strays: Steelbook Packaging

With a cast that includes Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, Mélanie Thierry, Gérard Depardieu and Charlotte Rampling, the dystopian sci-fi thriller Babylon A.D. should have been a real hum-dinger. Instead, the final cut prompted director Mathieu Kassovitz (La Haine, Gothika) to compare it to a bad episode of '24.' Fox, the studio responsible for both titles, didn't say much of anything about Kassovitz, choosing to sneak the movie past critics on its opening weekend (a strategy that actually worked), instead. Like Children of Men, the story describes the journey of a young woman who holds the future of mankind within her. Diesel plays a mercenary hired to escort the messianic mama and her guardian nun from Siberia to New York. The special edition includes an unrated version of Babylon A.D. (any director's cut will have to wait its turn) and several making-of featurettes. The Blu-ray version adds a digital copy, an interactive in-screen scene evolution and a bunch more inside peeks at the production.

Strays represents Diesel's second appearance on film - before Saving Private Ryan and lending his voice to The Iron Giant - as well as his debut as a writer-director. The story of a street punk seeking redemption went mostly unseen by anyone who wasn't at Sundance 1997. It must have done reasonably well in its initial DVD release last January, because it's been re-released in a limited steelcase edition. -- Gary Dretzka

Righteous Kill

Normally, the pairing of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in any movie would be cause for great anticipation and discussion. That they would be given an opportunity to play veteran police detectives suspected of vigilantism only compounded the excitement for Righteous Kill. Given the sorry state of Hollywood, however, it came as no surprise that Jon Avnet's thriller played better on billboards and TV commercials than in theaters. Since acting together for the first time in Michael Mann's 1995 orgy of lead, Heat, both of the iconic actors had turned in several performances that were lackluster or laughably overwrought. Avnet had already collaborated with Pacino on the less-than-credible tick-tocker, 88 Minutes. De Niro has demonstrated a willingness to trade on his substantial reputation, in exchange for paychecks that would subsidize more significant projects. Here, their characters are longtime partners who've grown weary of watching criminal lawyers work the system to the benefit of rapists, thrill-killers and drug dealers. Coincidentally, no sooner are the perps judged not guilty than they are served their just desserts by a vigilante killer. The plot thickens when a trio of upstart detectives (Carla Gugino, Donnie Wahlberg, John Leguizamo) follow the clues to the doorsteps of the older cops … one, in particular. By now, the audience is fully aware of the fact that Righteous Kill has turned into a game of Three Card Monty, with the real culprit unlikely to be found in the most-probable location. It's not as suspenseful as it might have been in more disciplined hands, but, on the small screen, even the diluted performances turned in by Pacino and De Niro look larger and more entertaining than in theaters. As such, the price of a DVD rental makes any qualms easier to swallow. Besides the obligatory making-of featurette, there's a show-and-tell discussion of the pressures felt by good cops who dare blow the whistle on their crooked brethren. -- Gary Dretzka

The Grocer's Son

By now, movie audiences know that errant sons and daughters actually can go home, again, and stay there if they so desire. Nothing comes easy, though. Deep wounds don't heal overnight and long-simmering resentments take more than 90 minutes to cool. If the happy endings are predictable, though, clever filmmakers find ways to make viewers happy they came along for the ride, anyway. Such is the case with the disarming French dramedy, The Grocer's Son, which is set among the green pastures and gentle mountains of Provence. The prodigal son is represented here by Antoine (Nicolas Cazalé), a handsome 30-year-old who traded this rural Eden for the noise and crowds of Paris. Antoine's father is the kind of monster who uses insults and brutality as weapons against any signs of free will, curiosity and independence in his sons and wife. After the old man suffers a heart attack, Antoine agrees to return home to help his mother manage the family's small general store and make regular deliveries to the folks who live in remote villages. Clearly, this isn't the young man's idea of a good time. It isn't until his tall, pretty and outgoing girlfriend joins Antoine on his rounds that he begins to see his elderly customers as something other than gargoyles and basket cases. Just as Andre begins to feel comfortable, though, his father is allowed to return home and terrorize his family with his demands and put-downs. Few viewers will be surprised by the film's resolution, but, by the time it arrives, the beautiful countryside and amiable residents of Provence will have smoothed out all of the kinks. This being a product of the increasingly valuable Film Movement subscription series, the feature is accompanied by an award-winning short.

Among other recent Film Movement titles are the highly regarded XXY, Choking Man, Noise, August the First and The Violin. Typically, subscribers and purchasers of individual movies are given a headstart on the festival favorites, by as much as six months. -- Gary Dretzka

Michael Powell Double Feature

Collectors have long awaited DVD editions of Michael Powell's Age of Consent and Stairway to Heaven, which originally were released in 1946 and 1969. Powell's illustrious career spanned a half-century, and included everything from family pictures and literary adaptations, to erotic thrillers and topless trifles. Stairway to Heaven was the Americanized title for A Matter of Life and Death, a wartime fantasy in which a downed pilot (David Niven) cheats death, but must argue before a celestial court that he be allowed to stay on Earth to pursue a newborn romance. It followed Heaven Can Wait by three years, and likely sparked the idea for Albert Brooks' Defending Your Life. Age of Consent is most noteworthy for providing Helen Mirren her first of many opportunities to show off her wondrous body on film. Here, she's muse to a much-older artist (James Mason) on a tropical island. Among the extras are introductions by Martin Scorsese, commentaries by Ian Christie (on A Matter of Life and Death) and Kent Jones (on Age of Consent); a making-of featurette and interviews.

The Blu-ray parade continues apace with Peter Berg's feature-length adaptation of Friday Night Lights; the surprise sci-fi hit, Serenity; the paranormal romance, Ghost; the raucous buddy comedy, Wedding Crashers; Tom Cruise and Tony Scott's gift to NASCAR, Days of Thunder; Peter Weir and Jim Carrey's life-within-a-life comedy, The Truman Show; and the Queen Latifah fantasy, Last Holiday.

Warner Home Video has dusted off some its more lurid genre titles, packaging them as double-features: The Shuttered Room/It!, Chamber of Horrors/Brides of Fu Manchu and Battle Beneath the Earth/The Ultimate Warrior, World Without End/Satellite in the Sky and Moon Zero Two/When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth. -- Gary Dretzka

The Royal Air Force at War: The Unseen Films 1940-1944

The Imperial War Museum Collection remembers the heroism of its World War II fighting men in a series of largely unseen films preserved in its archives. The Royal Air Force at War: The Unseen Films chronicles the war effort not just in the battle for supremacy in the skies over the England and Europe, but also in the training of pilots and crew, the introduction of planes new to the fray and guides to preventing mid-air collisions and rescuing downed fliers. The set is comprised of 24 training and public information films made during the height of the war effort. -- Gary Dretzka

Death Race

After watching the wonderful Joan Allen play an icy prison warden in Death Race, I couldn't help but wonder if Roger Corman had considered casting Audrey Hepburn, instead of Shelley Winters, as Ma Barker in Bloody Mama … or, if Katharine Hepburn had harbored a desire to play the love interest in a Three Stooges comedy. I hope the classy Steppenwolf alum wasn't forced to accept a part to pay bills, experience working opposite a professional hard-ass such as Jason Statham or be directed by genre specialist Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil, AVP: Alien vs. Predator). His Death Race bears only a passing, four-wheeled resemblance to Corman and Paul Bartel's immortal Death Race 2000. How much one enjoys Death Race depends on how much one enjoys M-rated video gore-fests. Apparently, in the near future, felons being held in corporate prisons are given the choice between participating in sudden-death demolition derbies and remaining caged in their hell holes. The winner of a series of races is awarded his freedom. Statham plays a former NASCAR driver wrongly convicted in the murders of his wife and daughter. Allen recruits him to represent her prison, and the rest is, well, cinema history. Also slumming is Ian McShane, the great British star of stage, screen and premium cable, who plays the prison mechanic. Unlike Allen, the Deadwood veteran is well-suited to portraying dirtballs and thugs. In addition to the usual commentaries and making-of features, the Blu-ray edition adds a picture-in-picture follow-along, an opportunity for fans to create their own commentary and BD-Live access to a race-creation function. -- Gary Dretzka