MCN DVD Reviews: February 5, 2009

The Wrap Up ...

Zack and Miri
Make a Porno

	..The MCN Reviews Vault
	..The MCN Critics Roundup

The estimable Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks play the economically stressed Zack and Miri, longtime platonic friends who share an apartment in Pittsburgh. Desperately in need of cash after their utilities are turned off, the unmatched couple struggle to come up with ideas for a quick cure to poverty. Being far more sexually adventurous than Zack, Miri agrees to participate in the creation of a porn movie. The idea came to them after couple of young punks with a cellphone camera captured Miri wearing only her granny panties and bra, and, to her horror, the image became a huge hit on the Internet. The amateur filmmakers populate their porno with a rouge's gallery of actors who showed up for an impromptu cattle call. They survivors included Kevin Smith regular Jason Mewes and real-life porn stars Katie Morgan and Tracy Lords. The very game Banks and ditzy Morgan, especially, elevates Zack and Miri to a level above such similar fare as The Girl Next Door and Orgazmo. Anyone who's seen more than a couple of actual XXX features will easily see where Smith's depiction of the amateur-porn game falls short of reality. Too much of the humor derives from crude language and other scatological elements, and, of course, the lead actors are allowed to keep most of their clothes on throughout the movie, even during sex scenes (where's Jason Segel's naked dick when you need one?). As such, Zack and Miri remains just another R-rated romantic comedy for teenagers in need of cheap laughs. The adult industry has repeatedly proven that it's perfectly capable of making fun of itself, while also lampooning mainstream entertainments. The best moments, here, actually take place away from the set, at a class reunion and in Z&M's darkened apartment. Indeed, some of the material included in the bonus package - a pair of faux making-of featurettes - is funnier than anything in the movie, itself. - Gary Dretzka

Lakeview Terrace
Soul Men

In cinema provocateur Neil LaBute's most personal films - In the Company of Men, The Shape of Things, Your Friends & Neighbors - he asks questions of his audience that demand responses that border on the visceral. To accomplish this, he doesn't exactly play fair. His most memorable male characters have been despicable cads and unabashed misogynists, while the women mostly are saps or ball-busters. Lakeview Terrace, which is set in the same neighborhood that gave us Consenting Adults and Neighbors, uses racism as an entry point for what we are told is a discussion of personal space. Perfectly cast as the neighbor from hell, Samuel L. Jackson plays a L.A. cop so embittered by his dead wife's liaison with her white boss that he can't help but make life miserable for the new mixed-race couple next-door. Normally, having a cop for a neighbor would be asset. Here, however, Jackson's Abel Turner uses his badge as cover for a reign of terror on the innocuous couple. Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington serve as Turner's college-educated, upper-middle-class victims. Race isn't an issue for the Mattsons, even though the husband has been made to feel uncomfortable in the company of his black father-in-law. The Mattsons simply want to enjoy their new home and live in peace. Turner has other ideas on the subject. As if to amplify the increasingly volatile situation on Lakeview Terrace - named after the L.A. neighborhood where Rodney King was beaten -- LaBute adds footage from one of last year's largest brush fires. The pressure cooker explodes as the flames begin their inexorable assault on the hillside neighborhood. We've already seen what can happen when good fences fail to reduce the hostility between bad neighbors, but making the angriest neighbor African-American adds a new, cringe-inducing layer of tension for audiences. How would we respond if Turner were a white cop, who moonlighted as a recruiter for the KKK, and his dead wife had an affair with her black boss? Apart from the fact that that movie never would be made in today's Hollywood, audiences would immediately know to take sides with the Mattsons. Watching the couple dissolve into a puddle of hate and revenge recalls Dustin Hoffman's meltdown in Straw Dogs. Lakeview Terrace ain't pretty, but it is provocative and very well acted. The bonus features include deleted scenes, with commentary, and making-of featurettes.

Jackson also is a featured player in Soul Men, an extremely broad comic melodrama about a pair of washed-up R&B singers who reunite for an appearance at the funeral for their former partner, Marcus Hooks. Clearly written with the great Sam & Dave in mind, Soul Men pairs Jackson's Louis Hinds with Bernie Mac's Floyd Henderson as two-thirds of the one-time soul trio, the Real Deal. After Hooks became a huge star as a solo performer, Louis and Floyd attempted to make it as a duo, but their tempers and jealousies got the better of them. After 20 years apart, Floyd convinces the extremely reluctant reprobate, Louis, to accept a cash payment to appear at Hook's memorial concert. They make the cross-country trip in a cherry Cadillac Eldorado, performing along the way in motel lounges and at a show in Memphis. By the time, they get to the Apollo Theater, they've got the law on their tail and their act very much together. Soul Men never quite hits its target as a combination road, buddy and nostalgia comedy, if only because the white producers tried too hard to appeal to cross-over audiences. If they had allowed director Malcolm D. Lee the freedom to play directly to Jackson and Mac's natural demographic, instead of diluting the very raunchy dialogue with cheap sentimentality, the Dirty Old Mofos spin might have paid dividends. The best parts of the movie come when the volume of the R&B soundtrack is turned up several notches and the music puts everyone on the same wavelength. Fortunately, there are plenty of scenes in which the beauty of old-school R&B eclipses the bulky narrative. Soul Men represents the final screen appearances of Mac and Isaac Hayes, a true soul icon, a.k.a. the Black Moses. Their scenes together are quite wonderful, as are the tributes to Mac and Hayes included in the bonus package. Watch Mac entertain the extras, between scenes, and you'll fully understand what we lost when he died. - Gary Dretzka

Oliver & Company
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Loosely based on Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, Disney's very decent Oliver & Company represents something of a milestone in the studio's history. Released in November, 1988, it was the first animated feature started during the Eisner/Katzenberg regime and, as such, the harbinger of very good things to come for that unit. The idea for a contemporary take on the classic story, set in New York, originated while the executives were at Paramount and still friendly. Oliver is an orphaned kitten taken in by a gang of dogs led by the big-hearted thief Fagin, himself up to his ears in debt to a demonic loan shark. Oliver & Company also is recalled fondly for songs performed by Bette Midler, Huey Lewis, Billy Joel, Ruth Pointer and Ruben Blades, the music and lyrics of Barry Manilow and Howard Ashman, and choreography by Bob Fosse.

After an ugly divorce from Disney, Katzenberg became one of the principals of DreamWorks, where he was directly responsible for its animated features. Two of them, Madagascar and its sequel, Escape to Africa, have quietly rung up nearly $400 million at the domestic box-office. In Madagascar 2, the animals that made the journey from the Central Park Zoo to the island nation off the southeastern coast of Africa, now find themselves in the land of their ancestors. They try to make themselves at home, but confront several road blocks while attempting to cross the cultural gap. - Gary Dretzka

Friday the 13th Uncut: Blu-ray
Friday the 13th, Part 2
Friday the 13th, Part 3: 3-D
His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th
Black Swarm

I suspect that the bounty of commemorative Friday the 13th titles arriving this week has less to do with what purports to be the 30th anniversary of the franchise's debut, than with the coincidence of the release next Friday -- the 13th, natch -- of the Paramount remake of the original (actually released on May 9, 1980). What better reason could there be to throw a Jason-theme party, though? The good news arrives in the form of a retrospective profile of the young Mr. Voorhees and uncut versions of the first three movies. This is something for which U.S. fans apparently have been clamoring, especially considering that Europeans have been allowed to experience the real deal for years. Besides the extended scenes, the many delights of the Deluxe Edition include director Sean S. Cunningham's commentary track and the featurettes, Fresh Cuts: New Tales from 'Friday the 13th'; Man Behind the Legacy: Sean S. Cunningham, 'Friday the 13th': Special Reunion; and Lost Tales from Camp Blood: Part 1. The two-disc His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th is comprised of more than 80 interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and film clips spanning the entire length of the franchise.

Robert Englund's presence will attract fans of sci-fi and horror to the otherwise ordinary Black Swarm, as will the clever tagline, Meet the Ultimate Buzz-Kill. Englund plays the scientist responsible for setting loose a swarm of bioengineered wasps on the sleepy town (aren't they all?) of Black Stone and turning the victims of their stings into zombies. - Gary Dretzka

The Rocker: Born to Rock Special Edition

In The Rocker, Rainn Wilson plays a musician who was unceremoniously dumped from a head-banger band that would go on to become a huge success. Twenty years later, after wasting away in a series of crappy jobs, Cleveland drummer Robert Fish Fishman volunteers to pick up the sticks and contribute his chops to his nephew's fledgling pop group. After making a splash at a senior prom, the members of ADD are asked to go on the road for a tour of Midwestern clubs. In true Hollywood fairy-tale fashion, the group evolves to a point where it threatens to eclipse Fishman's former band, Vesuvius. It's easy to assume that Wilson's character was based on former Beatle drummer, Pete Best, whose story is told in an interview included in the bonus features. Wilson didn't have to stretch much for the job of playing a bitter has-been with delusions of grandeur. Fish is Dwight Schrute, his pompous-ass character in The Office, with a mullet. Here, the imperious Fishman/Schrute mentors his high school age colleagues (Josh Gad, Teddy Geiger, Emma Stone) in the ways of the rock world, circa 1985. The Rocker probably is as funny as it could possibly be, given the cliché-ridden script and none-too-subtle references to a character from a completely different medium. Jason Sudeikis, Christina Applegate, Jeff Garlin and the ubiquitous Jane Lynch capably portray the adults in story, all of whom doubt Fish's ability to be a positive role model for their kids, but don't want to spoil their shot at the big time, either. To that end, the band is quite good, and, for once, the songs written for them are legitimately hit-worthy. The Rocker won't make anyone forget Spinal Tap or That Thing You Do!, but the soundtrack will appeal more to young viewers. The extras in the Special Edition add some fun to the experience, as well. - Gary Dretzka

Bottle Shock
Sideways: Blu-ray

Although lovers of fine wine embraced Alexander Payne's delightful Sideways as their own, it was basically a coming-of-middle-age dramedy informed by several crowd-pleasing road/buddy-film conventions. The characters played by Thomas Haden Church and Paul Giamatti might just as conveniently been searching for prize-winning peaches in Georgia or great gouda in Wisconsin. Whatever …Sideways hit its demographic target right square in the bull's eye. By contrast, Randall Miller's underappreciated Bottle Shock is primarily about wine and the people who make it. The David-versus-Goliath element propels the narrative forward, but, for the movie to work at all, audiences must already know their reds from their whites. Set among the rolling hills and well-tended vineyards of Napa Valley in the same year as our nation was celebrating its Bicentennial, Bottle Shock dramatizes the events - mostly agricultural - that led to one of the greatest upsets in memory. Most Americans living outside California had yet to cultivate a wine habit, while those who had one preferred French grapes to native-grown fruit of the vine. Alan Rickman plays Steven Spurrier, the eccentric British oenophile who suspected he could create a market for American wine in Europe, but only if it were good … which, personally, he doubted. In addition to convincing his own refined palette of the wine's worth, he knew he would have to convince snooty Euros that the Yank growers were as accomplished as those in France. Even before arriving clumsily in Napa Valley, Spurrier arranged for a blind-tasting of chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon wines before a panel comprised mostly of French wine snobs. To add some tension to the movie's re-imagining of the historic Judgment of Paris tastings, the writers chose to focus on the now-celebrated American vintner Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) and his uneasy relationships with his slacker son, Bo (Chris Pine) and an upstart employee with a golden nose, Gustavo Brambila (Freddy Rodriguez). In doing so, they elected not only to play down Stag Leap's simultaneous victory in the reds category, but they also added a hot blonde (Rachael Taylor) as boy-bait. The greater challenge for the filmmakers, of course, was to convince those viewers who already knew the outcome of the tasting -- and what it meant historically - that Bottle Shock offered something else worth watching. It's likely that the marketing campaign stalled when confronted with the fact that farming ain't very sexy and terrific acting only sells in select theaters. DVD audiences are far more likely to take a chance on smallish pictures, though, and Bottle Shock should be savored by fans of Sideways, at least. The extras include a featurette on the real-life Barrett family and what the victory meant for the Napa-Sonoma economy, as well as deleted scenes and a making-of mini-doc.

Coincidentally, Sideways arrives in Blu-ray this week, as well. It may have taken place further south in California - in counties less synonymous with fine wine -- but both movies have their hearts in the same place. Its popularity inspired lots of folks to visit Solvang and Central Coast and spend money in the real-live shops, restaurants and tasting rooms depicted in the movie. The extras include commentary by Giamatti and Haden Church; seven deleted scenes; notes from director, Payne; a making-of featurette; and something on Project Searchlight.

Also new to the Blu-ray shelves: Napoleon Dynamite, Office Space: Special Edition, Little Miss Sunshine and Street Fighter Extreme Edition.

Then, too, Paramount has added this titles to its I Love the '80s DVD collection: Eddie Murphy Raw, Top Secret, Still Smokin', Staying Alive, Coming to America, Mommie Dearest, Flashdance, Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad and U2: Rattle and Hum. - Gary Dretzka

The Secret Life of Bees
A Good Day to be Black & Sexy
Diary of a Tired Black Man

Violence against children, overtly racist behavior and messages delivered from beyond the grave by flying insects -- in the service of melodrama, anyway -- are three of the things I least want to see depicted in a movie. The Secret Life of Bees has all three, in abundance. Fortunately for everyone involved, Gina Prince-Bythewood's adaptation of the novel by Sue Monk Kidd also has plenty of heart and lots of good acting. Dakota Fanning plays Lily Owens, a 14-year-old girl whose domineering father drove her late mother insane and who hasn't mellowed any in the meantime. After her friend and caretaker is beaten by a group of demented rednecks and thrown in jail for refusing to apologize to one of them for a small slight - remember, this is 1964 in rural South Carolina -- the father refuses to intervene in the matter, except to point out to his daughter that her companion was lucky she's still alive. Together, the girls escape to one of those idyllic sanctuaries that seem to exist only in the movies (or in books selected for Oprah's Book Club). The Pepto-Bismol-hued haven belongs to the anachronistically independent and outspoken Boatwright sisters, whose honey is so good it's earned the name, Black Madonna. Lily has had premonitions of bees, carved madonnas and just such a family, and they all brought back frightening memories of her mother's death. Lily finds solace both in the serenity of the large music-filled house and the mesmerizing world of beekeeping. Prince-Bythewood avoids most of the shoals of sappy sentimentality and racial demonization, thanks in large part to the understated performances of Fanning, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo. By contrast, Lily's rage-fueled father (Paul Bettany) remains a believably fearsome presence throughout. The Blu-ray edition adds all manner of behind-the-scenes featurettes, including one on bee-keeping; an extended version of the film; and deleted scenes.

Even though A Good Day to be Black & Sexy and Diary of a Tired Black Man had almost nothing in common with Secret Life of Bees -- besides largely black casts -- their release coincides with the 2009 edition of Black History Month … so, why not try to find a common thread? Beyond the lurid titles and packaging that might suggest a kinship with Superfly and Foxy Brown, both pictures represent something extremely rare in today's cinema. Without resorting to clichés and stereotypes, they honestly explore the nature of contemporary love and sexuality, African-American style. A Good Day does this by following several couples, in various stages of non-gratuitous intimacy, during a single day in L.A. Tired Black Man mixes real and invented testimony to dramatize the complexities impacting relationships between black men and women. Although one-man-band filmmaker Tim Alexander's debut film didn't enjoy a broad rollout, it already has caused spirited debate on public-radio outlets and the Internet. One scene in particular has raised the hackles of black women. It features the actor Jimmy Jean-Louis, whose character has the temerity to arrive at the home of his former wife, for the purpose of picking up their daughter, in the company of his white girlfriend. His timing couldn't be worse, as several of his wife's judgmental friends are visiting and they're perfectly willing to tsk-tsk this effrontery. As it turns out, though, the ex-husband had unsuccessfully dated several black women, but all of them had a giant chip on their shoulders. As such, Tired Black Man serves as a counterpoint to Waiting to Exhale, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, The Color Purple and other movies that have been accused of demonizing black men. - Gary Dretzka

Space Buddies

The eighth installment of the series that began with Air Bud, and consequently spawned the Air Buddies spin-off franchise, find the golden retriever pups preparing to follow their owners on a field trip to watch the launch of the Space Shuttle. Not satisfied merely to enjoy the experience from afar, the rascals manage to find doggy-sized space suits and inadvertently manage to stow away on the mission. Not surprisingly, the pups find a way to take advantage of the situation, by befriending a Russian cosmopup and taking a scamper on the lunar surface. The fun ends while preparing to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. The Blu-ray version gives fans of the series the best bang for their bucks, by adding exclusive interactive games and features to usual mix of making-of material and bloopers. The Disney BD-Live Network allows those with Internet connectivity on their players to share the experience with far-flung friends and enjoy extra extras. - Gary Dretzka

Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous

While the commercial media continue to exploit the pre-fabricated celebrity and bad behavior of such flavors-of-the-month as Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and the Simpson sisters, movie audiences have managed not to embrace or encourage them in anything not resembling a performance video. In the straight-to-DVD Private Valentine: Blonde and Dangerous (formerly known as Major Movie Star), Simpson plays a pop icon who suddenly finds herself in desperate need of an image transplant. Instead of doing the logical thing, by booking a month's stay at an expensive rehabilitation center and ordering her publicist to alert People and Oprah, she accidentally enlists in the U.S. Army. And, while conscripting actors should be made mandatory, not even Simpson's legion of fans and horny athletes are likely to buy into the premise. - Gary Dretzka

Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway
Sam Kinison: Unleashed!

Those who couldn't make it to New York to see the long-running musical Rent, in its original stage incarnation, should be pleased to learn that Broadway is coming to a video store near them in DVD and Blu-ray form. The good news for repeat visitors, though, arrives in the generous bonus package. Among the featurettes are The Wall, upon which audiences have left messages; The Final Curtain, during which we see former cast members prepare to join in on a final rendition of Seasons of Love; Home, a look back at the role played by the venerable Nederland Theater; The Final Lottery, which focuses on the RENT-heads who camped outside the theater for the privilege of scoring discounted seats up front; Casting, which documents the exhaustive process required of potential singers and dancers; Rent: The Final Days on Broadway, describing preparations for the final week's shows; and PSAs for the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation and National Marfan Foundation.

Unleashed! reminds us of the unique talents of gonzo comedian and former boy-evangelist Sam Kinison, an incredibly gifted entertainer who was killed in 1992, in a car accident, outside Needles. The sad irony, of course, was that the notoriously drug- and booze-fueled Kinison had cleaned up, but the driver who met him head-on was drunk. Mill Creek Entertainment has packaged the HBO specials Breaking the Rules (1987) and Family Entertainment Hour (1991), along with some rare footage from other small-stage performances. This wouldn't qualify as a definitive set, but the shows demonstrate just how much in command of the stage he was, and why fans couldn't get enough of him. This package is best reserved for those who weren't old enough in the 1980s and '90s to have seen him in person, and their kids.