This week’s DVDs have a moon glow:
DVDs for Dec. 27 by Boo Allen
This week, we begin on the moon:
Apollo 18 (***1/2)
Using stark settings, some recognizable plot points, and minimal but
effective special effects, director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego delivers a
surprisingly good science fiction thriller. In 1974, a group of three
astronauts takes off for the moon in a secret mission, the stealth
Apollo 18. Once there, Lopez-Gallego uses Blair
Witch techniques of shaky cameras, black outs, and only glimpses of “the
other” to conjure up real frights. He also throws in some
Alien-type surprises. Lopez-Gallego re-creates the 1970s look of grainy films,
television footage, and somber talking heads from NASA. The sense of
fear among the astronauts becomes frightening real.
Rated PG-13, 87 minutes. The DVD, also on Blu-ray,
includes commentary, a generous 16 deleted scenes, four alternate
endings, and more.
Brighton Rock (***)
Writer and first time director Rowan Joffe has taken
Graham Greene’s 1938 gangster novel and re-set it in 1964 England, a
vastly different time for the country. Both films take place in the
resort town of Brighton, and Joffe has retained some of Greene’s
overt Catholic musings. Pinkie (Sam Riley, who spends the film
looking like he has indigestion) is a young member of a local mob
threatened by a bigger mob, run by human transformer Andy Serkis.
Pinkie uses his young charms and even his religion on Rose (Andrea
Riseborough) when it looks like she might testify against him in a
murder. Various physical and doctrinal powers play against each
other, with ominous shadows and seedy seaside lodgings giving the
film a seemingly diffuse moral perspective. Helen Mirren plays the
owner of a local tea shop, with John Hurt as her close associate.
Not rated, 111 minutes. The DVD includes ten cast and
crew interviews, a seven minute “making of” featurette, and an 18
minute “behind-the-scenes” featurette.
Pool Boys (*1/2)
In this sophomoronic comedy, Alex (Brett Davern) graduates from a Michigan
high school and then, after a brief tour in Washington D.C., goes to
Los Angeles where his supposedly successful uncle Roger (Matthew
Lillard) will give him a job. With that, he can complete an
internship and go to Harvard in the fall. But it turns out the fraud
uncle works as a pool boy. Before long, so is Alex, and between them
they land in several absurd situations accentuating the film’s
artificial dialogue, unbelievable characters, lame humor, and broad
performances. It’s amazing that Matthew Lillard can be so
accomplished in the recent jewel The Descendants and
then sink to being in this schlock.
Rated R, 88 minutes. The DVD includes a 13 minute “behind-the-scenes”
featurette and a tasteless five minute “virtual lap dance.”
Diary of a Single Mom (**1/2)
Robert Townsend directed this story of Ocean (Monica Calhoun), a single mom
with two children who juggles constant trials. She has moved into a
new apartment and has begun a new job, but she still deals with a
meddling mother and some unreliable men. The polished cast includes
Leon, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Roundtree, and Valery Ortiz.
Not rated, 86 minutes.
Looney Tunes Super Stars: Pepe Le Pew
Warner Home Video continues releasing vintage cartoons
from some of their past favorite characters. This time, the
sweet-talking, foul-smelling skunk Pepe Le Pew returns in these 17
animated shorts, or “cartoons” if you prefer. The great Chuck Jones created
Pepe, giving him his French accent and his insatiable need for amour.
Included in the collection is the Oscar winning “For Scent-imental
Reasons” along with once well known favorites “Louvre Come Back
to Me” and “Odor of the Day.”
Not rated, 175 minutes.
And, finally, from the week’s TV offerings:
Shameless—season one
William H. Macy stars in this take-off on a British
series of the same name. He plays Frank, the head of the expansive
Gallagher family of Chicago’s South Side. His six kids make up a crew
of highly talented and smart-mouthed grifters, headed by his oldest
daughter, the responsible Fiona (Emmy Rossum). Each week, Frank, or
one of the kids, ends up involved in some sort of scam or swindle,
which he, sometimes, donates to charity. All 12 episodes from the
Showtime series arrive on two discs.
Not rated, 595 minutes. The set also offers ample
supplements, such as commentary, a “making of” featurette, an
interview with the producers, a discussion about the series’ sexual
situations, deleted scenes, and more.
The Incredibly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret
Full-time funnyman David Cross created, wrote and then starred in this series
about a dim-witted temporary office worker who bumbles his way into
becoming the head of sales for an American sports drink in London.
Once in England, the out-of-place American escalates his ineptness
and his social awkwardness for a series of embarrassing sequences.
Series also features Will Arnett, Janeane Garofalo, Russ and Amber
Tamblyn, Sharon Horgan, and others. The first season’s six episodes
come on a single disc.
Not rated, 140 minutes. The set also includes commentary, nine minutes of
bloopers, 11 minutes of deleted scenes, about an hour of interviews
with Cross and his cast and crew, an extended first episode, and
more.
Also on DVD: Archer—season two, Final Destination 5.