Replay the painful 2011 World Series on DVD:
DVDs for Dec. 13 by Boo Allen
This week we begin in the dugout:
The St. Louis Cardinals 2011 World Series Collector’s Edition,
World Series 2011
This one hurts. Yes, the St. Louis Cardinals did win the
2011 World Series, but, for some, it was all about those Texas
Rangers. Major League Baseball Productions teams with A+E Networks to
present this eight disc collection comprising the complete series.
So, if you are masochistic, you can again watch the incredible game
six, one of the best World Series games ever, even if the wrong team
won. To give the Cardinals credit, their incredible late-season
scramble for a Wild Card spot, all documented here, and then
eliminating their league challengers, qualified as a magnificent
athletic achievement. The set also includes various related
materials, such as several “This Week in Baseball” segments, a
featurette on Pujols’ three homer game, the trophy presentation, NLCS
highlights, the St. Louis victory parade, and individual pieces on
the separate games.
World Series 2011 is a single disc look at the entire series, including game five in its
entirety. The disc also holds ample supplements, such as featurettes
on Albert Pujols, Tony La Russa, and Lance Berkman, as well as post
season highlights and more.
2011 World Series Collector’s Edition:
approximately 20 hours, not including the bonus material.
World Series 2011: runs approximately four hours.
The Rise of the Planet of the Apes (***)
The Rise of the Planet of the Apes proves
the theory of evolution, but in reverse. Instead of gradually
progressing over time, say, since 1968 and the original Planet
of the Apes, Hollywood has grown progressively dumber, still depending on Pierre
Boulle’s original French language novel for some sort of inspiration
for yet another schlocky, effects-riddled slice of late summer
silliness. In this seventh variation of an “Apes” film
(not to mention a TV series and a kids’ cartoon show), Rise
naturally updates the science. The script from Amanda Silver and Rick
Jaffa features failed genetic experiments for an attempted cure for
Alzheimer’s. But then heavy-handed director Rupert Wyatt takes the
thin material and turns it into a plodding, often morose, faux
morality tale. A wide-mouthed, perpetually perplexed James Franco plays Will Rodman,
who works in a San Francisco research facility searching for an
Alzheimer’s cure. He particularly hopes to help his afflicted father
(John Lithgow). When a promising experiment with chimps goes bad,
Will takes home a baby chimp to save it from being destroyed.
The chimp, named Caesar, retains some of the genetic mutations passed to
him by his mother. So, he grows up to be mischievous, lively and
intelligent. Will recognizes the effects of his drugs and gives his
father the same treatment, miraculously bringing pop back from
dementia, much the same way Robin Williams did for Robert DeNiro in
Awakenings. And, like in that film, conditions eventually reverse, sending poppa
Rodman, and Caesar, into dark places. Caesar, played as a chimp in
performance-capture by Andy Serkis, lands in a grim animal sanctuary.
There, he orchestrates the chaotic third act rebellion that drives
the film from some sort of cautionary tale to a human-ape showdown
complemented by a barrage of special effects ranging from cheesy to
impressive.
Despite the advances of performance-capture
technology, the chimps never look real but simply creepy. They scurry
along the ground not like chimps, but like animated versions of
chimps. Director Wyatt clumsily handles several apes-only scenes, as
they look unintentionally comical rather than the intended menacing
or introspective.
Still, despite the film’s wild variations, Rise
does provide captivating vistas of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San
Francisco area. And, for her part as Will Rodman’s girlfriend, Freida
Pinto superlatively performs her acting assignment of standing around
and looking pretty.
Rated PG-13, 105 minutes. The DVD, also on Blu-ray and
in various Combo Packs, offers commentary, 11 deleted scenes, and
featurettes on the musical score, Andy Serkis, the film’s motion
capture, the mythology of the apes, “A New Generation of Apes”
and more.
Fright Night (**1/2)
This effective horror thriller, ostensibly originating with the 1985
original, is played straight for the frights. Colin Farrell makes a
creepy vampire, playing mild-mannered Jerry, who moves into a Las
Vegas suburb next door to a single mother (Toni Collette) and her
vampire-paranoid son Charlie (Anton Yelchin). Charlie’s friend
(Christopher Mintz-Plasse) warns him about Jerry, reasoning where
better for a vampire to move than to a town that sleeps all day and
only wakes at night anyway? Director Craig Gillespie benefits from
some polished special effects and innovative use of CGI.
Rated R, 106 minutes. The DVD, also available on Blu-ray, On-Demand, and
various Combo Packs, includes a three minute gag reel, eight minutes
of trivia, an extended and uncut version of the film’s Squid Man,
five deleted scenes with introduction from Gillespie, and more.
Tanner Hall (**1/2)
Blue blood runs through this coming-of-age tale written and directed by
Francesca Gregorini (step-daughter of Ringo Starr) and Tatiana von
Furstenberg (daughter of Diane V. F.) and featuring Rooney Mara, the
star of the upcoming Dragon Tattoo film
and scion of the National Football League’s Rooney and Mara families.
Mara plays Fernanda, a senior at Tanner Hall, a New England girls’
school. She bonds with her classmates, most of whom fit expected
stereotypes: beautiful Kate (Brie Larson), masculine Lucasta (Amy
Ferguson), and dangerously mischievous Victoria (Georgia King). The
film delivers an expected amount of teen angst, including rejected
suitors, accepted suitors, and various experiences that the
writer/directors must have personally experienced.
Rated R, 95 minutes. The DVD, also on Blu-ray, also offers commentary from
the directors.
He’s Mine Not Yours (**1/2)
Director Roger Melvin, from Marlon Jones’ script, gives a twist on an old plot
in this dramatic-romantic-comedy. Jason Weaver plays Kent, about to
marry Brooke (Gabrielle Dennis). But she doesn’t trust him completely
so she hires Mandy (Caryn Ward) to see if he will stray. The tables
turn when Mandy falls for Roger, causing the endless problems.
Not rated, 90 minutes. The DVD also contains a behind-the-scenes
featurette, and outtakes.
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (***1/2)
In 689 China, the reigning regent is about to be crowned
Queen. She will become China’s first female ruler. But first, she
pardons Detective Dee from jail to investigate the spontaneous
combustion of several people (just like Krook in Dickens’ “Bleak
House”). Action whiz Tsui Hark directed this rapid narrative with
colorful stunning costumes and imaginative sets. With Andy Lau, Tony
Leung.
Rated PG-13, 119 minutes.
Finally, from this week’s TV releases:
Switched at Birth—volume one
This breakout ABC Family series gives a new interpretation to Mark Twain’s
“The Prince and the Pauper.” Two teen girls discover they were
switched at birth, giving rise to a weekly set of complications.
Katie Leclerc plays Daphne Vasquez, who lives with her single mother
in a middle class household. Vanessa Marano is Bay Kennish, the
rebellious offspring of a wealthy family. Eventually, their universes
come together for drama and some humor. With Marlee Matlin, Constance
Marie, Lea Thompson, D.W. Moffett. The ten episodes arrive on two
discs.
Rated TV-14 DLS, 430 minutes.
Vietnam in HD
This excellent documentary, our week’s top TV-Series-To-DVD and now in
High Definition, from cable channel History examines in depth the
Vietnam war. Its team of researchers and filmmakers use not only
abundant archival footage but also personal letters, newly released
film from various news outlets and the U.S. government, private
movies, and even some footage taken from Vietnam. Several
participants are interviewed, including soldiers, officers and
journalists. The war is followed from the mid-1960s to the fall of
Saigon in 1975, with emphasis given to some of the pivotal battles
and events of the war. The six chapters include The Beginning,
Search and Destroy, The Tet Offensive, An Endless War, A
Changing War, and Peace with Honor. Michael C. Hall
narrates, and Josh Brolin, Adrian Grenier, Blair Underwood, Jennifer
Love Hewitt, Zachary Levi and others supply the voice-overs.
Not rated, 292 minutes.
Also on
DVD: Godzilla vs. Megalon, Kung Fu Panda 2, The Rise of the Planet of
the Apes.