February Home Video Roundup

Wedding Crashers (dir. David Dobkin, wr. Steve Faber, Bob Fisher) - This one and The 40-Year-Old Virgin heralded for some a renaissance in comedy in 2005. Witty and clever while also crass and brash and NOT about the gross-out (though not above it either), yet still firmly character-based, with surprising warmth and heart. And very, very funny. I think the per-minute laugh ratio was actually a bit higher with The 40-Year-Old Virgin, but if you like the sort of comedy described above, Wedding Crashers is definitely not one to pass over. Plus, I'm starting to find out what the rest America apparently discovered like two years ago: Rachel McAdams is really, really cool (keep reading).


Cry_Wolf (dir. Jeff Wadlow, wr. Jeff Wadlow, Beau Bauman) - I don't even remember why I rented this. Maybe someone I know worked on it or something. Note to self: STOP RENTING THESE GODDAMNED BOARDING SCHOOL TEEN-HORROR MOVIES.

Among the bonus features on the DVD are two short films made by the makers of this film, upon the strengths of which they were apparently able to raise the money to buy this thing. I enjoyed each of these shorts more than I did the whole of the main feature.


Red Eye (dir. Wes Craven, wr. Carl Ellsworth (screenplay and story), Dan Foos (story)) - Arriving from Netflix on the same day as Cry_Wolf is Red Eye. Prepared for another silly horror crap-fest, I was pleasantly surprised (really surprised, and really pleasantly) at how good this movie was. With this and Into the Blue, it's been a pretty good year for solid, well-crafted, tight and genuinely suspenseful b-thrillers. And again, Rachel McAdams is awesome. Cillian Murphy, who I started to like after Batman Begins (I hated 28 Days Later), is awesome. Brian Cox is awesome, but you already knew that.

Here's how much I liked the movie - about three chapters in, as well as about three or four chapters from the end, the disc started skipping, bad. I don't know what the deal was, as the disc itself didn't look terribly scratched, and my player is only three months old. But, no matter how many times I tried wiping the disc (carefully) and putting it back in, same deal. Usually, at this point, I will either send for a replacement or, if I'm sick of it, will just send the movie back. But this time, I did neither. I just skipped over the offending parts and resumed watching. Because I had to know how the thing ended. I HAD to.


The Aristocrats (dir. Paul Provenza) - Is there anything less funny than having someone explain to you why exactly a joke is supposed to be funny? Because that's what The Aristocrats is, basically -- an endless lineup of comedians telling the camera, and each other, why the titular joke is supposed to be funny. George Carlin, in particular, feels the need to explain it at least three times.

And what about that joke? Everyone goes on and on about how brilliant it can be with its endless variations and details and such, and yet every telling of the joke is almost identical: father fucks daughter, daughter fucks son, son fucks grandmother, etc. etc., everyone takes a huge crap and they eat it. And as for its supposed shock value...maybe I'm just on the internets way too much, or watch too many videos or whatever, but...in what sense exactly is any of this shocking?


Proof (dir. John Madden, wr. David Auburn (play and screenplay), Rebecca Miller (screenplay)) - Funny, this is sort of exactly how I've always imagined Gwyneth Paltrow's real life to be - lots of quietly gazing out of dusty windows onto empty, tree-lined suburban streets under overcast skies, heart full of longing and sadness. Jake Gyllenhaal is cool, if miscast (if Gwyneth has always been the young girl with the old soul, Jake is like the guy in his 30s who can get away with playing a high school senior for at least the next 15 years). Anthony Hopkins gives a predictable performance, that is to say good, but nothing new. Same, Hope Davis, who I actually usually even like. The movie is based on an award-winning Broadway play that I never saw. My friend Will says that his friend said that they actually cut out the best line of the play for the movie. I'm curious what this line was, but I guess I don't really care enough to pursue. Anyone?


Pulse (Kairo) (dir. Kiyoshi Kurasawa, wr. Kiyoshi Kurasawa) - Wow. And not necessarily a this-is-a-great-movie "wow", but more a I-was-not-prepared-for-this-at-all "wow". Though it's being billed and sold as a horror movie, I would not classify it as such. Instead, I would compare it to a movie like the excellent Memento Mori, which uses some horror movie elements, but is actually a pretty heavy drama with social commentary to boot, and where most of the "terror" is actually more like a nagging, existential angst.

And like Memento Mori, Pulse is a good film (though Mori was better), but you have to know what you're getting into. It made me very, very depressed. Definitely not for everyone (especially if you're expecting straight horror).I'm still trying to decide whether or not I like the thing, but I do know that I live in fear of the American remake (due for release next month I believe). I really have no idea what they're going to do with this.


The World (Shijie) (dir. Zhang Ke Jia, wr. Zhang Ke Jia) - While we're on the topic of depressing Asian films, I finally got a chance to see The World, which had an excellent trailer and played here in town for exactly two weeks before it disapparated.

An allegorical examination of a culture that grew up...not too fast, or too slow, just...differently, I guess, than we've seen. A world where every advance in technology and media, and every fashion trend, is readily available and accessible, yet the idea of foreign travel is still a curiosity. And truly, why go out to see the world when you have the whole world in your own backyard?

Director Zhang Ke Jia presents the story with a surprisingly clear, keen observational eye, offering no judgement or critique of this country, culture, or lifestyle until literally the final shot of the film (assuming I'm reading it correctly).


Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (dir. Steve Box, Nick Park, wr. Nick Park, Bob Baker, Steve Box, Mark Burton) - After all this depressing social commentary, I just wanted to see something funny, you know? Something funny and fun and cool and light and kick-ass that would make me smile and laugh out loud. Wallace & Gromit satisfied on all counts. Funny, cute, witty, winning in every conceivable sense. Did they save Grommie from the fire, anyone know?