5. First up is Role Models. Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott play wayward adults who become big brothers to troubled kids for community service in this raunchy comedy.
4. The next release is Transporter 3. Jason Statham returns to kick some butt and drive really fast in the next installment of this popular car chase series.
3. In the number three spot, we have South Park: The Complete Twelfth Season. Get all the uncensored episodes in one of the most irreverent and funny South Park seasons yet as the kids from that small mountain town take on everyone from Barack Obama to George Lucas.
2. At number two we have Pinocchio: Platinum Edition. Available on BluRay hi-def for the first time, this timeless Disney classic is loaded with bonus features and enrichment content.
1. And topping the list of my DVD picks is Milk. Sean Penn won the Oscar for his portrayal of Harvey Milk in this expertly made biopic.
STINKER OF THE WEEK – And be sure to avoid this week’s stinker – Howard the Duck: Special Edition. Back in 1986, George Lucas proved he could definitely make crap, and now we have a special edition of that crap. Thanks, George.
And that’s the DVD Rundown. This is Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.
5. First up is The Haunting of Molly Hartley. A relatively small-budgeted horror movie about a girl marked by demons is a possible choice for a tweenage slumber party this weekend.
4. The next release is The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice. Noah Wyle returns as the swashbuckling librarian, the third installment in the popular TNT series.
3. In the number three spot, we have Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder. Fans of the cult sci-fi comedy series can rejoice that the show lives on in direct-to-DVD movies .
2. At number two we have Sex Drive. This teen sex comedy is funnier, raunchier and more outrageous than you would have thought, releasing in an unrated DVD that will make anyone blush.
1. And topping the list of my DVD picks is Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father. One of the most heartbreaking and infuriating stories you will hear, this touching tale of murder and bureaucracy is one of the best films from 2008.
STINKER OF THE WEEK – And be sure to avoid this week’s stinker – What Just Happened. Barry Levinson and Robert De Niro get overly introspective about Hollywood and bore the pants off the audience.
And that’s the DVD Rundown. This is Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.
TYLER PERRY’S MADEA GOES TO JAIL
Okay, here’s the deal. Tyler Perry is at it again, making another film starring himself in a fat suit. Like his other Madea movies, “Madea Goes to Jail” features the acerbic grandmother getting herself into trouble.
The main story follows a young assistant D.A. who takes it upon himself to help a prostitute with whom he has a past, much to the dismay of his finance. Eventually, the two stories cross and lead to a contrived and predictable end.
The best parts of this movie come from Madea’s antics. It’s too bad that even though she’s the title character, she’s only about thirty percent of the film. The main storyline is the weak link, tugging too obviously at heart strings, often preaching and relying on coincidence and cheesy revelations to further the plot.
Still, that Madea does make me laugh.
……………………………………………………………
FIRED UP
Okay, here’s the deal. I’m your typical red-blooded American male, so if Hollywood puts some cheerleaders in a movie, I’ll be happy to watch it. That’s why I enjoyed “Bring It On” to a certain degree, and why I thought “Fired Up” was at least watchable.
“Fired Up” tells the story of two football jocks who forego a hot and sweaty football camp to go to cheer camp with 300 hot girls. Think of it as “Wedding Crashers” joining the cheerleading squad.
With a slightly raunchier bent than “Bring It On,” “Fired Up” is your typical PG-13 teen sex comedy. It does have some funny moments, and the angle works for both sexes. Forget the fact that 30-year-olds are playing high school students. It’s fun to watch the cheerleaders, and I found the movie funny on a sophomoric level.
……………………………………………………………
FANBOYS
Okay, here’s the deal. “Star Wars” geeks and internet fanboys can breathe a collective sigh of relief now that “Fanboys” the movie has gotten a proper release.
The film, which tells the story of a group of friends who break into Skywalker Ranch to watch a rough cut of Episode I before their buddy dies of cancer, has been embroiled in controversy with a shuffling release date and rumored reshoots.
As much as I enjoyed the geek status of this film and reveled at the fact that I got all the sci-fi geek references, “Fanboys” mirrors Episode I a little too much. It has been so surrounded by hype that it simply can’t live up to the anticipation. It’s a cute indie flick with geek culture at its heart, but the buzz surrounding it made me expect a little more.
5. First up is Body of Lies. Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe star in this international action flick about global terrorism, directed by Ridley Scott.
4. The next release is Flash of Genius. Greg Kinnear gives a sympathetic performance as the man who invented intermittent wipers, had his invention stolen and sued to get full credit.
3. In the number three spot, we have Changeling. Angelina Jolie acts her guts out in Clint Eastwood’s other award flick from 2008, featuring a missing child from the 1920 and a police conspiracy.
2. At number two we have High School Musical 3: Senior Year. The singing Wildcats return to DVD after a successful theatrical run with sing-alongs, bloopers, deleted scenes and final farewells.
1. And topping the list of my DVD picks is Quarantine. One of the creepiest movies of 2008 features a group of people trapped in an apartment building with super-rabies, told in herky-jerky video point of view.
STINKER OF THE WEEK – And be sure to avoid this week’s stinker – Religulous. Sourpuss Bill Maher lashes out at and mocks all religion with his own style of ambush journalism.
And that’s the DVD Rundown. This is Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.
FRIDAY THE 13TH
*** out of 5 stars
Okay, here’s the deal. On a day like Friday the 13th, there’s nothing quite like another “Friday the 13th” movie. This new one is a reimagining of the classic 1980s slasher flick. The plot is different, borrowing from the first three films.
Jason Voorhees is a deformed man in the woods who dons a hockey mask and cuts through a group of young, good looking folks a-sexin’ and a-drinkin’ in his woods.
There’s nothing spectacular about this flick, but it does deliver on the scares. It’s got blood, sex, drugs and machetes, and as a routine slasher film, it works. But don’t expect high art.
……………………………………………………………
CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC
*** out of 5 stars
Okay, here’s the deal. While it’s brought to you by the same folks behind “Sex and the City,” “Confessions of a Shopaholic” is a little more wholesome and stars Isla Fisher in her first leading role.
Fisher plays a Manhattan journalist who has a mountain of debt that she tries to hide from her new job as a writer for a money magazine.
Fisher shines in this film, and the strengths lie in the silliness early in the movie. The story unravels a bit near the end as it tries to focus on plot and character. Still, Fisher is the draw, cute as a button and on her way to becoming one of Hollywood’s new leading lady.
……………………………………………………………
THE INTERNATIONAL
** out of 5 stars
Okay, here’s the deal. We all may be a bit leery of large banks, especially in this political climate, which is the catch to the new film “The International.”
Clive Owen plays an INTERPOL agent who uncovers a conspiracy that involves a huge multi-national bank with its hands in everything from assassinations to weapons dealing.
There are elements of “The International” that work spectacularly, including a rocking shoot-out in the middle of the film. However, too often, the plot suffers from too much complications and general goofiness that makes even the most niave person say, “That doesn’t make sense.”
On the international thriller front, I’d rather see “Taken” again.
