28 WEEK’S LATER
d. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
c. Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Harold Perrineau
release date: October 09
28 Days Later was a surprisingly fun movie when it came out a few years back. What looked to be just another zombie movie that had critics whining about fast moving zombies turned out to be a nice little flick in the vein of the original Romero movies where the enemy was not the zombies, but the survivors within. The fact that the infected took a back seat to the military made me take notice that it was more than just another monster movie. 28 Weeks Later follows that story as the government believes that all the infected have been eliminated and they decide to re-populate a section of Britain to start over. Problem is there are still infected and soon it all starts over again. The movie has some really effective scares and the fact that it makes it’s protagonist a pretty self serving guy gives it an edge over the basic horror movies out today. While director Danny Boyles chose not to return for the sequel, he remained on as an executive producer and had a hand in choosing new director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who was nominated for an Oscar his short film Linked in 1997. The DVD will include feature commentary by Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and co-writer Enrique Lopez Lavigne, Code Red: Making Of 28 Weeks Later behind-the-scenes featurette, The Infected make-up effects featurette, Getting Into The Action featurette, 28 Days Later: The Aftermath flash-animated graphic novel, Stage 1 – “Development”, Stage 3 – “Decimation”, deleted scenes with optional commentary and the theatrical trailers.
JINGLE ALL THE WAY (FAMILY FUN EDITION)
d. Brian Levant
c. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad
release date: October 16
Jingle all the Way is a Christmas movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad and, as you can probably tell by that small amount of information, was roasted by the critics. However it is a mainstay during the holidays at my family gatherings, say what you will about my family. I guess while it can be considered just another cookie-cutter holiday movie, it does hold a certain amount of guilty pleasure. The movie holds a bit of a spot in history thanks to comedians such as Conan O’Brian and Jay Leno as well as a small spot in Borat where they make fun of the efforts Schwarzenegger put into supporting the film before it came out. While it was panned by critics, it was still a success at the box office and now eleven years later it gets a special edition treatment. The story is the tale of two fathers in a battle to buy their sons the last remaining Turbo Man action figure. Extras will include “Turbo Man: Behind the Mask” featurette, “The Making of a Hero” featurette, “Super Kids” featurette, and Interactive Set-top Games: Christmas Rush and Guess the Gift.
TROY (2-DISC DIRECTOR’S CUT)
d. Wolfgang Peterson
c. Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana
release date: September 18
It was a period where historical epics were released at will. You had Oliver Stone’s Alexander, Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven and Wolfgang Peterson’s Troy. With top level directors and all-star casts (Colin Ferrell, Val Kilmer, Angelina Jolie, Orlando Bloom, Brad Pitt) you would have expected Gladiator style returns. What you got were underachievers that marked the end of the mega budget epics that once proved so successful. Then another period of time passed and these epics were released in the director’s own visions (because I guess these top level director’s no longer possess the power to own final cut of their work). Kingdom of Heaven was released in a director’s cut that added almost 50 minutes to the movie and earned rave reviews for what it could have been. Then Alexander was released in a director’s cut and then released again in a definitive director’s cut that really didn’t change any of the opinions that formed before on it. The last of the three to remain was Troy, and now it is set to be released in a Director’s Cut in September. The movie, in which Brad Pitt plays Achilles will add 30 minutes of extra footage and be released in a 2-Disc Edition. The question of whether it will be a success as Kingdom of Heaven was or a waste of time, as Alexander proved to be, still remains to be seen. The new edition will include Troy Revisited: An Introduction by Wolfgang Petersen as well as the extras from the original edition: Troy in Focus, In The Thick of the Battle: Discovering how Troy’s epic battle sequences were created, from thousands of warrior-extras training in the scorching heat of Mexico, to fierce one-on-one duels to the death, From Ruins to Reality: Exploring how the ruins of ancient Troy were unearthed and how Troy’s production design magicians created their own version of this breathtaking, legendary city, Troy: An Effects Odyssey: Secrets of Troy’s stunning visual effects are revealed, from conjuring a staggering 1,000 ship armada on the open seas, to producing the bone crunching sound effects of brutal ancient warfare, Attacking Troy, Greek Ship Towing and the Theatrical Trailer.
STEPHEN KING MOVIES
CUJO: 25th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
d. Lewis Teague
c. Dee Walace
release date: September 18
MISERY: COLLECTOR’S EDITION
d. Rob Reiner
c. Kathy Bates and James Caan
release date: October 02
Two of Stephen King’s movies are about to be released in special editions, one great and one not so good. Cujo, a movie that really shows it’s age when viewed today, really didn’t hold up that well when it came out either. Yes, it was a claustrophobic look at the fear of entrapment, but if compared to a superior King adaptation like The Shining, that takes on the same type of seclusion, it pales in comparison. Plus, as a huge fan of Stephen King’s work, the fact that little Tad was allowed to survive in the film, to give a happier Hollywood ending, was souring for me. However, Misery is a true masterpiece and one of King’s better adaptations. Directed by Rob Reiner and starring Kathy Bates and James Caan, it is a well paced, well written movie with great performances. Cujo comes out first and will include commentary by director Lewis Teague and a three-part documentary featuring brand-new interviews with Dee Wallace, Robert Singer and King biographer Douglas E. Winter. Misery comes out a month later and will include Feature Commentary by Director Rob Reiner, Feature Commentary by screenwriter William Goldman, Featurette: Misery Loves Company, Featurette: Marc Shaiman’s Musical Misery Tour, Featurette: Diagnosing Annie Wilkes, Featurette: Advice for the Stalked, Featurette: Profile of a Stalker, Featurette: Celebrity Stalkers, Featurette: Anti-Stalking Laws and the Original Theatrical Trailer Teaser.