THE WEEK OF AUGUST 10th 2010
GROUP EDITED by: TROY ANDERSON
SECTION by: Troy Anderson
DATE NIGHT
Director: Shawn Levy
FOX
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Special Features
• Featurettes
• Gag Reel
• PSAs
• Digital Copy Tutorial
• Trailer
Date Night proved that FOX can always rely on NBC’s best to phone it in. However, Shawn Levy wasn’t able to water down the supporting cast. Common, Mark Wahlberg, James Franco and Mila Kunis are able to take a lackluster comedy and enthuse it with something better. Fey and Carrel do get moments to shine through, as they play up the awkward nature of their respective characters. But, this is still a film for people who find 30 Rock to be too fast-paced. If you pick up the film at Target this week, they’re selling an exclusive Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack.
CRUMB (CRITERION COLLECTION)
Director: Terry Zwigoff
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Special Features
• Bonus Footage
• Image Galleries
• Essay
Crumb was a revisit that caught me by surprise. I’m a big fan of Terry Zwigoff’s work, but I’ve never been able to pin down why I like the guy’s films. This documentary from 1995 takes a look at artist Robert Crumb, as he prepares to move to France. Citing that the former nation of Gaul is less appalling than America, Crumb opens up his personality before the camera. Zwigoff seemingly goes hands-off, while Crumb works with his family and his brothers. When all three Crumb men are in the same room, there’s something enlightening about the gathering. You can also see the man that was and what he would’ve became without his comic work. A few of the special features are ported over from the original DVD, but Criterion has struck a new commentary track and other goodies for the film’s debut into the Collection.
THE JONESES
d.
Derrick Borte
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SPECIAL FEATURES
- Deleted Scenes
The Joneses was an indie flick that seemed to arrive almost as quickly as it left theaters. In the brief one week engagement it had in my area, I managed to get my ass to the local arthouse and watch the film. Well, it’s about as well-crafted as a Duchovny/Moore outing could have been. But, there are ideas at play in this film that border on inspired. A marketing team unit infiltrates the suburbs disguised as a family. By targeting all the consumer bases in the area, they move product and make the locals hang on their every word. It’s a great concept, but the film never really follows through on the impact. Give it a rental and check it out. Oh wait, you can’t because FOX has that 30 day delay for Redbox and Netflix. If there’s still an unshuttered Blockbuster near you, I’d recommend that route.
DEATH AT A FUNERAL
d. Neil Labute
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Special
Features
- Commentary with Director Neil LaBute and Chris Rock
- Deleted Scenes
- Family Album
- Death For Real
- Death at a Funeral: Last Rites, Dark Secrets
Death at a Funeral gets a remake roughly three years after its debut. Wow. Ponder that one, while you’re bitching about the Spider-Man reboot. It took them 37 years between The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz. The film works as an urban comedy that’s desperately trying to rise above Danny Glover pooping jokes. The Dinklage shows up to try and carry Frank Oz’s work past the clutches of Neil Labute. In the end, the unsung hero of the film is Chris Rock. Rock tries to balance respect and actual acting, as he realizes that most of this cast is carrying on like it’s a Dreamworks comedy.
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