DVD Releases for Week of 11/13/2012
There are a couple of fun films in this week's batch of releases!
'Brave' - While not one of Pixar's best, 'Brave' is certainly a worthwhile addition to the Disney/Pixar hit factory! A bit uneven at times, it is a rousing Princess tale for the kids with some good adult humor mixed in - and true to the Disney tradition, the story is morally uplifting while true to the Pixar tradition it is full of heart and warmth! The animation is stunning and lush, full of vibrant colors as well as depth; this is well worth the extra few pennies at Redbx for the BluRay! A 3 star effort from the geniuses at Pixar!
'The Watch' - The only thing to watch here is a very talented cast, one that includes: Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade flush their careers down the drain in this absolute piece of garbage. While the trailer certainly makes it seem funny, the script by Seth Rogan opts to go low brow and toilet humor rather than take advantage of it's talented cast. I don't think I have seen a more lazy comedy, especially from the talented Rogan. Leave this 1 star mess for free tv - I am sure the commercials will be funnier.
'Savages' - 'Savages' starts out interesting enough, Laguna Beach marijuana entrepreneurs decide to branch out to the illegal trade and get caught up in a war with a drug lord from across the southern border. The problem is that director Oliver Stone does not bring us characters we care about and simply allows violent atrocities to tell the tale. I am all for violence telling the tale, it has never been done better as in the case of 'A Clockwork Orange'; Stanley Kubrick knew how to use the violence to move the story along. Stone, on the other hand, simply tries to make each scene more horrifying than the next; this only serves to bombard the viewer with images you would rather not see. Violence for violence sake is not a movie.
'The Queen of Versailles' - If you have ever blamed a rich person for the ills of our economy; this is the documentary that you want to rush out and rent. It follows the rise and fall of billionaire David Siegel, the founder of an Orlando based time share, and his very young and busty wife, Jackie. It succeeds with humor and heart in putting a face to the economic woe of this country, no matter what your station in life happens to be. Humbling, funny and totally humanizing, 'The Queen of Versailles' is an eye opener!
'Nitro Circus 3D: The Movie' - A complete waste of celluloid, print, your time and my time to even bother reviewing it.
'Vamps' - Amy Heckerling directs this comedic take on the vampire tale with Alicia Silverstone in a film that is probably a higher brow version of a sitcom but just short of being a good comedy. Not that Heckerling and Silverstone don't try, they do, but many of the lines fall short or are al together flat. I am sure with a couple of cocktails by the fire, it might actually be pretty funny. In either case, it's not a bad rental for $1.10 from Redbox.