RoosterFlix DVD Picks for December 15th

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Burn After Reading (2008)
dir. Joel & Ethan Coen

Not one of the Coens' best, but still a really solid comedy. Although, considering their work, it'd have to be something special to be one of their best comedies. I love the fact that the movie is driven by all these paranoid conspiracy theorists panicking over absolutely nothing. Only the Coens would tackle something like this, and only they could make it any good. While plots are important, I can't say that not having one made me dislike the movie more...ultimately comedies are supposed to make you laugh, and I guess that was my biggest issue. It was funny, just not funny enough, I guess? As with most of their movies, this one will probably grow on me over time.

Product Decsription:
After the dark brilliance of No Country for Old Men, Burn After Reading may seem like a trifle, but few filmmakers elevate the trivial to art quite like Joel and Ethan Coen. Inspired by Stansfield Turner's Burn Before Reading, the comically convoluted plot clicks into gear when the CIA gives analyst Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) the boot. Little does Cox know his wife, Katie (Tilda Swinton, riffing on her Michael Clayton character), is seeing married federal marshal Harry (George Clooney, Swinton's Clayton co-star, playing off his Syriana role). To get back at the Agency, Cox works on his memoirs. Through a twist of fate, fitness club workers Linda (Frances McDormand) and Chad (Brad Pitt in a pompadour that recalls Johnny Suede) find the disc and try to wrangle a "Samaratin tax" out of the surly alcoholic. An avid Internet dater, Linda plans to use the money for plastic surgery, oblivious that her manager, Ted (The Visitor's Richard Jenkins), likes her just the way she is. Though it sounds like a Beltway remake of The Big Lebowski, the Coen entry it most closely resembles, this time the brothers concentrate their energies on the myriad insecurities endemic to the mid-life crisis--with the exception of Chad, who's too dense to share such concerns, leading to the funniest performance of Pitt's career. If Lebowski represented the Coen's unique approach to film noir, Burn sees them putting their irresistibly absurdist stamp on paranoid thrillers from Enemy of the State to The Bourne Identity. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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Generation Kill (2008)
dir. David Simon

I think expectations for this were way too high. I ended up being bored mostly the entire time, until the final 2 episodes I think. It's quite possible that I'm just burnt out regarding war-related movies, TV, and media in general. There were some really great people involved, and the acting, directing, cinematography, writing, all of it was top notch, but I was just bored with it. It doesn't make any sense, but it is what it is.

Product Decsription:
Based on the national best-selling book by Evan Wright, Generation Kill is an authentic and vividly detailed 7 part HBO mini-series event that presents a uniquely epic and intimate portrait of the first 40 days of the Iraq war from the perspective of the Marines of the First Recon Battalion – a new breed of American soldiers.
The mini-series tells the story of these young Marines physical and emotional journey into the heart of Baghdad in those initial weeks, and how the war reveals to be much more complicated, problematic and tragic than anyone had contemplated. Many of the complications and problems that arise are due to the unwieldy military bureaucracy which the Marines confront in the midst of the war, the challenges of over-zealous and incompetent commanding officers, ever-changing rules of engagement, a non-existent strategy, severe deficiencies in necessary armor and supplies, and an enemy they don’t understand.

Generation Kill is a humorous and frightening first hand account of these remarkable men, of the personal toll of victory, and of the brutality, camaraderie and bureaucracy of a new American war. It is a profoundly insightful and realistic look at the risk, costs and ultimately, the failures of the war.

Written and produced by Emmy-award winner David Simon (the Wire), and also produced by the award-winning George Faber (Elizabeth I).

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Death Race (Unrated Edition) (2008)
dir. Paul W.S. Anderson

I actually liked the trailer, but Paul W.S. Anderson was born to destroy....although I have to say, a part of me still wants to check this out. I know that it's absolutely nothing like the original Roger Corman classic, but it seems like mindless fun.

Product Decsription:
Mayhem rules in Death Race, a head-over-heels remake of the Roger Corman cult classic Death Race 2000, in which cars become lethal weapons. The strength of this new version is its total single-mindedness about vehicular homicide; it has the virtue of no cluttering subplots or simpering sentimentality. And banish all memory of the original's wild satirical comedy: Death Race is as grim as a dinner tray to the face (a reference that will be explained in a key sequence). In a slightly futuristic maximum-security prison, cons take part in brutal races around the island prison, their violent deaths watched live by millions of viewers. Jason Statham, possibly cast because of his driving dexterity in the Transporter movies, plays a man wrongly imprisoned for murder. Joan Allen provides her brittle cool as the warden, who recruits Statham to assume the masked persona of a legendary driver called Frankenstein. Tyrese Gibson is Frankie's main rival, Natalie Martinez provides the fetching eye candy, but the acting honors go to Ian McShane, as the philosophical prison mechanic. One misses the cross-country race from the original film, as the setting here is claustrophobic and the cars are largely colorless and indistinguishable from each other. Director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil) continues to display the sensibility of a video-game addict, which will either be a recommendation or a turn-off, depending on your own tastes. At least it doesn't have the hypocritical moral blathering of something like the somewhat similar Condemned--who knew you could be so grateful for simple, straight-forward head-bashing? --Robert Horton

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Traitor (2008)
dir. Jeffrey Nachmanoff

Product Decsription:
Academy Award® nominee Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, Crash) and Guy Pearce (Memento, L.A. Confidential) star in Traitor, a taut international thriller set against a puzzle of covert counter-espionage operations. When straight-arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton (Pearce) investigates a dangerous international conspiracy responsible for a prison break in Yemen, a bombing in Nice and a raid in London, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer, Samir Horn(Cheadle). But a tangle of contradictory evidence emerges, forcing Clayton to question whether his suspect is a disaffected former military operative—or something far more complicated.
Obsessed with discovering the truth, Clayton tracks Horn across the globe as the elusive ex-soldier burrows deeper and deeper into a world of shadows and intrigue. Traitor is written and directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff (screenwriter of The Day After Tomorrow).

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Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008)
dir. Joss Whedon

Product Decsription:
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) stars as Billy, A.K.A. Dr. Horrible, a budding super-villain whose plans for world domination continually go awry. His two goals: getting accepted into the Evil League of Evil, and working up the guts to speak to his laundromat crush Penny, played by Felicia Day (The Guild). The only thing standing in his way is Captain Hammer, Billy's superhero arch-nemesis played by Nathan Fillion (Firefly). With one big score, Billy could get into the E.L.E. and earn the respect of Penny, but only if he can keep her away from the dashing Captain Hammer...

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The House Bunny (2008)
dir. Fred Wolf

Product Decsription:
"I'm an expert in parties and boys. I'm a Bunny! Men write to me from prison--sometimes in their own blood!" So declares ex-Playboy Bunny Shelley, tossed out of the Mansion by a rival for her advanced age (27--"59 in bunny years," she's told). As played by the utterly fearless and appealing Anna Faris, Shelley becomes an unlikely post-feminist heroine, who finds a great use for her not-too-considerable expertise: being sexy. With nowhere else to live, Shelley finds herself as the house mother for a dying sorority, the Zetas, who are the audience for the rallying cry above. And the slightly misfit sisters, though wary, end up giving Shelley a sisterhood she could never have built back at the Grotto. To help build up the sorority, Shelley gives the young women her own peculiar tutorials in charm school--helping them raise their campus profile and recruit new pledges in the process. "When I'm done, every girl on campus will want to pledge Zeta!" Ignore her at your peril, girls. If the formula is a bit predictable, the pace is lively and the cast, headed by the wide-eyed Faris, is aces. American Idol contestant Katharine McPhee is a natural on camera, as is Rumer Willis, daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis. The supporting cast includes the capable Colin Hanks and Beverly D'Angelo, and a bit too much screen time for the real-life Hugh Hefner, who maybe should have stayed on the set of The Girls Next Door. Still, Faris channels the cheerful, girly determination of Reese Witherspoon's Elle Woods--no surprise since The House Bunny was cowritten by Kirsten Smith, who wrote Legally Blonde. Fans of silly romances, hop to it.--A.T. Hurley

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Louis C.K.: Chewed Up (2008)
dir. n/a

Louie's easily one of my favorite comics. When I went and saw him in Pittsburgh last year, this routine from Chewed Up was the one he was doing. I'm glad he recorded a special of it, because I was hardly able to enjoy it when I saw it. I got severly lost and showed up after he had started, and I was basically pissed off the entire show and couldnt enjoy myself. Worst shit. BUT, I was able to see him live again a couple months ago, with completely new material, and it was incredible.

Product Decsription:
Writer-director-performer Louis C.K. brings his no-holds-barred standup comedy style to this cable special, proffering uncomfortable observations about his life as a guy, a husband, and a father. Things start very well with a treatise on the proper use of the word "faggot," which should never, according to C.K., be used as a derogatory term for gay men, but serves as a catch-all insult for everyone and everything else. Also covered is the myth that drinking milk will replenish a man's vital bodily fluids during marathon sex, a subject that somehow segues into C.K.'s ambiguous admission about the fate of any housecat foolish enough to watch him being intimate. Less interesting is a diatribe about the comedian's collision with a deer on the road, and an overlong bit about the frustrations of fatherhood, including fantasies of extreme tough love with small children. The best material arrives at the end, when wisdom seeps into C.K.'s epiphany about arriving at an age when a man stops yearning for sex with girls and pines instead for women a little roughed-up by motherhood, disappointments, and other factors of adulthood. Of course, being C.K., he backpeddles a little about not wanting sex with hot young things, but his heart is in the right place. --Tom Keogh

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Mad Detective (2007)
dir. Johnnie To, Wai Ka Fai

For those not in the loop, the Masters of Cinema label is basically Europe's answer to the Criterion Collection. I never usually list them here because they are imports and region 2, but Amazon has decided to list this one, probably because it's region free. Even better that it's in Blu-Ray. Really great movie, one of the best I've seen from Jonnie To.

Product Decsription:
Import only Blu-Ray/Region All pressing. 2007's largest grossing film at the Hong Kong box office - the smash-hit Mad Detective - is one of the freshest and most satisfying films from that country in a decade. The traditional Hong Kong police film is turned on its head: the imaginative twist being Detective Bun (a role created for Lau Ching Wan) who has the ability to 'see' people's inner personalities or 'hidden ghosts'. Breaking new ground and establishing breathtaking cinematic rules, Johnnie To's latest giddily entertaining collaboration with Wai Ka Fai radically raises the level of storytelling in modern film. The Masters of Cinema Series presents the winner of Best Screenplay at the 27th Hong Kong Film Awards 2008.

DVD Features:
Q and A with Johnnie To.
Exclusive cast interviews.
Interview with Johnnie To.
Original UK theatrical trailer.
16-page booklet.
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Mamma Mia! (2008)
dir. Phyllida Lloyd

I feel obligated.

Product Decsription:
The delirious sight of Meryl Streep leading a river of multigenerational women singing "Dancing Queen" is one of the high points of Mamma Mia!, the musical built around the songs of the hugely popular pop group ABBA. The plot sets in motion when Sophie (Amanda Seyfried, Mean Girls), daughter of Donna (Streep), sends a letter to three men, inviting them to her wedding--because after reading her mother's diary, she suspects that one of them is her father. When all three arrive at the Greek island where Donna runs a hotel, Donna flips out and finds that passions she thought she'd laid aside are coming back to life. But let's face it, the plot is not the point--it's a ridiculous contrivance that provides an excuse for the characters to sing the massive hits of ABBA. Regrettably, first-time film director Phyllida Lloyd (who directed the original stage production) has drawn over-the-top performances from everyone involved, even Streep; every production number hammers its exuberance into your eyeballs. Which is too bad, because Mamma Mia! is a rarity: A middle-aged love story. The kids start things off, but the story is really about Streep and the three guys (former James Bond Pierce Brosnan, former Mr. Darcy Colin Firth, and Swedish star Stellan Skarsgard), as well as Donna's best friends (Christine Baranski, best known from the TV show Cybill, and Julie Walters, Calendar Girls). It's a romantic comedy aimed at the people who were around when all these songs were new, and that's an age group Hollywood largely ignores. For that alone, Mamma Mia! deserves to find an audience. --Bret Fetzer

DVD Features:
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Sangre de Mi Sangre (2007)
dir. Christopher Zalla

Product Decsription:
Fleeing his criminal past, Juan hops a truck transporting illegal immigrants from Mexico to NYC, where he meets Pedro, who is going to America to search for his father. When Pedro wakes up in New York, Juan has stolen his ID and gone to claim Pedro's father as his own. Now Juan and Pedro, identities confused, are both in Brooklyn looking for a father who neither has ever met.

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Hamlet 2 (2008)
dir. Andrew Fleming

Product Decsription:
Just when it seems as if things can't get any worse for high-school drama teacher Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan), he quips, "My life is a parody of a tragedy." Yet that very ability to laugh in the face of defeat will allow this failed actor to triumph over adversity. A lovably ridiculous dreamer like Waiting for Guffman’s Corky St. Clair, Marschz lives in Tucson with his sarcastic wife (Catherine Keener) and their silent boarder (David Arquette). Though he tries to inspire, like Richard Dreyfuss in Mr. Holland's Opus, only two students (Spring Awakening’s Skylar Astin and Phoebe Strole) share his passion for theatrics. When the principal decides to eliminate his department, Marschz makes a bold move: he writes an original play, lets the class contribute their own unique talents, and puts the whole thing on as a fundraiser (they'll need to bring in $6,000). Sure, everyone dies at the end of Shakespeare's classic, but in Marschz’s musical sequel, Hamlet 2, a time machine allows the Danish prince to turn back the clock to set things right. Just as his production starts to take shape and retired actress Elisabeth Shue (played by Shue) offers her support, his marriage hits the rocks, he starts drinking again, and the community protests against numbers like "Rock Me Sexy Jesus." (Amy Poehler portrays his ACLU attorney.) Though Andrew Fleming’s comedy follows the usual inspirational instructor trajectory, ribald humor helps the medicine go down and Coogan gives his most unhinged performance since Tristram Shandy. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)
dir. Rob Cohen

Product Decsription:
The third film in the The Mummy series freshens the franchise up by setting the action in China. There, the discovery of an ancient emperor's elaborate tomb proves a feather in the cap of Alex O'Connell (Luke Ford), a young archaeologist and son of Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and his wife Evelyn (Maria Bello, taking over the role from Rachel Weisz). Unfortunately, a curse that turned the emperor (Jet Li) and his army into terra cotta warriors buried for centuries is lifted, and the old guy prepares for world domination by seeking immortality at Shangri La. The O'Connells barely stay a step ahead of him (climbing through the Himalaya mountains with apparent ease), but the action inevitably leads to a showdown between two armies of mummies in a Chinese desert. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor has a lot to offer: a supporting cast that includes the elegant Michelle Yeoh, Russell Wong, and Liam Cunningham, the unexpected appearance of several Yeti, and a climactic battle sequence that is nightmarishly weird but compelling. On the downside, the charm so desperately sought in romantic relationships, as well as comic turns by John Hannah (as Evelyn's rascal brother), is not only absent but often annoying. Rarely have witty asides in the thick of battle been more unwelcome in a movie. Rob Cohen's direction is largely crisp if sometimes curious (a fight between Fraser and Jet Li keeps varying in speed for some reason), but his vision of Shangri La, in the Hollywood tradition, is certainly attractive. --Tom Keogh

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