How to Spend $20
By Eric Hughes
February 9, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Pick of the Week
For people who think a fantastic trailer oftentimes leads to an even better movie: A Serious Man
Dudes like the Coen brothers are the lucky ones running around Hollywood. (Not that they haven't earned it). After a long history of producing quality flicks – seven of their 14 movies have earned at least an Academy Award or Golden Globe nomination – they're more or less worthy to make whatever the heck they want. A studio would have to be half crazed not to invest in one of their ideas. When your oeuvre includes No Country for Old Men and Fargo, you know you've got to be among the best of what the industry has to offer.
With that said, there are few movies from 2009 that I still have an urge to see. Taken, for some reason, is still on my list, as are State of Play and Cold Souls. Other than that, I'd like to finally get around to A Serious Man – recently named a contender for Best Picture – and then I'd feel complete. Its trailer dazzled me way back when. It was one of the more innovative ones I had ever seen since taking over BOP's Trailer Hitch column a few years back. Its two Oscar nods add proof that A Serious Man, about an ordinary man who's trying to find balance in the world, is another gem in the Coen boys' collection.
Disc includes: Becoming Serious: Explore the Creative Vision Behind A Serious Man featurette, Creating 1967: Neighborhoods and Set Pieces Used in the Film featurette, Hebrew and Yiddish for Goys: Unravel the Mysterious of the Hebrew and Yiddish Languages featurette
For people who don't think they'd be able to withstand a neck tie sleeper hold: The Stepfather
Oh Dylan Walsh. If movies like The Stepfather are what we have to look forward to in a post-Nip/Tuck world, I will be having none of it. Seriously, horror-thrillers are generally poorly received to begin with. So, when you're the muck of a genre that's already the laughing stock of the nation's critics, well then that's just sad. (Or, the sign of a flick that should have went straight to DVD). Obviously, I have not seen The Stepfather. Thankfully, I'm better than that. But I've included the movie in this week's column because it's simply regrettably a very slow week in new Blu-ray and DVD releases. I mean really, have you seen the other two movies I'm writing about in this space?
A remake of the 1987 horror-thriller of the same name, The Stepfather is about a young man (Penn Badgley) – fresh off returning from military school – who finds out his mother (Sela Ward) is happily married to what seems like the perfect father. That is, of course, until he goes psycho. Here in Los Angeles, I had an opportunity to see a free screening of the The Stepfather. And then I realized my time is more valuable then that.
Disc includes: Gag reel, audio commentary, Open Hours: Making Of featurette, Visualizing the Stunts featurette, MovieIQ
For people who can't get over how tall Vince Vaughn is: Couples Retreat
Beyond stellar casting, the allure of Couples Retreat is troubling. How this one managed more than $100 million at the domestic box office is anyone's guess. A friend of mine made the hilarious comment back when this thing opened big - a $34.2 million opening weekend! – that people like to watch Vince Vaughn talk fast. It certainly worked for movies like Four Christmases, whose comedy is on the spottier side and is, in fact, pretty forgettable. And yet that little ditty did even better than Couples Retreat, accumulating $120 million in domestic receipts.
Couples Retreat has the aforementioned Vaughn, along with Jason Bateman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Jon Favreau and others trekking to a tropical locale. Once on the island, the friends realize that Bateman and Bell, who are close to divorce, aren't the only ones participating in couples therapy. They all are.
One positive thing I will add, however, is the sensational A.R. Rahman did Couples Retreat's soundtrack. Rahman, as you may recall, was the genius behind Slumdog Millionaire's soundtrack. He likely had the time of his life in February 2009 when "Jai Ho" won Best Original Song and the film won Best Original Score at the Oscars. For Couples Retreat, Rahman's jams aren't as manic as they were for Slumdog. Couples Retreat's are slower and, as expected, more island-y.
Disc includes: Alternate ending, deleted/extended scenes with commentary, gag reel, Therapy's Greatest Hits featurette, Paradise Found: Filming in Bora Bora featurette, Behind the Yoga featurette, audio commentary
For people who are a sucker for songs by Carolian Liar: The Time Traveler's Wife
Rounding out the week is The Time Traveler's Wife, a chick flick that did profitable business for New Line when it was released in August. At $18.6 million over three days, it opened way behind District 9 and a few million shy of G.I. Joe's second weekend, good enough for third place. When all was said and done, it ended its run $24 million higher than its reported $39 million budget.
Based on a 2003 novel of the same name, The Time Traveler's Wife was a no-go from me from the get-go. I find it hard to stand Eric Bana in the first place (though I'll admit he was tolerable in Funny People). The fact that The Time Traveler's Wife isn't just an Eric Bana movie, but rather an Eric Bana movie where he, as the title suggests, time travels, kept this one securely off my must-see list.
Disc includes: An Unconventional Love Story featurette, The Time Traveler's Wife: Love Beyond Words
February 9, 2010
Blu-ray
Bad Company: Hard Rock Live
Bronson
Couples Retreat
Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic
Dare
Drop Zone
Hard Rain
I Hate Valentine's Day
Neil Diamond: Hot August Night NYC
Nova: Becoming Human
The Phantom
Pretenders: Live in London
The Running Man
A Serious Man
Serious Moonlight
SG-U Stargate Universe: 1.0
The Stepfather
The Time Traveler's Wife
XIII: The Conspiracy
DVD
Army Wives: The Complete Third Season (Widescreen)
Bad Company: Hard Rock Live
Bronson
Coach: Seasons 1 & 2 (Back-To-Back)
Coldplay: Up Close & Personal
Couples Retreat
Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic
Dare
Doors: From the Outside Unauthorized
Emma (Widescreen)
Free Style (Widescreen)
Gary Unmarried: The Complete First Season
I Hate Valentine's Day
Jag: The Complete Series (Set)
JAG: The Final Season
Madonna: Do You Think I'm Sexy?
Neil Diamond: Hot August Night NYC
Nova: Becoming Human
Penguins of Madagascar, Operation: DVD Premiere
People Speak (Special Edition)
Pride and Prejudice (Collector's Edition)
The Sarah Silverman Program: Season 2 Volume 2
A Serious Man
Serious Moonlight
SG-U Stargate Universe: 1.0
The Stepfather
The Time Traveler's Wife
Vega$: The Complete First Season
Vega$: The First Season, Volume 2