How to Spend $20
By Eric Hughes
July 29, 2008
Welcome to How to Spend $20, BOP's look at the latest DVDs to hit stores nationwide. This week: Harold & Kumar spend another trippy night with Neil Patrick Harris, The Rolling Stones prove they still rock and an NYPD detective discovers a supernatural link between herself and Cleopatra.Pick of the WeekFor people who'd like to know how George W. Bush really spends his time at his Texan ranch: Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (R)
Variety declared it "one of the ballsiest comedies to come out of Hollywood in a long time." No, it's not Judd Apatow's latest, but rather Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, the unplanned sequel to the well-received Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle released in 2004. In this one, the stoner boys are mistaken as terrorists while trying to sneak a bong onto their flight to Amsterdam – oh, Kumar! – leading the men on the run from authorities and eventually spending some quality time with good ol' Dubya Bush.
Though the original $9 million film didn't track spectacularly at the box office -- just over $18 million in domestic dollars -- its respectable DVD sales and rentals performance certainly helped warrant a second coming in theaters from its studio (formerly New Line Cinema, and now Warner Bros.) And the move paid off big time, with the sequel earning back its budget in its first weekend, and racking up close to $40 million total when all was said and done. To no one's surprise, a third film is already in the works.
Disc includes: Dude, Change the Movie interactive featurette, commentary with the director and stars, commentary with the guy who plays George W. Bush, sneak peeks, The World of Harold and Kumar featurette, 27 additional scenes, extras, Bush PSA, bonus digital copy
For people in the mood for solid, R-rated sci-fi fare: Dark City (Director's Cut) (R)
Fans of The Matrix (the original 1999 release, not the hit-or-miss – well, mostly miss – sequels) will find a lot to like in Dark City, a film released a year earlier than the Wachowski brothers' modern sci-fi masterpiece. The movies, which are equally concerned with artificial memories and habitats, also shared similar sets, as both filmed at Fox Studios in Sydney. Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, Dark City stars Rufus Sewell as John Murdoch, a man who wakes up in a hotel room one day without any previous memories. While going on the run from the police and also a group of men with psychokinetic powers, he notices that the world at large has undergone some drastic changes, too. The cast also includes a pre-24 Kiefer Sutherland, the always excellent William Hurt and the always hot Jennifer Connelly.
Disc includes: Unrated expanded version; expanded audio commentaries, Introduction by Alex Proyas featurette, Memories of Shell Beach featurette, Architecture of Dreams featurette, production gallery, theatrical trailer
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