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Welcome to How to Spend $20, BOP’s look at the latest Blu-ray discs and DVDs to hit stores nationwide. This week: Shauna Macdonald goes underground, Meryl Streep and Steve Martin smoke dope and Bruce Willis blows up an asteroid.

Pick of the Week

For people who aren’t enthused by American horror: The Descent: Part 2

Four years ago, Brit horror film The Descent was released in U.S. theaters. Like a majority of people who saw it, I enjoyed the heck out of it. Set in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, The Descent is about a group of women who go on a caving expedition, only to become trapped underground soon after beginning their journey. Inside the cave, they struggle to survive amongst an apparently countless pack of menacing and exceptionally fugly humanoid creatures. Against a small $7 million production budget, pic tallied $57 million internationally – 45.6% of that coming from U.S. ticket sales.

Besides being a rollercoaster thrill ride – and, I’ll admit, one of the very few films that actually creeped me out – The Descent is a commendable horror movie for having both an actual story and multidimensional characters whose safety you’ll end up caring a lot about. This is especially true of the movie’s lead, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald), who casually transforms from a quiet and dainty thing into a powerful, big screen force not unlike Ellen Ripley.

Taking place two days after the events in The Descent, The Descent: Part 2 begins with Sarah, who is rushed away to a nearby hospital drenched in blood. While there, Sarah learns that some of the blood covering her body belongs to Juno Kaplan (Natalie Mendoza), one of the women she went into the caves with in the original film. Determined to find Juno and any of the other women who may still be alive in the caves, law enforcement officials force Sarah to embark on a risky expedition back underground.





Despite a premise that sounds like little more than a cash grab, the sequel to The Descent is anything but. Though the movie hasn’t been released in U.S. theaters, I had the pleasure of watching the sequel just a few weeks ago and found myself pleasantly surprised by what unfolded on screen. The Descent: Part 2 rehashes a familiar storyline, but does so in a way that respects the events that transpired before the sequel expedition. There are allusions to the original movie (which I totally dug), and one big surprise – a ZOMG moment, if you will – that’ll have Descent fans pumping their fists.

Between the two movies, the original Descent is the better film. Even so, I can’t imagine you’ll regret making time for part two.

Disc includes: Audio commentary, Making Of featurette, storyboard gallery, deleted scenes

For people who think they would lose to Meryl Streep in a bakeoff: It’s Complicated

Nancy Meyers is the writer-director behind some of my favorite romantic comedies. This includes everything from the fantastic Father of the Bride remake with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton to The Holiday, which had Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet temporarily swapping homes after they each experience moments of heartbreak with their respective
love interests.

I have a certain respect for Meyers, too, given that her recent romcom resume has been devoted to giving older actors a share of the mainstream Hollywood spotlight. Something’s Gotta Give had a 50-something Keaton falling for her daughter’s new 60-something boyfriend (Jack Nicholson). The trend continued six years later in It’s Complicated, which had Meryl Streep – now 60 – caught in a love triangle between her 50-something ex-husband (Alec Baldwin) and her 60-something architect (Martin). Tallying $100 million each at the U.S. box office, both movies proved successful with American audiences.

Scored by the Oscar-winning Hans Zimmer, It’s Complicated did not disappoint for a number of reasons. Meyers, who wrote the script, gave her leads many moments to act charming (Streep and Martin making post-party chocolate croissants) and hilarious (a Skype session involving an innocent Martin and a naked Baldwin). The Office’s John Krasinski also put in a noteworthy performance as Streep’s nonsensical son-in-law, Harley.

Disc includes: The Making Of featurette, audio commentary

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