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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: Chow Yun-fat emulates Mr. Miyagi, Forest Whitaker steals peoples’ organs and Ralph Fiennes goes from Voldemort to a god.

Pick of the Week

For people who like fighting in trees: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon [Blu-ray]

Ang Lee’s landmark 2000 film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, finally receives the Blu-ray treatment today with a release in the high-def format. The movie, which went on to gross more than 12 times its $17 million budget worldwide, was liked by just about everyone who saw it. It garnered 10 Oscar nominations and 14 British Academy Film Award nods, and would win four prizes each at the respective ceremonies.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is sometimes likened to The Matrix. And with good reason. Both the sci-fi trilogy and Crouching Tiger were choreographed by martial arts extraordinaire Yuen Woo-ping. Other movies by Yuen include Kill Bill (volumes one and two) and The Forbidden Kingdom. So he’s, you know, kind of a big deal.

Set in 19th-century China, Crouching Tiger is about two master warriors (Cow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh) who stress hardcore when their mystical Green Destiny sword is stolen. Meanwhile, a young aristocrat (not of the Penn Jillette variety) preparing for an arranged marriage reveals she may very well possess the fighting talents to retrieve the mission weaponry.

Disc includes: Audio commentary; A Conversation with Michele Yeoh featurette; Unleashing the Dragon: The Making of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon





For people who see in the irony in Jude Law literally stealing peoples’ hearts from their bodies: Repo Men

Set in 2025 - a time when dudes rip into other persons’ bodies and when Tom Cruise is still, probably, a societal outcast - Repo Men stars Jude Law and Forest Whitaker as repossession men of a bizarre ilk. Instead of homes or cars, the men repossess top-dollar organs when their recipients fall behind on their precious payments. The shit hits the fan, however, when Jude’s character has an on-the-job accident that forces him to have a top-of-the-line heart replacement. Playing the hungry hungry hippo that he is, Forest stops at nothing to get Jude to cough up money for the heart.

Repo Men had an interesting trailer but impish marketing campaign. Coupled with pretty awful reviews (23% positive at Rotten Tomatoes), the sci-fi thriller limped to a $17 million finish. Budgeted at $32 million, the movie will have to rely on boffo numbers on the home media market to make Universal happy.

Disc includes: Deleted scenes, The Union Commercials, Inside the Visual Effects featurette, audio commentary

For people who think Sam Worthington must have one hell of an agent: Clash of the Titans

Thanks to the proliferation of the 3-D market (and more importantly, Avatar), Clash of the Titans underwent a major – and speedy! – three-dimensional facelift way late in the game to ensure that theatergoers spent $15 on a poorly reviewed movie instead of something like $9. Critical opinion of the movie seemed to be mostly harsh on its muddled special effects and frantic action – no doubt a consequence of that post-production pizzazz.

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