Knight at HOME at the Movies
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Four Fabu-Lush Films
A quartet of movies to keep you entertained as the new year starts!
A quartet of movies to keep you entertained as the new year starts!
Waitress – From 20th Century Fox. Kerri Russell shines in writer-director-co-star
Adrienne Shelly's bittersweet comedy about a pregnant waitress who becomes involved
with her obstetrician. Shelly's deadpan approach and eccentric characters (including
Russell's cartoonish, bullying husband, a cranky restaurant owner, the other two
waitresses, etc.) feels very southern in tone. There's a lot of Beth Henley (author of
Crimes of the Heart and Miss Firecracker) in the glum situations from which the ironic
comedy springs. Like Henley, this wacky eccentricity poured over the top of the not so
happy characters is just about irresistible if this is your kind of thing (it's most definitely
mine). Naturally, the murder of Shelly hangs over the movie and the featurettes include
a nice memorial tribute to this talented woman whose career was tragically cut short.
There are several other sweet as pie featurettes, too - this is a disc that's been in the
player at least four times since it arrived.
Eastern Promises – From Universal Studios comes the second match up between
director David Cronenberg and star Viggo Mortensen in one of the year's best films. The
film is set in London and centers on a young nurse (Naomi Watts) trying to decipher the
contents of a diary written in Russian by a young woman who has died in the ER in
childbirth. Filled with intrigue, Cronenberg's patented mixture of violence and sensuality,
and plenty of twists and turns, this is a bloody (literally) good time. If Daniel Day Lewis
hadn't shown him up in There Will Be Blood, Mortensen was my hands down choice for this
year's best actor. It's still a mighty impressive performance in a terrific film. Released
without any special features - worth a rental if you haven't seen the film - most definitely!
Ocean's Thirteen – From Warner Home Video. This third installment in the Ocean's
franchise finds Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and the gang back on familiar turf -
Vegas. The script is light as a feather and the good looking cast responds in nimble
fashion. Al Pacino is around as the resident villainous Vegas casino operator while Ellen
Barkin plays the only female role of note (the Angie Dickinson or Shirley MacLaine part in
the old Rat Pack days). Warner has released both a single disc version with a few extra
features (the copy I saw) and a 2-disc version which, I would imagine, is packed with lots
of behind the scenes featurettes, etc. Unlike the second Ocean film, number three retains
its humor over repeated viewings.
Blade Runner Collector's Edition – From Warner Home Video comes what might very
well be the DVD release of the year. In time for the 25th anniversary of this now bona
fide sci-fi classic, Warners has gone all out. There are seven versions (count 'em) of the
movie in various formats with various special features ready for fans of the film to
luxuriate in. I'm recommending the four-disc collector's version that includes both the
1982 theatrical version of the film, the European edition (with a few changes), the original
director's cut from several year later, the recent FINAL director's cut which includes a few
new bits and full commentary from director Ridley Scott, and more bonus features than
even the most ardent Blade Runner fan might be able to absorb. The bulk of these are
contained in the whopping, newly created behind the scenes documentary, Dangerous
Days: Making Blade Runner which tracks everything about the movie by the surviving
participants and is 3 1/2 hours long! But for fans of the movie (I'm among them) it's
fascinating stuff. Also fascinating is another bonus disc with those longed for coveted
special features - deleted and extended scenes, vintage material and much more. If you
still want more, there's an "Ultimate" collector's edition that contains all the material from
the four-disc version and a bonus fifth disc that includes the Workprint Version of the film
- which features a different opening, different music, altered and changed scenes, etc.
It's also packaged in a silver briefcase, emulating the leading character's briefcase from
the film. The four-disc version is a bargain at $30 bucks, the five-disc version with the
silver case will set you back $55. No matter which version you get, this is a stellar DVD
release for a misunderstood classic
Adrienne Shelly's bittersweet comedy about a pregnant waitress who becomes involved
with her obstetrician. Shelly's deadpan approach and eccentric characters (including
Russell's cartoonish, bullying husband, a cranky restaurant owner, the other two
waitresses, etc.) feels very southern in tone. There's a lot of Beth Henley (author of
Crimes of the Heart and Miss Firecracker) in the glum situations from which the ironic
comedy springs. Like Henley, this wacky eccentricity poured over the top of the not so
happy characters is just about irresistible if this is your kind of thing (it's most definitely
mine). Naturally, the murder of Shelly hangs over the movie and the featurettes include
a nice memorial tribute to this talented woman whose career was tragically cut short.
There are several other sweet as pie featurettes, too - this is a disc that's been in the
player at least four times since it arrived.
Eastern Promises – From Universal Studios comes the second match up between
director David Cronenberg and star Viggo Mortensen in one of the year's best films. The
film is set in London and centers on a young nurse (Naomi Watts) trying to decipher the
contents of a diary written in Russian by a young woman who has died in the ER in
childbirth. Filled with intrigue, Cronenberg's patented mixture of violence and sensuality,
and plenty of twists and turns, this is a bloody (literally) good time. If Daniel Day Lewis
hadn't shown him up in There Will Be Blood, Mortensen was my hands down choice for this
year's best actor. It's still a mighty impressive performance in a terrific film. Released
without any special features - worth a rental if you haven't seen the film - most definitely!
Ocean's Thirteen – From Warner Home Video. This third installment in the Ocean's
franchise finds Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and the gang back on familiar turf -
Vegas. The script is light as a feather and the good looking cast responds in nimble
fashion. Al Pacino is around as the resident villainous Vegas casino operator while Ellen
Barkin plays the only female role of note (the Angie Dickinson or Shirley MacLaine part in
the old Rat Pack days). Warner has released both a single disc version with a few extra
features (the copy I saw) and a 2-disc version which, I would imagine, is packed with lots
of behind the scenes featurettes, etc. Unlike the second Ocean film, number three retains
its humor over repeated viewings.
Blade Runner Collector's Edition – From Warner Home Video comes what might very
well be the DVD release of the year. In time for the 25th anniversary of this now bona
fide sci-fi classic, Warners has gone all out. There are seven versions (count 'em) of the
movie in various formats with various special features ready for fans of the film to
luxuriate in. I'm recommending the four-disc collector's version that includes both the
1982 theatrical version of the film, the European edition (with a few changes), the original
director's cut from several year later, the recent FINAL director's cut which includes a few
new bits and full commentary from director Ridley Scott, and more bonus features than
even the most ardent Blade Runner fan might be able to absorb. The bulk of these are
contained in the whopping, newly created behind the scenes documentary, Dangerous
Days: Making Blade Runner which tracks everything about the movie by the surviving
participants and is 3 1/2 hours long! But for fans of the movie (I'm among them) it's
fascinating stuff. Also fascinating is another bonus disc with those longed for coveted
special features - deleted and extended scenes, vintage material and much more. If you
still want more, there's an "Ultimate" collector's edition that contains all the material from
the four-disc version and a bonus fifth disc that includes the Workprint Version of the film
- which features a different opening, different music, altered and changed scenes, etc.
It's also packaged in a silver briefcase, emulating the leading character's briefcase from
the film. The four-disc version is a bargain at $30 bucks, the five-disc version with the
silver case will set you back $55. No matter which version you get, this is a stellar DVD
release for a misunderstood classic
