DVD Reviews: Iron Man and "Sarah Marshall"
How about screening a very diverse double feature at your crib? We've got the scoop on one of the biggest action/adventure hits of the Summer and a raunchy, funny romantic comedy starring Kristen Bell!
From Paramount Home Entertainment
Iron Man: Ultimate 2-Disc Edition
Robert Downey Jr. makes the comeback of the Century as billionaire playboy Tony Stark who doubles as Iron Man, an iron-suited, unlikely superhero out to make up for all the human damage done by his family weapons manufacturing empire. Co-starring hot Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges. The biggest action hit of the summer is now out on DVD!
Since many of us don't have a Blu-Ray player yet, we'll go with this 2-disc edition which comes in a cool shiny foil slipcover featuring Iron Man with Robert as Tony Stark on the inside cover.
Video/Audio: This widescreen transfer of the recent film looks awesome! Night scenes and bright desert sunlit scenes come through with equal clarity and amazing definition. Wow! The Dolby rock 'n roll soundtrack just blasts out with great balance through your speakers. Great bass. Just a very professional job all around.
Special Features: Disc one includes the movie plus 25 minutes-worth of 11 deleted or extended scenes that are worth checking out but we can see why they were cut. The alternate ending is interesting.
Most of the features are on disc two and they rock! "I Am Iron Man" is a 7-part documentary that covers more than a lot of "making of" stuff. Director Favreau and crew are busy on all levels of production and you feel like you are there. Very interesting! In "The Invincible Iron Man", a 6-part History of the hero, you learn how Iron Man started in the comics via interviews with Marvel icon Stan Lee and other writers and creator/artists. A great back-story featurette!
The thorough special effects featurette "Wired: The Visual Effects of Iron Man" includes rehearsal footage as well as cool how-they-done-it info. I enjoyed how they used a different kind of wire rig to lift Downey up so he didn't look like Superman flying but a heavy, iron-suited hero launched by rockets on the bottom of his feet! Cool. A really awesome featurette includes the short but interesting Robert Downey Jr. "Screen Tests" for the role. The guy ad-libs some of the most amazing, dry, rapid-fire dialogue ever uttered. You can see why nobody else could have effectively played the role. A lot of Hollywood moguls didn't want to risk hiring the troubled actor but he just knocks it out of the park! I loved seeing this! Welcome back, Robert!
"The Actors' Process" is an amazing look at how real pros develop and rehearse a scene. With the writer and director Jon Favreau present, Downey and Jeff Bridges talk through and try various versions of a key confrontation scene. Dynamite! A tongue-in-cheek piece from "The Onion News Network" is humorous if not brilliant. You get image galleries etc. The only missing featurette is a commentary by the director which is probably coming on future DVDs of the film.
Wrapping Up: This wonderful film took a second-rate comic book hero and made him as effective as Batman. We can't wait for the sequel! Robert Downey Jr. was vastly responsible for the success of the film. You've got to have this one! Even if you aren't a big comic hero or action fan, the "people" stuff in the film is very involving. Once you rent, you'll probably want to buy!
From Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Forgetting Sarah Marshall : Unrated Collector's Edition
[Warning: This DVD contains some graphic nudity and raunchy language. Make your choice accordingly]. When Peter (Jason Segel) is dumped by his TV star girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), he takes off for an Hawaiian resort to forget. Of course, fate places Sarah and her new rockstar guy (Russell Brand) on vacation at the same hotel and all sorts of hilarious conflicts ensue, complicated by a new local hottie (Mila Kunis) who attracts Peter.
Video/Audio: The recent film looks crisp and colorful in anamorphic widescreen. The tropical locales look awesome. Color might be brighter on the Blu-Ray edition but this is fine! Sound is fine for this type of "relationship" film. You can hear dialogue well and the sounds of surf and partying come through just fine. Disc one has both the theatrical and unrated versions of the movie on it.
Special Features: Lots of crazy ones on disc two. The audio commentary includes director Nick Stoller, Production Execs as well as Jason Segel, Russell Brand and Mila. Kristen Bell comes in briefly on the phone. Jason's personal comments are the best. "Deleted and Extended" scenes; 11 of them are the usual funny but unnecessary additions. Jason, as Peter, sings his silly puppet song "Dracula's Lament" to a bored Kristen. There's a "Puppet Break-Up" scene from Peter's musical and more cut out footage in the "Line-O-Rama", "Sex-O-Rama" and "Drunk-O-Rama" sections. Some of this is very funny. There are some "Unrated" scenes that aren't any worse than what made it into the film but, again, funny.
"Russell Brand: As Aldous Snow" contains the hilarious Brit comedian's screen test/interview and mock music videos of his two "hits" "We've Got to Do Something" and "Inside of You" as well as Aldous hosting a Sesame Street-style kiddie show. "Crime Scene" contains various scenes from Kristen Bell's fake TV crime show with Billy Baldwin.. very funny. There's also a section of ideas for a new TV show with names like "Ghost Cop," "Life's a Bitch" and "Jesus H. Cop."
You get a "Raw Footage" bonus scene with Aldous and Peter just shooting the breeze about their conquests in the hotel lobby. "Auditions" feature most of the major cast and are pretty dry but okay. A "Gag Reel" is the usual stuff with cast messing up and goofing off on set but it cracked me up. You get "Video Diaries" by Segel, the director and some of the producers.. not all that fascinating. Also on the special features disc is the show "Cinemax Final Cut" featuring cast, directors and producers sittin' around on the beach, drinking cocktails and talking about Jason's real-life naked break up and other choices to include in the film. You feel like you are there at the table. Kinda fun. Kristen Bell barely says anything with Segel and Brand carrying most of the yak.
On a third disc you get a Digital copy of an SD version of the movie that you can upload to your computer.
Wrapping Up: If you can handle the raunchy aspects of this comedic break-up film, you do get some funny special features on this DVD. Can't imagine what else the filmmakers might have included. I'm sure there is more on the Blu-Ray version. If you like Judd Apatow films, Kristen Bell, Jason Segel, Mila Kunis or Russell Brand, you'll want to at least rent this DVD.
