DVD Review: Galaxy Quest & Benjamin Button
An epic romance/adventure with a touch of the supernatural and a great Star Trek send-up make for a widely-diverse double feature to kick off your early summer viewing marathon!
From Paramount Home Entertainment
Galaxy Quest: Deluxe Edition
The 10th anniversary release on DVD of this hilarious send-up of Star Trek is, of course, timed to the opening of the new film. Galaxy Quest will leave you rolling on the floor with laughter, rooting for the "Trekies" and shouting the show's catch phrase "Never give up. Never surrender!"
This film presents the aging cast of popular sci-fi TV series "Galaxy Quest" 18 years later as they attend fan conventions, open supermarkets and sadly try to hang on to their past fame. Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell and Daryl Mitchell play the TV stars. Allen, as ego-maniac actor Jason Nesmith, captain of the ship, is drinking himself into oblivion when he's visited by a group of costumed "aliens" called Thermians whom he mistakes for fans.
Turns out, these guys are the real deal, have been watching the old TV re-runs as if they were "historical documents" and they've come to beam up the crew, whom they believe ARE their heroic characters, to save them from an evil space warlord! Throw in mega "Galaxy" nerdboy fan Justin Long, as a teen in one of his first performances, to help save the day and you've got an awesome comic adventure!
Special Features: These extras are a blast! All are entertaining! This film was released first in 1999 but the DVD guys have added a lot of cool new extras for this 10th anniversary edition. The making-of featurette, "Historical Documents: The Story of Galaxy Quest," tells the background of the film with comments from cast and crew including the film's director and co-screenwriter. I really enjoyed "Never Give Up, Never Surrender: The Intrepid Crew of the NSEA Protector," which mixes 1999 cast and crew interviews with brand new ones. All the excellent actors seemed to have had a blast on the film and relate to their characters. Allen mentions what a big "Trek" series fan he was. Sigourney comments that her character is the complete opposite of her classic kick-butt Ripley character in the great Alien films and she loved how hot all the guys thought she was as a blonde with cleavage! Funny!
"By Grabthar's Hammer, What Amazing Effects" is a little featurette concentrating on the make-up and effects work done by ILM and also the late Stan Winston's shop. Actors also comment on this. Very cool. "Alien School: Creating the Thermian Race" talks about the aliens in the film and the development of their "look" and language. Each actor playing a Thermian talks about getting the part including popular comic actress Missi Pyle. Very entertaining.
"Actors in Space" is a short in which the actors talk about playing has-been actors who redeem themselves. The great Alan Rickman says that actors are the only profession who will "dump on themselves and send themselves up". The casts discusses hanging out and bonding. Very fun. "Sigourney Weaver Raps" is hilarious. The actress is quite good rapping a birthday song with fellow castmates for her agent. "Deleted Scenes" are all very funny and well worth a watch. There is even a "Thermian" language track with the weird sounds those folks made.
Wrapping Up: This film is not only wonderful entertainment and a tribute to "Trek" fandom but the story gives us an insider's "peek" at a cast who originally hated each other but grow in respect and friendship as they discover that they can actually become the heroes they played on TV for so many years. The jokes are all funny, actors are amazing. You simply must see this. Even if you haven't seen the original "Trek" series in endless re-runs, you'll appreciate the great acting and very good-hearted humor. There should have been a sequel to the fun film! Definitely a buy or at least a rent!
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: 2-Disc Special Edition
On the opposite end of the film genre spectrum we have this supernatural, adventurous, love story. When Hurricane Katrina is hitting New Orleans, very elderly Daisy Williams (Cate Blanchett) is dying and asks her daughter to read aloud to her the dairy of Daisy's lifelong love Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt). The entire movie is that diary come to life. We learn that Benjamin was born very old and grew younger each year, aging backwards. When abandoned on a doorstep by his dad after his mom died in childbirth, weird little Ben is taken in my Queenie, a caring Black woman working at an old folks' home. There, as he grows up, Ben meets young Daisy, the grandaughter of one of the elderly residents, and they strike a lifetime bond.
As Ben de-ages and Daisy grows up, they have their own life adventures but stay in contact, finally connecting as lovers when their ages roughly match. They have a child and are a family briefly until Ben, growing younger and younger and realizing that he can't stand for Daisy to one day have to care for two "children", leaves the family.
Special Features: Part of a prestigious "Criterion Collection" out from Paramount, this 2-disc set looks beautiful and contains a cool little booklet with an essay from a prestigious film critic about director David Fincher (the discs are "director-approved") that adds to your enjoyment of the film.
Disc one contains the feature film and an audio "Commentary" by director Fincher. This chat is very informative and, if not funny, at least good-natured and a nice listen. On Disc two we have a lot of extras including a four-part documentary "making-of" featurette that is three hours long! You get tons of details on adaptation of the idea from a short story through production, the amazing, Oscar-winning visual effects including aging Brad Pitt and his motion capture work, the music, on set stuff, interviews with Brad and Cate etc. I liked the visual effects sections the most but all are well-worth a look-see.
You get some picture galleries with storyboards, costumes and production photos. Cool to "flip" through.
Wrapping Up: This is a heart-felt, sweet and beautifully-shot life story with a supernatural twist. It's a big too long but Brad Pitt is amazing in it. The lead character is so totally inspirational that, after watching the movie, you'll say to yourself, "I guess my problems aren't so huge after all". The love story is well.....lovely and .. yes, 3 or 4 hankie sad. All the performances are just great. This one is well worth a rental and a buy for fans of Cate or Brad especially.
