Blu-Ray/DVD Summer Review Round-up Part 2
School daze be darned! We are still gettin’ our party on and here are more sleepover, or final summer blow-out Blu-Rays and DVDs to entertain you.
We’re scoping out a fun and ultra-weird classic starring Jake Gyllenhaal, a horror detective thriller starring ex-Superman Brandon Routh, a high-flying animated birdie adventure and a motion-captured kid searching for his mom who has been abducted by aliens!
From Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Mars Needs Moms – Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack
In this motion-capture film, a kid named Milo (Seth Green with voice by Seth Dursky) is angry at his mom (Joan Cusack), even wishing he didn’t have one. Martians need human moms to raise their offspring so they “beam up” mom and Milo is able to stow away on their spaceship.
Once on Mars, Milo ends up in an underground kingdom where he meets middle-aged human Gribble (Dan Fogler) who was snatched in the 1980’s. A tech whiz, Gribble aids Milo in rescuing his mom before the Martians suck up all she knows about raising kids. They are aided by Ki (Elisabeth Harnois), a teen female Martian who is a great graffiti artist and speaks English she learned watching earth TV shows… 1970’s style.
Special Features: "Life on Mars: The Full Motion-Capture Experience" lets you watch the motion capture actors in their funny dotted suits in a picture in picture mode while the movie is running. This is very techy cool and fun! You can watch with or without “Audio Commentary” by director Simon Wells and actors Seth and Dan who are funny and informative. "Fun with Seth" is on-set stuff with the motion capture actors goofing off midst all the high tech filmmaking. Fun.
"Martian 101" dissects the Martian language created by filmmakers and cast. Very interesting. "Deleted Scenes" showcases a bunch of unfinished animated scenes featuring Milo and his mom and more interchanges between Milo and Gribble etc. You can watch with or without commentary by Simon Wells the director. There is also an “Extended Opening” that I liked.
Wrapping Up: Motion capture humans are still a little weird-looking; not animated and not human, they exist somewhere in between. Kinda creepy but you get used to it. The theme of a society that doesn’t “get” the concept of family…i.e. mom and dad raising kids together, is sad on one hand but it also negates single parent families. None-the-less, Mars Needs Moms is a visual bonanza; a very colorful and imaginative look at a fantasy life on another planet and although not a laugh riot, the film has its cute as well as very emotional moments. Certainly worth a rental.
From 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Donnie Darko: 10th Anniversary Edition – Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Combo Pack
The ultimate teenaged mindgame, Donnie Darko, set in the late ‘80’s, features Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) who is a troubled teen rebel to say the least. He sees uh, rabbits, well one rabbit, a demonlike lupus that is far from fluffy and cute. But is furry, freaky “Frank” in Donnie’s head or real? Frank tells the teen that the world will end in about 28 days and shows him alternate versions of the past as well. What is Donnie going to do about it? Since everybody will die, he can do anything….good or bad. What is real and what is in Donnie’s head? Can Donnie save anybody, or himself? You decide.
The rest of the cast joining Jake is stellar! Older Harvard-headed sis is played by Jake’s real sister, Maggie. Drew Barrymore and Noah Wyle (TV’s “Falling Skies”) play teachers. The late Patrick Swayze is a weird motivational guru type and Jenna Malone (Sucker Punch) is Donnie’s new girlfriend with a dark past.
Special Features: Loads and loads! This cool 4-disc combo pack has both the theatrical release and a much longer director’s cut. I’d go for the longer cut since things are explained better. The “Director’s Cut” also contains “Audio Commentary” by writer/director Richard Kelly and director Kevin Smith. On the original theatrical version, you can also opt for comments by Kelly and Jake which are interesting or listen to a gaggle of cast and crew jaw on yet another commentary. All are an entertaining listen but you learn more on the directors’ commentary.
The second DVD has a "Production Diary" by the film’s director of photography (DP) with some cool behind-the-scenes footage. Pretty neat. "They Made Me Do It: The Cult of Donnie Darko" shows you how crazy fans in the U.K. are about the film. Right up there with Star Wars fandom for them. Interesting. A fan contest winner, "#1 Fan: A Darkomentary" is wacky fun with one guy who considers himself the ultimate super fan. You also get some storyboards.
The third Disc includes the DVD version of the movie, “Deleted and Extended” scenes with optional Director’s comments, "The Philosophy of Time Travel" book, an art gallery with design elements and production stills, a "Mad World" music video, an art gallery, cast and crew bios, and some weird TV spots.
Wrapping Up: Brooding, eerie psych thriller Donnie Darko is a cult fave and a lot of modern teens and college kids have discovered it. If you’ve ever brooded over your homelife, your girl or guy or life and death in general, you can identify with troubled Donnie…even if you don’t see spooky rabbits predicting the end of the world.
Exploring Donnie’s mind while he time travels and tries to decide what’s real and not, makes for a very interesting movie-viewing experience. If you haven’t seen the film, this extensive set is the way to go although some of the featurettes were on earlier DVD releases of the film. Well worth a rental and a buy if you are into the excellent cast or just mind-blowing psych thrillers with a teen twist.
Rio – DVD 
A hatchling baby blue macaw is born in the Brazilian rain forest and is captured by exotic animal poachers who take him to the U.S. before he can learn to fly. He’s adopted by a child named Linda (Leslie Mann) who loves him dearly. Grown up Linda still has Blu (Jesse Eisenberg). A Brazilian ornithologist named Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) locates Linda and talks her into coming to Brazil with Blu to mate him with the last female of his kind Jewel (Anne Hathaway).
Jewel just wants to escape and go home to her rainforest. When both birds are grabbed by thugs who want to sell them, an escape is in order but Blu and Jewel are chained together and he still can’t fly! Once free, the birds meet other winged creatures and a bulldog who want to help them but the bad guys, their evil bird and a tribe of monkeys chase them all through Carnival while Linda and Tulio try to catch up with them to bring them to safety.
Special Features: The DVD contains a nice “Deleted Scene” called “Fruit Stand” that is in storyboard form that features Blu discovering the joys of chowing down on tropical fruit. You can get your boogie shoes on for the upbeat “Welcome to Rio” music video (with Jesse and Anne singing) and a composite musical feature “Rio de JAM_eiro Jukebox” that offers 5 musical sequences from the movie (“Real in Rio,” “Pretty Bird,” “Hot Wings (I Wanna Party),” “Fly Love” and “Real in Rio”). You also get a music video for the song “Telling the World,” by Taio Cruz that was also on YouTube. All of this music is really cheerful to get up and boogie to…or just listen.
Also included is the short “Scrat's Continental Crack-Up” featuring that adorable Ice Age squirrel-like critter after that acorn again. Love it!! There are some “Angry Birds” shorts that are also sweet.
More features are on a two-disc edition and the Blu-Ray but we didn’t get them here. No interviews with the cast, etc. Oh well.
Wrapping Up:A carnival in a box, Rio is chocked full of danceable tunes and a colorful party atmosphere as well as some narrow escape chases and a birdie romance (can’t picture Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway as a real life couple but their voices work great together). The movie is beyond colorful and just beautiful with some great visuals and voice actor work. Just loved it. Buy if you can and rent for sure. You might want to get the Blu-Ray with more featurettes.
Dylan Dog: Dead of Night – Blu-Ray
Brandon Routh plays a New Orleans private investigator toiling away catching cheating wives and husbands but his life used to be more interesting. Dylan used to be the human police squad for all the monsters in the Big Easy and it’s full of them; living in plain sight but undetected by humans. Werewolves, vampires, zombies and demons etc. have been co-existing in town for years.
A tragedy involving his fiancée made Dylan give up his former “job” but when murdered importer’s daughter Elizabeth (Anita Briem) asks Dylan to find out what beast killed her dad, the PI is back in the game. His quirky assistant/friend Marcus (Sam Huntington who co-starred with Brandon in the last Superman film) is killed and turned into the walking dead but still wants to help. Together, the odd duo discovers a plot involving a powerful and ancient stolen artifact that could make a vampire lord all-powerful and unleash a blood bath among New Orleans’ monster “clans”.
Wrapping Up: There were no extras on this Blu-Ray disc which is a shame. This crime/horror thriller is fun. It’s based on an Italian graphic novel. Sam Huntington and Brandon Routh are real life buddies and it shows in the film as funny Sam turns zombie and is having trouble adjusting. He joins a zombie support group. The story is interesting and hot Taye Diggs is eerie and steamy as the vampire lord/club owner determined to take over the city. I wasn’t that thrilled with Anita Briem’s acting but her character is interesting and more than she seems.
No, Brandon isn’t the typical, grizzled film noir, Sam Spade detective at all but it’s fun to watch him and Sam tackle demons and creepy crawlers in New Orleans (the movie was really shot there) all while testing their friendship. A fun rental for your movie night marathon.
