Easy Pickins’ on DVD This Week
Mar 24, 2009Picking which new DVD to buy, rent or skip is as easy as one-two-three and A-B-C this week, as there are only three new movies on disc. And we have one of each recommendation for you.
Buy it: Bolt. Disney has worked its magic, yet again. The animated feature is a heartwarming “tail” about super dog Bolt, voiced by John Travolta. Bolt has he own television show where he and his human companion Penny (Miley Cyrus) solve crimes and foil evil-doers. He believes he is a real super hero since he lives on the set. His world is turned upside down when he gets lost and must find his way back home. But with the help of some new friends – a cat voiced by Susie Essman and a comedic hamster (Mark Walton), who only travels in a clear plastic ball; Bolt ends up on the adventure of a lifetime. You can never go wrong with a puppy getting lost and then found, and Disney was banking on that. Bolt is full of charm with a dash of attitude thrown in.
Rent it: Quantum of Solace. Daniel Craig returns in the latest super agent Bond flick, and he means business. Quantum shows a serious Bond, who is only out for revenge. Usually the Bond films are a mix of business and pleasure, but there is very little light-heartedness in this installment. Bond is now more like Jason Bourne. It picks up where Casino Royale left off: Craig aka Bond is still on the search for his lost love, Vesper, who betrayed him. The 007 franchise is a tall order to fill, and Craig delivers as a brooding Bond, but it’s the super serious script that is the film’s downfall. There is only a few scenes that are memorable, among them a fight scene that takes place on high rise scaffolding, which is pretty intense. But it’s Bond, James Bond, so rent it, you may only be mildly disappointed.
Skip it: Passengers. Since Anne Hathaway shined in the recent praise-worthy Rachel Getting Married, we were willing to give Passengers a chance, but believability was stretched way too far. Hathaway stars in the thriller as a shrink who is assigned to work with the survivors of a plane crash to help them deal with their grief. She then begins a romantic relationship with one of the more peculiar survivors, Eric, played by Patrick Wilson (Watchmen). When all of the survivors start disappearing, and Wilson starts to exhibit seemingly supernatural abilities, the mystery unfolds. Yet the cop-out explanation of supernatural activity just doesn’t seem plausible. The film's one redeeming quality is the chemisty between Hathaway and Wilson, which is totally believable, but the rest is not. Next!
—Jessica Delli Santi
