Castle: The Complete First Season
Buy this DVD set

So since the Complete First Season DVD set has been on deep discount this week ($17 bucks or so compared to a list price of $40), we decided to buy it. The set has some entertaining-sounding featurettes, bloopers, and commentaries, which we enjoy.

Our first try was from Amazon.com. We have the free shipping plan, so that was easy — wouldn’t even have to leave the house! Unfortunately, someone at Amazon put the DVD set into a cardboard mailer with no additional padding, so by the time it arrived, the hinged insert in the case was broken apart, and one of the discs had come loose and was scratched.

Disappointing, but not tragic. Amazon paid to send it back and give a refund; they even have an automated process for such things. (Methinks they have a lot of shipping damage claims, especially recently.) We decided not to play mail roulette again and went to buy the set at Best Buy, who had it at the same price. (Amazon has since dropped their price another dollar, but I’m trying not to sweat the small stuff.)

All this is kind of pointless, except that I noted something interesting. This is what the set from Best Buy looked like inside:

The Amazon set, on the other hand, didn’t have a disc on the left side. Instead, there was one disc on the right and the hinged plastic insert that contained the other two discs back-to-back. Why would there be two separate versions? And why would Amazon have the one that seems more susceptible to shipping damage, given their business model?

Now, this is a nice offer if you want to upgrade. But financially…

This selection was based solely on “movies I’d like to watch”, and the prices were shown on Amazon at the time I was writing this. The column labeled “Do Math” is the cost to buy the Blu-Ray outright minus the used DVD price (assuming you sold it to someone else).

So in some cases you’re better off just buying a replacement and selling off your DVD, especially if it’s a catalog title on discount. The $10 trade-ins are discs in more demand, apparently, or not as old. I was surprised to see how much some Blu-Ray prices have fallen! As always, do some research before you take the deal. If the numbers work out for you, it’s a nice gesture on the part of the studio. Plus, they get some used DVDs out of the market.

Like Richard Curtis’ other feature as writer/director, Love Actually, it’s a sprawling story with a variety of goofy character bits, an ensemble comedy composed of vignettes. I was also reminded of Almost Famous, with its story of a boy coming of age thanks to the transformative power of rock. Pirate Radio is set in England in 1966, with tons of great rock’n'roll music (then called pop), none of which the BBC would play. So ships anchored off the coast, outside of the legal limit, would broadcast what the people wanted to hear. (One of the best-known was Radio Caroline.)

The cast is amazing — you’ve probably seen ads featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman as one of the DJs, but another is played by Nick Frost (previously best known as Simon Pegg’s buddy in Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead). Additional cast members include Chris O’Dowd and Katherine Parkinson, both from The IT Crowd. My favorite, of course, was Bill Nighy as Quentin, who in addition to his performance is astounding-looking in 60s mod suits, especially when he dances. (Given the time period and setting, it shouldn’t be surprising to hear that the women are Mom, cook, and lust objects. But at least the clothes they wear are cool.) I was also surprised to see that the coolest of all DJs, a supposed sex machine, was played by Rhys Ifans, whom I best remember from the Curtis-penned Notting Hill as the gross roommate Spike. That’s versatility!

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Nick Frost are DJs

Now, typical of Curtis, the end favors optimism and unrealistic happy results over plausibility, but I don’t mind that much. I did leave wishing I’d seen the three-hour version (or however long it would have been with the footage they cut from the UK version put back in along with whatever other deleted scenes — something to wait for the DVD on, I guess). I felt like I could have learned more about some of the characters, and there were intriguing bits hinted at (like Jack Davenport’s interaction with his boss Kenneth Branagh’s daughter) that were never followed up on. That’s another Curtis touch, overstuffed, messy sprawl, but in a way I enjoy.

Rhys Ifans as King of the DJs

I’m telling you, theaters are missing out by not selling merchandise in their lobbies. I would have gladly purchased, upon departure, the DVD and the CD soundtrack. (Plus a couple of books on the subject, although there doesn’t appear to be a definitive history yet.) A vending machine would make extra money with minimal staff costs. And the DVD is already out in the UK, because the movie came out there in April. I have no idea why they’d rather sell messy snacks, with all the cleaning costs, than tangible mementos.

Bill Nighy and cast party

Sadly, while researching options, we discovered that there are two soundtrack versions. The British version has four more tracks than the American one, although the four missing songs (”Crimson & Clover”, “The Letter”, “Hang on Sloopy”, and Skeeter Davis’ “End of the World”) are fairly common. Personally, I think the UK one also has a better cover, but I like seeing more of the cast without the overly literal pirate metaphor.

If you’re looking for a wonderfully entertaining movie, check out Pirate Radio. Highly recommended.

I love my husband, because he just handed me this CD collection, We Love the Pirates, featuring rare music and hits from the era interspersed with jingles from Radio London, another of the pirate stations. Apparently, it’s now out of print and goes for $50 or more. For a cheaper take on the era, try The Who Sell Out, an homage to the broadcast style with commercial parodies and actual jingles.

Scarecrow and Mrs. King:
The Complete First Season
Buy this DVD

Meanwhile, Warner Archive has a bunch of new-to-DVD 80s and 90s films at 25% off, which makes them under $15. I’m tempted by Under the Rainbow, and after seeing it too often on cable as a kid, I kind of want to see an unedited So Fine. Rob Lowe’s in Oxford Blues, and I know some readers will want Penn & Teller Get Killed.

But the most exciting news for me this week is the announcement that Scarecrow and Mrs. King is coming to DVD in March. List price is $40 for 21 episodes on five discs. Kate Jackson was a single mother who got caught up in capers with Bruce Boxleitner as the spy code-named Scarecrow. I adored this show for its combination of spy adventure and hints of romance. What a nice hit of nostalgia.

Sex and Death 101
Buy this DVD

It’s called Sex and Death 101. Simon Baker, star of the The Mentalist, is Roderick Blank, a successful, handsome man who winds up with a 101-item list of all the women he has and will sleep with, although his current fiance (Julie Bowen) is only #29. Ryder plays Death Nell, a woman avenging her sex by putting players and exploiters of women into comas.

The cast has some known names: Patton Oswalt is one of the mysterious men who explain the list to Blank, Neil Flynn (Scrubs) is a buddy, and Leslie Bibb (Iron Man, Popular) one of the future women. A standout is Mindy Cohn (The Facts of Life) as Blank’s assistant, who tries her best to keep him sane while he struggles with accepting and/or fighting his fate.

Waters both wrote and directed, and while it’s got his wordy, self-conscious style and playful black comedy when it comes to both death and relationships, it’s not as good as Heathers. It struggles to wrap its various threads and points of view together into something consistent. However, it is worth a Netflix, if you’re looking for something unusual to check out.

Joe McDoakes was the lead character in an almost forgotten series of comedy shorts produced and directed by Richard Bare and distributed by Warner Bros. from 1942 through 1956. Though the series is named after its lead character, it’s also known as the Behind the Eight Ball series, since Joe always appeared behind a giant eight ball in the opening credits of each film. It’s also occasionally known as the So You Want… series, as most of the series titles begin with this phrase (as in So You Want to Be a Cowboy). The series starred George O’Hanlon as McDoakes in all 63 installments.

The Joe McDoakes Collection
Buy this DVD set

There are a number of odd animation and comic book connections to the McDoakes series. These days, O’Hanlon is much better known as the voice of George Jetson in both the cartoon and Jetsons: The Movie (which was the last time he portrayed Jetson, as O’Hanlon passed away before the film was released). Another famous cartoon voice actor — Arthur Q. Bryan, the voice of Elmer Fudd — appears in So You Want to Build a Model Railroad and guest narrates So You Want to Be a Policeman. The series’ musical composer and arranger, William Lava, later went on to do the same job for most of the final theatrical Warner Bros. cartoons (for which he is usually not held in high regard) and for many of the made-for-television Pink Panther cartoons (based on Henry Mancini’s famous original theme). Lava also composed most of the incidental music (as well as the memorable theme song) for the 1960s TV series F Troop — a show that was about as close to a live-action cartoon as you can get.

Phyllis Coates, who portrayed Lois Lane in the first season of TV’s Adventures of Superman, got her start in film playing Joe McDoakes’ long-suffering wife Alice (one of three in the long-running series). She played the character in many of the episodes from 1948-1956.

Each of the shorts were co-written by Bare and O’Hanlon (although usually just credited to Bare), and all of them followed the same format, with McDoakes humorously attempting to accomplish the goal or role stated in each episode title — and usually failing spectacularly. In So You Want to Be a Baby Sitter, Joe is mercilessly tortured by a neighborhood kid that Alice has volunteered Joe to babysit — on poker night, no less. In So You Want to Be Popular, Joe realized that he has a bad personality and tries to get personality lessons from a professional but instead gets “fixed” by his obnoxious neighbor, ending up as obnoxious as he is.

Richard Bare, creator of the character, here talks about how O’Hanlon was selected and the series started:

Most of the episodes are narrated by Art Gilmore, a famous voice actor that you’ve probably heard hundreds of times but never known his name. Besides being on many radio and television shows, Gilmore’s dramatic voice was heard on film trailers throughout the 1950s and 60s. If you watch a lot of TCM, you’ve heard his voice whenever they show old trailers between movies.

Ultimately, the series proves why O’Hanlon is best known as a a great voice actor. Put through the paces in these shorts, O’Hanlon runs through endless emotional changes from extreme frustration to extreme rage and exasperation, but he spends most of his screen time mugging for the camera. His frustrations were much better used to their fullest extent with an animated character like George Jetson, where O’Hanlon can rage to his heart’s content off camera.

Much of the fun in watching these old shorts is in spotting old character actors popping up from time to time. The series is filled with familiar faces from Laurel and Hardy and Three Stooges shorts, as well as lots of actors you might recognize from early television comedies and dramas. I don’t even know half of their names, but I spent a lot of time going “Hey! I know that guy!” while watching these shorts — and then scrambling to IMDB to find out more info. Much fun! A number of more notable actors appear occasionally, like Ronald Reagan and Janis Paige in So You Want to Be in Pictures or Doris Day and Gordon McRae in So You Want a Television Set.

Here’s a clip from So You Want to Be in Pictures to give the flavor of the shorts:

All 63 11-minute Joe McDoakes shorts are included on this six-disc set. It’s part of the new Warner Archive on-demand program of bare-bones DVD sets (no special features or other bells and whistles) featuring lesser-known works. But it may be your only chance to see this wonderful lost chapter of Hollywood comedy shorts. (The studio provided a review copy.)

North by Northwest
50th Anniversary Edition
Buy this DVD

Here, Grant is an ad executive who is mistaken for a spy and accidentally dragged into conspiracy and murder. James Mason, smoothly menacing, is the bad guy, and Eva Marie Saint the cool Hitchcock blonde with uncertain loyalties. (Although she acts a little too reserved for my taste.) Martin Landau is Mason’s henchman; watch his performance considering that he played it with an air of homosexual jealousy over Mason’s attention to Grant.

It’s a gripping romantic thriller with excellent performances. Even knowing how the movie plays out, I still enjoyed watching the twists and turns unfold. (It’s one of the best ads for the adventure and glamor of train travel ever.) I’m assuming you’re already familiar with how excellent the film is, so let’s talk about this upgraded DVD edition.

The first disc has the movie, with a choice of commentary by screenwriter Ernest Lehman. His recollections, while interesting and complimentary, didn’t add very much to my appreciation of the film. You can also watch with a music-only audio track, highlighting Bernard Herrmann’s score. I believe the visuals have also been upgraded — at least, they looked crisp to me, as though this were a much more recent film.

The second disc is where all the goodies come in. There are four documentaries, two new to this set:

• Cary Grant: A Class Apart — This wonderful 90-minute overview of his life, touching on his varied career and analyzing his most famous movies, first ran in 2003. Owning this, if you’re a Grant fan, is alone worth the cost of the set.
• The Master’s Touch: Hitchcock’s Signature Style — A new hour-long examination of Alfred Hitchcock’s directing techniques to build suspense and menace gave me a fresh appreciation for his work. Includes commentary from directors including William Friedkin, Guillermo del Toro, and Martin Scorsese, plus clips of Hitchcock’s own comments.
• Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North by Northwest — Narrated by Eva Marie Saint in 2000, this 40-minute making-of also features daughter Pat Hitchcock, screenwriter Lehman, production designer Robert Boyle, and co-star Martin Landau telling how the movie came to be.
• North by Northwest: One for the Ages — The second new piece, this one is a 25-minute appreciation by many of the same people who participated in “The Master’s Touch”. After all the other features, I’m not sure how much this one really adds.

Given how much I enjoy finding out more about the context of enjoyable movies, this package was just what I wanted. Also included are a photo gallery, a TV ad for the movie, the theatrical trailer, and a Hitchcock-hosted promo. Just to remind you how good this film is, here’s a clip from the suspenseful ending, as the couple run from the bad guys chasing them (with her in a smart traveling suit) and wind up on the faces of Mount Rushmore.

(The studio provided a review copy.)

I have fond memories of this 1981 goofy superhero/spy spoof. It starts Michael Crawford, who went on to greater fame as the original musical Phantom of the Opera, and Oliver Reed as the Russian baddy. Crawford is Woody Wilkins, a comic artist and writer who insists on trying out the gadgets of his hero, Condorman, before drawing them, so they’ll be realistic. So the film begins with his jumping off the Eiffel Tower wearing hang glider-like wings, for example.

Who is Condorman?

Well, uh, Condorman is what we call a comic hero, in a comic book.

A comic book?

Yeah, you know like Donald Duck, Popeye, Superman.

Crawford’s character a flake, albeit a talented artist, but thanks to his propensity for dress-up, he still winds up helping a gorgeous Russian spy (Barbara Carrera) defect with the help of his CIA buddy (James Hampton). After they meet, he starts drawing her into his comic book as “Laser Lady”, and the CIA funds building more of his gadgets, including a really cool Condorcar that becomes a hovercraft.

The movie is full of outrageous international events, slapstick, family-friendly romance, and bad special effects, but I liked the concept and still enjoy the film, nostalgically. It’s like James Bond for kids, with comics added. Anyone else remember this?

First, The Losers is going to be a movie in April 2010, so DC is reprinting the first two volumes as one bigger, 12-issue collection at a customer-friendly price of $19.99. It’s due out January 2010, and the thicker book should given interested readers more to dive into. I’m not particularly interested in the plot — Special Forces seek revenge after being betrayed — but the cast is good, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Chris Evans being highlights for me.

More my speed is the FOX TV series Human Target starring Mark Valley (Boston Legal, Swingtown, Fringe). (I’ve always though he should play Captain America, myself.) It’s starting in January, so DC’s releasing a new collection then. Peter Milligan’s four-issue miniseries (illustrated by Edvin Biukovic) will be reprinted along with his Final Cut graphic novel (art by Javier Pulido). The new title is Human Target: Chance Meetings. (Cause the character’s name is Christopher Chance!)

This is the kind of smart marketing I like to see, putting out books that make it easy for interested viewers to read more.

Ally McBeal: The Complete Series
Buy this DVD set

I gave up on the show a few seasons in, so I’ve never seen the later episodes with either Robert Downey, Jr. or James Marsden. I’m looking forward to catching up. Wow, over 5000 minutes of TV! Just what I needed.

The set contains five six-disc sets, one for each season, plus a bonus disc containing:

• a retrospective
• a TV special from season 2
• behind-the-scenes featurettes from seasons 2, 3, and 5
• a goodbye featurette from season 5
• and the Practice crossover episode (very nice to include this)

as well as a soundtrack CD of 12 songs by Vonda Shepherd, including a duet of “Chances Are” with Downey and the dancing baby theme “Hooked on a Feeling”. If you don’t want to shell out for the whole set (although $20 a season is a decent price), you can also buy the individual Season One, although there’s no guarantee all future seasons will be released.

This is the way to watch TV these days — on your own schedule, with no commercials. It’ll be fun to see how well some of these episodes hold up, and how some are distinctly of their time. I fondly remember my then-roommate, Alan Sepinwall, telling me I needed to watch the premiere with him before its debut, because it was such an interesting portrait of the modern woman. I disagreed with him that she was anything like a role model, but it did develop my taste for David E. Kelley shows.

That’s because I was always more involved in the cultural and societal changes than the murder mystery. It was easier to see how the world was different (and yet similar) on the screen instead of on the page. Although I appreciated the ways they changed the plot in the movie, too — I thought they tightened things up and made some of the motivations make more sense. Especially when it came to the wife, played by Rosamund Pike. Instead of simply being too vain to be seen without her robot double, she (and Bruce both) were mourning the death of their son. Plus, the changes were significant enough that I didn’t feel like I knew where everything was going and I was honestly surprised and involved by the fascinating plot twists and double-crosses.

In case you didn’t know, the story is set in the future, where everyone operates a robot surrogate for going out, working, playing, anything. The surrogates are supposed to be perfectly safe, allowing people to experience life with no danger, until someone uses a weapon that both disables the surrogates and kills the operator, sending death back through the virtual connection. Willis is FBI agent Tom Greer (instead of Atlanta cop Harvey Greer in the book), who investigates this first homicide in years, which brings him in contact with the inventor of the technology (James Cromwell) and the Prophet (Ving Rhames) who preaches against it.

The effects are impressive, both the big set pieces (things explode! helicopter crash! partially damaged Willis robot super-jumps in pursuit of suspect! the most entertaining car chase I’ve seen in a while, both thrilling and funny!) and the minor details.

Robot Willis and partner Radha Mitchell visit surrogate creation company

I liked the way all the surrogates looked just a little plastic and shiny in their perfect beauty. (Although Willis’ surrogate looks like young Michael McKean to me. It’s the hair.) It reminded me of how real-life examples of supposed attractiveness too often look the same way, what with Botox and all. In the movie, when we’re seeing a street or a club full of these perfect people, it looked to me like it could be a Gossip Girl set or some other TV show or movie, so the nature of mediated unreality and how we define beauty left me pondering. Especially since the movie opens with lines about how we’re “not meant to experience the world through a machine.” It makes it feel really weird to be watching a movie, because that’s just what we’re doing. An imaginary world, to be sure, but still.

There are some other odd evocations in the film, I suspect unintentionally, but when the FBI helicopter crashes into the human-only compound, I thought about when the Philadelphia police bombed the MOVE organization’s building in 1985. Then there was the scientist’s home, full of dark wood and spooky lights, which reminded me of Disney’s Haunted Mansion. (I’ve got Disney on the brain, because I’ll be going to Disney World in a few weeks, but they’re also the ones who made this movie through their Touchstone division.)

Sadly, while Willis is terrific as robot cop and ok when he’s required to show the trauma of going outside as a real person when the world around him is still plastic, he badly overacts the emotion required to show how he misses interacting with his real wife. (She’ll only deal with him through her prettier surrogate.) Like Bond, though, he suffers well when he’s pounded on by the various folks out to get him.

Bruce, without surrogate

Also unfortunate is that this movie fails the Bechdel test — there are only two female characters, the wife and the FBI partner, and neither talk to each other. In fact, given the way her surrogate is hijacked, one of them spends significant time in the film being literally controlled by men.

The rest of my thoughts are rather random.

• I left wondering why the original death happened the way it did — the rest of the plot made sense to me, but the motive for that first one escaped me, until I realized I was assuming something a villain said was false but we were mean to take it as true.
• I still loved the scene from the trailer where all the robots drop, especially since it takes on new meaning in the movie context.
• At one point, Willis hijacks a Prius, which seems to have survived into the future unchanged.
• The Maguffin magic weapon looks a little too much like a dustbuster for me to take it seriously.
• When the movie started, it was a thrill to see “A Top Shelf Production” on the second screen.
• I liked the way the real people lived in pajamas and/or sweats, since they spent most of their time lying on couches driving their surrogates.

My final thought is a spoiler for the ending, so if you don’t want to see it, stop now. Otherwise, it’s in white text below. Let me remind you before reading it, I did enjoy the film overall, and I’m glad I saw it.

The ending struck me as supremely selfish. Willis causes an apocalypse because he can’t talk his wife out of her addiction, so he removes the surrogates from everyone. How will this all be cleaned up? How will society even continue, with no police and no anything? We’re not supposed to think about that, just be happy in their reconciliation, but I was left wondering what happened next, because what made this thriller interesting was its themes that encourage you to think about such things.

As originally discussed in May 2008, Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut will be arriving on DVD on November 3.

The film will combine the Tales of the Black Freighter animated mini-feature with the expanded movie Watchmen: Director’s Cut, released on DVD two months ago. New to this package is a commentary track with Zack Snyder and Dave Gibbons.

The Special Features from the previous two releases (”Under the Hood”, “Story Within a Story: The Books of Watchmen”, “The Phenomenon: The Comic That Changed Comics”, the video journals, the My Chemical Romance music video) are joined by “Real Super Heroes, Real Vigilantes”, which is about a half-hour that “explores the fascination and psychology behind real-world vigilantes and where that behavior crosses over into actually donning the hood and behaving as superheroes.” There’s also a digital copy of the theatrical release version and all 12 issues of the motion comics. (Bravo to Warner for copying all the features from the previous discs, so you don’t need to keep them if you decide to upgrade to this package.)

Strangely, while the Ultimate Cut Blu-Ray edition (4 discs, list price $60, but currently discounted by 30%) is now available for preorder at Amazon.com, as shown here, I can’t find the standard DVD edition (5 discs, $44) anywhere on their site. Maybe they figure the fans only want the high-def version.

When The Surrogates was first being published, did you envision it in another medium as well?

ROBERT VENDITTI: Not in a serious way. The most I ever hoped to achieve was to get the book published — no small feat for a first-time comic book writer — so that I could show the finished product to editors and hopefully get more writing work. The feature adaptation was completely unexpected.

How did the movie deal come about?

ROBERT VENDITTI: It started with a producer named Max Handelman, who contacted me about the film rights for The Surrogates back in 2006. Both I and Chris Staros at Top Shelf liked Max, and so we decided to let him shop it around. Max ended up bringing in Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman at Mandeville Films, a production company that has its first-look deal at Disney. They put a package together that included the screenwriters and Jonathan Mostow as director, and then made their pitch to Disney. Disney liked what they heard and decided to move forward under their Touchstone label.

How much have you been involved in the filming? Did you get to visit the set or offer any input?

ROBERT VENDITTI: I was a consultant on the film, and I visited the set on a couple of occasions, but mostly I tried to stay out of everyone’s way and give them the freedom to do what they wanted. I understood from the beginning that directors, screenwriters, and actors are all creative minds in their own right, so if they’re inspired by something I had a hand in, then I’m going to take it as a compliment and not try to inject myself into the process.

Have you seen the final film? What did you think?

ROBERT VENDITTI: I haven’t seen the finished film, but I’ve read the screenplay and seen enough of the footage to feel like I have a good understanding of what they’ve done. They made some changes, of course, but that’s to be expected. What’s always been important to me is that the themes and the subtext of the book were retained in the film, and I’m pleased to say that has been the case.

What is the biggest thing you thought they got right in translating the graphic novel to film?

The Surrogates
Buy this book

ROBERT VENDITTI: The strained relationship between Greer and his wife, which I’ve always felt was the most important part of the book because it really humanizes the effects that surrogate technology could have. Bruce Willis and Rosamund Pike do an amazing job translating this to the screen.

What one thing would you have changed about the movie?

ROBERT VENDITTI: I would’ve liked for the film to be set in Georgia, as is the case with the books. I live in the Atlanta area, and I find the South to be a fascinating and culturally complex place. Ultimately that’s a cosmetic change, though, so it doesn’t really have much bearing on the story.

What would you tell moviegoers to interest them in the graphic novel?

ROBERT VENDITTI: That it gives them a deeper background on the future world they saw on screen. The book and the film complement each other very well.

What’s currently on your plate in comics?

ROBERT VENDITTI: We just released The Surrogates: Flesh and Bone, the prequel to the original story. My next book for Top Shelf will be the political/medical thriller The Homeland Directive, which should be released sometime next year. Other than that, I have an Iron Man one-shot coming out in October, and I’m adapting the popular young-adult novel The Lightning Thief to graphic novel format.

We were interested in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past because of the cast. Not the two stars — we don’t much like Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner — but we’re big fans of Emma Stone (The House Bunny), Breckin Meyer, and Rachel Boston (whom I always remember from American Dreams, although we also enjoyed her on The Ex List). They’re only part of the incredible cast in the secondary roles, but they aren’t given enough to do. (The bridesmaids, for example, are basically all the same character.) The movie is also directed by Mark Waters, whose work we enjoyed in Mean Girls. He also did another ghostly romantic comedy, Just Like Heaven.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Buy this DVD

In this one, McConaughey is a high-powered photographer (in the Austin Powers mode, but without the self-aware humor). He takes pictures of barely dressed models, only his crew of assistants do all the work and he just wanders in and snaps the shutter. He also breaks up with multiple girlfriends on conference call in front of the newest lay. Sadly, McConaughey doesn’t have the charm to pull this off convincingly. Instead of “sexy bad boy”, he’s smarmy and greasy, pretty much the same role from all of his movies. As he ages, he’s also looking a bit more “rode hard and put away wet”, as they say in the South.

The plot requires him to return for his brother’s wedding, where he runs into Jennifer Garner, maid of honor, former girlfriend, and unacknowledged love of his life. After insulting everyone during the rehearsal toast by calling love a myth, he is visited by memories of women past, present, and future in a very loose retelling of A Christmas Carol. Instead of money, McConaughey’s character is miserly about love, so they want to convince him how wrong he is before he dies alone, although that might be difficult since Lacey Chabert is playing a stereotypical overwrought bridezilla. It’s difficult to believe in the message of love when you find yourself wondering what anyone would see in her in every scene where she appears.

The introductory ghost (think Marley) is played by Michael Douglas as McConaughey’s notorious cocksman uncle, a globe-trotting compatriot of the Rat Pack. I appreciated seeing Douglas as an old school cruiser giving seduction advice, but I found it a little superficial that the younger man’s very first crush not working out was enough to make him a lifelong player. After the comedy of Douglas’ appearance, though, the moviemakers wind up trying for heart-warming, which McConaughey is particularly bad at.

Emma Stone is flat-out amazing as McConaughey’s first “love” after he became a player and thus the Ghost of Girlfriends Past. She’s teened-up with freckles, a really bad perm, and braces, and she doesn’t take any of his crap, even when called upon to narrate what we already know. She was my favorite part of the movie, especially since her and McConaughey driving his bed around to the memories is pretty funny.

At the end, we couldn’t decide which was creepier: the message that the perfect girl was the very first one he was ever interested in, the one he knew since the age of 10, or the idea that the plot is really about how knowing Michael Douglas turns a normal kid into Matthew McConaughey. The ending is flatly unbelievable, from the icy car chase to the heartfelt speeches. (Which is given, not to his supposed love interest, but his brother’s, in an odd switch.) It’s a shame, because I liked the movie, except for the actors playing the lead roles. Although there are some funny moments, it would have been funnier if they’d been more willing to accept the ridiculousness and make it a full-on farce … and ditch some of the mush. The tone was very patchy, which is a script problem. It felt like someone who didn’t really know what women like to watch tried to make it more of a “chick flick”.

The DVD is a bare-bones disc. The viewer can choose Full Screen or Widescreen, but there are no other extras — all the puffy featurettes and extra scenes are only on the Blu-Ray. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past will be available on DVD, On Demand, and via digital download on Tuesday, September 22. (A complimentary copy for this review was provided by the studio.)

Estimates suggest an opening weekend gross of around $5 million, less than the horror film Sorority Row, which was made for about a third of Whiteout’s $35 million production cost. That’s considered a disappointment, and word of mouth hasn’t been good.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret seeing it — I had a fun time. But since I’d already read the excellent graphic novel, there was no suspense, no tension in the film for me, which is death for a thriller. I already knew which major surprises were coming, so I just had to wait around for them while the characters spouted incredibly leaden, flat, expositional dialogue. And various announcements over the PA told us things we already knew, in case the viewer wasn’t paying attention or was dense.

The plot is this: a body is found in Antarctica, three days before the last flight out. They have to evacuate, leaving only minimal crew, before the winter storms come. Carrie Stetko, a federal marshal assigned to the U.S. station, is leaving on that plane but first has to solve the mystery of why the man was killed, how, and who else is involved in the conspiracy. (Note that the Maguffin is changed from mineral deposits in the book to a 1957 Soviet plane carrying secret cargo so they can have a very action-oriented prologue showing the gun battle that crashed the plane so long ago. I thought everyone, even 50-year-old Russian grunts, knew you didn’t fire guns in an airplane, although it does make for one of the better sequences in the movie.)

I had a major problem with the casting of Kate Beckinsale as Stetko. She’s too wispy, too fragile to seem like a marshal, especially in the Florida flashback scenes, where she’s wearing only a tank top under her bulletproof vest. Also, even when the dialogue kept trying to emphasize how she’d been awake for so long without any sleep, she never looked tired. The first major scene of the movie’s current day shows her in the shower, just so we won’t forget she’s female, since she spends most of the rest of the time in a parka.

I missed the presence of Lily, the British agent, but her role became a male UN investigator (really? they have those?) played by Gabriel Macht, who sounded dubbed to me the whole time. He wasn’t, but there was something about his voice and his look not matching up. I did find it refreshing that they worked together without any hints of pairing them up in a different way. I also liked the pilot, played by Columbus Short, because he just wanted to do the sensible thing. Shame it didn’t work out so well for him. Tom Skerritt did an excellent job as Doc, but I already knew he had “crusty curmudgeon” down.

The big appeal of the graphic novel was showing the reader what it really felt like to be someplace they’d likely never see: Antarctica. How life there worked, especially during a time of life-and-death murder investigation. The movie tried to claim the same appeal, but knowing it was filmed in Canada, it felt fake, even though the scenery could be gorgeously forbidding.

The climactic fight in the snowstorm took much too long and emphasized the unbelievability and inconsistency of some of the environmental “rules”. At one point, going outside bare-handed and touching metal will take your skin and end up giving you gangrene. At another, it’s no big deal to grab a railing with no gloves and walk down some steps. But what summed it all up for me was this: no matter how scary the cold was supposed to be and how much bundling up — goggles, hood, gloves, parkas — they did, no one ever covered their lips. I kept staring at the exposed mouths and chins and wondering why no one had chapped or cracked lips when we’d been told the wind could freeze them instantly. I suspect it was to keep the stars recognizable and distinguishable, but for me, it was the last straw in realizing that the whole thing came out pretty dumb.

Episode 1, Sheldon and Leonard, hallway conversation while returning home:
Sheldon: I.e., I couldn’t become Green Lantern unless I was chosen by the Guardians of Oa, but given enough startup capital and an adequate research facility, I could be Batman.
Leonard: *You* could be Batman?
Sheldon: Sure. (scratchy voice) I’m Batman. (normally) See?
(This line returns later in the episode in a very funny context I won’t spoil.)

Sheldon, at Howard’s home while he’s trying to get to sleep, starts talking about how he ranks the women who’ve played Catwoman (although that’s really a movie list, not pure comics). “That makes Halle Berry my 5th favorite Catwoman. … She did make a fine mutant in the X-Men movies, though.” Which leads to a list of favorite mutants. “No, wait, Nightcrawler.”

Howard and Sheldon

Episode 2, discussing Leonard’s lack of love life:
Leonard: What about that girl last year at Comic-Con?
Koothrappali: Doesn’t count.
Leonard: Why not?
Koothrappali: What happens in costume at Comic-Con stays at Comic-Con.

Sheldon also wears a Green Lantern t-shirt.

Sheldon expresses his dislike of Leslie Winkle to Penny:
“Leonard is upstairs right now with my arch-enemy. … The Doctor Doom to my Mr. Fantastic. The Doctor Octopus to my Spider-Man. The Dr. Sivana to my Captain Marvel. … It’s amazing how many super-villains have advanced degrees. Graduate schools should probably do a better job of screening those people out.”
(This sequence sent me into coughing hysterics.)

Sheldon, consoling Leonard: Look on the bright side.
Leonard: What’s the bright side?
Sheldon: It’s only nine more months until Comic-Con.
(I totally agree with those who think the show really needs to do an episode set there.)

Leonard and Sheldon

Episode 3, Sheldon wears a faded Flash logo t-shirt.

When Sheldon is answering Penny’s gaming questions, his friends are confused:
Koothrappali: It’s like some kind of weird comic book crossover.
Howard: Like if Hulk were dating Peppermint Patty.
Koothrappali: I always thought Peppermint Patty was a lesbian?
Leonard: No, that’s Marcie. Patty’s just athletic.

Episode 4, Sheldon is bitter about Koothrappali getting a write-up in People magazine. His friends are telling him to smile, to show he’s happy for him. Sheldon puts on a scary rictus grin.
Howard: Oh, crap, that’s terrifying.
Leonard: We’re here to see Koothrappali, not kill Batman.
Howard: Try less teeth.

Left home while Koothrappali parties, the guys talk about what they want in a friend to replace him:
Leonard: Let’s see… Money, women, technology … ok, we’re agreed, our new friend is going to be … Iron Man.
(Although not truly comics, I must also mention Sheldon’s Greatest American Hero t-shirt in this scene, which I covet.)

Episode 5, as Sheldon’s bumming rides from his friends, he says they can’t go straight home on Wednesdays because it’s New Comic Book Day. Later, Howard borrows a driving simulator he’s created for the Army to help Sheldon learn to drive. When he tries to configure it to be something other than a Humvee, the options are Bradley tank, transport truck, and Batmobile, but they end on “red 2006 Ford Taurus on the streets of Pasadena.” (Penny gets to play airbag with a pillow, another unexpectedly hilarious moment.)

Sheldon and his new grad student

Taking Sheldon to the comic book store is again used as a way to get him to do something in episode 6; in this case, lecture to prospective students, which he concludes abruptly because the new Batman comic is out. Reference is also made to a “humorous footnote” in one of his papers where likens an effect to the Flash playing tennis with himself. In another scene, his new grad student catches him reading Batman #680 behind a textbook.

This isn’t comics, but I have to mention that episode 7 starts with the geeks playing Klingon Boggle. Sheldon also wears a blue Superman logo t-shirt. Later, Penny is warned not to get into it with Sheldon, because he’s “one lab accident away from being a super-villain”, but when things continue, Leonard tells her what “Sheldon’s kryptonite” is. Use of such leads to her being warned that “with great power comes great responsibility”.

(Irrelevant note: I disagree with Marvel and DC when it comes to spelling “superhero”. I don’t put a hyphen in it — unless it’s the Legion’s name. But super-villain for me is always hyphenated. Maybe because KC once told me the story about how the comic Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up was referred to around their office as “Marvel Triple Hyphen”.)

After nothing in episode 8, episode 9 has Sheldon breaking into Leonard’s Facebook account, but justifying it by saying, “It’s hardly hacking when you use the same password for everything, Kal-El.” In episode 10, he wears a Captain Marvel logo t-shirt.

Episode 11 has one of the most substantial dialogue sequences with an opening in which the guys argue about Superman’s laundry.
Sheldon: Your argument is lacking in all scientific merit. It is well-established Superman cleans his uniform by flying into Earth’s yellow sun, which incinerates any contaminant matter and leaves the invulnerable Kryptonian fabric unharmed and daisy-fresh.
Howard: What if he gets something Kryptonian on it?
Sheldon: Like what?
Howard: I don’t know, Kryptonian mustard!
Sheldon: I think we can safely assume that all Kryptonian condiments were destroyed when the planet Krypton exploded.
Koothrappali: Or it turned into mustard Kryptonite, the only way to destroy a rogue Kryptonian hot dog threatening Earth.
Leonard: Raj, please, let’s stay serious here. Superman’s body is Kryptonian, therefore his sweat is Kryptonian.
Howard: Yeah, what about Kryptonian pit stains?
Sheldon: Superman doesn’t sweat on Earth.
Howard: Ok, he’s invited for dinner in the bottle city of Kandor. He miniturizes himself and enters the city where he loses his superpowers. Now, before dinner, his host says, “Who’s up for a little Kryptonian tetherball?” Superman says, “Sure,” works up a sweat, and comes back to Earth, his uniform now stained with indestructible Kryptonian persperation.
Koothrappali: Boo-yah.
Sheldon: Superman would have taken his uniform to a Kandorian dry cleaner before he left the bottle.
Koothrappali: Kandorian dry cleaner? I give up. You can’t have a rational argument with this man.

In episode 12, we see Sheldon’s GL t-shirt (from episode 2) again, and when Howard gets upset, he holes up in his bedroom with a stack of old DC comics (including a 1980s Wonder Woman and a comic from the Death of Superman era). Meanwhile, Leonard talks to Penny about “that overexposed to gamma rays thing” she’s got.
Penny: What does that mean?
Leonard: You know, like most of the time you’re the easy-going Bruce Banner, but then when you get angry, you kinda turn into, you know, like RRRRRRR. (Makes gritted-teeth face.)
Penny: I turn into a bear?
Leonard: Seriously? Gamma rays, Bruce Banner? You didn’t get the Incredible Hulk from that? … Never mind.

How to Make Friends Flowchart

Episode 13 features Sheldon, standing in front of a flow chart with a final box marked “Begin Friendship”.
Leonard: Sheldon, there is no algorithm for making friends.
Howard: Hear him out. If he’s really on to something, we could open a booth at Comic-Con and make a fortune.
(Surprisingly, if you follow the flow, it’s not a bad process.)

He also wears a different Flash t-shirt from the one in episode 3.

Episode 14, Sheldon explains why he has some spare money to loan:
Sheldon: I see no large upcoming expenditures, unless they develop an affordable technology to fuse my skeleton with adamantium like Wolverine.
Penny, incredulously: Are they working on that?
Sheldon: I sincerely hope so.

After Sheldon has previously explained he has different hiding places for his money, and one of them involves a superhero action figure…
Leonard: But if you’re ever short, there are always a couple of 50s in Green Lantern’s ass.

In episode 16, Sheldon reports that the new issue of Flash is out when he returns from the comic book store. Then he talks to it. “Hello, fastest man alive. Wanna see me read your entire comic book? Wanna see it again?” This episode originally aired on March 2, 2009, and the issue he’s holding is the The Flash #247, the last Wally West issue, which came out December 2008 (on Christmas Eve). There wasn’t another one between then and the episode, which suggests a high level of attention paid to these kinds of details.

The Flash costume from season one makes a reappearance in episode 18 after Sheldon has too much coffee late at night.

Yet another Flash shirt, a long-sleeved jersey type, is worn by Sheldon in episode 19. The guys also have another debate:
Koothrappali: I like Green Lantern, I’m just saying it’s pretty lame that he can be defeated by the color yellow.
Sheldon: Only the modern Green Lantern is vulnerable to yellow.
Leonard: Golden Age Green Lantern was vulnerable to wood.
Koothrappali: Great, so I can take them both out with a number two pencil?
(Perhaps my favorite comic book dialogue exchange in the entire series so far.)

Penny visits the comic book store

I’m not even going to attempt to tackle episode 20, which has all kinds of references as the group visits the comic book store. It may just have the most (accurate!) comic references of any sitcom episode ever.

In episode 21,
Sheldon: I’m just in a good mood. While my compatriots are in Las Vegas, I will be enjoying a blissful evening in my personal Fortress of Solitude.
Penny: That’s Superman’s big ice-thingy, right?
Sheldon: You know, I’m in such a good mood I’m actually finding your tenuous grasp of the English language folksy and charming today.

Episode 22 takes them back to the comic store, where Sheldon says, “Smell that? That’s the smell of new comic books. Oh, YES.” He then gets into an argument with Stuart over whether calling the new issue of Hellboy “mind-blowing” is a spoiler or not. And the Green Lantern shirt returns again in episode 23. He also wears other, non-comic t-shirts multiple times in this season, making for a realistic, limited wardrobe typical of someone who doesn’t care much about clothes.

KC hadn’t seen the movie before, so I was curious about his reaction. He also hasn’t read Origin, so he when asked me whether the beginning came from the comic. I said yes, in general, but I didn’t remember the details.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Buy this DVD

It was fun watching with KC, because while I didn’t know the characters that were part of Stryker’s special ops group before I saw the movie, he’d read the stories before. He pointed out something that I didn’t notice the first time through — since I was watching to see how often and in what context Hugh Jackman got naked — that several of the supporting characters are more interesting than the title one. A half-hour into the movie, the others are the ones that do things (except for in the title sequence), not Wolverine.

We both think the character works best in conjunction and contrast with the X-Men team, which is why the early stuff with the group works best. As a character on his own, it’s tough to figure out what to do with Wolverine (Patch? in a white dinner jacket? Really?). KC didn’t read much of his solo series (back in the day, not the current stuff) for just that reason. We also amused ourselves pointing out Claremont-isms in the movie dialogue and trying to figure out which comic characters inspired the many minor mutants at the end.

I spaced out quite a bit, because I just wasn’t that interested in the action sequences the second time through, and this movie has a LOT of them. The first time, they’re interesting, because you don’t know what’s coming next, but I found myself noticing some of the places where the effects were obviously computer or didn’t quite match. It was nice hearing KC laugh, though, even if it was at how over-the-top some of the events are.

His final reaction: “Well, it wasn’t the worst superhero movie I’ve seen. I’m glad I saw it, but like the other X-Men movies, I think only bits and pieces are going to stay with me.”

I still hope for more Ryan Reynolds in a Deadpool followup. I’d like that to be an Origins, too, covering his life before, not what Stryker turned him into.

I was sent the single-disc edition, which only includes “Wolverine Unleashed: The Complete Origins”; trailers for Dollhouse and I Love You, Beth Cooper; and an anti-smoking PSA. (The trailers don’t include the mandatory four that ran at the beginning of the disc and couldn’t be fast-forwarded; those were more in keeping with the action approach of the movie.) The 12-minute Origins featurette has the producer, director, Hugh Jackman, and other actors talking about what they wanted to do with the movie. There’s also some discussion of the claws and other effects (like the adamantium tank), how they were designed and such. It’s a typical making-of marketing piece, but it’s fun to see the alternate views of the sets and rehearsals. The special editions have commentaries and a comparison to the comics.

The sitcom about the science geek and their pretty neighbor returns, even funnier than before. The season begins with Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Penny (Kaley Cuoco) returning from their first date, a situation set up at the end of Season One. Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Howard (Simon Helberg), and Rajesh Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) have hacked the hallway security camera to spy on them, which gives them plenty of ammunition to tell him what he’s done wrong.

Turns out Penny is insecure about not having graduated from college, while Leonard has a Ph.D. She shares this secret with Sheldon, which makes him crazy for having to hide a confidence from his best friend. Sheldon’s reactions are frequently what elevate the series’ typical sitcom plots into something fresh and hilarious. Plus, this whole conversation takes place in the laundry room, where Sheldon is using a board (like they use at the Gap and other retail stores) to fold his t-shirts into perfect little squares, illustrating the way his life is right-angle different to just about everyone else’s. But it’s part of his charm, how he’s skewed in a way that makes internal, logical sense once you accept his starting premises.

The Big Bang Theory Season 2
Buy this DVD

For instance, in this episode, Penny tells him he has to find a way to keep her secret, so he decides the best way to do that is to move out, so he won’t be around Leonard, but he won’t say why he’s leaving. That leads to the friends arguing about what Leonard might have done — listing some of Sheldon’s many quirks — before they start handing him off because no one can stand him for that long. It all spirals out logically from the point before until we wind up with drugged Sheldon spilling his guts. It’s no wonder Jim Parsons was Emmy-nominated for this role; it’s an amazing performance.

One of the best parts of this season is the way the friendship between Penny and Sheldon develops. There’s nothing romantic, but they play off each other beautifully and comedically and uniquely. She pierces his pretensions, comparing them to “real life”, while her support allows him to reveal his weirdness to the audience in highly amusing ways. And when she calls him “sweetie” while listening to something that’s actually hurt him, she sounds like the mom he needed but never had.

The dialogue is also great. So many funny lines that I can’t start quoting them, or we’ll be here for eons. It just builds and builds. Although Sheldon is not really in touch with what many of us think of as the real world, he is capable of rapier wit when deflating the pretensions of others. Plus, funny costumes, too, as when they go to the Renaissance Faire (which inspires rants on historical accuracy from Sheldon) or Sheldon drags out his Flash costume after having too much coffee.

Their daily clothes are pretty amusing, too, as Howard tries to look cool for chicks (but winds up resembling a 70s Sears catalog) and Sheldon has an array of geeky t-shirts.

In order to get over the failed date with Penny, in episode 2, Leonard takes up with Leslie Winkle (Sara Gilbert), another scientist with a remarkably practical view towards dating and a sharp rivalry with Sheldon. When she suggests she and Leonard get together, he asks how she proposes they proceed. She responds, “Your place, we’ll order Chinese, you’ll rent a movie, artsy but accessible, then light petting, no coitus.” “Sounds fun,” he weakly replies. She finishes, “I’ll leave the details up to you. I think it’s better if you assume the male role.” (Gilbert was supposed to be a regular this season, but she only appears here and episodes 6 and 16.)

Leonard has a dreamy charm that balances Sheldon’s abrupt practicality. You can tell he still has imaginative hopes and likes some of his illusions about the way the world should be. Which may be why he goes out on occasional dates while Sheldon never has.

Leslie (Sara Gilbert) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki)

It’s a small thing, but I love the way these characters always end up eating together. Lunch during workdays, evening takeout dinners, dates that involve meals … it’s realistic, that people come together over food.

This DVD set contains the 23 episodes of season two. Other episodes on disc one include Penny getting addicted to online gaming as a way of escaping her feelings of failure (#3), which has a hilarious scene where Sheldon doesn’t realize he’s giving a cute male student the wrong impression about why he’s asking for his phone number. Koothrappali gets recognized by People magazine in episode 4, and the fame goes to his head (featuring a Charlie Sheen cameo). In episode 5, Sheldon is forced by the others to finally learn how to drive, while in the next episode, he acquires an obsessive girlfriend/acolyte/stalker. This leads to a discussion of what Sheldon’s “deal” might be (i.e. what turns him on?). It’s inconclusive.

Sara Rue guest stars

Disc two covers the next six episodes. In number 7, Penny gets the guys addicted to watching America’s Next Top Model and Sheldon decides to banish her, leading to an escalating war of petty aggravations. Episode 8 debuts the game of Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock (there’s even a shirt!), as well as introducing the wonderful Sara Rue as (medical) Dr. Stephanie Barnett for a series of episodes where Leonard “steals” her from Howard. This plotline continues through episodes 9 and 10, as Sheldon and Penny try to adjust to Leonard and Stephanie’s more serious relationship.

Episode 11 is the Christmas episode, in which Sheldon goes crazy trying to figure out what to get Penny while she dates a genius, gorgeous, rock star-style visiting physicist. She gets him the most perfect gift ever, then in episode 12, the guys build a killer robot for a battle tournament.

Episodes 13-18 are on disc three. In the first, Sheldon has to make friends with a competitor in order to get computer time, which leads to him approaching it in his typically direct fashion. Next, Sheldon loans Penny money to help her with some bills while Leonard tries to recover money her ex-boyfriend owes her. A high point is episode 15, where Leonard’s psychologist mother (played by the amazing Christine Baranski) bonds with Sheldon.

Christine Baranski and Jim Parsons

Leslie Winkle returns in episode 16, where she hooks up with Howard, while Summer Glau appears as herself in episode 17. Episode 18 has Penny starting a small business making flower barrettes called “Penny Blossoms” that explodes when Sheldon gets involved.

Episode 19, the first on the final disc, is a high point. It begins with Penny teasing Sheldon about how badly he’d coped with new neighbors, spirals through Howard finally trying to move away from his mother, and cascades into the arrival of a new blonde neighbor who isn’t shy about flirting to get what she wants. To fight back and quell her jealousy, Penny even tries to tell a joke about quantum mechanics. (Cuoco does an amazing job in this episode.)

Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and Stuart (Kevin Sussman)

Episode 20 takes Penny to the comic book store with the guys. She wants some comics for her nephew, and Sheldon is his usual self, overwhelming her with minutiae. Stuart (Kevin Sussman), comic shop clerk and artist, ends up asking her out after a terrific speech about Hellblazer. In episode 21, the guys take Howard to Vegas to get his mind off Leslie, leaving Sheldon behind, which makes for more great interaction with Penny.

Stuart returns, as does the comic shop, in episode 22, as Leonard struggles with whether to give him advice. The last episode features the guys preparing for a three-month scientific expedition to the North Pole.

Special features include information about the real-life particle physicist who consults on the show (about 10 minutes), a gag reel (8 minutes, including a demonstration of how difficult Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock can be to explain), and a behind-the-scenes discussion about the humor, characters, and situations of season two (16 minutes or so). Here’s a two-minute clip:

Season 3, which debuts September 21, features the guys returning from Antarctica and Penny and Leonard taking their relationship to a new level. Here’s my free suggestion for an upcoming episode: Mark Waid guest appearance!

See clips and episode summaries at the official DVD site. (A complimentary copy for this review was provided by the studio.)

Two-disc special edition List price: $35

Single-disc movie List price: $30

Blu-Ray List price: $40

The special edition discs include an origin featurette, two commentaries (one by Gavin Hood, director, the other by producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter), deleted and alternate scenes, an anti-smoking PSA, and “The Roots of Wolverine: A Conversation With X-Men Creators Stan Lee and Len Wein”.

It’s only been four months since the movie was in theaters — I’m not sure that’s enough time for the memories to fade into fondness instead of remembering the places where the film could have been improved. But I’m looking forward to seeing it again, once I can find a used two-disc copy for under $15.

Terry Fator: Live From Las Vegas
Buy this DVD

Turned out Terry Fator was a ventriloquist, and when they teamed him up with the Muppets for his famous person spot, I was hooked. His act combines music, impersonation (the puppets sing in the style of others, such as Roy Orbison (which is really weird coming out of a turtle), Etta James, or the Bee Gees), and of course, comedy.

It works because he’s a decent singer and a really good ventriloquist. I didn’t see him moving his lips (although if you look closely, you can see his throat move, for the breathing). He gives the puppets personalities and plays up to them.

His jokes are comfortable, friendly humor, in an old-school variety style, with a good dollop of nudge nudge wink wink sexual allusion, since this is Vegas, after all. (For example, several of the male puppets are obsessed with getting women to throw their underwear on stage.) The songs are short, which is good, since if they were too long, you’d realize you were doing nothing but watching a guy holding a puppet. The frequent camera angle changes jazz things up, too.

I admit, I giggled when Winston the Impersonating Turtle starts claiming he does impersonations. Fator asks “who’re you going to impersonate?”, which the turtle echoes back, impersonating Fator in his OWN voice. Well, that makes perfect sense. Fator also sings by himself, without the puppets. Plus, he seems like such a nice, normal guy for an entertainer. He cracks himself up while voicing the yodeling country singer Walter T. Airedale (pretend or not, I dunno), which leads the puppet to ask “How come I can’t talk when you’re laughing?” Later on, he messes up some voices and then runs with it.

The references are familiar, as with the puppet Elvis impersonator, or Julius singing “Let’s Get It On”, or a less-funny segment with a “cougar” puppet making sex jokes. (It made me miss Madame and Wayland Flowers.) Since the show was filmed in early 2009, there’s a Michael Jackson sequence where Fator dons wig, red leather jacket, and white glove. (There’s a card in the DVD package explaining the timing and Fator’s appreciation for Jackson.)

In one interesting sequence, Fator pulls a guy from the audience and puts a remote-controlled mask on him that allows Fator to use the guy as a living ventriloquist dummy. Unfortunately, that devolves into “guy in a dress” jokes. I was also disappointed not to see the Fifth Beatle in this show.

This disc contains one performance (runs about an hour and 10 minutes, including a short filmed introduction with the puppets enjoying Vegas before the show), plus two commentaries. The first, which has interesting information about how the show came together, is by Fator, writer Rick Kerns, and director Mark Goffman, while the second is by the puppets, which quickly became boring.

Fator currently performs in the new Terry Fator Theatre in the Las Vegas Mirage Hotel (in a five-year, $100 million deal). The first chapter of his autobiography, Who’s the Dummy Now?, is included in booklet form with this DVD.

(A complimentary copy for this review was provided by the studio.)