Capsule reviews of movies new to DVD/videos released Tuesday (subject to change by studios):
Focus Feature
Father of the Bride (1991; 15th anniversary edition)
Hey, it’s an “anniversary” edition of a movie about a wedding, get it? OK, not funny. But then, neither is the ham-fisted improv between stars Steve Martin and Martin Short as they interview each other in one of the film’s extras. And if this is an anniversary celebration, the other added features are like scant, lukewarm hors d’oeuvres. It all boils down to less than 20 minutes of content, and a making-of featurette is bloated with the cast and crew fawning over each other. Still, a few good tidbits can be found: I had no idea Kimberly Williams was just a sophomore at Northwestern University when she got cast as the bride, her first film-star role. That said, it’s sad when the preview for “Herbie: Fully Loaded,” with its behind-the-scenes footage, gives “Father’s” special features a run for the money. (PG) — Louis R. Carlozo
DVD rating (star)(star)
Tribune movie reviewer Dave Kehr’s 1991 rating for “Father of the Bride”: (star)(star)(star)
Also out
Be Cool (star)(star)1/2
Even if you enjoyed the meanly funny, 1995 Elmore Leonard-derived John Travolta crime comedy “Get Shorty,” this forced sequel based on the follow-up book is a comedown. A colorful, bright, misfiring semidud, which wastes Travolta (as Chili Palmer), Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, Harvey Keitel, The Rock and Leonard’s smart, tough lines. Directed by F. Gary Gray. (PG-13) — Michael Wilmington
Added features:
Deleted scenes; gag reel; behind-the-scenes documentary; music video; close-ups with cast members.
Beyond the Sea (star)(star)(star)
Kevin Spacey’s bio-movie on gutsy, fragile ’60s pop giant Bobby Darin (“Mack the Knife”) has a lot of imagination, energy and chutzpah. But Spacey, as Darin, sings his own songs, and that’s the rub. Good as his mimicry is, it’s still impersonation. He’s got the moves and the voice, but, unlike Jamie Foxx’s “Ray,” not the soul. (PG-13) — M.W.
Added features: Director commentary; making-of featurette, bonus musical performances by Kevin Spacey.
Coyote Ugly (2000) (star)(star)
At Coyote Ugly, a bar in New York City’s East Village, the waitresses are scantily clad, model-thin beauties (one of them is Tyra Banks) who strut and shimmy up and down the bar’s counter, douse themselves with water, spray drinks from the tap into the braying crowd and yank burly men up onto the bar to pour shots anywhere in the vicinity of their mouths. The place is like a less top-heavy Hooters crossed with a Def Leppard video; in fact, “Pour Some Sugar on Me” is one of the not-so-up-to-date tunes that blares out of the speakers as the “coyotes” do their thing. (PG-13) — Mark Caro
Added features: Unrated edition includes: Deleted scenes; behind-the-scenes featurettes; “How to Be a Coyote”; “Inside the Songs”; “Search for the Stars”; LeAnn Rimes music video; audio commentary with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director David McNally and the Coyotes; reel featuring the “Hottest Moments From the Movie,” music-video style.
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D.E.B.S. (star)(star)(star)
In this grrrl-power spy satire, a squad of secret agents is tasked with capturing criminal mastermind Lucy Diamond (Jordana Brewster). When a stakeout goes awry and D.E.B. Amy (Sara Foster) finds herself head to head with Diamond, a size 2 lesbian looking for love, sparks fly. Writer/director Angela Robinson never strays far from her satiric base and her ensemble cast meets the challenge. (PG-13) — Allison Benedikt
Added features: Deleted scenes; “Infiltrating D.E.B.S.” featurette; director’s and cast commentaries; D.E.B.S. comic; animatic “Web series”; production artwork; music video.
Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) (star)(star)(star)1/2
The premise — pushed to the max by director Dominic Sena and writer Scott Rosenberg — spins around a retired ace car thief (played by Nicolas Cage), who is blackmailed into trying to steal 50 cars in one night. His target: 50 top-of-the-line automobiles, including Ferraris, Aston Martins, Cadillac El Dorados and Jaguars, plus a Plymouth Roadrunner, a Lamborghini, a Porsche 911 Twin Turbo and the elusive Mercedes-Benz 300 SL/Gullwing. Though the job also involves two days of recruitment and planning, that last night and morning are, as they say, a hell of a ride — packed with all the careering Camaros, parking lot mayhem, explosions and Los Angeles storm drain chases (a la “Point Blank”) that you or producer Jerry Bruckheimer could possibly want. (PG-13) — M.W.
Added features: Four featurettes (“Zero to 60,” “Wild Rides,” “The Big Chase,” “Stars of the Film”); conversations with Jerry Bruckheimer; “Action Overload” highlight reel; The Cult music video.
Imaginary Heroes (star)(star)1/2
A smart film from debuting writer-director Dan Harris (“X-Men United”) in which Sigourney Weaver, Emile Hirsch and Jeff Daniels play a middle-class clan falling apart after a death in the family. A serio-comic look at suburban angst, it’s a fine movie in some ways, full of talent and intelligence, but the humor is often too coy, the drama too full of self-pity. (R) — M.W.
Added features: Audio commentary with director Dan Harris and Emile Hirsch; audio commentary with Sigourney Weaver; eight deleted scenes.
The Machinist (star)(star)(star)
“The Machinist” is a moody psychological thriller with a stunning performance by Christian Bale at its core. For the title role — that of a long-suffering insomniac — Bale dropped 65 pounds to become a skeleton, with dazed, wounded eyes and a ghostly elegance in movement. (R) — Achy Obejas
Added features: Eight deleted scenes; “The Machinist: Breaking the Rules”; commentary by director Brad Anderson.
Seed of Chucky (star)
Writer-director Don Mancini has made a career of cranking out the Chucky cheese. This latest, the fifth film in the slasher series, has Chucky, the stitched-up doll with the serial killer’s soul (Brad Dourif does the voice) in Hollywood, where he and Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) are mere animatronics. (R) — Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Added features: Unrated version includes deleted scene with Debbie Carrington; “Family Hell-iday” slide show; Jennifer Tilly on “The Tonight Show”; conceiving the film featurette; storyboard to final feature comparison.
Sling Blade (1996) (star)(star)(star)1/2
Billy Bob Thornton’s “Sling Blade” is a lesson in tension without trickery, suspense-building through character development and conflicts that escalate in deliberate, real-time rhythms. His direction is artless, aiming his camera at his subjects and letting situations unfold at a natural, leisurely pace. His writing is plainspoken, true to the ear, consciously evoking William Faulkner and the Southern mythology of how a troubled past haunts the present. And as an actor, Thornton is a revelation. Previously a murderous good old boy in “One False Move” (which he co-wrote), the Arkansas native transforms himself here into a jutted-jawed, gravel-voiced simpleton who’s both a walking embodiment of morality and a killer. (R) — M.C.
Added features: Two-disc set includes: director’s cut of the film; original laser disc commentary and an all-new audio commentary; interviews/discussions with Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, Mickey Jones, Daniel Lanois, Larry Meistrich, Harvey Weinstein and Lucas Black; still gallery; three featurettes (“Mr. Thornton Goes to Hollywood,” “Swingblade,” “The Return of Carl”).
Stripes (1981) (star)(star)(star)
Bill Murray’s wiseguy persona shines like an Army belt buckle in this Ivan Reitman film, which features one of the outstanding (if not goofier) ensembles to grace a 1980s comedy. The cast includes SCTV alums Harold Ramis and John Candy (“When I was younger, I swallowed a lot of aggression — along with a lot of pizzas!”) and Warren Oates as the crusty Sgt. Hulka, who butts heads with Murray the way Vince Lombardi might’ve faced down a class clown. Sure, it’s silly stuff watching Murray and company in uniform. But who can forget him leading his fellow troops in cadence to Manfred Mann’s “Doo Wah Diddy Diddy”? (R) — Louis R. Carlozo
Added features: Extended version includes 18 extra minutes, 6 deleted scenes.
Tears of the Sun (2003) (star)(star)1/2
Another gung-ho Bruce Willis action movie, this time featuring Willis as a plucky Navy SEAL lieutenant trying to shepherd an idealistic doctor and native villagers to safety through the war-torn Nigerian jungle. Willis gives his standard glower-and-grimace action hero performance, but he doesn’t smirk as much as usual, probably because “Tears” rarely tries to strike romantic sparks between the gruff lieutenant and the comely doctor. Instead, this mega-budget movie stays on battle track. It’s full of pyrotechnics and chases, and the actors in Willis’ SEAL unit all glower like their boss. (R) — M.W.
Added features: Extended cut of the Antoine Fuqua film.
FAST-FORWARD
A peek at future DVD/video releases (dates subject to change by studios):
June 14
“Casino,” “A Dirty Shame,” “Hitch,” “Jaws” (30th anniversary edition), “Man-Thing,” “Rory O’Shea Was Here.”
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Compiled by Louis R. Carlozo
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