Buy, rent or ignore?

This week: ‘Wall-E,’ ‘Tropic Thunder’ and a Blu-ray anniversary edition of ‘Heathers’

By Paul Semel

Special to Metromix
November 18, 2008

 
Buy, rent or ignore?
Photos:
"WALL•E" "Tropic Thunder" "Tropic Thunder" (2-Disc Director’s Cut) "Tropic Thunder" (Blu-ray)

You loved the movie, what about the DVD?

Find out as we examine the extras on this week's best movie DVDs...

“WALL•E”
Stars: A Waste Allocation Load Lifter unit (Earth-class), an Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator, and a Homo Sapien (Fred Willard-class)
Director: Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo”)
Formats: DVD, Two-Disc DVD, Three-Disc DVD, Two-Disc Blu-ray, Three-Disc Blu-ray
What we said: "Enough to restore your sense of wonder not only in movies, but in the universe as well."

Extras: DVD: “BURN-E,” a new short starring one of the other robots from the movie; “Presto,” the short that was shown in theaters with “WALL•E”; “Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds From the Ground Up” featurette; commentary by Stanton; deleted scenes; “WALL•E’s Tour of the Universe”
Two-disc DVD: DVD extras plus “Robots” featurette; six “Behind the Scenes” featurettes; “Buy N Large Shorts,” corporate films from the company that launched EVE into space; “The Pixar Story” documentary; early ‘WALL•E’ Development tests; additional deleted scenes.
Two-disc Blu-ray: All of DVD extras plus “Cine-Explore,” which combines filmmaker commentary with behind-the-scenes footage running in real time; “Geek Track,” a second commentary full of trivia and obscure references presented in a “Mystery Science Theater 3000” way; “The Axiom Arcade,” which features such playable “WALL•E”-themed retro video games as “EVE’s Bot Blaster”; “3D Set Fly-Throughs”; BD-Live functions which include chatting and a trivia challenge; a version of “BURN-E” with optional picture-in-picture storyboards.
Three-disc versions also include a digital copy.

Worth watching: “BURN•E,” the “Buy N Large Shorts,” the deleted scenes and “Presto,” all of which are very funny.
Worth skipping: “The Pixar Story,” is a nice stand alone documentary but doesn’t reveal anything new, especially about this movie.
Worth adding: A commentary by R2-D2, Robby and any other famous robots who can share their experiences of being wired in Hollywood.

Buy, rent or ignore: Buy the two-disc DVD or Blu-ray; Ignore the rest.


“TROPIC THUNDER”
Stars: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr.
Director: Ben Stiller (“Reality Bites”)
Formats: DVD, 2-Disc Director’s Cut DVD, Director’s Cut Blu-ray
What we said: "Might not add up to much but has more riotous moments than the last few Stiller and Black movies combined."

Extras: DVD: Filmmaker commentary by Stiller and key collaborators; cast commentary by Stiller, Black and Downey Jr.; “Before the Thunder,” “Blowing Shit Up,” “The Hot LZ,” “The Cast of ‘Tropic Thunder’,” and “Designing the Thunder” featurettes; “Rain of Madness” behind the scenes mockumentary; deleted and extended scenes; alternate endings.
Unrated DVD: All of the above plus video rehearsals. And the uncut version of the movie.
Blu-ray: All of the above plus BD-Live Features.

Worth watching: The deleted scenes, all of which were cut for good reason, we’re sure, though they’re funny enough that we can’t figure out why.
Worth skipping: The filmmaker commentary is interesting but you’ll keep wanting to switch back to the movie, and who needs the hassle?
Worth adding: A second commentary by Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Sheen and anyone else from “Apocalypse Now” who’d like to get their digs in.

Buy, rent or ignore: Buy the 2-Disc Directors Cut DVD or Blu-ray, Ignore the DVD.


“HEATHERS 20TH HIGH SCHOOL REUNION EDITION”

Stars: Christian Slater, Winona Ryder, Shannen Doherty
Director: Michael Lehmann (“40 Days and 40 Nights”)
Formats: Blu-ray, Limited Edition Two-Disc DVD/Blu-ray Collector’s Edition
What we say: Before “Mean Girls,” before “The Hills,” before frenemies, there was this hilarious dark comedy about the popular kids and the outsiders who, well, kill them.

Extras: Blu-ray: Commentary by Lehmann, producer Denise Di Novi and writer Daniel Waters; “Return to Westerburg High” and “Swatch Dogs and Diet Coke Heads” featurettes.
Collector’s edition: All of the above plus a copy of the Westerburg High Yearbook; one of three t-shirts (“Greetings and Salutations,” “Big Fun,” or “What’s Your Damage?”), size large; “Heathers” magnets; original ending screenplay excerpt; locker shaped packaging.

Worth watching: The “Return to Westerburg High” featurette, with has new interviews with Lehmann, Di Novi and Waters.
Worth skipping: The T-shirts are cute but why only one size?
Worth adding: A featurette that gets to the bottom of whether or not Slater was doing a Jack Nicholson impression on purpose.

Buy, rent or ignore: Buy.


Other DVDs out this week:

— Find out what it takes to live in Antarctica in “Encounters at the End of the World” (also on Blu-ray)
— Add some fear and loathing to your life with “Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson”
— An Elvis impersonator meets a Marilyn Monroe impersonator and things get weirder from there in “Mister Lonely”
— Audrey Tautou shows off her sexier side in “Priceless” (also on Blu-ray)
— “Ugly Betty,” “Joan of Arcadia,” a “Gossip Girl” and one of the “Gilmore Girls” all return for “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2” (also on Blu-ray)
— Two hundred-plus warriors take on an army, now with special packaging and a bonus graphic novel, in “300: Limited Collector’s Edition”
— A space oddity played by David Bowie vacations on our planet in the Criterion Collection edition of “The Man Who Fell to Earth”

Also released:
“Fanfan La Tulipe” (Criterion Collection)
"The Last Emperor" (Criterion Collection)
“Monty Python Holy Trinity”
"The Third Man" (Criterion Collection)

Also on Blu-ray:
"Blue Streak"
"Lucky Number Slevin"
"Mad Money"
"Mirrormask"
"National Security"
"Paris je t’aime"
"Revolver"
"Southland Tales"
"The Stendhal Syndrome"

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