DVD Picks & Pans: Big Screen, Little Screen, Part II

Military.com - Tom Miller

This week's new releases feature another Big Screen blockbuster based on a comic-book hero and another Big Screen bust from Hollywood lefty John Cusack.  The Little Screen selections include a sci-fi classic and a cop drama with Don Johnson transplanted from the sun-and-surf of Miami to chilly and foggy San Francisco. 

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The Incredible Hulk
DVD-2008 ($29.98, Universal Studios Home Entertainment) Also available in a 3-disc Special Edition ($34.98) and a 2-disc Blu-ray Edition ($39.98). 

2008 is turning out to be the year of the comic book superhero.  Unlike summer hit "Iron Man," who was appearing on the big screen for the first time, the Hulk has been this way before—in director Ang Lee's dark and disappointing 2003 feature.

Not to worry, this time out Marvel tabbed director Louis Leterrier (the "Transporter" films) to rehabilitate the big guy—perhaps in anticipation of another lucrative franchise. 

There are still some dark moments and star Edward Norton will never be confused with the cheeky Robert Downey, Jr. (star of "Iron Man"), but the emphasis here is on the abundant—and abundantly entertaining—action. 

Norton plays scientist Bruce Banner, who becomes the ultimate schizophrenic following a failed medical experiment.  As long as he stays calm, everything's fine.  But, rile him up too much, and he becomes a raging behemoth, a.k.a."The Incredible Hulk." 

Banner is on the run because the Army—represented by General Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt)—wants to use his blood to produce future Hulks for its arsenal.  Banner, however, only wants to be rid of the cells that turn him into a monster and enlists his scientist girlfriend (and General Ross' daughter) Betty (Liv Tyler) to help. 

Meanwhile, one of Ross' officers, Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), volunteers for a dose of whatever Banner has.  The result is a climactic confrontation on the streets of New York.  

This is first and foremost an action film and there's enough to satisfy the most jaded fanboy.  The plot is barebones, but sufficient to carry the action, and the acting is mostly credible.  The Banner role requires a certain gravity, and Norton ably supplies it.  Tyler is fine as a concerned girlfriend but less so as a scientist.  General Ross is a caricature, of course, and Hurt plays him as such. 

Military.com Rating: ***

(DVD extras include deleted scenes for the single-disc edition and over two hours of bonus material for the Special Edition and Blu-ray:  a digital copy of the movie, deleted scenes, feature commentary, several featurettes, and more.)

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War, Inc.
DVD-2008 ($28.98, First Look Studios) Also available in Blu-ray.

 Actor, producer, and writer John Cusack's anti-war fantasy "War, Inc." is being marketed as a satire.  Satire, it might be, but don't expect Mark Twain.  No, this is contemporary Hollywood at its worst: heavy-handed, smug, and superficial. 

"War, Inc." takes places in a near future where the U.S. has outsourced war to private corporations.  One of those corporations, Tamerlane (a stand-in for Halliburton), has occupied Turaqistan (a fictional Iraq) and is concerned that a local politician, Omar Sharif (Lubomir Neikov), plans to bypass Tamerlane and build his own pipeline to transport the country's oil. 

Tamerlane dispatches in-house assassin Brand Hauser (Cusack) to Turaqistan to kill Sharif.  Hauser, however, falls for a liberal journalist, Natalie Hegalhuzen (Marisa Tomei), and begins to have second thoughts about his vocation. 

Complicating matters is Hauser's cover story: He's running a Brand USA Trade Show, the highlight of which is the impending marriage of Yonica Babyyeah (Hilary Duff shedding her good-girl image), a Central Asian version of Britney Spears.  Yonica tries to seduce Hauser and threatens to call off the wedding when she discovers that her fiancé plans to produce a sex tape of their wedding night. 

There's not much to recommend this derivative mess.  The filmmakers (producer/writer Cusack and director Joshua Seftel) are so desperate to parody and caricature everything in sight that the plot becomes a moving target.  The acting is mostly over-the-top with Joan Cusack (the star's sister who plays Hauser's frenzied secretary) the worst offender.

Satire doesn't have to be funny, and this isn't—though it tries to be.  It's also neither coherent nor convincing.  Part of the problem is that the producer/writer/star mistakes anger for insight.  Cusack is angry about Iraq and angrier about the role played by private contractors in contemporary conflicts.  In typical left-liberal hyperbole, Cusack describes the Iraq War as "a protectionist racket for the government's favorite corporations to make money."  That's not hyperbole; that's nonsense.  And, so is "War, Inc."  It's no wonder that few bothered to see it in theaters.  Made on a $10 million budget, the film grossed all of $130,258.  Ouch! 

Military.com Rating: *

(Bare bones DVD.)

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Nash Bridges—The First Season
DVD-2008 ($42.99, CBS DVD/Paramount Home Entertainment) 

Nash Bridges (Don Johnson) is Sonny Crockett in middle-age.  He's swapped the Ferrari for a Barracuda (okay, so some things haven't changed much), and his wardrobe contains fewer pastels and more socks.  He's been divorced twice (go figure) and is trying to raise a rebellious teenage daughter, Cassidy (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe).  There's also his live-in dad Nick (James Gammon) who bears watching but won't tolerate nursing homes. And, he's moved across country from subtropical Miami to Mediterranean San Francisco. 

He's still a cop and an iconoclast.  Actually, an iconoclastic cop.  And, for entertainment sakes, that's a good thing. 

Bridges is a captain now and runs the San Francisco PD's Special Investigations Unit.     He's ably assisted by his best friend Joe Dominguez (Cheech Marin of comedy team Cheech and Chong fame); reconstructed hippie Harvey Leek (Jeff Perry); young and reckless Evan Cortez (Jaimie Gomez); and sexy Caitlin Cross (former "Baywatch Babe" Yasmine Bleeth), who has a way of challenging and frustrating Bridges. 

While Bridges is not as dashing as the younger Crockett, he's similarly witty and charming, and more than a match for the bad guys.  He's also a more interesting character because of his baggage. 

The scripts are literate, the relationships interesting, the action fast-paced, and the acting more than adequate. 

Military.com Rating: ***

(DVD extras include audio commentaries and interviews with stars Johnson and Marin.)

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The 4400—The Complete Series
DVD-2008 ($99.98, CBS DVD/Paramount Home Entertainment)

An uneven, but provocative, science fiction series, "The 4400" ran on USA Network from 2004 to 2007. 

The title refers to 4400 people who disappeared at different times beginning in 1946 and are returned en masse to a spot near Mount Rainier, Wash.  None have aged during their time away and none can recall anything that happened between their disappearance and return.

The National Threat Assessment Command (NTAC) of the Department of Homeland Security assumes responsibility for dealing with the 4400, and assigns agents Tom Baldwin (Joel Gretsch) and Diana Skouris (Jacqueline McKenzie) to investigate.  Their investigation becomes even more urgent when some of the returnees begin to exhibit paranormal powers (e.g., telekinesis, telepathy). 

The big questions here are:  1) Who took the 4400?  2) Why were they returned?  and 3) What can the government do about them?  As the series tackles these questions over the course of four seasons, some answers emerge, but other questions linger: questions that remained unanswered when the program was abruptly cancelled in 2007.  

The program enjoyed a loyal following that lobbied unsuccessfully for its return.  It also was nominated for three Emmy awards and two Saturn awards. 

The present collection includes all four seasons—45 episodes on 15 discs. 

Military.com Rating: ***

(DVD extras include deleted scenes, a video introduction by series creator Scott Peters, audio commentary, a featurette on "The 4400: The Ghost Season," and more.)

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Military.com Picks & Pans Rating Scale

* Pan—Save your time
** Borderline Pick—Okay but only as a last resort
*** Pick—Worthwhile & enjoyable
****Enthusiastic Pick—Excellent 
*****Not to Be Missed—A Classic

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Copyright 2009 by Tom Miller