This week in DVD news, that long-awaited Kill Bill double-volume set may finally be on its way and Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier promises enough leftover Hulk footage to make another feature film come Blu-Ray time. Plus, we’ve got an exclusive clip from next week’s Charlie Bartlett! Read on for more.
Hulk Blu-Ray to Include 70 Additional Minutes of Footage!
If you’re voraciously eating up every morsel of Hulk trivia on the web these days, then you’ve already heard what director Louis Leterrier is saying about the eventual Blu-Ray release of last weekend’s box office smasher The Incredible Hulk. But we’ll just summarize it for you here: he promises 70 (s-e-v-e-n-t-y) minutes of footage, including scenes like Bruce Banner’s conversation with Betty’s shrink boyfriend and his trek through the Arctic (both of which appeared in trailers but not the final cut). He insists there is a Captain America “Easter egg” in the film. And he reminds us that the 70 cut minutes were cut for a reason — they were bad! Not that it matters to fans. Hulk want extra footage!
Disney Bringing In-Movie Chat and Games to DVD
I believe that children are our future; they’ve got cell phones, PS3s, and Facebook accounts, after all, and now Disney is targeting the tween set for the next generation in multimedia communication: talking with friends through your DVD player. Such wonders will utilize the interactive BD-Live features on HD-DVD players — twitter with Timmy while watching Prince Caspian in your respective living rooms! Challenge Stacy to a Zac Efron trivia contest during High School Musical 2! As of now, only Disney titles are set to include the technology.
Finally, Kill Bill Vol. 1. AND 2 Is Coming
There have been false Kill Bill alarms before. Could the long-awaited special DVD re-release of Quentin Tarantino‘s Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2 finally be on the horizon? So sayeth the folks over at DVDtown, who shared a single release date — September 9 — as the official Blu-Ray release of the dual titles. But should we believe it? The timing would seem to make sense, after Uma Thurman let slip in April that QT had already completed one of two promised anime back stories, so break out your yellow Game of Death jumpsuits and katanas and get excited!
Sneak a peek at Charlie Bartlett on DVD!
The good folks at MGM have sent us an exclusive clip from Charlie Bartlett, a comedy about a rich kid at a new school who appoints himself unofficial psychiatrist of the troubled student body. Click here to watch! Charlie Bartlett is out on DVD next Tuesday, June 24.
Click for this week’s new releases!
Tomatometer: 10%
Well, it’s no How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days; at least that contrived romantic comedy topped 40% on the Tomatometer. That said, Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey seem equally at home in this awful breezer — she in clichéd rom-com territory, he without his shirt on.
Bonus Features:
One by-the-numbers behind-the-scenes featurette and a gag reel means there’s hardly any reward for making it through the movie itself.
Tomatometer: 67%
Michel Gondry is a wunderkind; sometimes, that wonderment is more accessible (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) than others (The Science of Sleep). His latest, an ode to communal movie-loving, is on the latter end of the spectrum, combining his trademark wackiness with saccharine sincerity — and the scene-chewing antics of Jack Black.
Bonus Features:
If you’re iffy about the film, the bonus menu isn’t going to convince you to give Be Kind Rewind a shot. With only two features on the disc (And since when does a single trailer constitute a “feature”?) we recommend waiting for the inevitable special edition. Or “swede” your own version of the film and have more fun in the process!
Tomatometer: 25%
Martin Lawrence continues in his quest to become the most commercially viable, yet critically derided comic actor known to man with a movie that proves you can go home again…with inane slapstick, shots to the groin, and dogs having sex. (Larry the Cable Guy would give Lawrence some tough competition, if only his movies actually made money.)
Bonus Features:
A wealth of bonus materials abound, including cast interviews, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a director commentary by writer-director Malcolm D. Lee (cousin to Spike), and more.
Tomatometer: 96%
Word on the festival circuit last year had cinephiles buzzing one distinct catchphrase: have you seen the Romanian abortion movie? But this tense, gripping, and fearlessly acted drama about two women trying to arrange the illicit operation in 1987 Communist Romania is far more powerful and moving than any such reduction can convey. Shockingly passed over at the Oscars, the multiple award-winning 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days is a must-see.
Bonus Features:
The disc includes a 16-minute making-of featurette and an interview with writer-director Cristian Mungiu and his cinematographer, Oleg Mutu.
‘Til next week, happy viewing!
