Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, District 9 among new DVD reviews 

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS (2009). Although it's based on a children's book (by Judi and Ron Barrett), this animated charmer is one of those equal-opportunity exercises that provides as much merriment for adults as for kids. After all, it's the grown-ups who are sure to get a chuckle out of a voice cast diverse enough to include Bruce Campbell, James Caan and Mr. T, and it's the grown-ups who will pick up on the movie's gentle ecological themes. As for the rest, the adults will feel like kids when bombarded by the film's freewheeling innovations and bright color schemes – although, annoyingly, the irresistible 3-D approach employed in its theatrical run wasn't carried over for the DVD release. The film's central character is Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader), a gangly inventor whose latest contraption – a device that turns water into food – seems to be a winner. After its unceremonious launch into the heavens, the machine pours down all sorts of cuisine – hamburgers, pancakes, pasta, you name it – on a regular basis. Flint becomes the town's savior, but stormy weather lies ahead. The visual design of Cloudy is wondrous: There's something inherently amusing in seeing a castle built out of gelatin or a street lined with ice cream rather than snow, and the movie repeatedly offers up these gastronomical delights. Yet underlying the frivolity is a warning about our nation's gluttonous and wasteful ways, a message certain to be lost on children (who'll wish they had their own candy-dispensing machine hovering above their homes) but relevant to environmentally aware adults. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is an entertaining ride, but it doesn't possess the lasting power of, say, last year's Up or any of the other top-tier animated features that stick with us for the long haul. It's more comfortable in the company of Kung Fu Panda and Monster House: Like those worthy animated features, this one shows up, gets the job done, and leaves us feeling satisfactorily full.

Extras in the two-disc Super-Sized Edition include audio commentary by Hader and writer-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller; two extended scenes; an 11-minute making-of featurette; a food fight game; and the music video for Miranda Cosgrove's "Raining Sunshine."

Movie: ***

Extras: **1/2

DISTRICT 9 (2009). District 9 is Independence Day for the art-house set. Although its theatrical press launch was so deafening that it managed to permeate the mainstream consciousness, its ofttimes modest approach and meaty metaphors still seem likely to curry greater favor with viewers who opt for Tsotsi over Transformers. And although it was hailed in many quarters as a model of originality, the truth of the matter is that the film follows genre conventions just as often as it heads off in its own direction. Like Independence Day, it treats the cinema of science fiction as its own buffet table, picking and choosing which ideas would best serve its own intentions. And in doing so, it comes up with a dish that's juicy in both execution and endgame. Back in 1981, an enormous alien craft appeared in the sky above Johannesburg, South Africa; the voyagers, malnourished and stranded on a spaceship too damaged to go anywhere else, were rounded up and placed in a slum area known as District 9. Now it's been nearly three decades since their arrival, and the million-plus aliens, known dismissively as "prawns" because of their physical appearance, continue to wallow in filth and poverty, conditions that convince the South African government to move them further away from the city limits so as to minimize their contact with humans even more. The specter of apartheid is never far removed from the actions occurring throughout District 9, but writer-director Neill Blomkamp and co-scripter Terri Tatchell never turn this into a heavy-handed screed. Instead, they approach the issues of racism and xenophobia mindful of their knotty ramifications. Imagination runs a bit short toward the end, as District 9 largely turns into a standard chase thriller and viewers are asked to swallow a bit more than even their disbelief-suspending minds might accept. But in a nice twist from the standard Hollywood blockbuster, this Australian import employs its special effects to save the day rather than ruin it, using superb CGI wizardry to draw us into the final battles instead of relying on obvious fakery to distance us from the proceedings.

Extras in the two-disc DVD edition include audio commentary by Blomkamp; 22 deleted scenes; a 35-minute making-of featurette; and various pieces on the film's acting, visual effects and makeup design.

Movie: ***

Extras: ***

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER (2009). The beauty of this utterly winning picture is that it doesn't live in a generational vacuum: Like the best films of its kind, its tale of young love (and all the accompanying trials and tribulations) will speak to all ages. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Tom Hansen, a sweet kid who works for a greeting card company. Into the workplace walks new employee Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel), and Tom is immediately smitten. Summer, however, isn't on the same page: More cynical in nature, she doesn't particularly subscribe to the notion of true love and sees Tom as a "friend with benefits." Tom does his best to keep their union afloat, but he obviously has his work cut out for him. Rather than spill the story in chronological order, this jumps back and forth to various points in the relationship, showing the pair happy one day and gloomy on another. In the wrong hands, such a decision might have turned out unwieldy or awkward, but here the scenes flow smoothly, making sense not only narratively (on-screen markers always alert us to the day being shown) but also emotionally, allowing us to fully understand and appreciate how earlier incidents might affect the characters' mindsets during later ones. Ultimately, none of this would work without the proper actors, and Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel are adorable talents whose open faces and inviting eyes seem to allow audiences access to their very psyches. Because of them, we find ourselves completely invested in Tom and Summer, and their love story becomes our love story, warts and all. Don't miss the brilliant cameo of sorts by a Star Wars character, the result being the funniest moment in any film released in 2009.

DVD extras include audio commentary by Gordon-Levitt, director Marc Webb and scripters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber; and a few deleted/extended scenes.

Movie: ***1/2

Extras: **

9 (2009) Not to be confused with Rob Marshall's deadly musical, Nine (or, for that matter, with the aforementioned District 9), this single-digit offering is actually director Shane Acker's expansion of his own Oscar-nominated short film from 2005. That animated work ran approximately 12 minutes; this new version clocks in at 80 minutes, shorter than most features but still thin enough to outstay its welcome by at least a quarter-hour. Set in a post-apocalyptic period caused by a gruesome battle between humans and the machines that ended up turning against them (sorry, no Arnold Schwarzenneger cameo this time around), the plot centers around a doll-like creature (voiced by Elijah Wood) identified by the "9" that's marked on his back. 9 discovers that humanity has been completely eradicated and fearsome mechanical monsters roam the earth, but he has no idea of his own origins or what his future might hold. He meets other rag dolls like himself – a warrior woman (Jennifer Connelly), a kindly scientist (Martin Landau), a scheming elder (Christopher Plummer), a timid sidekick (John C. Reilly), and more – and they argue as to whether they should continue to live in hiding or confront the enemy head-on. It's easy to see why Tim Burton signed on as a producer: The staggering visual scheme is dark, dank and dangerous, and characters often meet unexpected – and undesirable – fates (as the PG-13 rating suggests, this one clearly isn't for the wee ones). But these attributes, atypical for animation, are seriously undermined by a pedestrian end-of-the-world story line and by characters with zero personality.

DVD extras include audio commentary by Acker and other crew members; five deleted scenes; various making-of featurettes; and Acker's original short film of 9.

Movie: **1/2

Extras: **1/2

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (1999). Using Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew as its starting point, this sprightly comedy centers on Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles), a smart and cynical high school senior who wants nothing to do with the dating game. Her cheery sister Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) is just the opposite, and when their strict father (Larry Miller) agrees to let Bianca date only when Kat does, Bianca's potential suitors – one sweet ((500) Days of Summer's Joseph Gordon-Levitt), one sleazy (Andrew Keegan) – bribe brooding student Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) to woo the sarcastic and stand-offish sibling. As far as placing literary classics in contemporary high school settings, 10 Things doesn't quite match the Jane Austen Emma adaptation Clueless, though it's miles ahead of the dreary Othello update O. With an energy level that can only be described as infectious, it takes almost every dated teen-flick cliché (sensitive rebels, preening jocks, distracted adults, etc.) and makes them fresh and funny. Director Gil Junger and writers Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith deserve a lot of the credit, but this wouldn't have been as disarming without the contributions of a game cast, several of whose members went on to illustrious careers – none, of course, more than the late Ledger, whose wooing of Stiles by crooning "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" is a particular treat. This also gets extra points for featuring one of the best end-credit uses of a classic song (Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me," performed here by Letters to Cleo).

DVD extras include audio commentary by writers Lutz and Smith and cast members Oleynik, Keegan, David Krumholtz and Susan May Pratt; and a 35-minute retrospective featuring new and vintage interviews as well as footage from Ledger's screen test.

Movie: ***

Extras: **1/2