HAIRY SITUATION: Lon Chaney Jr. in a publicity shot for The Wolf Man.
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The two-disc DVD, part of the studio's Legacy Series line, includes several of the extras found in the previous set from 2004; these include audio commentary by film historian Tom Weaver; the 33-minute piece Monster by Moonlight; and theatrical trailers. New features include tributes to Chaney Jr. (37 minutes) and Pierce (25 minutes); the 95-minute documentary Universal Horror (1998); and a 10-minute featurette on the mythology of werewolves.
Movie: ****
Extras: ***1/2
ZOMBIELAND (2009). What's with this unlikely epidemic of good zombie flicks? From 28 Days Later (and its underrated sequel) to the imaginative regional shorts featured in 2008's George Romero event here in Charlotte, there have been approximately a dozen zombie yarns in the past decade alone worthy of the critical accolades hurled their way. Now here's another one. The blood flows freely in this gonzo horror tale, but, more importantly, so do the laughs. And while the humor may be frosty around the edges, it's never downright mean-spirited, thanks in part to a director (Ruben Fleischer) with a light touch, two screenwriters (Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) who have obviously done their zombie-film homework and humorously place the rules for survival front and center (they include keeping fit, being weary of bathrooms, and always wearing seat belts), and four actors (five, if you include the A-lister who turns up in a crowd-pleasing cameo) who remain ingratiating throughout. Jesse Eisenberg, running the gamut from Adventureland to Zombieland, plays the lovably geeky Columbus, while Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin are savvy survivalist sisters Wichita and Little Rock. Yet it's Woody Harrelson, all rolling thunder as kick-ass cowboy Tallahassee, who makes the biggest impact. In a wild and wide-eyed performance, he stops just short of completely chewing the scenery – even the zombies aren't capable of matching his ferocious bite.
DVD extras include audio commentary by Harrelson, Eisenberg, Fleischer, Reese and Wernick; a 16-minute behind-the-scenes featurette; seven deleted scenes; and theatrical promo trailers.
Movie: ***
Extras: **1/2
Also New On DVD:
THE INVENTION OF LYING (2009). Here's the working definition of the cliché about a script needing one final rewrite before reaching its full potential. Writer-director-star Ricky Gervais has come up with a terrific idea for a movie – a man who lives in a world in which everyone has always told the truth discovers he suddenly has great power after he tells civilization's first recorded fib – and he peoples his cast with an apt leading lady (Jennifer Garner), a strong supporting cast (Tina Fey and Rob Lowe, among others) and even a few amusing cameos (Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman). Yet despite some irresistible comic bits and even some interesting food for thought (most regarding the "man in the sky"), the overall result is never quite as amusing – or as trenchant – as the material warrants. Still, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't worth the cost of a rental.
DVD extras include an 8-minute making-of piece; the 7-minute "prequel," The Dawn of Lying; five additional scenes; and outtakes.
Movie: **1/2
Extras: **
SURROGATES (2009). In the near-future, all humans stay home while living vicariously through their designated robots, sleek and good-looking models that work and play just as their owners desire. Crime rates have dropped dramatically, so when a corpse turns up, a detective's surrogate (Bruce Willis) is sent to investigate. But when the robot gets destroyed, the cop (also Willis) finds himself forced to leave his house and re-enter the world in order to solve the mystery. This graphic novel adaptation fails to spend enough time establishing its futuristic setting and instead rushes headlong into an overextended plotline that turns silly long before the denouement.
DVD extras include audio commentary by Mostow and the music video for Breaking Benjamin's "I Will Not Bow."
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