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DVD extras include audio commentary by Perelman and production designer Maia Javan; a 55-minute making-of feature; 12 minutes of deleted scenes; and Amurri's audition tape.
Movie: ***1/2
Extras: ***
SNOW ANGELS (2008). Watching Sam Rockwell in projects as diverse as The Green Mile and Matchstick Men, he doesn't seem to care whether his look-Ma-I'm-acting! brand of emoting meshes with the rest of the project or not. Rockwell's back to his showboating ways in Snow Angels, the fourth feature written and directed by N.C. School of the Arts graduate David Gordon Green (most recently spotted helming Pineapple Express). Based on the novel by Stewart O'Nan, this ensemble piece focuses on the lives of several members of a small American community, and specifically on the circumstances (mostly tragic) that bind them together. The central plot deals with the efforts of town beauty Annie (Kate Beckinsale), wasting away as a waitress at a Chinese restaurant, to keep her seemingly unstable husband Glenn (Rockwell) at bay, even if it means cheating him out of quality time with their young daughter (Grace Hudson). The usual clichés apply: Annie's having an affair with the husband (Nicky Katt) of her best friend (Amy Sedaris); Glenn turns to God and the bottle in an effort to quell his demons; and the spats between Annie and Glenn lead to an obvious conclusion made even more painfully obvious by the casting of jitterbug Rockwell. The secondary storyline concerns high school student Arthur (Michael Angarano) and the budding romance he experiences with a quirky classmate (Juno's Olivia Thirlby), a balm to soothe the pain of witnessing his parents' messy split. These sections of the film work primarily because of the charming and natural performance by Angarano, a necessary counterpoint to Rockwell's patented grandstanding.
There are no extra features on the DVD.
Movie: **
Extras: *
YOUNG@HEART (2008). In the documentary Young@Heart, the work is already half-done within five minutes of the picture's first frame. A movie about a group of senior citizens (average age: 80) who tour internationally as a chorus covering rock and pop hits? Who could possibly resist such a sweet premise? Fortunately, director Stephen Walker moves the material far beyond its easy setting as a simple, feel-good romp; by the time it's all over, audience members will be moved (to laughter and tears), enlightened and inspired. Initially, the tone is light, as the first part of the film introduces us to the people who make up this Massachusetts-based choir. If remembering lyrics were all these folks had to worry about, then they'd have it pretty easy. Unfortunately, with their advanced years comes advanced ailments, and before long, some of them are having to make ever-increasing visits to the hospital to monitor heart and/or cancer conditions. Thus, the movie morphs from simply showing how the unifying power of music can cross all lines (including age and social class) to touching on the notion that these senior citizens, like sharks, need to constantly be moving to stay alive. That Death still makes a appearance or two while they're pouring themselves into their songs makes our heartbreak all that more pronounced. Yet ultimately, Young@Heart is far from a bummer: Instead, it's a tribute to this nation's elderly, an ode to the power of the arts, and a salute to David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Jimi Hendrix and the other musicians whose songs have found new rhyme and reason thanks to these geriatric rockers.
DVD extras include 25 minutes of deleted scenes; a 5-minute short in which the band preps for an L.A. show; and the theatrical trailer.