Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
After three years of fighting in the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) concludes his journey towards the Dark Side of the Force, jeopardizing both his friendship with fellow Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his marriage to Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman). With Anakin crossing over to the Darth Side, Obi-Wan is faced with a tough choice. And so begins the end.
Total box office: $380.3 million
Extras! The DVD might as well be renamed Return of the Empire, because, well, director/zillionaire George Lucas has returned. So has his not-to-be-outdone DVD extras–which probably won’t even scratch the surface of the massive merchandising and special collector’s edition(s) still to come. The extras include: commentary (that might actually be worth watching) from Lucas and almost everyone else not seen in the film; exclusive deleted scenes; a featurette on the stunts of Episode III; and a featurette in which Lucas traces the myth of Darth Vader from episodes I-VI. Those are just a select few.
When it was relevant: If ever there were a ho-hum one-third of a billion dollars, it was Episode III’s box-office take. Of course, that doesn’t take into account the worldwide earnings that brought its total close to a cool billion, but the money aspect of it is something to marvel over. As for the film’s reception, it was somewhat lukewarm. Too much would have never been enough for fans waving goodbye to the most popular franchise ever, but some fans found the film a little uneven. Nonetheless, most left feeling satisfied with its dark conclusion.
Worthy DVD purchase? Depends. Episode III was the best of the new trilogy, so if you’ve got the other two, chances are you’ll want this one right away. But are you going to keep buying each ensuing edition that’s released? And what about the all-encompassing, comprehensive, definitive box set that’ll be pricey but tough to resist? The bottom line here is that it’s certainly a worthy purchase, it’s only a question of timing. May the Force be with you–and your wallet.
All things considered: B+
Millions
It’s seven days before the Pound is switching to Euros in the UK, giving robbers a chance to steal bags of cash en route to the incinerator. When one of the bags falls in a young boy’s lap, he is torn between good and really good as to what to do with it while his older brother has more conservative ideas. And yet another problem arises when a drifter threatens the boys if they don’t hand the cash over.
Total box office: $6.6 million
Extras! The few extras–director commentary and a behind-the-scenes featurette–will lend a glimpse into the mind of director Danny Boyle. We hope it’ll tell us what his thought processes were, following up his 2002 gory zombie flick, 28 Days Later, with this heartwarming tale.
When it was relevant: With a limited release here in the States, Millions’ earnings were surprisingly decent. Rarely do British indies–at least the ones not stylistically directed by Guy Ritchie–stand a chance, so it came as no surprise it didn’t keep up with its big-budget brethren. It was never meant to. Still, for a film with no recognizable names, it did a fine job affecting those who saw it.
Worthy DVD purchase? Yes. Millions is the rare family movie that touches upon the downside of money, and Boyle makes it effective without ever being sappy. It’s quirky, funny and, yes, cute, worthy of your purchase, dammit, er, darnit! See how effective it was?
All things considered: B+
The Perfect Man
Every time single-mom Jean (Heather Locklear) has a falling out with her boyfriend du jour, she moves the family to a new location. To distract her mom from her latest bad choice, daughter Holly (Hilary Duff) comes up with a fictitious suitor. Problems arise when she has to actually produce the man, but alas things never get too dicey when Duff’s in the equation.
Total box office: $16.2 million
Extras! Perhaps not all your ‘tweener daughter was hoping for, but there’s enough here. When Locklear and Duff fawn all over each other and talk about their onscreen mother-daughter relationship, break out the tissues–and be sure to conserve the precious stuff, because there’s a featurette about Duff entitled, “Blogs and Buddies.” You can relax when the outtakes roll around. They’ll be funny by then.
When it was relevant: It was the same old story for a Duff flick: just enough box office dollars to consider a hit. She’s quite the Sandra Bullock-in-waiting, but can Bullock sing?! Duff stayed in her comfort zone with Man and will no doubt stay the course for the foreseeable future, which is sweet music to her legion of fans’ ears, who will follow her into adulthood and beyond.
Worthy DVD purchase? No. Of course, the answer depends more on your age group, but we’re old-school Duff, man. Lizzie McGuire takes us higher. Try burning that onto your forearm and tattooing it on the side of your neck.
All things considered: D+
Re-releases:
Office Space: Special Edition with Flair
Comments: It’s the seminal workplace-boredom comedy–back for more fun! Back in 1999, writer-director Mike Judge (Beavis and Butthead) released this comedy way ahead of its time, even though it made its money back in theaters. It has since gone through the gradation of cult comedy to a downright classic. It’s clear Judge either had an office job he hated or has one of the most lucid imaginations in the world, because he captured the dullness of office work to a tee. There are characters both relatable (Ron Livingston’s miserable Peter) and outlandishly hilarious (Stephen Root’s Milton). And the timing is perfect for the re-release: we’ve almost forgotten about Space but not quite.
Extras! Not as much as you’d expect from a grand re-release, but that’s OK. In fact, the main updated feature here is an Office Space retrospective with Judge. But for only a few bucks more, there’s the “Extra-Special Edition Gift Set,” complete with a coffee mug, mousepad, picture frame, pen and pencil set, stapler and notepad. Laugh all you want, but there’s some usefull stuff here.
