New on DVD: Feb. 10

New DVD’s This Week: Feb. 10

Clooney plays Miles Massey, a prominent Los Angeles divorce attorney bored and looking for new challenges after years of success. Miles soon meets his match in the devastating Marilyn Rexroth (Zeta-Jones). Marilyn is the soon-to-be ex-wife of his client Rex Rexroth (Edward Herrmann), a wealthy real estate developer and habitual philanderer. With the help of a private investigator, she has Rex nailed and is looking forward to the financial independence a successful divorce will bring. But thanks to Miles’ considerable skills, she ends up with nothing. Not to be outdone, Marilyn has schemes of her own, involving a marriage to oil tycoon Howard Doyle (Billy Bob Thornton). Underhanded tactics, deceptions and an undeniable attraction escalate as Marilyn and Miles square off in this classic battle of the sexes.

What’s
Cool:

“Hilarious outtakes and Hysterical Hijinks” featurette with Catherine Zeta-Jones and George Clooney
“The Wardrobe” featurette on the fashions of Intolerable Cruelty
“A Look Inside Intolerable Cruelty” making-of featurette

	From Our Review:
	A clever romp with something to say about love and marriage, Intolerable Cruelty may not be the Coen brothers’ best work, but it’s still several steps above the other romantic comedies Hollywood’s churned out in recent memory. More. . .

In The Cut

Based on the best-selling novel by Susanna Moore, In the Cut is a psychological thriller starring Meg Ryan and directed by Jane Campion (The Piano). Ryan plays Frannie Avery, a lonely New York college professor who discovers the darker side of passion after becoming involved with Malloy (Mark Ruffalo), a tough homicide detective, who shows up in her apartment building one afternoon to investigate a series of murders in her neighborhood. The film becomes increasingly claustrophobic as her suspicion that Malloy himself is committing the murders grows. Jennifer Jason Leigh costars in this sexually explicit thriller.

What’s
Cool:

Feature commentary with director Jane Campion and producer Laurie Parker
“Frannie Avery’s Slang Dictionary” featurette
“In the Cut: Behind the Scenes” featurette
Theatrical trailers
Available R-rated or unrated versions

	From Our Review:
	As much as In the Cut wants to push the envelope with its sexuality, and as much as Meg Ryan wants to win an Academy Award, unfortunately, neither makes the cut. More…

The Lion King 1½

The story of The Lion King as seen through the eyes of Timon and Pumbaa, King’s lovable meerkat and warthog comedy duo. Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella and Matthew Broderick reprise their vocal roles.

What’s Cool:

Who Wants To Be King of the Jungle? trivia game hosted by Meredith Vieira
Timon: Behind the Legend hosted by Peter Graves
The Making of The Lion King 1½
Timon & Pumbaa’s Virtual Safari 1.5
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
DTS Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
THX-certified
French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Widescreen (1.66:1) enhanced for 16×9 televisions

Still Hot

Lost in Translation

Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) are two Americans in Tokyo. Bob is a movie star in town to shoot a whiskey commercial, while Charlotte is a young woman tagging along with her workaholic photographer husband. They cross paths one night in a luxury hotel bar and their chance meeting soon becomes a surprising friendship, as they venture through Tokyo, having often hilarious encounters with its citizens, and ultimately discovering life’s possibilities.

What’s Cool:

“Lost on Location”–documentary on the making of Lost in Translation
“Found in Conversation: Sofia Coppola & Bill Murray” featurette
Music video: “City Girl” by Kevin Shields
Deleted scenes
Extended scene: Matthew Best’s Hit TV

	From Our Review:
	Lost in Translation is a superb effort from director Sofia Coppola and should earn its place on a few lists this upcoming awards season, particularly star Bill Murray. More. . .

American Splendor

Based on real-life comic book writer Harvey Pekar, the film follows Pekar (Paul Giamatti), a cranky file clerk at the local VA hospital whose underground comic book American Splendor, a truthful, unsentimental self-portrait of his working-class life, unexpectedly brings him international success. First published in 1976, the comic earns Pekar cult fame throughout the 1980s and eventually leads him to the sardonic Joyce Brabner (Hope Davis), a comic book storeowner who ends up being Harvey’s soul mate.

What’s Cool:

Commentary by directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini and star Paul Giamatti
Commentary by Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner and Pekar’s friend Toby Radloff.
“Road to Splendor” featurette: Pekar and his family traverse the globe to promote the film.
“Easter Eggs” featurette: One-minute salute to Cleveland’s “premiere nerd,” Toby Radloff
Bonus Products: “My Movie Year”–an eight-page comic insert by Pekar

	From Our Review:
	Part documentary, part dramatization, part animation, American Splendor‘s creative filmmaking and terrific performances give it that art-house-hip cool, but do we really need another Crumb, this one about a comic book writer not as well known and not as interesting? More…

Compiled by Anne Reiman

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