New On Video: 'Gangs of New York,' More
Day-Lewis Delivers Mesmerizing Performance
UPDATED: 9:53 p.m. EDT July 3, 2003
'Gangs of New York' (R): Martin Scorsese forever solidifies his position as one of the best directors of all time with the brutally realistic crime drama "Gangs of New York," which is easily one of the best films of 2002.
The setting is the historic Five Points section of lower Manhattan, a cesspool where spurned Irish immigrants are forced to live after arriving in America. Ruling them all is the American "Native" Bill "The Butcher" Cutting, a brutal crime lord who for all his bloodthirsty ways, still has respect for his enemies.
The story, however, is centered on Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) an Irish immigrant who seeks revenge on Cutting after he kills his father and sends him off to incarceration. Things become complicated, however, when Vallon, who lies about his identity, is taken under Cutting's wing for his intuitive ways. Joined by a woman who has mysterious ties to the crime boss (Cameron Diaz), Vallon suddenly finds himself a part of the very corrupt system that he despises.
While DiCaprio is billed as the star of "Gangs of New York," it's really Day-Lewis' movie. He's frighteningly real as Cutting, yet, for all of his deep flaws, you can't help but become fascinated with his character. He dominates the proceedings every time he steps foot on-screen.
DiCaprio does shine, though, in the other lead, while Diaz, who appears out of place at first, quickly melds into another complex character. The film is made complete by its incredibly detailed settings and daunting, unpredictable atmosphere. A word to those turned off by violence: this film is stacked to the roof with it. Those made queasy by the sight of physical violence and blood should be prepared for an emotionally wrenching 2.5 hours.
DVD Features: "Gangs of New York" is presented in a two-disc set. Among the highlights are an insightful feature commentary by Scorsese; a fascinating Discovery Channel documentary on the real Five Points which draws comparisons to film; a "History of Five Points" featurettes; U2's "The Hands That Built America" music video and more. (Miramax Home Entertainment)
'Kangaroo Jack" (PG): Kids and preteens are sure to get a kick out of "Kangaroo Jack," a predictable, but amusing family comedy that relies on the bumbling adult formula and crude humor for its laughs.
Jerry O'Connell ("Stand by Me," "Sliders") and Anthony Anderson ("Me, Myself and Irene") star as Charlie Carbone and Louis Fucci, a pair of hapless, lifelong friends who pull a stunt that results in trouble for Carbone's mob boss stepfather, Sal (Christopher Walken).
To make up for their mistake, Charlie and Louis are forced into an assignment from Sal, and deliver $50,000 to a thug in Australia. It seems like an easy enough gig, but when the pair goofs around for a photo opportunity with a kangaroo down under, the marsupial, which they've nicknamed "Jackie Legs," hops off with the cast into the outback.
While "Kangaroo Jack" does little to elevate the family comedy genre with its unoriginal storyline and stereotypical characters, it has enough going for it to keep its younger audiences satisfied. It's clearly a kid's movie, which by definition means the adults in the cast are outsmarted and look like complete idiots at every turn.
O'Connell and Anderson have great comic chemistry, and are willing to humiliate themselves at the hands (well, more like, feet) of the title character to get some giggles out of its target audience. Adults may find it juvenile. Underneath it all, though, there are some nice lessons about friendship.
As for Kangaroo Jack himself, he's a very effective computer-generated rendering that's equal in technical achievement to the computer-generated "Scooby Doo" a year back. For the lack of better words, you'll really get a kick out of him.
DVD Features: Commentary by Kangaroo Jack himself, as well as select cast and crewmembers; footage from animal casting sessions; a section featuring Jackie Legs' dance grooves; movie outtakes, gags and more. (Warner Home Video)
'Old School' (R and Unrated) Sure, it's no "Animal House" -- but "Old School" is a hilarious campus comedy nonetheless that puts recent similar efforts like "National Lampoon's Van Wilder" to shame.
Luke Wilson stars as Mitch, who after discovering his girlfriend in a compromising position with a pair of strangers in their bedroom, moves into a new set of digs near a college campus. With the help of his college buddy, Frank "The Tank" (Will Ferrell), --who can't handle settling down to married life -- and Beanie (Vince Vaughn) -- a family man who yearns for the old days -- the trio turns Mitch's new place into a party house.
But that's not all; the three are returning to school, too, to relive their glory days. But there's one big problem: an overbearing college dean (Jeremy Piven) wants them gone.
While the foul-mouthed antics and sexual humor of "Old School" feel familiar, the talents of Wilson, Ferrell and Vaughn keep the proceedings fresh and lively. Ferrell, best known for his "Saturday Night Live" impressions, pushes himself to the limit to get his laughs, as he playfully jaunts though a gut-busting streaking scene in the first part of the film.
To sum it up, "Old School" is good old-fashioned college comedy that's not afraid to offend.
DVD Features: Commentary from the cast and crew; bloopers and outtakes; deleted scenes; "Inside the Actor's Studio" spoof and more. (DreamWorks Home Entertainment)
'Biker Boyz' (PG-13) Despite an opening that makes you think you're in for a mindless mess of mechanical mayhem, there's more than meets the eye in "Biker Boyz," a coming-of-age action-drama that outguns its high-octane counterpart "The Fast and the Furious."
"The Matrix" star Laurence Fishburne stars as Smoke, an undefeated champ in an underground California motorbike circuit. His greatest challenge comes in "The Kid" ("Antwone Fisher" star Derek Luke), the arrogant son of Smoke's right-hand man. Pushing him over-the-top to defeat Smoke is a freak accident that results in family tragedy.
While "Biker Boyz" starts out with overly stylized, macho-dialogue driven stretch that comes off like a music video, it settles into an interesting drama when "The Kid's" mother (Vanessa Bell Calloway) reveals to her son a family secret.
What follows is a fine balance of action and story that concludes with an unexpected ending. Also look for rock star Kid Rock in a solid performance as one of Smoke's rivals.
DVD Features: Deleted scenes; "Behind the Action" documentary with co-star Orlando Jones; cast and crew biographies and more. (DreamWorks Home Entertainment)
'About Schmidt' (R): God only knows what Jack Nicholson was thinking during awards season when he claimed that "About Schmidt" was a comedy. A few laughs aside, it's easily one of the most depressing films of the year.
That's not to say it's a bad film, in fact, it's quite brilliant. Just don't watch it on a rainy day or when you're blue -- like Warren Schmidt (Nicholson) in the film, it's apt to leave you thinking that you've wasted your whole life.
Schmidt is a newly retired widower who embarks on a cross-country trip from Omaha to Denver RV in an effort to stop his daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis) from marrying her well-intended, yet dimwitted boyfriend Randall (Dermot Mulroney).
In a nutshell, "About Schmidt" is mainly about Nicholson's performance, easily the most unique role of his career. You can feel his heartsick forlorn for the life he's wasted from the very first shot in the film, where he stares blankly into nothingness waiting for the clock to tick down on his last day of work.
Not only is less more in this case: complete nothing is everything. It's an amazing performance. Rounding out the cast is Kathy Bates, who turns in a gutsy performance as Randall's mother.
Enabling Nicholson and Bates, however, is the convincing slice of Americana that's created by director/writer Alexander Payne and co-writer Jim Taylor. They don't bother making us just observers in this film, we know these people. In short, it all feels so incredibly real. It's probably the most acute observation of Americana since Joel and Ethan Coen's "Fargo."
DVD Features: Deleted scenes, DVD-Rom content, more. (New Line Home Entertainment)
Reissues On DVD: For those Cameron Diaz fans who can't withstand the brutality of "Gangs of New York," there's an alternative in "There's Something (More) About Mary" (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) a 2-DVD collector's edition that includes the original gross-out comedy feature (co-starring Ben Stiller) and 15 minutes of never-before-seen footage.
The disc set is also chock-full of special features, including behind the scenes documentaries and featurettes, interviews with Diaz, Stiller, and co-stars Matt Dillon and Chris Elliot, filmmaker commentary tracks, and more.
Also reissued is an "Extreme DVD" version of "T2: Terminator 2" (Artisan Home Entertainment), a new two-disc set that coincides with the release of "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" in theaters.
Included in the set is 16 minutes of never-before-seen footage from the original film, new commentary by writer-director James Cameron, rare production footage, documentaries and more. The "cool feature" award on the disc is the Skynet Combat Chassis Designer, where you can construct and test your own fighting machine and track its progress online.
The setting is the historic Five Points section of lower Manhattan, a cesspool where spurned Irish immigrants are forced to live after arriving in America. Ruling them all is the American "Native" Bill "The Butcher" Cutting, a brutal crime lord who for all his bloodthirsty ways, still has respect for his enemies.
The story, however, is centered on Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) an Irish immigrant who seeks revenge on Cutting after he kills his father and sends him off to incarceration. Things become complicated, however, when Vallon, who lies about his identity, is taken under Cutting's wing for his intuitive ways. Joined by a woman who has mysterious ties to the crime boss (Cameron Diaz), Vallon suddenly finds himself a part of the very corrupt system that he despises.
While DiCaprio is billed as the star of "Gangs of New York," it's really Day-Lewis' movie. He's frighteningly real as Cutting, yet, for all of his deep flaws, you can't help but become fascinated with his character. He dominates the proceedings every time he steps foot on-screen.
DiCaprio does shine, though, in the other lead, while Diaz, who appears out of place at first, quickly melds into another complex character. The film is made complete by its incredibly detailed settings and daunting, unpredictable atmosphere. A word to those turned off by violence: this film is stacked to the roof with it. Those made queasy by the sight of physical violence and blood should be prepared for an emotionally wrenching 2.5 hours.
DVD Features: "Gangs of New York" is presented in a two-disc set. Among the highlights are an insightful feature commentary by Scorsese; a fascinating Discovery Channel documentary on the real Five Points which draws comparisons to film; a "History of Five Points" featurettes; U2's "The Hands That Built America" music video and more. (Miramax Home Entertainment)
'Kangaroo Jack" (PG): Kids and preteens are sure to get a kick out of "Kangaroo Jack," a predictable, but amusing family comedy that relies on the bumbling adult formula and crude humor for its laughs.
Jerry O'Connell ("Stand by Me," "Sliders") and Anthony Anderson ("Me, Myself and Irene") star as Charlie Carbone and Louis Fucci, a pair of hapless, lifelong friends who pull a stunt that results in trouble for Carbone's mob boss stepfather, Sal (Christopher Walken).
To make up for their mistake, Charlie and Louis are forced into an assignment from Sal, and deliver $50,000 to a thug in Australia. It seems like an easy enough gig, but when the pair goofs around for a photo opportunity with a kangaroo down under, the marsupial, which they've nicknamed "Jackie Legs," hops off with the cast into the outback.
While "Kangaroo Jack" does little to elevate the family comedy genre with its unoriginal storyline and stereotypical characters, it has enough going for it to keep its younger audiences satisfied. It's clearly a kid's movie, which by definition means the adults in the cast are outsmarted and look like complete idiots at every turn.
O'Connell and Anderson have great comic chemistry, and are willing to humiliate themselves at the hands (well, more like, feet) of the title character to get some giggles out of its target audience. Adults may find it juvenile. Underneath it all, though, there are some nice lessons about friendship.
As for Kangaroo Jack himself, he's a very effective computer-generated rendering that's equal in technical achievement to the computer-generated "Scooby Doo" a year back. For the lack of better words, you'll really get a kick out of him.
DVD Features: Commentary by Kangaroo Jack himself, as well as select cast and crewmembers; footage from animal casting sessions; a section featuring Jackie Legs' dance grooves; movie outtakes, gags and more. (Warner Home Video)
'Old School' (R and Unrated) Sure, it's no "Animal House" -- but "Old School" is a hilarious campus comedy nonetheless that puts recent similar efforts like "National Lampoon's Van Wilder" to shame.
Luke Wilson stars as Mitch, who after discovering his girlfriend in a compromising position with a pair of strangers in their bedroom, moves into a new set of digs near a college campus. With the help of his college buddy, Frank "The Tank" (Will Ferrell), --who can't handle settling down to married life -- and Beanie (Vince Vaughn) -- a family man who yearns for the old days -- the trio turns Mitch's new place into a party house.
But that's not all; the three are returning to school, too, to relive their glory days. But there's one big problem: an overbearing college dean (Jeremy Piven) wants them gone.
While the foul-mouthed antics and sexual humor of "Old School" feel familiar, the talents of Wilson, Ferrell and Vaughn keep the proceedings fresh and lively. Ferrell, best known for his "Saturday Night Live" impressions, pushes himself to the limit to get his laughs, as he playfully jaunts though a gut-busting streaking scene in the first part of the film.
To sum it up, "Old School" is good old-fashioned college comedy that's not afraid to offend.
DVD Features: Commentary from the cast and crew; bloopers and outtakes; deleted scenes; "Inside the Actor's Studio" spoof and more. (DreamWorks Home Entertainment)
'Biker Boyz' (PG-13) Despite an opening that makes you think you're in for a mindless mess of mechanical mayhem, there's more than meets the eye in "Biker Boyz," a coming-of-age action-drama that outguns its high-octane counterpart "The Fast and the Furious."
"The Matrix" star Laurence Fishburne stars as Smoke, an undefeated champ in an underground California motorbike circuit. His greatest challenge comes in "The Kid" ("Antwone Fisher" star Derek Luke), the arrogant son of Smoke's right-hand man. Pushing him over-the-top to defeat Smoke is a freak accident that results in family tragedy.
While "Biker Boyz" starts out with overly stylized, macho-dialogue driven stretch that comes off like a music video, it settles into an interesting drama when "The Kid's" mother (Vanessa Bell Calloway) reveals to her son a family secret.
What follows is a fine balance of action and story that concludes with an unexpected ending. Also look for rock star Kid Rock in a solid performance as one of Smoke's rivals.
DVD Features: Deleted scenes; "Behind the Action" documentary with co-star Orlando Jones; cast and crew biographies and more. (DreamWorks Home Entertainment)
'About Schmidt' (R): God only knows what Jack Nicholson was thinking during awards season when he claimed that "About Schmidt" was a comedy. A few laughs aside, it's easily one of the most depressing films of the year.
That's not to say it's a bad film, in fact, it's quite brilliant. Just don't watch it on a rainy day or when you're blue -- like Warren Schmidt (Nicholson) in the film, it's apt to leave you thinking that you've wasted your whole life.
Schmidt is a newly retired widower who embarks on a cross-country trip from Omaha to Denver RV in an effort to stop his daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis) from marrying her well-intended, yet dimwitted boyfriend Randall (Dermot Mulroney).
In a nutshell, "About Schmidt" is mainly about Nicholson's performance, easily the most unique role of his career. You can feel his heartsick forlorn for the life he's wasted from the very first shot in the film, where he stares blankly into nothingness waiting for the clock to tick down on his last day of work.
Not only is less more in this case: complete nothing is everything. It's an amazing performance. Rounding out the cast is Kathy Bates, who turns in a gutsy performance as Randall's mother.
Enabling Nicholson and Bates, however, is the convincing slice of Americana that's created by director/writer Alexander Payne and co-writer Jim Taylor. They don't bother making us just observers in this film, we know these people. In short, it all feels so incredibly real. It's probably the most acute observation of Americana since Joel and Ethan Coen's "Fargo."
DVD Features: Deleted scenes, DVD-Rom content, more. (New Line Home Entertainment)
Reissues On DVD: For those Cameron Diaz fans who can't withstand the brutality of "Gangs of New York," there's an alternative in "There's Something (More) About Mary" (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) a 2-DVD collector's edition that includes the original gross-out comedy feature (co-starring Ben Stiller) and 15 minutes of never-before-seen footage.
The disc set is also chock-full of special features, including behind the scenes documentaries and featurettes, interviews with Diaz, Stiller, and co-stars Matt Dillon and Chris Elliot, filmmaker commentary tracks, and more.
Also reissued is an "Extreme DVD" version of "T2: Terminator 2" (Artisan Home Entertainment), a new two-disc set that coincides with the release of "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" in theaters.
Included in the set is 16 minutes of never-before-seen footage from the original film, new commentary by writer-director James Cameron, rare production footage, documentaries and more. The "cool feature" award on the disc is the Skynet Combat Chassis Designer, where you can construct and test your own fighting machine and track its progress online.Copyright 2003 by Lifewhile.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
