Buy, rent or ignore?

“Men in Black” debuts on Blu-ray; Plus, “Fool's Gold” and “Be Kind, Rewind”

By Paul Semel

Special to Metromix
June 17, 2008

 
Buy, rent or ignore?
Photos:
"Men in Black" "Fool's Gold" "Be Kind Rewind" "Be Kind Rewind"
You loved the movie, what about the DVD?

Find out as we examine the extras on this week's best movie DVDs...

“MEN IN BLACK”
Stars: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld (“Get Shorty”)
Format: Blu-ray
What we say: One of the rare instances in which sci-fi and comedy peacefully (and hilariously) co-exist.

Extras: Enhanced Telestrator commentary, in which Sonnenfeld and Jones comment on the film while drawing on-screen like in a football game; online trivia game “Intergalactic Pursuit”; “Ask Frank the Pug,” an interactive game in which the pooch gets philosophical about health, love, and money; alien subtitles; extended and alternate scenes; “Metamorphosis of 'Men in Black'” documentary; making-of featurette; scene editing workshop; visual effects deconstructions with commentary; character animation featurettes; image galleries; original trailers; Will Smith's “Men in Black” music video.

Worth watching: The “telestrator” commentary is both informative and hilarious, and not just because Sonnenfeld is no Madden.
Worth skipping: The alien subtitles, since we all know you don't speak alien…despite taking it for four years in high school.
Worth adding: A making-of featurette on Smith's music video, especially because we heard his extra-terrestrial co-star, Mikey, was a real diva on set.

Buy, rent, or ignore: Buy.


“FOOL'S GOLD”
Stars: Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey
Director: Andy Tennant (“Sweet Home Alabama”)
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray
What we said: "Nothing but a flimsy excuse for McConaughey to spend half of his screen time shirtless."

Extras: “Mutiny on the Hi-larious Seas,” a gag reel; “Flirting with Adventure,” a featurette on the chemistry between Hudson and McConaughey.

Worth watching: Well, with so much to choose from…the gag reel. At least it has a couple good chuckles in it.
Worth skipping: “Flirting with Adventure” because, let's be honest, who wouldn't have chemistry with Hudson or McConaughey?
Worth adding: “Fool's Paradise,” a featurette on some of the film's beautiful and exotic locations.

Buy, rent, or ignore: Rent.


“BE KIND REWIND”
Stars: Jack Black, Mos Def
Director: Michel Gondry (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”)
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray
What we said: "Intends to tell a story about people's relationships with movies but winds up saying films are impersonal just because they look professional and don't star you."

Extras: DVD: “Passaic Mosaic,” a tribute to Passaic, New Jersey, where the film was, er, filmed; the theatrical trailer.
Blu-ray: The DVD features plus behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes; a conversation with Black and Gondry; a musical tribute to Fats Waller; a complete Fats Waller biopic; Black and Def improvise “Sweded” theme songs.

Worth watching: “Passaic Mosaic,” which goes beyond behind-the-scenes and talks to residents about what the movie and its shoot meant to the community.
Worth skipping: The footage of Black and Def improvising—most of what they come up with isn't all that interesting.
Worth adding: Running commentary by Black, Def and Gondry, since these guys obviously got along off-screen as well as on.

Buy, rent, or ignore: Rent.

 
Other DVDs out this week:
- If Pedro Almodóvar made a movie about a Lebanese hair salon it might be something like "Caramel"
- Ryan Reynolds keeps fighting for a wider audience with "Chaos Theory"
- Freddie Prinze Jr. and…that's all you need to know about "Jack and Jill vs. the World"
- Clint Eastwood's daughter, Alison, directs Kevin Bacon and Marcia Gay Harden in "Rails & Ties"
- Don't tell Lou Dobbs about the heart-tugging illegal immigrant drama "Under the Same Moon"
- Martin Lawrence is actually not welcome in “Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins”
- See why Disney should leave well enough alone with “The Jungle Book 2 (Special Edition)”
- Before you see the new “Get Smart” movie, check out the original one: “The Nude Bomb”

Also released:
"Alive or Dead"
"The Carmen Miranda Collection"
"Classe Tous Risques" (Criterion Collection)
"Fanny"
"It's a Boy Girl Thing"
"Joy Division" (The Miriam Collection)
"So I Married An Axe Murderer (Deluxe Edition)" (also on Blu-ray)
"The Sword in the Stone (45th Anniversary Special Edition)"

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