Galaxy Quest: Deluxe Edition

PARAMOUNT

MOVIE A-

SPECIAL FEATURES B

DVD GEEK FACTOR 7

(OUT OF 10)

It’s hard to believe this one is 10 years old. It’s also hard to
believe that Paramount would go through the trouble of doing a newly
remastered deluxe edition, yet still not release it on Blu-Ray. I’m
sure they’ll get around to it; there’s money to be made off of us
hi-def addicts.

This is the perfect movie to watch after seeing the new Star
Trek. Tim Allen’s best role has him starring as has-been actor
Jason Nesmith, former star of the Galaxy Quest TV show (a clear
riff on Trek). After a humiliating experience at a fan
convention, he finds himself on a real spaceship with aliens who
believe his TV show was actual Earth history. Nesmith enlists the help
of his former co-stars (including Sam Rockwell, Sigourney Weaver, Tony
Shalhoub and Alan Rickman) to save the galaxy.

This is good-natured fun, both a love letter and a sly poke at the
fanatics who have kept stuff like the old Trek alive through the
years. Justin Long is especially good as a young fan who must help save
Nesmith and friends with help from his earthbound computer (with brief
interruptions to take out his mom’s garbage). Rockwell is constantly
funny as the shipmate who will probably die, as is Shalhoub as the
squinting ship engineer.

SPECIAL FEATURES: While the new documentary on the making of
the film is fun to watch, I could’ve done without the sight and sound
of Sigourney Weaver rapping. What the hell was that about?

S. Darko (Blu-Ray)

FOX

MOVIE TRIPLE F!

SPECIAL FEATURES F!

DVD GEEK FACTOR 0!

(OUT OF 10)

I’m a Donnie Darko fan, so I popped this one in, because
sequels to films I like always make me curious. Actually, sequels to
films I hate make me curious, too. I’m sad that way.

For starters, this movie contains no Jake Gyllenhaal and no Richard
Kelly (the writer and director of the original film). It also has no
Drew Barrymore and no Patrick Swayze … hell, they couldn’t even get
Noah Wyle to stop by for this thing.

What’s it about? Well, I’ll tell you, because, regrettably, I
watched the whole thing.

Remember Samantha, Donnie’s little sister who danced in the totally
awesome “Sparkle Motion” act? She’s played by Daveigh Chase, and this
film picks up her story in 1995, seven years after the events of the
first movie. She has run away, because she can’t get over the death of
her brother (and because producers couldn’t lure any of her family back
for the sequel). While on her road trip, she has nightmarish visions of
herself dead.

Her visions include the watery wormhole things from the original;
the creepy bunny rabbit also reappears, in a slightly different form.
This is the pinnacle of lameness, because the rabbit was fully
explained in Donnie Darko and has no business hanging around in
this movie. Apparently, the rabbit’s contract demands were easier to
meet than Barrymore’s requests.

Samantha and her friends repeatedly die in this movie, and it’s up
to time-traveling wormholes to bring them back. There’s also a subplot
about the world ending, and a crazy, kooky character named Iraq Jack.
It’s all a shameless attempt to sucker the fans of the first film into
buying or renting this.

Stay away … stay far away.

SPECIAL FEATURES: In a filmmaker commentary with the folks
behind this atrocity, they try to put a positive spin on things.
There’s also a making-of doc and some deleted scenes. Yes, there were
scenes so bad that they couldn’t even make the cut in this piece of
shit.

Revolutionary Road (Blu-Ray)

PARAMOUNT

MOVIE A

SPECIAL FEATURES B+

DVD GEEK FACTOR 8

(OUT OF 10)

This one deserved a lot more love than it got at the Oscars. Kate
Winslet won the Best Actress award, but for the wrong movie (The
Reader). She wasn’t even nominated for this film, which featured
far better work on her part. Leonardo DiCaprio was also passed over; he
not only should’ve been nominated, but he should’ve won the prize. The
actor has never been better in a movie, and his snub is a real
puzzler.

They play April and Frank Wheeler, a married couple trying to be
bohemian in the ’50s—and failing miserably. When the two unleash
their first fight—in a car, roadside, early in the
movie—it’s the scariest depiction of marital discord ever put on
film. Things only get worse from there; the picture is far from
pleasant, and it can’t be accused of pulling punches.

The movie was nominated for three Oscars, including Art Direction;
this makes sense, because it looks outstanding on Blu-Ray.

SPECIAL FEATURES: A nice selection of deleted scenes, all of
them well-done, that further demonstrate what a great film this is. The
castoffs are better than most film’s kept scenes. Director Sam Mendes
provides a commentary for the full film and the deleted scenes. There’s
also a nicely produced making-of documentary.

This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2009.