This week in DVD - November 20th

The holidays are coming up. Remember to get an early jump on your shopping by heading over to Amazon.

This is a rare week in DVD where there's nothing I need to revisit.  I never got around to seeing these movies in the theater.

Larry Crowne

I don't recall this movie getting the greatest reviews, but I actually liked this.  I thought it was cute.  I did think Julia Roberts character was a little bitchy at first.  Tom Hanks is just too damn charming to dislike in anything.

The story is pretty simple.  Hanks plays a veteran who has a job a a Wal-Mart-type store.  One day, he's laid off, with the excuse being that it's because he doesn't have a formal college education.  At the suggestion of his neighbor, played Cedric the Entertainer, he decides to enroll in college.  He then proceeds to befriend just about everyone he comes across.

It's kind of like they went, 'Hey, it's Tom Hanks!  Shit just falls into his lap.'  As likable as he is, I had to just accept this movie as fantasy.  Hell, I went to colleges like this.  I didn't get to meet eclectic gropus of people that forced me to hang out with them and make my life for the better.  It's fun to watch as a movie, but at the same time, most people's experience's aren't like this.

This movie was criticised for being out of touch and I can see that.  I think the thing I liked about it that is wasn't realistic.  I've watched plenty of movies in the past year about people losing jobs where it's all been bleak and depressing.  This is the first movie in a while where a guy has lost his job and it actually had a happy ending.  While it might not be realistc, at least is positive.  Again, this might have been due to my current mood, but there you go.

Anyway, it's worth a rental just for Tom Hanks.

Batman: Year One

As the title states, this is a short cartoon film about Batman's first year as Batman.  That's pretty much all I need to say about it.

I really liked this, but it felt like it was more about Gordon than about Batman.  The good news is that Gordon is voice by Bryan Cranston, and he gives the character the voice and emotional weight that Gordon deserves.

I know I'm not saying much, but if you're at all into Batman, then this is a strong rental recommendation.

Pom Wonderful: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Here another Morgan Spurlock documentatary about advertising and product placement.  It's fairly entertaining, but I didn't find it particularly scathing or that it told me something I didn't already know.  It's more informative than entertaining.  That's pretty much what you should expect with Morgan Spurlock though.

It's worth a rental, but I don't think you aren't going to learn anything new.  If you aren't a fan of Spurlock documentaries, then this likely won't do anything to sway you otherwise.

Terri

Here's another independent film about 'nothing'.  I say 'nothing', because, like with many indie films, this is a chatacter driven narrative.  There's no real plot here.  You're just watching people and how they react to situations.

Terri, is an overwight, high school kid who's picked on and misunderstood by his classmates.  He shows up to school in pajamas and they give him shit.  The principal of the school, played by John C. Reilly (the best part of the movie) is basically his best friend.

It's just a series of scenes of watching Terri either deal with his friends, talkign to the pricinpal or trying to get the hot chick at school to like him.

It's not a bad film, but it's just one of those indie films that I think will only appeal to fans of indie films or if you're in the right mood for it.  I might be swayed by the fact that I was kind of sick when I watched it and just wasn't in the mood for something slow.  This has gotten really good reviews, so you might be able to chalk this one up to my mood.

Rent or stream it.