Punch Drunk DVDs! 12/29/09

Carriers
I love a good apocalyptic vision flick. Throw a bunch of reluctant travelers into an end of the world scenario and you've got a fan in me. Carriers is just such a film, about four friends who are racing cross country to escape a virus that is ravaging the planet. And hey, it's got Chris Pine(Star Trek) and the lovely Piper Perabo(Coyote Ugly), so it can't be all bad. The word of mouth has been surprisingly strong. Definitely on my Netflix  queue.








9

Tim Burton knows originality when he sees it, and so the expectations were understandably high when he backed this gorgeously crafted CGI adventure, based on a short a story from a few years ago. 9 features an amazing voice cast(Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly) and a truly imaginative take on the future, where the human population is extinct and all that are left are murderous machines and a small race of living dolls tasked with restoring order to the world.








Paranormal Activity
The surprise hit of the year sure didn't waste anytime making the leap to DVD, hoping to cash in on it's continued popularity before the wave completely dies down. The question remains whether or not this film, which was scary enough to drive some people out of theatres, will maintain it's atmosphere on the small screen. The DVD release features alternate endings and never before seen footage. I think for that reason alone it's worth another looksie.








Jennifer's Body
Diablo Cody's follow-up to Juno couldn't have been more appropriately titled. This is little more than a chance to show off Megan Fox's lithe, shapely bod, under the cover of some vague notion of female empowerment. Fox plays a vain teenager, who after being attacked and used as bait for a satanic ritual, finds herself gifted(cursed) with demonic powers which she then uses to humiliate then devour us poor guys. Amanda Seyfried(Mamma Mia!) has the much tougher job of carrying the film's few weighty moments as Jennifer's saintly best friend. For fans of Megan Fox and her short skirts, this is a must buy.






A Perfect Getaway
One of the biggest surprises for me this year was A Perfect Getaway, a tense, taut psychological thriller with a twist that actually had me completely baffled. Milla Jojovich and Steve Zahn star as a newly married couple vacationing on an island paradise, only to discover that there's a killer loose, and he might be closer than they ever dreamed. Very nearly made my Top 10 of the year, but if I had to give an award for the best unexpected performance of the year it would be to Timothy Olyphant(Deadwood, Go) as a crazy ex-Marine with a movie addiction. A definite buy for me.







The Marine 2
Well, The Marine didn't work even with the ultra-popular John Cena and his biceps racing to save his girlfriend from...what were they? Bank robbers or something? Some form of hardened criminal. Anyway, so since that didn't work the WWE decides to give a second go 'round with the less known, less built, less charismatic Ted Dibiase. Yes, the son of the Million Dollar Man. This looks brutally bad, but I know from conversation that more than a few of my wrestling buddies are chomping at the bit for this thing. But if you're really into punishing yourself, Amazon is offering a Marine 2-Pack, which will fill you with approximately 3 hrs of buffed up dudes slow motion jumping from explosions ad nauseum.