DVD Spotlight

Today we're beginning a weekly column in which we'll take a second look at some of the films that have just landed on DVD.

In Bruges

Grossing a mere $7.7 million domestically, Martin McDonagh’s slick comedy about hit men in purgatorial exile was the unfortunate victim of low-exposure advertising and a restricting theatrical run. Only peaking at 232 theaters nationwide, the good word of mouth that accompanied the film failed to push it towards financial success. Poorly advertised from the gate, Bruges’s trailer left little indication of what the movie could offer by excluding its contemplative elements and instead focusing on a hodgepodge of satirical one-liners. Or maybe, audiences are just getting tired of witty assassins. Either way, the film offers a bit more than meets the eye and its unrelenting dark comedy is a rare bright spot in a year over-stuffed with rehashed one-note character comedies (I’m looking at you Mike Myers). Worth a rental.

The Spiderwick Chronicles

Adapted from a series of children’s novels of the same name, The Spiderwick Chronicles was a surprise critical hit, but it failed to make back its $90 million budget domestically. Mark Waters (Mean Girls) directed this quickly paced saga that feels as though it must be largely condensed from the subject material. The plot tends to unfurl rather than expand which will keep young viewers entertained. However, as indicated by its box office numbers, the film lacks the scale and gloss of more popular, competitive series’ such as Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia. After debuting at #2 behind Jumper, Spiderwick’s popularity soon tapered off.

10,000 B.C.

Perhaps the masses have caught onto Roland Emmerich’s penchant for bloated, unrealized films and have begun the process of tuning him out. This would explain why his latest “effort”, 10,000 B.C., didn't fare quite as well as past projects such as Independence Day, The Patriot and The Day After Tomorrow. Since being given a greenlight, the picture has been plagued by revisions, stoppages, and studio changes; all of which are evident when viewing the movie.

Centering around the lost love of our mammoth-hunting hero, the film is a cursory travel tale that focuses far too much on engaging the audience emotionally (which Emmerich is usually no good at) and not enough on recalling the unique visual effects of the director's earlier films. With 10,000 B.C., imagination seems all but lost for the man who had the moxie to blow up The White House. One can only wonder if his next apocalyptic effort, 2012 (which will star John Cusack and Amanda Peet and is due out in 2009), will win back the public. It is not likely.