Fun With Dick and Jane
In the 1970s, Jane Fonda and George Segal became the upper-middle-class suburban equivalent of Bonnie and Clyde, going on a robbery spree to maintain their cozy lifestyle after financial hard times hit. Nearly 30 years later, it's Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni as the bandits in a remake that revs up the physical-comedy antics but loses much of the potency that made the original so easy for audiences to relate to. Carrey and Leoni are a husband and wife hurled into poverty after his big promotion turns sour when the corporation he works for collapses and he loses his job. The DVD has six deleted or extended sequences, including a long, slapstick-filled segment of Carrey's smackdown with an elderly security guard (James Whitmore). Director Dean Parisot and screenwriters Judd Apatow and Nicholas Stoller also provide commentary. Rated PG-13.
Wolf Creek
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Better than your average slice-and-dice horror flick is this grisly tale set in the vast emptiness of Australia, where three pals (Nathan Phillips, Cassandra Magrath and Kestie Morassi) run into bloody hell at the hands of a madman (John Jarratt) during a hike to a meteor site on a road trip. In the tradition of many slasher and horror flicks, the movie carries the tag line "based on a true story," in this case the deeds of a killer who preyed on backpackers in Australia. The movie is available in the R-rated theatrical version or a grislier unrated edition that adds five minutes of footage. Magrath and Morassi join first-time writer/director Greg McLean for commentary, and the DVD has a deleted scene and a making-of featurette. Rated R.
An Unfinished Life
On paper, this domestic drama of tragedy, grief, blame and reconciliation should have been a contender, starring Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez and Morgan Freeman and directed by Lasse Hallström ("The Cider House Rules"). The long-delayed film, one of many leftovers caught in the crossfire during Harvey and Bob Weinstein's bickering departure from Disney-owned Miramax, wound up dumped in theaters and generally forgotten last year. Redford stars as a reclusive rancher reluctantly reunited with the daughter-in-law (Lopez) he blames for his son's death. Hallström offers DVD commentary, and the disc has a making-of segment and a featurette on training the bear used in the film. Rated PG-13.
Mission: Impossible
With Tom Cruise's third impossible mission debuting in theaters May 5, a new DVD edition arrives to mark the 10th anniversary of his first adventure as super-agent Ethan Hunt. Directed by Brian De Palma and based on the television series about an ace team of operatives who are masters of disguise and deception, "Mission: Impossible" puts Cruise on the run after his character is framed in the deaths of his team. The new DVD gathers a batch of featurettes examining stunts, characters and the 40-year-plus legacy of the franchise. And, of course, the disc has a teaser trailer promoting "Mission: Impossible III. Rated PG-13.
