New on DVD this week: 'The Hangover Part III' and 'After Earth'
Ah, don't you just love fall? I love it for all sorts of reasons: pumpkin spice everything, football and DVD releases. Yes, thankfully this is the season when a lot of summer movies I missed finally make their Blu-ray and DVD debuts. This week we've got a nifty crop of offerings, including a couple of films that I avoided in the theater but I will absolutely watch from the comfort of my own couch.
The big releases this week include the mega-comedy sequel The Hangover Part III, the Will and Jaden Smith science fiction bomb After Earth and The Purge, a sleeper horror hit starring Ethan Hawke. I'd say that qualifies as a pretty diverse selection for most of us. Are these films awesome? Probably not. None of them got particularly stellar reviews, but no matter: If I can get them via Netflix or for a couple of bucks at a local DVD box, I'm fine if they aren't that great.
I haven't seen any of these movies yet, but I've read enough and heard enough from friends who have. Don't expect top notch entertainment. If you just want to hang with the Wolfpack one more time, go right ahead with The Hangover Part III. I understand. If you're a die-hard Will Smith movie fanatic who has to at least see After Earth to determine for yourself if it deserved to bomb massively over the summer, that's fine too. As for The Purge: You horror fans, I just love you. It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks, you'll watch and decide for yourself. You have my respect. I am not sure I'll be able to watch this one (remember when I told you I was a chicken?).
A quick DVD rental update, by the way: Last weekend I decided to check out Sofia Coppola's latest, The Bling Ring. After a few days of struggling to think of something nice to say about it, I simply can't. It was just not a great film in my opinion. I actually found myself hating every single character, and once that happens, I'm out. Emma Watson is pretty? I mean that's about as good as this one gets. I'm quite disappointed in Ms. Coppola right now, and I'm hoping for better things from her in the future.
Photo courtesy of Total Film