Buy, rent or ignore?

'I'm Not There,' 'P.S. I Love You,' and 'Over Her Dead Body' hit DVD

By Paul Semel

Special to Metromix
May 6, 2008

 
Buy, rent or ignore?
Heath Ledger in "I'm Not There" (Credit: TWC)
Photos:
"I'm Not There" "P.S. I Love You" "Over Her Dead Body"
You loved the movie, what about the DVD?

Find out as we examine the extras on this week's best movie DVDs...

“I'M NOT THERE”
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger
Director: Todd Haynes (“Velvet Goldmine”)
Format: DVD

What we said: "The superb music and acting is enough to make this experiment a success, but just because Haynes didn't blow up the lab doesn't mean he made a scientific breakthrough."

Extras: Commentary by Haynes; deleted scenes with optional commentary; “making of,” “soundtrack making-of” and movie premiere featurettes; additional interview with Haynes; “Subterranean Homesick Blues” music video; audition tapes for co-stars Ben Whishaw and Marcus Carl Franklin; gag reel; Dylanography (filmography, discography, bibliography, chronology); The New York Times article on the film; on-screen lyrics.

Worth watching: The interesting deleted, alternate, and extended scenes, which give you more Bob for your buck.
Worth skipping: The on-screen lyrics, because Bob Dylan is such a master enunciator that we all know what he's saying.
Worth adding: More in the Dylanography: his geography, his calligraphy, his choreography, his cartography, his demography, his oceanography...

Buy, rent, or ignore: Buy.


“P.S. I LOVE YOU”
Stars:
Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow
Director: Richard LaGravenese (“Freedom Writers”)
Formats: Single-Disc, Blu-Ray

What we said: "It's tough to believe that any leading lady could've done much with writer-director Richard LaGravenese's lackluster material."

Extras: James Blunt music video; “A Conversation With Cecelia Ahern,” an interview with the author of the original novel; deleted scenes; “The Name of the Game is Snaps.”

Worth watching: “The Name of the Game is Snaps,” an instructional video on how to play the movie's finger-snapping word game that's actually shot to look like an instructional video from the '50s.
Worth skipping: That James Blunt music video, which is even mushier than the movie.
Worth adding: The original trailers...what have we said about trailers?

Buy, rent, or ignore: Rent.


“OVER HER DEAD BODY”
Stars: Eva Longoria Parker, Paul Rudd, Lake Bell, Jason Biggs
Director: Jeff Lowell
Format: DVD

What We Said: "Proves that Longoria Parker can be as annoying as she is beautiful."

Extras: None (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Stereo Surround Sound 2.0, and subtitles in English and Spanish don't count).

Worth watching: Oh, geez, with so much to chose from...I dunno, maybe the Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix, since this movie really demands to be heard in surround sound.
Worth skipping: The Stereo Surround Sound 2.0 mix. You didn't just spend $35,000 on a home theater to watch this movie in stereo.
Worth adding: Original trailers; a making-of featurette; deleted and extended scenes; bloopers; commentary by the cast and crew; “We're Sorry,” an interview with the powers-that-be in which they apologize for the fact that this DVD has no extras.

Buy, rent, or ignore:
Ignore...out of principle.


Other DVDs out this week:

- Grassroots marketing made a minor sensation out of "Bella"
- French brothers bicker and sleep around in "Dans Paris"
- Steve Buscemi plays a sleazy paparazzi in the indie satire "Delirious"
- Ice Cube finds religion in “First Sunday” (also on Blu-ray)
- A documentary about a font (no kidding): “Helvetica” (also on Blu-ray)
- Paris Hilton produced and stars in future Razzie award contender "The Hottie & The Nottie"
- Discover very man's worst nightmare in the Sundance horror/comedy "Teeth"
- Things really blow in “Twister, Two-Disc Special Edition” (also on Blu-ray)
- Kathleen Turner gives a killer performance in “Serial Mom, Collector's Edition”

Other titles:
"100 Girls"
"The Bridges Of Madison County" (Deluxe Edition)
"The Car"
"The Devil's Own" (Blu-ray)
"Hollywood Dreams"
"Shall We Dance?" (Blu-ray)
"Spaghetti Westerns 20 Movie Pack"

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