New on DVD
New DVD releases this week feature heroes that come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
“Power Rangers”: None of the numerous incarnations of the colorfully clad super heroes series from Saban Entertainment were known for good acting, writing or special effects. Each one survived on a campy and cheesy quality that translated into mindless entertainment.
Now that the franchise has moved to the big screen, the campy humor has been replaced by an attempt to make the story more like a teen angst production such as “The Hunger Games.” That works when the film focuses on a group of average high school students who become costumed heroes. Where it fails so miserably is with the central villain of Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks).
Banks chews up so much scenery and plays each scene so over the top that she makes the laughable work in the TV shows look like Emmy-caliber acting. The only thing worse than Banks is one of the most blatant product placements in movie history. A major moment takes place in the Krispy Kreme doughnut shop in the small town of Angel Grove. It’s not just a building in the background —the name Krispy Kreme is repeatedly mentioned and Rita pauses in her destruction of the city to eat a pastry. That’s the film’s biggest evil.
“Bunnicula”: The animated series based on the best-selling books by Deborah and James Howe looks at what happens when Mina (Kari Wahlgren), a 13-yearold girl, gets a new pet ? a vampire rabbit. When Bunnicula isn’t fighting some weird creature, he’s sucking the juice out of vegetables.
Bunnicula (Chris Kattan) makes life miserable for Mina’s cat, Chester (Sean Astin), who must also put up with Harold (Brian Kimmet), a ditzy dog. The show revolves around the trio getting in and out of trouble while the teen is unaware of what is happening.
Although this is an animated series about dealing with monsters, it takes a very original approach to the familiar genre. Seeing a monster that’s half spider and half sheep is really pushing the monster genre envelope. The series is a nice blend of fast and bright animation that will keep the attention of young viewers with enough smart humor to keep parents entertained.
“Bunnicula” is hare-raising fun.
“T2 Trainspotting”: It’s rare that there can be a gap of more than two decades between a film and its sequel and the long wait isn’t a problem. “Transpotting” was so original when it was released 21 years ago that the characters ended up being unforgettable.
Even if you don’t know Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor), Spud (Ewen Bremmer), Begbie (Robert Carlyle) and Simon (Jonny Lee Miller), it doesn’t take long to catch on to how this is a story of longtime mates who ended up going in different directions two decades ago. Those who have seen the original will be able to fully appreciate the weird humorous connections between the buddies.
If anything, the sequel shows more maturity than the original. A lot of that is the result of the players being older and going from rowdy lads to family men. Despite their growth, director Danny Boyle keeps taking these four guys back to the oddball elements that originally made them endearing enough to be remembered all these years later.
“T2” works because all four actors are great but Carlyle takes his performance a few steps further. That’s because he’s dealing with two big elements as an absentee father and a man set on revenge. The film would have been just as strong if he had been the only character re-visited.
It took 20 years to get more stories about the guys but it was worth the wait.
“CHiPs”: It’s not often that one person does as many things wrong in a single movie as Dax Shepard has done with this film, which was slightly inspired by the television series. Shephard’s script has fewer laughs than a eulogy, the direction looks like he slept late and the crew just rolled cameras, and his performance is lazy, bland and boring. It’s surprising the film is so bad because Shephard has done good work in projects from “This Is Where I Leave You” to “Parenthood.”
His idea of a fun script is to have Miami-based FBI agent Frank “Ponch” Poncherello (Michael Pena) get sent to Los Angeles to go undercover with the California Highway Patrol. The motorcycleriding group has some bad apples. Poncherello’s partner is Jon Baker (Shepard), a rookie who can ride a motorcycle with great skill but can do little else.
The only break from the bad acting and writing comes through a few decent chase scenes, but none of them are staged well enough to get across any sense of danger. Also new on DVD this week: “Midsomer Murders, Series 19, Part 1”: Detective chief inspector John Barnaby (Neil Dudgein) looks into sinister secrets in an English village.
“Prison Break Resurrection —Event Series”: The brothers (Dominic Purcell, Wentworth Miller) again must plot a new prison break.
“The Belko Experiment”: Office workers must fight for not only job security but also their lives.
“Absolutely Anything”: Teacher is given supernatural powers by a group of aliens. Simon Pegg stars.
“Correspondence”: Woman will not let an affair end despite the married man trying to disappear. Jeremy Irons stars.
“Blake Edwards’ The Pink Panther Film Collection Starring Peter Sellers”: Includes six feature films with Peter Sellers as the bumbling detective.
“Dirty Dancing: Television Special”: Abigail Breslin takes on the role of Baby in this special that original aired on ABC.