New DVD Tuesday!

We should all be issued personal apologies from the movie industry for the awfulness that is the 2010 movie calendar. Never have I had as little interest in the meager, week-to-week offerings as I am experiencing right now. I've had to resort to watching shows on USA for Pete's sake. ("Burn Notice" is top notch, BTW.) Blerg. But I digress. Your craptastic DVD offerings for the week.

The Bounty Hunter (2010): Gerard Butler, Jennifer Aniston
This thing is a sure thing come award season. And by awards, I mean the Razzies and the Worst 10 list of every critic worth his salt. It's embarrassing how bad this thing is. I say this, of course, based on the vomiting I did after watching the trailer and the reviews of, literally, EVERYONE. Gerard Butler is quickly working his way onto the Worst Actors list and Jennifer Aniston continues to make puzzling choices, bringing her closer and closer to career suicide.

Chloe (2010): Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore
A suspicious wife (Moore) hires a girl (Seyfried) to seduce her husband (Neeson). Always a solid plan if you ask me. Things go downhill from there. Meh.

Greenberg (2010): Ben Stiller
A movie about a middle age curmudgeon (Stiller) who begins to rethink his life after moving and falling in love. I was really, really intrigued by the trailers for this film. It looked authentic and honest and seemed like the type of role that could gain a comedian like Stiller some recognition. Unfortunately, however, this is written and directed by Noah Baumbach, a man who seems to delight in offending his viewers. I've started to watch both of Baumbach's mainstream titles ("The Squid and the Whale" and "Margot at the Wedding") and finished neither because of Baumbach's insistence on the unwatchable. And this pisses me off because he comes up with great stories but directs as if he wants half of his audience to bail out. Not sure I can take a third swing on this guy.

New to Blu-Ray
Insomnia (2002): Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank
An LA detective (Pacino) goes to always-sunny Alaska to help track down a serial killer (Williams). This is the only Christopher Nolan-directed film that I don't find to be particularly brilliant. It lacks flow for me and while I usually endorse the "Comedian as a Villain" line of thinking, Robin Williams actually distracts from the plot here. It's good, it's just not great. I just expect more from a director that I frequently refer to as the best in the industry.