DVD Release Reviews for October 13th

The Proposal - A- (Gotta Own)
The Proposal is a funny and charming version of a basic, formulaic storyline that has been done an innumerable amount of times. Following your typical blueprint of a romantic comedy, The Proposal also adds a little bit of Devil Wears Prada with Sandra Bolluck playing the role of Meryl Streep and Ryan Reynolds playing her “love interest”. Bolluck and Reynolds have great chemistry and provide tons of laughs as they must pretend they are in love and engaged in order to keep Bolluck from being deported. Although it’s very predictable, the up and down relationship between Reynolds and Bolluck as well as the very unique assortment of family and friends that Reynolds’s character has easily sets it aside from most Rom-Coms. If you’re a fan of When Harry Met Sally, Definitely, Maybe, or any other good romantic comedy then this is a must-rent.


Drag Me to Hell - A- (Evil Dead fans Gotta Own, Gotta Rent for all others)
Drag Me to Hell is one of those absolutely love or absolutely hate horror movies. I thought it was great as it was a refreshing change to all the garbage horror movies released in the last decade. Directed by Sam Raimi, and starring Alison Lohman and Justin Long, it combines both comedy and horror to create one of the best PG-13 horror movies since The Ring. It has a good balance between actually being scary as well as providing many “shock value” scenes to momentarily startle you. Fans of the Evil Dead series, the last horror flick directed by Raimi, will love this film as their humor and horror are very similar. My only disappointment was not having a cameo from Bruce Campbell with his chainsaw. If you are more into the current trend of horror movies such as My Bloody Valentine, Haunting in Connecticut, or any of the other 200 slasher films then you may not like, however anyone else interested in a horror movie with a great ending and many twists along the way should check it out.


Land of the Lost - B- (Wait for It)
Will Ferrell tackles yet another classic television series in this remake of the old show from the 70’s. Land of the Lost is not a very good film and could really only be enjoyed if you know ahead of time that you cannot take it seriously whatsoever. Fans of the original show will appreciate the monsters and their zombie like speed of attack, as well as the (I hope intentionally) poor animation of the dinosaurs. If it wasn’t for Danny McBride and Anna Friel I would say that this movie should be tossed into its own world lost in time, alongside Ferrell’s previous television series remake Bewitched. McBride (Tropic Thunder, Pineapple Express) and Ferrell both provide some funny moments, although they are few and far between. It’s along the same lines as Night at the Museum or Journey to the Center of the Earth, so if you’re looking for a teenager oriented adventure movie then this may fill that need, albeit not nearly as strong as the aforementioned.