Crime comedy, family comedy and romance highlight the week’s DVD and Blu-Ray releases. 30 Minutes or Less, Our Idiot Brother and One Day are the big names coming home this week, but two smaller films are sure to delight as well: 5 Days of War and Another Earth.
30 Minutes or Less: Crime pays when it comes to comedy in 30 Minutes or Less. Jesse Eisenberg and Parks and Rec’s Aziz Ansari play best friends who have a less than savory encounter with Danny McBride and Nick Swardson. Eisenberg’s pizza delivery guy is kidnapped by McBride and Swardson and forced to rob a bank when a bomb is strapped to his chest. Not knowing where to turn, Eisenberg enlists the help of Aziz and, yes, hilarity does ensue. 30 Minutes or Less heads into avenues that one would not expect and Michael Pena is so hysterical in his performance as Chango that he almost steals the movie.
Our Idiot Brother: Paul Rudd is the titular Idiot Brother whose sisters (Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel and Emily Mortimer) believe he is living life in the most amateurish of ways. When Rudd’s Ned is arrested for selling pot, his sisters couldn’t be less surprised. When he gets out and has nowhere to go, he shifts from sister to sister while slowly warming over his siblings to his more wayfarer way of life. Check back with Movie Fanatic for our exclusive interview with Our Idiot Brother director Jesse Peretz.
One Day: Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess star in a romance that visits, you guessed it, One Day over two decades in one couple’s on-and-off-again relationship. The romance misses the mark more often than not, but both leads turn in solid performances, especially Hathaway and her brilliant English accent.
Snowmen: Billy, a 10-year-old who has recently beaten cancer, is determined to make his mark in the world with his new lease on life. The boy sets out to set the world record for most snowmen built in a 24-hour period. The film also stars one of our more underrated actors in Ray Liotta. Snowmen is the perfect family film to catch during the holidays when all the kids are home.
5 Days of War: Director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) makes his return to the screen with this tale of journalists fighting for the truth during the recent war between Georgia and Russia. Rupert Friend and Emmanuelle Chriqui are the film’s stand-out actors and although it didn’t find a theatrical audience, it should more than thrill on home video.
Another Earth: One of the most mesmerizing films of the year is coming home on DVD and Blu-Ray: Another Earth. The film follows a young girl on the night that it is discovered that there is Another Earth in the solar system. Director Mike Cahill has enthralled audiences with his unique story that is equally as thrilling on the small screen as it was on the silver screen.
