Role Models: Unrated



Rating:

The Skinny: Two work associates-slash-tenuous-friends (Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott) are forced to do community service after one of them reacts badly and illegally to a break-up. Their task? Shepherd two troubled young kids: a foul-mouthed hellspawn (Bobb'e J. Thompson) and a nerdy LARPer (Christopher Mintz-Plasse).

The Good: Role Models has all the trappings of a "fill in the blanks" movie idea, which is why it's so surprising that it works. This is perhaps the funniest and least annoying William Scott has ever been, and Rudd, once again, nails everything. And LARPers (Live Action Role Players) are a ripe comedy target—it's about time someone went after them.

The Bad: Once again, we get an "Unrated" DVD that amounts to nothing. Apparently there's about three minutes of extra footage added that you'd only notice if you are, in fact, Rudd or William Scott (and you're not, are you?). Can we just dispense with this useless marketing ploy altogether? This is a funny movie, no need to get so pushy.

Best Extra: There's funnier stuff in the deleted scenes and blooper reels than the so-called "unrated" cut of the movie, so they're worth taking the extra time to scroll through.

Buy, Rent, or Ignore: Role Models is a keeper.



Batman Anthology (Blu-Ray)


Rating:

The Skinny: The Batman franchise as it existed between 1989 and 1997—namely Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin by directors Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher—come to Blu-Ray.

The Good: Until fully-immersive brain implants are perfected, this is the best it's going to get. The movies are cleaned up with a healthy 1080p gloss, and no Bat-completist worth his Alfred can own a Blu-Ray player and not have this on his shelf.

The Bad: There are no new special features—all the featurettes and docs are carried over from the standard DVD Batman box set that came out in 2005. So the lone selling point is the Blu-Ray-ness. And do you really need another reminder why you probably won't (and shouldn't) ever watch Batman & Robin again?

Best Extra: Tim Burton's commentary on the first Batman is a stand-out, but we'll go with the "History of Batman" doc because we can't get enough Bat facts.

Buy, Rent, or Ignore: There's no middle ground here. Blu-ray-enabled Bat fanatics will want this, though.



Primal Fear


Rating:

The Skinny: When a meek, stuttering orphan (Edward Norton) is accused of murdering a Catholic priest, a suave defense attorney (Richard Gere) is put to the test. Sounds pretty basic, huh? If not for a performance that put Norton on the map back in 1998, it would have been.

The Good: This seems like an odd movie to re-release, but we're happy they've done it. The original late-'90s disc was typical of, well, late-'90s discs. It had a movie, and that's it. This new "Hard Evidence Edition" finally puts together a decent well of special features, and a new remastering of the film. If you haven't seen it in a while, this is a good reason to.

The Bad: The movie's not really greater than the sum of its parts. Gere is better than usual, and Norton is unbelievable, but the story itself feels a little Law and Order in a lot of places. And you've probably had the twist spoiled for you by now anyway.

Best Extra: "Primal Fear: Star Witness", because the focus is on the movie's strongest point: Norton.

Buy, Rent, or Ignore: A rental.