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You loved the movie, what about the DVD?
Find out as we examine the extras on this week's best movie DVDs...
"TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN"
Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Optimus Prime
Director: Michael Bay ("Armageddon")
Format: DVD, Blu-ray
What we said: "A 150-minute simulation of life in a garbage disposal."
Extras: DVD: Commentary by Bay and co-writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman; five featurettes: “The Human Factor: Exacting Revenge of the Fallen,” “A Day with Bay: Tokyo,” “25 Years of Transformers,” “NEST: Transformer Data-Hub” and “Deconstructing Visual Bayhem”; deleted and alternate scenes; music videos; trailer.
Blu-ray: All of the above extras plus “The Matrix of Marketing” and “The AllSpark Experiment” featurettes.
Worth watching: “25 Years of Transformers” is a good primer for those unaware that these robots in disguise are older than some of their co-stars.
Worth skipping: The deleted and alternate scenes were clearly left out for a reason.
Worth adding: A second commentary by Peter Cullen (the voice of Optimus Prime) and Hugo Weaving (Megatron), but only if they'd do it in character.
Buy, rent or ignore: Rent.
"WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY"
Stars: Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum
Director: Mel Stuart ("If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium")
Formats: Blu-ray
What we say: This vibrant and colorful movie musical, written by Roald Dahl and based on his book, looks even more tasty in this new high-def edition.
Extras: Commentary; “Pure Imagination: The Story of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory” featurette; four sing-along songs; vintage making-of featurette; trailer; a 38 page book with song lyrics, cast bios and pictures.
Worth watching: “Pure Imagination” will tell you everything you've ever wanted to know about this classic film.
Worth skipping: Since you'll probably sing-along to the film's classic tunes when you watch the movie, there's no point in doing it again on their own.
Worth adding: Hardcover editions of Dahl's original novel, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," and its sequel, "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator."
Buy, rent or ignore: Buy.
"BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE"
Stars: Gianna Jun, Allison Miller
Director: Chris Nahon ("Kiss of the Dragon")
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray
What we said: "Apparently someone forgot to add an extra dimension in the process of adapting the film from anime—the characters have the personality of cardboard cutouts and the actors deliver performances to match."
Extras: DVD: “The Making of 'Blood: The Last Vampire'” and “Battling Demons: Behind the Stunts” featurettes.
Blu-ray: The above extras plus a storyboard gallery; BD-Live functions.
Worth watching: If you care enough to check this movie out, then you might find something interesting in “The Making of 'Blood: The Last Vampire.'”
Worth skipping: “Battling Demons” might give some daredevil wannabes some bad ideas.
Worth adding: A coupon for the upcoming Blu-ray version of the vastly superior original anime version, which is coming out November 24.
Buy, rent or ignore: Rent.
Other DVDs out this week:
— Michelle Pfeiffer proves cougars have been around for decades in the period romance "Cheri"
— Brothers go wild in Thailand in "The Elephant King"
— Amy Smart does her best Jennifer Grey impression in the low rent "Love N' Dancing" (also on Blu-ray)
— Because there were so many unanswered questions from the first two—such as “Why don't you just ask for directions?”—there's "Wrong Turn 3" (also on Blu-ray)
— Steve Martin and the late John Candy team-up for the classic road picture "Planes, Trains and Automobiles: These Aren't Pillows Edition"
Also on Blu-ray:
"Criterion Collection: Monsoon Wedding"
"Easy Rider"
"Ichi the Killer"
"Waterworld"
"Withnail & I"
Also released:
"100 Feet" (also on Blu-ray)
"Night of the Creeps: Director's Cut" (also on Blu-ray)
"The Tournament"
"The William Castle Film Collection"
