Clash of the Titans

A few weeks prior to its theatrical release, Warner Bros. decided to convert Clash of the Titans to 3D, a process which normally requires a full year to do properly.  A debate was thus spawned: was the low-rent 3D tolerable, or did it signal the end of the format?
Now that it's possible to pay attention to the movie itself (even if you have a 3D TV, the Blu-ray is 2D only), a new controversy will likely arise: why did Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes agree to appear in it?  They play Zeus and Hades respectively, and their bizarrely campy performances here are a far cry from their work in Schindler's List.  For reasons which are explained in a long-winded opening voice-over, Hades imposes an ultimatum on the citizens of Argos: sacrifice Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) within 10 days, or a Kraken will be unleashed.  In response to this, Perseus (Sam Worthington) sets off on a journey and along the way battles giant scorpions and other mythological creatures.  A few of the fight scenes are impressive, but the same material was actually presented more interestingly in Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief.


extra features:
--Maximum Movie Mode: Harnessing the Gods, with Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, and director Louis Leterrier and enhanced picture-in-picture; enhanced scene breakdowns; enhanced VFX breakdowns; on-the-spot vignettes; close-up views of the Kraken, the Scorpiochs, Medusa, stuntwork, filming locales, and more
--Sam Worthington: An Action Hero for the Ages
--Alternate ending: Perseus confronts Zeus on Mount Olympus
--Additional scenes

Ratings:  IMDb - 6.0/10    Metacritic - 39    Rotten Tomatoes - 29%



Repo Men

The ratio of scenes that feature graphic depictions of surgery to scenes in general is alarmingly high in Repo Men, a dystopian sci-fi satire about a man (Jude Law) who repossesses artificial organs via ether and scalpel from living people who have fallen behind on their payments.  It's possible that the movie has a point to make about the necessity of universal health care, but the depictions of surgery are so graphic that you'll probably spend most of the movie looking at your hands.


extra features:
--Deleted Scenes
--The Union Commercials
--Inside the Visual Effects
--Feature Commentary with Director Miguel Sapochnik and Writers Eric Garcia & Garrett Lerner


Ratings:  IMDb - 6.4/10    Metacritic - 32    Rotten Tomatoes - 22%