The Book of Eli

A quick and easy way to evaluate the effectiveness of a presidential administration is to examine the range of post-apocalyptic fiction that it directly inspired.  By this standard, the Bush administration doesn't fare particularly well.  In the early days of the administration, of course, there were only a handful of movies that seemed to equate Bush's presidency with the end of civilization (Children of Men, Land of the Dead).  But then about halfway through the second term, nearly every new release seemed to assume that a Bush-related apocalypse was a foregone conclusion (I Am Legend, Zombieland, The Road, Wall-E).  The Book of Eli is a late, and - for the most part - unremarkable contribution to this trend.  Once again, we are re-introduced to the same familiar sights: scorched earth, rows of burnt out cars, collapsed bridges, roving bands of marauders, etc.  The plot progresses about as you'd expect it to until late in the final act when Denzel Washington and Mila Kunis are ambushed while holing up in an old, decrepit house, and the camera suddenly starts weaving in and out of the house as the two sides exchange fire.  The scene goes on for ten brilliantly sustained minutes and could easily stand alongside any of the ten minute long single-take action sequences in Children of Men.  For this scene alone, The Book of Eli is worth at least a rental.

 
extra features:
-Maximum Movie Mode: 40 minutes of picture-in-picture commentary with Denzel Washington and the Hughes Brothers, and 10 Focus Points (Blu-ray only)
-Additional scenes
-A Lost Tale: Billy--animated short covering Carnegie's backstory
-Starting Over: Explore the role we might play in reshaping society after a global catastrophe (Blu-ray only)
-Soundtrack: Co-director Allen Hughes and composer Atticus Ross compare notes about the soundtrack's construction and deconstruction (Blu-ray only)
-Eli's Journey: Probe the historical and mythological roots of the film's central themes (Blu-ray only)

 

Ratings:  IMDb - 7.0/10 Metacritic - 53 Rotten Tomatoes - 46%



Youth in Revolt

Few actors in contemporary cinema have typecast themselves to the same degree as Michael Cera.  Although his characters in Superbad, Juno, and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist all have different names, they're basically identical in nearly every other respect.  In the opening moments of Youth in Revolt, it seems that Cera has finally given up on playing characters with different names (his character is once again an adorably awkward kid named Nick).  Luckily, Nick invents an alter ego about halfway through named Francois Dillinger - a badass with a pencil-line mustache and steely blue contact lenses (also played by Cera).  To see Cera act against type is a minor revelation, like watching Leonard Nimoy in a non-Spock role.  For the novelty alone, Youth in Revolt is worth at least a rental.

extra features:
-Commentary with Director Miguel Arteta and Michael Cera
-Deleted Scenes
-Off the Chain Deleted and Extended Animated Sequences
-Audition Footage

Ratings:  IMDb - 6.8/10 Metacritic - 63 Rotten Tomatoes - 69%