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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...
"G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA"
Stars: Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller
Director: Stephen Sommers ("The Mummy")
Formats: DVD, Two-disc DVD, Blu-ray
What we said: "Made for only two audiences: those who thought the '80s cartoon was abso-freakin'-lutely awesome and anyone who finds a mindless fantasy world of techno-military action abso-freakin'-lutely awesome on its own terms."
Extras: DVD: Commentary by Sommers and producer Bob Ducsay.
Two-disc DVD and Blu-ray: The DVD commentary plus “The Big Bang Theory: The Making of G.I. Joe” and “Next-Gen Action: The Amazing Visual FX and Design of G.I. Joe” featurettes; digital copy.
Worth watching: While the effects actually weren't amazing, the “Next-Gen Action” featurette is still pretty interesting for FX heads.
Worth skipping: Without Quaid, Miller, Rachel Nichols or anyone else from the cast, the commentary isn't especially engaging.
Worth adding: A featurette on the right wing critics who, not knowing that this was based on the '80s cartoon, made fools of themselves when they accused the filmmakers of political correctness run amok because G.I. Joe in this film is a multi-national, multi-ethnic and multi-gendered anti-terrorist squad and not just one bearded soldier with a kung-fu grip.
Buy, rent or ignore: Rent the two-disc DVD or Blu-ray; Ignore the single disc.
"THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3"
Stars: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, James Gandolfini
Director: Tony Scott ("Enemy of the State")
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray
What we said: "This sturdy example of straightforward action filmmaking wouldn't merit much interest if not for the acting match-up at its center."
Extras: DVD: Commentary by Scott, writer Brian Helgeland and producer Todd Black; “No Time to Lose: The Making of Pelham 1 2 3,” “The Third Rail: New York Underground” and “From the Top Down: Stylizing Character” featurettes; “Marking Pelham."
Blu-ray: All DVD extras plus a digital copy.
Worth watching: “The Third Rail” is an interesting look at New York's iconic subway system.
Worth skipping: “No Time to Lose” is a skippable making-of featurette.
Worth adding: A commentary with Hector Elizondo, Jerry Stiller and Doris Roberts—the co-stars in the 1974 original.
Buy, rent or ignore: Rent.
Other DVDs out this week (all titles also available on Blu-ray):
— See animated extraterrestrials invade someone's storage space in "Aliens in the Attic"
— Jeff Daniels and Lauren Graham show off surprising chemistry in "The Answer Man"
— One of the scariest movies of the year is all about what you eat: the provocative documentary "Food, Inc."
— Is it weird that we hated "I Love You, Beth Cooper"?
— Simon Baker may be a big TV star thanks to "The Mentalist," but he's not so big at the movies thanks to "Not Forgotten"
— Because the first two versions of this misfire weren't enough, there's "Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut"
— Oh how clever, it's shaped like a box of chocolates: "Forrest Gump: 15th Anniversary Gift Set"
— Get into the hi-def holiday spirit with the Blu-ray debut of "It's a Wonderful Life"
— Celebrate one of Alfred Hitchcock's best with "North By Northwest (50th Anniversary Edition)"
— Celebrate one of Cameron Crowe's best with "Say Anything…: 20th Anniversary Edition"
Also on Blu-ray:
"A Christmas Carol"
"Criterion Collection: Howards End"
"Love Actually"
"National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Ultimate Collector's Edition)"
"Rocky: The Undisputed Collection"
"Two Girls and a Guy"
Also released:
"Before the Fall"
"Criterion Collection: Wings of Desire" (also on Blu-ray)
"Dark Mirror"
"The Dead"
"Hardwired"
"Lemon Tree"
"The Narrows" (also on Blu-ray)
"Unmistaken Child"
"Where God Left His Shoes"
"White Christmas: Anniversary Edition"
