This week, recipes are the new director's commentary.
Hoodwinked
Little Red Riding Hood gets the Rashomon treatment in this animated comedy, which opened to mixed reviews and better-than-expected box office. Features the voices of Glenn Close, Anne Hathaway, James Belushi, Patrick Warburton, Anthony Anderson, David Ogden Stiers (y'know, Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III), Xzibit, Chazz Palminteri, and Andy Dick. Extras include commentary from the three, count 'em, three writer/directors.
The Family Stone
Critics were even more split on this latest iteration of Meet the Parents, with some calling for Oscar nods and others bemoaning the film's clumsy efforts to combine comedy and drama. The oft-compelling Luke Wilson and Rachel McAdams (not to mention Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T. Nelson, and Sarah Jessica Parker) should make it worth finding out on your own. And if that doesn't do it for you, there are myriad extras from which to choose, including two separate commentary tracks, deleted scenes, featurettes from the Fox Movie Channel (I didn't know there was a Fox Movie Channel, but it's the only one you can watch on Air Force One), a Q&A session with the cast, and, most intriguingly, a recipe for "Morton Family Strata."
Delicatessen
Jean Pierre Jeunet's (Amelie, A Very Long Engagement) beloved cult debut finally arrives on DVD. Those of you familiar with this dark comedy may be disappointed to learn that there are no recipes in the extras. Extras do, however, include commentary from Jeunet, his "archives", and a featurette.
Last Holiday
If you found out you only had a short time left to live, what would you do? Star in a remake of a much better Alec Guiness film? Me, too! Queen Latifah takes over for Obi Wan in this film by Wayne Wang, who has gone from The Joy Luck Club and Smoke to Maid in Manhattan and Because of Winn Dixie in ten short years. Extras include several featurettes, deleted scenes, and, I shit you not, two recipes.
Tennessee Williams Film Collection
I've only seen two of these (A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), but they contain some of the best performances ever captured on film, so how bad could the rest be? You also get Sweet Bird of Youth, Night of the Iguana, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, and Baby Doll. In addition, there's a doc about Williams and a plethora of extras on each disc, especially those first two, which are special editions. And, of course, a recipe for "Faded Southern Belle Casserole."
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