January 10, 2007
New DVD Tuesday - Idiocracy, Mad Cowgirl, Crank, The Illusionsit, Barnyard, Psychopathia Sexualis, I Trust You To Kill Me

As usual, New DVD Tuesday is a day late, but here it is anyway.
Idiocracy - It's no Office Space (then again, what is?), but this wry satire of anti-intellectualism and pop culture directed by Mike Judge is well worth watching. Luke Wilson stars as a barely average Joe who wakes up 500 years in the future to discover he's the smartest man alive. Maya Rudolph and Dax Shepard co-star, but the scene stealer award belongs to Terry Crews, who plays a former professional wrestler turned President of the United States.
Since you probably didn't see this movie during its blink-and-you'll-miss-it theatrical run, now's your chance to catch it on DVD. The disc features both the R-rated and unrated versions of Idiocracy, but sadly lacks a director's commentary.
More DVD releases after the jump.
Action/Thriller
Crank - It's like Speed in a man. A professional assassin is injected with a poison that will kill him if his heart rate drops.
Seclusion - Low-budget thriller about a congressman who sleeps with his female campaign and wakes up to find her missing. Optional subtitles.
Animation
Barnyard - A slick, CG-animated tale of a prodigal calf who must grow up and become the alpha bull of the barnyard. Voices include: Kevin James, Sam Elliott, Courteney Cox, Danny Glover and Wanda Sykes.
Mosaic - A young actress (Anna Paquin) who can shapeshift gets a mentor. Story by Stan Lee, directed by Scott Lobdell.
Documentary
I Trust You To Kill Me - When he's on hiatus from 24 Kiefer Sutherland works a second job: managing a band called The Burden on their European tour.
Me & Michael - Michael Moore gets the Michael Moore treatment as he's stalked by a budding seeking a patron.
Street Fight - Nope, it's not a grindhouse action flick. It's a documentary about the 2002 mayoral election in Newark, New Jersey, when Yale law student Cory Booker tried to unseat four-term incumbent Sharpe James.
Drama
Color of the Cross - The low-budget version of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ written and directed by actor Jean-Claude LaMarre, who covneniently stars as Jesus.
The Illusionist - A magician (Edward Norton) trades barbs Austrian Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) in turn-of-the-century Vienna. Enjoy the unintentional comedy of seeing Jessica Biel in period dress.
The Night Listener - Robin Williams plays a late night radio show host who a dying boy who may never have existed. Based on a novel by Armistead Maupin, which was based on a true story.
Psychopathia Sexualis - All sorts of sexual quirks and fetishes share screen time in Bret Wood's dramatized version of several cases in Richard von Krafft-Ebing's landmark, Victorian-era study on sexual deviance and perversity.
Heist
Bandidas - Sexy Spanish thieves Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz lead an oddball gang plotting a big heist in this action/comedy.
Horror
Mad Cowgirl - A meat inspector (Sarah Lassez) who has likely been infected with mad cow disease goes on a surreal, violent rampage. Walter Koenig (Chekov from Star Trek) co-stars as her televangelist lover. Might make a nice double feature with Barnyard.
TV Movies
Broken Bridges - Toby Keith plays a fading country music star who reunites with his childhood sweetheart (Kelly Preston) and meets his 16-year-old daughter for the first time.
Lightspeed - Daniel Goddard, Nicole Eggert, and Lee Majors co-star in this action flick made for the Sci-Fi Channel. A government agent who becomes a superhero after surviving a terrorist attack and radiation treatments.
The Snow Queen - Low-budget BBC TV adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale about a young woman who sets out on a magical journey to find her best friend, who has been taken by the Snow Queen.



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Good looks on this post. Idiocray is a blast of fresh air in the gutless Hollywood ditz parade.
Don't know why Judge doesn't do commentaries. Lynch doesn't either and its f'in frustrating.
Street Fight looks great, too.