Susan Granger’s dvd update for week of Jan. 5:
Inspired by the popular children’s novel, “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” is an eye-popping, amusing, cautionary tale about gluttony, obesity and genetically-altered edibles; it’s filled with high-spirited visual puns and weather-disaster gags.
Set in a desolate, dreary, post-apocalyptic world, Shane Acker’s “9” is an animated sci-fi story about a tiny “stitchpunk” rag doll (voiced by Elijah Wood) who discovers humans are extinct, machines have decimated mankind, and it’s the sacred mission of numerical creatures, like himself, to perpetuate life as we know it on Earth.
There are two excellent documentaries. Narrated by Meryl Streep, “Ginevra’s Story” explores the mysteries of Leonard da Vinci’s first known portrait, a haunting, hypnotic painting of Ginevra de Benci that conceals a multitude of secrets. And to celebrate the 250th anniversary of his birth, “In Search of Mozart” is the first feature-length documentary about Mozart’s life; it dispels many of the common myths about his genius, health, relationships and character.
Jason Bateman plays a hard-working chemist/entrepreneur whose plans to sell his flavoring company to General Mills go awry, upsetting the industrial applecart of his existence in “Extract,” a raunchy social commentary from Mike Judge (“Office Space”).
Sandra Bullock is an incessantly chattering cruciverbalist (creator of crossword puzzles) in the wretched, wannabe romantic comedy “All About Steve;” her character is so psychologically disturbed that she’s not worth meeting, even on dvd.
PICKS OF THE WEEK: 1) Capturing the heartbreak and misery of rejection, “500 Days of Summer” is a whimsical tale of lost love, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel; the number in the title coyly refers to the length of time between the day they meet and the day they part. And 2) Neil Blomkamp’s “District 9” is an edgy, provocative sci-fi thriller about aliens brought to Earth after their enormous spaceship stalls over Johannesburg, South Africa; a pop allegory for the racial tension of apartheid, this compelling tale is told in a satirical mockumentary style, showing compassion for the visitors who resemble giant crustaceans and are dismissively referred to as ‘prawns.’