Charlie BartlettIt was set to come out in August, a darkly comic, drug-filled teaser to the impending back-to-school September. Then the film got bumped to February, and slid in and out of theaters with barely a second glance. This is too bad, because we're talking about a flick free of the booze and boobs teen movie mentality, and one that stars Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis, and Kat Dennings.
Charlie Bartlett is the story of a spoiled, ignored rich kid (Yelchin). With a mother (Davis) who is troubled and heavily medicated, he runs rampant with his own brand of living -- an Igby character with the talents of Veronica Mars. But when he's ravaged the available private schools, he gets sent to the public variety, where he ends up becoming not only a prescription drug dealer, but a pseudo psychiatrist. All would be well in this new gig, save for the fact that he's dating the principal's (Downey Jr.) daughter (Dennings), and the principal wants to bring him down.
It might have sneaked by without a glance, but the Charlie Bartlett disc offers a decent collection of features. First, there are two commentaries -- one is director Jon Poll with writer Gustin Nash, and the other is Poll with stars Yelchin and Dennings. There is also a Restroom Confessional featurette, and a music video for "Voodoo" by Spiral Beach.
Check out Erik's Review | Buy the DVD
Definitely, MaybeAfter exploding out of the pizza-place gate with Van Wilder, Ryan Reynolds quickly became the guy with charm, but not necessarily the IT guy. Waiting... and Just Friends didn't help matters, but then came what I call the triple-proof of his talent: The Nines, Chaos Theory (from last week), and finally, Definitely, Maybe. While each has its flaws, they offer glimpses at an actor who can handle more intelligent comedy, as well as more intriguing fare.
In Definitely, Maybe, he plays a man going through a divorce who sits his young daughter (Abigail Breslin) down to hear the story of his post-marriage romantic life, shielding little bits of information so that she can't figure out who ultimately became her mother: Isla Fisher, Elizabeth Banks, or Rachel Weisz. Like a quicker-paced How I Met Your Mother, he lines out the romance and mistakes as the young girl tries to figure out the mystery -- from Banks as the college sweetheart, to Weisz romancing an older Kevin Kline.
Like Bartlett, there's a small collection of special features on this disc -- commentary with director Adam Brooks and Ryan Reynolds, a featurette about the film, and a brief glimpse into creating the different time periods for the film with production design and music.
Check out James' Review | Buy the DVD
Be sure to visit Peter's Indies on DVD for some of the other great new releases this week.
Other New DVD Releases (June 24)
Honeydripper
10,000 BC
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Xanadu -- Magical Musical Edition
Bonneville









1. Also on DVD..Tuesday, June 24. 2008!!
Man of a Thousand Faces (1957)
Starring: James Cagney, Dorothy Malone
Director: Joseph Pevney (Who Just Passed Away!)
Academy Award winner James Cagney gives an unforgettable performance as Lon Chaney in this fascinating true story that follows the life of one of the most iconic and mysterious stars in Hollywood history!Known as the "Man of a Thousand Faces" silent film star Lon Chaney captured the imagination of the world through his incredibly expressive and transformative roles such as Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Phantom from the original Phantom of the Opera. Behind the scenes however this long-suffering talented genius' life was filled with trials and tribulations that helped shape some of his most groundbreaking roles.The Academy Award -nominated Man of a Thousand Faces captures the dramatic private life of a humble vaudeville clown who rose to become one of the biggest stars the world has ever seen!
Posted at 5:05PM on Jun 24th 2008 by Christopher