May 13, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES I & III • Page 25 Latest DVD releases include ‘Galaxy Quest’ by Dennis Seuling “Galaxy Quest” (DreamWorks Video) is one of the funniest and most original movies of the last 10 years. When it opened in December 1999, it was in competition with other, higher-profile films and did not get the attention it deserved. It became a hit when released to video and then DVD. A new deluxe edition celebrates the film that pokes joyous fun at a “Star Trek”-like TV show, its aging cast, and its passionately devoted fans. Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen), Gwen DeMarco (Sigourney Weaver), Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman), and Fred Kwan (Tony Shalhoub), once stars of the sci-fi TV series “Galaxy Quest,” now spend their time at fan conventions and corporate events. It is not the career they dreamed of, but it’s a living. At one of these conventions, the cast is approached by an odd group dressed as space aliens. This is not unusual, since fans tend to show up at these conventions in elaborate costumes, but these fans claim to be Thermians, inhabitants of a distant planet who, believing the TV episodes to be historical documents, have come to seek the crew’s help in saving their world from the genocidal General Sarris and his armada. The film works as outright comedy and as satire. Allen, Weaver, Rickman, and Shalhoub are excellent as the actors torn between annoyance at the typecasting that has placed their careers on endless hold and the adulation they receive from the fans. But the Thermians, played with bizarre, offcenter charm by Enrico Colantoni, Missi Pyle, and Patrick Breen, steal the picture. Their weird speaking cadence, duck-like ambulation, and deadly earnestness contrast with the cynicism of the actors, until they find themselves battling a real enemy. This film also introduced Justin Long Missi Pyle, Patrick Breen, and Enrico Colantoni play a delegation of Thermians sent to Earth in ‘Galaxy Quest.’ as an enthused “Galaxy Quest” fan who joins his heroes in their adventures. He is wonderful. You do not have to be a sci-fi or a “Star Trek” fan to love this movie. It is a gem. Bonuses include featurettes on the making of the movie, its special effects (including a gigantic rock monster), deleted scenes, profiles of the crew members, and the creation of the Thermian race. “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) is a prequel to the “Underworld” franchise that traces the origins of a centuries-old blood feud between the aristocratic vampires known as Death Dealers and their onetime slaves, the Lycan werewolves. In the Dark Ages, a young Lycan named Lucian (Michael Sheen) emerges as a powerful leader who rallies the werewolves to rise up against Viktor (Bill Nighy), the cruel vampire king who enslaved them. Lucian is joined by his secret lover, Sonja (Rhona Mitra), in the battle for freedom. Sheen is good as Lucian, but it is odd to see a bit of his Tony Blair character from “The Queen” shining through in certain scenes. Mitra, a tough woman in the Angelina Jolie mold, looks good in the fight scenes, but never convinces in the requisite love story. The computer effects are pretty lame. When the werewolves attack, it is painfully evident that they are poorly rendered computer images. Those who are not diehard “Underworld” fans can forget this film. Bonus materials include a script-to-screen featurette, a music video, a look at the movie’s scenic design, and filmmakers’ commentary. A digital copy is contained in the Blu-ray edition. “Just Another Love Story” (Koch Lorber) focuses on Jonas, a crime scene photographer whose subjects are corpses. His occupation befits Jonas’ deadening suburban existence with his wife and family. After a car accident he has caused, Jonas takes a special interest in one of the victims, Julia, and visits the comatose young woman at the hospital. When mistaken by Julia’s family for her boyfriend Sebastian, whom they have never met, Jonas readily steps into the role and helps to nurse the amnesiac Julia back to health, falling in love in the process. With its shots of naked corpses and a slow-motion scene of a car crash, this is hardly just another love tale. Danish director Ole Bornedal aspires to Hitchcockian thriller caliber, but never gets beyond B noir flick. 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