A pair of late-summer vfx movies land on video shelves today, just in time for some last-minute holiday shopping. Fans of FOX’s short-lived sci-fi/Western series, Firefly, can pick up the big-screen spin-off, Serenity, while Terry Gilliam devotees add the director’s latest effort, The Brothers Grimm, to their collections.
Marking the feature directorial debut of TV creator Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly) Serenity centers on a band of intergalactic outlaws who emerge as unlikely heroes when a young telepath is hunted by a totalitarian military regime known as The Universal Alliance. The film boasts impressive visual effects work by Zoic Studios and a strong cast led by series regulars Nathan Fillion (Dracula 2000, Saving Private Ryan), Gina Torres (The Matrix Revolutions, The Matrix Reloaded), Alan Tudyk (I, Robot, Into the West) and Adam Baldwin (Men In Black, The Poseidon Adventure).
The Serenity DVD includes such bonus materials as deleted scenes, outtakes, a special introduction and feature commentary by Whedon, and the featurettes Re-lighting the Firefly and What’s in a Firefly? The disc from Fox Home Entertainment carries a suggested retail price of $29.98.
The Brothers Grimm stars Matt Damon and Heath Ledger as legendary 19th Century German fairytale crafters Will and Jake Grimm, here depicted as con artists who travel the Napoleonic countryside defeating monsters and demons for a fee. When their exploits are brought to the attention of French authorities, the not-so-daring duo is forced to deal with a real magical curse in an enchanted forest where young girls are disappearing. Classic stories such as Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel and Cinderella are woven into the plot with help from the digital effects artists at Artem Ltd. The work was overseen by visual effects supervisor Kent Houston, who previously helmed vfx work on Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Twelve Monkeys.
Bonus Materials included with the Brothers Grimm DVD include commentary by Gilliam, deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette titled Bringing the Fairytale to Life and an effects featurette titled The Visual Magic of The Brothers Grimm. The Buena Vista Home Entertainment release lists for $29.98.
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