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You loved the movie, what about the DVD?
Find out as we examine the extras on this week's best movie DVDs...
"ANGELS & DEMONS"
Stars: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer
Director: Ron Howard (“The Da Vinci Code”)
Formats: Single-disc DVD, Two-disc DVD, Blu-ray
What we said: "Three-quarters of passable fun for adults ... The overwrought climax pushes the film past the limits of what audiences should have to endure in their fake-smart summer entertainment."
Extras: Single-disc DVD: The theatrical cut of the movie; “Rome Was Not Built in a Day,” “Writing 'Angels & Demons',” “Characters in Search of the True Story” and “CERN: Pushing the Frontiers of Knowledge” featurettes.
Two-disc DVD: The single-disc featurettes plus an extended version of the movie instead of the theatrical; “Handling Props,” “'Angels & Demons': The Full Story” and “This is an Ambigram” featurettes; “Hans Zimmer Music Studio.”
Blu-ray: All DVD extras, including both the theatrical and extended versions of the movie, plus “movieIQ”; cinechat; “The Path of Illumination” featurette; digital copy.
Worth watching: The “Full Story” featurette is true to its name.
Worth skipping: With cinechat, you can IM your friends as you watch the film at home…y'know, instead of paying attention to the movie.
Worth adding: The trailers and TV commercials. How am I supposed to know what critics think of this film if you don't include the trailers and TV commercials?
Buy, rent or ignore: Rent.
"FUNNY PEOPLE"
Stars: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana
Director: Judd Apatow (“Knocked Up”)
Formats: Single-disc DVD, Two-disc DVD, Blu-ray
What we said: "Asks to be seen as more than the sum of its laughs but can't come up with anything more profound than 'Don't know what you got 'til it's gone.'"
Extras: Single-disc DVD: Both the theatrical and unrated cuts of the movie; commentary by Apatow, Sandler and Rogen; gag reel.
Two-disc DVD: All single-disc extras plus deleted, extended and alternate scenes; Line-O-Rama; “'Funny People' Diaries”; Judd's High School Radio Show; “Raaaaaaaandy!” mockumentary; “Music from 'Funny People'” soundtrack selections; “From the Archives,” with early footage of Sandler, Apatow and Rogen; “The Films of George Simmons”; footage of Sandler making a prank call in 1990; “Yo Teach…!”
Blu-ray: All DVD extras plus more Line-O-Rama, music and archival footage; footage of Sandler and Apatow on “Charlie Rose”; U-Control; BD-Live functions that include My Chat, My 'Funny People' Commentary and scene sharing.
Worth watching: Some of the deleted, extended and alternate scenes are very funny, as are the Line-O-Ramas, which let you see scenes with alternate dialog.
Worth skipping: Unless you're Leslie Mann, or someone else from the cast or crew, why would anyone want to hear the running commentary you record yourself with the BD-Live function My 'Funny People' Commentary?
Worth adding: Mann to the commentary. Not only is she very funny, but we respect women's equal rights to talk about movies.
Buy, rent or ignore: Rent.
Other DVDs out this week:
— Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn demonstrate why you should stay home for the holidays in “Four Christmases” (also on Blu-ray)
— In depth research went into the portrayal of the Italian mafia in “Gomorrah (Criterion Collection)” (also on Blu-ray)
— “Funny People” star Leslie Mann also stars in Robert Rodriguez's kiddie flick “Shorts” (also on Blu-ray)
— Get the real story behind the movie with “The History Channel: Angels & Demons: Decoded”
— You'll never look at your dog the same way again after you watch “Cujo: The 25th Anniversary Edition” on Blu-ray
— Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken, Marcia Gay Harden and William H. Macy weren't enough to get a theatrical release for the crime comedy “The Maiden Heist”
— They've been on Blu-ray for over a month but now standard DVDs are available for the Eddie Murphy bomb “Imagine That” and Disney's remastered “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”
Also on Blu-ray:
“Air America”
“Angel Heart”
“Frailty”
“Ghost in the Shell 2.0”
“The Monster Squad: 20th Anniversary Edition”
“My Bloody Valentine: Special Edition”
“New Police Story”
“Way of the Gun”
Also released:
“All Tomorrow's Parties”
“David & Layla”
“Far Cry”
“Janky Promoters”
“National Lampoon Presents Robodoc”
“Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws” (also on Blu-ray)
“Taking Chances”
“Three Monkeys”
