DVD Round-Up: "Identity Thief" Starring Melissa McCarthy and "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters" Starring Jeremy Renner

Identity Thief (2012)

The Basics: A woman, Diana (Melissa McCarthy), steals the "gender neutral" identity of an upwardly mobile professional, Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman), which turns his life upside down. 

Reasons to Watch: McCarthy and Bateman deliver fine performances and are ably supported by Robert Patrick and Eric Stonestreet, among others.

The Bottom Line: An overly long film that seems more dramatic than comedic. Viewers learn about Diana's unfortunate back story, but can the truth really justify her actions that have caused Sandy and his family so much grief? Not at all, but I may have been open to accepting Diana more if there was something to like about her. Of course, Sandy is not really likable either, so there is no one to root for and without a consistently funny script, Identity Thief turns into a real downer. 

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2012) (DVD available June 11)

The Basics: Action adventure film based on the characters from the fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel, by the Brothers Grimm, starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton.

Reasons to Watch: Fast moving and action packed, with some dark humor to offset the never ending violence. I enjoyed Famke Janssen's performance as Dark Phoenix.....sorry, the witch Muriel. 

The Bottom Line: Writer/director Tommy Wirkola delivers a well paced film that suffers from cringe inducing dialogue and stereotypical characters. For instance, uttering curse words may be amusing the first time around, but when they are used in every other sentence, especially towards the end of the film, it becomes tiresome and sounds lazy. I suspect the target audience may enjoy the endless parade of blood, gore and violence, but everyone else may not.