You loved the movie, what about the DVD?
Find out as we examine the extras on this week's best movie DVDs...
“MAMMA MIA! THE MOVIE”
Stars: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Formats: DVD, Two-disc DVD, Blu-ray
What we said: "My, my, it's easy to resist this."
Extras: DVD: Commentary by Lloyd; an all-new musical number, “The Name of the Game”; “Sing Along,” a karaoke option.
Two-disc DVD: DVD extras plus deleted scenes and outtakes; “The Making of ‘Mamma Mia!,” “Anatomy of a Musical Number: ‘Lay All Your Love On Me’,” “Becoming a Singer,” “Behind the Scenes with Amanda,” “On Location In Greece” and “A Look Inside ‘Mamma Mia!” featurettes; “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” music video; digital copy.
Blu-ray: All of the two-disc extras plus BD-Live, which lets you create your own audio or text commentary, as well as share your favorite scenes with friends; U-Control, which includes info on the songs, picture-in-picture interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.
Worth watching: The “Sing Along” function. You’re going to sing along anyway, you might as well get the words right.
Worth skipping: “Behind the Scenes with Amanda.” After watching a sweet, upbeat flick, just the idea of hanging out with this equally sweet actress sends us into a diabetic coma.
Worth adding: Streep, et al., to the commentary. With only Lloyd, it’s just a monologue, and that’s not what this movie’s all about.
Buy, rent or ignore: Rent the two-disc or Blu-ray; Ignore the DVD.
“THE HOUSE BUNNY”
Stars: Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Kat Dennings
Director: Fred Wolf (“Strange Wilderness”)
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray
What we said: "Although not even as strong as this year's admittedly hit-and-miss Baby Mama, it does serve as a solid showcase for Faris"
Extras: Deleted scenes; 11 featurettes: “Anna Faris: House Mom,” “The Girls of Zeta,” “Zetas Transformed,” “Colin Hanks: Mr. Nice Guy,” “Getting Ready For a Party,” “House Bunny Style,” “Calendar Girls,” “House Bunny Memories,” “From Tour Bus to Trailer: Tyson Ritter,” “From Song to Set: Katharine McPhee” and “Look Who Dropped By”; “The Girls Upstairs,” footage with the real women from “The Girls Next Door”; “I Know What Boys Like” music video by Katharine McPhee.
Worth watching: “The Girls Upstairs,” since these ladies are almost as funny as Faris.
Worth skipping: “House Bunny Style.” If you even consider wearing what Faris wears in this movie, your mother would have such a fit.
Worth adding: An experts’ commentary by Hugh Hefner, James Caan and any other guy who’s ever lived at the Playboy mansion.
Buy, rent or ignore: Rent.
“THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR”
Stars: Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello
Director: Rob Cohen (“The Fast and the Furious”)
Formats: Two-disc Deluxe Edition DVD, Deluxe Edition Blu-ray
What we said: "Just murky dust in the wind, unable to settle down and spreading apathy as it blows."
Extras: DVD: Commentary by Cohen; deleted and extended scenes; seven featurettes: “Preparing For Battle with Brendan Fraser and Jet Li,” “The Making of ‘The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” “Jet Li: Crafting the Emperor Mummy,” “From City to Desert,” “Legacy of the Terra Cotta,” “Creating New and Supernatural Worlds” and “A Call to Action: The Casting Process”; digital copy.
Blu-ray: All of the above plus U-Control features (that can be accessed during the movie) including “The Dragon Emperor’s Challenge” game, visual commentary by Cohen, “Scene Explorer” comparing storyboard and early renders to the final film, and the trivia track “Know Your Mummy”; BD-Live features including scene sharing.
Worth watching: “Preparing For Battle with Brendan Fraser and Jet Li,” to see how these very different film fighters worked together.
Worth skipping: The visual commentary by Cohen. If only because, given the choice, I’d rather look at Maria Bello. Or Michelle Yeoh. Or a mummy.
Worth adding: Anything involving actress Rachel Weisz, who originated Bello’s role of Evelyn in the first two “Mummy” movies.
Buy, rent or ignore: Rent.
Other DVDs out this week:
— Is he or isn’t he? Find out more about Don Cheadle in “Traitor” (also on Blu-ray)
— The top prize winner of Sundance 2007: “Sangre de mi Sangre”
— Nobody puts baby in the corner, but apparently they put her through her paces with the “‘Dirty Dancing’ Official Dance Workout”
— In case “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” isn’t enough, there’s “The Mummy: The Animated Series”
Also on Blu-ray:
“8 Mile”
“Chungking Express”
“Coach Carter”
“Death Proof”
“Hannibal”
“The Heartbreak Kid”
“Hot Rod”
“In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale”
“Into the Wild”
“The Man Who Fell to Earth”
“A Nightmare on Elm Street”
“Old School: Unrated”
“Planet Terror”
“The Third Man”
“Tommy Boy”
“Wedding Crashers”
