Peter M. Lenkov’s Rest In Peace Department oozes with really fantastic ideas, and that’s probably why Universal Pictures wanted to make it into a blockbuster franchise. The problem with the adaptation is that is misfires at almost every plot turn, and never seems to decide if it’s going to be dark, funny, or just plain weird. That’s also why it’s very unlikely we’ll see a sequel to R.I.P.D.
Robert Schwentke
R.I.P.D. exists at the point where Men in Black meets The Frighteners, but leaning heavily towards the MIB side of things. Somewhere in that mix, there is probably a winning combination, but R.I.P.D. only gets it about half right, with a storyline that is more than likely to bomb until it rises again in a few months on Blu-ray.
New this week on DVD and Blu-ray: Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren kick butt in the action-comedy, Red; Diane Lane stars in the horse-racing drama, Secretariat; plus a look at Saw: The Final Chapter, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest.
Opening this weekend in theatres: Matt Damon stars in Clint Eastwood’s emotional drama, Hereafter; Bruce Willis plays an aging CIA agent on the run for his life in the action-comedy, Red; plus a look at the drama Conviction, and Johnny Knoxville’s Jackass 3D.
New this week, Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana star in the chronologically-challenged romantic drama, The Time Traveler’s Wife; Michael Stuhlbarg leads the Coen brothers’ A Serious Man; plus a look at Bronson, Halo: Legends, and SG-U: Stargate Universe, Season 1.0.