Monday, February 20, 2012

Tower Heist (DVD REVIEW)



Tower Heist
DVD Review by Kam Williams

Eddie Murphy- Ben Stiller Buddy Comedy Comes to DVD

By the time Wall Street titan Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) was charged with running a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme, it was already too late for the authorities to find the fortune that he had ostensibly hidden in offshore accounts. As a condition of being released on bail before trial, he was ordered kept under house arrest in his luxury penthouse at The Tower, an exclusive high-rise located on Central Park West.
While this development might have prevented the arrogant embezzler from becoming a fugitive of justice, it simultaneously left him surrounded by some of those he’d swindled. For, not only had he stolen from the wealthy, but he had also talked the staff at The Tower into trusting him with all the assets in their pension fund.
Consequently, the callous con man’s victims include building manager Josh (Ben Stiller), Lester the doorman (Stephen Henderson), Enrique the bellhop (Michael Pena), Odessa the housekeeper (Gabourey Sidibe), Charlie the concierge (Casey Affleck) and bankrupt, fellow resident Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick).
Reluctant to let Shaw walk away with their money, the group hatches a plan to take the law into its own hands, since they suspect that the remorseless embezzler has stashed about $20 million in cash somewhere in his condo. So, Josh asks a motor-mouthed petty thief (Eddie Murphy) to join the conspiracy, for help robbing the apartment right under the nose of the accused who’s restricted to the premises, 24-7.
This is the promising premise of Tower Heist, the latest buddy comedy directed by Brett Ratner. While the teaming of Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller doesn’t come close to matching the inspired, screen chemistry of Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan in Ratner’s Rush Hour trilogy, the talented twosome nevertheless manage to generate enough laughs, with the help of a colorful support cast, to make you forgive the fact that the crime caper grows increasingly improbable the further the film unfolds.
A funny, if farfetched, revenge fantasy for folks bilked by the likes of Bernie Madoff.

Excellent (3.5 stars)
Rated PG-13 for profanity and sexuality.
Running time: 105 Minutes
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
2-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Extras: Digital copy;
2 alternate endings; deleted scenes; alternate scenes; gag reel; Plotting Tower Heist; feature commentary with director Brett Ratner, editor Mark Helfrich and co-writers Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson; Tower Heist Video Diary; U-Control; pocket BLU App; and more.

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