Cowboys and Aliens [Blu-Ray]

This summer's Cowboys and Aliens had the potential to be one of this year's most profitable blockbusters. However, just like Snakes on a Plane, director Jon Favreau's sci-fi-infused western proved that the hype of a catchy title doesn't equal box office, and critical, success. Taking place in the Old West, Daniel Craig plays a mysterious stranger who rides into the town of Absolution with a case of amnesia and an odd apparatus strapped to his wrist. The viewers are then introduced to a handful of one-note, quickly drawn characters, including Ella (Olivia Wilde), the mystifying, hollow love interest, and the crotchety Colonel Dolarhyde. (Harrison Ford). Although the set and plot devices used early on are initially mildly intriguing, by the time the aliens eventually attack Absolution, audience members will be too bored and unimpressed to care about future plot twists unfolding in front of their drowsy eyes. Don't get me wrong: Cowboys and Aliens is nowhere near as atrocious as the unforgettably awful Wild Wild West. The CGI and special effects used in the film are aesthetically pleasing despite the fact that they are nowhere as stylish or dynamic as filmgoers expect from a film with such a talented cast and crew. The extended cut of Cowboys and Aliens doesn't make the film anymore entertaining, featuring extended scenes of dialogue from characters no one is remotely interested in. And while the end result of this genre mash-up proves to be a bore-fest, the same can't be said for the special Blu-Ray features, which include hours of conversations with director Jon Favreau talking to his cast and crew, extensive, in-depth behind-the-scenes featurettes and an honest commentary from the director, who isn't shy about admitting the film's failures.