Pacific Rim

In the near future, alien insect/reptile/crustacean-looking giants ascend from a fissure portal in the ocean floor to wreak havoc on the Golden Gate Bridge and other easily-digestible landmarks.

Review: Wonder Twin powers activate: form of a giant Iron Man to kick some nouveau Godzilla tail.
The derivative monster mash-up movie "Pacific Rim" is full of spectacular Sci-fi effects, and features ubiquitous creature-catcher Ron Perlman, but not much else.

But the special video materials include lots of bonus content, mythological background, and two dozen in-depth featurettes covering many production elements such as stunts, sets and effects.

Director and co-writer Guillermo del Toro is a master monster-maker, from his inventive "Pan's Labyrinth" creations to his "Hellboy" denizens, and here his Kaijus are equally creepy carnivores who pay homage to the Japanese genre of the same name.

In the near future, these alien insect/reptile/crustacean-looking giants ascend from a fissure portal in the ocean floor to wreak havoc on the Golden Gate Bridge and other easily-digestible landmarks.

Jaegers, colossal Ultra-men complete with glowing red sterna, are constructed to combat the creatures. The ginormous robots must be controlled by two pilots, in a mental linking procedure called drifting, because one alone doesn't have enough RAM to get the job done. And, of course, to illustrate that we all need to get along when facing a foreign force.

Working to stop a renewed onslaught are Stacker Pentecost (bad ass Idris Elba), the take-no-shit commander; deceptively adept trainee Mako Mori (fireplug Rinko Kikuchi sporting a blue-tipped bob); and traumatized former pilot, called back for one final mission, Raleigh Becket (beefcake "Sons of Anarchy" star Charlie Hunnam, who just dropped out of the "50 Shades of Grey" film project).

Dr. Newton Geiszler (the forever screeching Charlie Day, seeming nothing like a doctor) gets to "drift" with an "Alien"-looking baby Kaiju, and taps into their hive mind to figure out why they're here and how to get rid of them. Maybe he could mind-meld with the Tea Party's shared brain to figure out why they're also hell-bent on destroying the country.

"Pacific Rim"
Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet Combo Pack
$22.99
http://www.pacificrimmovie.net/