'Psycho' killer before caped crusader

Long after dancing his way through "Newsies" but before donning the cape in "Batman Begins," Christian Bale put his name on the map by taking the lead role in "American Psycho," the film adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel. \nPatrick Bateman (Bale) is a man mixed up in the madness of being a Wall Street yuppie in the heart of the 1980s. Sure, he has fun flashing c-notes and comparing business card designs with his fellow employees, but the only thing Bateman enjoys more than pop music is serial killing -- and his murderous rage has no limits. From hookers to hobos to competition in the workplace, Bateman takes great pleasure in busting out his favorite toys (which include a chainsaw and nail gun to name a few) and going to town on assorted denizens of New York City. But how long can his killing spree continue?\nWhile it might seem like "American Psycho" is a pure gore fest, it is the complete opposite. Sure there is blood here and there, but the focus is more on the subtlety of murder. One moment you see Bateman with a woman, the next day he is fondling a lock of her hair at his desk and quite obvious that he had some "fun." "American Psycho" is the farthest thing from a horror flick. Instead it acts as a dark comedy and critique of yuppie mentality, the latter which Bale exudes in fine form while still teetering into murderous insanity. \n"American Psycho" has seen a DVD release before, but the "Killer Collector's Edition" (obviously meant to tie into the recent "Batman Begins" release) boasts extras not on the original release which has since gone out-of-print. You get two commentary tracks from director Mary Harron and co-writer Guinevere Turner which doesn't add much to the film. "American Psycho: From Book to Screen" is a three-part documentary which to be perfectly honest is completely disposable. It is poorly arranged with not much insight into the film but instead more rants from Harron who kept bouncing back and forth to direct (Oliver Stone and David Cronenberg were once attached). The deleted scenes are rather boring as is the featurette, "The '80s: Downtown," which you would swear came from a VH-1 special. I recommend avoiding the video essay, "The Pornography of Killing," because the girl reading it is plain annoying. And "Uncut Version" doesn't mean uncut violence but rather disturbing, extended sex scenes. \nFor being such a great film, the extras are anything but "Killer." If this disc had more contribution from the actors, such as an interview with Bale to get his thoughts today on the film, then perhaps the extras would've been more redeeming. Buy it for the film, not for the weak extras.