Directed by Michael Jai White, who was the main actor in the hysterical Black Dynamite, Never Back Down 2 is a shell of the original.  Even White’s performance as a washed up MMA trainer Case is uninspired in parts.  The movie focuses again on a few mixed martial arts students who are preparing for a new tournament, called the beatdown, and put together by Max  Cooperman (Evan Peters) from the original movie.

Case has a particularly checkered past, and he is trying to do everything he can to stay out of trouble.  In this type of movie, that will not happen.  The fighters are all dealing with their own issues, and are trying to jockey and prepare for the final competition, which is a big one.

While the sequel mirrors the original in many ways, the fact that it just feels like a copy really hurts its overall appeal.  We have seen this before, and with better actors.  The result is a movie with too much acting when its actors are mainly just fighters.  Less acting and more action might have been the right combination here.


Features: 4/10

• Commentary With Michael Jai White, Todd Duffee & Scottie Epstein - The commentary here is sparse and has a whole lot of dead silence.  There is little in terms of details about the movie, and while it is somehwat entertaining, it is a sub-par commentary.
• Deleted Scenes - There are only two scenes included on the disc, and they are not memorable.

Cover Art and Menus: 3/10
To me the cover for this movie looks just like a cover for a mixed martial arts competition.  It makes sense, but there is not a lot going on here.  The movie is about fighting, and so is the cover.  The cover is kind of reminscient of old Jean Claude Van Damme movies.  The menu is a static shot of the same guys in a different, albeit still angles, pose.  There is not even any background music playing during the menu.





Audio & Video: 5/10
I reviewed the standard DVD of Never Back Down 2, and while the widescreen presentation was adequate, it really lacks the feel of a top rated action movie.  Colors and details are decent, but the overall effect is pretty standard and lackluster.  It seems that they did not light the movie correctly in spots, which gives this a low budget feel.  The audio is the same way, with a lot of Surround sound usage that seems to be over the top for no real reason.  The dialogue in spots seemed to be mixed too low also.  And I feel that I have to mention the music, which is pretty bad overall.  It is knd of what you would expect for a low budget martial arts movie, but I had to mention it.  It is bad.


Value: 3/10
This straight to DVD release is fun as long as you are into MMA fighting.  The story is nothing new, and the overall result is a ho-hum martial arts movie with sub par character development and lackluster acting.

Overall Score 3/10

When Red learns Granny’s fate, she leaves the Sisterhood to rescue Granny, and it is only then that she learns of the evil plot, and who is behind it.  It kind of sounds great after reading that little blurb, but the execution just doesn’t match up to the hype.

Hoodwinked Too is a movie that just bumbles along.  The story is too complex for smaller kids to follow, and the attempt to make the movie more appealing for adults just gets old after a while (the Starsky and Hutch car was pretty funny though, for about a minute.)  There are a lot of big name, recognizeable actors who offer up their voice talent here, and a lot of classically recognizeable story characters to boot. But the overall effect is just one of confusion, and there is not a real opportunity to identify and connect to the characters.  To me this just shows the real difference between this type of animated movie, and those that have great stories and great characters.  Even the Shrek series, although ti got old, has some characters that you really gelled with.  Unfortunately this is just not one of those movies, and as a result, it is just a throw away type of animated release.  Even the big name voice actors don’t really add much to this besides a “wow, I can’t believe they are in this movie” type of reaction.  Hoodwinked Too is just not a great movie.

Features: 3/10

• Music Videos - There are 2 music videos included here, with one by Hayden Panettiere.  The others are by Lavay Cole and CeeJ.
• The Voices Of Hoodwinked Too - In the most interesting of the extras, we get to see some of the voice actors interviewed about their characters.  This one runs about 20 minutes long, and is pretty good.
• Storyboards & Production Artwork - We also get storyboards and production artwork, with the storyboards overlayed over final scenes.

Cover Art and Menus: 7/10
These animated movies sometimes have covers that are really intricate, as they can be drawn specifically for the cover, whereas movies involving live actors sometimes have to improvise.  The cover for this movie features all of the main characters hanging off of a balloon, and behind Red, the main hero of this movie.  It is fun and colorful, just like it should be.

The menu features spy-movie type music, and clips from the movie itself.  This is pretty much standard fare for a release like this, but kudos for not having a static DVD menu on a regular DVD release.




Audio & Video: 8/10
I liked the visuals here on this regular DVD release.  This is not a high definition release that I am reviewing, and I thought it looked and sounded decent.  The video was very crisp and clear, and of course the colors were bright, especially considering the fact that this is a regular DVD.  The 5.1 Surround Sound was used well in this release, with a great deal of bass and use of rear speakers.  It really packed a nice ummph overall.

Value: 4/10
Hoodwinked Too is of course a sequel, and it suffers from the fact that it seems to meander a bit.  While it is fun to see some classic characters in a new light (think the Shrek movies), it does get old after a while.  I also did not love the voice acting, and never really connected with this movie.  To me this movie is a lot like the Open Season movies, which didn’t stand up over time.  The mix of adult and kid humor is too forced here, and the result is a movie that is kind of tough to get attached too, and something that I don’t think will get watched too much in my household, which is different from most of the kid’s movies that we get.

Overall Score 4/10

Cross is a straight to DVD release for a reason, and that reason is that the movie is not good.  Brian Austin Green plays Callan, who totes a mjagical green glowing cross that gives him special powers.  He is immune to bullets and can move objects, and Callan uses his cross, given to him by his father, for good.  When Los Angeles has a rash of missing females, Callan and his grouup of “weapons experts” take to the streets to use his magic powers to battle the crime boss Elrik (Michael Clarke Duncan) as he teams up with the Gunnar, an immortal Viking (Vinnie Jones).  The unbelievable story is only matched by the unbelievable dialogue and very weak story and character development.  The three main characters and Lori Heuring try their best to make this work, but given the source material, there really is just nor much here to grab onto.

I really wanted Cross to be a lower budget comic book movie that was full of guns and explosions, which it is, but the rest of the movie is just not good enough to make one want to sit through the whole thing.  The movie is stylistic, with some neat graphic text overlays that were used well to give this more of a comic book feel, but when the bad CGI was mixed in, it kind of killed the whole style.  There are lots of B level actors making cameos in the movie also, which is fun, but overall Cross as a movie is regretably forgettable.


Features: 2/10

• Commentary With Director Patrick Durham – This commentary consists of cast alllouts and location mentions, and is severely limited in terms of information and scope.
• Alternate Ending – This alternate ending is literally maybe a 25 second scene where a supposed comedic ending is used.  Basically Jake Busey’s character shows up after everything has gone down, which is supposed to be funny.  The movie’s real ending is more of a comic book, tough guy type of ending, which is at least better than this alternate.
• Deleted Scenes – There are several deleted scenes, including a different title sequence and a few forgettable scenes that were not good enough for the movie.
• Animatic – There is a animated storyboard for the opening sequence included also.

Cover Art and Menus: 4/10
The cover for Cross features a few of the main characters in verious “bad ass” types of poses, with the green cross prominently displayed on the chest of Callan (Brian Austin Green).  The mennu is the same cover shot, with absolutely no audio or music whatsoever.  I guess the cover photo is not completely horrible, but its not great either.





Audio & Video: 5/10
The video for Cross is a 1.85:1 widescreen presentation , which is very bland and suffers from the strange shot choices.  There are a few issues with uneven black levels thoughout the movie. and the cinematography is questionable at best.  The special effects here deserve a special callout, as they literally take you out of the scenes, as they really are not well done at all.

The sound was pretty decent though, with the 5.1 Surround Sound being heavily used here with decent effect.  The dialogue was at times a bit low, but overall the audio was okay.


Value: 1/10
I hate to pan a movie that seems to have such good intentions, but Cross is really just not very good.  The DVD has little to no real staying value, as this is not something you are going to want to watch again, if you make it through the first watch.  It is a shame, as Vinnie Jones is such a fun villian, and who doesn’t really love a comic book type of movie?  Cross is just not good, period.

Overall Score 2/10

Lemonade Mouth becomes the band’s name after a run in with school’s more popular band Mudslide Crush, and the movie turns into a competition to see who will be top dog in this very musical high school.

The acting in the movie is pure Disney channel, with some forced lines and comedy, but otherwise it is bearable.  The stars from the Disney Channel shows do an adequate job here, and if you are expecting academy award type performances, you need to change DVDs immediately.  There is an appearance by Christopher McDonald who plays an over-zealous principal that harkens directly back to classic prinicpals from Ferris Beuller and Breakfast Club, which is fun to watch, if not predictable.

Lemonade Mouth is a made for television Disney creation, and it hits squarely within the boundaries and expectations of that type of movie.  It is fun to watch, and a tad too predictable for most adults.  My son liked it, and the music is actually pretty decent and catchy, which helps save the film  a bit.  Nothing spectacular, but a nice little Disney tale to talk about how hard school can be, while espousing the true meaning of friendship at the same time.


Extras: 2/10

• Extended Music Scene – There is an extended scene (read music number) included here as an extra. The advertisements on Disney Channel for the movie really push this extra, which I find funny as there are not really a lot of extras featured here on the DVD. It is a bizarre little interview with the song included.
• Rock Along – This is a sort of Karaoke for the tunes that are featured in the movie.
• Digital Copy – A digital copy is included here with the regular DVD.

Cover Art and Menus: 8/10
The cover is a classic yellowbackground with the band in black and white, which is decent.  The whole lemonade theme is carried ove to the menu, which again is a mash of yellow and lemons slices, with a pretty cool interspersing of the actors and shots from the movie.  I really liked the menu, expecially considering that this is not a Blu-ray.





Audio & Video: 7/10
The regular DVD release of Lemonade Mouth is decent as well, with a nice, bright color palete and decent clarity for most of the movie.  Some jagged edges are visible at times, but overall the widescreen presentation is nice.  The audio was good also, with a decent mix.  The music was (and should be) the strongest asset here in terms of the audio, and the dialogue was good, with a few areas that I thought could be brighter.


Value: 6/10
I think that Lemonade Mouth has been on the Disney Channel a few times already,  and it is sure to appear in heavy rotation for a bit.  It makes it hard to want to run out and buy the DVD when you can DVR it.  The movie is decent for the children that it is aimed at, and it is kind of a mini Glee Disney experience.  The lack of a real solid set of extras makes buying the DVD even more difficult.  Those who are into this type of movie will more than likely enjoy it, but buying it is another thing altogether, given the circumstances.

Overall Score 6/10

Part of why it didn’t capture my full attention, or fill my mind with great movie memories, was the shallow story. There’s a lot of flash over substance here, and the banter between the hornet and Kato is pretty good, but then venture beyond that with the politician story and the crime boss and it all comes out like bad mashed potatoes. We all know it’s hard to make bad mashed potatoes!!

The 3d element was lost on me. I can’t even imagine why they added it except to just get sucked into the trend of 3d. Some of the fight scenes had a nod here and there from what I could tell, but overall, it was not an important part of the movie.

The music is pretty good, a little heavy on the side of trying to be cool. The special effects were OK. There are some good fights, and everytime big rig cement mixers came on the screen it was awesome, but other than that a few of the FX came off cheesy and didn’t look polished enough for the promise of a 2011 super hero flick. Overall the look and sound of the movie was pretty straight down the middle for me. There was nothing that stood out and nothing that really looked/sounded bad enough to be a distractin. Hoo humm

Even though I did laugh and I did like the bad guy, OH and the opening scene with Christoff Waltz and James Franco is awesome, the hornet will remain forgettable for me. It was fun while it lasted, but it’s like empty Hollywood calories.


Features: 5/10

• Awesoom Gag Reel – Casual giggling and messing up lines is standard fare for a gag reel, surprise.
• Filmmakers Commentary – The director and writers are pretty enthusiastic about this movie so the commentary is more fun (potentially) than the movie on its own.
• The Black Beauty: Rebirth Of Cool – How do you live up to the expectations of a fan base of any established legendary comic story vehicle? Do it right, as close to the original as possible, of course.
• Writing The Green Hornet – A pair of writers always interests me because I am not a collaborator type. So, to get a whole script written with more than one cook in the kitchen is fascinating to watch.

Cover Art 3/10 and Menu: 5/10
Ascully fills each section of the template with “blah blah blah”. I suppose it’s a guide so I know precisely where to type stuff…come to think of it, that’s a little bit weird, but the point is that “blah blah blah” is how I feel about the cover of this DVD. The theme of average runs deep in this review. The cover, however, takes it’s place below average, way below actually. I might not have to note this, but I wouldn’t have it as a poster. The Green Hornet logo or a single shot of Kato doing something cool, yes, I might have that as a poster. This one is just not appealing, exciting, interesting, dynamic, creative, none of the things I would like to see from a big bold action wannabe flick. The menu is DVD stuff, but pretty good considering it’s now considered old technology, or whatever.





Audio & Video: 6/10
Unfortunatly we were not sent the Blu-Ray version of The Green Hornet so I can’t comment on the HD transfer of this movie. The 480P transfer on the DVD is fine and serviceable, it’s pretty soft on occassion and has some black crush but as far as DVD transfers go it is high up on the scale.

The 5.1 Dolby Digital audio was quite lackluster, I don’t know if it’s because I am used to the HD Uncompressed audio on Blu-Ray and have been spoiled, but the track here seemed a bit dull and lifeless.


Value: 4/10
Can you guess what I might say? I don’t want this in our movie collection. It doesn’t appeal to me beyond the one time viewing. Therefore, if it costs more than $1 I’m going to say it’s not really a good value for me. If you love Seth Rogan and have to have every single one of his movies, fine. If you have to collect every comic book hero movie, fine. If you just want a few laughs and a so-so movie on a Saturday night, rent this little green sucker and get it over with.

Overall Score 5/10

The menu ties in with the feel of the movie pretty well though.

Features: 2/10

• My Tribeca Story – For such a different looking movie, the extras also come up rather short.  My Tribeca Story is a decent little look at Director Talik Saleh, as he describes his eventual foray into this type of visual movie making ordeal.  It was almost a given that he would end up working with this type of visual, given that he was raised among animation.
• On The Red Carpet With Metropia – This feature is merely just a bit about the red carpet opening for the movie, featuring interviews with the voice actors and such.

The Movie: 7/10
Metropia is by far the strangest and most unique movie that I have seen in quite some time.  This animated, but hyper realistic view of Europe in 2024 is an insane backdrop for any adventure.  Europe is literally falling apart, and a single railway company has taken over all transport, supposedly saving Europe from despair.  The result is a barren wasteland of tan and gray, with overturned cars and seemingly a refusal for anyone to travel above ground.

We are introduced to Roger, a Stockholm resident who is stuck in a dead-end job answering phones.  Roger is a bit of an odd duck, as he shuns the norm and attempts to ride a bicycle to and from work.  His existence is as meek as Europe’s outward appeal.  Roger lives with his girlfriend or sorts, as the two agree to merely coexist together, without much respect or passion, as they share a small, blank apartment.  A beautiful girl in a shampoo commercial is about the only thing in Roger’s world that does not seem bland and boring, and it is obvious that he longs for something, or someone else.

Metropia then embarks on a very strange, very convoluted storyline involving mind control and manipulation, as Roger is thrust into a dangerous game when he sees his dream-girl on the train, and follows her.  The relationship and actions are not fully understood by Roger as his willingness to help Nina lures him deeper and deeper into a world of big business and danger.

To summarize Metropia is a bit of an exercise in futility in these short paragraphs.  The movie itself seems to twist and turn like a classic Sci-Fi movie, with the viewer being dragged along at his or her mercy.  The movie at times is frightfully slow, and while it adds to the bleak feel of the film, it also hurts it in a way.  Voice acting is very well done for this type of film, with great performances by Vincent Gallo (Roger), Juliette Lewis (Nina), and  Alexander Skarsgard as Stefan.  I love the fact that this is something new and so very different.  It could have been executed better in my opinion, and the story meanders a bit, but Director Talik Saleh’s vision is amazing to see.  I hope that this is just the beginning for Saleh, as his style is so amazing and different that I can’t wait to see where he goes next.  Metropia is a decent enough movie, but is shows massive potential, and if he can get all the peices to fall in place, the result could be even more awe-inspiring that this movie.





Audio & Video: 7/10
I really wish I would have seen this on Blu-ray.  The standard DVD looks great, and the crispness of the animation is evident even here.  I can’t imagine the result in high definition.  The hyper-realistic animation style is bizarre, and with this unique color palette, the result is just amazing.  The audio was not as impressive, with lots wrong with the mix in my opinion.  The dialogue was all over the place, with some sounds drowning out the somewhat hushed voice acting.   There was nice use of the rear speakers, but again, I really had issues in spots trying to understand what the characters were saying.

Value: 4/10
Metropia is a new and different type of movie.  It is one of those movies that I like to show people to see their reaction.  As for the overall value of this standard DVD release, it is hard to gauge.  I think people who like movie will enjoy at least seeing Metropia for what it offers and what new it brings to the table, but this is not an easy watch, and I can’t imagine forcing myself to sit through the droning movie over and over.  It is neat for the shock value, but the story and pace and landscape of this movie make it hard to recommend or what to own, especially with the stark extras and the fact that this is a standard DVD.

Overall Score 6/10

• Additional Scenes – The only features on the DVD are a few deleted scenes.  While the scenes themselves are decent (the graveyard scene should have been in the movie in my opinion, to explain Hex’s connection to the dead a bit more, and help the viewer connect with the character a bit) the fact that there is basically nothing included says a bunch about this release.

The Movie: 5/10
Jonah Hex is a movie based on a Western comic book from the 1970s.  I for one was not familiar with it, although I was never a huge comic book junkie.  Jonah (Josh Brolin) has a beef with Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich), who kills Hex’s family in front of him, for killing Turnbull’s son, who was ultimately a turncoat.  Turnbull then takes a red hot poker iron and scars Hex’s face, to give him a daily reminder of his pain.

The event does not kill Hex, but puts him close to death, and upon his life being saved by indians, his brush with the afterworld leaves him with an uncanny mystical connection to the dead, who he apparently can converse with.  The result is an interesting angle that really is only brushed upon in the movie, which is a shame, as there could have been so much more done with this.  Interestingly, there is a bit of comic book art used to tell the story of Hex as he is close to death, that I thought was a cool addition, but they fail to use the same effect anywhere in the rest of the movie.

Hex decides that he will become a bounty hunter, to take out those who do evil upon hearing about Turnbull’s death in a supposed hotel fire.  The truth is that Turnbull is not dead, and is in fact working on creating a weapon that can bye used to destroy the new America, as President Ulysses S. Grant is forced with the prospect of protecting the nation.  Grant turns his hopes, and those of the country, to Hex, who is more than happy on doing what he can to seek his revenge on the man who destroyed his life.

Brolin is a decent actor, and he does a fair job at making Jonah Hex appear to be a true American bad-ass.  The issue with this movie is that there is not a lot of character development on screen to make the viewer empathize with him (apart from the initial scene.)  It is hard to get behind Hex, as he is likeable, but a bit unexplained.  The same can’t be said for Malkovich as Turnbull, who to me seemed uninterested.  He was a baddie, but there was no heart to it, which kind of lacked through the whole movie.  It was not that this was a bad movie, as the cinematography was good, and the pacing was decent, but there just was not a lot to it.  Megan Fox plays a hooker Lilah, who is close with Hex, but she is not really in the movie all that much, and seems underused.

Overall Jonah Hex was a fair movie, without a whole lot of heart.  The story did fly by, but there was a lot more that seemed missing here, leaving one to wonder what could have been.  Brolin is a real saving grace here, as his acting was decent, but the rest of the movie just was lacking something.





Audio & Video: 7/10
The video on this standard DVD was really pretty decent.  The cinematography was overall pretty well done, with some nice overheads shots that were unexpected, and really helped the movie break away from a standard shoot-em-up, and give the movie a more comic book-like appeal.  The visuals are pretty good, and I only noticed some issues with the range of blacks, as a lot of the movie features night shots.  There was a grainy feel to the film that suited the old west scenery and feel of the movie.

The audio was very very bright and full of bass.  It was pretty impressive in surround.  I will note that I thought some of the dialogue was too soft and got lost in places, but overall it was a pretty good mix.


Value: 4/10
The standard DVD release of Jonah Hex is a bare bones, no frill release.  The movie did not do so great at the box office, and despite good, big name actors, there just is nothing here to keep your interest.  I thought the movie was better than many have made it out to be, but it is not something I will pick up again, even though some of the scenes were well done.  Jonah Hex is just not the type of movie that will keep you hooked.

Overall Score 4/10

• Featurette – The featurette that is referred to here is an in-depth look at the choreography of the movie, which in itself is very impressive.  They discuss the evolution of the second Stomp the Yard movie dance moves, and how the main characters had to train as they would in a fraternity to get the dance moves to look real and natural.  A pretty decent little extra in my opinion.
• Deleted Scenes – We get some very unneeded deleted scenes on this DVD as extras.
• Commentary – Finally we get a so-so commentary that features the main players in the movie.

The Movie: 4/10
The second in the Stomp the Yard Series, Homecoming features Collins Pennie as Chance, a new member of the Theta Nu fraternity at southern Truth University.  Chance is a college student and dancer who has recently lost a bet on a street dance competition to a group of thugs, for big money.  His return to Truth sees him excited to feature in a national Step competition against a rival fraternity for top honors.  Chance is sure that the Theta Nu’s need to change up their tired routines in order to win the national competition, and the friction between the upperclassmen is just one of Chance’s issues, as he deals with a new girlfriend, and ex who seems to not relish being an ex, as well as Chance’s father, who pushes Chance to excel at every turn.

Stomp the Yard Homecoming is one of those movies that seems to rely on forced drama to try to amp up the tension, when instead, it just makes the acting and story drag.  The dance moves in the second installment are quite well done, and they give a glimpse into the type of Step routines that are such an integral part of many of the African-American fraternities.  The dance moves are unfortunately not enough to make this mediocre movie shine, and while the whole thing kind of has an 8 Mile type of vibe (you know who is going to win in the end) the movie itself is just not that great.

The soundtrack was strong, and like I mentioned, the dance moves were pretty good.  I have not seen a step competition (more like presentation) since the mid 1990′s, and it was cool to see this type of routine.  The movie is just too predictable and the end result is not what it could have been.  Fans of the first movie may well overlook some of the movie’s shortcomings, but I have to say I was not overly impressed.

Audio & Video: 7/10
The video for Stomp the yard Homecoming, on regular DVD, was very crisp and colorful.  I was impressed, especially given the cover and menu quality.  the video was presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, and the DTS 5.1 Surround Sound was very well done as well.  The dialogue was mixed nicely with a booming soundtrack.


Value: 4/10
Stomp the Yard Homecoming may very well be a big hit with fans of the original, but the overall story and acting was just not all that great.  The DVD looked and sounded very nice, but overall this was just a ho-hum kind of movie, along the same lines as the Bring it On series for me.  I was just not overly impressed, even thought the stepping was quite well done.  The fake drama was just a bit too much for me, and the overall effect was not all that great.

Overall Score 4/10

• Full Musical Performances – We get 41 minutes of the songs that were recorded for the documentary, in their entirety.  They are in the movie, but we get uncut versions of the songs, which are all recorded in studio.  There are also two extra songs that were not included in the documentary
• Deleted Interviews – This really is just some of the deleted interviews that were not used in the documentary.  There are 3 interviews here, that last over  minutes.
• Behind The Scenes Photo Gallery – This one minute extra is merely shots from the music performances.

The Movie: 7/10
Soundtrack for a Revolution is an interesting look at how the civil rights movement was influenced by music, and how the music relates to what was happening.  By intermixing interviews with several of the student organizers of various parts of the movement, explaining what historically happened, while at the same time discussing the songs that came out of that time period, you get an interesting take on how that time period in our country went through such a monumental change.  There are interviews telling the story, with footage from that time period that demonstrates the hardships.

We get to see how the movement developed, and we see and hear the different songs that influenced many of these individuals.  Several times in the documentary a specific songs was mentioned by those interviewed, and we then also got to see footage of individuals singing the song back in the 1960′s.  The unique part about this documentary is that we then see several modern artists like Wyclef Jean John Legend, and Angie Stone singing their own studio versions of those same songs.  The results are amazing, even if it does sometimes take away from the flow of the documentary.

I thought that Soundtrack for a Revolution was well executed, if not a bit staggered.  It truly was an interesting point of view and insight into a time and sound that is foreign to me, being my age.  It was interesting to hear about the way that those involved related to how the music was such a part of the movement, being almost a way for those involved to protest and avoid violence.  The songs truly were a way to tell their story, in a medium that they felt comfortable with.  The results were truly amazing, and to hear this modern versions of those songs was quite a different take for a documentary.




Audio & Video: 6/10
Most of the documentary looks and sounds very nice, especially for a standard DVD.  There are numerous older black and white snippets of footage of the  civil rights movement as it happened , and of course they look dated, but they still stand up, and you can’t expect those to look any better than they do.  Overall this is just a documentary with interviews.

The audio on the interviews and for most of the movie is good also, but I have to say that I did not think the musical numbers sounded stellar.  They are all done in studio, but to me the mix was a bit off for most of the performances.  The music is excellent though, and more than likely the audio mix will not effect the power of the songs. Overall the audio and video were just average.


Value: 5/10
This is a powerful view of a few individuals who are able to talk about the effect that music had on those who were struggling during the civil rights movement.  It is a unique story, that is intermixed with modern musicians tackling some of the songs that were made and discovered during that time period.  The story does a great job of explaining how the songs and music were such an integral part of that time.  The documentary is worth a watch, but the intermix of the compelling story, only to be broken up  by the songs, is a bit disjointed.  Worth a watch, but not much of a buy,

Overall Score 6/10

The menu features video of the warthog breaking through a wall, which is not featured in the actual game, but has been rendered by the folks at Rooster Teeth, the company involved in these web based episodes, that have made their way to DVD.  After the breaking wall routine, the menu pops up and we get to hear voice overs that include the guyus saying things like “I suggest you push play.”  Together they were not horrible, and seem to fit the Red Vs Blue series.

Features: 6/10

• Directors Commentary – The guys talk about the amount of work that goes into the making of these popular Halo episodes.  It is interesting to hear about the fact that this is the first Red Vs Blue that uses full pre-rendered character animation, which allows for a whole new range of movement, which is more realistic.
• Special Videos & PSA’s – We also get several public service announcements and the like that Rooster Teeth has put together for this release.  A ho-hum little extra.
• The RVB Holiday Miniseries – In this collection of episodes we get to see the crew in a different light, lounging on the beach and such.  A nice addition.  There are 3 short episodes here, and like the rest of the collection, they were made available on the web.
• Outtakes & Deleted Scenes - Some of the outtakes and deleted scenes were pretty good, but overall these just did not really do much for me.
• Cast Interviews – We also get a bunch of interviews with the cast of Revelation; the guys and gals who have spent so much of their time on this series.
• Visual Effects Breakdown – This was actually a pretty cool little extra, all things considered.  The sheer amount of work that this crew has gone to to make these little episodes is amazing, as they use the Halo 3 engine and game, along with pre-rendered characters and such, to make this series work.

The Movie: 4/10
Let’s get one thing straight from the beginning: I love Halo.  I still play Halo 3 like it was just released yesterday, and I have pre-ordered Halo Reach which is out in 3 days.  I consistently find that the games are fun and even though I am not good at them, I love playing them with friends.  Halo 3 is unique in that Bungie has allowed players to record video of their games.  As part of that, there has been a massive up-swell of players who set up short movie and do voice-overs, to be rendered and released to the Internet via Youtube and other video websites.  There are a slew of groups that spend massive amounts of time setting up shots and writing scripts, and delivering their own videos to the world for massive scrutiny.  Some are funny, some are serious, and many are just plain bad.  Rooster Teeth, the company that is responsible for the Red Vs Blue series has elevated this “user generated” video to an art form.  These pioneers have taken their releases and made them into a full running saga, that has seen 8 DVD releases, as well as countless short episodes that have garnered a huge following.

Red Vs Blue Revelation is the 8th Season that sees the two separate teams (red team and blue team) pitted against each other throughout, based on the two colors of the actual teams in the game.  Revelation features the main cast of characters that has been around for the bulk of the series (mainly discernible by the different armor permutations and different voices, since the Spartans in the game all feature helmets and visors, so no faces).  Revelations is the latest in the continuing saga of the battles between the two camps, who at this point are very familiar with each other.

The two crews end up having to join forces in a bizarre twist, as they must figure out just what this “Project Freelancer” really means.  We have the gravelly voiced Sarge leading his somewhat inept Red team against Blue team, with the likes of bull headed Washington.  The Rooster Teeth team has taken to developing each of these characters with their own personality, which again is a feat, considering there is no facial expressions used in the series at all.

One of the more interesting things for me was seeing the pre-rendered characters movement, which is a bit shocking to see when you are a Halo 3 player.  The movements are new and interesting, due to the release of the constraints of the Halo 3 engine.  This group has put a great effort into making the Red Vs  Blue series unique.  The problem for me is that the series just seems to be a bit much.  I am not a huge fan of the humor here, and dropping a curse word here and there strictly to try to make a scene funny just doesn’t work for me.  I also had trouble following the story, and I got bored rather quickly, and I am a Halo fan.  I just was not that involved with the characters or story, and it was not funny enough for me to want to sit through the entire 19 short episodes that have been culled into one 90 minute DVD.

I guess in the end I understand the project, and I appreciate the amount of work done here, as well as the fact that there are many people who may completely enjoy this, but it just is not for me.  After a while, I just wanted to shut off my Blu-ray player and just pop my Halo 3 disk into my Xbox 360 and play.  Enough watching, let me shoot someone.





Audio & Video: 6/10
The video for Revelation is unfortunately limited by the Halo 3 engine, which is decent, but has its limitations.  I noticed quite a lot of jagged edges, which is not as noticeable when you are playing the actual Halo 3 game, but becomes glaringly obvious when just watching a movie using the engine as a back-drop.  I will admit that the pre-rendered characters were amazingly cohesive with the game.  The movements are mimicked, but expanded, so it still feels like Halo 3 characters, right down to the head nods and character movement, but the expanded range of movement is striking, especially for someone who still plays a lot of Halo 3.  I reviewed the DVD, and I think that having a Blu-ray release of this would be overkill, as the limitations of the episodes would make a high definition release even more glaringly obvious.

The audio was actually pretty good, and the explosions and sound effects were bright and in your face.  It is presented in 2.0 stereo, which is strange, but when you release for the Internet, I guess surround sound is the last of your worries.   It was still a decent presentation audio wise.


Value: 4/10
This type of release is only going to be attractive to a very limited number of individuals.  As a rabid Halo 3 player (Ascully thinks I am totally bonkers for still playing such an old game), I do not even really get the appeal of this DVD.  The episodes are available on the web, and while some Halo 3 players may enjoy these, I still do not totally get all the supposed humor.  I respect the amount of work and ingenuity that is presented here on these Red Vs Blue releases, but I just don’t get the appeal.  To me they are not funny enough on a constant level for me to sit through a 90 minutes long version of the episodes.

Overall Score 4/10

• Deleted Scenes – There are 9 deleted scenes included here, and they are really not bad.  They include a talk between Michael Cera and Steve Buscemi while their two characters, a father and son, are tripping on mushrooms, and some animated scenes.  They are decent to watch and a nice break from some of the standard deleted scenes that are included in movies.
• Off The Chain Deleted & Extended Animated Sequences – I don’t know about being “off the chain,” but these are deleted scenes and some extended animated scenes from the movie.  The movie includes a few strange animated sequences that break up the movie, and add a bit of style to the movie.  Again, it seems a bit like something that would appear in a Napoleon Dynamite type of movie, or at least something from Michel Gondry, but it is cute and seems to fit this movie.  The extended scenes are fun to watch.
• Audition Footage – There are a bunch of audition scenes here, which are kind of fun to watch.  We get to see some readings and auditions for the main characters, which is always interesting.
• Commentary With The Director & Michael Cera – I didn’t love the commentary, as it was a bit dry, but at least it keeps moving and is informative.

The Movie: 6/10
Youth in Revolt is a tale about a 16 year-old boy, who is somewhat of an outsider.  Played by the perennial movie geek Michael Cera, the boy, named Nick Twisp, starts off the movie stating that he is a virgin, and while watching the character develop, there is no real question as to why.  Nick is a huge fan of Frank Sinatra, and his wardrobe begs for some help.  As a high school student, he is definitely not going to win prom king, not that he would want to.

Nick’s good friend Lefty is in the same boat, and also is obsessed with sex.  Lefty is  obsessed with a girl in their class, and has been for years, and we get the idea that he has about as much of a chance in getting this beautiful girl as Nick has of being a football star – it just is not going to happen.

Nick’s mother (Jean Smart) has been shacking up with bearded loser (Zach Galifianakis) who sells a car to some sailors who end up wanting a refund when the car explodes shortly after they have purchased it.  In order to avoid having his head taken off by the sailors, he takes Nick and his mother to a trailer park in Northern California, where by chance Nick meets the beautiful, and uninhibited Sheeni (played exceptionally well by Portia Doubleday).  The two start an interesting relationship, as Sheeni explains her obsession with all things French, right down to her imaginary boyfriend Francois, who she is convinced she will marry.  In real life Sheeni is dating the 6 foot Trent, or so she tells Nick.

Sheeni’s parents are religious nuts, which contrasts sharply to Sheeni’s seemingly uninhibited talk and actions.  Nick of course is smitten beyond belief, as this is perhaps the first girl he has interacted with at this depth.  The two are cute, and Nick creates an alter ego, or different version of himself, named Francois, who is cool and calculated, and is “bad” in a way that Nick is not.  This is apparently what Sheeni is looking for in a man, and Francois goes out of his way to help out Nick, whose only goal is to get the girl.

Youth in Revolt features some great actors in quirky roles.  Fred Willard is, like always, just a crazy character that adds much to the movie.  Buscemi and everyone else bring a real sense of depth and reality , in that even though the characters are bizarre, they feel real.

I liked Youth in Revolt for the most part, even though I thought the story was a bit light in parts.  This is a fun little movie, and if you can appreciate Juno and the like, this is a film that you will enjoy.  It would be nice to see Michael Cera break out from this geek role at some point, but he has a lockdown on it for now, and he might as well continue making this type of movie while he can.





Audio & Video: 7/10
I was pleasantly surprised by both the audio and the video on this standard DVD.  The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen is bright and cheerful throughout the movie.  The video itself was pretty crisp, and there were only a few moments when I noticed grain.  The presentation was nicely done, and the results was good.

The audio was also well done, as the Surround Sound was well used and the overall effect was nice.  The music was quite well done too, with a quirky selection, as to be expected.


Value: 7/10
I can see how the younger generation would take to this movie quite like they did to Juno and Napoleon Dynamite.  This is definitely a movie about those who are, or consider themselves an outsider, and so I can see that Youth in Revolt can hold some charm for that group.  It is probably one of those movies that grows on you.  The movie itself is not overtly funny, but there are some clever moments.  The movie is decent, but the disc is not full of extras like it could have been.  This is a rental, if you are into these types of comedies, and you know who you are if you are a big Michael Cera fan.  He essentially is the same character that he always plays.

Overall Score 7/10

The menu utilizes the same color scheme, and it is static, without the charm of the cover.


Features: 0/10

• None – You read correctly – there are no extras included.  It seems that Paramount sat on this movie for a few years before releasing it straight on DVD (not even blu-ray), and they apparently decided to curtail any expense on the release.  There are a few previews of other Paramount movies, but I don’t really find those to be extras.

The Movie: /10
Pretty Bird is a movie about a rocket belt and its design, and while the story is loosely based on real events, they tell you right up front that this is fiction.  Billy Crudup plays Curtis Prentiss, who is portrayed as somewhat of a dreamer, and somewhat of a schemer as he puts together a company based on blueprints that he has mysteriously acquired for a rocket belt.  Crudup is at times likeable, and a minute later loathsome, as he winds his way through the movie manipulating either himself, or those who he wants something from.

He hits up his old friend Kenny (David Hornsby), who has a successful mattress business for money, and then acquires out of work rocket engineer Rick Honeycutt (Paul Giamatti) who will be the brains behind the operation, at least in terms of design.  Prentiss lies and says he too is a scientist, and presents the business as several different things to several different people, all in an effort to get his way and make it big, which apparently is the only thing that Prentiss is concerned about.  Crudup does a good job of playing Prentiss as a borderline likeable guy, who seems to have just enough intelligence and charisma to make him dangerous.

Honeycutt, played brilliantly by Paul Giamatti, is an out of work, dour character who sees Prentiss for what he is, and becomes concerned that he is being forced out, even though he is the one who has taken the schematics, added his own touch, and made the rocket belt actually work.  His paranoia, at times questioned by the viewer, and then fully supported, is difficult to watch, as is a lot of this movie.

Pretty bird struggles to really delve into the characters, leaving the viewer to come up with their own opinion, which is fine, to a point.  A good example is Kristen Wiig, who plays Mandy Riddle, who works at Kennys mattress shop.  She is admired by Prentiss, and just when a relationship begins to develop, she is basically dropped from the movie.  It is both bizarre and somewhat maddening, and leaves you wondering why bother with the character in the first place?

There are just too many unanswered questions that left me feeling almost cheated.  Add to that a very abrupt ending, and it just made watching Pretty Bird less than what I think it could have been.  While there is some good acting here, the movie just lacked something.





Audio & Video: 6/10
For a standard DVD, there seemed to be a lot of grit here, with what at times were weird skin tones of orange and pink.  It just seemed to me to be a bit off at times.  Granted, this is not a high definition release, and the grain seems intentional to point, but  overall I was not overly blown away by the video.

The audio was nice, if not a bit sparse on the use of the rear speakers.  There is not a lot of bass or a ton of music, so this is a very dialogue driven movie, and it is handled quite well.


Value: 4/10
Pretty Bird is a difficult movie to watch and work with.  The DVD release seems too sparse and stripped down, like the movie itself, and the whole thing just leaves the viewer wanting more.  The story ends abruptly, the characters are only partially developed and explained, and the DVD itself just seems to be wanting.  While there is some great acting here, it is just not enough to make this worth the watch.

Overall Score 5/10

• So You Think You Can Sleuth Game – This 5 minute “game” features quite a bit of sleuthing background, and is just average in terms of extras.
• The Making Of The Great Mouse Detective - This 8 minute or so behind the scenes is what you would expect from such an old movie.  Not bad, and a decent little watch, which really demonstrates the hand drawn format that we miss so much these days.
• The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind Sing Along Song – Here we get to sing along to Ratigan’s theme song, which is the best song in the movie by far.  I still don’t know about singing it though.
• Dylan & Cole Sprouse Blu-Ray Is Suite – This is a promo for the Suite Life, on Blu-ray.
• Learn How To Take Your Favorite Movies On The Go With Disney File - This is another promo, this time for how to use the included digital copy that is found on so many of the Disney releases.

The Movie: 6/10
The Great Mouse Detective is one of those movies that I remember watching as a kid, but I didn’t remember the details.  It is based loosely on Sherlock Holmes, and it s based more prevalently on the children’s book Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus and Paul Galdone.  From the beginning of the movie we get a much more ominous feel, as the scary introduction of the movie sees a toymaker snatched form his toy shop by a one legged bat, right in front of his hidden daughter Olivia’s eyes.  The little mouse sets off to find Basil of Baker Street, the renowned detective, who she feels will surely find her father for her.

Along with Dr. Dawson, another mouse who finds and leads Olivia to the quirky detective, the group sets out on a caper to find Olivia;s father, who we discover, through Basil’s keen intellect, has been taken and forced to work for the evil Professor Ratigan.  Ratigan just so happens to be the arch nemesis of Basil (and Ratigan is played by Vincent Price).

The Great Mouse Detective is one of those movies that clearly demonstrates that the Disney formula is not always spot on.  It is a curious mix of story and music, with a strange little musical number featuring Vincent Price singing.  I enjoyed the movie, but it falls in along with other notable Disney mouse movies like the Rescuers Down Under, which to me is similar in many ways to this one.  It is not a bad movie, but the Great Mouse Detective is nowhere near a classic.  Fun for a watch, this one is not a movie that I would recommend to everyone.

Audio & Video: 7/10
I was pretty impressed with the video for such an old movie.  the colors were pretty nice looking (there are some real discrepancies at times though – keep an eye on the green frog, who many times looks tan).  Overall I was quite impressed though.

The audio was not quite so nice.  It was very drab and un-dynamic, even in in 5.1 Surround Sound.  I was less than impressed, and the use of the rear speakers was minuscule at best.  I know the movie was made before audio was so important, but this is a real downer for a movie like this, even taking into account the age of the movie.


Value: 6/10
The Great Mouse Detective is one of those Disney movies that is merely decent, and not great.  It falls squarely in behind some of the classics like 101 Dalmatians and even Sword in the Stone for me.  That is not to say that it is not fun to watch, but it really demonstrates the difference between some of the better stories and characters that have been done by the animation giant.  It is worth a watch, but there is not a lot here, including scarce extras, that would warrant a buy.

Overall Score 6/10

• Creating Catastrophe: The Effects Of A Global Blackout – Granted this is a television show, and the discs are pretty chock full with the episodes, but the features are slim.  The 7 minute piece shows us the effort that went into the beginning of the show, complete with shutting down a Los Angeles highway.  It is a decent little extra, and interesting to see the amount of work that went into the opening shot, which is powerful.
• FlashForward: A Look Ahead – This 4 minute “look ahead” is exactly what you think it is; a peak into the next episodes of the show.  Hopefully the show, which apparently has seen some discussion of cancellation, will make it in the end, as the show does have some potential.

The Show: 8/10
So I am reviewing a television series DVD release again, which is pretty rare.  I have to admit up front that I don’t watch too much regular TV, and so when I do review shows (or watch them for that matter) I like to have the DVD of a season, which just makes it easier.  For this review, I get part 1 of the first season of FlashForward.  Part one apparently consists of 10 separate episodes, thankfully commercial free.

The show starts off with Mark Benford (Joseph Feinnes) waking up in an upside down SUV that has obviously crashed.  As the camera pulls out while Mark struggles to clear his head and escape the overturned vehicle, we see destruction and chaos everywhere.  It appears that there has been a massive wreck.

As it turns out, Mark Benford is an FBI agent, and as we see, this is not an isolated car crash, but instead, the world has experienced 2 minutes and 17 seconds of blackout.  Everyone in the world (well almost everyone as we learn later) has simply blacked out for the same amount of time.  Literally people just dropped all over the world, which of course led to car wrecks, downed airplanes – you name it – destruction.

To top it off, each person experienced a sort of flash of the future, 6 months ahead, to what they would be doing.  Of course this view into the future creates issues with the individuals, and Mark’s vision involved an investigation into the cause of the blackouts.  Set with this information, his FBI group starts off an investigation into the mystery surrounding the origin of the blackout, and each character that we are introduced to is part of this intricate show.

Mark, a recovering alcoholic, also sees himself drinking again, which is a major problem, seeing as his wife Olivia (Sonya Walger) has said that if he drinks again she is leaving him.  Olivia’s vision has her with a strange man who she has intense feelings for, which of course just adds strain to their marriage.

Each character gets their own treatment, and part of the fun of the show is finding out how each plays out, and how they attempt to deal with their “foreshadowing.”  It immediately raises the question of whether the characters can change the future, or at least change the outcome of their own future, by altering it so that their visions don;t come true.  Take for example Demitri (John Cho) who is one of the few characters that literally does not have a vision.  Does this mean that he is dead, or is asleep, or is he lying?

FlashForward is a very well done, interesting show that kind of roped me in.  I was drawn in by the opportunities, and while FlashForward has been compared to Lost, a show I have never seen, I was at least intrigued.  I think the story is presented in a heavy handed way, and I am not in love with Joseph Feinnes’ seemingly heavy acting method, but overall I thought the acting was good.  The characters are well done, and the story, with its questions, is a pretty fun affair.

I have read that FlashForward may be in some trouble as ABC may or may not being considering canceling or shortening its run, which would be a shame for those who are invested in the journey.  Of Course the main question is what caused the blackout, which I presume is being held for the end of the show, but it is really fun to see some of the story unfold as the episodes roll by.

Overall I am not sure this is something I would watch faithfully week after week, but presented in a DVD format like this, it makes it fun to sit down and consume.  I am not sold on the half season DVD, but it is better than watching on TV.  FlashForward seems like a decent little television show, with a pretty good story, and decent acting.





Audio & Video: 6/10
For a televisions show, this DVD looks pretty decent overall.  This is not high definition, but the episodes look pretty clear, with only an occasional grainy shot here ant there.  The show is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic wide screen, and the cinematography is varied and nicely done.

The audio was good, but not spectacular.  I kind of thought the surround would pop, but it was not really anything that wowed me. 

Value: 6/10
This is the way all TV shows should be watched; without commercials, and with the ability to rewind and review, especially for a show like Lost or FlashForward.  This type of show, with hints and secrets scattered about often takes a second viewing for people to get into it, so that they don’t miss the subtleties of this show.  While it is yet to be seen if FlashForward makes the same type of impact that Lost has, the two are very similar.  I am not 100% sure I like the idea of a “half season” DVD release as much as a full season, but this is a great intro into this show.  It is not for everyone, and while you can surely record these show as they come out, a DVD release is quite nice.  It is hard to say if this is a great investment due to the fact that the show is supposedly having some issues at the network.  I would hate to invest in this DVD only to have the show canceled without answering any of the questions that are raised here.

Overall Score 6/10

Available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and for Download 3/2!

Cover Art and Menus: 9/10
Would I have this cover as a poster? Yes. I love it. It’s simple and to the point. It’s got personality without being too flashy or pushy about this movie based on a classic children’s book. The menu is functional, that’s about it.


Features: 2/10

• Where The Wild Things Are Shorts - This is the DVD version so the extras are slim pickings. There is a short by the director and star that involves a set of vampire teeth. There is a behind the scenes look at all the children who were allowed to run riot on the set. That’s about it. If you are looking for more, buy the Blu-Ray (what a scam).

The Movie: 6/10
A young boy is having a hard time learning about why people like his stupid sister and her friends act like jerks. He is also trying to learn to let go of his mother’s full attention as he grows older and her time is divided between him, his sister, her job, and potential love interests. Max is learning about life, that’s about it. He’s not being mistreated, or neglected, or any truly wretched things in life that a boy might be subjected to that would lead him to misbehave badly, or need to explode in a fit of rage and acting out…which he does.

So, there is my first little gripe about the movie. Max is a standard boy with some hard truths to learn at a young age, and that sucks, it’s just that it’s not so bad it should lead him to break free, run away and have to escape his life. That puts a kink in the rest of the story. He runs away, gets on a boat, sails to a distant island and finds a group of monster type creatures who are in desperate need of attention and some cheering up.

Max doesn’t just escape to a fantasy of cheery people and bright colorful places, not at all in fact. He conjures up a place populated with angry, violent, depressing creatures who have a hefty size both in bulk and in psychological problems. My husband, the brilliant Mr. Ascully, says this movie isn’t for kids, in fact it would scare them and the message would be lost. That message isn’t totally clear, but it kind of floats around the ideas of trust, unconditional love, learning to let go of people and things in life that drag you down….cheery colorful things like that.

I appreciate the sentiment and the look of the movie is pretty cool. The problems though, outweigh the pleasure for me. The creatures are supposed to be whimsical and believable, right? I was distracted the whole time by the shear klunkiness of the suits. I love that they aren’t CGI and the folks inside do amazing performances, absolutely. The thing is, they are too not right, or too real, or not real enough, or something. I can’t pin point it, but I was distracted a lot by the movement restrictions and the wire-work some of them had to do. Why I couldn’t put away my grown up mind and just see it like a kid, I don’t know, but it was a problem in several scenes.

The acting overall is really quality. Max Records is incredibly strong and charming. The voices of the things are OK, nothing special for me. I know it’s Tony Soprano and the creepy neighbor from American Beauty, but in the end, the sound recordings didn’t quite match the scenes, just a bit too disconnected and it added to my distraction with the creature suits.

I have to say, in spite of the things I don’t like, I really really enjoyed the movie, the story maybe. Those moments of goodness that made me smile, cry, squint and grin, they all overwhelmingly made it well worth watching and letting some messages soak in here and there. I am torn between the awkward things that had the nerve to break that bubble of belief that I so love to have when watching a “kid’s” movie, and my total love of the experience of seeing young Max conquer his demons before they become bad choices through the rest of his life.

Maybe Mr. Ascully is right, it’s not a kid movie and it’s not a grown up movie. It’s got some artsy qualities, great music, and an almost dreamy quality at times, mostly the scenes at home with Max’s mom played by Katherine Keener who I LOVE.  It’s got lots of poor stunt work, odd creature design choices, and the occasional moment of obnoxious filmmaker indulgence. It’s a mixed bag, let’s just leave it at that.





Audio & Video: 6/10 (By Ascully)
If you get the opportunity to watch Where The Wild Things Are on Blu-Ray make sure you do. The DVD release we looked at was kind of underwhelming. It’s not that the transfer is bad, in fact in the brightly lit scenes it’s one of the better DVD’s I have seen. It’s the dark scenes (which there are many) where the black levels do not hold up. The scenes where young Max first enters the forest are so difficult to see it seems to me it might be either Spike Jonze being overly artsy or a problem with the original print. Who knows? but it certainly detracted from some of the movie for me.

The 5.1 Dolby Digital mix fares much better than the picture with a stunning subtle soundtrack that really adds to the haunting whimsy that the film seems to exude. Music is handled well. Voice is well mixed and the moments of action in the forest really shake the room. Overall I enjoyed the movie for what it is. It’s not a perfect film but I really appreciate the visual style Spike Jonze injects. The issue for me is who is the movie for? It’s a little scary for kids and I don’t see what adults can take from it that they have not already had conveyed by the book. But if you are in anyway interested in the book or the story it’s certainly worth a watch.


Value: 4/10
I would recommend this movie, mostly. It’s not one that digs into my mind and plants itself as a classic. The cost of a DVD is pretty low, but even at that, I say rent it if you want to give it a try. It’s lovely in its own ways, just not lovely enough for me to spend the full amount of cash to keep it on myself. I would rather buy the book.

Overall Score 6/10

The same can be said about the menu for the movie, which features more still shots of Frank’s family.  It is a static menu (this is a DVD) and it is presented on a tan background, which makes it seem even more dull.  The cover and menu are average at best.


Features: 4/10

• The Making Of Paul McCartney’s “I Want To Come Home” – In this almost 10 minute long making of video, we get to see Paul McCartney as he explains the process of writing a song for the movie.  You have to love Paul McCartney, and he just seems to always enjoy life and what he does.  A nice little extra, if not 100% movie related.
• Deleted & Extended Scenes – There are several scenes that did not make it into the actual movie that are included here.  We get to see Frank as he interacts with smaller characters, as well as some extended scenes that deal with the way he handled his kids as they were maturing.  These are some good scenes, and any extra scene with Robert DeNiro is fine by me.  Unfortunately these two extras are the only things included.  They are good, but they are not enough.

The Movie: 6/10
Everybody’s Fine is an interesting movie.  On its face it should have been a gigantic hit.  Robert DeNiro, teamed up with such big names as Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale, how could it be anything but a hit?  Well the movie going audience didn’t see it that way as it had a disappointing run at the box office.  Upon seeing movie trailers I remember thinking that I would like to see it simply based on the type of character that Robert DeNiro seemed to be playing, and the whole thing seemed interesting, but then it came and went in the box office and I didn’t hear much about it.

The movie is all about DeNiro’s character Frank Goode, whose wife has recently passed away.  Frank is a quiet guy, who plans for a family get together at his house, and he genuinely seems excited about seeing his kids, who seem a bit estranged from him.  As it turns out, nobody seems to be able to make the trip, much to Frank’s dismay.  In his effort to get back in touch with the family, he decides that he will surprise each of them by showing up on their doorstep unannounced, which of course is always the best way to rekindle lost relationships.  The results are at times tough, and Frank sees that his kids are in the throws of their own life journeys, and he finds that his kids are desperate to show their father that they have made something of their lives.  Each of his kids wants to impress their father, as he apparently was a stern father and one who demanded a lot from each of them, especially his son Robert (Sam Rockwell).  As Frank travels to see his kids, he learns that perhaps what they have told him about their lives is not necessarily the truth, but instead what they think he wants to hear.  Robert, for example, is not actually the conductor of the orchestra like he has told his father, but instead plays an instrument in it.

It seems as if Frank’s entire family is eager to send him on his way, as they view the old guy with disdain.  His daughters Amy (Kate Beckinsale) and Rosie (Drew Barrymore) are the same way, as they can’t seem to get rid of Frank fast enough (even though his grandson is genuinely happy to see Frank).  Frank is forced to deal with the fact that his kids are not exactly thrilled to see him, and the reason is perhaps the way he brought them up, with harshness and high expectation.  The result is not exactly what I would call a feel-good comedy, but it is a decent movie and a nice lesson in family values.  (As a father, this one makes you think about how you raise and love your kids).

Overall Everybody’s fine is a great title, because nobody in this family really is.  It is a tough movie at times, and there are some real heartfelt, tearjerker moments.  The acting was quite well done, and while this was not the best of DeNiro’s movies, it is nice to see him in this type of sentimental role.  Overall this movie was good, but not great.





Audio & Video: 6/10
I was not overly impressed with the somewhat dull video presentation.  Presented in 2.40:1 anamorphic wide screen, the video presentation was good but not great.  I understand that this is not a Blu-ray, but overall it just seemed dull in spots and somewhat fuzzy at times.  The coloring was pretty good, if not a tad warm, and while there are some really nice scenes overall (lots of outside shots are good), overall I was unimpressed.

The audio was pretty good, in contrast with the video.  It was muted (as is the movie) but there was nice use of the 5.1 Surround Sound when needed.  Dialogue was spot on.


Value: 5/10
Everybody’s Fine is not a great movie.  It is a good movie, with some good acting, and a good story.  The movie is not what I would call a comedy, which seemed to me to be the way they tried to sell this movie originally.  I liked all of the cast, including Robert DeNiro, who I feel showed a side that we don’t always get to see from him, which was a saddened, every-man type of character.  Everybody’s Fine is worth a rental if you can live with the fact that it is not going to blow you away.  It is a tearjerker, and a good display of good acting, but don’t expect to walk away feeling like it was the best movie you have seen, because it is not.  Just try to take it for what it is, which can be at times a bit somber.

Overall Score 6/10

I also want to point out the nice use of color in both the cover and the menu.  There is a beautiful gold/tan that seems to permeate this movie, with shots of golden fields, and colored light, which they have captured in both the cover and the menu.  Just a nice added touch, that brings all of these together.  I noticed it immediately, and it is nicely done.

Features: 6/10

• The Boys Are Back: A Photographic Journey With Optional Commentary By Director Scott Hicks – This is a very nicely put together slide show that runs about 16 minutes long.  It is a collection of photos form the making of the movie; a kind of behind the scenes collection that is simply beautiful.  They have animated  the shots to “move” in a very nice manner, that makes the slide show just flow together.  Director Scott Hicks does a very nice job of talking us through some of the details that went into the movie, including the feel that he wanted to portray, as well as the little details that make the movie seem more real, like shooting in Hick’s home state in Australia.  This is one of the nicer extras I have seen in a long while, and it is short and sweet, but detailed and easy to watch.
• A Father & Two Sons On Set – This is another excellent extra, which sees Simon Carr, the author of the book that this movie is based upon, as well as his two sons, as they meet with Director Hicks and the two actors that portray the brothers in the movie.  It clocks in at under 2 minutes, but in that short time we are given a  glimpse of just how the actors’ personalities almost mimic the personalities of Carr’s sons, who are much older now.  Another powerful extra, and my only complaint is that there is not more of these great extras included on the DVD.  Such good stuff makes me want more, so only 2 extras just seems unfair.

The Movie: 8/10
The Boys are Back is one of those movies that seems to take a really long time to get where is wants to go, and at the end you are not 100% sure that you know where it went.  It is one of the types of movies that I think people will complain that it was “too slow” and while they are correct, the journey here is well worth the wait.

Based on the 2000 book of the same name by Simon Carr, the movie captures the story of Carr’s life as his second wife passes away.  In the movie, sports writer Joe Warr (played brilliantly by Clive Owens) finds himself living in Australia with his second wife and his second son Artie (Nicholas McAnulty), who is 6.  Warr is originally from England, and has moved away from his first son Harry (George MacKay) who is a teenager, ans is still living with Warr’s ex-wife.  Joe finds himself struggling when his present wife dies suddenly of cancer, forcing Joe to become the sole caregiver for young Artie, who struggles to deal with his own loss of his mother.

As the two try to reconnect, Joe’s other son Harry flies in to stay with them, adding a third person to the mix.  Joe, trying his best to deal with the situation, often times consults with his dead wife, who appears in front of him at times and offers advice.  The struggle to work, parent, and find time to deal with his own emotions takes a toll on Joe, who drinks too much, and adopts a “just say yes” attitude, in an attempt to makes things right with his boys, and keep his family together.

The resulting mix is at times frowned upon by his family and friends, and we see the internal struggles that the boys have as they try to make the strange situation work.  Joe makes decisions that are sometimes cringe-worthy, but his only real focus is on his kids.

The movie is both heart-wrenching, and at times uplifting, and the cinematography and acting are superb.  Owen, and the boys are wonderful, and their relationship seems real and close and it really makes the movie work.  All of the supporting actors also give performances that add to the genuineness of the movie.

The Boys are Back really hit a chord with me.  I can’t say that it is excellent, and there are times when it does seem to meander too much without focus, but overall it is a strong story with strong performances, and when mixed with such a beautiful presentation, I got sucked into the whole thing.  I can see how some might complain about the lack of focus and the pace at times, but if you can make it past those small issues, the Boys are Back is a wonderful film.





Audio & Video: 7/10
The cinematography that is presented in the Boys are Back is truly wonderful.  The sweeping shots of Australia and bright household that is central to the movie just look inviting and wonderful, and make for a great backdrop to this type of movie.  The DVD is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic wide-screen, and the presentation for a standard DVD is really well done.  I loved the luminescence that is portrayed throughout the movie, and the blacks and colors are well balanced and crisp.

The audio was good also, with only a few spots where I felt things might have been better delineated.  There is some really nice use of the Surround Sound speakers with outdoor wildlife, but overall this is a very well done audio package.  The Boys are Back is presented in 5.1 Surround.

Value: 7/10
This movie really resonated with me, perhaps because I am a father of  a young boy and a teenage daughter.  I feel that this movie features great performances from all involved, and the cinematography mixed with the story are just too good to pass this up.  I highly recommend this to anyone who is not afraid to sit through what at times can be a slow burner.  I don’t know about watching this over and over, but I would really recommend seeing this at least once.

Overall Score 8/10

The menu is a bit better, with lots of colors and photos of the guys blinking in and out of the shot.  It is obvious who they are marketing to, and it is not 30-something year-old males.


Features: 3/10

• You’ve Been JoBro’d – In this lone extra, the brothers Jonas play a prank on Jordin Sparks, who just happened to be on tour with them.  Clocking in at about 10 minutes in length, the guys set up a fake interview, in the style of Punk’d, where things do not go as planned, before letting Sparks in on the gag.  Mildly funny, but not quite what I would have described as “hilarious” as the cover suggests.  I can imagine that with the rabid Jonas fans, this one extra is not nearly enough of the behind the scenes type of material that they would crave.

The Movie: 8/10
This is really a collection of 7 Jonas Brothers episodes from their Disney Channel show, and not really a movie.  As I wrote, I had never been introduced to the three bothers before this.  I know I have seen ads on the Disney Channel for the show, and I do remember seeing them in the Miley Cyrus concert DVD, but this is the first time I got to see the show itself.  I was admittedly a bit apprehensive at taking on another Disney Channel show, with a full dose of “the Suite Life With Zach and Cody” fresh on my brain from a weekend with a sick 4 year-old about 3 weeks ago.  What I found out almost instantly was that the Jonas Brothers show is a little bit different from the rest of the Disney Channel shows I am used to.  Granted, it is close to the rest of them, but it feels like it is smarter in a way, and more polished than some that I am used to.

Starting off with the initial intro to the show, it is apparent that these three boys are talented musicians.  I was genuinely impressed at the songs that were featured throughout the episodes, which is a nice starting point for this type of show.  The boys are charming, good looking guys who seem to really have fun with the show, and not take themselves too seriously.

The show is based on the Jonas Brothers themselves, who are world famous pop-stars, who are trying to lead as normal of a life as they can.  The brothers are managed by their father, who is a quirky, if not somewhat geeky individual, who sets up interviews and meetings for the boys.  The three brothers, Nick, Joe, and Kevin, all attend high school, and try to get through their days like normal teens, except for the demands of playing concerts and doing press duties.  Their fashion coordinator Stella (Chelsea Staub) attends the same high school, and is somewhat smitten with lead singer Joe.  The two have been friends for years, and it seems that these shows on the I Heart Jonas Volume 2 DVD seem to accentuate this developing love story.  The two are constantly trying to sort out their friendship/relationship, with neither wanting to mess up what has been a great friendship, or mess up the band.

The stories are a bit shallow overall, but they are entertaining, and at times relatively funny, without going to outlandish.   I thought the acting was pretty decent overall, and basically the whole tone of the shows was clever and fun, without all of the goofiness that is present in some of the other Disney shows that I have seen.  The inclusion of the original songs is a nice touch, and it is easy to see why so many kids enjoy this show.

It is hard to fault these three kids for being so sought after, as they are good looking, talented, and they seem relatively down to earth, which is nice.  While I may not DVR the entire series, I am sure that while this is the first time I have watched the Jonas Brothers, it will not be the last.

Audio & Video: 7/10
I am so used to Disney releases being  so stellar that it is a rare day when I see just an average release, which this seems to be.  Now granted, this is a DVD release or television episodes, but I was only kind of impressed by the audio and video.  The video is presented in fullscreen 1.33:1, which is not the greatest transfer, with some artifacting noticeable.  the colors are pretty bright and the picture is decent for standard DVD.

The audio is pretty well done, with 5.1 Surround Sound that is sparingly used throughout.  The music presents very well, and the dialogue is front and center, but the Surround is used pretty sparingly with the exception of the music.  Overall decent, but not what I am used to from Disney.

Value: 6/10
You have to be a fan of the Jonas Brothers to really want to own this short collection of their shows.  I will admit I was very impressed at how much I liked the show, with its slightly more grown up feel that the Hannah Montana show.  Overall you really have to be a fan to own this collection, but that is exactly who this is being marketed to.  I thought overall it was a nice collection of Jonas Brothers shows, and I can now say that I know which brother is which, which has got to be good for something.

I can honestly say that I am kind of a fan of the Jonas brothers now, which might mean I have to hand in my “man” papers, but I am already married, so I guess I am fine with that.

Overall Score 7/10

• 10 Things I Love About 10 Things I Hate About You 10 Years Later – This is an excellent look back at the movie, with interviews with the Director, the writers, and many of the cast.  This was really informative, and very well paced.  I have to add that the interviews with Heath Ledger are a nice view at the young actor as he started on his path to stardom.  There are also test scenes with Ledger and the stories that rookie director Gil Junger tells just shows the passion that he still has for this little film that hit a note with so many people.
• Writers & Cast Audio Commentary – The audio commentary here includes Director Gil Junger’s commentary, as well as commentary by the two writers, Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah.  Also included are many of the actors, who all reminisce about making this movie.  The talk tends to focus on how much fun was had on set, as well as some information on the late Heath Ledger.  This is a fun commentary, and the inclusion of so many people  gives this a kind of party atmosphere which is refreshing, and poignant for this type of movie.
• Digital Copy – Ah, a digital copy of the movie.  Again, no complaints here.  I love the ability to watch my movies on my IPhone.

The Movie: 8/10
I remember seeing movies like 16 Candles, the Breakfast Club, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, back when I was much closer to high school than I am now.  What made those classics funny was that a majority of people could easily identify with not only the characters, but also the cliques that were portrayed.  Those movies were so great and funny because those stories, which were far fetched, were believable.

10 Things I Hate About You is the same type of movie.  A high school story, with a bad boy, a cheerleader, the dork, the independent female, and a slew of other types of kids that could have been in anyone’s high school.  The movie came out in 1999, and while I was not a teenager at the time, it was one of those movies that was just fun to watch.  It has been a movie that my step-daughter has periodically watched, as well as my wife and I, whenever it was on TV.  It is one of those movies that is easy and fun, and can be enjoyed by teenagers as well as adults, who have lived through the high school experience, and remember it for what it was.

Based loosely on Shakespeare’s the Taming of the Shrew, 10 Things I Hate About You is the story of Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who is a new student at Padua High School.  Of course Cameron is knocked off of his feet by Bianca, a cheerleader type who only has eyes for the resident regional model Joey (Andrew Keegan), who is the type of guy who brags about his tube sock shoot that is coming up (I think everyone knew of a guy like this in high school, who modeled for the local ads, and thought he was headed for GQ.)

In order for Cameron to date Bianca (Larisa Oleynik), he is going to have to overcome her overprotective father’s restrictive rules.  Mr. Stratford (the ever funny Larry Miller) will not allow his youngest daughter to date, unless her older sister Katerina (a very young Julie Stiles) is dating also, which he figures it not going to ever happen, as Kat deplores high school and seemingly all of the child-like males who attend her school.  Kat is a feminist by nature, and her father feels that the restriction on Bianca will keep her safe from any unwanted problems that boys can bring on his little girl (he is a single father, obstetrician, that often makes his daughter wear a fake pregnant stomach, just to remind her how uncomfortable being pregnant can be.)

Cameron and his new friend Michael (David Krumholtz) concoct a way to get Kat to date, so that Cameron has a shot at dating Bianca, and it involves finding someone crazy enough to date the “shrew.”  Their choice is the new guy, who is said to have spent time in jail, and to have eaten a whole live duck (except for the beak and feet).  The new guy is a long haired, leather wearing loner named Patrick (Heath Ledger).  Patrick agrees to help out by trying to date Kat, and Cameron and Michael finagle the model Joey into paying Patrick, in the hopes that Cameron can move in on Joey, and get Bianca to fall for him.

It is a great little story that ends up with Kat actually falling for Patrick, and him doing the same for her.  The acting is decent, and it is very apparent that Stiles and Ledger are standouts right from the start.  Overall this is a fun little movie, with some great comedic elements, as well as a touching story, especially for a high school comedy.

10 Things I Hate About You is one of those films that just seems to hit a nerve with those who have seen it.  When I told people that I was reviewing this movie, many of them proclaimed their love for this 10 year old movie.  I really put this up their with the Hughes’ classics, and I for one will definitely be watching this movie again.





Audio & Video: 7/10
The newly remastered anamorphic 1.85:1 wide screen looks pretty bright and sharp overall.  It is not perfect, and I would have liked to have seen this on Blu-ray, but for a standard DVD it looks pretty decent.

The audio is also pretty clear even though the 5.1 Surround Sound is sparingly used.  The music sounds good, and was always a big part of this movie, and it again sounds great.  A marked improvement in at least the video department (and from what I can hear, a slight improvement in the audio) from the older DVD release.


Value: 6/10
If you already own the original 10 Things I Hate About You DVD, I am not sold that this is worth buying again.  I love this movie, and it is a favorite in my household, but there is just not a ton that can be done with this release to make me say that buying it again, on regular DVD, is worth the price.  If you don’t have the older version, and even if you have not seen this movie (shame on you) this is a great little high school comedy in the flavor of the John Hughes’ movies, and it is well worth a watch.  This is definitely a movie that will get played over and over in my house, and it already has.

Overall Score 7/10

I will comment on the included “Stone of Dreams” key-chain that comes with the “Extended Edition” of the movie, which is basically a mood ring on a key-chain, complete with a wizards guide to wishing.  It is a nice addition, and while not exactly tempting as a collectible, for young kids it is something “magical” that adds to the feel of the whole experience.


Features: 2/10

• Insider’s Exclusive On Location – I had to check to make sure that my disc was working, as there is only one extra included in the “Extended Edition” of this movie.  This is a Disney release right??  No music videos by Selena  Gomez?  Nothing but a 10 minute making of feature.  It is a decent extra, but I was blown away that this was it.  I mean if they are going to package this with a key-chain, I would have at least expected a bit more in terms of extras.

The Movie: 6/10
I have seen the Wizards of Waverly Place show a few times, and I understand the premise.  The show seems a bit of a lower budget ordeal than some of the Disney Channel shows, but overall it seems to be a strong show for the channel.  The Wizards of Waverly Place is about the Russo family, which features David Delouise (Dom’s son) as Jerry Russo, who was a Wizard, but left that life basically behind when he fell in love and married Theresa (Maria Canal-Barrera), who is a regular human woman.  The couple had three children Justin (David Henrie), Alex (Selena Gomez), and Max (Jake T. Austin).  The siblings are all wizards in training, and the ongoing battle of the show (and the movie) is that only one wizard can emerge from each family, so their really is sibling rivalry in this crew.

The movie starts off with the Russo family preparing for a Carribean vacation, and mom Theresa, who is sick of the magic and the bickering, deems the trip to be magic free, which of course enrages the kids.  As the family embarks on their trip, the kids want little to do with the sight seeing and family activities, and at one point, the enraged Alex makes the statement that she wishes her parents never met.  Unfortunately for her, she is holding a magic wand tat the time, and a spell is cast which does exactly that.  We then see the kids try to get the two adults to fall in love all over again while at the resort, as the kids slowly start to fade from reality (think Back to the Future.)

The movie starts off rather slow, but it picks up speed as the story unfolds, and while there are hints of numerous other movies mixed in (and even a kind of Brady Bunch in Hawai’i theme), the overall movie ends up being decent.  The production value is quite good and the removal of the canned laugh track does wonders for this movie.  Overall the feel is quite good, and while the story is a bit goofy, the end result is decent.

The acting is not bad either, and the fact that the family pulls together in the end is a nice touch.  Overall the Wizards of Waverly Place movie drew big numbers when it debuted on the Disney Channel, and for good reason.  It is not a type of movie that you should wade into without knowing the background of the television show, but don’t expect the show to look this good.

Apparently the “Extended Edition”  includes about 4 minutes of extra footage, which is enough to call this an extended version of the movie, but not by much.  I like the movie much more than I thought I would, but I still have a hard time watching the show on the Disney Channel, with its low production values and laugh tracks.  Perhaps the fact that the movie did so well means that the fans of Waverly Place might get to see some additional money spent on the television show.  This is not a movie that I will readily watch again, so I guess the real measure of how well you will like this movie depends solely on whether you are a fan of the television show or not.  If not, this movie is probably not for you.

Audio & Video: 7/10
Both the audio and the video for this standard DVD release were really good.   The movie is presented in wide screen 1.78:1, which is different than the television show, and the production value is very high, with nice rich location shots.  The audio is also very nicely done, with crisp, 5.1 Surround Sound which is adequately used.


Value: 6/10
You really have to be a fan of the television show to run out and buy the Wizards of Waverly Place Movie, and while the movie is leaps and bounds above any of the shows that I have seen on the Disney Channel, this is just okay as a movie.  I will say that it got better as the movie went on, but it still was not what I would call a great Disney Channel movie.  Add to that the one extra feature, and this “Extended Edition” just doesn’t add up to a purchase.

Overall Score 6/10

• Commentary By Historian Rudy Behlmer – Now I realize that this is a movie that is 70 years old, so digging up and “behind the scenes” footage or any real gems may be a stretch at this point, but the DVD release is devoid of any real extra except for the commentary included by Rudy Behlmer.  Behlmer is a historian who offers up some pretty poignant facts and stories about the time period and the movie itself, and while there is a 4 disc set available with more goodies, this really is bare bones – which I guess is what they were after with the 2 disc release.  If you want more goodies, get the 4 disc set.

The Movie: 9/10
How do you rate a movie like Gone With the Wind?  This 70 year old movie is truly an American classic, and one of the most recognizable movie titles ever.  The story, taken from Margaret Mitchell’s novel, is rich and big, and the movie takes the story and makes it into a 4 hour event.

Set in the historic South, during the Civil War, Gone With the Wind stars Clark Gable as Rhett Butler, the handsome male figure who pines for the elusive Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh). Scarlett is a beautiful Southern belle who at the beginning of the movie learns that Ashley Wilkes is to be married, and she immediately reacts like a spoiled child who is not getting her way.  Hell bent on winning his affection away from his fiance, Scarlett continuously rejects the advances of Rhett.  Rhett of course is a gentleman (used loosely) who is both charming and slightly lecherous.  The two are engaged in a monumental love/hate relationship that develops as the South literally burns to the ground around them.  We are given a rich story, rich characters, and a lasting vision of the old South that still resonates.

Gone With the Wind is truly one of those movies that has to be experienced  by anyone who calls themselves a movie buff.  At 4 hours, this is definitely a long movie, and the character development and plot is what I would call epic and sweeping.  I really enjoyed the glimpse into what movie making was, as well as how much things have changed.  Gone With the Wind is an event, and I think that this release is just about as good as we are going to get from a 70 year old movie.  I honestly think the last time I saw this movie, it was on VHS, and this is truly a step up, and I imagine the Blu-ray version is also a solid presentation.  If anything, now seems to be a good time to buy this movie for your collection.

Audio & Video: 8/10
I have to say that I was very impressed with both the audio and video presentation with this release.  I can’t say that I have too much information on the differences between this release and prior releases, as I do not have any of the older versions to compare to, but this looked and sounded very good for a movie that is 70 years old.

The movie is presented in its original theatrical 1.37:1 standard aspect.  Of course there is some fuzziness, but overall it is remarkably sharp, and the colors are vivid and they seem appropriate.  The audio, presented in a remixed 5.1 and of course, the original mono (in special features) is adequate, and not at all muddled like one might expect.  The dialogue is clear and the music is rich and uses the rear speakers quite well.  Again, both are amazing for a release this old.


Value: 8/10
Gone With the Wind is a classic movie.  It is an amazing story and the plot and character development is amazing.  This is not a film that I like to watch to often, but it is one that should be seen by anyone who truly loves movies.  To me, this is a part of the American lexicon, so I truly think everyone should see it at least once.  This is a beautiful release of a movie that is 70 years old, and I recommend a viewing to everyone, even if you get done and think “thank god movies are not made like that anymore.”  At least you will have experienced it, which is truly amazing.

Overall Score 9/10

• Alternate Ending – The alternate ending is an extended bit where our geek protagonist is involved in a drawn out battle with the military boyfriend of Beth, and his two cohorts.  It was actually pretty funny to watch, as it seemed like one of the funnier bits of the movie, but it was left out.
• Deleted Scenes and extras - There are a few deleted scenes that are total throwaways, and a few interesting tidbits, like a home video of Paul Rust, singing a song about peanut butter toast, but overall there just is not must here to enjoy.  There are some “in character” pieces with Hayden Panettiere and Rust, but again, just minimal goodies overall.

The Movie: 4/10
I Love You Beth Cooper could have been a better movie, and it probably should have been.  There were some very funny parts, and the cast was decent, but the movie just felt like it was a rudderless ship, meandering from place to place, with no real direction.  It was like a John Hughes film, but without the character development, or solid story line.  There was potential, but it never came to fruition, which just made the movie seem hollow.

The movie starts with Dennis Cooverman (Paul Rust) giving his valedictorian speech at his high school.  He is an awkward young man, who takes the opportunity to tell his captive audience that he is, and has been in love with the beautiful Beth Cooper (Hayden Panettiere), the captain of the cheer-leading squad.  Dennis has apparently stalked Beth for years by sitting directly behind her in each of their classes.  Dennis also takes the time to out his best friend, call out the class slut, and the class bully, and even to poke fun of Beth’s much older (and much bigger) army boyfriend before being yanked from the stage.

When Beth and her two friends show up at Dennis’ post graduation party (the only ones who show up) things get awkward quickly, before Beth’s boyfriend (in his Hummer) show up to show Dennis a lesson.  At this point Dennis and Beth, and their friends embark and a night full of escaping the Army steroid crew, with varying degrees of funny (and unfunny) situations.

Again, there was some potential, and some parts of the movie that made me chuckle, but overall this movie was just a high school comedy with very little direction.

Audio & Video: 6/10
I found the video somewhat soft in parts of the movie, but overall it was adequate.  The audio was pretty nicely done and dialogue and music were nicely mixed.  This was a regular DVD release, so you cant expect too much from either audio or video, but overall a nice presentation.


Value: 3/10
This is just not a good movie, and not worth really getting involved with, unless you are 14-18 years old.  My 17 year-old stepdaughter was excited to hear that I was reviewing this movie, as she had already seen it, and liked it.  Her exact words were “I can’t wait until you watch it, because it is not good, but  I love it,” which makes no sense at all.  I am sure she just wanted to see me struggle with this movie, which I did, but again, she has watched it twice now since I got the movie, so obviously she enjoys it, even thought she says herself it is not great.  If this is your type of movie, go for it, otherwise go get Ferris Bueller or 10 Things I Hate About You instead.

Overall Score 4/10

The menu is beautiful though.  Painted scenes from the period in France make this a unique type of menu, and it really adds to the flavor of the movie without being too ordinary.


Features: 2/10

• Deleted Scenes – There are only two deleted scenes here.  They are both very short, and entirely unnecessary to the movie.  They honestly don’t add much in terms of any extra view into the movie as a deleted scene either.
• The Making Of Cheri – In this making of feature, we get about 9 minutes of background into the movie itself.  We get information about the writer, as well as the costumes and how the movie was made to reflect the period in France.  Short, and decent, but with the deleted scenes, woefully inadequate extras.

The Movie: 6/10
Cheri is a different type of movie.  Based in France in the 1920′s, this movie is a period piece based on a book written by Collette.  The story revolves around Léa (Michelle Pfeiffer) who is a middle aged courtesan.  Léa is dealing with the realization that she is getting too old to be courting men, and while she has enjoyed the money and excesses that her affairs with noblemen have afforded her, the thought of getting old has left her in a introspective position.  Due to her being a courtesan, her circle of friends is rather small, due to society frowning on her decisions, and so she spends time with Charlotte (Kathy Bates) who was once her rival, and now nothing more than an acquaintance, and not necessarily a real friend.  Charlotte’s son Cheri (Rupert Friend) is burnt out on his life, with all of the partying and girls, and Charlotte asks Léa to console him.

The two, who are years apart in age as Cheri is only 19, leave for the country and soon become lovers.  While it starts out as a short distraction from their everyday lives, it evolves into a rather strange, working relationship, and the two fall hard for each other.

The pair end up spending six years together, until finally Charlotte arranges a marriage for Cheri to the very young Edmee, who we see is nothing like Léa.  The marriage is forced and we see the toll that it takes on both Léa and Cheri, as they are forced to deal with being apart.

Cheri was an interesting story, and the acting was pretty decent.  I was impressed with both Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend, and slightly disappointed with Kathy Bates as Charlotte, which felt a bit forced to me (and I love Bates normally, but it just seemed like a wooden performance).  The tension between Léa and Cheri is palpable, and the ending of the movie was sad and realistic, and really added bite to this slow drama.  Overall I thought Cheri was a decent movie, but it did not overly impress me or draw me in. 




Audio & Video: 7/10
The video for this standard DVD is quite spectacular.  I was very impressed with the low light shots, and while overall it has a very soft feel to the shots, it works very well.  Cheri is presented in 2.35:1 wide screen, and the transfer is quite nicely done.

The audio was very front heavy, and while it was in 5.1 Surround Sound, it was just adequate.  For this type of movie not much else is needed besides a clear dialogue, and this release does provide that.

Value: 4/10
I am not sure that this is a repeat view disc.  It is slow, and the story is pretty straight forward.  for a period piece it is beautiful, and the acting is overall pretty solid, but there is not much here to keep you coming back for more.  When I shell out money for a movie, I plan on watching it over and over again, and this was just not strong enough for me to say that I will pop it in the player any time soon.

Overall Score 5/10

• Trick R Treat Seasons Greetings Animated Short With Optional Commentary – I did enjoy the short film by the director, the film that “started it all” according to him. It’s a hand drawn animated short starring a small boy with a cloth sack head who might have a touch of evil in his little heart. We watched with the commentary, which is the extent of this extra feature….not much to offer (not that I was wanting lots of extras:P).

The Movie: 4/10
Have you seen this movie and thought…”Ugh, that kinda sucked” but then you read around the fabled internet and find that nearly 100% of folks seem to be transfixed by how good it is? Fear not fellow sensible person, you are not alone.

I wanted to like this movie. I really do enjoy Halloween and Horror films. I’m not a fan girl of the genre, but I’ve seen my fair share and I have my own set of “rules” so to speak. Trick R Treat only hits about 2% of the list, and to put it into perspective, Halloween (original), Devil’s Rejects, Exorcist, these go above and beyond the list and have given me awesome movie watching experiences over and over.

Trick R Treat, let’s just get down to it, has zero characters who are interesting, zero stories that keep me captivated, zero scares, zero creativity or originality. NOW, that being said some might claim that’s the whole point, to have a throwback horror flick that is reminiscent of the good old days of horror flicks and the few anthology movies from the 20th century. OK, that didn’t happen for me at all. I didn’t catch that train folks.

I saw a movie that was trying too hard to be something it wasn’t. Trying to find a character, Sam the sack head boy, to tie several stories together with his creepiness and big lollipop weapon. He’s not scary, doesn’t make me wonder what he is, why he’s evil, why he’s a boy with a sack head…etc. The stories do not criss cross in a way that’s clever or ever finds that “ah ha” moment when all the characters and their little town seem to be part of a bigger scary story.

Maybe I’m too old, too cynical, too worn out by these kinds of movies…oh but wait, last week we watched Drag Me To Hell and I loved it. I liked the remake of Friday the 13th, and others in the genre in the past few years. Trick R Treat just gave me that bored, “hmmm how much longer is this movie” feeling and that’s not good. It did make me want to watch some classic horror flicks, which IS good:)

So, if you are in agreement with me, that the sinister child killing principal, the sexy chick dressed as Red Riding Hood, the innocent chick who blew out the candle in a Jack-o-lantern, the lame story about a busload of children on some past Halloween, and the sack boy who doesn’t seem to have any purpose at all, is one of the least entertaining movie you’ve seen in a while, you are not alone.

Audio & Video: 7/10 (by Ascully)
Not much to say about the audio video quality on this DVD. It contains both the wide screen & full screen versions on one disc so it’s a little more compressed than normal but the movie is quite short so it’s not a major issue.

Audio is presented in Dolby 5.1 and is less than impressive throughout, I think I have been spoiled by the uncompressed soundtracks that come on Blu-Ray discs though so your mileage may vary. Overall a disappointing movie and an average DVD.


Value: 3/10
Late night some Halloween in the future after a few glasses of wine and having watched every other GOOD creepy movie ever made, I would consider watching Trick R Treat again, this is how I value this DVD. If you are crazy for Halloween themed movies, go for it with your rental card at your local DVD store or online offerings.

Overall Score 4/10

The menu features scenes from the movie, with a sepia colored theme.  It is average, but again the tone and the color match the movie.


Features: 4/10

• Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary – There are two deleted scenes included, and they can be viewed with or without commentary by the movie’s director Neil Abramson, as well as the movie’s two producers Danielle Renfrew and Michael Roiff.
• On Leave In Bakersfield: Behind The Scenes Of American Son – This 11 minute extra is a behind the scenes affair, which demonstrates some of the filming that took place in the dusty town of Bakersfield.  Bakersfield was an interesting choice for this movie’s backdrop, and really added to the stark, depressing feel of many of the scenes in the movie.  I liked the rehearsal scenes, followed by the final scenes as they showed the real process of making the movie.
• Director Audio Commentary – Finally we get an audio commentary track, which features the director and the producers.  There is a lot of information given about the process, as expected, but overall I felt that this was a bit dry and hard to sit through.  Not bad, but definitely not great either.

The Movie: 8/10
American Son is a stark view of a Marine who has 96 hours to tie ends up before heading off to fight in Iraq.  Mike (Nick Cannon, who does a surprisingly good job in this role) meets Cristina (Melonie Diaz) on the bus as he heads back to his home town.  As they talk, Mike explains that he is a Marine, and when the talk turns to being sent to Iraq, Mike fails to inform Cristina that he is actually headed there in a few days.  The two hit is off and Mike ends up getting her phone number so that he can call her while he is at home.

Home is a dreary place full of Mike’s past, which as he sees it was a dead end.  His father is a chain smoking negative individual who has been beaten down by life, and Mike’s brother is a drug addict who lives in squalor and wants nothing to do with the family.  Mike’s friends are all stuck in the same rut of drinking and doing drugs, hanging out on the weekends and they basically act the same as they did when Mike was in high school.  Mike’s mother has a new significant other, who doesn’t really get along with Mike, and while she is very close and supportive to Mike, he fails to tell her that he is going to Iraq either.  By not telling his family or friends, Mike alienates a part of himelf which forces him to take on many of his issues himself.

Mike ends up spending more and more of his free time with Cristina instead of his family and friends.    He has no desire to hang out and do drugs, and he and Cristina grow closer and closer together, which makes the fact that he is leaving for Iraq more of an issue.  At one point Cristina asks Mike to visit her friends who has returned from Iraq having lost a leg to a roadside bomb.  The pain and emotion of the Mike’s struggles really comes to a head as he is forced to view the possibilities that await him on his tour of duty.

American Son is a slow building, character driven movie.  It is more of a documentary style of film than a Hollywood feature.  It is a tough watch, where we are shown the internal struggle of a young man facing his future, and his mortality all at once.  The acting is very good, and for a film like this it has to be.  I like the theme and style of the movie more than the actual experience, which dragged on a bit in places, but overall I thought American Son was well done.





Audio & Video: 6/10
It is hard to look at a standard DVD and hold it up to the same standards you rate a Blu-ray.  There obviously are limitations given the format.  With that said, I thought that the video for American Son was well done throughout.  There was intentional grain and the entire movie had a dusty, almost sepia feel, which added to the dreary feel of Mike’s existence at home.

The audio was good for dialogue, but somewhat underwhelming for everything else.


Value: 6/10
This is not a movie you will watch again and again, but it is a different view of a modern day issue facing many of our soldiers.  The way the movie is presented is not a real commentary on whether we should be in Iraq or not, but more of a glimpse at what some of our youth will face when they are told they have to go fight for our country in a war that has dragged on for so many years.  Most of us are aware that the war in Iraq is a deadly one, and American Son addresses the fact that many people who had no other option signed up with the armed forces and now have to deal with the reality of actually fighting in a country that is dangerous.  American Son is a view into that struggle, and overall it is a bleak and heart-wrenching movie.

Overall Score 6/10

• Torchwood Declassified A Look Behind The Scenes With The Cast & Crew – The only extra in the set which is a bit of a shame is the program that aired on BBC1 before the show, it’s a 30 minute behind the scenes look with a few spoilers. I would take a look after you have seen the miniseries, as there are some shocking revelations here.
  

The Series: 8/10
I”m a fan of Torchwood. OK,  a little history would be helpful. I am American. I never did watch Dr. Who until a few years ago when my British husband, Ascully, introduced me to the time traveling dude. After getting hooked on that show they brought out Torchwood and I was skeptical. I was very skeptical. I don’t like spin off shows. They are usually just a bid for the producers of the original show to make more cash and not offer up much quality. This time my skepticism was not fulfilled. Torchwood, from the first episode, got my attention and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Now, on to the latest installment of the series. Children of Earth features our now rag tag team of alien fighting do-gooders, Jack, Gwen, and Ianto. I won’t give away the details of why or how we got to this point in the organization’s history. You need to watch the beginning of the show to catch up.

Children start synchronizing. Yes, at the same time all around the world all the children speak in synchronized oddness. That’s just the beginning. There is one older man who also falls under the same strange spell, so we have to find out the whole story. Before we get to pursue the weird chidren thing it seems Torchwood is being hunted down, they even try to kill Jack….yea, Jack. Like I mentioned before to catch up with the whole history of these characters you need to watch from the beginning, but I’ll say this, Jack isn’t easy to kill.

So, the children are saying strange things, Torchwood is being hunted, things are looking grim for our friends. The thing is this mini-series of the show isn’t focused just on the crew or the drama of the alien invader, it’s also focused on the bureaucracy of government. The ineptness of people in charge in the face of truly doing what’s best for the citizenry of their country. The idea that these people are so institutionalized that they have lost their humanity, their compassion, and become slaves to keeping their butts out of trouble and making sure their pensions are safe.

The action is always top notch. BBC knows how to do a quality TV show, that’s for sure. The special effects are often subtle, like an alien kept in a glass box obscured by a fog. You can barely see the beast and yet it’s much more intimidating then if they were out in the open. There are explosions, large blocks of cement encasing a human body falling from a high place…etc. It’s a lot of action and adventure packed onto the small screen, that’s for sure.

The characters are more fleshed out, Gwen and her man Rhys build on their marriage from last season. Jack and Ianto are challenged to find out more about their relationship and how they feel about each other. It’s just one of those shows that blends it all together with class.

I won’t say it’s perfect. I felt a bit lectured by the ideas of the story. I won’t go into details so I won’t reveal the heart of the plot, but it feels like there is a big agenda laid out on a plate for us to pick around on and make some decisions about ourselves as a culture (British or American). That’s ok, that’s what I like about Dr. Who and Torchwood, they have a mind of their own and make me think occasionally about things. Yes, even Science Fiction gives me something to think about in life. :) I had my moments of “wow this is awesome”. And then I had moments of thinking, “hmmm”. So, it can’t get the highest score. I think I”m tainted by the rest of the show, having experienced the whole of it makes this chapter as dynamic, but less satisfying in a way.

On the whole I think there have been single episodes of Torchwood that I enjoyed more in the story arena, but for a 5 part series it’s an awesome transition for our beloved protectors on the rift in Cardiff.

Audio & Video: 8/10
Torchwood is filmed in HD from the get go so this DVD release actually looks very nice (HD junkies note there is also a Blu-Ray version). The audio is also Dolby Digital 5.1 which makes the blood curdling screams of the 456 that more terrifying. Children Of Earth is a compelling story even if you are not a fan of the Russell T Davies universes, I really hope there is more to come.


Value: 8/10
If you are a fan of Torchwood, you will watch this regardless of the price. You can get it on DVD for about 15 bucks this week online. You can get it on Blu-Ray for about $30. If you like the show but you don’t need it to be on your shelf, it’s still an awesome rental!! 5 hours of fun and fanciful British TV, you can’t go wrong:)

Overall Score 8/10

Check Out The Official Torchwood Site

The menu was also a bit short on substance.  I basically is the same shot as the cover, with a bit more of an artsy, painting type effect.  The menu does look nice, but overall I was very underwhelmed.

Features: 2/10

• Feature Commentary By Director Mike Newell & Producer Ann Scott – The only real “extra” here was a single commentary by the director and producer.  As far as commentaries go, this one is a full fledged dud in my opinion.  This was just a very monotonous dialogue with massive silent gaps in areas.  I again was underwhelmed, and for a movie with such a following and with such importance, the commentary was inexcusable.

The Movie: 6/10
Enchanted April was released in the theaters in 1992.  Initially picked up by Miramax, the television movie was released in the United States and did relatively well.  Since that time Enchanted April had, up to this point, not been released on DVD, which is kind of shocking for such a well received movie.  The movie garnered several Golden Globes  and nominations for Academy Awards for best adapted screenplay, best costumes, and best supporting actress (for Joan Plowright).

The movie itself is about two women who live in London in the 1920′s.  As the dark gloomy rain continuously falls about their lives, they take the opportunity to rent a castle in Italy for the month of April to escape London and their miserable lives.    The two are dissimilar in many ways.  Lotty Wilkins (Josey Lawrence) is married to Mellersh (Alfred Molina), a thrifty solicitor who is enraged when he discovers Lotty has arranged a vacation without him.  Lotty talks, or badgers Rose Arthbutnot (played brilliantly by Miranda Richardson) into joining her on the trip, and Rose is perfectly fine with leaving her husband in England while she gets away, as she is seemingly appalled at the fact that he makes his money by writing erotic stories under a pseudonym.

The pair decide that the sixty pounds is a bit steep for the two of them, and the end up finding two other female companions to joint them and share in the expense.  They end up inviting Mrs. Fisher (Joan Plowright) who is an older woman with high standards, and who expects those around her to share those same views.  Mrs. Fisher initially finds Lotty and Rose to be nothing short of troublesome, but later ends up warming up to the whole group as she finds that her affect is truly changed by the Italian experience.

The final castle-mate ends up being socialite Caroline Dester (Polly Walker) who decides that she needs to escape the constant attention that is thrown her way in the social circle that she keeps in Londen.  Caroline is a flapper who basically is forced to run from lecherous males during parties, and she longs for a vacation where she really has nothing to do but sit around taking in the Italian countryside.  The all female vacation is shown as a meandering, slow decompression that really unravels the defenses of all of teh women, to the point where the unlikely quartet become friends.

At one point, Lotty ends up inviting her husband to the estate, and Rose is suprised when her husband also drops by (when in actuality he had followed Lady Caroline, and is shocked to find out that the one Italian castle that he has chosen to drop in on happens to be where his wife is on vacation.

Overall Enchanted April is a slow, unfocused movie about the relationships created between these four women in the beautiful Italian countryside.  The story itself seems to take its time to develop, as one would expect a lazy Italian vacation to do.  The acting is fun to watch, and is the strength of the movie, and it is a lighthearted mix of drama and comedy, all mixed together to form a very pleasant, if not somewhat long-winder journey.

I enjoyed Enchanted April, but it did not live up to what I remembered.  This was one of those movies that I must have seen and revered for such a long time that when I finally saw it again, I was somewhat disappointed due to the fact that I had built it up so much in my mind.  While I did enjoy Enchanted April, it perhaps suffered a bit from age, probably like everything else.  Worth a watch if you have not seen it, the movie is one that many seem to revere, and hopefully after finally getting a DVD release, those people will not be as disappointed as I was by the release.

Audio & Video: 4/10
For such an anticipated DVD release, I would have expected a bit more polish.  Perhaps the movie was made with such a low budget that it really looked this way, but there were artifacts and grain, and I was shocked to see this released in this manner.  I understand that this is a movie from 1992, but I can’t give a pass for it simply based on the age of the movie.

The video was particularly bad in dark scenes, where there was very little detail discernible at all.  The colors seemed off, and the amount of grain in some shots was just blatantly noticeable; so much so that I often found myself noticing the grain and not following the movie.

The audio was better, but was again a bit muted and seemingly dull.   I guess I just expected more from such a prestigious movie like this.


Value: 4/10
Unless you are a huge fan of Enchanted April, I would not bother adding this DVD to your collection.  There are no real extras to speak of and the dvd itself is not top notch, as one would expect from a long awaited release such as this movie.  The story is interesting, if not a bit slow, and the acting is fairly fun, but overall I just don’t have a lot of positive things to say about Enchanted April.

Overall Score /10

The menu is very nice for a standard DVD.  Choices are presented along the bottom of the screen, with scenes from the movie rotating across the middle.  Nice music, and nice presentation.

Features: 6/10

• Deleted Scenes - The deleted scenes for Seven Pounds are short, but some of them were pretty good.  One included a piece about how Ben was able to pull of his amazing feat, and in my opinion it should have definitely been in the movie.
• Seven Views On Seven Pounds -In this interesting behind the scenes short, seven different crew members talk about their own views about the movie.  It includes interviews with the writer, the producers, and people like the location manager, and it covers a variety of things about the movie that kind of offer a different insight into the making of the movie.  I really liked the way this was presented, and it gives a unique view of how movies get made.
• Creating The Perfect Ensemble -In this piece the casting director explains what went into getting  the right actors for the movie.  Of course the main focus is on Will Smith and Rosario Dawson, and I have to say that the chemistry between the two was excellent.  This extra then talks about how the rest of the cast was picked.
• The Box Jellyfish: World’s Deadliest Co-Star -A very strange inclusion, this extra is all about the box jellyfish, one of the main focuses of the movie.  This is basically an interview with a scientist who talks about the deadly creature and where it comes from, how it kills, and everything else you could want to know about the beautiful creature.
• Emily’s Passion: The Art Of The Printing Press -This short goes through various printing presses from the past, and talks about the progression over the ages of the art.  Of course in the movie Emily has a few of these old machines, so this ties in nicely with the story.  A bit of a strange inclusion, but if you are going to talk about the jellyfish, might as well go into detail on the printing presses.
• Director Commentary -This is a very nice commentary done by director Gabriele Muccino.  Having worked with Will Smith before on the Pursuit of Happiness, this commentary talks about Will and all of the actors and how they fit his vision of what the movie was going to be.  Muccino does a good job of describing what he was trying to achieve, and he is passionate about this movie, which this commentary shows.

The Movie: 8/10
Before I begin talking about the movie itself, I have to explain that Seven Pounds is the type of film that is not easy to talk about without giving away too much of the plot, which in essence could ruin the movie.  I do not want to ruin the movie itself, so I may have to be a bit vague in talking about it.

To that tend, I can tell you that Seven Pounds starts off with Ben Thomas (Will Smith) making a 911 phone call to report a suicide.  After the person on the other end asks who is the victim, Ben answers “I am.”  A nice start to a movie, and a nice way to jump headfirst into a mystery that leaves the viewer asking “what is gong on here?”  Ben talks about how he has shattered his own world in seven seconds, and we are left trying to decide how and why, and just what he trying to do as he focuses his attention on seven different individuals who seem to all be broken or impaired for one reason or another.

Ben is not a nice person, and Will Smith does a good job of portraying a tortured individual who is focused on his main goal, even though we are not sure about what that goal really is.  The movie plays hide the ball very well, and while we are given glimpses into Ben’s past, we don’t really get an up-front view of what he is planning.

Eventually Ben, who states that he is an IRS representative, gets to know a few of the individuals that he has been following, and one in particular is Emily (Rosario Dawson) who has an issue with her heart.  Emily also owes the IRS money, and Ben promises to help her out.  Slowly Ben ends up becoming close with Emily, who seems a bit down on her luck due to her inability to do her work as a printer, as her condition makes it difficult to exert any real physical effort, and one of her antique printing presses is on the fritz.  Ben ends up getting very close to Emily, whose need for a transplant grows as the movie goes on.

Like I mentioned before, we are given glimpses into Ben’s past, but it is tough to figure out just where the movie is going at times.  The acting by Will Smith and Rosario Dawson is very good, and as the relationship grows, the acting just gets better and better.  The supporting cast was good also, with solid performances by Barry Pepper (who won a Razzie for worst actor in 1997) and Woody Harrelson, as well as others.

Overall I liked Seven Pounds, and I thought that the journey was really fun.  The acting was really good, and I can see how some people would not like being made to wait for the ending, but overall the movie was good.  Unlike the Pursuit of Happiness, Seven Poundsis not quite a feel good movie, but it definitely is worth watching.

Audio & Video: 7/10
There was really not much that I noticed good of bad for the video and audio.  I reviewed the standard DVD, and it looked fine.  The cinematography was good, but not remarkable, and the image was again decent.  The movie is presented in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen.

The audio was also good, but not mind blowing.  Presented in 5.1 Surround Sound, the dialogue was good, and there was only a slight bit of use of the rear speakers that I noticed.

In saying that both the audio and video was unremarkable, I want to stress that in this type of movie it was a good thing.  It really meant that I was not distracted by the images and audio, and was able to focus on the meat of the movie, which was character development and the twisting story.  The audio and video did not distract me from the movie, which was a good thing.


Value: 5/10
Seven Pounds is an interesting movie that is definitely worth watching.  Will Smith and especially Rosario Dawson were extremely enjoyable to watch, but at the end of the day, this movie is an experience that most will be able to enjoy only one time.  It is a hard movie to watch, and the ending, once learned, is the main focus of the movie.  Once you experience it, there is no going back.  For that reason, to me Seven Pounds is a rental for sure, but I can’t imagine many will watch it over and over again.

Overall Score 7/10

The menu features some of the beautiful backgrounds that were used for the movie.  Lilo and Stitch has a very different feel to it from some of the 2d Disney animated features.  It is as if the backgrounds were all done only in watercolors, and the effect is simply beautiful.  The menu features some Hawaiian music and rolling scenes from them movie, with Lilo and Stitch quickly zooming through the scene on a tricycle, and playing with a stick.  Not bad, and a great way to get a feel for the artwork that makes this movie so unique.


Features: 9/10

• Deleted Scenes – There are several scenes that are included that did not make it into the movie itself.  Many are storyboard shots, or rough, non-colored outline pieces, and overall they don’t really seem to be missed in the movie.  Neat to see, but not crucial to the story itself.
• Music Video – There is a cute video of the Kamehameha Children’s Chorus doing the song “Your Ohana.”  It is set to scenes from the movie, and is a nice little jingle, and much better than the other music video presented with this release.
• Lilo & Stitch Island Adventure Games – There are 3 different games, including a gecko race, and a shell game that are included on the disc.  The games are not horrible, but they are your average DVD fair, and not really too entertaining, even for kids.
• A Stitch In Time Follow Stitch Through The Disney Years – This was a strange extra, in that Stitch was basically shown inserted into shots of classic Disney films, like he has been around the Disney family for ages.  Neat to see all of the other Disney classics, but overall just kind of a strange inclusion.
• I Cant Help Falling In Love With You Music Video – I have no idea who the A-teens are, but it is a teenage pop group apparently, with two guys and 2 girls.  (Basically a teenage version of ABBA, but without the 1970′s grooviness.)  The video for the very short song is a mixture of the band doing their thing, and shots from the movie.
• Disneypedia Hawaii – Also included on the 1993 Lilo and Stitch DVD release, this is just an informational piece about the Hawaiian islands.  You can pick from the group and there is a short mini-documentary about the customs and island tradition given.
• Much Much More – There were a whole lot of extras included here on the 2-disc set.  There is a hula lesson for those who want to learn the ancient art of dancing, and a behind the scenes feature with Wynonna, singing a cover of “Burning Love”.  The Big Wave Edition also has a very informative commentary, with Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois, and Clark Spencer.  It is an excellent commentary, and goes into depth about changes that were made to the movie, and the direction they took the film as it evolved.  I have to also talk about the 2-hour (yes you read correctly) documentary that is included on the second disc.  It was basically a complete making of piece, and blew me away.  It included interviews with Chris Sanders, and just about everyone who was involved with the movie.  It was truly an amazing journey, and it covered everything from the first trip to Hawai’i to get ideas for the movie, to the screening process, and everything in between.  This was by far the best making of that I have seen.  Throughout the extras is it extremely apparent that the guys working on this little movie really put their heart into it, and it shows.

The Movie: 7/10
Lilo and Stitch is a movie set in the beautiful Hawaiian islands.  Lilo is an absolutely adorable little girl who is perpetually late and perpetually feisty.  She knows what is expected of her, but she just can’t seem to get things to go her way, and so she is seen very much as an outcast.  She has lost both of her parents, and her sister Nani is in charge of Lilo, which is apparently more than anyone should be saddled with as Lilo just seems to kick up trouble wherever she goes.Lilo just wants to fit in, and this is a trying time, when it looks as if Nani might end up losing custody of poor Lilo if the little family can’t come together and prove to the state that Nani is properly looking after the little girl.Add to this the arrival of Stitch, or as he is also known, experiment 626.  Stitch is an experiment gone awry; the result of a mad scientist’s evil experiment.  Stitch escapes captivity before he is set to be put down by the Galactic Government, who realizes the danger that the little monster represents.  Stitch is, after all, a miniature wrecking ball, and everything he touches seems to explode.After escaping from the Galactic Government, Stitch crash lands in Hawaii, and is taken to an animal shelter, where the little alien is adopted by Lilo, who thinks that Stitch is just some sort of misfit dog.  Little does she know that Stitch is a weapons specialist and as much of an outcast as she is.  Soon the two troublemakers end up bonding to learn the real lesson of the movie, which is that Ohana, which is Hawaiian for family, means everything.Stitch is of course being pursued by the evil scientist who is sent to capture the little monster, and Lilo is fighting her own battle against the state which is trying to place her in foster care.

The two misfits end up becoming close friends, and end up working together in this heartwarming little animated movie.Lilo and Stitch is a great little Disney movie.  The characters are simply fun to watch, and the story, albeit a strange mix of aliens and Hawaii, ends up to be a very fun little journey with an excellent message about love and the importance of family.  It is a beautiful movie as well, with some excellent scenery and amazing 2D graphics.  I don’t think that Lilo and Stitch is a Disney classic, but it sure is a great example of how much effort and thought Disney put into their movies.  It may not be the best that they have put out, but it is far from their worst, and anything with Hawaii in it works for me.





Audio & Video: 6/10
So perhaps I am starting to become a video snob since I got my Blu-ray player, but I really did think that there were a few issues with the transfer of Lilo and Stitch on standard DVD.  For the 2-Disc Big Wave Edition Disney apparently did nothing substantial in terms of updating the 1993 DVD.  The art style is a bit muted and sometimes soft (grainy) basically just because of the art direction that they took the movie, but this transfer also seemed a bit grainy in parts and not as crisp as I would have liked.  for the most part, it looked great, but I just felt like it was not as good as it could have been in certain scenes.  The standard DVD is presented in 1.66:1 widescreen, and it looks pretty good overall.

The audio is again wonderful.  Disney just nails is on about every single release that they put out.  Presented in 5.1 Surround Sound, the ambient noise is excellently done throughout, and all speakers get used.  The dialogue is crisp and clean, and the music is perfectly balanced throughout.  Just an amazing audio mix overall.


Value: 8/10
I will give Lilo and Stitch a high score, because the movie itself, while not a traditional classic, is still a great animated film, in the same realm as Mulan or the Little Mermaid in my opinion.  I love the tropical feel of the movie, and the crazy little alien is just plain fun.  It is a great story about how family is very important, but it also has a neat space alien vibe.  The 2-Disc Big Wave Edition has tons of extras, and it is just an amazing collection of goodies that will keep you satisfied.  Overall Lilo and Stitch is just a good fun little Disney film that the whole family can watch over and over again.

Overall Score /10

The menu is actually pretty good for a relatively static menu.  It is colorful, and features screen shots of the main characters spinning in and out of the screen with a guitar heavy background (after reading that last sentence, it sound worse than it is.)  It worked in an odd sort of way.


Features: 9/10

• Deleted Scenes & Alternate Takes – There are about 25 minutes of deleted and alternative takes from the movie, and they are excellent.  This is the type of extra that is funny, interesting, and doesn’t take itself too serious.  There are lots of scenes that didn’t make it into the final cut that were still good to watch, including a scene where Elisabeth Banks goes off on Paul Rudd that I would have liked in the movie.  The deleted scenes run the gamut from nudity to cursing to just plain insanity.  They were excellent.
• Bloopers – The blooper reel was actually pretty funny.  With these types of movies, where there is a lot of improvisation going on, there tends to be a few gems in the blooper reel area.  These were funny for the most part, and my particular favorite includes a line said by Wheeler in which it comes off that it is sad that he can’t “get closer” to the little kids.  As far as bloopers go, these were good.
• In Character & Off Script – In Character & Off Script is a crazy little set of in character interviews with 3 of the movie’s characters.  These are are over the top interviews with Martin, one of the “Bigs” from the Sturdy Wings group, and Kuzzik and Davith of Glencracken, from the L.A.I.R.E. (Live-Action Interactive Role-Playing Explorers).  Very, very funny and original stuff.
• On The Set Of Role Models – In another bizarre and hysterical extra, this one starts off with nipple flipping and curse words.  This is not your average behind the scenes feature, and it is refreshing, funny, and crazy.
• Feature Commentary With Director David Wain – David Wain is a funny guy with a twisted sense of making movies, and his audio commentary was good.  There was a lot of information given about the movie itself.  It was a good overall commentary that kept a good pace and did not have a lot of dead air.  My only complaint was that with this plethora of funny actors, perhaps a few of them should have been involved in the commentary, to spice it up a bit.
• Game On: Creating a Role Playing World – This is a 10 minute long extra describing the L.A.I.R.E. battle scenes from the movie, and how they came about.  It includes the cast talking about how strange the whole role-playing battles are, and how the battles were presented on screen.  It is just as funny as the actual scenes themselves, and I really liked the talk of the “death scenes.”

The Movie: 9/10
Ok.  so I did it.  I really struggled with what score to give Role Models.  I have to admit that I did not expect too much from the movie.  Before I saw the movie, I had in my mind that this was gonna be one of those comedy movies that tried too hard to be funny, and was not.  I was wrong.  I loved the film, and I struggled about whether I could give Role Models a 9, or play it safe with an 8.  After watching the movie again I went with the 9.  This is a really funny movie with really great characters.  Like I said, I loved this movie, and I am not sure that everyone else will feel the same way.

Role Models is a movie about Danny (Paul Rudd) and Wheeler (Sean William Scott), two guys who work for an energy drink company, selling the caffeine bombs to kids by dressing up like a minotaur and going to schools and talking about staying off of drugs, as they pound the drinks to stay awake.  Danny ends up getting frustrated at his dead-end job, and in a moment of semi clarity, he proposes to his lawyer girlfriend Beth (Elisabeth Banks), who ends up dumping him because he is cranky and kind of a prick.

After getting dumped and getting arrested, the two guys find themselves facing jail time, and they end up having Beth get them a plea deal where they are forced to log in 150 hours of community service.  To get their hours, they sign up to be mentors for two troubled teens at a local organization, run by the ex-drug addict Gayle (played perfectly by Jane Lynch).  Of course Danny gets assigned to mentor Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse from Superbad fame), who wear a cape and is involved in L.A.I.R.E., a dungeon and dragon-type role playing group.  Obviously Danny struggles at first to find common ground with Augie, and the 150 hours seems like it could take months to achieve.

Wheeler is assigned to Ronnie, a young African-American boy whose first words to Wheeler after he is assigned to mentor the boy are “no, I will not take my pants off.”  Ronnie cusses like a sailor, and wants nothing to do with Wheeler, so again the struggle is on to make the arrangement work.

The movie then focuses on Danny and Wheeler trying to get their hours, while suffering through the torture of being inept role models, and the young boys demonstrating that they are not troubled, but just actually need some help.  As the story unfolds, numerous side characters are introduced, and these are the gems that make the movie work so well.  Everyone really adds to the mix, and the humor, and the movie itself unfolds (while in a somewhat formulaic manner) by getting the “Bigs” and the “Littles” to find a common ground that benefits both.

The DVD comes with the unrated version, and the theatrical version both on the same disc.  The unrated version is just a few minutes longer, and it only includes a few extra scenes that really were not all that crazy.  Overall I thought Role Models was a very pleasant surprise, and it will surely  be one that I watch again and again, as long as my 3 year-old son is asleep or in the other room.





Audio & Video: 7/10
The video was pretty good on the standard disc.  I really noticed the bright colors and I thought the video was sharp throughout the movie.  This is one of those films that you do not necessarily need to see in high definition (though it can’t hurt) but the standard DVD looked pretty good regardless.  It is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen.

The audio was very clean also, and they did a great job in using ambient sound through the rear speakers for quite a bit of the movie.  for a comedy, I was very impressed with the overall audio presentation, when a lot of these types of movies just seem to forget about the whole “surround sound thing.”  The audio was presented in Dolby digital 5.1 Surround Sound.

Value: 8/10
Role Models is one of those comedy movies that I can watch over and over again, kind of like Old School or Euro Trip.  I did not expect it to be all that great, and I was very surprised that the film was so entertaining.  I have really grown to like Paul Rudd (a fellow Kansas City native) and I thought he did another amazing job with this movie, as did the rest of the cast.  It has the feel of an ensemble cast, and everyone was great in their own way.  Role Models was just a funny, if not slightly formulaic comedy romp, and I highly recommend it.

Overall Score 9/10

I really think that the cover for the Boy in the Striped Pajamas is excellent.  This is truly a picture that explains the entire film, in a poignant manner, as well as presenting a stark, overbearing feeling that runs throughout this story.  The cover shows the two young boys, divided by the fence of the concentration camp that is the barrier between these two friends, who are not old enough to understand the hatred and fear that they are supposed to feel for each other.  It is a powerful cover.

The menu is a collection of still photos from the movie, and while not as good as the cover, is also powerful and moving.

Features: 5/10

• Deleted Scenes – There are a total of 5 deleted scenes that run about 6 minutes in length.  for the most part I thought that they actually could have been put into the movie (there was one exception).  Overall they simply added to existing scenes, and they did not seem to me to be too over the top to be cut.
• Friendship Beyond The Fence Featurette – This 20 minute “making of” piece was pretty standard fare, that covered everything from the children’s acting to the final, heavy ending.  It is not a bad piece, and it included a lot of interviews where everyone really seemed excited to be involved in the movie, which was nice.  Overall the extras themselves were a bit boring and short in my opinion, but with the heavy handedness of the story, I guess you would not want too much in terms of extras.
• Feature Commentary – The commentary track is stark and hard to sit through.  There is not a lot of discussion that I felt was worth listening to unfortunately, and a lot of the time there was dead air.  the commentary includes author John Boyne, and the writer/director Mark Herman.  There is a lot f talk about differences between the movie and the film, which was pretty good, but the rest was just flat.

The Movie: 7/10
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas  is an odd film.  Basically the idea is to tell the story of the World War II concentration camps through the eyes of an 8 year-old German boy.  It is a strange way to view the horrors of the Holocaust, as it presents the insanity of the situation though the innocent eyes of one who doesn’t understand the full depth of what is going on around him.  In doing so, it creates and uneasy feeling for the viewer, who obviously knows of the atrocities that occurred, and the ultimate outcome for those involved.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas starts off with Bruno (brilliantly played by Asa Butterfield) finding out that his father has received a promotion.  His father (David Thewlis – who I finally figured out has been in some of the Harry Potter films) is actually a military man, and the promotion sees him leaving the city for a new home in the countryside, where he will run a concentration camp.  Bruno is whisked away from his friends and transplanted into a beautiful house in the country, just yards away from the concentration camp that he is told is a farm.  Bruno blissfully has no idea what goes on at the camp, or what his father does there.  Bruno’s mother and sister make the move as well, and the family is shown dealing with the struggles of living in a new area, and dealing with the reality that comes with the concentration camp.

Bruno is told that he is not allowed to venture off of the estate’s grounds, and of course he ends up venturing out in to the woods, where he discovers the farm, which is surrounded by an electrical fence.  Bruno soon discovers Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a boy close to Bruno’s age who has his head shaven and wears striped pajamas, like many of the farm workers.  Bruno and Shmuel begin to talk, and develop a sort of friendship, divided by the fence.  When the whistle shireks, Bruno watches as Shmuel scrambles to get his huge wheelbarrow back to the farm, not realizing the gravity of the situation.

As the boys become friends, Bruno begins stealing food from his house to take to his new mate, and the two play games and talk through he fence, as their bond grows deeper.  It is an interesting take on the severe nature of the boy’s plight, and the acting done by the boys is excellent.  the innocence at times is forced, but the boys portrayal of the two friends is heartwarming, and sad.  The Boy in the Striped Pajamas can be a bit too straightforward at times, and it can seem a bit too polished and convenient, but it does a good job of staying simple, which goes hand and hand with the idea of the boy’s naivete.

I liked the movie for the most part, and the ending is simply devastating.  It is much like watching a train wreck, and it is therefore very tough to watch.  Once you realize what is happening, it becomes very difficult to witness, and I felt that it was almost too much.  for the rest of the movie the pace seems to meander and build, but the ending is very abrupt, which is understandable, but it is a stark change from the rest of the movie.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was a new look at the tragedy that occurred in concentration camps in Germany, and it looked beautiful.  The acting was very good also, but the film itself was a bit too straight forward and obvious for me to really love it.  I thought it was well worth the watch, but I am not sure that I will sit through the experience again any time soon.  Overall, a good movie with good acting, but not a great film by any stretch.





Audio & Video: 6/10
The video for the standard DVD looks good.  The cinematography is a bit washed out, but this appears to be done in an effort to give the movie an older feel.  I really thought the cinematography was well done, and gave a nice feel to the movie itself.  Colors are muted for the most part, which really made things pop out when needed (like Bruno’s striking blue eyes).  I thought the 1.85:1 wide screen presentation was sharp and clear, even for a standard DVD.

The audio was decent.  Like most of the recent movies I have seen, this was heavily dialogue driven, and did not use the rear speakers much, even though it is presented in 5.1 Surround Sound.  I was not blown away by the audio however, and felt that in a few spots it was quiet and/or flat.

Value: 6/10
I am giving the Boy in Striped Pajamas a 6 out of 10 for value, mainly because the movie lacks any real replay value.  The ending was so rough that I can’t imagine sitting through the story again and again.  A 6 out of 10 does not mean that I did not like the movie though, as I really thought it was well done for the most part.  The story itself, while fictionalized to the point of being unbelievable, is a good one.  The acting and the ideals behind the movie are compelling, and while this is not the best holocaust movie, it is a good story and a good movie.  I am just not sure this i one that I would watch over and over again.  I recommend this as a rental for sure.

Overall Score 6/10

Features: 5/10

• Behind The Wheel Of Happy Go Lucky – This film has several scenes played out in a moving car driven by the leading actors. This extra shows how they got so many cameras in that small car so they could use a real car driven on the real mean streets of London.
  
• Happy In Character – People talking about people, that’s what this extra is. The director loves the cast. The cast loves the director. The characters are wonderful. The script is amazing. You get the idea. It is quite a long series of interviews and film clips from making the movie, so they get points for the size of the matter.
  
• Audio Commentary By Director Mike Leigh -This guy is great to listen to, so I recommend watching again to hear his perspective scene by scene.
  

The Movie: 8/10
You know those people, the ones who seem to laugh off everything in life. They try to cheer you up with stupid jokes, giggling, and saying annoying things like “It’s all good”. Ugh, I really am not a fan of that chirpy attitude. I’ not negative, but I’m not into the obnoxious fake happiness either.

What would the world be like without them? I’m not afraid to say it would suck. That’s the thing about Happy Go Lucky. As a story about a woman who shows the smile, the cracking jokes, the giggling, the apparent shallow view of the world I had that initial fear of being uncontrollably irritated. I wasn’t.

This story is about more than just the happy go lucky facade some people show the world. For me it’s about how that world tries at every opportunity to squash those “good vibes” or that positivity out of people. I said before that I’m not a happy happy smiley kind of chick, fair enough. The thing is, I can’t stomach the wretched negativity some people wallow in all the time. I suppose that leaves me in the middle. This film, these characters, bring it to the front of my mind just where I fit into this whole scale of misery vs. happy go lucky.

Poppy is the cheery giggle 30 year old who bubbles around daily life with a look of bewilderment on her face, happy face whatever comes around the next corner. Michael is the driving instructor who is her polar opposite. He is paranoid, hateful, cynical, miserable and looking for more misery around every corner. When Poppy and he are in the car together we get the distilled best and worst of each of their life philosophies.

I see the instructor representing the world, trying to knock the smile off Poppy’s face, and in essence making the world a more dark place. Poppy resists and even taunts him somewhat with her need to get everyone to lighten up. It’s fascinating to watch and their performances are, if I had to pick one work, fantastic. They each sum up their respective character’s personality precicely and I could see real people I have met in both of them.

There are moments that are terrifying, but not in the traditional sense. Just thinking that people harbor such hatred and backward ideals still in the 21st century is harrowing really. Ignorance will never die, unfortunately. The need for some people to lash out, because  from their perspective, it’s the only way to cope with the negativity in their own lives…it’s a never ending cycle that this slice-of-life film illustrates beautifully.

The look of the film is simply independant, if I may be so bold. I know it’s not a truly independant movie, but we can all agree that some movies look more natural and less produced (in a good way) than others because they are not beholden to one studio or group of upper management moneybags to follow a specific formula. That’s what I consider independent. Add the British sensibilities, to an already universal human state of mind kind of groove and it’s a pure pleasure to watch and enjoy.

I put Happy Go Lucky on my short list of “would watch again”, so we all know that’s a good thing:)





Audio & Video: 6/10
Not a lot to say about this bare bones DVD release. The movie is quite colorful and this translates well in the clean looking transfer. It is mostly dialog driven and I did not notice any surround action the entire movie. The DVD is functional, but not the best presentation you will ever see.

Value: 7/10
As for the movie, it’s definitely worth a rental or even adding it to my collection when the price goes down a bit. I know it’s a small movie, independent release, etc. The thing is, the DVD package as a whole doesn’t scream at me to spend more than, oh say, $15.00. The online price is around and over twenty bucks. Drop it ever-so-slightly folks, and I’m on my way to get my debit card:)

Overall Score 8/10

Features: 7/10

• Making Of Blindness Documentary - This is film, not just a promotional tool to show us some behind the scenes activities. I was almost as intrigued by the director, writer, and cinematographer as I was by the film itself. This feature should be used as the benchmark for all “making of” features in the future of DVD design.
• Deleted Scenes - Nothing here would have added to the film. There are written introductions that explain why the pieces were cut from the final movie, which is a nice change of pace.

The Movie: 9/10
The way this movie was presented to me in the promotional phase of its life put a stamp in my mind that defined what I thought it would be. I know that’s not fair, but then again I suppose that’s what advertising and promotional campaigns are meant to do, inform, sell, brainwash. I was led to believe Blindness would be another “virus threatens humanity, tossed in with some intellectual and social commentary, topped off with a big star (Juliane Moore)”. That’s superficially accurate, but this movie is so much more it will be impossible for me to cram it all into my little overview here today.

We are introduced to a man in a car in the middle of traffic who suddenly goes blind. He ends up in an Ophthalmologist’s office at the end of the day only to be seen by Mark Ruffalo who is tired, puzzled by the man’s symptoms, and sends him to the ER.

We then meet the doctor’s wife, an unassuming, seemingly frustrated but brave face wife and the nature of their relationship is subtly revealed. This is the most impressive aspect of this movie for me. This woman, she’s a people pleaser. She’s trying hard to keep a smile on her face even though her marriage is dried up. She runs a home with a husband who is affectionate but distant, distracted and consistently ineffectual. The wife makes dinner, a homemade Tiramisu, hand whipped cream, and has a beautifully kept home. The husband quietly takes it for granted, assumes his role as “doctor making a living” and that’s their story.

This is the foundation for their whole relationship throughout the movie, but it’s demonstrated in so many diverse and fascinating ways, none of which could have been done any more beautifully by someone other than Moore and Rufalo. Their moments together are smooth, if need be, awkward, horrific, believable, heartbreaking, and frighteningly life like. From a deeply exhaled sigh and glance we understand the wife’s utter indignation, or frustration, or determination.

These aren’t the only excellent performances in the film. Everyone brings a gutsy kind of honesty to their parts. I know that sounds obnoxious, but it’s true, trust me on this one. It’s the kind of movie you feel as though the cast are spending a lot of time together behind the scenes, so their time on screen is comfortable when it needs to be, tense when it has to be, and all together refined in a way that’s either a complete and utter illusion, or a result of a bond that few movie sets give their casts these days.

The sets for Blindness are amazing to say the least. From the upscale home of the couple, to the institutional grotesqueness of the quarantined hospital where we spend a good portion of the movie, I was immersed in that world completely. It’s all tactile. I could smell the lemons on the dining room table, as much as I could smell the feces on the floor of the horrible holding areas of the infected.

The camera work brought the instability, the chaos, and the insanity even closer, sometimes in a very intimately cold way. This story depicts a “what if” tale of human choices and who we become under duress. Everyone is becoming infected with something that’s causing blindness. How does this degrade our social structures, our responsibilities to each other, our humanity? The directing, editing, and cinematography do as much to bring us closer to these questions as every other ingredient of the film.

The make up and costumes are brilliant. There is no hiding from the filth, the disgusting conditions these people are forced to live in, and their clothing, their faces, their hair, it’s all so touchable, so smellable. I felt uncomfortable in my own clean clothes in my clean home theater…that’s powerful image making folks.

The marriage of the doctor and his wife is challenged from the moment we meet them, so as he deals with his blindness and she copes with not being blind, it intensifies, but never feels like it will resolve itself. There is a distance between them that nothing will bridge. She is always making choices, making bold decisions, being brave or desperate or mobile. He tries to take charge, make order, be the leader of a hopeless situation, but his flaccid manner and habit of just being considered a leader through his position as a doctor does nothing. Their relationship bookends the story, where they begin and end. How we know them, who they were and who they become.

This film has scenes that are disturbing, powerful, eye-coveringly visceral. It’s intelligent, challenging, a bit snooty in a literary kind of way, even if we can all grasp the very obvious mirrors of our world, our ways. I love it. I want to go watch it again right now. Even though it wasn’t enjoyable, exactly, it was invigorating and such high quality that it calls for another chance to soak into my mind.





Audio & Video: 7/10
Miramax decided against a Blu-Ray version for this movie. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it was because it didn’t do that well at the box office, and that’s just how it goes these days with some DVD releases. This DVD is presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic wide screen which is super detailed for a DVD release. The movie uses some stylistic overblown white and crushed black scenes throughout. This adds to the theme of the movie but never takes away from the transfer which I feel looks like the director intended it to.

The 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack is surprisingly good. There is a lot of dialog in the surround speakers during the hospital scenes and it often makes for a really disturbing haunting effect. Overall this is a excellent movie and fares well on DVD. It’s just a shame the theatrical release got delayed and the DVD was released with a whimper and not a bang.


Value: 8/10
I like this movie. I like the making of film that comes on the DVD. I wouldn’t pay more than 20 bucks for it, but then again I wouldn’t pay more than 20 for most movies. I do, however, want this movie in my collection so I think I could be persuaded to wait a little while, just until the price drops a few dollars.

Overall Score 8/10

The menu features the main characters shaking their booty to the infamous “Move It, Move It” song done by Reel 2 Real.  It is better than a static menu, but beware, the song will ear worm you within seconds, and you will sing it for days.  (I found myself singing it while walking into court just the other day, and I hope and pray the judge did not hear it, because then she would be singing it also, and probably blame me.)

Features: 9/10
The Madagascar disc is chock full of features.  You have the classic Dreamworks Jukebox, which seems to be included on all of their DVD releases, and features numerous songs from the Dreamworks animated catalog.  There is also a decent commentary, a nice piece on the cast of the movie, as well as several smaller features that really were pretty good overall.  There is also a demo game for an Activision Air Penguin game.  The Penguins of Madagascar disk is also full of extras, which include a few (not so good) DVD games, and Alex’s Dance Off, which shows you how to dance like Alex does.  Again, pretty decent stuff, and things that kids will really get into.

Finally, I have to add that there are a few short extra “easter eggs” hidden on the Penguins disk.  They show a few funny little penguin shorts.  I won’t give away the tricks, but check the internet if you are really interested and can’t find them on your own (hint – they are all accessible from the main menu. Full list of extras below.

• DWA Jukebox
  
• Filmmaker Commentary
  
• It’s A Family Affair The Cast Of Escape to Africa
  
• The Making Of Escape To Africa
  
• Crash Landing
  
• African Adventure
  
• Jambo Jambo Swahili Speak
  
• Test Flight Of Air Penguin Game
  
• Madagascar Escape 2 Africa Activision Game Trailer
  
• Four Music Videos
  
• Popcorn Panic & Gone In A Flash
  
• The Bronx Zoo Madagascar
  
• Alex’s Dance Off
  
• The Heart Of A Lion
  
• DVD Rom Games
  
• Easter Eggs
  

The Movie: 8/10
Madagascar – Escape 2 Africa starts off with a scene involving Alex the lion as a cub, in Africa with his father (voiced by the late Bernie Mac).  It shows how Alex ended up traveling to New York before he became a featured zoo attraction.  We then are switched to the current view of Alex, with his friends Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman the hypochondriac giraffe (David Schwimmer).  The crew is getting ready to pick up where the original Madagascar movie left off, as they are boarding the repaired airplane that the lemurs had been living in.  As the plane gets ready to take off to go back to New York, Julian the Lemur King (Sasha Baron-Cohen) decides he will accompany the group of New York animals on their trip.  The penguins launch the plane, and the new adventure begins.

But instead of making it all of the way to America, the plane runs out of gas, plummets, and lands somewhere in Africa.  It just so happens that the spot that they land is exactly where Alex grew up, and his lion pride is still there, as are his parents.  Alex is forced to prove himself to the pride by challenging another lion to a fight, but seeing as how Alex is a dancer, and not a fighter (zoo life is a cake ride apparently) he ends up getting banished from the pride as he tries to have a dance-off with another lion instead of actually fighting him.

Ther rest of the crew is forced to deal with the dangers of wild living, and adjusting to their new life, as the penguins (still by far the funniest part of the movie) attempt to fix the badly damaged airplane with the help of some rather sophisticated monkeys (the penguins have no opposite thumbs, and are left to deal with the monkey workforce as if they were a union).  When the water dries up, the entire group of animals become desperate, and as Alex tries to win over his father and join back up with the pride, things get out of hand to the point where the penguins end up rescuing the whole crew, and eventually the water hole.

Madagascar 2 is a great little animated movie.  I was a little bit shocked to see that it had a PG rating, and a few of the words were a bit over the top for my 3 year old.  That being said, he really enjoyed the movie, and while it definitely is for kids, this is another of those animated movies that has enough going on that it can get a bit hard to follow for the young ones.  It was sophisticated enough for adults to enjoy also, and the voice acting was again really great.  I had a blast watching it, and I could watch the penguins all day long.

The Penguins of Madagascar disk features two of the new animated TV series that will appear on Nickelodeon in March 2009.  these are about 30 minutes each, and feature the lovable penguins as they take on various missions while at the zoo.  The animation is just as good as the feature length movie, and the penguins doing anything is always hysterical.  The first short features the animals at the zoo who have become addicted to popcorn that has been handed to them by zoo patrons.  When Alice the evil zookeeper bans feeding the animals popcorn, the penguins take it upon themselves to get their hands on the tasty treat.  It ends up being a competition to see who can get the popcorn first – the penguins or King Julien, who is now living at the zoo with Mort and Maurice.

The second short feature the penguin crew investigating the disappearance of Maurice, who is fed up with King Julien’s antics.  King Julien things that Maurice has disappeared magically into a small box, that turns out to be a digital camera with Maurice’s photo on the display.  Our heroic ice loving birds swing into a full investigation to find Maurice.  Again, both of these shorts are excellent, and I can’t wait for the television show to debut.





Audio & Video: 9/10
Another brilliant animated movie – I am shocked.  All of these releases these days are spot on.  They look amazing even in standard DVD.  I now I will sound old, but kids these days do not have any idea how good they have it.  Both DVD’s are presented in wide screen format, and they look absolutely amazing.

Audio was again excellent, and the music to dialogue mix was perfect.  both disks are presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound.


Value: 8/10
How can you go wrong with a double dose of penguins?   The Madagascar 2 movie is a keeper, and the Penguins disk is a nice addition, and has me excited for the Nickelodeon series that is coming out in March of this year.  My boy loved both disks, and I am sure we will watch them again, and again, and again . . .

Overall Score 8/10

Unfortunately the menu is a static, similar shot (albeit a close up) of the same two characters on the cover.  Not horrible, but I always like a bit of originality in my menu/cover presentation, and this is kind of just more of the same.

Features: 9/10

• Comprehensive Documentary Source Of Pride The Making Of Pride & Glory – The Source of Pride documentary is an astonishing 67 minute portrayal of the making of the movie.  It is one of the better making of documentaries that I have seen, as it really presented things at a good pace, and really gave an in-depth, interesting look at the process of making this NYPD drama.  The goal here by director Gavin O’Connor was obviously to make a police/family drama with a realistic New York City feel.  We get to see first hand the process and headaches that O’Connor faced while dealing with actor suggestions and even last minute changes in the cast.  I really enjoyed this documentary, and I highly recommend you view it after watching the movie, if for no other reason than to see the struggles that film making can present.
• Digital Copy- I seem to always forget to comment on the digital copies that are featured with these new disks, mainly because I tend not to really use them all that often, but my boss Ascully has kindly included this heading here so I will not forget this time to talk about it.  I am in the same boat as Ascully and Cidtalk, in that I like the fact that we are now getting these copies included with the DVD, but I am not sure that I want to pay extra for the right to watch a movie on my iPhone or Zune.  This digital copy is on the second disk in the box, and it works with either iTunes or Windows Media.  Like most of these digital copies, you are restricted to installing it on one machine.

The Movie: 8/10
Pride and Glory is another cop drama.  It is another gritty look at the way cops deal with the day-to-day unexpected drama that consumes them.  Pride and Glory had every opportunity to just repeat the same cops versus bad guys routine that we see over and over again, but it steers into the even seedier side of the brotherhood of police by looking squarely at police corruption.  Director Gavin O’Connor really takes a hard look at a family of cops, and the way that their views of duty and loyalty play into their existence as policeman when police corruption enters the equation.

The movie focuses on an Irish-American family of policeman.  Jon Voight plays Francis Tierney, Sr., a Chief Detective on the New York Police Department.  Senior is an old-school cop who is proud of his family, and protective of his profession,  He has a bit of a drinking problem, which is overlooked by his loving family.  His oldest son Francis Jr. is played by Noah Emmerich.  Junior is himself on the fast track in the department, as he heads up a department that at the beginning of the film sees four of their own gunned down after a call is placed to the suspect that they were headed to question.  Francis Sr. asks his youngest son Ray. played by Edward Norton, to head up the investigation, and to return to the force after an apparent “situation” which left the young, talented detective disillusioned with the force.  Finally, Jimmy Egan, (Collin Farrell) who is married to Francis Sr.’s only daughter, is also on the force and in Junior’s department.

When Ray stumbles onto a connection between the police murders and members of the department, members of the family have to try to figure out what happened, and how.  Pride and Glory is the type of police drama that focuses more on character development than action, and it really has a solid, realistic feel to it for a majority of the movie.  The drama that unfolds is presented in such a way that you really get sucked into the story and the characters, and it is an enjoyable ride.  The entire cast is exceptional, and both Norton and Farrell are great as the present the good-cop and bad-cop ideals of the movie.

I really enjoyed Pride and Glory, and I would easily rated this higher than an 8, but the ending seemed to me a bit forced and a bit out of step with the rest of the  movie.  I will not give anything away, but it just seemed abrupt for such a great character and movie build up.  I was a bit disappointed that the journey just seemed to end.

Audio & Video: 8/10
The standard DVD was presented in anamorphic wide screen (1.85:1 aspect ratio) and it looked great.  The movie was shot in a way as to present the darker side of New York City, and this was demonstrated in the gritty feel of the movie.  Even though the movie itself was gritty, there were many times where I noticed great detail even in some of the darker scenes.  Overall the presentation was effective and smart, and I really thought it added to the overall feel of this police drama.

The audio was also quite well done.  Presented in 5.1 Surround Sound, the rear channels were used effectively for ambient city sounds and depth, and the dialogue was clear and loud.  No problems here to mention at all, and even the score, while not overt, worked well with the feel of the movie.

Value: 7/10
I really liked Pride and Glory.  I was a bit disappointed at the ending, but not enough to not think the rest of the film, and the acting, was really great.  I may be a sucker for cop dramas, but this one was presented in a down-to-earth, believable manner, and it really made the film work.  I would recommend this movie to just about anyone who likes dramas, and with the excellent documentary included, this is a nice addition to anyone’s DVD collection.

Overall Score 7/10

The menu is a static shot, and it is not all that great considering the cover is decent.

Features: 4/10

• Towelhead A Community Discussion – The one main extra is a group discussion about the issues presented in the movie, and it is divided into two sections, or rather discussions.  The discussions center around the controversy of the racial theme of the movie, and the choice of the towelhead epithet as the title.   Alan Ball serves as the discussion leader, and he is joined by author Alicia Erian (who wrote the book that the movie was based on), and several well respected scholars who are well versed in American-Islamic relations.  The discussions are heady, if not a bit dull, but they do hit on the fact that this film was drenched in controversy for several reasons.

It is a bit disappointing that there are really no other extras offered on the disk.  Perhaps the decision was made to forgo a commentary, and the movie itself is a tough watch, and not many will want to squirm through the movie again while Ball and the actors dissected it.

The Movie: 4/10
Towelhead is one of those movies that is extremely difficult to enjoy.  It is one of those experiences that people are go through and then are glad that it is over.  For me, I am glad that I experienced it, I think, but I am more glad that I am done with it.

Towelhead is directed by Alan Ball, who previously wrote American Beauty, which is another piece that looks at the dysfunction between family members, and life in suburbia.  Ball seems to have a fascination in teenage lust and family issues, which, like American Beauty, is on full display in Towelhead.  It was interesting in that I did not realize that there was a direct connection between Towelhead and American Beauty until I finished the movie and was reading about it, but numerous times during the movie I was comparing the two.  The main thing that I noticed is that like American Beauty, Towelhead is a difficult watch, covering issues that are not your everyday, happy go lucky fare.

The movie starts off with Jasira (played by Summer Bishil), who is a 13-year old half Lebanese girl being inappropriately shaved by her American mother’s live in boyfriend.  Her mother (Maria Bello), who is divorced from her Lebanese father Rifat (Peter Macdisi), ends up sending Jasira to live with her father after placing all of the blame for the shaving incident on the young girl.  As if the shaving scene was not enough, the blame placed squarely on the young girl was enough for me to immediately be taken out of the movie, as it just seemed a bit too far-fetched for these characters.  It was at this point that I first saw that the movie was going to try to push boundaries to the point where they were beyond stereotypical, and beyond what I perceive as believable.

Jasira ends up moving in with her dad, who is a proud American, with numerous thoughts on the ongoing first Iraqi was that is taking place.  While Rifat battles the racism that he perceives around him, he desperately attempts to shield Jasira from the negative aspects that he perceives threaten her.  Jasira, who is portrayed as a doe-eyed innocent girl, is thrust into a world where she starts to discover her own sexuality, and is forced to deal with the advances of an adult next door neighbor Mr. Vuoso, played by Aaron Eckhart.  While babysitting Vuoso’s son, Jasira discovers some of Mr. Vuoso’s nudie magazines, and starts to fantasize about the models.  At some point her indiscretions are discovered, and Mr. Vuoso ends up forcing himself upon her.

Of course Jasira is also struggling to appease her father, who ends up being somewhat of a hypocrite when it comes to racism, ans he forbids Jasira from talking to a boy she has befriended at school because he is black.  All the while the one sane voice in the movie is played by Toni Collette, who sees the problems that Jasira is facing, and tries desperately to protect her from Mr. Vuoso, as well as Jasira’s overbearing father.

Towelhead is a mish-mash of unpleasant characters that are played by some amazing actors.  The acting itself is really quite good, but the characters are a bit heavy handed and seem over-stereotypical.  To me it felt as if there was very little middle ground for these characters, and it added to the discomfort of watching the movie because I could barely relate with any of them.  Summer Bishil was very good in a tough role that required her to switch from an innocent girl to a clever schemer.  I thought the rest of the cast did quite well also, but overall the movie was tough to watch and tough to enjoy. 

Audio & Video: 7/10
The video for the standard DVD release that I watched was really very good, and really displayed the unique style of cinematography that was on display for this movie.  It was if the whole thing was shot using a high contrast filter, and it was as it the suburbs were awash in light all of the time.  The movie was presented in wide screen 2.35:1.

The audio was also decent, with very little use for the Surround Sound 5.1.  dialogue was crisp and clean, and no issues were present.

Value: 2/10
I will not watch this movie again.  It was just not enjoyable for me.  I did not hate the movie, but I don’t think I can recommend it to anyone except for the acting job by many of the cast.  It just seemed to be a long  journey that did not end with any real outcome that made the journey worth going through.  I respect what Ball was attempting to do, but I think he could have presented this in a better, more palatable manner.

Overall Score 4/10

The menu is the same: a yellow background with the same shots of the kids as the cover, with more doodles.  It is a bit too obvious that they are trying to market this as a Napoleon Dynamite type of movie, but I just don’t see it.


Features: 4/10

• Pop Quiz: Cast Interviews – The pop quiz is a short feature with the cast about how their school was chosen, and how they were selected to be in the film itself.  This was an interesting look at how these 5 were selected out of apparently 150 kids who were interested in being in the documentary.  Apparently 15 kids were actually filmed, but these 5 were chosen to be in the final film.  This feature was relatively short at about 4 minutes in length.
• Hannah Blogs -Hannah is the “rebel” of the group, and a burgeoning filmmaker, and it seems as if director Nannete Burnstein almost favors Hannah in the movie.  Hannah’s blogs are short video essays that were given during the making of the film.  She covers a wide variety of issues, and many would not fit with the movie itself.  While Hannah is probably the most dramatic of the cast, she seems a bit all over the place, and I am not so sure that her label of “rebel” is all that appropriate.
• Character Trailers -There are 5 trailers that were created to promote the film, each focusing on a separate cast member.  These are pretty forgettable, and seem to further try to stereotype each of the cast into their narrow label.
• Deleted Scenes – The deleted scenes that are included cover a range of topics, but are appropriately left out of the final film.  One of the better scenes focuses on Hannah talking on the phone to her father about the possibility of gettingexpelled from school, and how that will effect her life.  It is a serious moment, but it just adds to the fact that while the movie portrays Hannah as a rebel, she seems to fit the role of drama queen instead.

The Movie: 6/10
American Teen is supposed to be a documentary about 5 high school kids who each nicely fit into some of the stereotypes that we all think of when we look at high school kids.  There are several problems with this approach, including the fact that not all kids fall into these neatly labeled groups.  We are supposed to have jocks, prom queens, geeks, heart-throbs, and rebels at every school in the United States apparently.  While this may in fact occur sometimes, not everyone falls squarely into those categories, and this documentary does its best to pigeonhole these 5 kids into those roles, regardless of what they might actually be.

I also question just how much of the movie is “reality.”  I know, I may be a bit cynical after having been subjected to the modern “reality” shows of late, with their manufactured drama and all, but a lot of this movie feels a bit unrealistic to me, and perhaps embellished.  Having said that, American Teen is a tight package, if not somewhat jaded view of life as a teenager in a Midwestern town.

American Teen follows 5 teenagers as they wind their way through life at a Warsaw, Indiana high school.  As stated, each is set up to fall into a category that seemingly is ripped directly from the Breakfast Club.

Colin Clemens is the jock of the school, with supposedly the entire schools reputation riding on his ability to carry the basketball team to glory.  Having gone to college in Indiana, I can attest to the fact that the entire town was probably riding on the team doing well, as basketball is a religion to these people.  Colin is also trying to find a way to make his dreams of playing basketball in college a reality, as money is tight, and he needs to find a scholarship to allow him to further his education.

Geoff Haase neatly portrays the geek.  Geoff is in band and seemingly has no skills with the ladies, even though his one goal in life is to have a girlfriend.  We are shown that Geoff loves video games, and has bad acne, as if to cement his role as the nerd.  Geoff is shown awkwardly approaching girls, until he finally finds a female who he starts a relationship with, only to have the camera show us that she (almost blatantly) is scheming to be with someone else.  In one of the more questionable scenes, his girlfriend literally arranges a meeting with another guy while with Geoff, and then not only does she meet up with the guy to swim at a pool, but she immediately embraces the new “friend.”

Hannah Bailey is the so called rebel, who seems a bit wild and free, as if she could care less what anyone thinks of her, which is exactly the opposite of what she demonstrates on film.  Hannah proceeds to be dumped by two boys in the film, and with both she is so devastated that she almost ceases to cope.  When dumped by the “love of her life” she misses school for weeks, stating that she just can’t deal with people looking at her and talking behind her back.  Then she falls in love with Mitch, a jock type basketball player who is presented as the “heart throb” of the movie.  At this point we get a little bit of a Pretty in Pinkclique crossover story, where it (shockingly) ends up that the relationship just won’t work.  Mitch, who generally seems like a nice guy, falls for Hannah and is supposedly able to be himself, before the “popular” group seems to force him to move on.  Hannah is devastated when Mitch breaks up with her via text message.  Tackiness aside, Hannah again is heartbroken.

Last but definitely not least is Megan Krizmanich, who is stuck in the prom queen role, which she seemingly embraces.  Megan is rich, decent looking, and according to the other students, the queen of the school.  (I don’t think she even won prom queen, even though the box art calls her one.)  Megan is really more of an immature, dare I say, bitch.  She controls those around her, gets jealous when other girls get close to her best male friend, even though she is supposedly repulsed at the idea of going out with him, and she does her best to belittle those who don’t agree with her.  At one point she mass e-mails a topless photo of one of her friends to the entire school, before calling the girl on the phone to call her a slut.  At another point Megan spray paints the word “fag” on the window of a guys house who voted against her prom idea.  Megan’s main issue in the movie is getting admitted to Notre Dame, where almost her entire family has gone to college.  Seemingly forgetting about the whole “legacy” admissions, the film makes it out like Megan would never get in, and when she finally does, life is good.  (Notre Dame must be so proud!)

American Teen is a decent documentary about teen life, but to me it was a bit forced and a bit overdone.  I know there are different groups in high school, but not everyone needs to be pigeonholed.  I am not a fan of shows like the Hills, or many of the so-called MTV reality shows, but to me this is much of the same.  It was an interesting look at high school days, but I just didn’t really connect with any of the characters like I should have.





Audio & Video: 6/10
The standard DVD was decent looking and had okay audio.  It was presented in wide screen, and had 5.1 Surround Sound, but I really didn’t notice either the sound or the video all that much.  That is not to say that either was bad, but to me they didn’t leave an impression.  Obviously this was a documentary, and not a big screen epic film, so I didn’t expect either to be mind blowing, and they were not.


Value: 5/10
This is a rental if anything.  I would not watch American Teen again.  It just did not really do that much for me.  Perhaps if I was a teenager, things would be different, but I am not.  This is simply a view into the lives of 5 struggling teenagers, and for me I would rather watch struggling teenagers in a hysterical story (Breakfast Club) than view this again.

Overall Score 5/10

The menu is a fluid underwater scene that is quite well done, and presents Ariel and Melody swimming with fish and turtles.  it is accompanied by a loop form the music, which of course is similar to the upbeat tunes of the original Little Mermaid.


Features: 3/10

• The Little Mermaid II Underwater mer-venture Challenge Game - You are presented with more games based on hitting shells and so forth.  I don’t get these silly games, and neither does my child.  Perhaps some people enjoy them. but I just find them a silly addition to these kids movies.
• The Little Mermaid II DVD Storybook – This is a reading of the story of the film.  You can have it read to you, or kids can read the story themselves.  It would be interesting for some kids to practice their reading, but seeing as how the story is presented in the DVD, it is a pretty strange inclusion.
• What Am I Sea Creature Game - Again, these “games” as they are called are not all that great, and while I thought this one was the best of the games, it was still not good.  In this game you are presented with clues about a certain sea animal, and you are left to guess what is being described.  Of course it is presented for kids, but at least this one kept my attention.
• Music Video- There is a song that did not make it to the DVD, entitled “Gonna Get My Wish”  which is a song that is sung by the character Morgana,  It is not that great of a song, like most of the tunes in the movie, and it is not really needed in the movie itself.
• Merbabies – Included on the disk, but not related directly to the Little Mermaid, is a short animated Disney presentation entitled Merbabies, which was from1938.  It is a fun little watch, and probably the best extra on the disk.

The Movie: 4/10
It is hard to compare the Disney straight to video releases to the original films that preceded them, but that is what you end up doing, simply because that is your only reference.  The Little Mermaid II is a bit like a redo, as most of the straight to video releases are.  It plays like the original, without the originality and  without much of the fun.  that is not to say that it is not a great ride, but it just is not the same, and cannot give you the same feeling of joy that you experienced while seeing the original.

The Little Mermaid II deals with Melody, the Mermaid daughter of Ariel and Princ Eric, who have now become married and of course, had a child.  Melody is kidnapped while meeting her grandfather and the rest of the ocean folk by the evil Morgana.  Ariel is able to rescue the young girl, but it is decided that since Morgana has declared basically war on all Mermaids, that Melody should never be allowed to venture into the sea, and she is forced to stay on land with her parents.  Ariel tries to protect Melody by herself never going to the sea again, and she tells King triton that Melody can not even know of his existence.

Of course when Melody gets older, she is fascinated by the sea, and drawn to it.  At Melody’s12th birthday, nobody can find her, as she is of course swimming in the sea with a dolphin.  The rest of the movie revolves around Ariel trying to protect Melody from Morgana, as she explored the sea, as she proclaims that she “can’t help it” as she “just loves the sea.”

Melody eventually is presented with this whole new world to explore, and she runs into trouble with Morgana, who convinces her to try to steal King Triton’s powerful trident, not realizing that Morgana is using her to try to steal from her grandfather.  Morgana shows Melody that she is really a mermaid, but that she needs the trident to allow Morgana to make Melody a full mermaid.

The story is very reminiscent of the original, but it just lacks the originality and the impressive music that made the Little Mermaid such a classic.  This just seems to be an empty shell (sorry about that) of the Disney classic that it is based on.





Audio & Video: 5/10
The video itself is fine, but I have to comment on the animation.  I know that this is a straight to video release, but it looks like it is, as the animation just seems to come up short.   There are times when I think it looks great, but other times where it seems as if I was watching a television animated show, which means it is not what it could be.  It bothered me a bit.  Overall the colors looked fine, and the wide screen presentation seemed ok, but there just was something missing.

The audio sounded great, and the music sounded great, even though the songs are not classics like the original.It is presented in 5.1 Surround Sound, and like all Disney DVD releases, it sounded great.


Value: 3/10
This is a rent if you have kids who have seen the original movie.  I can not say that it was great, but it was entertaining.  I have to add that my 3 year old son had issues with watching the Little Mermaid II, as he kept telling me that it was a ”girl” movie.  I find this hysterical as his favorite Disney film is Mulan, but it was a real struggle to get him to see this one, as he has never seen the original.  I would say Disney has done better, and perhaps you should rent the original again, or watch something else instead of struggling through this unoriginal attempt to create the magic of the original.

Overall Score 4/10

The menu is a static shot of the cover photo over a strange looking Greek animated background.  very static, and very boring.  Note to those who are in charge of packaging these movies: try to use more than just a cover shot for your menu.  It is just cheap looking, and very boring, especially for a movie that cost some real money.


Features: 4/10

• Go Jump Off A Cliff How The Final Sequence Was Inspired By Fan Reaction To The First Movie -This is a nice short about how the girls, who were simply walking around Greece, came across a group of guys who were jumping off a a cliff into the beautiful water.  The boys, who were apparently all fans of the first film, had traveled to Greece in a sort of brotherhood type of deal.  The actors were so taken by the story that  they asked to have a scene added where the girls jumped into the ocean.  Of course the scene is added to the movie, and the cast and director Sanaa Hamri talk about how the jump is symbolic to the girls’ journey in the movie.

• Additional Scenes -There are also some additional scenes that did not make the final cut of the movie.  they are really throw away scenes, and not needed,  the additional scenes run about 8 minutes, and include commentary.
• Gag Reel – The gag reel is pretty short, but of course fun to watch.  I am a real sucker for watching actors completely flub their lines, and as always this was humorous.  The gag reel checks in at about 4 minutes.

The Movie: 6/10
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants came out years ago, featuring four young girls who were brought together over a pair of jeans that magically fit all four of them, but also looked great on each.  The four best friends formed a sort of group by which the pants were passed around, and their “magic” would bring good fortune to each.

Now, three years later, the girls are all grown up, as each is in college.  They are geographically spread out, but each is still in need of some of the good fortune that the jeans seem to deliver.  This time around Carmen, who is played by the Ugly Betty star America Ferrera, is stuck trying to figure out the theater.  She is at first the girl who seems the most out of sorts at not having the 4 best friends together, and she is left to deal with the fact that not only is she struggling to make new friends, but her mother is having a new baby and Carmen is truly feeling left out.  Carmen is a bit distraught at the fact that the other 3 girls are not really keeping her in touch with their lives, and she is left to deal with a summer without her friends or her mother.

Bridget (Blake Lively) jets off to turkey to work at an archaeological dig, where a female mentor helps her deal with the fact that her mother is gone.  Bridget is forced to face up to her father, with whom she has been having a difficult relationship with, and she travels to see her estranged grandmother, who helps her face her past.  Of course as each of the girls deals with their hardships, the pants make a visit, to bring luck to each, just when they need it most.

Tibby, the semi-goth one of the group faces up to a pregnancy scare.  She is forced to deal with her emotions and her inability to trust those who get close to her.  She alienates her boyfriend Brian, and tries to reach out to the rest of the Sisterhood, with varying degrees of success.

Finally Lena, who in the last movie fell in love with the Greek Kostas, is forced to deal with the fact that he is engaged to be married.  heartbroken, she returns to New York, where she discovers Leo, the nude model in her drawing class.  Just as it seems that she is past Kostas, he shows up to tell her that he is in love with her, and the marriage is off.  She tells him that it is over, but this is a fictional “chick flick”, and therefore romance is still in the cards.

Lena’s sister takes the pants to Greece, and loses them, so the four girls travel to Greece to find the pants, and force Lena to rethink Kostas.  It is at this point that I would normally talk about spoiler alerts, and how I don’t want to give any of the plot away, but with a movie like this, if you don;t know the ending by now, you didn’t pay attention.

I enjoyed the first Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants as much as a 30-something year old male can.  I watch a lot of these “chick flicks” as i have a 16-year-old stepdaughter, and a wife.  I figure I have forced them to sit through some crazy stuff, so I can’t complaint too much about the occasional gal pal movie.  Where the first film felt genuine and had a pretty fun story, the sequel felt a bit long in the tooth.  There was a lot of time spent going nowhere, and the story here just was not all that great.  The movie itself was decent, but not one that I will soon sit through for any reason.  That being said, my wife and stepdaughter quite liked it, but even they said that the first one was better.  I think the girls have had some success in other ventures, like America Ferrera in Ugly Betty, and Blake Lively in Gossip Girls, but it still seemed like they got along, which is essential to a movie like this.  I would call Sisterhood 2 a sequel that was pretty much more of the same.





Audio & Video: 7/10
For standard DVD Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 was pretty nicely presented.  It was colorful and crisp, and a nice transfer.  The video is presented in 1.85:1 wide screen that looked great.  A good chunk of the movie was shot in Greece, on the coast, and I truly think that they could have shot the movie with a hand held video camera and Greece would still look amazing.  The shots are pretty straight forward, but it just isn’t the type of film where you would expect anything else.

The audio was 5.1 Surround Sound, and like most of these romantic comedies/ gal pal films, there is not much use of the rear channels.  The dialogue is great though, and as most current movies the overall audio presentation was decent.


Value: 6/10
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 is not as good as the original, but it is not a bad movie either.  If this is your type of movie, then it is worth checking out the next chapter of the girls’ story.  i am not sure that there is enough here to really make a buy worthwhile, unless you are a huge fan, but rent it.  The entire cast gets to go to Greece this time, and they seem to still have fun as a group.  The story is not as good as the first movie, but it works.  I hope that they don’t decide to keep this going to a third movie, but I think that we just might see Pants 3.  There just isn’t enough here to make a full series, and I am pretty sure that those damn jeans are not going to fit the girls in a few years time.  As a matter of fact, how can the jeans still fit the girls as they are now in college anyway?  I guess that I need to suspend my disbelief for a bit longer.

Overall Score 6/10

The menu is actually pretty neat.  It is a digital version of the Coffee Bucks shop from the show, and you sit down and check out a lap top, which presents the different options as if you were surfing the web.  Interestingly enough, the website that is shown is a “rate your doctor” type of page, which was pretty funny.  The menu is not brilliant, but it is clever, and a nice change of pace.


Features: 6/10

• My Making Of II “My Princess” – The final episode of season seven is entitle “My Princess,” and is a cheeky take off on the Princess Bride movie.  This feature is a 17 minutes long behind the scenes look at the episode.  The episode includes a large amount of costume and set design, and green screen work, and this short shows some of the time and effort that went into making the season finale.  The episode itself is directed by Zach Braff, who is responsible for directing several of the season seven episodes.
• One On One With Ken Jenkins -Ken Jenkins is kind of the grandpa of Scrubs.  He plays chief of medicine Bob Kelso, who is another of the wonderful ensemble characters of Scrubs.  Jenkins is interviewed and asked a bunch of questions that he answers in a lighthearted fashion.  My guess is that the other season DVD’s have included other characters in one on one scenarios, which is a neat idea if they have given each actor a chance to get interviewed.  I am not positive that I am correct on that, but I certainly hope so.
• Alternate Lines – The alternate lines extra showcases scenes that were shot with a separate bit of dialogue.  they are shown with the original scene, so that a comparison can be made, and they often seem to illustrate some of the lines that the actors improvised.  Very similar to the Deleted scenes, and they check in at almost 20 minutes long.
• Deleted Scenes -This was my favorite extra that was included.  the deleted scenes run about 15 minutes, and include several scenes where Dr. Cox is going off on various individuals.  (Did I mention I find his character hysterical?)  In any event, the deleted scenes are shown where they would have been inserted, and they really are fun to watch.  I especially enjoyed the shout out to M.C. Hammer, because personally you can never have enough M.C. Hammer.
• Bloopers – This extra checks in at a very short 3 minutes, and is just a collection of bloopers form the outtakes.  They are funny, as most blooper reels are, but it is very, very short.
• Audio Commentaries – Each of the shows gets its own commentary.  There are writers, actors, directors, and even an odd costume designer included in the commentaries.  They are pretty decent overall, but I can’t imagine most people sitting down for each one, episode after episode.

The Show: 8/10
I have to admit that I don’t think I had ever sat through an entire episode of Scrubs before getting this DVD release.  Therefore I am coming into the show at an insanely late stage, with very little feeling for the show or the characters.  I really did not know what to expect, but I found myself really enjoying the show.  Scrubs: the Complete Seventh Seasonis a two-disk set, with the episodes divided between disk 1 and 2. The characters all work at the Sacred Heart hospital, and the humor is funny and over the top.  Scrubs is a bit ridiculous, but I found that the gags were really well done, and a nice throw back to the old style of situation comedies.  This is not House or ER, and the characters are able to stretch gags to the point where they are funny and absurd.

Scrubs is about the interaction between main character J.D. (Zach Braff) and the rest of the Sacred Heart workers.  J.D.’s best friend is Chris Turk (Donald Faison), who is a surgeon at the hospital, and when the two of them are together, they act as goofy as high school kids.  In reality, Turk is married to nurse Carla Espinoza (Judy Reyes) and has a daughter, and actual real responsibilities that he somewhat us able to cope with when not with J.D.  For J.D. however, things are not so straight forward, and the theme that he needs to grow up is omnipresent throughout the seventh season DVD.

The characters are really what makes Scrubs work so well.  Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke) is the semi love interest for J.D., and the constant will they/won’t they hook up questions run through the episodes.  The two doctors each have their own problems, as Elliot calls off her engagment to another physician at the hospital, who not so affectionately gets grossed out every time she gets close.

Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley) is absolutely hilarious as one of the more senior physicians at the hospital.  He is constantly bossing others around, and his distaste for J.D. and a nurse that squeaks as she talks is palpable.  Cox is truly fun to watch, and gets some amazing one liners.

There are so many individual characters that really add to the Scrubs experience, and like I stated before, the true heart of the show seems to lie in the characters themselves.  Scrubs is silly and quick, and I really enjoyed it.  I don’t really watch a lot of television anymore, and rarely do I see any type of 30 minutes comedies, and Scrubs reminded me of the shows that I used to watch.  I guess I kind of miss the good 30 minutes mind breaks, like Wings or Seinfeld, where nothing really was too serious, and the laughs were plentiful.  I can’t wait now to get the rest of the seasons and see what I missed out on.





Audio & Video: 6/10
The audio and video for Scrubs is pretty mediocre.  Of course this is a DVD of television shows, so I guess I can’t really expect too much.  The video is presented in 1.33:1, and is optimized for standard 4:3 televisions.  It isn’t that the video is not clear, it is just that it is not the best I have ever seen.  It works, which for a television show on DVD is fine.

The audio is presented in 5.1 Surround Sound, but for just about all f the episodes I didn’t even notice any surround sound at all.  The levels were otherwise clear and the dialogue was good, but again, not much to write about.


Value: 7/10
It is hard to value a television series DVD release.  I personally find watching shows on DVD is the best way to enjoy them, as there are no commercials, an I can watch episode after episode, without having to wait week to week so get my next “fix.”  I guess you could Tivo or DVR each episode, and wait until the end of the season to watch all of your shows in a row, for free, but buying the DVD is another option.  I really enjoyed season seven of Scrubs, and I can honestly say that I will more than likely go seek out the earlier seasons.  If you are new to Scrubs, I would advise watching the television show a few times to make sure that the DVD is right for you, but if you like the show already, then the DVD is a great way to catch all the episodes on your own schedule, without any commercial hassle.

Overall Score 7/10

The menu is also decent, with a shot of the Shrek house, decorated for the season.  Again, colorful and festive, so no real complaints.


Features: 4/10
The features on the Shrek the HallsDVD are just kind of random, and not really always related to Shrek at all, which is a bit annoying.  I understand that the Shrek the Halls movie itself is under 30 minutes, so we shouldn’t expect too much from the extras, but if they are going to sell the short movie as its own DVD, give us some related extras with it.  Otherwise it just feels like this is an attempt to cash in.

• 12 Days Of Christmas Sing Along -This, along with the Deck the Halls sing along are not really even Shrek related.  The 12 Days of Christmas is a variation on the original song, but with the penguins from the Madagascar movies.  It is a strange mix, and I am not sure that it needs to be on this DVD.
• Deck The Halls Sing Along -Again, the penguins from Madagascar are doing the honors.  I am a bit disappointed that they didn’t take the time to make this with the Shrek characters, as it just seems tacked on.
• Gingy’s Dunking Game -This is an interesting game where three gingerbread cookies are displayed, and the trick is to pick the one that looks the most like Gingy.  Some of the arms and legs of the cookies are gone, presumably from someone like Santa Claus taking a bite.  This gets old, and is not what I would really call fun.  I really think that even young kids would not be too thrilled about these types of games.
• Shrek Carnival Craze Video Game Demo & Cheat Code -Drop the DVD into your PC and the Shrek Carnival Craze Video Game Demo starts up.  It is a mix of three different games aimed primarily at younger kids.
• Dreamworks Animation Video Jukebox -Dreamworks has a thing about including these jukebox’s for their animated films.  Basically this is a way to hear some of the popular tunes, with the scenes from several of the recent Dreamworks animated films.  It is decent I guess, but when the total time is longer than the running time of the Shrek the Halls movie, something is amiss.

The Movie: 7/10
Shrek the Halls is an interesting use of new animation to create a holiday tale.  All of the voice actors are back, including Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and Antonio Banderas.  Basically Shrek the Halls is the story of how Shrek learns about the Christmas holiday.

Shrek, living back in the swamp with Fiona and their 3 babies, had never experienced Christmas, as ogres really don’t celebrate any holiday.  He is tricked by Donkey into promising an amazing Christmas, but he realizes he has no idea how to go about creating such an event.  After buying a Christmas for Dummies book, he sets out trying to make everything perfect for Fiona and his kids.  Donkey ends up bringing all of the rest of the Shrek characters over on Christmas eve, which sends Shrek off the deep end, as he feels that Christmas is ruined.

When he tries to tell the babies his Christmas story, he is interrupted by Donkey, Puss n Boots, and Gingy, who all tell their warped view of Christmas.  Finally Shrek kicks everyone out, and when Fiona leaves with the kids, Shrek is forced to apologize and explain to everyone that this is his first Christmas.  Then everyone comes together to enjoy the real joy of Christmas; being with loved ones.

The story itself is fine, but because Shrek the Halls was made for TV, it clocks in at under 30 minutes, which is too short for the Shrek team.  It just feels forced from start to finish.  A good example is that each of the story told includes snippets of songs, which would normally be full length.  In the full length films the songs can take time to develop, but in this short, they just feel rushed, as does most of the movie.  It is great for little kids, but the one-liners and jokes just seem to fly by, which doesn’t allow for you to really savor anything.

I love the fact that all of the characters are back, and this really did have a lot of potential, but it just feels too forced.  I would have liked to see this expanded, as it really reminded me just how much fun the Shrek movies really are.  While the film is obviously aimed at both kids and adults, I was really thrown by Gingy’s story about Christmas, where he talks about a horrible experience he had when he was younger.  In it, he is sitting in a car with his gingerbread girlfriend, when Santa reached down and grabs her, before taking a bite of the cookie.  The scene is hysterical, but as my 3 year old watched it, I realized that they really make Santa out to be a huge, mean monster.  It was almost disturbing to see my son’s reaction to “bad Santa.”  It never would have been a big deal for me until I watched my son’s look of horror, as he asked my if that was the “real” Santa, and “why is he mean?”  Funny, but a bit disturbing for the really young kids.

I liked Shrek the Halls, but I am not sold on the idea of making holiday shorts using these types of characters.  It just doesn’t necessarily seem to work.  On the front of the DVD is says “an instant holiday classic,” which may have also been the tag line for the Star Wars Holiday Special back in 1978.  I imagine that the tag line wouldn’t have been aptly applied in that case either.  Shrek the Halls is fun, but I will stick with my Grinch and Heat Miser, thank you.





Audio & Video: 8/10
The video for this Dreamworks release is excellent.  There was nothing skimped on here besides the length of the program.  It looks every bit as good as the full length Shrek movies.  The DVD offers both full screen and wide screen modes, and both look amazing.

The sound is also great.  Lots of use for the surround sound, and it was excellently mixed.  I thought the levels were great also.


Value: 2/10
There really is not a whole lot of value here, seeing as this clocks in at under 30 minutes.  I know this was released on TV in 2007, but this just seems a bit ridiculous.  To me, this would make a great extra on one of the full length Shrek releases, not a full release.  It is fun, but it is just too short for me to recommend anyone run out and buy it.  With the extras just kind of thrown in, and not always Shrek related, I would say wait to see this one play again  on regular TV this fall.

Overall Score 5/10

The menu for Nixon is accompanied by the soaring score that lets you know this is a movie that is both grandiose in scale and important.  Images from the film are looped above the plain and simple menu choices at the bottom of the screen.  the menu is simple and quite elegant at the same time.  Something you would hope to see in a film about an iconic U.S. President.


Features: 9/10
The features for Nixon are not short fluff pieces, which I appreciate.  The depth of the features means that they are not for the casual viewer, but for those who love movies the extras are loaded with information and glimpses into the movie making head of Oliver Stone, which is a strange but fun place to see.

• All New Beyond Nixon Documentary By Sean Stone -The Beyond Nixon extra is a very nice feature that runs at about 35 minutes.  Put together by Oliver Stone’s son Sean, the piece is an interesting look at the movie as it compares to the memories of President Nixon by those who were close to him, or who know about him.  It is a very nice look into the differences between the artistic liberties that Oliver Stone took with the film that may or may not jibe with the memories of those who lived the events.  It was very interesting to hear from people like Gore Vidal and Oliver Stone about their take on the President.  I was a little bit shocked to hear Robert Novak’s frank discussion of some of the issues he had with the movie itself, but it was a very interesting feature.
• Deleted Scenes Introduced By Oliver Stone -These deleted scenes are included in the movie itself, and therefore it wa hard to go back through them all.  That being said, Oliver Stone introduces the lot with a short commentary, and he also talks about most of the scenes themselves.  Stone talks about how his original version was over four hours, and he tried to cut things down but he just couldn’t hit the 2 hour mark.  The movie is long, and I think more cuts could have been made to keep the movie going, but none of the added or extended scenes that are included in this version seem too out of place.
• Charlie Rose Interviews Oliver Stone -This is basically a Charlie Rose show with Oliver Stone that runs about 55 minutes.  I enjoyed watching the feature as it really gave Oliver Stone a chance to explain where he came from on this movie, as well as his casting ideas.  It is obvious to me that Stone is a careful, thinking kind of director, who really put a lot of thought into this movie.  He is able to describe many of the influences that he used to put this movie together, and it is apparent that he loves his craft.  Rose is an interesting interviewer, but he does ask good questions and then he gets out of the way enough to let Stone talk.  A very interesting watch.
• 2 Audio Commentary’s -Well, there are 2 audio commentary tracks included on this edition of Nixon.  Both are done by Oliver Stone, and both, of course, run the full length of the movie.  I will remind you at this point that the movie clocks in at 3 hours and 33 minutes.  Do the math and by the time you are done with the movie and both commentaries you are looking at over 10 and 1/2 hours.  At this point I will tell you that I did not make it through all of the commentaries.  What I did get through was both informative and interesting, as Stone really delves into the background and history of the movie as opposed to telling us specifics about each shot.  The commentaries really show the passion that Stone had for this movie.  It is obvious that Stone was not a fan of Nixon, and he wanted to portray him in a human manner.  It is amazing how much thought and care went into developing Nixon by Stone, and the outcome is quite amazing.
• Original Theatrical Trailer - Pretty basic stuff here.  This is just the trailer as it was originally presented.  It is funny that this is included as a separate extra, because the exact same trailer was shown in the Charlie Rose feature as well.

The Movie: 8/10
First and foremost Nixon is about the iconic man that was President of the United States of America.  Nixon the man was and is a controversial figure in politics, but his legend is one that everyone seems to have an opinion on.  I was born in 1970, so my knowledge and feelings towards President Richard Nixon are limited to what I have read about or learned from TV.  I do not necessarily have the same negative feelings towards the man as many in this country who are older.  Having said that, my knowledge about the man is therefore limited, and I was a bit skeptical about getting a “history lesson” from non other than Oliver Stone, who himself is a bit controversial.  I did not was to learn about President Nixon from a dramatization of what could have been, instead of what was.

Oliver Stone’s version of the man is a peek into the life of a seemingly troubled individual who was the President of a country that was in turmoil.  From the Vietnam war to the loss of John F. Kennedy, President Nixon was forced to deal with a country that was struggling.  Stone presents the Nixon that was deep in the midst of his own battle to find his feet and be accepted.  Stone weaves this story by focusing mainly on the last few years of Nixon’s presidency with flashbacks of Nixon’s past.  Stone uses a mixture of actual footage from the time with shots of his new characters.  He mixes black and white footage with color, and grainy shots to convey age with a range of fades and cut scenes to create a film that is interesting and different.  While Stone does take advantage of the medium to present his story, the main force in Nixon is the acting.

Anthony Hopkins conveys Richard Nixon as a man who is both powerful and timid at the same time.  While it is obviously Stone’s intent to portray President Nixon as a man who is struggling to find acceptance, it is Hopkins who brings that vulnerability and intense presence to the character.  Everyone in the film is magnificent and engaging.  Now obviously I am not one to judge how close to the real characters each was played, due to my age, but to me everyone seemd to jibe with the knowledge that I did have on the characters.

Joan Allen is excellent as Patrica Nixon, the President’s wife.  The pair present an almost love hate relationship, where Nixon is forced to put his political ambitions at odds with his family.  The result is often a sad and endearing view of a man who is not sure where to turn.  Allen plays Pat Nixon as a strong female who is one of the few individuals who will tell the President that he is wrong.

The rest of the cast is excellent also.  Paul Sorvino and James Woods are on par with Hopkins, and just make the scenes that they are in with Hopkins electrifying.  Also of note is Sam Waterson as the CIA Director Richard Helms.  He is intense, and as only Oliver Stone could pull off, he is made even more menacing by an unexpected shot of Helms tending to his flowers with pure black eyes.  While this would seem out of place in such a serious piece as Nixon, Stone is able to pull off little tricks like this that comment on the movie without it taking you out of the picture.  As I said, the cast is full of big names, but they all seem to be able to respect the overall vision of the movie, and they are able to give performances that seem solid and muted at the same time.

I was impressed with the fact that I did not feel like Stone preached to the viewer too much, or took too many liberties with the story.  I understand that there are issues that are presented in a light that may or may not be completely accurate, but this is President Nixon that we are talking about.  Nothing seems to have been concrete with the man anyway.  It was as if Stone brought up ideas and left them for the viewer to chew on, without force feeding any one decision on them.  I was impressed and felt that Stone did a great job of giving a view of the man that each person could attach their own ideas to, right or wrong.

I do want to comment on the fact that Nixon is incredibly long.  Stone talked about trying to get the movie cut down to about 2 hours, which would have made this a let easier to digest.  The topics and acting are heavy, and at over 3 hours it makes for a very draining movie.  I understand that Stone felt like it had to be this way, but I still wonder what this could have been if it was able to be cut down a bit.  Having said that, the Election Year Addition also includes many shots that were left out of the original, so this version is even longer than it was.  I still enjoyed Nixon a lot, and I highly recommend the movie.  Oliver Stone talked about how he hoped this movie would at least provide people with the opportunity to revisit their prejudices as they pertain to President Nixon.  I truly think that this is exactly what I got from watching the movie.  With my somewhat limited ideas as to what President Nixon represented, this movie gave me the opportunity to view President Nixon as a human, who had to deal with the choices that he brought upon himself, as opposed to simply a “crook.”





Audio & Video: 8/10
The standard DVD is presented in wide screen 2.40:1 aspect.  It is beautifully done, and it looks great.  As I mentioned before, Oliver Stone mixes grainy shots with crisp colorful scenes, and uses old footage, and even old cameras to present Nixon in a way that gives it a more authentic feel.  The result is amazing and unexpected.  It is not too jarring or hard to watch, and overall it comes off well.  The intermixing of shots of Anthony Hopkins with old footage at times can be a bit strained, and it can take you out of the movie a bit, but overall I thought it was nicely done.  The video itself was excellent.

The audio was nicely done also, and there was no issue with the mixing of the music and the dialogue.  The theme was done by John Williams, and it was regal and patriotic, as it should be.  Obviously Nixon is not a “bombastic” type of film, but it was presented in 5.1 Surround Sound, and while I didn’t really notice the Surround sound being used too much, that may be a good thing.  Overall the audio was great.


Value: 7/10
I highly recommend at least viewing Nixon if you have not done so already.  For those of you who have seen the film, perhaps a rent is in order just to see the extended version presented here.  I am not too sure that many people will want to sit down for over 3 hours though if they have seen the original theatrical version.  This 2 disc release is chock full of extras however, and the extras are fabulous.  Oliver Stone is an amazing filmmaker, and to see the thought process behind any of this films is just amazing.  As he states, he is most proud of this movie, and rightly so .  For and President Nixon fan, or for any President Nixon hater, at least see this film if you have not already.  If for no other reason than to give you the opportunity to revisit such an amazing time in U.S. history.

Overall Score 8/10

The menu makers did make an effort and brought a taste, or should I say vision of the movie to the table. The pulsating blue waves of images create the background for this moving menu that seems a bit fuzzy, but remember, we are looking through the “eyes” of a blind man. All of the menus on both DVD’s are well done, easy to navigate and add to the whole experience by not just being flat and uninteresting like a lot of DVD authors seem to be cranking out these days.


Extras & Features: 10/10
Disc 1:

• Full-Length Director and Producer Commentary – Commentary is really a must have these days on a DVD. Watching the movie listening to the people behind the scenes actually makes the whole thing much more interesting. The writer/director Mark Stephen Johnson says the church sequence is brilliant…eh hem, I disagree. However, I have to give him sooooo much credit for admitting that a lot of the CGI is crap. I applaud that he is willing to fess up to the weakest parts of the film.
• On-Screen Trivia Track – A cheap looking, but very fun text track that has lots of behind the scenes information that fans of the comic and movie will love to check out.
• DVD-ROM Content – Comic book Chronology, Web Links & More! I’m a tough chick to impress these days with anything DVD folks can throw at us, and even though I’m not a huge fan of this movie, I do understand it’s more of an experience than just a quick flick. The DVD interactive features are one of those things that took me by surprise. I am usually opposed to things just opening up when I pop in a DVD or CD, but this time around I was pleasantly annoyed, if that’s possible. The DVD instantly goes to the interactive features without requiring that you install anything on your computer. I love that. The DVD features include a bio on each character, a history of the comic book, links to web sites related to Daredevil and an interactive game. We actually played the game, which is also not something I usually partake of, but it was pretty good. It tests your senses, sort of. It’s well presented and ties directly in with the movie, so it’s a good extra.

Disc 2:

• 2 All-New 60-Minute Documentaries – Wonderful feature length documentaries that cover so much material. I love these kinds of special additions to a DVD. These cover everything from Ben Affleck’s body molding for his costume to how the CGI is done. Mind you, I’m not a fan of the CGI, it’s low quality in my opinion and wouldn’t even work well in a video game, but there ya go. You get to meet everyone from the director to the director of photographer all the way to the composer. It’s crazy, but the more extras I watch the better I like the movie. That doesn’t sound right, but it’s a new phenomenon in the world of being a movie fan I suppose.
• Multi-Angle Scene Studies – Two fight sequences in multi angles to see how many different cameras are used to get the final perfect edit.
• Jennifer Garner Screen Test – A brief but interesting thing to toss on the DVD. You get to see Jennifer doing a scene with a “reader” as part of an audition.
• 3 Music Videos
• And Much More! – Along with 6 Production Featurettes and a Kingpin Featurette you will find still galleries and concept drawings of Daredevil’s costume are among the “more” extras.

Picture/Sound: 9/10
By all accounts this is a top quality transfer. It’s a dark story in a dreary city with lots of less than bright interiors so the potential for pixels abound. But I didn’t see any, and I was looking. Believe me, I didn’t want to just complain about the movie, I wanted more dirt to drag up on this one, alas, it was not meant to be. This is a good quality DVD in both the picture and sound department. The surround sound was excellent, you can hear every rain drop, grunt, groan and distant footstep.





Movie: 6/10
I’ll start by saying that after I saw the movie I was pretty let down and disappointed, and then I explored the DVD from top to bottom and I do have more appreciation of the story and the whole production….that being said, on with the review.

A movie with an identity crisis, that’s what Daredevil is. With a good story at the heart of it all you would think it might be able to struggle through with a few problems here and there. Unfortunately, those few problems are things like character development, dialogue, editing, directing, special effects, and choice of actors. Is it pure action, or is it a deep dark tale of good vs. evil? I still don’t know the answer.

I know, you’re saying, “Cid, who cares about all that junk, it’s an action/comic book hero story. All we want is fighting and goofy one liners.” Ok, fair enough. So, the fight scenes are weak, the goofy one liners are not even good enough to be goofy, so now where do we go from there?

Let’s start with what I do like, what little there is. I love the story. A man who has devoted his life to protecting his neighborhood and fighting crime as a vigilante is a great place to start building a story. This man, having lost his sight as a boy, has the benefit of his senses of touch, hearing, and smelling being hyper-sensitive due to what appears to be a toxic chemical spill. Remember, this is comic book fodder, so the story might tend to be a bit colorful to say the least. I still love the story. Mathew’s father dies at the hands of a master criminal in town and as he, Mathew, grows up he takes it upon himself to use his new abilities to rid his neighborhood of crime. He has taken on an alter identity, dubbed Dare Devil by the citizens and press, complete with a costume and handy walking stick that’s tricked out with all kinds of gadgets to help in his quest for justice. By day he’s an attorney fighting in the courtroom and at night he picks up where the law lets the innocents of the world down. This all sounds pretty exciting, and it is, in theory. I’m sad to say though, in execution, this film did not give this story the integrity it deserves.

The action is pretty good most of the time, with one big exception, the big battle between Daredevil and Bullseye. I won’t give away to much, but it’s one of those things where you feel this big build up to what you know will be the end of a bad guy, and then all of a sudden it’s all over and the climax does not live up to the anticipation. When I’m watching one of these types of movies, I have certain expectations, not a good thing, but it’s true, and one of those is that the bad guys bite the dust in a very dramatic, painful, over the top manner. Needless to say, I was not fully satisfied.

Most of the time the CGI version of Daredevil was lame, and that’s being kind. I despise (DESPISE is the word I’m using people!) the “rag doll” effect that happens when they try to create a real person with computer software and it’s glaringly obvious. The way he moves, the shape of his body, the poor quality of the over all effect when he is scaling roof tops and often in fight sequences, is just disturbingly distracting. That was not just a let down, it’s a shocker for this big budget affair.

Ben Affleck and Colin Farrell are the two saving graces in this spring/summer time flick, for sure. I enjoy both of them in most any role, so they add a certain level of quality to their characters. Jon Favreau is a bonus as Affleck’s best friend and fellow low budget attorney. With a snappy scene in a cafe we get a clear picture of their friendship and a few of the more palatable lines in the movie.

As for Jennifer Garner, well, she’s good but her character has a lot to be desired. I’m sure that’s why her performance, from the cheeky early fight sequence with Affleck to her battle with the dreaded Bullseye just didn’t do much to make her anything more than a pretty face and bad ass girl fighter. That might be enough for most people, fair enough, but I would like to have seen a lot more of her as a person and less as the sexy smart-ass quasi Kung Fu babe.

I will keep going back to the quality of the real story, a man who is battered and broken because of his mission to fight crime. We see the scars, the damage done from all of his late night battles with thugs, thieves and petty bad guys. His collection of pain killers is impressive, but depressing at the same time. Here’s me being demanding, as always, but I would have liked to have seen his early days of crime fighting before he had his whole persona polished and the costume completed. We don’t get any back story or build up of his life as a “super hero”. We see him as a kid and then skip to him being already jaded, scarred and as a professional man of back alley justice, so to speak. A bit of the awkwardness he must have encountered in early years would have been a great addition to his tale.

The style of the movie is something I do appreciate. The quick edits during certain scenes and the really well done effect of how sounds become images for our blind hero stand out and I give them top credit for the visual feast we are served, in very limited quantities. I was not impressed with the overall edit of the movie. Lots of scenes must have bitten the cutting room’s dusty floor because it seems like the story just takes off when all of a sudden it’s over and you are shaking your head thinking, “ah, this must be one of those false endings.” No such luck. When you feel like the rug just got ripped from under your movie watching eyes you are left sitting there in your little seat waiting for some bigger pay off, but it’s all over and done with. It lacks any fan fare or hoo-haa one would like to see from this kind of good vs. evil story.

Above are a couple of examples of  how our sightless hero can see the world. Sound waves create images in his mind. The rain in the bottom picture creates enough audio vibration off of Jennifer Garner to assure him he’s not falling for any girl below supermodel status, God forbid!

It’s entertaining to a degree, it just has so much more potential that could be tapped into. The sleek style and attempt at amazing special effects falls short too many times and there is not a well written plot to build a movie around nor is there even well written dialogue to rescue it. It’s above average just by the white of Affleck’s teeth. Colin Farrell’s charm and full on performance boost the rating over the halfway mark, but nothing else can send this early summer blockbuster soaring to the top of my list.

Everyone seemed to put their heart and soul into this movie from the fight trainers to the composer of the score and everyone in between, but at the root of it all there are a lot of things that hold it back from being a great experience.





Value: 9/10
Excellent value at just $16.00 online. That’s a bargain for so much cram packed on the DVD.


Over All: 9/10
I have to admit that after watching all the extras, and believe me, that’s a big time investment, I have to conclude that this DVD is a great experience even if the movie falls short in many areas. The final score is a very hard fought 9. How can a barely average movie pull off a 9 rating DVD? It’s a mystery to me too.

If you are a snob, like me, you might scoff at the movie for what it is, flimsy but glossy. However, even we snobs have to give a nod of credit to the DVD authors and to Fox for giving us all something to enjoy. Everyone from fans of the comic, fans of the movie and fans of DVD extras can find something worth a purchase. Yes, I recommend that you buy this one for your collection if for nothing more than all of the background documentaries and great commentary.

Overall Score 9/10

• “Breathing Life into Terror”- The Making of the Dragons – Brief but informative short feature showing a lot of the background of the making of this “monster” movie.
• “If You Can’t Stand the Heat” Pyrotechnics Featurette – An excellent explanation of the process of how they got so much fire and fire effects in the film. With narration and conversations with the man in charge of the fire on-set you get a clear look at how complex and just how involved it is to get such great effects from the complexities of fire. From “Dragon Drool” to “Dragon Breath” you get a first hand look at the machines, chemicals, techniques and safety issues that the crew deal with everyday.
• Conversations with Director Rob Bowman – It’s always great to hear from a director of a film. They can give incite to the origins of a story, the process of getting the film greenlighted and the day to day job of being at the helm of a Hollywood production. Bowman is passionate and enthusiastic about Reign of Fire, as well as his past work on The X-Files and other films. His main objective is to design a movie that entertains the audience. He understands and tries to learn more about what the audience will respond to and why. This is another excellent addition to the DVD which I do appreciate. Hopefully Bowman will call his fellow directors and get them to do the same.

Movie: 7/10
With an opening sequence that rivals any big time action movie, Reign of Fire takes a huge leap ahead of my expectations right away. With solid sets and lots of attention to details, this one gets kicked off in style. Some directors like to make you wait a long time to see the beast that will haunt and torture the leading characters, but not Bowman. We are shown, dare I say, introduced to, the dragon in the first few moments. And what an introduction. Ascending from flames, clutching to the metal cage of a shaft elevator, this monster made an entrance that I will not soon forget.

You have to take a leap of faith in stories that touch on myth and fantasy. Dragons are not something we are used to being afraid of. Serial killers, werewolves, vampires? Yes…… Dragons? No. Even though throughout the movie you will find very few reasons to get out the CGI radar in your 21st century head, there are a few moments when you have to use that leap of faith and use it hard. The story isn’t plausible, no. Why? It’s a movie people!!! Get used to it. It’s a tale of a world where dragons have returned to rule the roost and we, pitiful humans, are left to fend for our lives, prey for the winged ones.

Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey pull off respectable performances, if not occasionally over the top. But heck, how can you NOT go over the top when  you are playing a guy who slays dragons in the 21st century or a guy who has been traumatized by a life of living in terror. Both performances are right on par with the action adventure genre. They do what they can with the dialogue they get. And, that is one of the weakest things of the entire movie. Lots of shaky, fake, unnatural dialogue between the lead characters. I am a snob when it comes to conversations between characters in movies, so when it seems flat, boring, out of context, it does tend to bug me somewhat. I won’t slam the movie for this detail. I am fully aware that this is not an Oscar contender for best screenplay or anything like that. I can live with corny one liners and pat emotional dialogue. McConaughey seems to be trying to put together a combo character that is a cross breed of Robert Duvall’s borderline insanity stricken character in Apocalypse Now and Quinn from Jaws. A strange confidence/madness kind of approach.

Bale will always be Patrick Bateman to me, unfortunately. I don’t like to pigeon hole people, but his performance in American Psycho was pretty powerful, so it has stuck in my mind. This one is as far from that as you can get, and with the make up, hair, dirt and dingy world they live in, I almost forgot who he was sometimes, SOMETIMES.

I was really into the movie 75% of the time and when you see it you will know what I mean. I was not interested in the female lead, she was not really iatrical to the story so she was essentially a pretty face for no reason at all. Decoration.

I really loved the combination of old and new in this film. They have wonderful sets and props and stunts that combine so many different elements. There are horse riding sequences mixed with high tech helicopter shots. There is a castle and there are tanks. This is a visually pleasing film with all of the variety, that’s for sure.





Value: 6/10
For anything from $17.00 to $20.00, this is well worth the purchase price if you are a castles and tanks, action, adventure, dragon slaying, futuristic, kind of a person. For the rest of us this is an excellent rental on a weekend when you have a chance to watch the extras.


Over All: 7/10
I have a hard shell to crack when it comes to CGI monsters. Reign of Fire did great justice to their monster and to the fact that we, the audience, do not want to notice flaws or “cracks in the illusion” every time the beast hits the screen. I was impressed with the story and effects. I only wish the script had been more pumped up with quality dialogue and lose the chick..it’s a common mistake, I forgive them. I say this is a fun, sometimes impressive, always exciting flick that is a good way to spend a couple of hours.

Overall Score 7/10

A well written story with excellent dialogue, wonderful performances and a kind of humor that gives it that quality edge. We are introduced to the characters in a well paced, delicate yet forward manner that gets you into their stories right away. Each with their own personal challenges and hurdles to get over, they persevere and conquer those all-to-human demands.

One woman struggles with being clumsy and has a hard time with life, her father, absent mother and loneliness. Another is confident, but her mother is ill, difficult and has a secret she is not telling anyone.

Two men, one kind, meek, a gentleman. The other a brash, obnoxious orphan who cares little for other people’s feelings until he meets a woman who changes all of that.

These are real, honest characters who draw you in with affection and genuine heartfelt emotions that touch anyone who has ever suffered being on their own, loss or feeling like an outsider.

This is one of those rare movies that has so many elements outside the “norm” of what we are used to seeing in mainstream Hollywood productions it’s a real surprise and a must see for anyone who loves and appreciates film as a storytelling medium. Keep in mind this is a movie that comes from Denmark. You probably haven’t seen any films that are in Danish, but it’s time to expand your horizons. Not only do you get to hear one lovely language, you get the bonus of Italian here and there. If subtitles are not daunting for you, and how could they be, rent this DVD as soon as you have a quiet hour and a half to enjoy it.

At first you might fell a bit disoriented by the video taped feel of the film. It’s not standard old fashioned film stock. This film has the flavor of an independent student film that has every quality of a huge studio production. The writing is brilliant, the cast is charming and their performances are top notch. I hope to see this cast again and again in other films by this director or in any work that I can get my hands on from Denmark.

I have learned in the past couple of years that international movies are an amazing experience. From Run Lola Run to Amelie to The Son’s Room every time I take the leap to give a new cultural perspective of the world a try..it’s pays off big time. These have become some of my favorite movies of all time.

I highly recommend this film for anyone who loves movies like Magnolia, Royal Tenenbaum’s, Boogie Nights,  and Born Romantic and other’s that pull together a tangled web of people who all have a reason to cross paths.

I wish I knew if the actors and actresses in this film are popular performers in their native Denmark. I would love to see more of them. If there are any Danish readers who are laughing at me because these people are like the Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, John Travolta and Meg Ryan of Denmark, please contact me so I can be properly humiliated.  Hopefully this film opens the doors to our Danish filmmaking friends to bring more movies to the rest of the world.


Value: 8/10
I’m always disappointed with a DVD that has no extras or featured background info on the making of a film. This usually drops my score a bit. The price is a steady $20-$21 around the web and for that a few extras would have been nice. I imagine that in film shops outside the normal Blockbusters and Hastings arena will have a few copies of this charming fare and you might be able to get it cheaper, but that’s not a promise. I’m sure there is an inherent added distribution problem for films like Italian for Beginners and the low number of DVD’s produced hikes the price up a bit. I still say, if you love film and are a fan of seriously interesting characters..this one is the one you need to seek out for your collection.


Over All: 9/10
I’m loving this international expedition of films. It takes different perspectives of the same kinds of human dramas we see in the less interesting movies all the time, and gives new life to the filmmaker’s ability to bring us these stories in different artistic ways. Using film as an art form seems to be more of an Outside-Hollywood thing, but that’s ok as long as there’s DVD we can bring any kind of film right to us, we don’t have to settle for the latest box office choices anymore.

Italian for Beginners is lovely, I say give it a rental at the least and if you are feeling extra daring, order the DVD. If for no other reason, to say you have a Danish/Italian movie in your collection. Not many people you know can say that!! :)

Yes the lack of extras is a big disappointment, but the film and the quality of the picture, sound and excellent cover overpower the lack of extras for me..The end score is not the average of all the scores this time because I can’t bring myself to give this DVD less than an 8 for the extremely high quality of the film. Argue with me if you will…I stand my ground. Sometimes the film outweighs the other elements of a DVD presentation, this one especially.

Overall Score 9/10

The other extra is actually really cool. Well, it’s a cool idea wasted on a crap movie. Small cameras were put on key people, director, director of photographer etc. During the filming of specific scenes they filmed from that person’s perspective. You can switch from view to view as you watch the scene getting a first hand look at the making of the movie. Like I said, it’s an excellent idea for an extra on a DVD. It’s just a shame it’s an extra on THIS DVD.





Movie: 2/10
Where shall I start. College dudes dressing up as Sorority girls, this is originality at it’s best.

Let me stop there and let you in on a little secret, this review will be full of something called sarcasm. If you come across a comment that seems remotely positive or in the praising vein…consider it sarcasm.

I have to admit when I first saw trailers for movies like Shallow Hal, Dumb and Dumber, Deuce Bigalow, etc. I was very skeptical. When I saw them I was pleasantly surprised that you could drag a balance of comedy, commentary, even some clever wit here and there. Sorority Boys not only made me skeptical before I saw it, I felt intellectually violated by the second scene. I don’t mean to be a snob….oh no. I want to make it clear that someone, somewhere will love this movie, dare I say even proclaim it their favorite movie of all time. Beyond the fact that this disturbs me deeply, it’s like a mystery of the human mind that can never be solved. Appreciating a scene where giant gelatinous dildos are used as swords in a battle between two frat boys in dresses must be left to those more open minded than myself.

I give the movie it’s 2 hard earned points for one Star Wars comment and a few cameos by original Animal House cast members. Don’t be misguided by this. THIS IS NOT LIKE ANIMAL HOUSE. This is a lame attempt at low brow humor, not a break out concept in fun movie making. At least Animal House, Porky’s and all the others that came before had one thing going for them, they were funny when I saw them. Did I mention I’m not 12 anymore? Animal House is a classic because it blazed a trail and had a lot of social commentary along with the site gags and raunchy digs. It’s a shame to have Sorority Boys associated with it, but that’s Hollywood.

The dudes always look like dudes, never like girls. They encounter their frat mates who do not recognize them, HELLO! The girls in the classically named D O G sorority house are not only NOT unattractive, but they are completely insulting caricatures.

I do think some of the key performers have potential, why they wasted it on this, I would love to ask them. This is not a total loss. I laughed four times and I genuinely like the idea of putting a bunch of snooty sorority girls in a boat adrift on the ocean. Other than that, anyone with an IQ and the opportunity to see ANY OTHER MOVIE ON THE PLANET, avoid this Porky’s wannabe at all costs.  This is an idea who’s time has come and gone. Dude Where’s My Car even had more to offer in the way of mindless entertainment, and that is very hard for me to admit.





Value: 2/10
If this DVD costs more than $3.00 anywhere in the world it’s a rip off. If you HAVE to see it, rent it for goodness sake. Adding this to any DVD collection might make your bookshelf or DVD holder very very unhappy! :)


Over All: 2/10
You do not need nor want me to sum up my opinion of this movie. There are those of you who will like it and for the other 95% of you, I hope you take my advice. If you are ever flicking through your TV channels late at night and see it on some dodgy network, keep on flicking.

Overall Score 2/10

• Thoughts and Reflections by Jim Jarmusch – An excellent set of recorded impressions by Jim Jarmusch. A director with a lot of artistic inclination beyond the standard Hollywood movie maker stereotype. His reflections of everything from the title, the music, the performers, lighting, the prison, etc.. it’s all there. Detail after detail that bring you so much closer to the story of making the film, so close in fact, the story of the film seems secondary. The production of this movie from gathering funds to the finished project seems to have been a labor of intense creative passion. That is something you get from Jarmusch. He is true to his art, to the art of the people around him, musicians, actors, everyone and hearing that from him first hand makes the film an even better experience.
• 2002 Video Interview with DP Robby Muller – Director of Photography may not sound like someone you think is that vital in the scheme of things because you hear about the writers, directors and actors most of the time, but it’s vital to have a DP who understands the director’s vision as well as be able to execute those ideas into often stunning moving images. Finding out more about this almost hidden role in filmmaking is a real bonus
• Out-takes – These are not what you might be thinking of as Outtakes. They are not messed up scenes, or bloopers. They are scenes “taken out” of the film before the final cut was released. So, these are Deleted Scenes for those DVD fans out there. Nice to see the process and evolution of different scenes or plot progression through the eyes of the editor. I think this film is all the better for the top notch editing choices they made.
• Jarmusch’s Phone Calls with Waits, Benigni and Lurie – A hysterical conversation with Benigni as he reminisces about the film nearly 20 years later. His love of the art is obvious. The connection between all the parties involved seems strong, as if this project was catalyst to friendships and relationships beyond the film. You can’t probably say that about a lot of those mega-flicks they churn out all the time. All things indicate that his film came from the heart of an idea about creating a work of art. The phone calls, interviews and thoughts all reflect that.
• Isolated Music Track – The music in this film is excellent and I’m thrilled to have it as a stand alone feature. Not only did John Lurie star with his musical cohort Tom Waits, but he composed the score as well. With Tom Waits’ powerful tunes mixed in with Lurie’s intuitive scoring, this sound track is as classy as the rest of the film.

Movie: 10/10
First I’ll start by saying this film looks fantastic. The crisp clear contrasts of the black and white are amazing. There is not a touch of muddied edges or flat values. This transfer offers up the full range of the palette of amazing grays, whites and blacks that Jarmusch and Muller strive to achieve. A movie from 1986 in black and white might not turn some of you on, but in this case, I say, it’s worth a try. This is the kind of film that can win you over if you are a pure color freak.

Down by Law is a quiet smash hit in my book. There is something illusive about a director who uses black and white to tell a story. The director says that he can tell what kind of style each story should be told in, including color or black and white, and he does not conform to what might or might not be bankable. This I like. I admire a director, writer, actor, or other film industry person who defies the stereotypical caricature of what has to be done to a movie to get it made. When a filmmaker steps up and out of the norm and decides to get his project made despite the system, it almost always has a huge payoff. Maybe not in the box office, or American box office anyway, but in the art form of filmmaking these films stand out and win me over big time.

Three men brought together by different circumstances with different lifestyles and from different cultures. A laid back pimp, a stubborn radio disc jockey and, well, an Italian wanderer semi-con man.

Jim Jarmusch directs this visual sensation with collaboration from his cast and crew to make a truly independent, unscathed film. Unscathed in that it does not fall into any traps of formulas, standards, guidelines of story telling or filmmaking. Instead it barrels ahead with originality and intelligence. Assuming the audience is intelligent is not something common to the film industry. But when you get a film like Down By Law, all parties involved are talented, intelligent people who want to tell a story, create a piece of art, design and execute a living testament to many forms of artistic expression.

Jarmusch is a lover of music and it shows. With a starring role being played by Tom Waits, a soulful songwriter/musician/singer the music’s got to be good. Set in New Orleans, the bluesy deep tones of Waits often melancholy songs bring every image of the city in the south to life with its dark back alleys, swamps and abandon cabins on the river.

As a backdrop to the moody music, New Orleans (never before visited by Jarmusch who wrote the story only with ideas and impression of what the city was all about) sets the stage for these interesting characters who struggle through some rough spots seemingly unchanged or weathered. Like the city itself. They seem to have an innate understanding of hard times and being rough around the edges. Three women speckle the story, not many, but as the director says in his reflections, we learn a lot about the three key male characters from these ladies. They are not to be underestimated.

Characters of a story often follow a destined path that lays out every move and plot turn for us. Our main characters end up in prison. We see the arrests of two and mere arrival of one after the fact. What do not see, which Hollywood feeds us regularly these days, is the lawyers, the appeals, courtroom scenes, the struggle to get out of prison or the campaigns to get free. Instead we simply cut from life, to prison with only a brief introduction to each key character. I love this. The story progresses not so much as a “get from point a to point b” kind of story, but more like a study of these characters. In essence it’s a study of the actors as if this is an intimate stage performance.

Jarmusch wrote the screen play in brief, and let the film be made on that same premise. Less is more. With Roberto Benigni (Life is Beautiful) as a leading performer, he had to let the reigns loose a bit and allow the Italian speaking actor to ad lib in several scenes. Because of the language barrier, the authentic communication problems that occur between the three men becomes that much more captivating. They are held together by the walls of the prison but come together as three individuals who seem to understand each other beyond culture and words.

With all of this going for it I can’t forget to say how really really funny the characters are at times. Hugely due to the talents and the personalities of the actors, but also because of the subtle, keenly observant dialogue. It’s not a “I laughed, I cried” kind of tale, but there’s a lot of smiling and a few good laughs. Sometimes you are not sure if it’s supposed to be funny exactly or tragic, that is what makes the writing so engaging.

Solid acting, excellent writing, exceptional directed and STUNNING cinematography are all ingredients for the treat of a film. The pace is set to a perfect flow, with the deliberate attention to details, to human moments, reactions, amazing scenery and photography. So many shots would be amazing prints to frame and hang on the wall. That mixed with the always appropriate, ambient music and intriguing story, well, this comes out a straight 10 in my book.





Value: 9/10
I always love a well done DVD with lots of extras and background information about the film and the makers .however I don’t always appreciate the price. This was a limited release DVD so the price tag is a bit steep for my tastes. Only as low as $25 online (if you find it cheaper, let me know!). That’s fair, don’t get me wrong, but if you are not a die hard DVD collector or fan of any players in this project, a rental would do the trick.


Overall: 10/10
Hmm, what do you think? Do I like this DVD? Oh yeah. I love the film and the extras are stellar. Even if you are not a DVD collector or fan, if you are looking for something a bit off the beaten path that is an impressive display of filmmaking, this is a must see!

Overall Score 10/10

The allure of Winslet’s character could be glorified, if only in her friend’s eyes, but not on the cover of the DVD. It just doesn’t do what I want a cover to do.. grab you create a genuine interest in what the story is about, not what looks good on movie posters.


Extras & Features: 0/10
None :( Oh how sad when someone like Jackson is so close to being able to share his ideas and techniques, thoughts and memories of a film like Creatures. No extras here, just a theatrical trailer.

One “feature” could be that it’s the uncut version of the film, not the theatrical release. So you get a better view of what the director’s vision is meant to be. This counts for a lot in my book. There are so many reasons why a film can end up chopped to bits in the theater, but DVD gives filmmakers a chance to make things right by showcasing their original cut.





The Movie: 10/10
A retelling of a tragic true story. Two young women, girls really, swept off their feet by circumstance, romance, and each other. In the 50′s life was simpler, more innocent, or was it? This tale of wonderment and confusion could be ripped from today’s headlines. Two teenagers looking for meaning, for love, for life cling to each other in a fantasy frenzy of wishful thinking turned macabre. One girl neglected by her academic parents whose money only surpasses their bad judgment when it comes to caring for their daughter. Both girls growing up in the wake of childhood illnesses, one abandoned because of wealth and privilege, one smothered by working class parents lost in their own delusions about raising children.

The wealthy daughter drifts into stories and whimsy to escape her otherwise empty life. The working class girl, questionably suffering from a mental or emotional illness keeps most of her mind in a place other than reality as well. When they meet and become fast friends their needs for acceptance, attention and for someone to reciprocate their twisted view of the world, there is a chemistry that leads to chaos. They dream of knights and kings, queens and castles. They become more and more emerged in their alter reality. When they are threatened with separation, their worlds collide with a bitter conclusion.

Peter Jackson is an amazing director in many ways. If you have seen any of his “slasher” movies you might think his work is all a bit on the B Movie side. However, look again. When you watch Lord of the Rings and Heavenly Creatures you can see the quality of his work. Everything from a very active camera to some of the most visually interesting shots, sets and well edited scenes I’ve seen.

This was Kate Winslet’s first film, yes, Kate Winslet from Titanic. She is young but you can see the power in her personality. Jackson brings out some very intimate moments between Winslet and her co-star Melanie Lynskey. Delicate work indeed for young woman, even in the 90′s.

The story is constructed in a way that tells an almost ultra realistic tale of these girls descent into madness. It’s a true story with some very surreal facts and details. Jackson draws on the girls’ reality more than REAL reality. Showing the state of their minds, their perceptions and their dream world. All leading to a plan they devise to make sure they are never separated.

There is a distortion to all of Jackson’s character in that they seem “normal”, but the makeup us just a touch exaggerated. The hair is a bit overly dramatic at times, almost making the characters into caricatures of who they are meant to be. Like they are under a magnifying glass and we are drawn to the biggest boldest features of them physically and their personalities.

This works beautifully in Heavenly Creatures since this is such a strange true story that seems to defy understanding. The style of the movie does not glamorize the girls’ actions, but forces the viewer to take a look at the events in a less clinical way than to simply dissect it all as if it were a sociological experiment gone wrong.

I’m thrilled to have finally seen this film and I will watch it again if only to watch more closely Jackson’s camera work and artistic vision for different scenes.





Value: 10/10
Excellent value. I found this one online for 13.00, so go shopping folks and add this one to the DVD pile in your living room. There are no extras, but that’s ok with a quality film like Heavenly Creatures. It’s well well worth that kind of cash for anyone who appreciates Jackson, Winslet, or good old New Zealand filmmaking!


Over All: 10/10
Dramatic and stylish this is a treasure of a film. Based on a horrible true story, the film is true to the period with emaculately detailed sets, costume and ideology of the characters. I can’t say enough good things about this film. The DVD has a big gap where the extras should be. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed for a new extended edition in the future.

Overall Score 10/10

• Filmmaker’s Audio Commentary – I’m a huge fan of commentaries. The more you know about this film the more you realize what an accomplishment it really is. Details beyond the technical and economical limitations of a lower budget film cover every area of production from conception to the finished film. This director is a visionary, a true artist. He is a credit to ambitious, creative people in Hollywood without the “system” brainwashing. Listen to his love of filmmaking and affection for Swingers and it adds a whole new dimension to the experience of this 90′s classic.
• Illustrated Action Commentary with Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn – What a treat. Between their passion for the project and their real life friendship getting their perspective on the film is a thrilling bonus. The Action Commentary consists of them highlighting parts of the scene with a pen, marking, literally on the movie to point out things they are talking about. They have fun with it at times and basically doodle a bit, but mostly they point out interesting visuals, props, etc. They talk about everything from the technical aspects to personal influences on the film. It’s an amazing extra for the price of this DVD. I’m impressed!
• “Making It In Hollywood” – Original Documentary – Favreau’s reasons for writing the story, the inspiration for characters, backdrops, production, direction and everything else. How this “lower budget” film became a phenomenon of the 90′s among the post X generation. A throw back to old fashioned filmmaking with a sense of invention and passion that is seldom found in the bowels of Hollywood’s movie making beast. Interviews with all the key players including cast and crew. You get the friends behind the story (including Vaughn, Livingston and Van Horn), and the story behind the story, Favreau’s inspiration for this comedy about a guy getting through a rough spot in his life. Based loosely on Favreau’s own experiences. I am always thrilled to hear from the people behind the production. The creative process of a film is so extensive and so intriguing, to offer so many aspects and such complete background information about the making of a film classic is a real gift to those of us who look forward to the extras as much as the films when they hit DVD. The intimacy of this movie is reflected in this documentary and the struggles they went through to get the film made. Looping from a video tape, working out of a garage, filming in open and running bars, parties and local businesses are all wonderful back bits about Swingers that add to its charm and personality.
• Scenes cut from the movie post production. -  You be the judge whether you think they should have been left in or not. I am usually a proponent of putting cut scenes back into a DVD version of a film, but this time around I think the director and editor made all the right choices when they trimmed these bits of excess.
• Director’s Introduction
• Golfing
• The Kiss
• Drunken Diners
• Outtakes Reel Swingblade Short Film

The Movie: 10/10
A perfect combination of elements would be a good way to describe Swingers. All the right puzzle pieces in the right place at the right time and a truck load of talent to back it all up. Jon Favreau wrote a story about a guy getting over a relationship and getting on with his life. What’s so special about that? Well, let me tell you. Favreau wrote from his own life with a twist and turn here and there to filter out the parts that can muddy up a classic human tale. His observational skills hone in on details of behavior that we all find sooooo familiar it makes this film the amazing experience that it is.

“Mike” is recently out of a long term relationship, newly moved to L.A. to pursue a career as a comedian and is surrounded by a group of friends who have the ambition of a group of teenage boys on the hunt for “honeys”. The intricate relationships and surprisingly layered personalities suck you in to the point of basically hanging on their every word. I found myself waiting to see who would say what next, not at all bothered by actions, situations, motivations, conflicts and resolutions, but pure and simple, waiting for the next interesting conversation or monologue around the corner. That is the beauty of Favreau’s writing. His ability to build whole scenes around an idea or a very real dynamic between friends.

The music and backdrops of a Swinging night life in L.A. and Vegas in the 90′s combined with the hip clothes, catch phrases and amazing directing make a visual feast to compliment the story and characters. Using real bars that could not be closed for filming (so they were packed with regular customers), live parties (again, real guests mingling at Hollywood parties) and kamikaze lighting in every situation, this director held fast to the look of this film to create a specific style. The style wavers a bit from scene to scene, but only enough to give each part of the story it’s own reality, much like life, every room, house, store, place of business we go to is not lighted the same or has the same visual stimulation.

Noticeably you see a distinct different style for the drive home from Vegas verses the look of a scene of Favreau’s character at his lowest moment, alone in his apartment. Though the look of each scene can be attributed often to lack of funds and creative use of a limited budget, Liman understands how to combine reality, sets, equipment, actors, scripts and production with the world he is creating for characters and the world they live in.

A close quarters scene in a very very small trailer is one of my favorites in the movie. I’ve been in those tin boxes and the way it was filmed did nothing to disguise the feel and ambience (if trailers have ambience) of that kind of setting. You can picture the cast and crew crammed into this tiny space, no walls cut out for wide shots, just close ups and tight takes of the lovely couch parts of the scene. Notice, the couch is the width of the trailer.. nice and cozy!

I love this film. Vaughn is a magnet and Favreau had me from the first time I saw Made, another Favreau project. For a great evening of rentals.. go for a Favreau/Vaughn marathon, it’s well worth it.





Value: 10/10
Fantastic is all I can say about the value on this DVD. Why you can get this baby for less than $14 is beyond me, but I love it!!! I can’t complain about any DVD that sports such a reasonable price, let along one with a lot excellent extras, commentaries and amazing film to boot.


Over All: 10/10
There are so many laughs, so many amazing performances and so much life cursing through the veins of Swingers it’s a must own DVD to have on those blah weekend afternoons. I know I’ll watch it over and over.

With an almost indie look this feature film is a real gift in an age of over blow budgets and egos in the movie industry. Something like Swingers came along in the midst of so much block buster hype it’s a real treasure of late 20th century filmmaking.

Get this DVD, it’s a wonderful story, great extras, perfect value.. I think I’m drooling.

Overall Score 10/10

• 1993 video interview with the filmmakers – The writers/directors/producers of the film talk about their motivations, ideas and impressions of public reaction. These interviews are fly by press conversations with the film making trio. You won’t find the glossy Entertainment Tonight type of sit down with this crew. Most of the time they are on the move, in a public doorway or standing on a street side. It’s always cool to see and hear from the film makers. It adds better understanding of what they were hoping to achieve.
• No C4 for Daniel-Daniel, a student short by the filmmakers – An earlier short film by the trio that does not have the cohesiveness as Man Bites Dog has. It attempts many things, none of which I’m quite sure about…haha You have to see it for your self to know what I mean. It surely does show you this crew’s sense of humor and irreverent attitudes.
• Stills gallery – Photos of the production process. Behind the scenes of some of the more gross and gruesome special effects needed to show the life of crime the lead character is showing off to the mock documentary film makers.

The Movie: 8/10
A film about a film about a serial killer is an interesting concept. The main characters of the film are the film crew and Ben, an active murder/serial killer. The filmmaker say that Ben could have been a door to door sales man for all it matters, the story is not focused on his violence, but on the film being made about him. I have a tendency to always agree with creators of art, writers, directors, etc. This time, however, I have to disagree. The edgy intrigue of this film comes from three things.

1.) It’s made to look like a rough cut documentary with all the charm of Blair Witch and personality of a Discovery Channel special.

2.) The relationship between the film crew and their “subject” grows increasingly close to the point of sucking the crew into Ben’s lifestyle. Undoubtedly a parallel to the fact that we, the audience are drawn more and more in as the film progresses, not matter how offensive or disturbing the images get.

3.) The plain and simple gore and violent images of people being killed by Ben in such an unemotional, detached way is like a magnet. If Ben were a door to door salesman, the act of selling a vacuum does not exactly draw the same reaction as murder and general chaos.

This is a subtitled film. If you speak French, cool, turn off the subtitles and enjoy. For the rest of us it’s excellent that the translation is even more accurate then films have been in the past. I love films that are in languages other than English. I’m not sure what the appeal is exactly. I guess there is always just that much of a difference between the way I see and understand the world and anyone from other parts of the planet. It’s exposure to different cultural beliefs and even new twists on things we have in common. Don’t shy away from films because they have subtitles. Go for it!

The film seems to be trying to point out our voyeuristic desires to watch even the most unpleasant things as long as they are presented by the media in a way that is safe and semi “entertaining”. It’s been ten years since this film was made, but that statement is so much more valid today.

Ben, the star of the movie is charming and intelligent. He breezes through his life as if he were a clerk at a grocery store. He rattles off details about things like weighting down bodies when dumping them into a body of water the way a chef might explain how to prepare a lobster. He is comfortable and even proud of his accomplishments. It’s a brilliant character to put right at the front of the story. He’s not hidden by some investigation or montages of news reels like in a lot of crime movies. He’s the one you are looking at at all times. In the film he, Ben even becomes the one who funds the movie. They joke that he is the Producer. This adds even a deeper layer to the film. At that point you are basically watching home movies being made of such heinous crimes it’s both awkward to watch and because you convince yourself it’s just a movie, impossible to turn away from.

I was not as shocked or intrigued as I was when I first saw Blair Witch. The innovativeness of both films is very commendable, but if I had seen Man Bites Dog ten years ago when it was made I might have been more impressed because of the uncharted territory of the concept.





Value: 7/10
Not a lot of extras for the price, but an avant-garde addition to a serious collection. For $20 you can get Man Bites Dog and show it to people just to get their reactions. That would be worth it to me!


Over All: 7/10
It’s exciting to see smaller films that have an impact. I admire the makers of this and other independent films. Man Bites Dog is shocking if you put away your jaded view of the world. It’s well produced and directed for sure. The acting has a few glitches, but that does not hinder the overall effect of the story.

Overall Score 7/10

• Jackie Brown: How It Went Down Documentary – A 30 minute look behind the scenes of how the movie was made. Each character of the movie is dealt with and how Quentin managed to cast each actor in his/her specific role.
• A Look Back At Jackie Brown” Interview With Quentin Tarantino – A recent interview with Quentin concerning the film that almost makes up for the lack of commentary (Almost).
• Chicks With Guns Video – Probably my favorite extra on the disc. The full length version of the movie Samuel L Jackson and Robert Di Nero are watching at the start of the movie. Needless to say, if you like girls in bikinis playing with high powered rifles (what man doesn’t?) then this is for you :)
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes – A few deleted scenes presented by Mr. Tarantino himself. Worth owning the DVD to see one missing scene with Pam Grier and Michael Keaton improvising. (Pam is so good at it she cracks Michael up totally)
• Siskel & Ebert “At the Movies” Jackie Brown Review – The review from Siskel and Ebert’s TV show that should not be watched before you have seen the main feature. Mr. Ebert has a very good knack of giving away complete plots before you have seen the movie. Needless to say, it did get 2 thumbs up.
• Jackie Brown on MTV – A couple of clips from the Jackie Brown Christmas special on MTV with a very very young Carson Daley interviewing Bridgett Fonda, Quentin and Pam Grier. Also, a cool trailer for a contest that MTV held to win the 25 grand featured in Jackie Brown.
• Pam Grier & Robert Forster Movie Trailers -  See the trailers of all those awful movies Robert Forster appeared in and also see the cool trailer for Foxy Brown :)
• TV spots & Trailer – The entire collection of Jackie brown TV Spots and the Theatrical trailer for your viewing pleasure.
• Stills, Reviews, And Filmographies – Lots of behind the scenes stills and Filmographies of all the major players.
• DVD ROM Features – I am not a big fan of DVD ROM content but this disc has the entire screenplay tucked away in its DVD ROM hidey hole.

The Movie: 10/10
Released a few years after Quentin’s hugely successful movie Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown had a lot of hype to live up to. The story was taken from the book “Rum Punch” written by Elmore Leonard, a Blaxploitation writer who thought Tarantino would bring his vision to life on the silver screen like no other director could. Quentin went on to make, in my opinion, a film that equals Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. The film didn’t receive great praise on its debut, mainly because the critics were expecting another Pulp Fiction. But, if you look past any preconceived notions to compare Jackie Brown to Pulp Fiction, this movie is very rich and varied on a number of levels.

Jackie Brown, played by the sublime Pam Grier, is a forty-something air hostess who has a fairly mundane life. An associate, Ordell played by Sam Jackson, gets her into a situation she really should have never been involved with and an ongoing “Caper” ensues. Pam Grier plays the part amazingly as Quentin says in one of the documentary’s on the disc. “Pam was made for the part, I have been a fan for many years” This is one thing Quentin does especially well, he really knows how to choose a cast. Bringing back “Robert Forster” from the dead so to speak (the actor did straight to video movies for many years, including the terrible Maniac Cop 3) this movie really is his return to greatness. In fact, Forster was nominated for best actor in a supporting role for his portrayal of the calm bail bondsman Max Cherry. The rest of the cast are also top notch including a superb performance from Mr. Beetlejuice himself, Michael Keaton, as the cop in charge of the case.

A special note must be made of the dialogue in Jackie Brown. It is some of the best that Quentin has ever written. Tarantino’s movies are mostly dialog based. If you notice, in Pulp Fiction it’s not the action that sucks you in so much as the long intense conversations between the characters. The same should be said for Reservoir Dogs, which has the same intensity with very little action at all. Not only does Quentin write, he also Directs and Produces a man of many talents indeed.





Value: 10/10
Miramax/Disney really know how to do special editions when they set there mind’s to it. This two disc set features hours of special extras along with a nice Anamorphic transfer of the movie. You certainly get a lot of stuff for your money with this one. The disc can be found online for as little as $17.99.


Over All: 10/10
A superb movie, on a par with both of Quentin’s other blockbusters. The extras and excellent packaging are just icing on the cake. Shame Quentin didn’t do a commentary, maybe that will be reserved for the 20th anniversary DVD’s :)

Overall Score 10/10

The cover and simple chapter insert are average, nothing special, but not boring with the lovely face of Nicole Kidman and hypnotizing interesting dark eyes of Ben Chaplin.. oh I digress.


Extras & Features: 7/10

• Behind-the-Scenes Featurette – Brief. Very brief semi-documentary about the making of the film. Footage of the cast behind the scenes and background on how they had to learn their lines in Russian. That is the most interesting part of this tiny little featurette. Did they call it a featurette? I would call it a Mini-Semi-Featurette. I’m not trying to be difficult, but it is a let down to see such an attempt at an innovated approach to a story be followed up on the DVD by a detached, uninvolved addon. Director Jez Butterworth discusses the film, but not in the all encompassing way that directors are getting in the habit of doing. I really hope that there is a later release of a DVD with more substantial movie lover details.
• Something Stupid music video – Putting a music video on a DVD is still a mystery to me. I understand the connection between soundtracks, scores and the culture of music in film. I do not understand slapping a video, that is all over MTV, VH1 and every video countdown show on today’s 100′s of cable networks, onto a DVD as an extra. It’s like going shopping and having the store say, “hey you lucky customer, you get to use our carts to carry out all the products you are paying us for, and we’ll only charge you a small percentage.” Music videos are promotional, plain and simple. The fact that they add trailers for upcoming movies and DVDs is enough, we don’t need to be tricked into thinking that a video is a valuable addition to the DVD package. The purpose of a video is to promote a band or artist, to sell CD’s, not to explore the making of a feature film. Enough preaching. By the way it’s Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman singing a remake of the song, Something Stupid.

The Movie: 8/10
I was clueless when I sat down to watch this film. I had heard of it obviously via the media and mentions at awards ceremonies. I did not, however, know what the story was. When the characters began to unfold I was riveted. I love Ben Chaplin, he’s subtle and commands attention in a very quiet intense way. Kidman is a surprise in Birthday Girl. She is more relaxed, more natural than I’ve seen her in a long time. Since Moulin Rouge she has loosened up and become less “Nicole Kidman” and more involved in her character. She has, in the past, carried her own persona around with her as she floated from role to role. These days, she has a fuller range of emotions, reactions and believable interaction with other performers as one of the cast, not just as the star of the show.

I admire the cast for their display of amazing language art skills in Birthday Girl. None of them speak Russian, and yet, two French actors Vincent Cassiel and Mathieu Kassovich along with Australian born Kidman all give seemingly flawless full on Russian speaking performances. And it’s not just a few words here and there, they are involved in lengthy, emotionally charged exchanges that (to a non Russian speaking person) convinces you that they are fully fluent in the language they are speaking. Nothing could be farther from the truth, as you will see from the “Making of” featurette.

Ben Chaplin is wonderful as the uninspired bank employee looking for a woman with whom to share his life. His key objective is to find someone to communicate with, a lofty goal in any situation, but the predicament he gets into makes that a near impossibility.

There is a sense of originality in the first third of the film, and it stays on an interesting track, it just seems to lose some of the edge as the story progresses. Finding a good balance between what is exciting and what is interesting is a tough battle for a writer and director and unfortunately this story starts with the great advantage of being charming, mysterious and turns a bit predictable and too forgiving for what starts as a take no prisoners love story/drama/comedy/etc.

I don’t want to let many plot twists and turns out of the bag, those are for you to discover.

Even with the flaws and the sliding scale of staying interesting from start to finish, the overall film is a great change of pace from your common romance. Chaplin’s character does fall into a few common characteristics that don’t make him a stand out kind of guy, but Chaplin is what brings the role to life.

A lot of scenes are delicately balanced with excellent writing, quality performances and unobtrusive directing. Those are the more quiet, more elegant scenes that really bring this film to a notch above common Hollywood fodder.





Value: 6/10
I’ve already discussed the lack of extras, so I won’t repeat that diatribe. I will, however say that the more extras and more extensive commentaries a film company includes on a DVD the better value you are getting. The attention to detail like special packaging, exciting covers and inserts are what a lot of us like to see when we get that brand spanking new DVD. This item has none of the above. Not only are the features absent, but the price is a solid $20.00 from most sources. That is not a good value by any means. I have to knock off points for the fact that I would rather have spent $2.00 to rent it than the $20.00 to buy it. THAT is not a good value!


Over All: 7/10
If you are a movie buff, this is an excellent addition to your film collection. I personally loved the movie, the story is interesting and along with the directing style has a lot of original twists and turns. As a DVD it does not follow up with the exciting approach of the film. I am getting spoiled in the DVD arena and always hope to see the less mainstream filmmakers to make their DVD’s something as special as their films.

I would not say this is one to own if you are hoping for a lot of extras, a rental will do to see the movie and hopefully someday there will be another edition of the DVD that is a bit more spiced up for we extra/commentary junkies.

Overall Score 7/10

• Commentary – By all means, do not watch the movie with the commentary before you see it on its own. Jeunet is very revealing about technical trickery, hidden glitches and about plot eventualities. So, you will find out more than  you want to know about the story if you watch the commentary version first. By the end of this commentary you will have heard Jeunet say “This is my favorite scene.” about 20 times and he is well aware of it in his charming way he laughs and makes a joke out of the fact that he keeps praising so many scenes as the best of the movie. He loves his movies, mentioning others he has made several times, listening to him watch Amélie is an exciting example of his devotion of these, his children. He doesn’t hold back when he is unhappy about something however. He mentions many times when he would have liked to cut certain scenes because he wasn’t happy with them after watching the finished film. The commentary is Jeunet alone discussing every scene, almost every shot if he can talk fast enough. He points out many technical and more personal details along the way that fill in a lot of transparent effects or hidden bits and pieces that most of us would never even notice. Those details make the film that much more interesting and watchable the next time around. He seems to think he is demystifying the process, taking away from the “poetry” of the film. I disagree. The more I know about the unseen details the more I can see as I watch the film again. It is like discovering hidden treasure.
• The Look Of Amélie – An informative interview type short that explains a lot of how the film was shot and how Jeunet’s obsessive, self proclaimed, “control freak” style influences every aspect of production. Everything from sets to costumes to the placement of the smallest detail like where an actor’s foot is placed in a close up shot. Very well made, an excellent beginning of this long list of extras. With the added bonus of cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel explaining a lot of the more difficult visual challenges they faced to get the exquisite look of the film. It is obvious from the footage you see of Belbonnel and Jeunet working together that is is a collaborative effort. There is an explanation of how the film is digitally re-mastered in post production to add and design the color and lighting to be exactly what Jeunet envisioned. Since the visual style is a living breathing character in this film all on its own, it’s good to know the inspiration and techniques behind the overall atmosphere of Amélie’s world.
• Fantasies of Audrey Tautou – The title is a bit misleading. Audrey Tautou plays Amélie is an ultra charming French actress who obviously makes few mistakes now and then. This is just a collection of “bloopers” and how her real, infinitely playful and welcoming personality shines through in the final cut of the film.
• Q & A with Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet – As pretentious as I find film students, this is good incite into Jeunet’s own personality. He is funny and brings a certain refreshing honesty to this Q & A session. Because his English is a bit rusty, he has occasion to misunderstand a question or have to struggle with how to phrase an answer. But in true French style, you get the feeling that he’s not really bothered if we understand him fully or not. He has an approachable demeanor and is passionate about his filmmaking, that is where the real value of this extra gets the high marks.
• Q & A with Director and Cast – Of less interest to me, but if you are a cast enthusiast you will appreciate this brief Q & A with Jeunet and three of the cast members, including Audrey Tautou. Though the cast members do not do much of the talking, it’s yet another informative look into the behind-the-scenes goings on during filming. As with most of the extras Jeunet is the center of attention. He is an enthusiastic director/writer who loves to recount his motivations, techniques and in general, his love of his work.
• Auditions – A few short out takes from a few of the cast members’ audition tapes. Among them is Audrey Tautou, who you can tell immediately is going to charm the directing pants off of anyone making a movie about an eccentric young woman. In a later discussion, Jeunet says she is the first actress he auditioned after his originally choosen performer could not do the film. As he states often in these extras, destiny played a part in getting Amélie made, including the casting of Tautou. In her audition tape, you can see why he would not have to search any farther for his Amélie.
• Storyboard Comparisons – A promising extra, with great potential, but unfortunately it falls a little short in the quantity department. They take one of Jeunet’s storyboarded scenes and show the images along with the final filmed version. While I LOVE to see the art behind any film, they have only included the one scene. I guess I’m greedy. I would love to see the whole movie in comparison to how the director envisioned it originally with his own sketches and excellent storyboard drawings. One thing you come away from this DVD understanding is that Jeunet is a true control freak, as I stated earlier. His attention to detail is reflected in his compulsive pre-filming and story boarding of every single shot of the film. As important as that is to his process of filmmaking I would have loved to see more than one scene in the Storyboard Comparison feature.
• An Intimate Chat with Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet – A simple one shot of Jeunet in a chair discussing the process of how Amélie came to be. A wonderful look into a more intimate aspect of a film’s life. A director’s memories, reflections and overall experience of making a film is an amazing extra for those of us who see a movie as more than a finished product, but as a work of art that encompasses so much more than the couple of hours you spend watching it. I love this extra and I hope other directors/writers/producers take note of Jeunet’s effort to share his stories and thoughts with the audience.
• “Home Movies” Inside The Making Of Amélie - A few short hand held video sequences of the cast and crew behind-the-scenes. Not so much informative, but entertaining to see the bare bones of making a film.
• TV Spots: English & French – Not a lot to say about TV spots. The interesting thing about this extra is to see the differences between the American and French spots. There is an obviously different approach in each. I actually preferred the French spots as they were more intriguing. I’m afraid we Americans are more about flash and less about style. I’m glad they tossed these in along with the official Trailers. It’s one more part of an international film’s journey that we rarely get to see.
• Theatrical Trailer: U.S. & French – Basically the same as the TV Spots. A few trailers that you might not have had the chance to see, in French and English.
• Cast and Crew Filmographies – Lists of what the key players in the film have done up to this point in their careers.
• The Amélie Scrapbook – A lot of images, stills and proposed posters. You also get a chance to see a glimpse of the storyboard. I would have loved to have seen
• Original Language Track (Parisian French) – Fantastic! To hear the proper language track as opposed to an English dubbed version is a blessing. There are a lot of things that happen in the production of a film that can bug me, but dubbing in another language is the top of list. Amélie is a French, Parisian film. It should be seen and heard as just that. I don’t speak French, but reading the sub titles is only a slight distraction. Hearing English come out of French speaking mouths would completely ruin the feel of the film.

The Movie:
Stunning is a word that comes to my mind when I think about Amélie. All of the chatter about it, the Academy Award nominations, the reviews, everything pointed to greatness… so finally I have seen it for myself and all I can say is, I am in love with this film and its director! (sorry husband)

Jeunet captures an innocence and vitality in this world of Amélie Poulain where every moment is a work of art. Beyond the amazing writing and the brilliantly developed characters lie the beauty of seeing a film that dances on the screen like a living painting.

Amélie is a young woman who has been isolated by circumstance all her life. Her view of the world is fantastical and optimistic. She imagines her life in an idyllic, almost childlike way. Movies and television open the world to her in contrast to how the people around her are tangled in their own small lives, deprived of all the wonder Amélie sees beyond the streets of her city. Her struggles in life as an adult are few. She is not in constant drama like those around her. She is not a sad misfit. She is a character with whom you can identify with completely. She is seeing the world through the eyes of a wondering. She loves the colors and textures of life and the excitement and intrigue of human interaction. Even the smallest things give her pleasure like picking up a pebble, rubbing it and putting it in her pocket. She savors the smallest details that seem to slip past everyone else.

Her only challenge is being alone. She longs for a companion. You never feel she “needs a man”, she simply has a place in her heart for someone who understands her and is on that same amazing plain of existence as her. A place where life is succulent and all things are possible.

She finds a young man for whom she has a great curiosity, Nino. He collects torn bits of photos that people toss away around photo machines in public places. This is sign that this is the one she is destined to be with. He has the same affection for the mysteries of people and life as she does. A particularly playful and satisfying part of her story is the game of tag she plays with Nino before she even meets him. Their meeting must be as colorful and full of mystery as her view of life. Even though she is brimming with confidence and self assuredness, ultimately she is afraid of what might happen when she meets Nino. Will she be rejected, will it live up to her expectations? Sometimes real REAL life does not match her fantasy of things are. She is reluctant to simply walk up and introduce herself, so she invents a “game” of sorts to distance herself while letting him know exactly what he might be getting into when he meets the woman who is gently taunting him.

Among the other characters who surround Amélie is her father, a lonely, isolated man obsessed with his botanic tribute to his late wife and being alone, afraid to live the dreams he once had. She tries to open his world along the way. The people at the cafe where she works are interesting and in need of Amélie’s special touch. Her neighbors and the people she encounters everyday are subject to her new quest to change the world. She sees sadness, pain and emotional suffering that she takes it upon herself to rid their lives of, in her own special ways. But, all things do not always work out the way Amélie imagines they will, that adds to the compassion you feel for her in her quest for Nino. When disappointment comes around, it’s not a failure, it’s confirmation that living her own life, in her own way is the only path to happiness.

I highly HIGHLY recommend this film. I have been a movie lover all my life and sometimes I am in a lull with enthusiasm. There are periods when I see a lot of movies that keep me simply sustained in my flick addiction.. AND THEN, along comes something like Amélie and I am rejuvenated! Movies are art, and this one is the perfect example. Stylistic, a feast for the eyes, this is a definite DVD purchase in the Hayes home!





Value:
I am always looking for bargain DVD’s that are not bargain quality, if you know what I mean. This DVD box is lovely and I give credit where credit is due, the quality of the packaging is top notch. The extras are a solid bonus and the movie, of course, is a masterpiece, SO when you can get all that for at or less than 20 bucks, that is added value in my book. It could well have been an expensive release for the going collector’s rate of around $30, but they have kept it well in range of any DVD fan’s budget.


Over All:
I hate to disappoint all of you critics out there by offering up two 10 rated DVD’s in a row, but I can’t help myself. I tried and tried to find faults with the Amélie DVD and I simply couldn’t find anything to subtract points for. The extras are excellent, the packaging is top notch, the movie is superb, etc. The worse thing I can say, and  believe me it ain’t that bad, is that the Making Of feature would be even better if it was longer and included more of the technical aspects of the special effects and post production enhancements. Other than that, I find nothing to take away from the perfect score.

A fantastic addition to a DVD collection.

Overall Score 10/10

As for the menus, not much here either.  Pretty basic, with the shot of Seagal on the top half of the screen, and live actions moments from the movie on the bottom.  At least it is not a static menu, but it isn’t great.


Features: 1/10

• Theatrical Trailer- You are reading this correctly.  There is a theatrical trailer included on the DVD, and that is the full extent of the features included on the disk.  Granted I am not sure that I would appreciate a whole bunch of interviews and documentaries on this type of disk, but Steven Seagal wrote the movie, so perhaps a little short about how he did it, and his motivation would be appropriate.  Note to studios, A trailer is not a “feature” and previews for other movies don’t count either.  They are called advertising.

The Movie: 2/10
I remember a time when action movies and action heroes ruled the world.  Arnold, Sly, Jean-Claude and Steven Seagal were bankable stars.  The movies were at least watchable, mainly because we didn’t know any better, and it was fun to see the good guys pummel the bad guys into oblivion.  Those were the days when I was a much younger lad, and my expectations and taste in movies were low.  Those days for me are sadly gone for good.  Don’t get me wrong, I l like action as much as the next guy (or gal), but action movies have evolved.  Kill Switch has not.

Kill Switch is the latest straight to DVD release by (former?) action superstar Steven Seagal.  Seagal has continued to make the same kind of action movies that he made back in the 1990′s.  Apparently Seagal has taken on more than merely acting in the movies, as he now writes and directs many of his films.  Kill Switch is written by Seagal, and of course he is the main hero, Jacob King, who we are told was a witness to his twin brother’s murder at the hands of a deranged killer when he was young.  Witnessing this murder as a child still haunts King, and it drives him in his current occupation, which is a homicide detective in Memphis.  Seagal is an unorthodox cop who spares nothing to catch the bad guy, as we are shown again and again and again.  He has no regard for “back-up” and he thinks nothing of beating the living daylights out of anyone who refuses to even answer his questions.  King beats answers out of witnesses and proceeds to maim anyone who he feels is guilty of a crime.  King is kind of a one-man vigilante whose behavior is tolerated by the force due to his high success rate.

Seagal attempts a southern accent that borders on funny, as he attempts to pass himself off as a real southerner.  Many times in the movie he throws out a “lawd have Mercy” line that left me cringing.  Basically Seagal is playing the same character he always plays, but this time he is a southerner with a bad accent.

King ultimately sets out to find a serial killer named Lazerus, who taunts King and the police by leaving clues on or near his murder victims.  King has a partner, played by Chris Thomas King, who is not too bad as detective Storm Anderson.  About the best acting job in the movie is Lazerus, the psycho-path, who is played by Michael Filipowich.  The rest of the cast is so generic that it isn’t really worth mentioning, which I am not sure is the result of a poor script, or just bad acting.  Heck, even the late, always engaging Isaac Hayes fails to be believable as the coroner who helps King unravel the identity of Lazerus.  Ultimately things get personal when Lazerus targets people that are associated with King when king turns up the heat.

Kill Switch is a movie that I feel I have seen before.  The acting is not good, the story is not fully fleshed out, and there is a lot of fighting.  So much so that they include numerous shots of the same thing, like King throwing a bad guy out of a window, which honestly must have been shown 5 or 6 different times from different angles.   The fight scenes are long, and over the top, with an MTV style of quick close-up shots, mixed in with Seagal, not breathing heavy after a supposed 5 minute fight, staring down the camera, which brings me to another issue – stunt doubles.  Apparently Seagal is no longer the action hero that he used to be, which is understandable in 2008, but the use of stunt doubles for him fighting was so bad that it was comical.

All in all I was not impressed, and about the only good things going for Kill Switch were the setting and the music, which really brought home the southern feel of the movie.  The rest was just not for me. 

Audio & Video: 6/10
Nothing about the video here is bad, but it doesn’t stand out either.  Kill Switch is presented in 1:85:1 anamorphic wide screen.  The colors are decent and the blacks are pretty solid.

Audio is in 5.1 Surround Sound, and is pretty balanced.  the sound effects in the fight scenes are a little overdone, but expected.  The music is evenly done, and I have to add that the music itself (blues stuff) gives the film a real southern feeling.  It was actually well done, until Seagal spoke in his Memphis accent, which just killed the feel of the movie for me.

Value: 2/10
When I told people that I was reviewing a new Steven Seagal movie, I got blank stares and grimaces instead of excited faces and questions.  Seagal may still have an audience, and they may still enjoy his movies, but this one is a hard pill to swallow.  You have seen this movie before, and there is no real reason to see it done again, with less passion.  for a movie with Seagal that is many times better than Kill Switch, go rent Marked for Death.  It is cheesy and action-packed, but it was made in 1990, when Seagal was at the top of his game.  Kill Switch is dead.

Overall Score 3/10

The menus are nice and modern, and were pretty decent.  The screen rotates and twists and presents different clips form the film in black and white, with the menu choices in the middle.  It looked very nice, and it sure beat any static menus that I have seen lately.  Interestingly, at the very beginning of the menus sequence, there is a screen with both Philip and Erik, which seems more appropriate than the cover shot of Philip and Kira.

Features: 7/10

• Casting Reprise – This short feature includes director Joachim Trier discussing the various decisions that went into getting the right cast for Reprise.  He talks about getting the relationships right, and watching them develop between the actors before they ever were put together on film.  This short is just over 7 minutes long, and is fun to watch.  It includes interviews with the actors themselves, discussing the casting process.
• All in Trier’s Details- This is another short piece that includes Joachim Trier’s views on the movie itself, from the writing of the script to the feel of the movie that he was trying to portray.  He discusses the cinematography, the editing, and the people who were involved in making Reprise look and feel like Trier imagined it to be.
• Anecdotes- Trier and Eskil Vogt, who both wrote the film, sit down to discuss the creation of Reprise.  the two were unlikely friends who joined up in school to create the story for Reprise.  They go on to discuss how various events in real life came to be parts of their story for the movie.  Pretty interesting view of how the story came to be made.
• Love’s Not Easy- This is a very interesting short about making the one sex scene that was in Reprise.  It gives a behind the scenes view of just how difficult it can be to get a scene to come across as passionate and real, and just what Trier wanted the scene to look and feel like.  It kind of takes the magic out of the scene in my  opinion, but it is a fascinating watch.
• Deleted Scenes – This is pretty self explanatory really.  There are about 12 scenes that were either deleted totally or shown in their expanded versions.
• So Sorry- This is a funny little bit about how Norwegians have been accused of using the English word “sorry” too much in their everyday lexicon.  It is a really short bit where the actors are shown blurting out “sorry” either after messing up lines or actually in the movie itself (remember, the entire film is in Norwegian with English or Spanish subtitles).  Very funny.

Overall not a bad set of extras.  There is no commentary feature here, but that is to be expected as it would have had to have been subtitled.  Short and sweet features though, and very watchable.





The Movie: 8/10
I liked Reprise quite a a bit.  It is an engaging, funny and dark movie all at the same time.  Reprise follows the paths of two twenty-something Norwegian males as they begin their journey to become writers.  The movie starts off with Philip and Erik standing next to a mail post box, getting ready to send off their manuscripts for approval.  Basically they are both saying that things will change for them when they take this next step, and the rest of the movie follows their lives as their quest to become published becomes reality.

In an interesting technique, the movie’s narrator begins to describe the path that the two will take, as the scenes portray the acts the narrator describes, but then changes.  It is a strange mix of flashback and rewrite, as the tale morphs right on screen to describe the way the two individuals will meet in the future to write a book together.  The narrator reforms the story as the movie follows, creating a strange disassociation with the characters from the start of the movie.  I was a bit concerned that the entire movie would be presented this way, which could possibly make it difficult to empathize with the characters themselves, but soon after the first few scenes of the movie, a more static kind of storytelling emerges.

Philip’s manuscript is instantly published, but he ends up struggling with the notoriety and an obsessive relationship with his girlfriend Kira before suffering a mental breakdown.  Interestingly Erik and friends travel to get Philip out of the psychiatric hospital before we see what actually happened to Philip.  this anachronistic technique is used at various parts of the film, and follows with the disjointed presentation at the beginning of Reprise.  Philip struggles to find the desire to ever right again, and he struggles with his feelings for Kira and his own suicidal tendencies.

Erik’s first manuscript is rejected, and we are told by the narrator that Erik is struggling with the idea that he is not talented enough to actually get published.  The story shows how both Philip and Erik, but especially Erik, view fellow Norwegian writer Sten Egil Dahl as their idol.  The two young writers even go so far as to semi-stalk the older recluse, before finally meeting the legend.  Erik finally sees his dream realized only to have his work trashed in the newspapers, thereby feeding his insecurities as an author.

Reprise is an interesting mix of storytelling and acting.  The acting is superb by this young cast, and the relationships are gritty and real.  The two authors have friends that are typical for twenty year-olds, who are funny and can be biting.  They struggle with the idea of girlfriends and music, and they basically are your average college age guys, who drink too much and view life as immature adults would.  The story itself is presented in a refreshing, if not somewhat maddening way, with the story changing right before your eyes.  While Reprise is not for everyone, it was a story that I really found myself sucked into, and I wanted to see what happens to these characters.  While I am positive my wife would state that the movie was incredibly slow, I found it entertaining and engaging.  I have to note that the movie itself was an official selection at both the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals, which is never a bad thing.  Miramax really  has a talent of bringing quirky, new movies to the mainstream.





Audio & Video: 7/10
I thought the video was well done.  There was nothing spectacular, and the way that the film was shot didn’t lend itself to super dramatic, high definition scenes, but overall the video was decent.  There is not a lot of color used in Reprise, and the stark feeling of Oslo is very reminiscent of other European cities (I felt like they were walking down streets in Amsterdam for half of the movie).  The video is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen, and is overall very nice.

The audio was presented in 5.1 Surround Sound, but I honestly felt that it was almost exclusively front heavy.  There really was not much use for the surround speakers, outside of a very few music scenes.  It was not bad, but it felt sparse at times, and maybe a bit muddled in parts.  I do have to comment on something that I noticed throughout the film that was really refreshing, which was the use of silence.  Reprise had many scenes that were intensified by the use of no sound at all.  Rarely do you see moments in movies where the silence is presented in such a fashion.  It was both new and extremely gripping at the same time.  It was a technique that really worked, and I really noticed it.


Value: 6/10
Reprise is not a fit for everyone.  It is an intellectual story about two friends who want to be authors, but who have different ideas about how to achieve their goal.  It obviously is a European movie, and it is subtitled, which can infuriate some people.  It is a slow film in areas, and it focuses on the relationships of the characters, without much in the way of action.  That being said, it is a great story about people, and their interactions and problems.  The acting was excellent, which really made it seem as if this was a group of friends who were laying out their lives in front of the camera for us to view.  If you are okay with a slower paced euro film (think Once with less guitars) then you may well enjoy Reprise for the story and character development.  It is a new take on the coming of age film, with intellect and style that may not appeal to everyone, but will definitely hit home with some.  I can’t see people watching this over and over again, but it is definitely worth a look in my opinion.

Overall Score 7/10

I know it’s about this group of people, but let’s be honest folks, we watch for the intergalactic activity, aliens, weird stuff in the universe. There’s none of that to be found on this cover. What a missed opportunity. They could have even gone the cool minimalistic route with something mysterious, but no, they chose the after school special poster design.

The discs each have the face of one of the team, which is pretty cool, but not enough to win me over in the packaging department. The menus suffer from the same blandness, blah. This is a great show people, it deserves some groovy packaging!


Features: 6/10

• Deleted Scenes - I don’t think I enjoy deleted scenes from TV shows….nope, I don’t. There is something succinct and to the point about an hour long drama/sci-fi episode. The things that were cut out can be left to the archives and memories of the people who were in them, but I’m not that interested. If you are a big Owen fan, there is a longer scene with him, so that might be worth a button press for some people.
• Outtakes - I like to keep these people in the world they live in. When I see them goof up or crack up laughing, well, my whole world comes crashing down on me. Keep the illusion alive, don’t watch the outtakes!!
• The Life & Death Of Captain Jack - This is a time line of the odd living and dying of our Jack. He’s been around, and around, and around, and around.
• Torchwood Declassified -Those Brits like their companion shows!! This is the one that goes with Torchwood.  A weekly look behind the scenes and making of the show, but I say “keep the illusion alive!!” Declassifying everything is so sad.

Episodes:
1 – Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang – Jack’s past comes back to haunt him, but doesn’t it always? Captain John Hart hits the crew with a plot to blow up the city. He’s got a crazy bomb connected to his DNA and they need to help him save everyone. This isn’t one of the more memorable episodes now looking back, but it was a great way to start the new season. We get a new slightly hyped up version of each lead character, and there is no denying that Jack is the head of the family.

2 – Sleeper – I like the episodes that involve average people getting caught up in the alien wars that are all around. This one has average humans with deadly alien agents implanted in them and set to turn ithem into weapons upon the right command. It all illudes to a bigger conspiracy, which is always interesting. It is one of the times when Gwen is reminded of the kind of person she used to be, caring about individuals instead of always looking past them at the bigger alien invasion, world threatening scenarios.

3 – To The Last Man – I think this is one of my favorites of the season. A man has been frozen and is brought back to the world of the thawed once a year to save the world. Don’t you just love it! This time Tosh is in love, unfortunately with the guy who is mostly kept in the freezer drawer. It’s got a cool sequence of time dimensions criss crossing each other, and some truly creepy scenes where the crew are in the present, but are seen in the past in a now abandoned hospital. Empty old hospitals are always good for some creep factor.

4 – Meat – Did I say #3 was one of my favorites? Well, so is this one. A meat truck crashes on the highway. It’s Rhys’s company so he gets involved. The meat registers some alien factor and the team go to investigate. What they find is an alien creature being kept alive cruely and slowly butchered by some hoodlums in a warehouse and sold off as so much cheap beef. As if that’s not big enough, Rhys finds out the truth about Torchwood. By the way, they should do a new episode where the people who ate the meat in England turn into some kind of alien zombies or something. Ok, it’s a good thing I don’t write for BBC.

5 – Adam – We meet Adam, an old and treasured member of the team, or is he. Everyone seems convinced that he’s been around for a while. Tosh is in love with him, so what’s going on? This guy lives off your memories and in their place puts some new ones so he can hang around long enough to stay alive. Gwen can’t remember Rhys, and Jack is having flashes of his youth and his younger brother.

6 – Reset – Martha Jones appears and becomes a specimen in a big pharmaceutical company where they are trying to cure every disease known to mankind, or are they? I’ll be honest, even though I really like Martha, this episode isn’t at the top of my list. It’s got a few too many lackies and the threat doesn’t feel big enough to register on the “end of the world” scale. I like the “end of the world” scenarios the best.

7 – Dead Man Walking – Oh that damn ressurection glove!! First it causes an ex-team member to be a murderer, and now it’s bringing Owen only halfway back to life. That’s right our Owen becomes a living dead, can’t die, not alive. He’s not immortal like Jack. He is dead, but alive. It’s an excellent episode with a lot of contemplative moments as he tries to figure out what his life is really about.

8 – A Day In The Death – Remember, Owen is dead but alive. Now he wants to get some kind of assurance that he’s not wasted his life. He want’s to find meaning in his life. He becomes a useful tool to the team since he can go into a secure building past the heat sensors without being detected.

9 – Something Borrowed – Gwen and Rhys are getting married. Then again, she does work at a job that includes saving the world and many others from evil or simply dangerous alien species. Oh, I love shapeshifters. I don’t care if every Sci-Fi show and movie use the idea. It’s cool, especially when they are the bad guys.

10 – From Out Of The Rain – Another one of my top picks of the season. An old movie theater reopens and some restoration of antique films is being done. There are celluloid creatures lying in the dark waiting to be brought back to the world of the 3 dimensional. There is a price to pay though, they have a little bottle thingy that can trap a person between life and death. It’s got a certain creepy factor I love. Some old clips of movies that even show Jack as a young traveling circus kind of performer. It’s always fun to dig into Jack’s past.

11 – Adrift – The Rift isn’t a clean and tidy place. Some people get swashled back and forth in space and time. When the come out the other side they are never the same. This is what Gwen finds out when she investigates a missing teenager’s disappearance. I like this one a lot. It’s got some of what could be considered more “realistic” (if you can use that word in this genre) aspects of what a rift like the one in Cardiff would do to ordinary folks who aren’t immortal or seasoned like Jack or his crew.

12 – Fragments – Ahh, the Flashback, episode. We meet the team as they join Torchwood. They have all been tricked and attacked, on the brink of death as we explore their pasts and how they became Jack’s current team extraordinaire.

13 – Exit Wounds – I will not spoil the ending for you. If you haven’t seen this season don’t skip to the end. You have to see them all to appreciate how they wrap up this chapter of their stories. Let’s just say that Captain Hart shows up again, Jack gets put in a more vulnerable position than we have ever seen him, there’s lots of time travel, and when it’s over you will want to immediately go back and watch the whole season again. All this will be followed quickly by a very strong desire to see the new season.


The Show Overall: 9/10
I’m a huge fan of this show. I don’t proclaim that for many TV shows, trust me on this. I’m a M*A*S*H, WKRP in Cinncinnati, Cheers, Bob Newhart, and Antiques Roadshow fan. I don’t spread my TV love too thin. I go for the classics and I do believe Torchwood is a classic. The characters are interesting beyond the standard ensemble formula. I am a sucker for immortality so Jack being unkillable and then Owen being undead, ohhhh it’s all good stuff for me.

Gwen is compelling as the most ‘average Jane citizen’ of the crew. Her relationship with Rhys took a while for me to care about, but now I do and it’s a big part of the show. Toshika is the quiet wonder of the group. She’s brave beyond belief and loyal to a fault. Owen is a little too predictable sometimes, but he’s got some complexities that make me keep wanting to find out more.

Ianto Jones, well, come on. He’s just sexy and mysterious. He did have that cyber-girlfriend in the first season, but no one is perfect. He’s a perfect balance for Jack or as a character on his own. I would like to see The Life and Times of Ianto Jones. In the words of Less Nessman, “ewwwwwe wouldn’t that be nice.”

Season 2 is an exciting and very satisfying installment of this newcomer to the Sci-Fi fantasy world. Every episode is substantial, and makes me feel like I’ve really been on an adventure with these fine folks, and aliens of the cosmos. There isn’t one story that didn’t captivate me completely. In fact, while I’m watching Torchwood I’m consumed by it completely. I love that sensation. It’s one of the few TV shows in the past few years that give me that tunnel vision, which is everything else disappears, the living room, the couch, the world, and I am and observer in the alternate reality of Cardiff, Wales. I looked forward to it every week, and now I am looking forward to a whole new season.





Value: 5/10
The show is fantastic. The extras are middle of the road. The packaging is kind of boring. So, what is the real value here? You get 13 episodes of a great TV loving experience. That’s worth something, but not $50-$60. If you found this laying around for $30 I say go for it. Remember, it was free on TV. All they did was slap it on some DVD’s and put them in a box. They got their cash from the millions of TV licenses they make the British folks pay. Why do people think TV series are worth so much? I mean, yea, they aren’t getting the commercial dollars, but for me, if the price is more than my monthly cable bill, it’s too too much for just one show. Even one as excellent and re watchable as Torchwood.

Overall Score 8/10

Torchwood The Complete Second Series Is Released On DVD In North America On 09/16/08

• First commentary by Jackie West, Steve Johnson, John Sullivan, Ian Hunter & Matthew Gratzner and second Commentary by Trevor Albert, Peta Wilson, Jason Flemying, Tony Curran and Shane West – Commentaries are a wonderful thing. I love to hear any extra info that is offered up in the discussion. Steve Johnson, with his perpetually blocked sinuses, talks about the origins of the story and how he took some liberties with the characters and their individual legends. Some of the performers talk about what it’s like to work with Sean Connery, mostly intimidation and fear, but ultimately they all seem to enjoy it after the initial shock of working with the Scottish icon.
• Making-Of Featurette – This is a good docu-feature, but it’s way to brief. For all that this movie brings to the screen, I would love to have tons more background information about the characters, their legends and how they all came to be who they are. I would love to have had an extra docu-feature that focused on the authors of each novel in which the extraordinary folks became celebrated  fictional history figures. As for the positives of this Making-Of Featurette, it does show the huge undertaking of making Hyde a real life creature rather than CGI. It also shows how they used miniatures to create most of the special effects that are quite stunning. These two things redeem this bonus material somewhat, but it’s still just not enough to feed my hunger for more more more more behind the scenes stuff.
• 12 Deleted Scenes – A few extended version of scenes that are in the movie don’t really do much for me. I appreciate the effort, but in the end, these are not very valuable to fill in any gaps in the finished product. They didn’t polish the scenes so the special effects are not there to finish off the look of each deleted scene.

Movie: 8/10
I’m not a reader of history novels, heck I’m not much of a reader at all. Admittedly I should have read all those assigned books back in college, but I didn’t. So, what do I do, I watch movies to fill in the gaps. Did you roll your eyes at the last comment? I don’t blame you. I will make an effort to read more, I promise. However, in the meantime I shall continue my education on such literary matters by watching flicks like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Tom Sawyer makes an appearance, as the token American legend. Allen Quartermain, the adventurer and treasure hunter is the leader of the pack. Mina Harker, wife of the ill-fated Jonathan Harker from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, takes her place as the sexy scientist/vampire. Captain Nemo, creator and chief of the Nautilus in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a strong figure of a man. He does not draw a gun but rather uses martial arts and sword wielding skills to fight his foes. I’m not clear about Nemo’s past, but it is eluded to that he has been a pirate and maybe not done some very nice things before he meets up with the League. Never mind a tainted past though, all of our heroes have flaws, some bigger than others.

Dr. Jekyll lurks in the darkness of his mind as his alter ego Mr. Hyde terrorizes the rooftops of Paris only to be reluctantly captured and drawn into the league. A Mr. Hyde that is different from what we conventionally think of when we imagine the dual personalities of the scientist. His bulk, almost hulkish (but without the crappy CGI and green skin) makes his physical presence so much more powerful than simply adding some evil eye brows and ugly teeth to the actor. They worked very hard to develop a full body suit that would look believable, and I truly think it works extremely well. I like the Dr. Jekyll story, I always have. The idea that a meek mannered man has to concoct a formula to let out the beast within because he is too afraid to express himself as himself. It’s a classic self loathing story that appeals to me for some reason. I would say I’m biased and that I enjoyed seeing Jekyll as part of this motley crew.

What is conventional anyway? I think of the invisible man as a tortured soul who wanders around with a bitter cynical attitude, angry at the world for what he has become. Why do I think that? Who knows. I like the invisible man in this movie, he’s a smart ass. He’s quick with a one liner (which I normally despise) and ends up being somewhat comical. I liked his persona to a degree only because it was not what I expected and surprises in movies are usually a very good thing these days. There are too many conventional characters, too much expected dialogue and not enough originality.

What menace is big enough, dangerous enough, threatening enough to bring these talented folks together? That is for you to find out you watch the film, but I will say it’s one of those bigger than life, conquer the world kind of things. Conquering the world, or at least dominating it one way or another is not a new way for the bad guys to get their rocks off, but when you pull elements from these amazing historic novels you get something exciting, interesting, and more innovative twists to any diabolical plans that are drummed up by the darker characters of our literary past.

I really liked this movie. I know it has it’s flaws, so what. The special effects were excellent. The characters are wonderful and brought to us through somewhat basic, but convincing performances by the cast. I especially enjoyed Captain Nemo and his calm demeanor, not to mention his fantastic Nautilus. Now THAT is a submarine! Even as it’s squeezing through the canals of Venice I’m convinced that it’s 100% real, bigger than life. I’m a sucker for big machinery.

Look for adventure, look for fun, look for some exciting scenes, and expect a lot of obscure references, this movie has all that and more. I’m a bit biased I suppose. I have to admit that I think the whole concept is brilliant. To take these Victorian “hero” types and put them together is just such a great idea. I vow to read more, learn more and to study up more on the classics. Not because a movie brought them to my attention, but because of their amazing stories. A man who is eternally youthful whose vices and age only affect a painting of him, now that’s a cool story. As his portrait image decays and becomes more and more horrific, he remains young, never suffering the effects of his actions or of the passing years. Dorian Grey is the man in the story and in the movie they have taken it to another level making him immortal, impervious to harm, very cool.





Value: 6/10
Take the time to rent this one but I don’t recommend buying the DVD. I was disappointed with the extras and there are the occasional artifact’s. The blockies that happen on some DVD’s can be the result of specs required by the studio, so the author is not responsible. I have been informed that because of a lack luster response to the movie in the US the studio probably opted to do the DVD as inexpensively as possible. The people who did the DVD did a great job with what they had to work with. It’s a great flick to have fun with, but unless they bring out a special edition for the US (like they have done in other countries), I would say make a trip to Blockbuster or surf to Netflix instead of adding this release to your collection just yet.

Overall Score 7/10

• Behind-the-Scenes Special – Woe is me, let me count the ways!! I can’t tell you how psyched up I am after seeing a really good movie, either in the theater or on DVD. When it’s at the theater I just want to talk about it and think about it for hours. When it’s a DVD I want to dig into the extras and find out all the juicy details, behind the scenes and all that good stuff. We finished  the movie and went straight to the “behind-the-scenes” featurette and before I knew it, it was over. It lasted all but about ten minutes and it was not really that interesting, just to add insult to injury. This movie was lowish budget, yes, but come on people give us something more than a cable blurb and pretend it’s a DVD extra.
• Commentary with Writer/Director Billy Bob Thornton, Co-Producer Bruce Heller and Producer Robert Salerno – Billy Bob Thornton seems to be very serious about the craft and process of making his films but now and then he busts into a funny story about things that happen on the set. From the things he says he has great respect for the people he works with, which tames down a more raucous public perception of him. Being the writer, director, and lead character his comments really fill in any tid bits of information a fan of the movie would be wanting.
• Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary – A couple of these are just extended versions of scenes with a few seconds cut out here and there to save time. But there is one whole scene that brings a huge resolution to one character’s story in the movie. This whole scene was cut, per the studio apparently. Thornton has a bit of resentment in his voice as he explains many times that the studios cut out “the best stuff”.  It’s obvious that this particular scene should have been left in, but hey, big studio vs. little movie fan..blah
• The Return of Karl – Karl from Slingblade makes a return appearance in a scene featuring Billy Bob and three cast members from Daddy and Them. It’s a cool scene where Thornton, as Karl comes into the living room of the set we have just seen on Daddy and Them and has a conversation with some of the performers in character. It’s a simple exchange but Thornton is fully Karl with the outfit, make up and the whole bit. Now THAT is a cool extra to put on a DVD!!

Picture & Sound: 9/10
No glitches or problems with the picture quality or the sound. I often expect a problem with movies that have a lot of low sound dialogue ridden scenes. Sometimes the sound is not balanced or mixed well, or whatever you call it and the voices end up being tooooo low while the score dominates, but this DVD played just right with no need to adjust the volume when the quieter scenes came around.


The Movie: 9/10
Do we even know what a dysfunctional family is these days? I think back in the 90′s people had some pretentious definition of a family that was not “healthy” and everybody bought into it. I say no family is fully functional so the group we meet in Daddy & Them may be extreme, but very common.

There is a specific theme that is woven through the movie, but I was drawn to so many amazing details in the story and in the characters it’s hard for me to narrow it down to a central “moral to the story”. There is one more obvious observation that Thornton, as the writer, has hit upon that stands out to me.

It doesn’t fully crystallize until near the end of the film, but it’s hinted at throughout the story. It centers around the realization many of us make at some point that our life is not what we want and we are not the person we want to be. This comes to the surface when a couple of characters, including Thornton’s, discover that their family and their circumstance is almost a prison that keeps them locked away from the life they want.

It sounds too deep and daunting to be a comedy, but the writing is so clever and brave, not to mention the way the performers portray all of the quirky characters, (including Thornton) it all comes together perfectly.

I can guarantee that if you are not into all that self realization stuff, you will be overwhelmingly distracted and entertained by the very funny dialogue and oh-so interesting characters. There are enough lively arguments, petty fights, and strained conversations that fly between the family members to keep even the shallowest of movie watchers occupied.

This is a story punctuated by fantastic writing and perfect performances. With people like Andy Griffith, Laura Dern, Diane Ladd, Billy Bob Thornton, John Prine and all the rest, it would be hard to find any flaws. There are scenes with Andy Griffith that are just wonderful. He sits talking with a man in a wheelchair at some point and I was really impressed that after all these decades his acting style and performance was still sharp and spot on.

Laura Dern is absolutely wonderful. I haven’t ever been a huge fan of hers. Not to be offensive or anything I always like seeing her in movies, but this time she jumps off the screen with so much charisma and emotion that I want to go back and re-watch other movies she’s in just so I can appreciate her body of work from a new perspective.

Brenda Blethen, the token English woman in the family is always incredible and this time she is up against a bunch of somewhat basic country American folks who don’t want to see much value in her Psychological observations. She has married into this family who contrast her character so severely it would have been easy to let that dynamic dominate the scenes in a farcical way, but she is so classy and refined as a performer that it’s poignant rather than comical most of the time. When she needs to add that comic element she does it just right. When she is meant to expose more of the underlying emotional tugs of war going on in the other characters it’s just as convincing and vital to the eventual evolution of this family.

I could go on and on about the performances in this movie, but it might get lost on those of you who skip those parts of a review. Just know this, Daddy & Them is one of those movies that if you are a lover of good performances you will be sad to see it end.

The writing is just as impressive as Thornton tosses in every kind of quirk a family of this type can have. From the comical scene of the women of the family watching the men shoot their guns, as if that is a spectator sport, to the stunning gentleness of Laura Dern’s character as she sits in the dark and tells her husband quietly and softly that she likes being awake when everyone else is asleep because nothing can get her or hurt her.

Those moments are, dare I say, touching, but in a good way. There are so many times that the characters expose themselves emotionally to one another either through casual comments or full on confrontations. Two scenes that come to mind are when Uncle Hazel’s accuser comes to the house “to talk to someone” and when the lawyers’ (Curtis and Affleck) marriage comes to an uncomfortable end at a picnic. As you watch you can’t help but think of people you know in real life who are reflected in the story.

That’s what I like most about this movie. It digs deep enough into personal relationships, marriage, father to son, sister to sister, mother to daughter, in-law to spouse’s family, etc., that you will find people you know and relate to the story instantly. On the other hand, it’s really just skimming the surface because the issues that are uncovered are deep rooted and extensive which cannot be resolved in a two hour movie. If you were trying to fix all of the dysfunctions of this or any family it would either be too painful, boring or too long to squeeze into a film at all.

It’s just a great story and wonderful movie, in case you couldn’t tell by my raving on and on..haha Don’t look for slapstick comedy like Waking up in Reno, and don’t think it’s as serious or as dark as Slingblade. Just go into it knowing that in a perfect world this is a movie that should be nominated for so many Academy Awards, but it has slipped through the cracks and gets overlooked for whatever reasons.


Value: 7/10
Ok, this is a lower budget movie. They spent only around 6,000,000 to make it and I suppose that translates into a low DVD budget as a result of limited funds…but come on people! We LOVE to hear more from people like Thornton about what inspires them to write, direct, act, etc. I would have loved to see more behind the scenes, more about how the story was written, and even (being greedy like I am) to see interviews with not only Thornton, but with other cast and crew describing the experience of making this film.

The lack of extras is a really difficult thing for me to resolve when I want to recommend this movie to so many people. I want you to have it on your DVD shelf simply because it’s a kick ass movie and I think it’s a modern day classic. I just can’t say go out and buy it with a clean conscience. For $20.00 I would expect more extras, simple as that.  It’s not a good price for what you get. I would tell everyone from my mom to people I work with to buy this one if only the price were in the $10-$12 range.

Go ahead, comment on how they can’t charge that little of an amount and still make money. Go ahead and tell me I’m being too picky or cheap. Go ahead and let me know that I do not understand the movie biz and how it all works, with that I agree. But they do not know how my checkbook works. If I find something I really really love and it’s reasonable priced, I will buy it. If I love something but it’s too expensive…it stays on the store shelf gathering dust. It’s a good system.

I don’t think my refusal to buy pricey DVD’s will ever have any impact on the movie industry. I just hope I’m not alone in the world when I say that some DVD’s should not be priced solely to reflect how many they plan to press/sell, but also considering the amount of content they include. I pay 60 cents at McDonald’s for a plain hamburger because it’s a tiny little thing that is basically worth 60 cents. I pay $4.00 for a Classic Triple Wendy’s cheeseburger, because it’s a TRIPLE burger. I would like to think that everything can be boiled down to “you get what you pay for”, but when it comes to DVD’s, you might get a fantastic movie like Daddy and Them only to be let down by the lack of content on the DVD and still have to pay the extra cash.

Overall Score 8/10

Blackmail is My Life has one of those covers that I really like, but for simple reasons. It has a pulp kind of comic book/indie art look to it which is just plain cool. The first official thing that caught my eye is that they used an image of the lead character with an actual facial expression that implies something of the story. A man holding some money and a gun with a very satisfied, if slightly surprised, look on his face. It might sound like a small detail, but a picture of him with no expression, just being the ‘star’ of the film would have been so utterly uninteresting. I would like to think they used this image of him on purpose to shed some light on the character, a hint of what this guy is all about. That gives some life to the cover making it more dynamic in my opinion.

The second thing I like is the use of color verses just using a plain color or black and white. It’s one of the most basic color jobs you will see, but to have the man’s face and money in green with the gun in the cold grey, it adds one more subtle clue as to what you are getting into when you sit down to watch this movie.

What can I say? It didn’t take much on their part to jazz up what could have been an ultra-boring cover, and yet they have actually impressed ME of all people. Nice job.


Extras & Features: 7/10

• Interview with director Fukasaku – This is a rare treat for me indeed. I had not seen any Fukasaku films, no, not even Battle Royale. After watching Blackmail is My Life I was so curious about how it was made, the person behind the direction, etc. When we went into the extras to watch the interview I was very pleasantly surprised. This is a long discussion by Fukasaku about his filmmaking career, his fight against the Japanese film industry, and making Blackmail is My Life. Mr. Fukasaku passed away last year so that makes this interview that much more important to have preserved it on DVD for film lovers and students for years to come. If you want to learn more, here is an excellent article about Fukasaku.
• Liner notes written by Patrick Macias, author of Tokyo Scope – I might be a nerd, but I’m a fan of the liner notes that some DVD come with. I love to read essays, impressions, comments, even other reviews of the films and to have them added to the package might seem a small thing, but it’s one more aspect to experiencing the film/DVD and I appreciate it.
• Director Filmography - Simple list of all Fukasaku films. If you become interested in his work or in Japanese film in general, it’s a good place to start compiling your list of Must See Fukasaku flicks.

Picture & Sound: 9/10
The picture is well preserved but does have some subtle hints of graininess here and there. I assume that is a by-product of the condition of the original film. I personally think it looks fantastic, however I do know there are some pretty picky people out there who might not be as forgiving and expect every DVD to be absolutely perfectly clear and crisp. I just don’t think that’s always possible. I know from their commitment to film preservation that HVE and Criterion do everything they can to preserve and hopefully improve the quality of the picture for the DVD.

Mono sound can be poorly done to the point of distracting you from the film. If voices are too low to hear and the sounds in the background are all blurred together the fact that it’s Mono jumps out at you and slams you in the ear…so to speak. HVE, however, had done an excellent job of bringing the voices, background sounds and music all to the foreground without losing any part of the audio experience. There are difficult sound issues to overcome like rain in the background of an intimate conversation, and explosions in front of yet more dialogue. It all comes out clear and well balanced (if that’s the right term) so that you don’t have to turn up the volume every time people are talking, which does happen sometimes with Mono sound.


The Movie: 8/10:
Is it puppy love or the real thing? Don’t tell my husband, but I think I might just be starting an illicit affair….with Japanese films. The fact that this my first introduction to Fukasaku and one of my first experiences with Japanese cinema is a deciding factor when it comes to scoring this movie. I have a feeling that I could become a serious Japanese movie fan. I loved this movie from start to finish for so many reason. Maybe the newness of it, or the fact that it’s so different from anything I’ve seen before. I love new experiences with film and it’s hard to come by anything new these days. I know it’s not a new film, and Japanese cinema is not new either, but it’s new to me and I’m impressed.

I suppose the thrill of a new movie watching experience gives me a somewhat biased slant on the movie. But that is part of being a movie lover and never losing the enthusiasm for the art of film. Every story, every character, every costume, every idea that floods across the screen is potential for inspiration, excitement, entertainment, and broadening one’s view of the world. Being inundated with Hollywood flicks all your life is like living in a submarine, a nice comfortable submarine, but it’s still a very isolated existence nonetheless. You might have oxygen to breath from day to day, but it can become stale and suffocating so when you finally surface and get a breath of fresh air it brings you back to life and makes you realize what you’ve been missing.

It’s not like I’m looking at this movie through virginal rose colored glasses. I see the flaws. There is a lot of campy acting that can be distracting, but other than that this is a fantastic film. I was impressed with the look, the style, the story, the performances, the dialogue, and everything else. The interesting look of the film is elevated at times with black and white cut scenes, bold pauses and freeze frames throughout and innovative use of camera angles. It’s exciting to look at even when there is a quiet moment between characters.

Fukasaku, with his anti-studio style, is obviously ahead of his time. Everything from the clothes to the cars make this film stylish, even if it’s not trying to be. There are a lot of close ups, but not your average close ups. He puts a different twist on most filmmaking conventions. Fukasaku doesn’t seem to do anything very traditionally. This is what makes this movie so stimulating even just to look at.

The story is a classic tale of some punk young adults turning to crime to make a living in a dog eat dog world. They decide, through circumstance, that blackmail is the way to go. Their saga progresses from petty deals to eventual kidnapping and slipping into a more intense, nearly violent approach. When they come up against the big city political bullies, their days of simple blackmail are over. Their policy of non-violence and not resorting to killing is put to the test when they realize they are somewhat naive to the fact that their new enemies have no problem taking the lives of anyone who gets in their way. A real sense of doom mixed with a strange optimism starts to evolve in the story.

You are drawn so close to the characters, both physically with close camera shots, and through the time you spend getting involved in quality dialogue between the members of the gang. They become slightly caricatures of who they are trying to be, but that makes them even more endearing in a way. You know they are doing bad things, but because you see them in their friendships with one another, as the youthful dreamers they are, you find that element of sympathy that makes all the difference to weaving an intriguing story. They celebrate their accomplishments like children winning a prize at a carnival. They are lively and almost innocent which make us identify with them, cheer them on almost. We don’t want them to fail, but we know deep down inside that they cannot triumph against the real heavy hitters.

My favorite scene is between the leading man and his female “gang” member. They sit in a car, face to face (after a steamy scene in the backseat), holding one another and talking about what is going to happen next in their plan. The actor and actress are so genuine and convincing as they look desperately at one another, contemplating the worse of what may come of them. I was moved and drawn into their characters 100%. That is a great moment that can happen while watching a movie. Like I said, I might be biased due to my limited exposure to these cinematic gems, so I’ll just have to watch a lot more Japanese movies to see if the novelty wears off or if it’s true love at first site.

I will briefly mention that this is one of the movies that inspired Quentin Tarantino. You don’t even have to watch closely to see the influences it has had on some of his films. If you are a Tarantino fan I highly recommend that you watch this movie, if for no other reason to realize that maybe Quent baby isn’t quite as original as you might think he is.


Value: 7/10
First of all, if you love Japanese cinema, Fukasaku, Quentin Tarantino, or just enjoy experiencing international films, I say buy this DVD and have it around to watch and discuss with like minded folks, it’s well well worth the price. However, for everyone else, those of you not into any of that but you are curious, the best I can say is to hunt down some obscure rental shop and take it home for one night to broaden your horizons on the cheap.

Home Vision Entertainment is a part of Criterion, their mission is to preserve movie classics to preserve cinematic history. They do almost every type of film from big blockbusters like Armageddon, because of the achievements in special effects, to Blackmail is My Life because of Fukasaku and his role in the battle against a big studio system that was trying to sugar coat Japanese movies of the 60′s. It was like fighting the Hollywood machine that can rip and tear a good story until it is glossy, over run with sappy stars, pleasing to the public, a big money maker, and just plain boring,

Japan had their version of a commercially driven film industry against which Fukasaku fought against with his well crafted stories of protagonists who were not necessarily good guys, and he would not force happy endings on the audience when they didn’t make sense for the movie. I appreciate HVE and Criterion for their efforts to preserve these films and fight for the integrity and quality and original director’s cuts. I know that I love having them in my collection, but I also know that 99% of the people in my life don’t make an effort to experience international films. When they go to buy the types of DVD’s they want like Spiderman and it’s $16 they jump for joy because it’s a crowd pleaser, something they will watch over and over. But, I just can’t recommend that those same people, the majority of the movie going public, to spend over $20 on a Japanese film from the 60′s that they have to read subtitles ( I love subtitles, most people do not) and that they most likely will not fully understand. I want to tell people to buy these amazing films, but I have to have a clean conscience. I have to say that I hope they can find it for rental somewhere and leave it at that.

I totally understand the struggle and expense of bringing a movie like this to DVD. It’s not cheap and they won’t be selling tens of millions of copies so they have to raise the retail price to get a return on their investment, it just makes it harder to introduce these movies to mainstream DVD buyers because of the price.

I am overjoyed to own this DVD, it’s an excellent addition to an ever-growing diverse movie collection. I just wish that there was a way for these DVD’s to be less expensive so that more people can enjoy them as much as I do.

Overall Score 8/10

This is a classy movie, I loved it. Unfortunately however, when I first saw the cover I was so unimpressed that I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a cheezy TV movie or a sappy glorified Americana tale about cowboys. Yes, I was judging a book by it’s cover, so to speak. But how do you think that the general viewing public do their movie shopping? I’m sure many DVD’s get plunked back on the shelf because the cover art just doesn’t do the movie justice, which is a shame.

What don’t I like about this cover? A better question would be what DO I like. The color is nice. The sunset is obvious but acceptable. The rest is lazy designing.


Extras & Features: 8/10

• Commentary by director/actor Kevin Costner (scene-specific) – At some point during the behind the scenes documentary Costner says he doesn’t like to hear himself talk..well, I have to say I think that has to be incorrect. Mr. Actor/Director/Executive Producer/Producer/Writer does his fair share and for a commentary that’s great. I love it when the mind behind the movie is available for us to learn from, however, his claim that he doesn’t like the sound of his own voice might be a bit of a white lie. I love the commentary and the extras, don’t get me wrong. I find Costner very interesting and dynamic. He has made some of the best films ever put on the big screen. I just think he is as convinced of that as I am. Beyond the Open Range Director’s Journal” making-of documentary – This is a really really good documentary with lots of details and it looks great. Costner narrates and describes what you are seeing on the set. It has some interview excerpts with him talking about his honest opinion of what it’s like to work with sleezy Hollywood types who want to get their nose in on a movie like this. He talks about how the money for the production often had to come out of his and other members of the team’s pockets. I have to say this, this is one of the best documentaries, or fly on the wall, extras I have ever seen on a DVD. That gets big points for me. It’s put together well and stays interesting from start to finish. This is not what you always get with these kinds of extras.
• Deleted scenes with director introductions – This is THE best presentation of deleted scenes I have ever seen on a DVD. Most of the time you just click on each scene, it plays, and then you play the next one. This is where some DVD’s shine and other just kind get lost in your memory due to the drabnness of the presentation. First, there is a Play All feature, which is fantastic. Second, even if Costner is doing a lot of talking, he does take the time to explain and introduce each scene. Third, there is a title frame with music and some semi-interesting graphics that almost makes an event of each scene. Nice work folks! Other DVD authors/designers, take note!
• “The Real Open Range” historical featurette – This is a mini-documentary that you might show to a history class or on the History channel. It’s a brief background of some of the most notorious real life western characters who forged the early days of the American frontier. The list includes Franklin D. Roosevelt, so it’s really interesting and even a bit educational. Beware, you might learn something. It is full of old photos and readings from letters and writings of people who lived the life of real Open Range pioneers. It even inspired me to go and do some more cowboy research..now that’s an accomplish.
• Storyboarding featurette – Sometimes you get a storyboard on a DVD that is simply a gallery of images you flick through with your remote. This DVD, however, seems to take that extra step on each extra to make it a great DVD experience. (except for the cover, but I’ve already vented about that) This Storyboard featurette highlights the artist who drew the boards and he narrates over several clips of him and Costner conferring about the look of each scene. He describes the process of how he gets his drawings from pencil to laptop, to an actual mock up of the pace of whole scenes for the director to look at before he ever even shoots a scene. This is interesting stuff, I love it.
• Music video with behind the scenes footage – Ok, this is the extra that I’m a bit puzzled by. I understand that it’s music set to video, but to say it’s a music video might be stretching it. It basically shows lots of Costner in different moments of his many roles on this movie. I like this little blurb of an extra, it’s just one of those things that makes you go, “hmmm, what is that for exactly?”

Picture & Sound:
Excellent picture, not a pixel, fade, blur, or glitch to be found even in the darkest rainiest scenes.

Sound is just as good. Any DVD of a movie with a lot of rain and scenes set in the wide open outdoors can potentially have problems with sound. Open Range is an exception. Every voice, clap of thunder, horse hoof, and gun shot is sharp and clear despite the elements working against them. Nothing gets lost in the transfer as heard through our 5.1 surround sound system.





The Movie: 8/10
I’m a fan of epic stories whether they are set in outer space or the wild west. I like the darker side of characters when it’s done with style rather than for shock value. Costner and Duvall play two hardened cowboys who have seen and done a lot in their lifetimes. They have settled into their own kind of friendship and devoted their lives to riding the open range. They are accompanied by two young guys who are not jaded, yet, but who represent the youthful lives our leading men have passed up along the way.

This is not just a story about cowboys taking their cattle across country. In fact, that is just a backdrop to a bigger idea. These men operate on a level of honor and justice that, while diluted at times, is solid and unwavering. They stand up for what they believe, for what they have decided are worth fighting for.

There journey is interrupted when one of their hired hands goes into a town and runs into trouble. A town in the west where “free rangers” are hated and the big man is a bully who doesn’t just live in this little town, he owns it.

Conflict comes from a few places. There’s the battle between the sheriff and the business man who owns the town. That’s an obvious one that could be found in many western books and films. Another struggle is between the town and their own identity. It is hinted at but not tossed in your face like a “and the town rallies around the good guys” kind of way. There are subtle moments when townspeople stand up for themselves, little by little, but not so that it’s a main theme that takes over the film.

Another drama that takes place is, of course, a budding romance between Costner and Benning. No, it’s not mushy or annoying at all. In fact it’s classy, which is due 100% to Benning and her elegant quiet but powerful style. There are so many things in this film that look predictable on the surface, but as you watch and get more into the characters, you are continually surprised by not only their reactions to circumstances but to each other.

Charlie (Costner) is a hardened man, and yet he kneels on the floor picking up clumps of mud he has gotten on Sue’s (Benning) parlor floor. There is not gentleness about his character so don’t worry, you won’t think he’s “selling out” to the idea of home and hearth. He is consistently hard, cold, distant and we only ever see glimpses of the man he wants to be. This is a well written character and I think Costner does him justice.

Duvall is always brilliant. I will say that right away. I have loved him in almost everything I have seen him in. As “Boss” he brings that rough and tumble edge to an aging cowboy that endears him without making him seem like he is on his last legs as a cowboy. He never goes soft, even when describing his troubled past. He is matter of fact about everything but delivers enough emotion with every line that he did for me what no other actor has ever done. He IS the cowboy that I have always wanted to see on screen. He’s not too tough or too rough. He’s not a hero or a bad guy. He’s not borderline anti-hero like some westerns try to create. He reminded me of my grandfather in his ideas about right and wrong and how a man should stand up for his principles. Not because it’s what is expected of him, but because he doesn’t have a choice.

The look of the movie is gorgeous, of course. It comes from the director who made Dances With Wolves and The Postman (I loved The Postman, get over it!). This is not a small scale movie. It might not be a huge budget flick, but it’s got so much visual goodies to feast your eyes on it’s a nature lover’s dream. Long shots of rolling hills on the open range..get it!

And this is not ordinary western town they shot in, oh no, Costner insisted that they build their own town. It’s a beauty of a set and looks as authentic as I can imagine a town from 1882 would look. One thing that is unique is that the town’s streets actually flood and a river slices it in half. There is a scene in the rain that stands out for me. Costner and Duvall need to cross the street in the middle of the flood and use plank boards end to end to get across. It’s not genius or anything, in fact, it’s an ordinary detail that adds so much to the reality of the movie.

Often Westerns leave out the day to day difficulties that people had to live with over a hundred years ago. The details make this movie that much more inviting and engaging. Even after a gun fight we see the aftermath, the effects of a shoot out on a town. We rarely get to see the dead men being buried or see the townspeople pulling things back together.

The pace of the film is controlled and hypnotic. I love the fact that it’s not an in your face action Western that a modern audience might demand. There are quiet scenes that roll out the nature of the characters, the hardships of life in the 1880′s, and the conflict brewing between our leading men and their adversaries. I like a movie I can soak up slowly instead of having it all hit me like a tidal wave. It’s good for the senses and it makes me feel like I have taken a real journey along side the people in the story.

The movie has it’s flaws. I was not that taken by the bad guy. He was just a bit shallow compared to the other characters. His band of thugs was more of a gang of misfits that just did not match the power of who our leading men are intended to be.

I’m not totally a sucker for the love stuff, the story, characters, and nature shots..oh no, I also love the action shots. There is the inevitable gun fight, but it’s not just a shoot’em up, believe me. There are some amazing falls and explosive stunts when the bullets fly. I don’t think there was even one of those dramatic stunt falls from a rooftop, which is a blessing. I think Western’s of the 70′s did enough “off the rooftop” dives to last us a lifetime of movie watching. Don’t let the epic story steer you wrong, this is a boy’s movie from start to finish, fightin’ and shootin’ and ridin’. That’s boy stuff, right?

Overall I would say this movie was a surprise, a pleasant surprise. Beautifully made, well written dialogue, excellent performances, good story, what more can we ask for in modern day Western, or any movie for that matter?





Value: 9/10
Yippee..celebrate with  me, I have found a DVD that is worth the price!! For less than $18 you get a classic movie, and a lot of very valuable extras that make up a great DVD experience. The DVD is a bit Costner heavy, but considering he did fight tooth and nail to get it made, not to mention he was a driving creative force in the production, I guess it’s only fair that he makes his presence felt.

Overall Score 8/10

Two starlet wannabes who are used to limos and limitless credit cards now get to cope with living on a porch, doing chores, and working at minimum wage jobs. The small town of Altus won’t know what hit it. Various jobs, breaking rules, and learning that while Hollywood appreciates a couple of wild party girls, small town folks aren’t quite so easily impressed.


Cover Art & Menu: 8/10
What can you say about the cover of a DVD for a TV show? They stuck to their ad campaign and put the pouting princesses on the cover touting their version of country chic. It’s a fun show and I had no expectations of the cover to do anything but follow through with that. I’m never happy to see classic works of art twisted and jerked around to look like original ideas that have come out of modern day pretentious graphic designers and advertising sleezoids heads, so using American Gothic by Grant Wood does prick my last nerve a bit. I guess I can get over it since it’s just for a laugh.

The menu is equally as cheeky with some cut and paste animations and funny sounds. It’s a well put together DVD package all the way around. Somebody took the time to give it consistency and I appreciate that, no matter how silly it may seem, it’s still something worth noting. Some DVD’s are slapped together with no thought or sense of design. This may be a campy approach, but it’s nicely done, so I will give credit where credit is due.

Extras & Features:

• Never Before Seen Out takes Reel – Some goofs and blunders set to music. It ain’t much, but it’s something.
• Deleted Scenes – We see a few clips of never before seen bits and pieces, but the main feature of this section is the rough cut of the girls packing to leave their lives of wealth to go live on the farm. This is almost a whole episode in and of itself. We see Paris talking with her sister and picking her outfits. We see Nicole choosing her own fashions and catch a glimpse of her charmed life as a woman packs for her…hmmm how’s this little lady gonna do working for a living?
• The Simple Life Test Presentation – Every hit show starts somewhere and this one is no exception. Here is what might be considered a pilot episode that puts the girls in a situation similar to what they might be facing down the road. They go to a dog grooming shop and do their THANG as only two rich girls who have never had a job can do. This is also basically a whole other episode. It’s longer than any of the other episodes are so it’s a great bonus to toss on the DVD.

The Show: 8/10
Fist of all, this is a two sided DVD. What century are these people living in? You have to turn it over to see the final two episodes and the extras….I know it’s a cheap way to do it, but geez. I feel like I took a step back in time when I had to get up and flip this baby over.

How do I score this show? What in God’s name do I base my opinion on? It’s funny, most of the time. It’s charming about half of the time. It’s entertaining 90% of the time. But it’s a toss up between the new hybrid version of pseudo-(cough cough) reality TV and pure unadulterated phony-bologna promotional bul**hit to hype these two socialites. You can see why I find myself between a rock and a hard place.

I personally looked forward to watching the show each week. What does that say about me? I’m a sucker for a cheap idea and a well constructed TV version of pretend-reality. There are genuine moments when I do think we saw some of the girls’ charm and personality. The rest of the time I’m pretty sure we were watching these two ham it up for FOX. I can live with that since they never have pushed the show as anything but total fluff.

Everything from the cheezy circus like narrator to the show’s chop-shop beginning sequence, this is not a show that takes itself too seriously. So why should I? I say it’s a no-brainer, literally. Come on, I watched it and laughed at something every single episode, I can admit that with my head held high. They don’t try to make it a REAL reality show, just a goofy way to spend 30 minutes a week. I can think of worse ways to spend my time (Married by American, or Mr. Personality come to mind). It’s funny to see anyone put their hand up the backside of a cow for the first time. Maybe that’s the hint of a Tom Green/Jackass fan in me talking, but it’s not something you see everyday. It’s the kind of stuff that makes you cringe like people eating cock roaches on Fear Factor, but you can’t turn away for some bizarre reason. It’s harmless voyeurism and beats the hell out of Meet My Folks, The Bachelor, Are You Hot or Temptation Island..which are my examples of total TV crap. Here is a link to what looks lik