 |
Your place for the latest DVD reviews!
Best when viewed with
800X600 screen size
|
Your place for the latest DVD reviews!
Best when viewed with
800X600 screen size
|
|
REMEMBER THE TITANS - This is one of those based on a true story films that Disney does so well. The true story of integrating an all black and all white school and their football teams, it's full of great moments that make a great film. Denzell Washington is his usual phenomenal self, and Will Patton is becoming one of my favorites. There's lots of humor, heartstrings tugging, and just a plain good story. Wrap it all up with the seal of approval from Exec. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer (ARMAGEDDON, THE ROCK, COYOTE UGLY) and you know you've got a winner. This gets the coveted MUST SEE award. The DVD is too toned down, with only commentary and a featurette. Buyer beware: There are two versions available! Widescreen and Pan & Scan sold separately!!!!
REMEMBER THE TITANS - THE REPLACEMENTS - When NFL players go on strike, replacement players are brought in to finish the season. This comedy stars Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman, and yes, it's a very formulated sports movie. All the normal sports movie cliche's are here: the cheerleader girlfriend, the initial tough loss, the team pulling together, a coach wiser than Yoda, etc... Now, having said that, it should also be said that this is one funny movie. It's light hearted, enjoyable, and has some great moments. Basically, treat this one like MAJOR LEAGUE. If you want to see the same stuff with a different sport, go for it. The DVD includes some nice extras like an HBO First Look on the making of THE REPLACEMENTS, a documentary on the mechanics of creating football in the movies, and the standard bios and trailers, but isn't anything special. Best line comes from Keanu: "I'd like to say something moving and inspirational right about now, but that isn't our style. Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory lasts forever."
THE REPLACEMENTS - THE ROAD TO EL DORADO - If DreamWorks knows one thing, it's how to make animated movies. Having former Disney head Jeffrey Katzenberg in charge of your annimation department does that to a studio. In this, DreamWorks second traditionally animated film, con men Miguel and Tulio (voice by Kevin Klein and Kenneth Branagh) stow away on a voyage to the new world. When they discover a map that leads to the city of gold and are mistaken for gods, both think thier set for life. But as friendship, loyatly and greed collide, the two become unlikely heroes. I loved this movie! Half of the film is THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING. You can almost hear Sean Connery and Michael Caine bickering amongnst themselves in the arguments of Miguel and Tulio. The other half harkens back to the Bing Crosby / Bob Hope "Road" movies (witness the title). But with such great source material, you'd have to have a good film. This movie has it all, good animation, great music (by Elton John and Tim Rice, reuniting from THE LION KING) a good, if standard buddy story and loveable supporting characters. Klein and Branagh really make these roles thier own, with some of the best voice work since Robin Williams breathed life into a Genie. Thier verbal sparing alone is worth watching the movie for. And perhaps that's what makes this film so good and so surprising. It really isn't a kids animated film. Oh, don't get me wrong, kids should eat this up. But most of the dialouge and situations aren't really aimed at them. It's funny, touching and all around good entertainment. A MUST SEE. The DVD is another goodie from DreamWorks. It contains Cast and Crew BIOS, Trailers, "Someday Out Of The Blue" music video by Elton John, filmmakers commentary, read-along adventures, production notes, fun animated menus, a Behind-the-scenes featurette, and more. Best Line - Miguel to Tulio after the pair has escaped from Spanish solders and wound up sealed in pickel barrels being loaded on Cortez' ship: "What's happening here?" Tulio (Deadpan) "We're both in barrels. That is the extent of my knowledge."
THE ROAD TO ELDORADO - THE ROCK - Here's the one that made me like Nic Cage. Here's the one that kicked his career into overdrive (Not counting the Academy Award for LEAVING LAS VEGAS) and proved he could be an action star. And oh, did I mention Sean Connery is in it? A vengful General played by Ed Harris takes hostages on AlcatrazIsland and threatens all of San Francisco with posion gas rockets. The only hope to stop him is to smuggle a small comando team lead my Michael Biehn onto the island to take out the terrorists, and get Chemical weapons expert Goodspeed (Cage) to disarm the rockets. The catch? Only one man can sneak them onto the island. The only man to ever have escaped from The Rock, an MI6 operative (Connery) who was wrongfully imprissioned for spying and has spent his whole life behind bars and pissed off.Boy, action movies just don't get much better than this. You've got all the usual suspects here, gun play, explosions, car chases, military hardware, etc.... But it goes way beyond the pale genre of action movie. Take Ed Harris's character, a renegade General. Okay, easy enough. But he only mutinies because the U.S. doesn't honor the memory of Special Ops soldiers killed under his command. His demands? Pension plans for thier families. It's hard not to like this villian, harder still not to side with him. Goodspeed could have been another cookie cutter action hero, but is given more depth by the fact that he's a lab weenie, not a field operative. Oh , and his girlfriend happens to be in San Francisco, so there's that too. Connery meanwhile, seems to be having a grand old time playing a rip on his Bond persona, and nearly steals the movie, and with this cast, that's a heafty feat. Another Jerry Bruckheimer produciton of a Michael Bay film (the duo also colaborated on BAD BOYS, ARMAGEDDON, and PEARL HARBOR) that is A MUST SEE and flat out rocks...but the DVD sucks. Released in the eary days of Disney DVD, before they knew what they were doing, all we get is the trailer. No commentary, no behind the scenes stuff, no documentaries, no nothing. The Criterion two disc set on the other hand, rocks almost as much as the movie does. Features audio commentary by Bay, Cage, Harris, Bruckheimer and technical advisor Hary Humprhies, excperts from "Secrets Of Alcatraz" documentary, a video interview with Bruckheimer, Movie Magic episode detaling special effects, "Dos and Don'ts of Hollywood Gunplay" documentary, storyboards, produciton design and stills, trailers and tv spots, outtakes and goofs selected by Michael Bay, the world premiere of THE ROCK on Alcatraz Island, an analysis of the dive sequence's FX, and more.
THE ROCK - ROCK STAR - The story of a wanna be, who got to be. Marky Mark Whalberg stars as the fanatical lead singer of a tribute band to the hard rock/metal group Steel Dragon. When the boys of Steel Dragon kick out the lead singer, they come calling for a replacement, and he finds himself living the life he idolized and always wanted. A tale of the grass being greener, once our replacement singer and his girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston) join the ranks of the rock elite, they find the life of sex, drugs, and rock and roll isn’t quite what they thought it would be. A good, thoroughly enjoyable movie. Warner has given us a surprising amount of extras, including audio commentary by director Steven Herek (THE THREE MUSKETTERS), the making-of featurette "Backstage Pass", Everclear's music video "Rock Star", the trailer, cast and crew BIOS and more.
ROCK STAR - RUSH HOUR - The kidnapping of a Chinese diplomat's daughter brings two detectives (Jackie Chan & Chris Tucker) from opposite sides of the Pacific together to solve the case, but both are in for a case of culture shock. RUSH HOUR plays like a slightly revamped version of the original LETHAL WEAPON, which itself was made from the "buddy cop movie" template. Two individuals are forced together despite their completely opposite personalities, they clash, get a lead through dumb luck, then work together to solve the case, each one displaying skills and attributes at just the right time. By the end of the movie, they are partners, and a long line of sequels should result. When done well, (LETHAL WEAPON) the formula works wonders. When done poorly (anyone remember THEODORE REX?) it's disastrous.RUSH HOUR falls somewhere in the middle. It's funny, sure, with moments of true brilliance. But at it's core, it's just another buddy cop movie. The tag line reads "The fastest hands in the East meet the biggest mouth in the West." Nothing else could describe this movie more perfectly. No one matches Jackie Chan for on screen grace with Martial Arts acrobatics (with the exception of Jet Li, but he lacks Jackie's natural comedic timing) and Chris Tucker has created a name for himself with his nonstop motor mouth. Both perform well and have true chemistry together, which does raise RUSH HOUR above the average. The Platinum Series DVD from NEW LINE is a good one, featuring audio commentary from director Brett Ratner, Ratner's short film "Whatever Happened To Mason Reese?", an isolated music track with commentary by composer Lalo Schifrin, deleted scenes, "A Piece of the Action - Behind the Scenes Of RUSH HOUR" featurette, cast and crew BIOS, Dru Hill's music video "How Deep Is Your Love", DVD-ROM content, and the trailer. Poor Menus and really poor packaging (think Warner Brothers) keep this from being tops, but otherwise, worth a look.
RUSH HOUR - Film -
DVD - RUSH HOUR 2 - Detectives Carter and Lee (Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan) return, this time to have their vacation in Hong Kong cut short by an explosion at the American Embassy. Thrown into an international mystery, they must once again team up to stop a beautiful assassin (CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON's Zhang Ziyi) and her mobster boss (John Lone). Yet another rare sequel better than the original, RUSH HOUR 2 takes the KARATE KID 2 route by setting most of it's story overseas in China. This gives the filmmakers a chance to but the culture shock shoe on the other foot with Tucker reacting to things Chan takes for granted. The Chinese Triads are the returning flavor of the month in villains, (see BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA and LETHAL WEAPON 4) and throw plenty of guys at our heroes for them to judo-chop one at a time. Despite it's buddy cop formula, RUSH HOUR 2 succeeds by being more action packed and funnier than the original, just as a good sequel should be. Chan and Tucker work well together, and based on the film's 250 million box office performance, I'm sure we'll be seeing a RUSH HOUR 3 sometime soon. One qualm is that most of the humor is racially motivated. With this cast and set up, some was inevitable, but the film and Tucker in particular really seem to go overboard in segments. The filmmakers would do well to lighten up next time. The infinifilm DVD is everything you'd come to expect from the line, with Commentary by director Brett Ratner and writer Jeff Nathanson, deleted scenes with optional commentary, "Making Magic Out of Mire: A Look At Brett Ratner" documentary, in-depth analysis of selected scenes, the fashion of RUSH HOUR 2, visual effects deconstruction, trailers, cast and crew BIOS, Jackie Chan's Hong Kong introduction, Kung Fu Choreography, trivia Fact Track, Brett Ratner's early student film "Lady Luck", DVD-ROM content, 3 featurettes, and more, including two Easter eggs that feature theatrical trailers for NEW LINE's THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. Rock on! Strange but fun menus top off this top notch offering.
RUSH HOUR 2 - Film -
DVD - SAVING SILVERMAN - Three childhood friends with a love for Neil Diamond are torn asunder by one's romantic involvement with Judith (Amanda Peet), a cold-hearted beauty with eyes on marriage to the sweet natured Daren (Jason Biggs). J.D. and Wayne (Jack Black and Steve Zahn) will stop at nothing including kidnapping Judith to save their friendship to Daren.This is one of those unbelievable, "dumb" comedies that is actually very very funny. Of course, Biggs and Peet are playing the same characters they've played in other films. (See AMERICAN PIE and WHIPPED if you must) and Black and Zahn have been in better roles (See HIGH FIDELITY and HAPPY, TEXAS. You must.) but this group of actors are downright funny together. I laughed myself silly the first time I saw it, and on a second viewing, the movie still elicits uncontrollable giggling. But above all, the star of this movie is R. Lee Ermey, the tough-as-nails drill instructor from FULL METAL JACKET, who this time out is a tough-as-nails football coach. Who knew the man was this versatile? He steals every single scene he's in, and since most of them are with Black and Zahn, that's an accomplishment. The DVD is a tad on the boring side, with Commentary, trailers, cast and crew BIOS and both widescreen and Pan & Scan presentations. There is also a somewhat humorous outtakes reel, but it's all got really boring menus. Best line: J.D to Wayne after both have been thrown out a window by the escaping kidnapee, Judith, and are in obvious pain. "Judith escaped." "Duhr."
SAVING SILVERMAN - THE SCORE - Robert DeNiro and Edward Norton are a pair of professional thieves who team up to steal a priceless gold scepter from a customs house, but their working relationship is rocky leading to trouble pulling off the heist. A smoldering pot boiler of a movie that moves too slow, but is worth watching for the great acting. I mean come on. DeNiro. Norton. Brando. These guys could star in a remake of SHOWGIRLS and I’d watch. A well made movie that is definitely worth two hours of your time. Paramount's DVD includes The Making Of THE SCORE documentary, additional footage, audio commentary by director Frank Oz and director of photography Rob Hahn (which pruported recounts several of the difficulties Oz had with Marlon Brando throughout shooting of the movie), and the trailer.
THE SCORE - SHAFT (2000) - Who's the private dick who's a sex machine with all the ladies? Who delivers 10 times out of 10? Well, in this case, delivers 7 or 8. First of all, there was no need to remake an American icon like SHAFT. But, if you were to remake it, there was only one man who could possibly pull it off, and that man is Samuel L. Jackson. Like the movie, he oozes attitude, charisma and one-liners that just don't quit. Basically take his character from PULP FICTION, up the volume and turn him loose. The plot deals with a race crime comitted by a rich white kid (a very compeling Christian Bale) and Shaft's efforts to bring him to justice. Gritty and enjoyable, there's still something not right here. Maybe it's that despite all the effort, this still feels like a group of 70's characters transplanted into New York of 2000 and it just doesn't mesh. The DVD is unfortunately forgetable. Only 3 Paramount DVD releases to date have been worth a damn on extras: TIE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, SLEEPY HOLLOW, and M:12. SHAFT falls in with everything else. We get a trailer and a making of featurette, and Issac Hayes music video for the theme to SHAFT, but that's it. Better than most of the other Paramount DVD's but not a home run.
SHAFT - SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE - Click here SHREK - More than anything else, SHREK resembles one of the "Fractured Fairy Tale" segements from The Rocky And Bullwinkle Show. SHREK (voiced by Mike Meyers, doing a variation of his Scottish Brough from SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDERER and Fat Bastard in AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME) is an endearing ogre who just wants peace and quiet. Lord Farquaad (voiced by John Lithgow) begins relocating fairy tale characters to the ogre's swamp. To win back the deed, Shrek goes on a daring quest to rescue the feisty Princess Fiona (voiced by Cameron Diaz) from the dragon. Oh, if only it were that simple. First, he has to contend with Donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy) his wisecracking loudmouth sidekick. Then there's Fiona, who doesn't want to be rescued unless it happens strictly according-to-hoyle storybook style. Irreverent, enchanting, clever, I could go on with a list of adjectives to describe this movie, and none quite capture the essence of SHREK. PDI and DreamWorks have presented us with a storybook that hasn't been skewered like this since THE PRINCESS BRIDE. Kids will eat this film up, but it's not a "for kids" moive. This is really an adult animated film. For example, many of the jokes are subtle (and some not so subtle) jabs at Disney, for which executive producer Jeffrey Katzenberg once worked. Name one kid who is going to get that. PDI has also leaped lightyears ahead of the digital work they did in thier first DreamWorks feature, ANTZ. All the characters here truly look three dimentional and well developed, although they lack the rich texture of Pixar's TOY STORY characters. But overall it's fun and damn funny. This MUST SEE movie comes with a great, and yet less-than-stellar DVD. 2 discs chock full of extras, and yet, I felt cheated. Disc one features the Pan-And-Scan version of the movie, a behind-the-scenes featurette, hidden fun facts, DVD-ROM content including a "Re-voice" studio, characrer interviews, and DWK (DreamWorks Kids) - a "wading pool" of features with fun menus and kid friendly controls, it includes games, "funniest scenes" and the music videos for Smashmouth's Monkee's remake "I'm A Beliver" and the Baha Men's "The Best Years Of Our Lives." Good stuff, but not as good as it sounds. For example, one of the games is called "Character Morph" where you select different body parts and create a character. But all it really does is portray a still image of three different character's body parts piled on top of each other. There's no "morph" involved. The DWK section is cool, but simply offers an alternate way of getting to the same features. Disc two fares a little better, with the Widescreen version of the film, audio commentary, the documentary "The Tech Of SHREK", deleted storyboard scenes, technical goofs, international dubbing featurette and more. But the menus on both discs are the same animations, (which are funny the first time though, but disapointing thereafter) The brightest spot on both discs is Shrek's "kareoke" sing-a-long, in which the song and dance bit at the end of the movie is extneded by a good three minutes. But it's not really a karoke or sing-a-long, just an animated musical montage. Still a great disc, but doesn't qutie live up to the hype created for it, and it could have been soooo much cooler. Best line: SHREK, as the seven dwarfs shove a gold and glass casket containing the inert body of Snow White across his diner: "No, no! Dead broad off the table!"
SHREK - THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS - Click here SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS - Before an Emperor found his groove, before Beauty tamed a Beast, before a puppet became a real boy ... there was an apple. We all know the story of Snow White, fairest in the land, and of the evil queen who was possessed with her beauty, and of the seven dwarfs, who came to love Snow White. Walt Disney's first full length animated film is more than a masterpiece, it is the template for all that have come since. It is the measuring stick all animated films are put up against. It established a studio, which grew into an empire. And it opened the door for this new form of entertainment. Animated shorts may have gotten Disney off the ground, but it was Snow White that kicked him into the stratosphere. The film is lovingly presented here and has never looked better. Scarier than I remember, but still good wholesome family entertainment. Snow Whit was never one of my favorites, (I don't like her voice, for one thing) but there is no denying the power of this film. Watching it now almost seventy years after it's theatrical debut, yes it's primitive by today's standards, but the standards of excellence are all there. The work it took to pull this off is mind boggling. Even if like me--your're not a fan of the movie, Disney has loaded the DVD up so thoroughly with extras, it almost requires purchasing for your collection. The first of Disney DVD's "Platinum Editions", this 2 disc set is hosted by Roy Disney and the Magic Mirror, and includes deleted scenes and songs, behind-the-scenes footage, "Disney Through The Decades" Timeline, THX certification, 2 audio tracks, 2 VIP tours, a guided tour through virtual galleries, "Dopey's Wild Mine Ride" adventure, Barbra Streisand performing "Some Day My Prince Will Come", a "Heigh-Ho" Karaoke Sing Along, and more!
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS -
THE 6TH DAY - Arnold movies are like sex and pizza. Even when they're
bad, they're still pretty good. (An analogy that works as long as you forget
BATMAN AND ROBIN) This one is no exception, about an extreme sports pilot
who gets illegally cloned and must reclaim his life.There's enough science
fiction here to keep things interesting, enough action to satisfy the flying
bullet fans (or in this case, lasers) and the overall film is surprisingly
intelligent. Yes, this one will make you think a bit. It's also very timely,
with our recent advancements in cloning technology, one begins to wonder
if scenarios like this and JURASSIC PARK are really all that far off.
THE 6TH DAY - SNATCH - A stolen diamond and a detour to London set off a chain reaction of sinister and comedic events that fold back on themselves until they implode. The ensemble cast includes Benicio Del Toro as a jewel thief; Dennis Farina as his no-nonsense mob boss; Vinnie Jones, a legendary thug; Rade Sherbedgia as a psycho double-crossing Russian who cannot be killed; Jasan Statham as an unlisenced boxing promoter, Septhen Graham is his bumbling sidekick; Alan Ford, the local mob kingpin; and Brad Pitt as an Irish gypsy bare-knuckle boxer, with more accent than you can shake a stick at. How all these characters fit together into one plot has to be seen to be believed. Writer and Director Guy Ritchie is not the English Quinton Tarantino, but he must hail from the same family. This marks his follow up to LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and it is almost as good of an action/crime/comedy as PULP FICTION. The two disc special edition includes both widescreen and pan & scan presentations of the movie, audio commentary from the director and producer, "The Making Of Snatch" featurette, storyboard comparisons, deleted scenes, a video photo gallery, teasers and trailers and TV spots, cast and crew BIOS, and fun menu screens.
SNATCH - SPACE COWBOYS - When a Russian satalite's orbit begins to decay the best minds at NASA are called into fix it. What they find is technology that dates back to the begining of the space program. Enter Clint Eastwood, designer of the guidance system and one of the original men chosen for the space program. Except he and his crew got shafted by NASA politics and never made it into space. He agrees to help with the understanding the original team Datalis is reassembled for a second chance. Tommy Lee Jones, James Gardner, Donald Sutherland and James Cromwell round out the ensemble cast in this comedic adventure. Eastwood directs another good one here, but it's a bit uneven. At times, the "wrong stuff" training sequences are funnier than anything put on film before, but the end of the movie turns deadly serious with a threat to the entire planet. Despite all the assistance from NASA during the making of the movie, they play fast and loose with physics at the end of it, but overall it's an enjoyable film and definitely worth watching. The DVD is surprising for Warner Bros, with and extended bit from The Tonight Show that features prominently in the movie, an interview with Jay Leno, cast and crew BIOS and more. As usual, boring menus though.
SPACE COWBOYS - STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE: THE DIRECTOR'S EDITION - A gigantic cloud of unbelievable power is on a direct course for Earth, and the only starship in range is the newly retrofit U. S. S. ENTERPRISE. Reassembling his crew, Admiral Kirk races into danger to confront and understand the intruder, and if not to destroy it. The first TREK movie was always an enigma, a bad film that was too long, too boring, too uneven, yet made lots of money, launched a billion dollar franchise and firmly established the crew of the ENTERPRISE as film stars. (At least within the TREK universe.) It's actually a pretty good movie until Spock arrives on the ship, then you spend an hour watching the crew watch cloud formations on the view screen, then it picks up again in the last 20 minutes. Now we get the director's edition, the film Robert Wise claims he always wanted to make. The surprise is it's really not much different from the theatrical release. Oh, there are lots of new visual effects which do improve the movie dramatically, a new sound mix which gives it more depth (although I miss the male computer voice and low-pitched klaxon, two of several items that have been altered or excised completely from this new version. It's still too long, and not nearly enough of the cloud footage was trimmed, but overall the changes move the story along better. This is the most cerebral of the Trek films, and harkens back to the sterile look and feel of the original pilot episode "The Cage" more than the rest of the series. (It also appears as a direct blue print for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Witness the architecture of the ship itself, first officer William Decker / William Riker who had a relationship with crewman Ilia / Troi and is thrown when she arrives. Hints of things to come abound in this one.) If anything, the director's edition makes me realize that TMP is not nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be. In fact, I rather enjoy this one. No, it doesn't hold a candle to later installments or the godfather of all Trek films, WRATH OF KHAN, but it is a worthy first step. The DVD is one of a handful from Paramount worth buying for features. This 2 disc set includes the widescreen director's cut of the movie, group commentary by director Robert Wise, FX guys Douglas Trumbull and John Dykstra, composer Jerry Goldsmith and actor Stephen Collins, text commentary by Michael Okuda, co-author of the STAR TREK ENCYCLOPEDIA, 3 documentaries, 5 additional scenes from the theatrical version that were cut, and 11 deleted scenes from the 1983 TV version that have been left out (although they appeared in the "Special Longer Version" on video) 3 trailers, 8 TV commercials, storyboards, a promo for the new series Enterprise. Pretty cool menus top off this good effort. Now if we can only get Paramount to go back and redo the rest of the movies this way.
STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE: THE DIRECTOR'S EDITION - Film -
STAR WARS: EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE - A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... With these words began (continued) one of the most anticipated releases ever. Two Jedi Knights (Liam Neeson & Ewan McGregor) are sent to negotiate with the greedy Trade Federation, who have enslaved the peaceful planet of Naboo. Forced to flee, they crash land with Queen Amadalla (Natalie Portman) on the remote planet Tattoine, where they discover a very powerful slave boy named Anakin Skywalker, (Jake Lloyd) who may fulfill an ancient Jedi prophecy. Anakin is instrumental in helping to repair their ship, but just before they can leave, they are attacked by a mysterious Sith warrior (Ray Park). After reaching Couriscant, the seat of government for the Galactic Republic, and discovering it in the hands of squabbling delegates and greedy bureaucrats, the group returns to Naboo to free the planet from the grip of the Trade Federation's droid army with the help of some new friends. That's a hell of a lot of plot for a STAR WARS movie, but somehow it manages to work it all in. When I first hear the title "The Phantom Menace" I hated it, but have grown to appreciate it all the more. This is set years before the original trilogy, before the wars and the rebellion against the Empire, when we were in what Obi-wan would call "A more civilized age." The title speaks of the corruption in the Senate, and the ambitions of the Naboo Senator Palpatine, who begins moving his pieces around the chess board to seize total power. The Trade Federation, Queen Amadalla, Darth Maul, even the Jedi become pawns in his quest. The Phantom Menace is something illusive blowing in the winds. Something without a name, but something signaling the dark times of the Empire are coming.Because of this, the movie moves a lot slower than a "typical" STAR WARS film. It opens well, drags a bit while dealing with Jar Jar and the Gungans, picks up again, crawls to a halt on Tattoine with the introduction of Anakin, picks up a bit with the Pod Race, drags a bit on Couriscant, then swings back into full speed for the end battle. Some of this pacing is necessary, some of it is not. Lucas hasn't lost his touch for creating big screen epic excitement, but the story itself lends to the digestion of a lot of information. The film's highlights include: the opening scroll, (something new to read for the first time in fifteen years); the opening battle with Qui-Gon and Obi-wan cutting down battle droids like they were butter, the introduction of R2D2, the Pod Race, "site-seeing" spots on Couriscant like the Jedi council chambers and the Galactic Senate, the scheming of Senator Palpatine, the climatic "duel of the fates" lightsaber battle between Darth Maul, Obi-wan and Qui-Gon, Neeson's and McGregor's acting as Jedi Knights--Neeson is dead on perfect. Calm and collected just as Yoda tried to teach Luke to be, take the scene during the battle where a force field separates him from Maul. Qui-Gon sits down and begins meditating, while Maul prowls back and forth like a caged animal. An awesome scene made better by great acting and dedication to the role--and the promise of things to come. The film's detractions include: Jar Jar Binks (not as bad as everybody makes him out to be, but most of his bits are included for slapstick comic relief, and seem out of place in a STAR WARS film), most of Tattoine (it's a boring planet, George! Move On!), the introduction of C-3P0 (you're telling me Anakin-soon-to-be-Darth Vader built 3P0?) Jake Lloyd's acting--okay but not great--and Anankin's inability to fly. He's not a good star fighter pilot as we learned in EP. 4. Turns out he's just lucky. But overall the good outweighs the bad. EP 1 may not have been the home run a lot of fans were expecting or hoping for, but it's not a complete travesty either. Mostly, it's a good beginning. What else do you want for a six picture saga? The 2 disc 20th Century Fox DVD may just be the best DVD ever produced. Disc one features a widescreen director's cut of the film which includes extended Pod Race scenes and additional effects shots, audio commentary by George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires (all heavy hitters at ILM and Lucasfilm), 3 themed menu screens--Tattoine, Naboo, and Couriscant, and THX mastering, (okay, another complaint here. The THX logo at the beginning of the disc is ripped off from the T2 Ultimate Edition. This is STAR WARS guys, the flagship of Lucasfilm. It deserved better. It deserved something original, something unique, and something related to STAR WARS, not a rip off or "reinvisioning" of a tag for another film!) Disc two is loaded with seven deleted scenes, completed exclusively for the DVD, a deleted scenes documentary, "The Beginning" documentary on the making of the film, multi-angle storyboard-to-animatic-to-film segment, 5 featurettes, John Williams "Duel Of The Fates" music video, theatrical teaser and trailer and TV spots including the rare "Tone Poems", DVD-ROM content, "STAR WARS: Starfighter - The Making Of A Game" featurette, posters and print campaigns, the award winning 12 part web documentary chronicling the production of EP 1, and more. Topped off with the hands down coolest menus screens on the planet (a big and hearty thank you to Van Ling for being awesome at his job). This is a MUST OWN, weather you're a fan or not.
STAR WARS: EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE - Film -
DVD - SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (Special Edition) - Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's SUPERMAN! Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! You all know the story of mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, who goes by the name Superman. The film that launched the careers of Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve, that contains what may be the most fun character Gene Hackman has ever played, the film that paid Marlon Brando close to a million dollars for each minute of screen time to play Jor-El.Superman is the superhero that started it all with his first appearance in Action Comics, way back when. And this was the first superhero movie to actually translate the hero to the screen with a meld of at the time state of the art special effects and pure charisma from star Reeve.This is one of those DVD sets you salivate over. SUPERMAN, re-mastered in a beautiful widescreen version, four behind the scenes documentaries, audio commentary, deleted scenes, extra footage cut back into the film, screen tests, trailers, cool menus, an isolated music track for John Williams' stirring score, and more. Add this one to your MUST OWN list.
SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (Special Edition) - SUPERMAN II - Oh Warner Brothers, how can you be so fickle? How can you give us a fully loaded SUPERMAN and a skimpy no-extra SUPERMAN II? The only thing on this disc under bonus features is the cast & crew BIOS, and the trailer. At least the movie--about three convicted felons from Krypton who escape the Phantom Zone when blue boy hurls a terrorist hydrogen bomb out into space--is in widescreen. The better to see the carnage when the Man Of Steel goes up against three Supermen in downtown Metropolis.Filmed simultaneously with SUPERMAN, SUPERMAN II reunites everyone from the first film. It's big, loud, splashy fun, and although it doesn't quite live up to the first, they made great strides to deepen the characters. When Superman gives up his powers for Lois, it's a truly emotional moment. The battle between the three villains and our hero at the end of the movie is big and epic, just like it should be. And of course, Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor, steals all the scenes.Best line: When the three villains smash their way into Perry White's office at the Daily Planet, going through walls and windows, and Luthor calmly walks in, dusts himself off and mutters, "Most advanced species in the universe, when will these idiots learn to use a doorknob?"
SUPERMAN II - SUPERMAN III - A computer expert (Richard Pryor) builds a supercomputer that tries to take over the world and kill Superman. The series suffered a downturn here, with a silly, kiddy installment that was more disturbing than anything else. For instance, when Pryor's character creates a "watered down" version of Kryptonite and exposes Superman, he turns evil instead of dying, and we get to see our hero tarnish his cape and tights doing all manner of bad things. Then he splits into both Clark Kent and evil Superman like a transporter malfunction for a battle in a junkyard, apparently working the toxin out of his system. Clark also falls for fellow Smallville girl Lana, while Lois is out of town.Then we come to the computer. An evil mass of metal and circuitry that shoots Kryptonite rays, has electrostatic discharge arms and sucks unsuspecting humans into it's interior to turn them into robots--a scene that scared the bezejusus out of me as a child, and still gives me a squishy spine. Yuck. Bottom line, SUPERMAN III sucks. The DVD on the other hand, really sucks. Again, Warner could have given us a box set worth buying, but didn't. Cast and crew BIOS and the trailer. Oh well, at least the movie is in widescreen.
SUPERMAN III - SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE - Okay, this one is for the kids, pure and simple. But maybe that's why I like it. SUPERMAN IV doesn't pretend to try and top it's predecessors. It moves in a different direction--largely due to Christopher Reeves passion for the plot dealing with nuclear disarmament--and ultimately becomes a worthy sequel.That's not to say the film is not without problems. First off, there's Lex Luthor's annoying nephew Lenny. Then there's the subplot about a hostile takeover of the Daily Planet, and the new boss' infatuation with Clark Kent. Then there's the sub-par special effects. Even the flying sequences look downgraded from the first film. Not to mention the logistics of the end battle between Superman and Nuclear Man (who gets my vote for the worst named villain in film history) that has them fighting in space, while innocent victim Lacy Warfield floats idly by and doesn't explode. Hmm. But for every defect this film has, it has an equal moment of triumph. Clark Kent's decision to sell the family farm--but only to a real farmer, Superman's impassioned speech to the delegates of the United Nations, Lex Luthor's pure delight in causing mischief, the verbal sparing between Superman and Luthor, and (believe it or not) the special effects of Nuclear Man. He leaves radioactive footprints, talks with Gene Hackman's voice, and crackles with what I call "80's electricity effects" (you know, that electrical spark all 80's films have as a special effect. See STAR TREK III, GHOSTBUSTERS, MY SCIENCE PROJECT, RETURN OF THE JEDI and WEIRD SCIENCE for more examples.) You gotta admit, that's pretty cool. Although, now that I think about it, Nuclear Man was created when Luthor planted a device on a nuclear missile and Superman unknowingly hurled it into the sun. I seem to recall the last time Superman hurled a nuclear device out into space he got into the same kind of trouble. You'd think he'd learn. Oh, but did I mention Warner Brothers gave us... (say it with me now) another DVD that really sucks. Again, just the trailer and Cast and crew BIOS. Yawn. Best line: Nuclear Man to Luthor after being awakened. "Destroy Superman."
SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE -
SWORDFISH - John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle star in a kick ass action movie that is truly more than the sum of it's parts. Jackman is a former computer hacker in a bitter custody battle for his daughter who receives a job offer from Gabriel (Travolta). Break into a government database and steal hundreds of millions from a slushfund. The problem is tight security, the restraining order preventing him from touching a computer without going to jail, the cop (Cheadle) who's doggedly tracking him, the seductress (Berry) who isn't what she seems and the fact that Gabriel is a terrorist supposedly working in the interests of the US.The movie opens with a bang, literally one of the coolest explosions ever. The problem is (despite Warner Brothers statements to the contrary) this is a movie about terrorism, that deals with terrorism, and showcases several acts of terrorism. Before 9/11, this was just another movie. Now it's a bit more of a touchy subject. I really liked this movie, but was nagged all the way through by the feeling that maybe I shouldn't be enjoying this. Perhaps some more time should have passed before Warner released this. Perhaps I should have waited longer before watching it. In either case, it's still a damn good, entertaining movie.The film has lots going for it, especially the cast. Jackman is becoming a legitimate star, Travolta appears to be having a blast playing the bad guy, Cheadle is reliving his turn as the detective in TRAFFIC, but he was good in that too, and Berry is great (as usual) in a cookie cutter role that could have been anyone, she delivers a telling performance that makes the role hers. And I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't at least mention her first nude scene. The movie is worth it for that alone. The DVD features audio commentary, 2 alternate endings, the trailers, DVD-ROM features, and 2 documentaries, "The Making Of SWORDFISH" and "The Effects In Focus." Typical Warner Bros. menus though, which is infuriating considering how cool this disc could have been.
SWORDFISH - Film - THE TAILOR OF PANAMA - What a good spy needs is a spy of his own. At least that's what Andy (Pierce Brosnan) thinks when he arrives at a backwater posting in Panama. Enter Geoffrey Rush, our tailor, who knows everyone in Panama. The tailor has some debt, and when the spy dangles money in exchange for information, he just can't help but begin to extrapolate his tales just a bit. But his lies send both England and the U.S. scrambling to alert status. Based on the novel by John Le Carre, this is a surprising little spy thriller. Oh, it doesn't have the same punch as others, say Bond, but real spy work is probably more like this anyway. Brosnan is great, playing an over the hill, burned out version of his more famous alter ego, only here he does all the things Bond could never get away with. He drinks, he smokes, he beds beautiful women--okay, so maybe it's not all that different, but here he's downright ... raunchy. Geoffrey Rush gives another solid performance, and Jamie Lee Curtis costars as his wife, but isn't really given much to do. The DVD features audio commentary, cast and crew BIOS, an alternate ending, trailers, and "The Perfect Fit: A Conversation With Pierce Brosnan And Geoffrey Rush".
THE TAILOR OF PANAMA - THIRTEEN DAYS - October, 1962. For thirteen days, the world stood on the brink of nuclear annihilation as President John F. Kennedy (Bruce Greenwood), Bobby Kennedy (Steven Culp) and Special Assistant to the President Kenneth P. O'Donnell (Kevin Costner) fought to keep Soviet missiles out of Cuba. The tension builds as the White House and Pentagon come down on opposite sides of the matter, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. This retelling of THE MISSILES OF OCTOBER is based on the true story of what went on in the White House during those thirteen days. The subject material is historically accurate (and surprisingly just a tad dry in it's presentation) and entertaining. At least, entertaining now that we are almost forty years removed from the events in question. Costner is Costner (seems to be the same character in everything he does) but pulls off the "Kennedy-Boston" accent well, and Greenwood and Culp make convincing Kennedys. This is a very good film. This marks the first of New Line's infinifilm DVD releases, which offer up a whole bunch of extra goodies to "go beyond the movie." Features include: Audio commentary with director Roger Donaldson, Kevin Costner and others, Deleted scenes with director commentary, visual effects deconstructions with multi-angles, DVD-ROM content, "Bringing History to the Silver Screen" documentary, historical figure commentary featuring archival audio of JFK, Robert McNamara, O'Donnell, Khrushchev and others, Cast and Crew BIOS, Historical Figures BIOS, a historical information subtitle track with pop up information, and "Roots of the Cuban Missile Crisis" - a 2 hour documentary created specifically for this DVD. The features can be accessed independently of each other, or as part of the infinifilm process. The menus can be a bit unwieldy at times, but otherwise a phenomenal disc. Keep up the good work, New Line.
THIRTEEN DAYS - TITAN A.E. - Rupert Murdock, former head of Fox, wanted an animated film that would appeal to thirteen year old boys. Fox Animation Studios spent 80 million dollars producing this movie, (keep in mind, TERMINATOR 2 cost 91 million back in 1991) and every penny is up there on screen. Unfortunetly, by the time they reach thirteen years old, boys are not really into animation anymore. Poor box office doomed the film, and Fox Animation Studios is no more because of it. Also one the reasons Murdock is no longer head honcho over at Fox. I really wanted to see this when it hit theaters, and wound up watching it at home on DVD. Can I just say AWESOME!!! This is a really great movie. Yeah, it's animated, but very cool. Lots of computer animation and special effects, a good story, good voice talent including Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore, Nathan Lane, Bill Pullman, Tone Loc and others. I'd like to call this movie "As close as we will ever get to an animated version of STAR WARS" which sounds sacrilegious, but that's pretty much what it is. In the year 3028 a vicious alien race made of pure energy called the Drej have destroyed Earth. Broken and homeless, Humans become the trash of the galaxy. Fifteen years later a young man named Cale (Matt Damon) learns he posesses a genetically encoded map to the Titan, a ship that holds salvation for the human race. A MUST SEE! The DVD contains lots of extras including director's commentary, "The Quest For TITAN" featurette, a handful of deleted sceens, "Over My Head" music video by Lit, a still gallery, trailers and TV spots, and cool 3D menus.
TITAN A.E. - TITANIC - Click here TOMB RAIDER , LARA CROFT: - Why watch? Angelina Jolie. Period. She was born to play this role. Or more accurately, Lara Croft was created for Jolie to play. Part James Bond, part Indiana Jones and all woman. Even my wife confesses that if she were inclined toward women, Jolie would be at the top of the list. Video game movies have always been tricky business, and the video stores are littered with bad ones (see SUPER MARIO BROTHERS or STREET FIGHTER) and the occasional break though (the wonderfully terrible MORTAL KOMBAT) Unfortunately, this franchise starts off with a rather weak first chapter. Lady Croft becomes involved with a plot by a mysterious group called the Illuminati to find the triangle of light, which it is rumored to have the power to control time itself. Okay, promising so far, and the first half of the movie is actually pretty good. But the movie quickly unravels into an Indiana Jones wanna be, a muddled sloppy action melee with wondrous set pieces, but no substance. The feeble script attempts to weave all these elements together, but leaves so many unanswered questions: Who are the Illuminati, and why do they want the Triangle? How was Laura's father involved with them? What relationship did she share with the other Tomb Raider? None are answered. It's still worth watching, but oh the agony of knowing it could have been sooooo much better. Another missed opportunity.It also doesn't help that editorially, this is one of the worst put together films I've ever seen. When is Hollywood going to learn that the fast cut, ER handheld style of filmmaking isn't always a good thing? The supporting cast isn't much better. Paramount's casting "thought process" seemed to be, "Since we've got Angelina Jolie, we don't have to cast anyone good for the rest of the parts" This has got to be one of the weakest supporting casts ever assembled (or drudged up) for a movie. The soul exception is John Voight, (Jolie's real life dad) playing Lady Croft's father. As far as the DVD goes, it's a... wait, what's this? Paramount delivers two loaded discs on two consecutive weeks? Stop the presses! This DVD includes audio commentary, a look at the video game phenomenon, DVD-ROM content, four deleted scenes, an alternate main title sequence, the U2 music video "Elevation" and the documentaries "The Stunts Of TOMB RAIDER", "Digging Into TOMB RAIDER", "Crafting Lara Croft" and more.
TOMB RAIDER , LARA CROFT: - Film -
TOTAL RECALL - Based on Philip K. Dick's short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale," Aaaaanold plays a man who may or may not be a spy on a mission from Mars, which may or may not be to overthrow the ruling dictator of the planet. Confused yet? Well, it all works out in the end. Or does it? Full of fun sci-fi elements and tons of flying bullets, this becomes a thinking action film. BUT, it suffers from Paul Verhoven syndrome, where a moderately good film is turned into a bloody slaughter fest to see how fast the gory body count can rise and how high. There are a ton of explicitly violent deaths in TOTAL RECALL. One or two is cool, three or more becomes literally overkill. You can only enjoy exploding squib hits so many times. The movie also boasts a great supporting cast of Michael Ironside, Ronnie Cox, and the introduction to movie audiences of Sharon Stone. Arnold has lots of fun blowing things up with reckless abandon, and that translates to a fun ride. Not a good movie, but a fun ride. The DVD from Artisan has some truly cool elements to it, starting with neat menus, audio commentary from Arnold and Verhoven (which has to be heard to be belived. Wall to wall accents) a slew of documentary featurettes and more. Topped off by a round metal tin case that looks like Mars, this is a good DVD. The case doesn't match anything else on the shelf, but oh-well.
TOTAL RECALL - TOY STORY - We all know that toys come alive when we're not around. That's a given. This is the story of Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) Andy's favorite talking cowboy doll, and how he deals with being "replaced" by a new improved Buzz Lightyear action figure (voiced by Tim Allen). The truth is he doesn't cope well at all, and inadvertently gets them both lost. What follows is a series of comedic misadventures made all the more fun because Buzz isn't aware that he's just a toy, and not really a space ranger!The first fully computer animated feature strikes gold on the strength of it's characters. Remember all the toys you played with a child? They're all in here, from Little Tykes to Etch-A-Sketch, from plastic green Army Men (lead by the incomparable R. Lee Emrey) to Mr. Potato Head. Pixar animators made a wise choice with the subject matter. The problem with early computer animation was no matter how good it got, it still didn't look right. Pixar turned that to their advantage by picking objects with high gloss plastic and non-human proportions. This is how toys really look, and when animated, this is how they would move. But visual is only half the battle. The voice cast is impressive as well, featuring Annie Pots, Don Rickels, John Ratzenberger, Wallace Shawn, and the late, great Jim Varney. Wonderful musical numbers and score by Randy Newman top off a brilliant movie. TOY STORY 2 - When Woody is "toynapped" by an obsessed collector, Buzz leads a rescue mission into the heart of the city to find their friend. Woody meanwhile meets up with the Round Up Gang toys, Jessie (voiced by Joan Cussack) Bullseye (Woody's horse) and Stinky Pete, the Prospector (voiced by Kelsey Grammer) and discovers he was a legitimate phenomenon in the 50's before the space race made cowboys passe. It's hard to find a sequel that packs in more action, humor and better graphics than the film that originated it, but TOY STORY 2 succeeds on all levels in spades. This is superior in every way to the original, which was a pretty darn good film to begin with. The animation is light-years (no pun intended) better, witness that Pixar is no longer afraid to show people. Indeed, Al (voiced by Wayne Knight) is a major character. Of course, for us collectors, his character hit a bit too close to home, but the STAR WARS parody within the Buzz Lightyear universe is a hoot. There are many parallels that can be drawn between the first two films, while Buzz learning he is a toy is the crux of the first film, here Woody is the focus, and no one is neglected character wise in either. Many of the conventions set up in the first one followed through to the second, and while being lost in the neighborhood was daunting, being lost in the city is entirely different. It's hard to believe this was going to be a direct to video sequel, but that's what the original plans called for. Disney instead released it theatrically, and the movie made almost $250 million dollars. A MUST SEE. So when is TOY STORY 3 coming out? The TOY STORY 2 PACK includes both films remastered in THX, great widescreen transfers, a Pan-&-Scan version of TOY STORY 2 for the morons among us, Outakes, and two animated shorts: TIN TOY, where the origins of the TOY STORY idea can clearly be seen, and LUXO JR. which explains why PIXAR has a lamp in their logo. This set can usually be found for a good price too (in some cases under $20) and for this pair, you can't beat that. But to really get into these movies, you have to go with THE ULTIMATE TOY BOX. First of all, it just looks cool, in a big chrome box with a painted cell like slipsleeve that slides over wire frame drawings. Cool. TOY STORY includes the short TIN TOY in which the origins of the story are clearly seen, audio commentary by the filmmakers, onset interviews with Buzz and Woody, Toy Story Treats, THX certification, and more. TOY STORY 2 includes the short LUXO Jr., Outakes, audio commentary by the filmmakers, a sneak peek at Pixar's next film MONSTERS INC., THX certification and more. Like the FANTASIA ANTHOLOGY, the TOY BOX includes a bonus disc with multiple menus for each film, introductions by the filmmakers, the history of TOY STORY, character design, location design, story development, moviemaking secrets, music and sound design, abandoned concepts, early test footage, storyboard to film comparisons, trailers, publicity materials, guide to the hidden jokes, music videos, 3D fly around tours of digital sets and more. Go ahead and splurge, you know you want it.
TOY STORY - Film -
U-571 - Based on a true story from W.W.II, a squad of American sailors
must masquerade as a German supply boat to infiltrate and board a German
U-boat, steal the "Enigma" decoder machine, sink the sub and make their escape
before the real German Navy shows up. But things don't go as planned. A
great and powerful film, full of great performances from Matthew McConaughey,
Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel and even Jon Bon Jovi. The DVD is also great and
powerful, with cool if simple menus, a Spotlight on location making of
documentary, the trailer, interviews with the cast, and a bunch of featurettes
including film clips from Navy archives (captur-
U-571 - Film
UNBREAKABLE - When a train derails and everyone aboard is killed except one man (Bruce Willis) who doesn't even have a scratch on him, it peaks the curiosity of Elijah (Samuel L. Jackson) who suffers from a disease that allows his bones to break easily. Elijah believes comic book heros walk the earth, and tries to convince his new friend that he may be unbreakable. This movie is absolutely mind blowing. Director M. Night Shyamalan reunites with THE SIXTH SENSE star Willis in another dramatic suspense movie. There is a dark tone that runs throughout the film like an undercurrent that adds to the feel and overall impression of the events unfolding on screen. What makes UNBREAKABLE cool is that it is a comic book movie without being a comic book movie. Think back to every comic book / superhero movie you have ever seen. All those same elements are present here, but in a "realistic" believable format. This is present day, present physics, and yet supernatural. Willis and Jackson are perfectly cast opposite each other, and M. Night puts together another great suspense thriller. I could go on and on about how much I liked this film, but that would require me giving away far more plot than I am willing to. Just watch it, then e-mail me and we can discuss the finer points.
The film is a MUST SEE, but doesn't get the coveted
" The DVD marks the first in Disney's new "Vista Series" and I hope not the last. This two disc set is as elaborate as the film it celebrates, with deleted scenes with director introductions, behind the scenes with Bruce Willis, "Comic Books and Superheroes" an in-depth documentary on the comic book phenomenon with Samuel L. Jackson, a multi-angle look at the train station sequence, THX certification, "2" collectable Alex Ross illustrations (back to back on the same card. What were they thinking?), very cool menus and even cooler box art. Best Line: Elijah: "It's okay to be scared, David. Because this part won't be like the comic books."
UNBREAKABLE - THE VIRGIN SUICIDES - A haunting tale of five sisters in a Michigan suburb in the mid 70's, who's beauty has a group of neighborhood boys bewitched. Their overprotective parents keep the girls isolated, furthering the gulf of isolation and highlighting their intriguing mystery. Sofia Coppola (daughter of Francis Ford) crafts a hypnotic story that never really explains anything about the girls or itself. It's a slice of life, a middle chapter in a book that you don't finish reading. The girls are all tortured souls, and it's easy to see why when you look at the parents, (wonderfully played by James Woods and Kathleen Turner) but like the boys who lust after them, we are on the outside, destined never to know the reasoning for what they do. The DVD fares a little better than most Paramount offerings, with trailers, a music video, photo gallery, and featurette.
THE VIRGIN SUICIDES - THE WATCHER - James Spader plays a burned out investigator who moved to Chicago to give up the search for LA serial killer Keanu Reeves. Then Keanu follows to Chicago & mails a picture his nemesis of a girl. Followed by a phone call. "You can have one day to find her." Spader gets roped back into the investigation, and what follows is a tense game of cat and mouse. If you like suspense thrillers, THE WATCHER is a good movie. Not a great one, but there's enough to keep you occupied, and Keanu Reeves will surprise those of you who can't get past that whole BILL & TED thing.The DVD is not as exciting. The trailer and a few other bits liven it up a bit, but not enough to be really worth while.
THE WATCHER - THE WAY OF THE GUN - From the writer of THE USUAL SUSPECTS comes this tale of a pair of desperadoes, a bunch of bag men, and a kidnapping gone bad. GUN doesn't have the same power SUSPECTS did, but it is a great action thriller with lots of twists and turns and a great cast that includes Benicio Del Toro, Ryan Phillipe, Taye Diggs, Juliet Lewis, and James Caan.The DVD has audio commentary, and an analysis of a deleted scene, but no trailer, and static, boring menus.
THE WAY OF THE GUN - THE WEDDING PLANNER - An ambitious, hard working and extremely organized wedding planner (Jennifer Lopez) falls for handsome doctor (Matthew McConaughey) and has her life turned upside down. Gee, didn't see that coming. THE WEDDING PLANNER is predictable nonsense, even for a generic romantic comedy. It gains a few bonus points for being an enjoyable romantic comedy, but only a few. McConaughey is too good an actor to be talked into doing something this pedestrian. The DVD on the other hand, is well put together, with lots of extras including writer and director commentary, deleted scenes with commentary, trailers, cast and crew BIOS, a making of featurette and "The Dancer and The Cowboy" showing how He had trouble keeping up with her dancing, and She had problems riding a horse with him. Go figure. One was a dancer before becoming an actor, one was a cowboy. Wonder if that's where the title for this tidbit came from?
THE WEDDING PLANNER - WHAT LIES BENEATH - In between filming Part one and part two of CAST AWAY, Robert Zemeckis did this little supernatural thriller with Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeifer, who play a happily married couple who begin to notice strange goings on in their house. Actually, she, notices them, he's too busy working. Turns out the ghost of a dead girl he had an affair with is haunting the place, and that's just the beginning. This is a great movie. Not only suspenseful, but downright scary in parts. Everyone does a great job, but especially Ford, who turns in a tour-DE- force performance with a twist. I loved it! One of the reviews I read recently stated "does for bathtubs what Psycho did for showers." Boy is that the truth. This film is a must see! The DVD of Zemeckis' haunting masterpiece is just as good as the movie itself. The menus are creepy, (although a tad bland), while the HBO First Look Documentary, extensive cast and crew Bios, theatrical trailer and Audio Comentary from the director are just what you'd expect from Dreamworks. Keep up the good work guys!
WHAT LIES BENEATH - WONDER BOYS - Director Curtis Hanson follows up his freshman success (L.A. CONFIDENTIAL) with this darkly comedic odyssey of self-discovery. There's an odd little gem of a movie buried somewhere in here, about a pot smoking college professor who's wife just left him, who's editor is in town, who has one student renting a room from him and wanting him to sleep in it, who has another student who adores him maybe too much, who is sleeping with the chancellor of the university, who has just gotten her pregnant, and who has just inadvertently shot the chancellor's husband's dog, and stolen his prized possession, a coat worn by Marilyn Monroe. Oh, and did I mention he can't stop writing his 2000 plus page book? This film really got snubbed by the academy, 'cause Michael Douglas, Toby Maguire, and Robert Downey, Jr., all deserved OSCAR nods. The film is at the same time deliriously funny and slightly demented. (I dunno, maybe as a writer it just hit too close to home?) Well worth a watch. The DVD includes cast and crew interviews, Bob Dylan’s music video “Things Have Changed”, the theatrical trailer, an interactive location map of Pittsburgh, the songs of WONDER BOYS with commentary, and more. WONDER BOYS - THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH - And speaking of spies, the latest 007 movie to come down the pipeline involves a plot to kill an oil heiress (Sophie Marceau) by a ruthless terrorist (Robert Carlyle) who can feel no pain. Pierce Brosnan is at the top of his game in this one, which feels the most polished of any in the series. Despite the blashemy of saying so, Brosnan may be the best Bond yet. He blends the delicate comedic touch of Roger Moore with the tough guy of Sean Connery with the athletic ability of Timothy Dalton. And after 19 films, the producers are not affraid to show James is Human. After a breathtaking opening sequence inwhich a bomb explodes within MI:6 headquarters and Bond persues a suspect on the Thames river to the Millenium Dome, ultimately falling from a hot air balloon onto the dome's roof and injuring his shoulder, the injury is a recurring plot point. Who knew that James could be hurt? It is these touches, present in all the Brosnan films, that prove this is Bond at his best.
The DVD (like all the Bond Special Editions) has kick-ass menus. There
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (SPECIAL EDITION) - X-MEN - Every decade comes a great superhero/comic book movie that rises far above all the crap we usually get stuck with. In the 70's we got Richard Donner's original SUPERMAN. In the 80's it was Tim Burton's BATMAN. The 90's emerged without a clear victor, but a few THE PHANTOM, MEN IN BLACK, (sigh) SPAWN continue to battle it out. Well kids, the new Millenium has arrived (except of course for Glenn) and the rest of the Justice League might as well sit this decade out, because they'll be hard pressed to beat X-MEN. Yes, this is coming from a non-hard core fan, but Bryan Singer has crafted a very well made film, that takes our favorite band of mutants seriously, unlike so much of the crap. The basic plot deals with a senator trying to implement the "Mutant Registration Act" and evil Magneto planning on mutating most of New York's population in an attempt to jump start the war he believes is coming between mutants and humanity. Professer X and the rest of the X-Men must stop him. Great casting pits Patrick Stewart against Ian McKellan, and boy, are these two great English actors. I have some small complaints with Anna Paquin playing Rouge despite the very competent job she did, and I still think Scott Bakula would have made a better Cyclops, but other than that, the movie rocks. Especially Jack Hughman (Aussie #2). The guy WAS Wolverine. The DVD menus are a bit weak, and compaired with 20th Century Fox's other "Special Editions" like THE ABYSS and FIGHT CLUB, this single disc DVD seems a bit skimpy despite the 10 minutes of deleted sceens, and Charlie Rose interview with Bryan Singer.
|
||||||||||||
