Blu Tuesday: Rush, Last Vegas and More

Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray releases and let you know whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art to purchase the Blu-ray from Amazon, and be sure to share each week’s column on Facebook and Twitter with your friends.

“Rush”

WHAT: The true story of the 1976 Formula One racing season and the heated rivalry between British playboy James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and reigning World Champion Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl), the latter of whom was involved in a near-fatal accident, only to miraculously return to competition six weeks later despite suffering severe burns to his face and body.

WHY: It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Ron Howard and Peter Morgan love history. The latter, in particular, is responsible for writing some of the best historical dramas of the past decade, but sadly, “Rush” is not one of them. Though there’s a lot to like about the duo’s latest movie – particularly the chemistry and performances of its two leading men – it’s not nearly as captivating as their last collaboration (“Frost/Nixon”). One thing that the film does do a good job of is giving Daniel Brühl and Chris Hemsworth equal screen time, but the best moments are the scenes they share together. The actors play off each other wonderfully, although Brühl has the juicier role due to his character’s more dramatic story arc. What’s perhaps most impressive about “Rush,” though, is the way that Howard and Morgan have crafted the story so that both men “win” in the end. It’s a tricky proposition, but they pull it off, and that goes a long way in making up for the lack of exciting race sequences. F1 racing fans will no doubt be disappointed, but “Rush” is still a well-acted drama that’s biggest problem is perhaps being a tad too conventional.

EXTRAS: The Blu-ray release includes a making-of featurette, a behind-the-scenes look at the real-life story that inspired the film, a profile on director Ron Howard and some deleted scenes.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

“Last Vegas”

WHAT: Billy (Michael Douglas), Paddy (Robert De Niro), Archie (Morgan Freeman) and Sam (Kevin Kline) have been friends for nearly 60 years, so when Billy announces that he’s finally getting married, the guys decide to take a break from their stagnant day-to-day lives and throw a bachelor party in Las Vegas.

WHY:Last Vegas” may sound like the geriatric version of “The Hangover,” but apart from being about a quartet of friends attending a bachelor party in Vegas, the two films don’t have very much in common. For starters, “Last Vegas” isn’t nearly as crazy and over-the-top as the Todd Phillips comedy, instead resigned to more conventional humor that’s better suited to its veteran actors. It also has a tendency to get a little overly sentimental at times due to its subject matter, but that’s not to say it isn’t funny. Michael Douglas and Robert De Niro may not get as many opportunities to earn laughs due to their more dramatic subplots, but Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline pick up the slack, especially Freeman, who plays a great drunk. Though the old man jokes get a bit tiresome and the cookie cutter storyline is pretty lame, “Last Vegas” thrives thanks to its impressive cast. You’d be hard-pressed to assemble a better group of screen legends than these four, and just seeing them on screen together makes it well worth your time.

EXTRAS: There’s an audio commentary by director Jon Turteltaub and writer Dan Fogelman and six short production featurettes, three of which are Blu-ray exclusives.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

“Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa”

WHAT: After his wife dies and his daughter is sent back to prison, 86-year-old Irving Zisman (Johnny Knoxville) is tasked with driving his 8-year-old grandson Billy (Jackson Nicoll) from Nebraska to North Carolina to deliver him to his father.

WHY: The “Jackass” movies have always made me laugh, but I’ve never been a fan of the Irving Zisman character, so when Paramount announced that Johnny Knoxville would be making an entire movie as the dirty old man, it seemed like a pretty dumb idea. And for the most part, “Bad Grandpa” is dumb, but it also made me laugh louder than a majority of the comedies released last year. Clearly inspired by Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Borat” in its attempt to structure various pranks around a scripted story, “Bad Grandpa” is better off when Knoxville is just allowed to do his thing. Whether getting squished by a faulty adjustable bed at an estate sale, causing a ruckus at a local bingo center, stealing food from a corner store or hitting on ladies (and then performing) at an all-black male strip club, the Knoxville-led pranks hit their mark more often than not. The stuff with Jackson Nicoll isn’t nearly as entertaining – except for the final sequence where Irving and Billy crash a child beauty pageant – but “Bad Grandpa” earns enough big laughs along the way to make up for its shortcomings.

EXTRAS: In addition to an unrated cut of the film, there’s over an hour of bonus material, including deleted scenes, alternate real-life reactions and some behind-the-scenes antics.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

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Freemark Abbey is a Standout Napa Valley Winery

I just spent ten days tasting wine in Napa Valley and Sonoma County. Over that time I visited a ton of wineries and sampled countless wines. The types of visits, the styles of wine and everything else varied greatly. Some wineries had a few wines I liked; one or two had none at all. At precious few I enjoyed the vast majority of what they poured. One of the things that stood out convincingly at Freemark Abbey was the quality of the portfolio from top to bottom. The tasting I had was fairly exhaustive, including not only just about every current release but also reserve wines and a couple of older vintages. One of the older wines I tasted was a single vineyard Cabernet from 1981 (but a bit more on that later). Many of the wines they make are smaller production aimed at their wine club, tasting room and select higher end wine shops. However even the three wines which they make oodles of, and send out into the world at large, are each excellent examples of their varietals. Here’s a look at them.

freemark_abbey_1

The Freemark Abbey 2012 Chardonnay was produced using fruit sourced in four distinct sub-appellations within Napa Valley. This wine is 100 percent Chardonnay. Fermentation took place in stainless steel at a temperature controlled over a period of roughly 22 days. Barrel aging took place over 4 months in a combination of French (86 percent) and American (14 percent) oak; 15 percent of the barrels utilized were new. Thirteen thousand cases of this offering were produced and it has a suggested retail price of $30. Chardonnay happens to be a grape I’m a bit finicky about. When it’s well made in a style I enjoy, I can love it; however that isn’t the case often enough. Granny Smith apple aromas are present on the nose. Anjou pear, yellow delicious apple and a potpourri of spices mark the palate, which is deep, concentrated with flavor and even-keeled. A nucleus of minerals and a continuing core of spices are present on the finish, which has above-average length. The oak on this wine adds some complexity and character but never detracts from the brilliant fruit flavors. It has more in common stylistically with Chablis than the style of Chardonnay most think of as classic Napa.

The Freemark Abbey 2011 Merlot was produced from fruit in a number of Napa Valley sub-appellations. In addition to Merlot (82.3 percent), this wine also has some Cabernet Sauvignon (9.4 percent), Petit Verdot (7 percent), and Cabernet Franc (1.3 percent) blended in. Fermentation took place in temperature-controlled stainless steel over approximately 22 days; 14 months of barrel aging followed. The oak used was a combination of French and American barrels, of which 25 percent were new. They produced 12,000 cases of this vintage, and it has a suggested retail price of $34. Black cherry and violet aromas permeate the nose of this Merlot. Those cherry characteristics (both red and black) continue through the palate along with bits of leather, dark chocolate and a hint of cinnamon. The finish here is long and complex with all of that fruit being joined by wisps of earth and chicory. This is a textbook example of Merlot in the best sense of that term. It tastes like Merlot, which is no small feat; so many examples are, at best, anonymous. The Freemark Abbey Merlot is a fine one, with structure, varietal character and complexity to spare.

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Blu-ray Review: “Treme: The Complete Series”

If you were offered a trip to New Orleans for just over a hundred bucks, you’d probably take it, right? Well, it is perhaps oversimplifying matters to equate the “Treme: The Complete Series” box set (available exclusively on Blu-ray) with a visit to N’Awlins, but maybe that’s only because there’s nothing particularly simple about “Treme.” Does that mean it’s the sort of series that will blow you away? Not at all. Indeed, “Treme” has no interest in even trying.

For those who missed the series over the course of its HBO run (and judging by its practically invisible ratings, there were quite a few of you), “Treme” begins three months after Hurricane Katrina all but wiped out the city of New Orleans, and follows more than a dozen NOLA residents from all different walks of life picking up the pieces and attempting to move forward. It’s a series about culture, politics, cooking, tradition, and most definitely music, which it revels in. The show dazzles viewers with one great musical sequence after another (all recorded live and with no overdubbing or lip-synching), and the list of artists – usually playing themselves – that appear on the series over the course of its 36 episodes is practically countless.

In many (if not most) ways, “Treme” is anti-television. It seemingly throws out the rulebook that started being written when TV came into existence, playing loose, but rarely fast. There’s a price to pay for this brand of innovative storytelling, though, and that’s that “Treme” does not excite in any of the traditional ways that we’ve come to expect television to. Not once in the entire series will you throw your arms up and cry, “Yeah right! That would never happen!” such is the day to day reality of its goings-on. Indeed, when viewing it, you almost have to train yourself to watch this brand of TV a little differently.

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Picture of the Day: Colleen slips off her shorts

Here’s a great shot of Colleen as she pulls of her jean shorts and reveals a sexy black thong and impressive booty.

Colleen slips off her shorts

  

Picture of the Day: Nina on the beach

Beautiful blonde model Nina is sporting a polka dot bikini as she hangs out on a beach in Australia.

Nina on the beach