This past month has been pretty spectacular for Blu-ray enthusiasts, as it’s given us a number of reasons to stay out of the heat and relax inside our air-conditioned homes. (Honestly, it’s been unreasonably hot for June, at least here in Ohio.) Though today’s new releases aren’t as great as previous weeks, there’s still quite a bit to choose from, including arguably the week’s two biggest releases – “21 Jump Street” and “Wrath of the Titans” – which sadly weren’t provided for review. Of course, that just made room for a few titles that probably wouldn’t have been featured otherwise, so no harm done.

Celebrating “The Artist” for its originality may seem a tad contradictory – after all, silent movies have been around longer than any other form of cinema – but when compared to today’s crop of films, it certainly feels fitting. The big winner at last year’s Academy Awards, “The Artist” plays like a loving homage to an era of filmmaking that many people have either forgotten about or never knew. For as purely entertaining as “The Artist” can be at times, however, it doesn’t do nearly enough to make you fall in love with the film so much as the idea of it. Though the movie’s first 30 minutes are an absolute delight thanks to the charming screen presence of Jean Dujardin, the abrupt change in tone from light-hearted comedy to somber melodrama is a bit disappointing. Still, “The Artist” makes great use of its various stylistic devices, and French actors Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo deliver star-making performances. Although the film often favors the gimmick over the story, it serves as a great reminder that while not every off-the-wall idea is guaranteed to be a success like “The Artist,” it’s the willingness to take those risks that making movies is all about.

Blu-ray Highlight: While I had high hopes for the 45-minute Q&A with the filmmakers and cast, it’s spoiled by a terrible moderator and Jean Dujardin’s language barrier. Still, “The Making of an American Romance” is a pretty entertaining featurette that, in addition to focusing on the two French leads and their supporting cast, also covers many of the movie’s finest moments, including the big tap dance number at the end.

Though it was a bit of a surprise nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Academy Awards, writer/director Michael R. Roskam’s “Bullhead” definitely deserved the attention it earned as a result. It’s not exactly in Drafthouse Films’ wheelhouse of bizarre midnight movies (see: “The FP”), but it’s the kind of film that I’d like to see the startup label distribute more often in the future. A unique, character-driven crime drama with one of the most memorable protagonists in recent years, “Bullhead” is worth seeing just for the amazing transformative performance by star Matthias Schoenaerts, who’s virtually unrecognizable under the facial prosthetics and 60 pounds of weight that he reportedly gained for the role. Schoenaerts is a physically intimidating beast of a man who looks like he might snap at any moment, but the brilliance of his performance is the vulnerability and innocence that he brings to the character. Unfortunately, “Bullhead” is yet another case of a sensational performance in an otherwise average movie, and though that doesn’t make it any less worth your time, it does prevent it from becoming the masterpiece it could have been.

Blu-ray Highlight: The guys at Drafthouse have done an excellent job with this release, so there’s quite a bit of good material to choose from. In addition to a pair of insightful interviews by director Michael Roskam and star Matthias Schoenaerts (who talks about becoming obsessed with his physical preparation for the movie), there’s also a cool making-of featurette that delivers a behind-the-scenes look at the filmmaking process.

Director Brian Robbins’ third collaboration with Eddie Murphy isn’t nearly as terrible as their previous projects (“Norbit” and “Meet Dave”), but it’s not exactly an instance of “third time’s a charm” either. Although taking away Murphy’s best asset – his voice – is troublesome from the very start, the movie’s biggest problem is that it’s played as a silly comedy when it would have made for a much better drama. The basic premise is a pretty high concept idea, but instead of exploring the figurative relationship between Murphy’s character and the leaves on the tree that fall with every word he speaks, Robbins and screenwriter Steve Koren (who’s also responsible for last year’s incredibly awful “Jack and Jill”) take the broader route by making the bond much more literal. So when anything happens to the tree (whether it’s squirrels running around the trunk or the gardener spraying it with toxic gas), it also has a physical effect on Murphy, which only spoils the deeper philosophical and spiritual connotations that are briefly alluded to. “A Thousand Words” is still better than a lot of the crap the comedian has been doing in recent years, but not by very much.

Blu-ray Highlight: There are only two extras included on the disc – a subpar collection of deleted scenes and an inferior alternate ending – and neither one is very worthwhile.

Another week, another great selection of Blu-rays. It’s too bad that every month isn’t as prolific as this, because it would sure make my job a whole lot easier. Although there are a few missing titles as usual (like the awful found footage comedy “Project X,” the inspirational drama “Big Miracle,” and the latest seasons of the FX comedies “Louie” and “Wilfred”), you’re not really missing anything. And on that note, let’s get started.

The so-called mumblecore movement is an interesting approach to filmmaking, because a director never really knows what kind of movie he’s going to end up with until it’s completely finished; which is probably why the Duplass brothers’ latest film is so different from what most people expected. Though it certainly had the right ingredients for a great comedy, “Jeff, Who Lives at Home” is instead a surprisingly heartfelt and meditative dramedy about the importance of family and finding one’s place in the world. It may not be as funny as advertised, but thanks to some naturalistic performances by sitcom stars Jason Segel and Ed Helms (both of whom prove perfectly adept at drama), the film still works, albeit on a whole different level. Mark and Jay Duplass have always been more interested in getting good performances out of their actors than the story, and that’s never been more evident than it is here, because without their core cast, “Jeff, Who Lives at Home” would be an absolute bore.

Blu-ray Highlight: Believe it or not, Paramount’s Blu-ray release has no bonus material whatsoever. I’m not sure how that happened, but it’s a disappointment nonetheless.

I’ve never really understood the appeal of the David Wain-directed cult classic “Wet Hot American Summer,” so it’s no surprise that I didn’t like his latest comedy, because it feels like a more grown-up version of that film. Of course, just because the characters are more mature doesn’t mean that the humor isn’t still juvenile, and unless you’re a fan of Wain’s previous work, you probably won’t find much to laugh at here. Most of the supporting cast is wasted playing broad stereotypes that are weird just for the sake of being weird, while the script falls back on the same hippie clichés that we’ve seen many times before. Justin Theroux is one of the few actors who doesn’t completely embarrass himself as the alpha hippie who takes a liking to Jennifer Aniston’s closeted free spirit, and Paul Rudd has a few moments of improv genius, but it’s not enough. Though the film shows some promise early on, “Wanderlust” stalls out almost as soon as Rudd and Aniston’s characters arrive at the commune, and once Wain backs himself into that corner, it’s a lost cause.

Blu-ray Highlight: The making-of featurette “God Afton!” does a pretty good job of balancing the generic EPK-style material (like a breakdown of all the major characters and actors) with more detailed bits on things like Joe Lo Truglio’s prosthetic penis, turning Justin Theroux into a master guitarist, and the many stunts involved in the film.

Read the rest of this entry »

Following last week’s windfall of new releases, I’m happy to report that the rest of June looks just as bright, with a number of noteworthy Blu-rays arriving in stores today. In addition to the titles featured below, there are several other releases that I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention, including the new “Sherlock Holmes” sequel, the eighth and final season of “Entourage,” and Criterion editions of Hal Ashby’s “Harold and Maude” and Danny Boyle’s “Shallow Grave.” Those would have made for a pretty killer column on their own, but due to what has become a standard complaint around these parts, they weren’t sent to me for review. Nevertheless, it speaks volumes of the quality of this week’s Blu-rays that I was still able to conjure up three more titles worth talking about.

I’m not exactly sure why Sony would want to remind moviegoers about the original “Spider-Man” trilogy when the studio is only weeks away from rebooting the lucrative superhero franchise, but if you never got around to buying the films on Blu-ray, it’s as good a time as any to get them now. Granted, the cover art for all three movies is an appalling Photoshop hack job that shows just how little work went into these re-releases, but it’s what’s inside that really counts. Though “X-Men” was the first movie to revitalize the comic book genre, Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” films are what turned it into Hollywood’s obsession. Though the legacy of Raimi’s trilogy may have been marred a bit by the tepid reaction to the third installment (although for the record, I actually liked it quite a bit), it still contains some of the best superhero movies to date, especially the well-received sequel featuring Alfred Molina as classic Spidey villain Doc Ock. And no matter how amazing Mark Webb’s reboot may turn out to be, it wouldn’t have been possible without the spectacular trilogy that came before it.

Blu-ray Highlight: Fans will be happy to learn that the bonus material for “Spider-Man” and “Spider-Man 2” has been reinstated on their respective discs (unlike their Blu-ray debuts), even if “Spider-Man 3” was shortchanged in the process. Although it’s hard to pick just one highlight from the treasure trove of special features, the 12-part “Spider-Man 2” documentary “Making the Amazing” is an incredibly in-depth look at the amount of work that went into making the film. If you’re not a big fan of production featurettes, however, the numerous audio commentaries that appear on each disc are also great.

Mark Steven Johnson’s 2007 attempt to bring Ghost Rider to the big screen didn’t turn out particularly well, and although many believed that would be the last we’d ever see of Marvel’s B-list antihero, Sony decided to give the character another shot with this equally shoddy reboot by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. Though the directing duo behind the “Crank” films seemed like a natural fit to take on such a bizarre character, “Spirit of Vengeance” is only slightly better than the first movie. One of the few things they do get right is the scenes with Ghost Rider, emphasizing his demonic nature by making him as frightening and intimidating as possible, but he’s used far too sparingly. And unfortunately, that’s where the magic ends, because the rest of the film makes many of the same mistakes as its predecessors, with plenty of bad dialogue, poor attempts at humor, and a laughably bad performance by Johnny Whitworth. Neveldine and Taylor’s version at least seems to have been made more with fans of the comic in mind, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still bad.

Blu-ray Highlight: In addition to an excellent six-part documentary that runs the entire gamut of production – from location shooting in Romania, to Nicolas Cage’s (creepy) performance capture of the Ghost Rider, to special effects and more – the Blu-ray also includes a feature similar to Warner Bros.’ Maximum Movie Mode where directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor dissect the film (sometimes pausing it to discuss certain scenes in more detail) with the help of behind-the-scenes footage. Both extras are definitely worth your time, even if it means having to watch the movie more than once.

Call me crazy, but I’ve never quite understood why Charlie Chaplin’s “The Gold Rush” was considered to be a cinematic masterpiece. Although there’s a lot to love about the movie – particularly the first 30 minutes in the cabin with the Tramp, Big Jim and Black Larsen – the second half is incredibly uneven. The gags that do work are still hilarious to this day, however, and it’s no doubt the memory of those iconic scenes that has led people to hold the film in such high regard. From eating a boiled leather shoe, to getting caught in the middle of a crosswind, to the dancing dinner roll routine, “The Gold Rush” contains some of Chaplin’s best movie moments. Unfortunately, the film’s dramatic beats only get in the way of its comic genius, while the big finale in the teetering cabin isn’t nearly as funny as some of the earlier scenes, like the bit where Chaplin tries to avoid the barrel of a shotgun, or when Big Jim imagines the Tramp as a giant chicken. It’s definitely one of those movies that you need to see at least once in your life, but it’s hardly the definitive Chaplin picture.

Blu-ray Highlight: There’s some really great bonus material included on the disc, but the standout extra is “Presenting ‘The Gold Rush’,” a 16-minute featurette about the film’s long history that covers its initial theatrical release, Charlie Chaplin’s reworked 1942 sound version, and the various re-releases throughout the years, including the restoration of the 1925 original completed by David Gill and Kevin Brownlow in 1993.

I’m lucky if there’s a few good Blu-ray releases worth considering for my column each week, let alone actually sent by the studios to review, but that’s definitely not the case with this week’s impressive haul. While I didn’t get copies of “John Carter,” “Breaking Bad: Season Four,” or many of the Universal and Disney catalog titles released, there was still plenty to choose from to make this edition of Blu Tuesday one of the best yet.

It’s been a while since the last time I sat down to watch “The Sting,” but it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the movie still holds up remarkably well, especially now that it’s been digitally remastered as part of Universal’s 100th Anniversary Collector’s Series. Director George Roy Hill’s second collaboration with Robert Redford and Paul Newman epitomizes everything that made the 1970s such an amazing and transitional period for American cinema, beginning with David S. Ward’s Oscar-winning screenplay. While Hill does a great job making sense of the elaborate plot, and Redford and Newman replicate their wonderful chemistry from “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” the film wouldn’t be such a timeless classic if it wasn’t for Ward’s smart and unpredictable script. From Newman’s poker showdown with Robert Shaw, to the climactic finale involving nearly every character in the story, there are so many memorable moments that it’s no wonder why “The Sting” remains as beloved today as when it was first released. It’s arguably the definitive con movie, and one that deserves a place in every film lover’s collection.

Blu-ray Highlight: Although it’s appeared on previous editions, “The Art of the Sting” is an excellent three-part retrospective that features interviews with Robert Redford, Paul Newman and other cast and crew as they reflect back on making the film, including the choice to use ragtime music for the score, cast chemistry and anecdotes from the set.

Science fiction has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts on television in recent years, thanks in large part to the advances made in technology. Unfortunately, many of the major networks haven’t had a lot of luck with the genre, which is why the idea of a smaller fish like TNT dipping its toes into the sci-fi pool sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. Perhaps best described as a mix between “War of the Worlds” and “The Walking Dead,” the show strikes a good balance between the action sequences and the human drama that occurs within the Resistance, even if the writing and acting aren’t necessarily of the highest quality. It’s obvious from the first episode that “Falling Skies” is working with a limited budget, but while the special effects are only slightly better than your average SyFy made-for-TV movie, they’re never a crutch to the series. Granted, it probably won’t blow you away, but for sci-fi fans still mourning the loss of shows like “V,” it’s a pretty decent substitute.

Blu-ray Highlight: If you’re looking for a more in-depth conversation about specific episodes, then the included audio commentaries (five in all, featuring producer Greg Beeman, actor Noah Wyle and writer Mark Verheidan) are the way to go, but I enjoyed the footage of the “Falling Skies” panel from last year’s San Diego Comic-Con a little more. Though the panel isn’t available in its entirety, it features most of the cast (as well as a few of the producers) discussing the first season in a much broader capacity.

If I’m being completely honest, I don’t really remember “Safe House” all that well, but that’s part of the problem. Despite starring two of the most charismatic actors in the industry in Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, the movie is pretty forgettable. The actors do the best they can with the material that they’ve been given, but despite some small changes to the formula, the film is just another run-of-the-mill action thriller with hardly a surprising moment throughout. One of the few things that does work in the film is the setting. In addition to boasting a variety of unique locations (like the newly built soccer stadium), Cape Town, South Africa is a fresh and exotic locale that Hollywood hasn’t filmed to death. There’s also a really great action sequence with Reynolds and “The Killing” star Joel Kinneman (who previously worked with director Daniel Espinosa on the Swedish hit “Snabba Cash”) that will likely go down as one of the best fight scenes of the year, but for a movie packed with this much talent, there should have been a lot more highlights than that.

Blu-ray Highlight: There really isn’t a standout special feature on Universal’s two-disc release, but there are still a few good extras worth checking out, including a short but sweet making-of featurette that covers a range of topics like the script, casting and production; an in-depth look at the film’s fight choreography; and a featurette on ex-CIA operative Luis Falcon III’s assistance in making the movie as accurate as possible.

Read the rest of this entry »

After celebrating Memorial Day weekend partying with your friends and family, eating good food, and drinking way more than you planned, there’s nothing better than relaxing in the cool confines of your home while watching a movie. Thankfully, there are a few new Blu-rays out today to help pass the time, including a personal favorite from last year and one of the more enjoyable sports comedies in recent memory.

Every once in a while, a movie comes along that knocks you completely on your ass, and Lynne Ramsey’s psychological thriller “We Need to Talk About Kevin” is such a film. A thoroughly engaging and disturbing look at the strained relationship between a mother and her sociopathic child, Ramsey has crafted a modern day “Rosemary’s Baby” of sorts that lingers in the back of your mind long after it’s over. Tilda Swinton delivers a powerhouse performance as a mother trying to adapt to life after her son commits a Columbine-esque massacre at his school, although most of the story takes place before the tragic event, with Ramsey exploring the idea of nature vs. nurture and how much Swinton’s parenting tactics are to blame for the subsequent actions of her malevolent son. Though the constant use of red imagery throughout the film feels a little forced at times, “We Need to Talk About Kevin” is so brilliant from top to bottom (especially the acting, score and cinematography) that it’s absolutely mesmerizing.

Blu-ray Highlight: “Behind the Scenes of Kevin” isn’t your typical making-of featurette, but rather an intelligent discussion about the movie with interviews from the cast and crew on a number of topics like adapting Lionel Shriver’s controversial novel for the big screen, casting, production design and the film’s various themes.

With the exception of Disney’s “The Mighty Ducks” series, the hugely overrated “Slap Shot” and a handful of other films, hockey has been inadequately represented by Hollywood compared to most sports, which is probably why “Goon” is such a welcome treat. Though the Michael Dowse-directed comedy is a fairly average underdog story in most respects, it’s still one of the best sports films in recent years. Seann William Scott has never had a better role than that of bouncer turned hockey enforcer Doug Glatt, and his understated performance is a big reason why the movie works as well as it does. In fact, most of the cast is excellent throughout, including Liev Schreiber as a fellow enforcer nearing retirement, the divine Alison Pill as Doug’s awkward but sweet love interest, and Kim Coates as the no-nonsense coach who recruits Doug for his special talents. Speaking of which, the fight scenes are awesome, delivering plenty of blood and laughs with every blow. And if you didn’t know much about hockey goons before, you’ll have a newfound respect for them by the time it’s over.

Blu-ray Highlight: Magnolia’s two-disc release of “Goon” comes jam-packed with extras, some of which are actually quite good. Though the audio commentary with director Michael Dowse and actor/co-writer Jay Baruchel is definitely worth checking out, there’s a pretty lengthy interview with Baruchel and star Seann William Scott that covers a lot of the same material about making the film in a third of the time.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you didn’t believe me when I said that May was going to be a great month for Blu-rays, well, you never should have doubted me to begin with, but I forgive you. Following in the footsteps of last week’s releases, there are several great movies and TV series arriving in stores today, including Season Two of the BBC drama “Sherlock.” Although I would have liked to see Studio Ghibli’s latest animated film, “The Secret World of Arriety,” in time to review, it’s probably safe to say that it’s at least worth renting. Sadly, that’s not the case for every new release, but one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and that applies to one’s taste in movies as well.

Fans of Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss’ modern-day update of Sherlock Holmes have had to endure an agonizingly long wait between seasons, but I think most people would agree that it was well worth it, because “Sherlock” is every bit as good (and perhaps even better) in its second year. Part of that likely has to do with Moffat and Gatiss choosing to adapt arguably the three most popular stories in Sherlock Holmes canon. Though I’ve never been particularly fond of the oft-filmed “The Hounds of Baskerville,” the two movies that bookend it – “A Scandal in Belgravia” and “The Reichenbach Fall” – are nothing short of perfect, featuring a pair of magnetic performances by Lara Pulver (as the sexy and smart femme fatal Irene Adler) and Andrew Scott, whose deliciously twisted Moriarty is one for the ages. Of course, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are still very much the heartbeat of “Sherlock,” because no matter how clever the writing may be, the show wouldn’t work as well as it does if it weren’t for the chemistry between its two leading men.

Blu-ray Highlight: There’s not a single weak link among the included extras, though it’s a bit strange that they’d include audio commentaries for the first two movies and not the last one. The commentaries are insightful and will appeal to both fans of the show and the original stories, while the making-of featurette “Sherlock Uncovered” offers a behind the scenes look at the work that went into producing each episode.

Simon Kinberg has written some pretty good movies in the past (“Sherlock Holmes,” “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”), but he’s also written his share of bad ones as well, and “This Means War” falls somewhere in the middle. The film’s biggest problem is that it squanders its potential at almost every turn, and a lot of that blame falls on director McG, who fails to make the most of the promising setup. Though it’s not as flashy as you might expect compared to some of McG’s other work, “This Means War” really isn’t as much of an action movie. Instead, it’s a romantic comedy where the two love interests just so happen to be real-life action heroes, and while the scenes between Pine and Hardy in the field are a lot of fun, the main plot involving Reese Witherspoon dating both men at the same time is beyond ridiculous. Chelsea Handler is probably the only memorable thing about the movie, and not even in a good way. She’s so terrible as Witherspoon’s advice-bearing best friend that one can only hope it’ll finally expose her as the talentless famewhore she is.

Blu-ray Highlight: McG’s rapid-fire commentary is hands-down the best extra on the disc, with the director offering details on just about every aspect of the filmmaking process, even if he does talk about the attractiveness of his three stars quite a bit.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been a while since I’ve had this many new releases to choose from, but it looks like things are beginning to really pick up as we head into summer, which is great news. Though I didn’t have time to check out all of the week’s Blu-rays, it goes without saying that you shouldn’t limit yourself to the ones featured below. Criterion’s release of “Being John Malkovich” would be an excellent addition to any cinephile’s collection, while Western fans will probably enjoy the first season of the AMC drama “Hell on Wheels.”

With the exception of “The Blair Witch Project” and “Cloverfield,” the whole found-footage craze has generally failed to impress me as a viable storytelling device, usually because most of the movies in the subgenre are plagued by terrible scripts and bad acting. But director Josh Trank’s debut feature doesn’t run into any of those problems, and it’s exactly because the script and acting are so good that he’s able to utilize the low-budget gimmick to his benefit, delivering a fresh take on found-footage and superhero movies in the process. Additionally, the idea to tell the superhero origin story from the villain’s point of view is pretty ingenious, particularly because his fall from grace is a lot more complex than the typical hero’s tale. Though the format does yield a few nagging questions – like, for instance, why anyone would still bother recording any of this after all hell has broken loose – the cameras are integrated so cleverly into the story that it helps the movie a lot more than it hurts it.

Blu-ray Highlight: I didn’t receive a copy in time for review, but I’m curious to check out the proposed director’s cut to see if any cool stuff was left on the cutting room floor.

The trailers for Joe Carnahan’s survival thriller may have promised one thing (namely, a showdown between Liam Neeson and a big bad wolf) and delivered something else entirely, but it’s still a solid adventure film with plenty of action. Though you pretty much know how it’s going to end as soon as the first few guys succumb to the deadly triumvirate of the punishing weather, dangerous terrain and hungry predators, Carnahan manages to hold your interest by taking the time to develop his characters, humanizing them beyond simple wolf fodder. Neeson and character actor Frank Grillo, in particular, deliver some really strong performances, with the latter even managing to outshine his co-star. “The Grey” can get a bit too philosophical at times when you’d rather just watch Neeson punch a wolf in the face, but while that would have certainly delivered the kind of instant adrenaline rush we all expected, it’s the bleak realism of the movie that stays with you long after it’s finished.

Blu-ray Highlight: Though Joe Carnahan has a tendency to be a bit of a tool when it comes to talking about his movies, the director’s commentary with editors Roger Barton and Jason Hellmann is nonetheless an engaging discussion about making the film that covers a range of topics like the cast, special effects and shooting in the Arctic.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ll admit that I wasn’t very eager to write my column this week due to the lack of quality new releases, but because I had to skip doing one last Tuesday for personal reasons, it seemed irresponsible to miss another week without a better excuse. Unfortunately, that doesn’t really make these movies any better, so let’s just get on with it, shall we?

As a fan of the first “Underworld” movie, I really wish that Screen Gems would stop making these horrible sequels already and just let the franchise die a quiet death. While it was natural for the studio to want to continue the story after the breakout success of the original, every successive installment has been shoddier than the last, and “Underworld: Awakening” is no exception. Not even the spandex-clad return of Kate Beckinsale can save the film from being as bad as it is, because it simply has too many problems to overcome. Although I enjoyed the addition of series newcomers Charles Dance and Theo James as a father/son pair of vampires with conflicting ideas on how to save their race, the story is generic, the dialogue isn’t much better, and the CGI is incredibly inconsistent. But above all else, “Awakening” is just plain dull, and that’s probably the worst thing you could say about any action film.

Blu-ray Highlight: There’s quite a bit of bonus material packed onto the disc, but as you might imagine, the standout extra is creature related. By far the most detailed of the included featurettes, “Building a Better Lycan” covers how the suits were designed, the performers that wore them, and the improvements made from the previous three films.

I’m not as crazy about Joe Dante’s “Gremlins” as most people my age, but the movie is still an amusing, family-friendly spin on the classic creature feature that holds some nostalgic value. Believe it or not, it took Warner Bros. six years to release the inevitable sequel, and although it contains a handful of laughs, “The New Batch” is mostly a campy cash-in that goes way too far with its wackiness. The idea to transport the titular creatures to New York City definitely had potential, but the movie quickly devolves into a hodgepodge of random ideas that feels more like than an excuse to dress up a bunch of Gremlins in different costumes than anything else. Dante does have a bit of fun satirizing movie sequels as well as the original “Gremlins” with some clever references that are sprinkled throughout, but despite trying to avoid rehashing the events of the first film, “The New Batch” feels oddly familiar. Plus, it’s surprisingly short on screen time for its furry star Gizmo, and that’s just not cool.

Blu-ray Highlight: The audio commentary with director Joe Dante, star Zach Galligan, writer Charlie Haas and producer Michael Finnell isn’t particularly entertaining, but there’s enough good information here about the making of the movie to interest fans.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last Tuesday’s Blu-ray selection wasn’t quite as poor as it has been these last few weeks – with such notable titles as “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” and “Shame” on the schedule – but I didn’t receive any review copies in time for my column. Thankfully, things are finally starting to pick up again, which is great news for Blu-ray collectors. Although there really isn’t a standout title among this week’s releases, there’s still a good variety to choose from, including this trio of very diverse movies.

Mark Wahlberg’s latest action thriller isn’t a terrible movie by any means, but it is an incredibly unmemorable one that, although it likely earned the actor a nice paycheck and the opportunity to work with guys like Ben Foster, J.K. Simmons and Giovanni Ribisi, isn’t up to par with what his fans have come to expect. A big part of the problem is that director Baltasar Kormakur vastly overcomplicates the film’s simplistic setup by making the actual heist so unnecessarily complex that not even Danny Ocean and his crew could pull it off. Worse yet, the story is so predictable that you can see every twist and turn before it happens. There’s hardly a single original idea to be found, which is ironic considering it’s about counterfeiting, and though Kormakur was presumably given the directing gig because he was familiar with the source material (having played Wahlberg’s role in the Icelandic film that it’s based on), he fails to demonstrate what made that movie so special that it deserved a remake.

Blu-ray Highlight: I’m a sucker for a good making-of featurette, and the one included here is better than most, covering a range of topics including the differences between the Icelandic original and the remake, casting and filming on location in New Orleans.

I saw Ti West’s “The Innkeepers” two years ago at South by Southwest, and whether it was because “Insidious” had just given me a mini panic attack the night before, or because I was simply expecting more from the film, I didn’t find it to be particularly scary. Though West’s slow-burn approach is pretty effective in the opening half, there’s very little payoff, to the point that when the horror elements finally do kick in, they’re not as terrifying as you’d expect. Instead, the movie spends most of the time camped out at the front desk where its two leads banter back and forth and play tricks on one another. It’s amusing at times, but never enough to hold your interest, despite the fact that Sara Paxton and Pat Healy have good chemistry. If there’s one redeeming quality, it’s the fantastic score by Jeff Grace, which at least makes the movie more watchable. Unfortunately, “The Innkeepers” is a mediocre horror film at best, and that’s a shame, because while it had the potential to revitalize the genre, it falls short.

Blu-ray Highlight: There’s not much to choose from on the single-disc release, but fans of Ti West will certainly enjoy the director’s pair of audio commentaries – one with producers Peter Phok and Larry Fessenden and 2nd Unit Director/Sound Designer Graham Reznick, and another, much livelier affair with stars Sara Paxton and Pat Healy.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s another slow week for Blu-ray fans, with only two major titles being released, neither of which is worth more than a rental. Warner Bros.’ repackaging of “A Streetcar Named Desire” and the Werner Herzog documentary “Into the Abyss” are also hitting stores, but since I didn’t receive either of those for review, this week’s column is going to be brief.

Every bit the listless piece of Oscar bait that everyone expected it to be, “The Iron Lady” is essentially a made-for-TV movie with an award-worthy performance at the center. Yes, Meryl Streep is almost offensively talented as an actress, but she’s also been much better in a lot of other movies than she is here playing former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Though Streep absolutely nails her portrayal of the controversial politician (thanks in large part to some excellent make-up work), the movie itself is a rather cold and insipid biopic that isn’t nearly as interesting as it probably could have been in the hands of a more talented filmmaker. Jim Broadbent and Alexandra Roach (as Thatcher’s husband and younger self, respectively) deliver some good work in supporting roles, but this is clearly Streep’s show. It’s just a shame that her fantastic performance was wasted in such a mediocre movie, because if the actress was going to finally win another Oscar after so many years, it should have been for something much more memorable than this.

Blu-ray Highlight: Regrettably, there is none. All of the so-called “bonus featurettes” are less than three minutes long and recycle a lot of the same footage from “Making The Iron Lady,” which is more of just a standard rundown of the characters and actors that play them. It’s a bit baffling that some kind of makeup featurette wasn’t included seeing as how the film won an Oscar for it, because it surely would have been worth watching.

When I previewed Chris Gorak’s sci-fi thriller back in December, I expressed my annoyance with the fact that it was being released in a month where it had virtually no chance of success. Of course, that was when I still thought the film had potential, but in hindsight, it’s easy to see why Summit showed so little confidence in the movie. Despite boasting a cool premise and a talented young cast (including Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby and Joel Kinnaman of “The Killling”), “The Darkest Hour” is B-movie material at best, marred by terrible performances, clichéd characters and a lack of excitement. The film’s only redeeming quality is the special effects, but Gorak relies on the image of the invisible aliens turning its victims to dust so often that you wonder if it’s the only card he has to play. Because when the aliens’ comically lame physical form is finally revealed, you’ll understand why they spent most of the movie hidden in stealth mode. Spoiler alert: it’s even worse than it sounds.

Blu-ray Highlight: Though fans will probably get a kick out of the short film “Survivor,” which explores the human resistance forming around the world, the “Visualizing an Invasion” featurette is an interesting look at designing the aliens, their unique POV shots and the cool “shred” effect that happens when you come into contact with them.