After what can only be described as a really lousy last few weeks, things are finally starting to pick up again in the land of Blu-ray, with several key titles (including the 3D edition of “Jurassic Park”) arriving in stores today. Though the selection isn’t as great as it was a few months ago, when compared to the rest of April, it’s hard to complain.
“Gangster Squad”
It’s been a while since Hollywood delivered a truly great mobster movie, and though “Gangster Squad” falls a little short of remedying that, it’s still an entertaining and welcome return to the genre, partially because it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Will Beall’s script does a good job of balancing the drama with brief moments of humor, while Sean Penn’s gleefully over-the-top turn as Mickey Cohen is just campy enough without being distracting. The action sequences are also really well done, although the unique visual style that Ruben Fleischer brought to “Zombieland” isn’t as prevalent here as it was in that movie. If there’s one thing that really makes the film worth seeing, however, it’s the killer cast. Josh Brolin is great as the leader of the titular squad, and it’s nice to see Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone rekindle their chemistry from “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” even if both parts are poorly underwritten. The other cast members don’t get as much to do, but having top-notch actors like Nick Nolte, Anthony Mackie, Michael Peña, Giovanni Ribisi and Robert Patrick in those supporting roles definitely elevates the material. The story is predictable, and it owes a lot to “The Untouchables,” but “Gangster Squad” is enjoyable in spite of all that.
Blu-ray Highlight: It’s a shame that Warner Bros. didn’t include the original movie theater shootout sequence among the deleted scenes, but the rest of the bonus material is pretty good. “The Gangland Files” collects many of the disc’s extras (including Focus Point mini-featurettes, historical trivia and other bits) into a picture-in-picture track that plays alongside the film, while the audio commentary with director Ruben Fleischer is informative but not terribly engaging.
April has been a pretty poor month for Blu-ray fans thus far, and the disappointment continues this week. With the exception of Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, there aren’t many new releases to get excited about unless you’re a fan of Marvel’s anime projects or the 1984 cult hit “Repo Man.” Unfortunately, I’m not particularly crazy about either, and so while today’s column would have been just as easy to skip as the previous two weeks, it’s hard to ignore Tarantino’s bloody Western.
Though the director doesn’t make very many films, when Tarantino does release a new one, it’s always met with the same kind of crazed excitement usually reserved for summer tentpoles, and that’s because his movies are practically big events themselves. After dabbling in just about every genre at this point in his career, it was only natural that he would eventually try his hand at making a Western, even if “Django Unchained” is more of a genre mash-up between a spaghetti western and a blaxploitation film, complete with all the musical cues, whip pans and other stylistic flourishes. The film also reveals itself to be somewhat of a buddy comedy, and this is when “Django Unchained” is at its best, delivering some of Tarantino’s funniest dialogue and anchored by yet another show-stopping performance from Christoph Waltz. By the time Leonardo DiCaprio’s charming but villainous plantation owner is introduced, however, the movie starts to lose steam. Though DiCaprio is a lot of fun to watch in the role, the second half of the film drags on for too long, and that’s coming from someone who usually welcomes Tarantino’s tendency towards excess. “Django Unchained” is propped up by a pair of fantastic performances and is filled with plenty of classic Tarantino moments, but it’s hard not to feel a little letdown, because it simply doesn’t live up to the high standards set by his previous films.
Blu-ray Highlight: A review copy wasn’t provided in time, but if other sources are to be believed, the included bonus material is a bit lackluster, with only a handful of extras (including featurettes on the film’s costumes, stunts and production designer J. Michael Riva) and no audio commentary by Tarantino.
The hits keep on coming this week with several more high-profile releases, but you better enjoy it now, because the next few weeks don’t look nearly as promising. In fact, there are so few quality Blu-rays hitting stores in late March/early April that I’ll either be skipping my column during those weeks, or I’ll combine them into one post. With that said, there’s plenty worth being excited about today, with such a heavy emphasis on politically-themed films and TV series that you’d almost think it was November again.
“Lincoln”
Steven Spielberg has been trying to make a movie about Abraham Lincoln for so long that it seemed like it might never happen. But after years stuck in development, his passion project finally got made, albeit with a different actor in the title role. Though Daniel Day-Lewis is certainly no slouch, the prospect of Liam Neeson reteaming with his “Schindler’s List” director was a lot more exciting. Nevertheless, Day-Lewis proves himself a more than adequate replacement as the 16th U.S. President, commanding the screen with a vigor that combats the film’s languid pace. His Lincoln is stubborn and stoic, but also witty when the mood permits, and though he was the only cast member to win an Oscar for his performance, the acting is top-notch all around, including fellow nominees Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field, and James Spader as a slimy lobbyist. While the more bureaucratic scenes drag on for too long, they’re a big part of what “Lincoln” is all about and provide some of the film’s best moments. The movie does get a little too caught up in the intricacies of the political process at times, but it’s an engaging behind the scenes look at one of the country’s most historic moments.
Blu-ray Highlight: A review copy didn’t arrive in time, but some quick research shows that there are two versions of the Blu-ray available: a barebones two-disc edition with a pair of brief featurettes and a four-disc edition with an additional 65 minutes of bonus material. If you’re a history buff, or you just really like behind-the-scenes extras, go with the latter set. Otherwise, the two-disc version should suffice.
It’s another fantastic week for movie fans, with some pretty major titles hitting Blu-ray today, and a few more (like “Les Miserables” and “This Is 40”) being released on Friday. Though I didn’t really like Tom Hooper’s big screen adaptation of the popular stage musical or Judd Apatow’s quasi-sequel to “Knocked Up,” there are still plenty of new releases worth checking out, including one of 2012’s best films and the most anticipated prequel since “The Phantom Menace.”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
It was never going to be an easy job adapting “The Hobbit” for the big screen, especially after the success of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and although that likely played a part in Peter Jackson’s initial decision to let another director take the reins, at the end of the day, it just wouldn’t have felt right with anyone else behind the camera. Not only does Jackson know the source material inside and out, but in keeping with the same tone and breathtaking visuals from the original trilogy, the movie feels like it’s part of a bigger story. Granted, “An Unexpected Journey” only covers about a third of Tolkien’s novel, and as a result, there are times when the movie seems to be holding back in fear that it’s covering too much too soon. Martin Freeman is perfectly cast as the young Bilbo, and Ian McKellan effortlessly slides back into the role of Gandalf, but the dwarves are another matter, with Richard Armitage’s leader the only one to really distinguish himself from the pack. However, the film’s real MVP is Andy Serkis, who delivers his best work as Gollum in perhaps the most memorable scene of all four movies. “An Unexpected Journey” still falls a bit short of “The Lord of the Rings” in the end, but it’s a delightfully fun trip back to Middle-earth whose biggest flaw is not knowing when enough is enough.
Blu-ray Highlight: It’s a bit disappointing that the only bonus material Warner Bros. saw fit to include on the Blu-ray are the two hours’ worth of video blogs that were already made available online in the lead-up to the film’s release. With that said, it’s an impressively in-depth look at the making of the first movie (back when it was only two parts), from location filming in New Zealand, to shooting in 3D and 48 fps, to the dwarves’ intricate makeup and costumes, and much more. Some newer extras would have been nice, but with the inevitable Extended Edition in the pipeline, it’s not much of a surprise either.
It’s another busy week for Blu-rays, so I don’t want to waste too much time here, but with so much good stuff being released over the next few weeks, you might want to plan ahead so you don’t go broke buying all the great Oscar nominees and catalog titles coming to Blu-ray. With that said, there are definitely a few movies this week that no cinephile should ignore, so read on to find out which ones they are.
“Schindler’s List”
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since the release of Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List,” but even after all that time, it remains one of the director’s finest films and arguably the best movie ever made about the Holocaust. Though the film is plagued by many of the typical Spielbergian problems – namely its bloated runtime, which is even worse than usual due to the somewhat meandering pace and useless subplots – Janusz Kaminski’s cinematography is superb (it looks even better in high definition) and the acting is great all around. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes’ Oscar nominations were both fully deserved, delivering some of the best work of their careers as the heroic Schindler and psychotic SS officer Amon Goeth, respectively, while Ben Kingsley’s absence from the Supporting Actor category feels unjust in hindsight. Still, the movie walked away with seven Academy Awards that year – including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay – so it’s not like it didn’t receive its fair share of recognition, and now that it’s finally on Blu-ray, a whole new generation of moviegoers can finally enjoy Spielberg’s excellent drama the way it should be seen.
Blu-ray Highlight: The Blu-ray doesn’t actually feature any bonus material, but the accompanying DVD version does, although the only extra of note is a documentary from 2004 that combines archival footage with survivor interviews about the Holocaust. It’s just a pity that Steven Spielberg couldn’t be bothered to do an audio commentary.
“Wreck-It Ralph”
It’s been quite awhile since I saw an animated movie that I really loved (the kind you can watch over and over again), but Disney’s “Wreck-It Ralph” is that good. Though it was unfairly snubbed at this year’s Oscars in favor of Pixar’s mediocre fairy tale “Brave,” Rich Moore’s directorial debut has a much better chance of standing the test of time, even if the early rumors of a sequel don’t exactly fill me with glee. After all, its wildly inventive premise is one of the many things that separate “Wreck-It Ralph” from other films in the genre, and the fact that it appeals to video game fans of all ages certainly doesn’t hurt. The digital cameos lend some authenticity to Ralph’s world and are smartly integrated into the story without drawing too much attention, while the casting is pretty much spot-on, especially John C. Reilly as the title character and Sarah Silverman as his spunky sidekick. Though it would have been fun to see Ralph game-jump into more than a few games, I guess something has to be saved for the sequel, no matter how bad of an idea it may sound.
Blu-ray Highlight: Hosted by Nerdist’s Chris Hardwick, Disney’s latest Intermission feature reveals some of the film’s Easter Eggs whenever the disc is paused, but the real highlight is John Kahrs’ visually stunning (and Oscar-winning) “Paperman” short.
“Red Dawn”
As far as 1980s cult classics go, “Red Dawn” isn’t the most popular of the bunch, but it is one of the few movies to receive a remake that actually makes sense. Though it’s hard to beat the cast of the original, director Dan Bradley’s update boasts a solid group of young actors, including Chris “Thor” Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson. The only real problem is Josh Peck, who isn’t terribly convincing as the impulsive star quarterback and falls flat in many of the film’s more emotional scenes. Thankfully, the movie doesn’t rely too heavily on the strength of its characters to move the story along, but when your lead is as bad as Peck is here, it’s hard to ignore. A lot of the film’s success ultimately comes down to the excellent action sequences, and that’s where having a guy like Bradley – who worked as a stunt coordinator and second unit director on several big movies – pays off. He may not get the best performances from his actors, but the action scenes are never lacking in excitement. Granted, the movie is about as subtle as a chainsaw, but it doesn’t try to hide what it is either, and that’s what makes “Red Dawn” such a fun guilty pleasure.
Blu-ray Highlight: A review copy didn’t arrive in time, but after the film’s theatrical release endured such a long delay, it’s hard to imagine MGM going all out for this one.
