New in Home Entertainment
October 9, 2012
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Rated PG
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
In 1982, when I was a mere ten years old, I went from being a kid who liked movies to a cinephile. I still remember sitting on lawn chairs waiting to see the film at the Reding Four in Oklahoma City, where I would soon discover the movie that would literally change my life. There was something in that film that I really connected with, as I’m sure millions of other people did the same that year. For the twentieth anniversary of the film, Spielberg made some changes to the film, which upset others a lot more than I, but for all of us, this long-awaited hi def edition takes us back thirty years ago when g-men carried guns rather than walkie talkies. The film looks and sounds amazing, and I actually compared the blu-ray to the old dvd just to see the extent of the difference blu-ray really makes. This new version is light on new features, but the featurette Steven Spielberg & E.T. is a nice addition. Many of the old special features are still there including the wonderful The Music of E.T. where you get to see footage of Spielberg and John Williams around the piano as Williams gives the director a taste of what he has prepared for the soon to be legendary film. I love this film just as much now as I did when I first saw it and I am so happy that I finally have such a high quality version of it to watch whenever I want to revisit Elliott and his little alien friend. A+
Rock of Ages
Rated PG-13 for sexual content, suggestive dancing, some heavy drinking, and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
I was so excited when I heard that they were making a big screen version of one of my favorite recent Broadway shows. Having seen the live show three times, I was ready to rock out in the movie theater. After twenty minutes of pain, I was closer to leaving a movie than I had ever been in my life. What is supposed to be a glorious nostalgia-fest turns out quickly to be an example of how not to make a movie musical. It’s not that the singers couldn’t sing (even Tom Cruise sounds decent) and it’s not that the Broadway version was a perfect show. The biggest problems was the removal of the narrator, played in the movie by Russell Brand. The show itself is very tongue in cheek and not to be taken seriously, but everything was tied together so nicely by the very comedic narration. Without those jokes, and the overall humor they provided, the movie collapses upon itself. This version is not very funny and at times gets down-right depressing. In addition, any edge hair metal once had in the 80’s or even possessed on stage is lost here. Rather than rockin’ out to some of favorite songs, I found myself understanding how bad they can be when rewritten for the cast of Glee. F
A Cat in Paris
Rated PG
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
With last year’s animation slate turning out so lame, two foreign animated films managed to get themselves Oscar-nominated. I discussed Chico & Rita a couple of weeks back, but now the same distributor is releasing the other, and much more worthy feature: A Cat in Paris. Following a cat who is a pet to a young girl by day and an aid to a thief by night, the story manages to wind itself down paths you would never expect from a nice little family film when the thief’s life intersects with the girl and her family. The story is good, but what really makes the film special is the fantastic hand-drawn animation that is as beautiful as it is creative. With such a unique and vibrant color palette, each frame of the movie looks like it could stand alone as a piece of art. A-