Author: crunchonthis

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New on DVD October 19, 2010

New on DVD October 19, 2010

How to Train Your Dragon
Rated PG for sequences of intense action and some scary images, and brief mild language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Based on the best-selling children’s books by Cressida Cowell, How to Train Your Dragon tells the story of a young boy named Hiccup in a mythological Viking village that falls under the constant attack of Dragons.  When Hiccup takes down the most vicious Dragon known to Vikings, he chooses to befriend it instead of killing it.  For me, this is still the best film of the year so far.  It is full of raw emotion, thrills, daring and adventure.  It is both spectacular to look at and listen to thanks to the brilliant directing by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders and a breathtaking score by John Powell.  The special features are also very much worth taking a look at just so you can see the pure artistry of the film.  A+

Oceans
Rated G
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Continuing Disney’s Earth Day Nature series is a stunning look at the Oceans of the world.  Just like last year’s release Earth, the visuals are amazing and truly beautiful to take in.  The problem with this one is the horrendous script and even worse narration by Pierce Brosnan.  I consider myself to be a conservationist, but the story told here hurts the cause and serves just to annoy the viewer rather than to enhance the picture.  Maybe if you can turn the volume down all the way and turn on some nice classical music the film has a chance to be enjoyed.  C

The Karate Kid
Rated PG for bullying, martial arts action violence and some mild language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan star in this reboot of the original 80s classic.  In this story, Jaden is forced to move to China due to his mother’s new job, and in order to not get picked on and beat up by school bullies, he must train under the tutelage of Jackie Chan and eventually face the bullies at an open tournament.  While the story is  very contrived, it is hard not to be impressed by Smith’s discipline and knowledge of martial arts.  The kid really learned to fight and  the choreography is remarkable.  The film is also pretty to look at, showing the more aesthetically pleasing parts of China and leaving out the ugliness.  I could have gone for a little better acting on the part of Smith, but his ego gets in the way of his performance.  Then again, when your mom and dad (Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith) give you your own 55 million dollar film, its hard not to get a bit of an ego going.  B-

Jonah Hex
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, disturbing images and sexual content
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Based on the Civil War era DC Comics character, Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin) seeks revenge against the man that killed his wife and child.  While the movie contains a lot of action and violence, due to bad directing and an even worse script, the film fails to deliver an entertaining experience.  There is great potential here but the PG-13 rating keeps it from going where it needs to go to succeed and the way it’s pieced together shows the studio gave up on it before it was released.  Not even a scantily clad Megan Fox could save this comic tale.  C-

Psycho: 50th Anniversary Edition
Rated R
Available on Blu-ray
Finally getting the much-needed HD treatment is Hitchcock’s 1960 horror classic Psycho.  The transfer looks pristine and thanks to a very talented and caring sound production crew, the movie now has a stunning 5.1 surround track.  While the movie has lost a bit of its scare over the last 50 years, it is still extremely creepy and remains one of the most influential movies of our time.  Check out the new special feature on Psycho Sound as well as some of the old features including Hitchcock’s Legacy and a great commentary by Stephen Rebello.  A

The Darjeeling Limited: Criterion Edition
Rated R for language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Wes Anderson’s film about three brothers (Owen Wilson, Adrian Brody and Jason Schwartzman) traveling through India to visit their missionary mom is getting the ultimate collectors touch with this new Criterion set which contains tons of great special features and everything you would ever want to know about what went on in the making of the surreal comedy.  While it’s not my favorite Anderson pic, it remains probably his most artistic.  Now we just need Criterion to take on Rushmore and Fantastic Mr. Fox! B+

Predators
Rated R for strong creature violence and gore and pervasive language.  
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
While originally slotted to be the first sequel to Predator, this new Predator story tells the tale of some of Earth’s greatest killers who are all kidnapped and put onto a game reserve on another planet so the the Predators can have fun hunting them for sport.  The unlikely cast assembled are some Hollywood’s best actors including Adrian Brody, Topher Grace and Laurence Fishburne and the movie provides for a pretty entertaining butt-kicking action flick.  Sure its silly at times, but the movie doesn’t suffer from it.  B+

The Rocky Horror Picture Show: 35 Anniversary Edition
Rated R
Available on Blu-ray
The first time I saw Rocky Horror was on VHS with only three people in the room.  So its no wonder that I thought it to be a pretty crappy film.  But once I had the chance to see it with hundreds of people all screaming and going wild, I came to the realization that this is just not a good film to watch without a crazy crowd.  This blu-ray release attempts to remedy this with a picture-in-picture midnight experience that I can’t suggest highly enough.  Otherwise you’ll get the same lousy experience I had the first time and wonder what all of the hubbub is about.  B-

    

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Waiting for Superman

Waiting for Superman

Directed by Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth)
Rated PG for some thematic material, mild language and incidental smoking
Appropriate for all ages

    Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are probably well-aware that our educational system in America is broken.  The education our kids are getting is ranked almost last in the list of developed countries – and it is getting worse, not better.  Waiting for Superman is a documentary that explores what is wrong and why, unless drastic action is taken, the problems won’t be fixed.  By following children in both good and bad socioeconomic situations, the movie shows the harsh reality that our kids must senselessly face every day.

    If you are looking for a film that will both inform you and make you crazily angry – you can’t go wrong here.  While the point of the movie is to stir up emotions, the film also does an excellent job of throwing out ideas on how to take action. 

    It is gut-wrenching watching young children who want to excel having to rely on a lottery system in order to get the chance to get the education they deserve.  The film shows a school program in America that actually is working called KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) where kids are all treated like they not only can succeed, but that they should succeed.  The only problem is that there are far more kids that want in than spots available.  For the children being followed here, there are hopes and dreams of the future at stake and they are convinced, justifiably so, that their only chance is in a random drawing to attend the special school. 

    It is sad to see the kids count on such a system, but what is more sad is why aren’t schools switching to more successful ways of teaching our youth.  While the filmmakers don’t do a great job exploring issues such as bad parenting and bad students, the argument is more for why aren’t kids who want to achieve given the chance.  Much blame is placed on the Teacher’s Unions – and the fact that it is almost impossible for a tenured teacher to lose his or her job – even if they are providing an environment that is poisonous to their students.  The statistics are sound.  Only 1 in 2400 tenured teachers loses his or her license, a number that is not even closely matched by any other profession.  My question is will firing the bottom 10% of teachers make a difference?  The opinion of this film is absolutely yes.  It is the key.  Very little effort is placed in proving other arguments like more money for teachers, more money for education, and longer school years, but the central argument is well-defended. 

    Whatever the cure is, this film shows the need for one and will hopefully be a powerful agent for change.  If you are a parent, teacher, or an individual who is just merely concerned that things are going downhill fast, this is a must-see film.  Sure it will make you angry, and will most likely make you want to act out of that anger – but maybe that is just what this film is trying to be – a catalyst for revolution.  A   

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The Social Network

The Social Network

Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake
Directed by David Fincher (Fight Club)
Rated PG-13 for sexual content, drug and alcohol use and language
Appropriate for ages 13+

    While a two-hour movie about the creation of the popular social media site Facebook sounds excruciating at first thought, The Social Network proves that when you get a good enough director, writer, and cast – any story can be made not only interesting but thrilling as well.

    The Social Network begins with the not so humble albeit brilliant Mark Zuckerberg (Eisenberg) as he succeeds in getting the authorities at Harvard riled up by crashing their servers.  From there he lands himself in hot water when he decides to create the first version of Facebook and people come out of the woodwork claiming that he stole their ideas and even their right to the profits of the site.  We all know what happens in the present, but following these early years (all of which take place within the last decade) asks many questions that have never really been answered and tells the tale of a brash young genius who doesn’t care about money but does care deeply about the credit.

    David Fincher does such an excellent job creating a crazy, frantic mood and he gives the film a great deal of its dark personality.  That being said, without the amazing script by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) it’s hard to imagine this movie being worth watching at all.  It might not be completely non-fiction, since the story did not come from the keyboards of those that were there, but it’s as close to non-fiction as we’ll probably ever get and the events are what are most important.  Getting from one stage to the next is all in the hands of one of the best writers of our generation.

    Also of great importance is the extremely talented cast.  Jesse Eisenberg has always played such nerdy, wimpy characters and for him to come on as the man whose brain can beat your brawn is truly impressive.  Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake also provide terrific performances that could land either or both an Oscar nom this year. 

    The film’s not perfect by any means.  There are moments where the technicalities cause it to drag and while the tale might be true, the story objectifies and demeans women to a place where they are nothing more than girlfriends or wannabe lovers of smart men, not capable of actually contributing to the success of Facebook, except for in an inspirational manner. 

    Still, these are forgivable sins, and the pic ends up being one of the most entertaining films to be released so far this year.  A-

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New on DVD

New on DVD

Baseball: The Tenth Inning
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Ken Burns professes on the special features of this documentary that he refuses to make additions to his award-winning specials, but with Baseball something happened that caused him to change his mind: The Red Sox finally won the world series.  So starting where he left off, Burns explores the history of baseball over the last two decades, from the labor strike that almost crippled the sport, to the home run contest between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, to the steroid controversy, and onto his home team finally giving their fans a world series win.  While I’m not really a big fan of baseball, it’s impossible to watch this and not be enthralled by the history of the sport.  As usual, the film is extremely well-edited, well-produced, and superbly narrated by actor Keith David.  A

Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition
Rated G
Available on DVD/Blu-ray combo
Back when the Oscars only had five movies in their best picture category, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was the first animated film to ever be nominated for Best Picture.  While it didn’t end up beating out Silence of the Lambs (what could), it did end up winning the Golden Globe for best comedy/musical – another unaccomplished feat before 1991.  Now for the first time on Blu-ray, I think most folks will perceive it to be a no-brainer that HD is only way to take in this ground-breaking film, but also of note are the extensive special features Disney has added to the mix.  All of the previous features are still present, but check out the supplemental disc for the documentary Beyond Beauty which tells the decades long story of how Beauty finally got made and what, exactly, went into making it.  Even if you already own the DVD, this new edition is well worth replacing the old.  A+

A Nightmare on Elm Street
Rated R for strong bloody horror violence, disturbing images, terror and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
This new Michael Bay reboot of the teen slasher film replaces Robert Englund with Jackie Earle Haley as the infamous Freddy Krueger – a maniacal monster that haunts teenagers’ dreams and kills them in their sleep.  There seems to be a lot more fright in this new version, but the one thing this redo lacks that the other one had in spades was a sick sense of humor that made the film fun.  This isn’t fun at all, but rather just a bunch of pretty kids getting killed and a silly story.  The acting and production are all fine, but without entertainment value this version proves to be just a waste of a good remake.  C

The Human Centipede: First Sequence
Not Rated but not meant for anyone under 18
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
When two American teenagers seek shelter from a storm while on vacation in Germany, they find themselves victim to a mad scientist who wants to use them in his latest experiment: creating a human centipede by attaching them mouth to buttocks with another victim recently captured.  This is the epitome of sick, twisted, vile films that will probably do well as a cult classic (just the trailer has been widely publicized) and will unfortunately be the older teenager late-night sleepover film for years to come.  While it never takes itself too seriously, it is still a film that is not even remotely pleasant to watch.  And if you make some popcorn while watching – it’s liable to find its way back into the bag.  C

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The Maltese Falcon
Both Available on Blu-ray
Finally on HD are two of Humphrey Bogart’s best films from his career: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and the film noir classic The Maltese Falcon.  You might be asking yourself “why is HD important for these old film?”  It’s simple – increasing lines of resolution on a restored black and white print makes the film look crisp and pristine – maybe even as good as when it first came out.  Both discs are loaded with special features including a night at the movies feature introduced by Leonard Maltin and informative commentaries by Bogart biographer Eric Lax.  Treasure: A-; Maltese Falcon A+    

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Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Starring Shia LaBeouf, Michael Douglas, Carey Mulligan, and Josh Brolin
Directed by Oliver Stone
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and thematic elements
Appropriate for ages 15+

    It’s been 23 years since the original Wall Street hit theaters and since that time Gordon Gekko has served his time in prison for insider trading and is now back in New York, a changed man, promoting his book about the life he used to lead.  But the film is not really about Gordon Gekko.  Instead, Shia LaBeouf is a young trader engaged to Gekko’s daughter (Mulligan) who badly wants revenge on the man (Brolin) who brought down his boss and mentor as well as caused him to commit suicide.  The only problem is that the daughter wants nothing to do with her father and LaBeouf needs Gekko’s mentoring in order carry out the vendetta. 

    This whole plot is all good and fine were it not for Stone losing sight at what he used to be best at: stirring up controversy.  It’s almost as if he read Too Big To Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin and rather than recreating history and giving moviegoers something to chew on, he leaves some of the same situations but changes the names of the players and companies to where some of it is recognizable, some is a direct copy, and some of it a complete fabrication.  While it’s his story and he’s free to do whatever he wants to with it, this tale is extremely boring compared to the reality.  Were he to do something like JFK with the Finance industry, throwing Gekko in the mix, he might be looking at an Oscar.  Instead the movie might simply break even. 

    Acting-wise, the film is very uneven.  While Douglas is always great and this film is no different, LaBeouf fails to impress and Mulligan, who showed great promise in last year’s An Education, comes off as a whiny little brat with daddy issues.

    The most disappointing features of the film though were the distracting directing style of Stone, who normally isn’t like this, and the horrible choice in music.  Somebody obviously likes David Byrne and Brian Eno, but to have every song of the movie sung by them felt like a bad 80’s comedy starring Dudley Moore, not a contemporary movie about the financial crash that had such a great impact on all of our lives.

    The fact is, this movie could have been great.  All of the elements are there.  Perhaps the filmmakers didn’t have the intelligence to pull off a story that had such important significance.  That’s hard to believe given Stone’s history.  But seeing the failures of his past decade plus of directing, I think it can only be assumed that he has lost his touch.  C 

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New on DVD


New on DVD

Get Him to the Greek
Rated R for strong sexual content and drug use throughout, and pervasive language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Jonah Hill is a record producer trying to make a name for himself when he gets the chance of a lifetime to participate in a concert event of his creation.  The problem is that he must get the legendary rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), a drug-abusing sexaholic with a knack for getting into trouble, from London to Los Angeles in 72 hours for the show.  With Judd Apatow producing, it is easy to figure that this is a raunchy but funny comedy filled with bad behavior.  The downside is that instead of making it a straight-out buddy movie, the plot is over-complicated with Jonah’s girlfriend played by Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss.  This subplot actually brings the film down a path it didn’t need to go and gets in the way far too many times.  The special features are numerous and worth checking out and there’s even an unrated edition in case the R rated version isn’t naughty enough for you.  B

Frozen
Rated R for some disturbing images and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
This little horror indie takes place on the slopes as three friends sneak their way onto a chairlift before the park closes only to find the park shut down half-way up the mountain.  Of course the park is closed for the week and no one is coming to get them.  There are moments in the film with some decent tension and suspense, but when you start to realize that these collegiates have zero in the way of survival skills you start to not care if the wolves get them or not.  Watching the special features, the director shot down some of my escape attempt ideas, but the easier ones seemed like they would have had the kids down on the ground and home for dinner far before the 93 minutes was up.  C-

Rich Man, Poor Man
Available on DVD
Widely known as the first dramatic miniseries to appear on American television, Rich Man, Poor Man tells the story of the Jordache Family, an epic immigrant tale that spans from 1945 to 1960.  Featuring an all-star cast including Peter Strauss, Nick Nolte, Ed Asner, Bill Bixby, and Susan Blakely, Rich Man set the pace for dramatic miniseries in America as well as put some big names on the map.  Based on Irwin Shaw’s best-selling novel, the complex story-telling dives into familiar themes of strained human relationships and the naivete of the American dream.  The set contains both Books 1 and 2, but the disappearance of Nolte on Book 2 is noticeable and frankly rather disappointing.  B-

The Killer Inside Me
Rated R for disturbing brutal violence, aberrant sexual content and some graphic nudity
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Casey Affleck is the polite, good-natured sheriff in a small 1950s Texas town who doesn’t even carry a gun because he doesn’t feel it’s necessary.  When he gets a request to have a prostitute (Jessica Alba) run out of town, he kindly asks her and then resorts to an ugly streak of sexual violence which brings the two together in an affair, unbeknownst to his fiance (Kate Hudson).  In order to get rid of the evidence he attempts to brutally murder her and frame it on someone else, but this web of lies begins to blow up in his face as he gets deeper and deeper into violence and deceit.  It’s funny because for the first act you really like Affleck’s character.  I found myself thinking that he’s a heck of a guy and  I wonder what kind of trouble he’s going to get himself into.  But then you get to know him, and the ugly truth is absolutely disturbing.  I wouldn’t call this an enjoyable film, but making a film noir western with a villain sheriff makes for quite the interesting story.  B

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
Rated R for some strong sexuality and nudity
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
French with English Subtitles
Although the two films are unrelated, if you recently saw Coco Before Chanel with Audrey Tautou, then this serves as sort of a sequel as it takes place shortly after those events.  Much liberty is taken with the plot which revolves around Coco Chanel offering Igor Stravinsky and his family the chance to live in her country house in France while he composes, all the while the two have an affair right under the nose of his sick wife.  About the only verifiable fact in the film is the wonderfully fascinating first act which takes place at the premier of The Rite of Spring in Paris where the audience actually did go into a riot over the music and choreography.  Along with the terrific beginning, everything about this film is breathtaking except the meaningless script that essentially gets in the way of the overall enjoyment of the film.  The full production including the costuming, set designs, score and cinematography make the film worth watching.  If only there could have been some semblance of a romance to add to it – they might have ended up with another English Patient on their hands.  B-

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Complete Season 5
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Welcome back to Paddy’s Pub, the worst bar in Philadelphia.  Danny Devito and gang once again bring the anti-Cheers vibe where no one wants to know your name and they just might make fun of you if you dare to come in.  They’ll definitely do it once you leave.  The only issue I have with this FX sitcom is that there are only twelve episodes in the season.  The good news is that the show is still fresh and funny and full of back-stabbing and beat-downs.  Amongst the best of the laughs are kitten mittens (yes, mittens you put on cats), the gang stars in an M Night Shyamalan film, and then there’s the professional wrestling episode which left me hurting I was laughing so hard.  A-      

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The Town



The Town

Starring Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, and Jeremy Renner
Directed by Ben Affleck
Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and drug use
Appropriate for ages 17+

    When a group of friends in Boston, who also work together as bank robbers, run into issues during a bank heist, they decide to take a hostage (Hall).  In order to keep tabs, the leader of the group (Affleck) decides to try to get personally involved with her without her knowing he was one of the criminals so that he can find out how much she knows.  In the process his emotions get the better of him and he begins to fall for her instead, all while she thinks he is a completely different person than who he really is.

    It’s awfully fun getting surprised by a film and while The Town won’t be your Oscar winner for best picture, it is a darn good drama that is full of terrific performances and headed up by an immensely talented Affleck. 

    For about the first hour I just sat there thinking about how much this movie really wants to be Heat, which is an extremely tall order considering Affleck is no De Niro, and Jon Hamm most definitely is no Pacino.  After a bit, the movie takes on a different personality, paying homage to the Godfather portraying a criminal with female problems who can’t get out of the business, but who really wants to go legit.  But everything is at least done with a fresh, modern spin that won’t get you too distracted. 

    What I admired most about the film isn’t the story, but the great performances, namely those by Renner, Hall and Affleck.  Renner is such an ass here and you just hope  and pray that he will eventually reach his comeuppance.  That is the sign of a well-played villain.

    But Affleck’s turn behind the camera is just as impressive as his one in front.  You could tell he had a knack for visual storytelling with Gone Baby Gone, but this new venture is an even more solid outing that brings its audience to the very heart of Boston and into the lives of its characters.  He’s done such a great job of reinventing himself after what could have been a devastating career move in 2003 with Gigli, and while he might never live that moment in time down, at least he can say he’s moved way beyond it. 

    Overall, I really like this dark, gritty film that might have a few ripoffs here and there, but provides for a nice couple of hours of entertainment.  B+

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New on DVD



New on DVD

Modern Family: The Complete First Season
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
I’m always weary of new shows because there are so many of them and most of them go away after the first season.  When a friend of mine called mid-season through Modern Family and told me I just had to watch it because not only is it funny but there is a guy on the show that reminds him exactly of me, well, my interest was peaked.  Then I found out I reminded of him of a big flaming queen and I didn’t know what to say.  But I started to watch the show anyway and now my wife and I are hooked.  And the flaming queen, played by the brilliant Eric Stonestreet, just went on to win the Emmy, as did the show for best Comedy – a feat very difficult for a freshman comedy.  Modern Family revolves around three unique families: the dad/granddad, played by Ed O’Neal who lives with his hot young Colombian wife and her son, the somewhat normal daughter/mother with her husband and three kid outfit, and the other son who is one half of a gay couple who have just adopted a daughter from Vietnam.  The comedy is fresh and irreverent and extremely off-color which makes it that much more likable.  The only disappointment of the season was the much anticipated Hawaii episodes which were not nearly as funny as the buzz made us think they were going to be.  A

Bored to Death: The Complete First Season
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis, and Ted Danson star in this freshman HBO comedy about a mystery writer who is so bored that he posts an ad on the internet lending his services as a private detective in order to pass the time and maybe get a few ideas for his novel.  Each of the cases turn into madcap adventures and although Schwartzman and Galifianakis aren’t as funny as you’d like them to be, Danson turns in the best performance of his career.  The fact that he didn’t get an Emmy nomination off of this for best supporting actor shows that voters didn’t watch the show.  B

Robin Hood
Rated PG-13 for violence including intense sequences of warfare and some sexual content
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
The theatrical version of Robin Hood had some major problems that the filmmakers have attempted to clear up in this new Director’s Cut edition.  The first problem couldn’t be fixed and that is that the film is not about Robin Hood, but rather about what made him Robin Hood.  There is an interesting story somewhere there, but it also gets bogged down in the ultimate goal of setting Robin with his his destiny.  I like origin movies, but the movie needs to get into the meat of the story and not stop short.  Of course for this film to have done that it would have to be five hours long, and it already feels too long to begin with.  Where they went right this time was to axe the PG-13 for an unrated label and make it more of the R it should have been.  While the original script of the movie called for Robin Hood to be the villain and the Sheriff to be the hero, which could have been truly excellent, at least this new version gives a better look at what should have hit the big screen a few months ago.  C+

Spartacus: Blood and Sand – The Complete First Season
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Loosely based on the original character, Spartacus is betrayed by the Romans, forced into slavery, and remade into a legendary gladiator in this Starz original series.  While the story isn’t bad, the special effects, which seem to want to copy 300 but can’t quite get there, are as lousy as you can imagine.  This makes the violence completely laughable.  And then there is the surprising amount of graphic sex which is not only out of place in most cases, but has dialog written in that would make you think Larry Flynt was involved.  The only thing I can admire is the amount of time in the gym this cast spent – so as a mere inspirational television show, this one hits hard.  C

Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue
Rated G
Available on Blu-ray/DVD Combo
In this straight to video adventure, Tinker Bell makes friends with a human girl and is thought to be missing by all of her fairy friends.  As Tink tries to teach the girl about fairies, her friends set off on a rescue mission.  After seeing Alpha and Omega last week, I really needed something to cleanse my palate and this one worked just great.  The story is cute and will be immensely popular for little girls.  What I probably loved most about it were the rich, beautiful colors splashed all over the screen.  The animation here is top notch and proof that Disney knows exactly what it’s doing.  B

American Beauty: Sapphire Series
Rated R for strong sexuality, language, violence, and drug content
Available on Blu-ray
Getting the Sapphire treatment this time around is the Oscar-winning classic American Beauty about a not-so-average dysfunctional family on a road to self-destruction.  The HD transfer looks and sounds amazing, but I couldn’t find any new features to speak of.  It would have been nice to have the making-of documentary in HD possibly, or maybe something on that incredible score by Thomas Newman, but at least the special features from the DVD the first time around were pretty decent.  The commentary by director Sam Mendes and writer Alan Ball is still excellent.  While Conrad Hall won the Oscar for this one too, the definitive reflection of his life can be found on the recently released Road to Perdition which is the last film he made before he died, and directed by the same director as Beauty.  A-  

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Alpha and Omega

Alpha and Omega

Starring the voices of Justin Long, Hayden Panettiere, and Dennis Hopper
Directed by Anthony Bell and Ben Gluck
Rated PG for rude humor and some mild action
Appropriate for all ages

    When an alpha wolf and an omega wolf are taken from their home in Canada by humans to repopulate a national park in Idaho, they go on a journey to find their way back home.

    There are so many reasons not to see this film but I will keep this fairly short.  First and foremost is the story which is insulting at its most basic level.  Kids learn so much from watching movies which is why their information should be somewhat based in fact.  The world of nature seen in this movie makes me believe that the filmmakers had wolves and bees confused with their thoughts of Alphas and Omegas.  After all, the “alphas” are just leaders, not genetically bred super wolves.  Each litter of wolves can have alphas and there are no “omegas” – just other wolves.   

    And then there is the war between the two wolf clans which is fine for story, but if there truly was a war such as that there would be no food to found and there is obviously tons of caribou all over.  The Lion King did an excellent job of showing that the food had gone completely scarce with bad decision making.  Conversely, these must be the dumbest wolves imaginable eating bones and fighting each other instead of hunting the plethora of meat widely available all over.  My point is – why create entertainment that dumbs down our kids.  Subtle changes could have enlightened our children and been a boost to their brains. 

    The film even had acting challenges.  For example there was supposed to be a wolf named Garth that upon his horrible howl, birds would fall from the sky.  This could have worked had the actor been able to emit a horrible howl.  Instead, his howl was just weak and when the birds fell, it was cute but made zero sense.  So much of the film was like this – half-thought-out ideas that might have worked with better writers and actors but upon completion didn’t work at all.

    But if all of that isn’t enough to kill brain cells, the animation surely can’t help.  This is crude animation that looks more like a student film than a theatrically released motion picture with big name voices.  The wolves look more like dogs with tiny tiny teeth with feathers rather than manes.  And the golfing goose, while a cute idea, is one of the most disturbing images I’ve seen in years. 

    Finally, if you feel you absolutely must see the movie against this entire warning – stay away from the 3D version.  They did not go all out with the 3D and it not only looks horrible but it will hurt your head and cause tremendous strain to your eyes as well.  I’ve had some bad 3D experiences so far, but this by far is the worst.  F

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New on DVD



New on DVD

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
In an attempt to recapture the franchise magic Disney had with Pirates of the Caribbean, they went to the hit video game Prince of Persia and spent an estimated whopping $200 million on this mystical tale of a young boy from the streets who is adopted by the king and eventually goes on a journey to save the kingdom from a very evil Ben Kingsley.  While considered a flop, especially since the advertising budget probably cost more than the gross, it was a pretty entertaining film overall.  Sure the heroine should have been changed out and the climactic sequence was way too nutty to be believed, but Jake Gyllenhaal is a wonderful hero and Kingsley as the villain serves as the perfect snake in the grass.  B

America: The Story of Us
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
This nine plus hour documentary from The History Channel chronicles the history of The  United States from its earliest settlers until today using epic reenactments and state-of-the-art special effects.  Beginning with a unique introduction from President Barack Obama, the film also utilizes some of the most respected names in politics, military, Hollywood, and education to tell stories and to move the narrative forward.  As for me, I’ve always wondered how they built the Statue of Liberty, Hoover Damn, the railroads across America, and other great American milestones.  I didn’t actually think I had time to watch all nine hours of the set when I started, but upon putting the first disc in I couldn’t wait to finish and check out each special feature to boot.  This is one you’ll want in your collection so you can watch now, with you kids, with your grandkids and for generations to come.  One side note.  I watched the first three episodes on DVD and the last sections on blu-ray, and this is definitely a disc that you can tell a huge difference in the quality between the two.  A

The Twilight Zone: Season 1
Available on Blu-ray
Rather than cycling through the HD masters from when the DVD set came out back in 2004, they decided to produce brand new 1080p film transfers using the original camera negatives and magnetic soundtracks for this official HD release of the first season of the ground-breaking television television show.  After all, what would our sci-fi and horror entertainment look like right now were it not for The Twilight Zone in 1959 and 1960.  This definitive collection contains some of contents of that 2004 DVD release, but also a lot of new material including the rare, unofficial pilot episode “The Time Element.”  With 19 commentaries, tons of interviews, Rod Serling lectures, 18 radio dramas, and 34 isolated music scores, this is probably one of most complete television seasons on blu-ray I’ve ever received as a critic.  A

Letters to Juliet
Rated PG for brief rude behavior and sensual images, some language and incidental smoking
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
When a writer (Amanda Seyfried) and her chef fiance go to Verona for their pre-Honeymoon, they separate for a few days to follow their interests.  While there she finds a note a young girl wrote to Shakespeare’s Juliet 50 years ago asking for help and decides to write her back.  When this now older woman (Vanessa Redgrave) comes back to Verona to follow up with the letter she wrote, the writer, the older woman, and the woman’s grandson take off on a search to find her lost love from 50 years ago.  While the trailer for this film serves as essentially the Cliffs Notes version, its simplicity is acceptable given that it is somewhat likable.  While it has its funny moments, its not really a romantic comedy and that’s a good thing since it doesn’t have much potential to be funny and any physical humor would have just turned it into another Leap Year, and that’s the last thing we need.  Then again, there wasn’t a whole lot of chemistry between Amanda Seyfried and either of her leading men.  The only chemistry felt was that between her and Redgrave and between her and Italy.  That made the whole climactic sequence a mess and pretty stupid seeing her up on the balcony.  Sure you know where they are going and the filmmakers thought they were being clever, but it only felt forced and like they were trying to fit a theme that was only there in title and maybe in a Taylor Swift song.  C+

Glee: The Complete First Season
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Theater geeks like me and millions of Americans came out of hiding this year to watch this sometimes brilliant high school comedy musical which incorporates pop and Broadway music into school life.  Not to be confused with High School Musical (I think you can still get beat up for thinking Glee is cool but not HSM), Glee is a very original, and when you think about it very difficult piece of television production considering each week is a brand new musical event.  Sure there are a lot of eye-rolling moments and many times I think to myself that I’m watching a cheesy show about teenagers, but then Jane Lynch pops up on screen and makes me laugh myself silly right before I’m completely moved by a rousing rendition of one of my favorite Journey tunes.  Does that make me a gleek?  A-