Category: DVD Review

New in Home Entertainment

The Adventures of Tintin
Rated PG for adventure action violence, some drunkenness and brief smoking
Available on DVD, Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D
Spielberg’s first feature-length animated film follows the adventures of a young detective who is incredibly well-known in Europe but relatively unknown in the States.  Needless to say, a little character development would have gone a long way here as we try to get to know the hero attempting to discover the secret of a ship called “The Unicorn.”  But if you can get past this lack of a normal story-telling device, the film is full of adrenaline and is absolutely beautiful to boot.  Should it have been nominated for an Oscar this year in the animated category?  Absolutely.  Especially since it is a far superior film to Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss in Boots.  But at least it was recognized for the outstanding score by John Williams.  B+

The Three Musketeers
Rated PG-13 for sequences of adventure action violence
Available on DVD, Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D
All it takes is one look at the leading actor’s ridiculous hair worn by the young actor Logan Leman (Percy Jackson) to come to the realization that this film is not a well-thought-out creation.  Taking the original book by Alexandre Dumas and turning it into a big special effects extravaganza is an interesting concept but ultimately fails under the heavy hands of director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil).  While the production is itself (aside from Leman’s hair) is lush and lovely, the dialog is horrific and the actors look tired rather than lively and charismatic.  This project is ultimately a huge waste of a talented cast and a timeless tale.  D+

Melancholia
Rated R for some graphic nudity, sexual content and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
After hearing the seemingly unbelievable news that Kirsten Dunst (Spiderman) had just won best actress at the Cannes Film Festival, I couldn’t wait to see her in Danish director Lars von Trier’s (Dancer in the Dark) latest opus.  Set at the end of the world as a mysterious planet comes hurdling towards the Earth, two sisters, played by Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg, find themselves struggling in their relationship and their impending doom.  I have to admit that I haven’t completely wrapped my head around this one yet.  This an extremely complex and ambitious film that will require multiple visits, much thought, and probably some outside reading to fully appreciate.  That being said, I thought the production was stunning (and cheated out of an art design Oscar nom this year) and the acting powerful, although a bit melodramatic.  If you are into challenging films, this should be right up your alley.  A-

New in Home Entertainment

February 21, 2012

Puss in Boots
Rated PG for some adventure and mild rude humor
Available on 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD
There’s no doubt that compared to 2010, 2011 was a lousy year for animated films.  That being said, there were a few high spots along the way and Puss in Boots falls into this category.  While Puss is a spinoff from Shrek, the only thing Shrekish in this film is the tone, which is meant to be humorous for both adults and children.  In this adventure, Puss (voiced by Antonio Banderas) teams up with Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) and Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) to go after the evil Jack and Jill.  The film ends up being very cute and at times downright adorable.  The writing is much stronger than the last Shrek outing and you can tell that there were some inspired artists behind the scenes.  It does drag at times while trying to beat a dead cat with puns and cliches but overall it is an entertaining pic that you and/or your kids will enjoy.  B

Tower Heist
Rated PG-13 for language and sexual content
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Tower Heist follows a group of hotel workers who have been cheated out of their investments by a white collar thief.  In order to get revenge, the group plots to not only get their money back, but do what they can to rub it in his face.  The premise is overall pretty clever and couldn’t be timelier.  The cast is a talented bunch including Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Alan Alda and many other solid actors and actresses.  Where the film fails is in the over-the-top script that trades big set-pieces and cheap laughs for common sense.  The characters make dumb choices throughout to the point where it’s not only unbelievable but also tedious.  The third act attempts to fool the audience into severe gullibility as it pours on the most ludicrous of endings.  With all of the buzz for this talented cast, one can only be disappointed at the results.  C-

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Take Shelter
Rated R for some language
Available on DVD
Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire) and Jessica Chastain (Tree of Life) have to be two of the hardest-working actors in Hollywood right now, but you don’t have to look further than Take Shelter to see that they aren’t trading quantity for quality.  Take Shelter tells the story of a man who has been driven crazy by his apocalyptic visions and his wife who supports him throughout his assumed illness.  This is definitely a film that you have to be patient with but is very rewarding if you stick with it.  Shannon’s performance should have made him an Oscar contender this year and were it not for Chastain’s Oscar nomination for The Help, she might have landed one for this as well (she was also great in Tree of Life and The Debt).  And while the movie looks like a little indie from the outside, it turns out to be one big powerhouse of a film.  A

Three Outlaw Samurai: The Criterion Collection
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
This 1964 classic Samurai tale by famed Japanese filmmaker Hideo Gosha tells the story of three Samurai warriors who find themselves in the middle of a fight between a dictatorial magistrate and a group of peasants who have kidnapped his daughter in the hopes of coercing him to lower their taxes.  The stunning black and white print has been given the Criterion treatment with a new high-definition restoration.  Also, the blu-ray has been given a new uncompressed monaural track.  If you are a fan of early Japanese cinema, you’ll definitely want to check this one out.  B+

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1
Rated PG-13 for disturbing images, violence, sexuality/partial nudity and some thematic elements
Available on Blu-ray and DVD
When tackling the fourth book in the Twilight series by
Stephanie Meyer, the decision was made to split it into two movies.  In this fourth of four very bad but successful films, Edward and Bella get married and on their honeymoon discover she is pregnant.  Here’s the problem: what exists in a two hour form here could have and should have been the first act of one movie, not the first half of two.  This is the slowest and one of the most painful movies I have ever sat through.  So long, so boring and so badly done.  The writing is awful, the acting is hideous and the self importance is incredibly annoying.  Personally, I find it disturbing that a film like this is the event film for today’s teens.  We had Star Wars, Raiders and ET.  There are few who could blame us for falling in love with movies during that time.  Other generations have had similar experiences in their days.  When a film like this has people sleeping in tents outside the theater and generates $700 million world-wide, it makes me feel like the Native American shedding a tear in the old Keep America Beautiful commercial.  F

Lady and the Tramp
Rated G
Available on Blu-ray and DVD
It may not be the best example of Disney’s classic animated pictures, but it certainly is one of the cutest.  Following the tale of a pretty young female cocker spaniel who falls in love with a homeless mutt, Lady and the Tramp is an entertaining film filled with loads of nostalgia and possibly one of the most iconic scenes in animation history (as many times as I tried that spaghetti thing on a date, it never worked out in my favor).  This new hi-def edition looks amazing and gives the film a shiny new feel.  Also, for those interested, there is some great new content not found on the 2006 DVD release.  B+

Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
For those who have not gone to any of the live events done at theaters nation wide, this title may change your mind.  Released in limited showings a few months back at your neighborhood cineplex, now this breathtaking performance of the once-in-a-lifetime event is hitting home. What it’s not is a filmed version of the infamous musical.  What it is is the ultimate performance of the music with a cast and orchestra of over 200 at London’s Royal Albert Hall for the 25th anniversary of the legendary show.  The cast here is an absolute dream and the encore is the icing on the cake as Andrew Lloyd Webber is joined by famous past phantoms on stage revisiting the show’s highlights.  I’ll admit that Sarah Brightman’s encore is worth missing, but everything else on this disc is spectacular.  A

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
Rated R for strong curde and sexual content, graphic nudity, pervasive language, drug use and some violence
Available on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, and DVD
Time has changed Harold and Kumar in this third and very tired sequel to the hit stoner franchise.  Harold and Kumar are no longer close buddies since Harold entered the business and family world, but fate brings them together on a winter’s night to find a Christmas tree to replace the one burned down by a magical joint.  If you have a 3D television you have a chance of enjoying this new installment.  There are some funny moments that don’t involve the use of 3D gimmickry, but most of the jokes require the new technology and suffer without it.  But unfortunately, not even Neil Patrick Harris himself could save this film from being snuffed out by lame drug jokes that were probably hilarious as they were being written while stoned.  C

Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Rated PG-13 for intense prolonged sequences of sci-fi action violence, mayhem and destruction, and for language, some sexuality and innuendo
Available on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and DVD
If you would have told me five years ago that the Transformers franchise would be one of the most popular in movie history, grossing more than 2.5 billion dollars internationally and countless more in home entertainment sales, I would have thought you to be crazy.  Sure the reviews for all three films have been mediocre, but that hasn’t stopped worldwide audiences from going to see them in droves and bringing them home to watch over and over again.  This third installment has proven to be the biggest one of all mounting an impressive $1.1 billion international gross and $3.5 million in the U.S.  If you thought the first two films were big, they don’t even hold a candle to the enormity of the third.  I would go into deep detail about the plot, but its apparent that not many care about story when it comes to these pictures.  They just want lots of robots creating havoc and that’s what they get.  At 154 minutes, the film feels a little long, but at least there’s the pause button at home so you can take care of that six pack of whatever you started drinking two hours ago.  Just don’t miss the finale where they take out the entire city of Chicago.  B

Thunder Soul
Rated PG for brief language and momentary historical smoking
Available on DVD
In the 60s and 70s Houston’s Kashmere High School Stage Band was consistently known as the best high school jazz band in the country.  Led by a great band director simply known as “Prof,” the band became a world-class standard-setting funk powerhouse that achieved success until the school superintendent made major cuts in the arts.  Now, 35 years later, the band is getting together to pay tribute to the legendary director who brought them all together.  If the the great premise and the 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes fail to peak your interest, then maybe the fact that this is a terrific local story that many here have never heard will have you checking it out.  I didn’t know what to expect, but I sure did like what I saw and heard.  This is one heck of an enjoyable documentary that will have you laughing, crying, and possibly even dancing.  A

New in Home Entertainment

January 24, 2012

Real Steel
Rated PG-13 for some violence, intense action and brief language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
When I was a kid I used to have the old Mattel game Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em which placed you against a friend in a robotic boxing match.  Now, decades later, comes the real thing with Hugh Jackman as a retired boxer trying to make it in the futuristic sport of robot fighting.  While the film is based on a 1956 short story by Richard Matheson, and not on the classic game, you get the sense that there were a lot of fans of the game on the production team.  The good news is that the fight sequences are pretty fantastic just as you would hope.  The bad news is that the writing is not nearly as strong as the special effects.  The script is full of bad exposition and cheesy dialog.  Jackman is a very good actor, but its hard to overcome a bad screenplay.  Still, I was hoping for an entertaining film filled with over-the-top robot fighting and that’s precisely what I got.  B-

Paranormal Activity 3
Rated R for some violence, language, brief sexuality and drug use
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
The first two films in this now very popular franchise sent chills up my spine.  In fact, I found them to be absolutely terrifying.  With the success of the first two, a third was inevitable and this time around they chose a prequel.  Following the young sisters, Katie and Kristi, PA 3 sticks tight to the same trick, having the characters set up video cameras to capture the demon in action.  This time around the nuance has worn off though and while there are some creative scares and a lot of creepy material, the pic is not as effective at creating goosebumps.  B-

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Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season
Rated TV-MA
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
While HBO’s True Blood is certainly a popular replacement for their hit shows The Sopranos, Rome, Six Feet Under and Deadwood, HBO was in desperate need for another critical hit and it certainly found it in Boardwalk Empire.  Set in the 1920’s in the very corrupt Atlantic City, New Jersey, Empire follows the life and times of Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) who takes advantage of prohibition in order get rich off of the illegal booze trade.  As you expect, there are many folks who try to get in the way including his former protege Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt) and the feds led by Agent Van Alden (Michael Shannon).  From the lavish production design to the pitch perfect writing and acting, this is one heck of a great drama which proves once again that television is sometimes immensely more entertaining than the movies.  A

Moneyball
Rated PG-13 for some strong language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
While I can appreciate baseball, I’ve never really loved the sport, but one thing I do love is a good baseball movie and Moneyball certainly falls into that category.  Loosely based on the true story of Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), Moneyball follows Beane during the historic 2002 season when he chose to use statistics rather than traditional scouting in order to assemble a ball team that could fall within his budget and win in the postseason.  The movie works so well in its off-the-field moments that it almost doesn’t matter that the gameplay scenes rather stink.  That is mostly due to the talent of Pitt as well as his by-the-numbers assistant played by Jonah Hill.  The pic is a real crowd pleaser and should leave you with a big grin on your face.  B+

New in Home Entertainment

New in Home Entertainment

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Rated PG-13 for intense and frightening sequences of action and violence
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
The Planet of the Apes franchise has always been known to be an iconic, yet also cheesy collection of movies meant for pure silly, almost b-movie entertainment.  That is until this newest entry.  Rise of the Planet of the Apes does serve as a prequel to the rest of the films, but also tells a terrific story which gives some credibility to them as well, as strange as that sounds.  There are no men in ape suits here, but rather wonderfully created CGI apes, with Andy Serkis leading the fray as Caesar, a genetically-altered chimpanzee taken from his mother at a pharmaceutical company while still a baby, and raised by James Franco in a real home environment.  When an event forces Caesar into an ape sanctuary, Caesar’s intelligence changes the course of Earth’s future.  With mind-blowing special effects, an ambitious story, and loads of action and emotion, this new addition to the series rises above them all and is one of the surprise highlights of 2011.  A-

Kung Fu Panda 2
Rated PG for sequences of martial arts action and mild language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Jack Black is back in this sequel to the hit animated film about a panda that saves the day with his Kung Fu.  In this new pic, Po the panda must lead his team of martial artists to fight the sinister peacock Shen.  The first film was a nice surprise since I expected it to be a pretty corny kids film and it ended up being a rather entertaining adventure.  Unfortunately, this new release just doesn’t have the creativity or energy of the first and runs out of steam rather quickly.  The animation is good enough and there are a few laughs to be found, but it feels like a movie put together too fast in order to capitalize on the tremendous success of its predecessor.  C+

Vietnam in HD
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
With its highly praised WWII in HD, the History Channel has tackled Vietnam in the same manor with this new six-hour mini-series.  Using hours of never-before-seen footage along with accounts of real soldiers, told by the soldiers themselves in combination with a cast of famous Hollywood actors, Vietnam in HD succeeds in not only giving a nice history lesson, but also puts a rarely seen human face on the war.  Some might complain that the documentary doesn’t go into enough detail, but for most the detail is perfect and the images will stick with you long after its over.  Just as in WWII in HD, this new look at Vietnam should appeal to both history buffs and to those that simply want a little better understanding of our country’s tumultuous history.    A