Batman: Year One animated movie trailer

If you're a fan of Batman, you're going to love this trailer.  It is for the upcoming DC Animated Universe DVD; Batman: Year One.  The same graphic novel by Frank Miller that redefined the character to the one we know today.  If it isn't for Frank Miller, there is no Christopher Nolan's interpretation of the character.  Enjoy the trailer and let us know what you think.

Rango DVD review

Rango was so far under my radar, I didn't post ANYTHING about it on this blog.  I don't know why, but I really had no desire to see it.  It made a lot of money in the theaters and received a lot of praise in the process.  It received an impressive 88% positive reviews on RottenTomatoes.com. Well, I waited until the Blu-Ray came out and whoa... let's begin.

What I liked about the movie:
The Storytelling

Johnny Depp plays the loveable lizard in this animated western.  Depp plays Rango, a lizard who loves to act.  After a few twists of fate, and some clever acting, he ends up the Sheriff in a small town called Dirt.  The western aspect of the film ensues.  I don't want to talk plot, but the story is terrific.  Rango and his new found friends take off for a grand adventure.  What's beautiful are all the intricacies they built into the story.  For instance: It's the desert, so naturally, the currency for the city of Dirt is water.  Brilliant (sort of like The Book of Eli too, but don't tell anyone).  Those kinds of details are what made Pixar the juggernaut it is today.  There is so much adventure to be had, computer animation was the perfect medium for this story.  Well done. 

The Voice Actors

Depp is always awesome, but there are so many others in this film.  Isla Fisher plays Rango's pal Beans.  Also in the film: Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy and Timothy Olyphant just to name a few!  What's great about this movie is the way the voices were recorded.  The actors acted out their parts as if they were recording a live-action film.  This gave the actors the real feel for their characters' movements and speech.  

It's Smart!

I really wouldn't say this movie is for kids.  There are a lot of smart jokes that small children may not understand.  Granted the movie looks amazing, and that alone can keep a child occupied; but the jokes are so smart.  I know it sounds funny referring to Rango as a person, but the animators made him so interesting.  The dialogue is delivered beautifully by Depp.  And, the animators play off of a lot of western films' cliches. 

The Emotion

Maybe I'm getting a little soft in my old age, but I love the story of friendship.  The movie plays out very nicely and gives the characters an arc.  But what is great is the relationship between Rango and his friend Beans (Fisher).  She's the smart and savvy girl to save his butt in trouble.  I enjoyed the dynamic they created for them. 


What I didn't like about the movie:
The Stupid Birds

I'm not a fan of mariachi bands, so that's probably a large part of why I didn't like these characters.  They narrate the film through mariachi sing-song, and I didn't like it at all.  In fact, I was fast forwarding towards the end of the movie, right past them.  I know, I know I'm supposed to do that, but man they're annoying.

The Length
There are times when the movie is so slow.  It comes in at 107 minutes, that's a lot for an animated film.  ONLY A FEW TIMES, the movie had to fight to hold my attention, imagine a whiny kid at the theater, wow. 


The Verdict:
It's too good not to buy!
The story is engaging, the animation is beautiful, the actors kill it, what more do you want!  There's a moral to the story for the kids, and smart jokes for the adults.  Plus, there is so much to see on screen, a second and third viewing will be essential. 


The Blu-ray/DVD combo:
Tons of Goodies
There's an alternate ending, 10 deleted scenes, commentary, featurettes, a look at the real creatures in the movie, and and and.  There are so many goodies on this Blu-Ray.  I really enjoyed watching them all.  There are also some games for the kids to play with.  Overall, a great movie and an even better Blu-Ray offering.  Bravo.

The Adjustment Bureau DVD review

It's Tuesday, and if you're a movie fan like me, you're probably going to head to your local electronic store and pick up a movie or two.  Today, the new release is The Adjustment Bureau, starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, directed by George Nolfi.  The movie is about choosing your own destiny, even as others try to stand in your way.

Matt Damon is an up and coming politician, he meets Emily Blunt's character by chance and it threatens to redirect his future.  The adjustment bureau steps in to keep the two apart to ensure Damon's future is what they want it to be.  It's the battle of free will against destiny.  Let's get right in to the likes and dislikes.

What I liked about the movie:
The Actors

Matt Damon is, and has been considered a great talent in Hollywood for years now.  He is versatile and dynamic, he can do it all.  Emily Blunt is also a respected actor in Hollywood.  I really enjoy her work anytime I see her in something.  The two have a great chemistry together.  As an audience, we can easily see why the two characters are attracted to each other.

There is enough to make the audience believe the two should stick together while eluding the adjustment bureau. 

The Premise
I enjoyed the idea that a bureau of men wanted to change the course of Damon's life.  It was interesting to see how they could bend the rules if you will, to make Damon stay the course they wanted him to.  The premise is one thing, unfortunately, the execution is far off.  I'm not really sure how the movie scored a 70+% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it did.  Let me begin my list of dislikes. 


What I didn't like about the movie:
The Adjustment Bureau staff

They're mobsters?  No wait, Government agents?  Angles perhaps (more on that later)?  Who are these annoy ass guys that can't catch a politician and his girlfriend in a foot race.  My main problem is they never really came off like a threat.  I was thinking to myself, I would do whatever I want in that situation and not listen to them.  There was nothing to fear.


The Religious Implications

I don't consider myself a religious man by any means, nor do I balk at a movies with religious themes; but this movie was just too much.  It was a mess.  The script intended on giving winks about the implications, but it just becomes so blatantly obvious what they're trying to reference, it has no payoff.  I disliked all of it; the destiny, the people-angels reference, all that nonsense.

The Doors

I seriously thought I was watching a live-action Monsters Inc.  The doors are a huge part of the film.  I don't want to give away any spoilers, but the doors are used to basically teleport the main characters from one place to another.  The heroes use the doors in their plot against the adjustment bureau.  The storyline doesn't work at all.  Visually, they pulled off the effect, but it just about ends there. 


The Verdict:
Watch Monsters Inc. or Serendipity instead

Exactly what the title says.  Monsters Inc. uses the "door trick" in a much more creative way than this film does.  Monsters Inc. was an animated film, fine, but it was a lot more creative than this trip to church.  I'd much rather have put my DVD of Monsters Inc. in than The Adjustment Bureau.  Just saying.

And if you want to ditch the "thriller" aspect of facing destiny, and turn it in for a romantic comedy version instead, rent Serendipity.  It stars John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale as a couple that are destined to be together.  It's much better than this film.  Trust me.


The Blu-ray/DVD combo:
Fans of the movie will love it
If you liked the film, you'll like the features.  Here is a list from Bluray.com:

• Feature Commentary by Writer-Director George Nolfi. This is a somewhat haltingly delivered, but overall interesting, commentary that gives a goodly amount of background information on adapting the Dick story as well as the filming, including the rigors of all the location work in New York City.
• Deleted and Extended Scenes (HD; 6:54). Seven scenes are included, several with a supposedly comic Adjustment Bureau character named Henderson who was completely cut out of the final film.
• Labyrinth of Doors (HD; 33:57 total). This interesting but cumbersome supplement starts with a Google Earth map of Manhattan, with several Adjustment Bureau doors highlighted. Clicking on any door then zooms to a close-up of that location, with a "wormhole" option that takes you to another (often far flung) door, or allows you to view either a film clip or a behind the scenes segment associated with that location.
• Leaping Through New York (1080i; 7:36) is a nice featurette dealing with the location shooting in The Big Apple.
• Destined to Be (1080i; 4:51) has Damon and Blunt talking about their characters and the film's central love story.
• Becoming Elise (1080i; 7:08) should appeal to those who wonder if Blunt had any dancing experience before she took on this role.
• DVD Copy, Dbox and BD Live Enabled

I don't know what else to say really.  I didn't like the film (that's MY free will at work), and I'm willing to discuss it with anyone who did.  Let me know what you thought of the film?

For fun, just to make me smile

Little Fockers DVD review

There were two major releases this week on DVD and blu-ray; the first was The Green Hornet.  The second was Little Fockers, starring Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro in the third film in the franchise.  I am a big fan of the first film, Meet the Parents.  It did so many things right, it was really refreshing.  The second film, Meet the Fockers, wasn't the best in movie history, but still good.  It introduced Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman in hilarious roles.  Now, Little Fockers, oh boy, here we go.

What I liked about the movie:
Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman
There was a bunch of drama prior to the movie being shot about whether Dustin Hoffman would even be in the movie.  Then there were reshoots for his character.  Let me start by saying that, Streisand and Hoffman are in the movie for a total of about three minutes.  So the movie is so bad that the parts making up 5% of the movie are the only things I enjoyed in the film.  They're funny, loveable Fockers and scored points for me.

What I didn't like about the movie:
Jessica (I'm a terrible actress) Alba
Wow.  And that's not a positive wow, that's a "wow, how the hell is this woman making money for this".  Alba is a terrible actress in general, but this movie... this movie takes the cake as her worse.  She is about as bad as Anne Hathaway as an Oscar host, THAT bad.  She's overzealous, annoying, disingenuous and down right bad.  Her character could have been a breath of fresh air, but she phoned in her performance just like the rest of the cast.

The rest of the cast
The movie has become the definition of a "paycheck" in Hollywood.  Robert De Niro made fun of himself while accepting an award, referencing his performance in Little Fockers.  This man is a two-time Oscar winner?  "The God-Focker"?  Really?  What the F happened to the Godfather!?!?!  Whoa.  Ben Stiller tries his best but can't duplicate the success of the previous two films.

Teri Polo is wasted completely as a stay at home mom.  And most importantly, the little Fockers themselves... not very good child actors.  In fact, they don't do much.  The only reason they're in the film is to have a reason to bring DeNiro and Stiller together.  Wow, so bad.  I also don't want to forget Owen Wilson in what will surely be one of his worse movies in... the next year or so ;o)

The story
I don't want to spend more than a sentence or two on this.  The little Fockers are turning five, and everyone is invited.  Much like the second film where DeNiro suspects that Stiller has a son, in this movie he suspects Stiller of cheating with Alba's character.  I'll let you all figure out the rest.


The DVD:
Lots of options, very little substance
The list of features is pretty long, but not many that I cared for.  Here are all the special features:
Alternate Opening: Wedding Dream and Morning Wakeup
Alternate Ending: Treehouse
Deleted Scenes
Gag Reel
The Making of A Godfocker: Behind the Scenes of Little Fockers
Bout Time
The Focker Foot Locker

I liked the making of featurette, but that was pretty much it. The rest is a ways of space on the DVD.


The verdict:
Skip it entirely
I know I sound harsh, but it's bad, really really bad.  I always defend films that are bashed on by the critics.  But with a 9% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, we can't all be wrong!

The Green Hornet DVD review

This week there were two major releases on DVD and Blu-Ray, the first being The Green Hornet.  The movie stars Seth Rogen as the title character as well as Cameron Diaz and Jay Chou (who plays Kato).  I really want to jump right in. 

What I liked about the movie:
Christoph Waltz
Wow, this man is so good at what he does!  Waltz plays the primary villain in the film and nails it.  This role doesn't require quite the evil necessary for his Academy Award winning role in Inglourious Basterds, but is still great.  He has a dark comedic tone that he just gets perfect.  Towards the end of the film his character falls off the deep end.  And while I think the script was terrible, Waltz did what he could.  Great job.

What I didn't like about the movie:
The rest of the cast
I'm not kidding, the rest of the cast was terrible in this film.  Start off with our "star" of the film, Seth Rogen.  Forget how terrible the script is (I'll get there in a moment), all he does is scream his lines.  Seriously, it feels like his voice cracks every minute or two just to scream his lines.  Diaz is forgettable at best.  It seriously makes me wonder why she took the role in the first place.  Last is Jay Chou who was obviously cast for his martial arts and not his acting.  I hate to bag on the guy, because his martial arts are very impressive, but he is a terrible actor.  It's so bad people, believe me.

The Script
Am I supposed to care that Seth Rogen and his buddy Evan Goldberg wrote this?  It's such a stupid story, written in the most idiotic way imaginable.  I'm not an expert of writing, but the structure, the flow, the character development was all terrible.  I can't explain to you how much I disliked this film.  It was like a train wreck I couldn't get my eyes off of.


The Blu-Ray:
Tons of goodies
Despite how much I hated this movie, this is a DVD review after all.  The blu-ray featured some great visuals as well as sound.  The special features are as follows:
PS3 Theme
Jay Chou Audition
Double Barrel
movieIQ
The Green Hornet Cutting Room
Filmmakers' Commentary
"Awesoom"-Gag Reel
"Trust Me" -Director Michel Gondry
Writing The Green Hornet
The Black Beauty: Rebirth of Cool
The Stunt Family Armstrong
Finding Kato
The Art of Destruction

The best of the bunch was The Black Beauty featurette about the new car.  Gag reels are always fun and soo too was the Art of Destruction.  Overall thumbs up for the blu-ray and it's extras.


The Verdict:
PLEASE PASS
I say please because I want it to be a hint to Hollywood to stop making total stink rehash remakes.  I know I defend movies like The A-Team for being a 'go numb for two hours' appeal to them.  This is way different.  The movie didn't have likeable characters at all, the action felt stale, and the story is God awful.  I will say, relentlessly, this movie is terrible!

Due Date DVD review

DVD reviews give us a chance to review a movie that we may not have seen in theaters.  Or, we saw it in theaters and we were too lazy to review it.  Or, we want to give you all a heads up as to what cool extras are on the DVD or Blu-Ray. 

Due Date is directed by Todd Phillips who's helped create such hits as Old School and The Hangover.  It stars the amazing Robert Downey Jr. and 'Hangover' breakout star, Zach Galifianakis. 

Downey is about to be a father, but is on the opposite side of the country, and needs to get to his wife.  Due to hilarious events, he can't fly, so he MUST take a road trip with Galifianakis, an aspiring actor.  Hilarity ensues as they start their road trip across country with a little dog, no money and a ton of funny situations.  I'm gonna start.

What I liked about the film:
It's Simplicity

This film is very simple and very straight forward.  Two guys who have nothing in common, who are very different from each other, are forced to drive cross country.  There is some physical comedy but for the most part, it's grounded in reality.  I'm starting to mention that more and more in my reviews because I'm realizing it's a vital part of my movie-going experience.  If I can't relate, it doesn't equate.  Sorry, I had a Johnnie Cochran moment.

The Cast

Downey is one of my favorite actors, and Galifianakis is right there.  The two play such contradictory characters, they're bound to clash from time to time.  They play off each other like a game of ping pong.  Downey is great as a stuffed shirt, always serious, business man.

Galifianakis basically plays a variation of his character in 'Hangover', but it's still different enough for it to be fresh.  That's why it's not a "dislike" on my review.  He has a few emotional scenes in the film that gave me a whole new perspective on him as an actor, kudos for showing some range.

The supporting cast is great, including one of my favorites, Danny McBride, also Michelle Monaghan and Jaime Foxx.  Good stuff.

Director
Todd Phillips just has a knack for these comedies.  If you look at his work, he always has a terrific cast and supporting cast to carry the film.  His movies all have that "it could happen" feel, as well as relateable characters.  He also knows how important timing is when it comes to comedy.  The jokes and execution are perfect.  Nicely done, again.


What I didn't like about the film:
Sub Plot

Without giving too much away, there is a sub plot in the film that doesn't really ever go anywhere.  It involves Monaghan and Foxx's characters and it felt so stupid and a complete filler.  It's not enough to write off the movie or anything, its just one aspect that didn't work.


The Blu-Ray:
A Let Down
There aren't too many features to jump up and down for.  Also, it's important to note that if you want any features at all, you'll have to shell out $24.99 for the Blu-Ray/DVD combo.  The single Blu-Ray and single DVD don't have any features at all.  The combo has the complete "Two and a half Men" scene that is mentioned throughout the film.  It has a few mash-ups featuring scenes already in the film.  A short featurette about Galifianakis' character and a gag reel.  That's it. 

The Verdict:
Buy the DVD
The film is great in my opinion.  The actors, the story, the direction are all great.  The movie is a definite buy in my book.  But I would go with the DVD.  There are no scenes that require 1080p visuals, and the features fall flat on the expensive Blu-Ray combo.  Get the good 'ol regular DVD for $13.99 on Amazon.com.  Great price for a new release.  Enjoy!

RED DVD review

Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Brian Cox, Mary Louise Parker, Karl Urban, Helen Mirren AND John Malkovich are in the same movie?  Sign me up, I don't care what it's about.  Add a bunch of guns, chases, thrills and laughs... what do you get?  RED, which was just released on DVD and Blu-Ray this week.  The acronym, RED, actually stands for Retired: Extremely Dangerous. 

Our cast are all retirees that are being hunted down by someone.  They must work together to uncover what's going on and get to the bottom of the killings.  Great premise right?!  Now I'll tell you what I liked and didn't like about the film.  Let's begin.

What I liked about the film:
The Cast
How can you ignore a cast like this?  Every single actor does a great job in this film.  Willis is the newest retiree and is having trouble adapting to his new life.  He has become friends with Mary Louise Parker, and she's helping him cope with his boredom.  Freeman, Cox, Mirren and Malkovich are also all retired and have known each other for years.  They all contribute to solving the mystery going on around them.


The Action

I always look at action films a little differently than I do any other genre.  It has to be different from anything I've seen before to be really impressed, and this one is.  The camera angles, chases sequences, and best of all... seeing old people shoot guns!  That's comedy in and of itself.  There's a particular shot of Willis walking out of a spinning car, avoids getting it by it, and shoots at his target in stride, AWESOME!

The Story
Simple to follow, but sophisticated enough that we don't go numb.  I liked it.  It was the perfect mix of mystery and mayhem.  I never felt lost during the movie, I knew everything that was going on, despite a half a dozen locations.  I also never felt like director Robert Schwentke was talking down to me either.  Great job in this department.

The Director

Speaking of Mr. Schwentke, I loved what he did in this film.  Before RED, all I had ever seen of Schwentke's work is The Time Traveler's Wife, which I hated!  I also knew he was set to direct Ryan Reynolds (rumored) in the upcoming comic book adaptation, R.I.P.D.  In this film, he takes the audience on a crazy ride; where we can just let go of our problems for two hours and enjoy!  The score was fitting, the wardrobe, the editing, all of which the director has a hand in achieving.  Plus, can you imagine the pressure that guy must of felt?  He's directing living legends, the best at what they do.  He did a great job!

The Cast

Yeah, I KNOW i already put this down as a "like".  But the cast is too big and too good not to mention again.  Freeman is terrific.  Malkovich steals every scene which is off-beat comedy, awesome!  And Karl Urban is a freakin' bad ass in the film.  He plays an up and coming agent who takes his job very seriously.  Watching him and Willis go at it was great.

What I didn't like about the film:
Mary Louise Parker's character

I love Mary Louise Parker.  She is so funny, so talented and very attractive.  She's doing really well for herself.  But her character was in the film for one reason... to simply explain what's going on.  Much like Ellen Page's character in Inception.  I understand it, but don't agree with it.  The writing could have covered what was being relayed to Parker's character.  Still, she's great.

The Verdict:
Original and worthy
The movie is original in what it does and worthy of the cast that was assembled.  Its hard to make action-comedies these days.  What's left to be seen, you know?  But RED was new, fresh AND exciting.  Really really enjoyed it and I look forward to the sequel. 

The two disc special edition Blu-Ray of the film includes Deleted and extended scenes.  Also a 6-part interactive feature that include pop ups with trivia, videos, interviews, etc.  Another feature, CIA Exposed, and an audio commentary with retired CIA Field Officer, Robert Baer.  Enjoy folks!

The Virginity Hit DVD review

Have any of our 10 readers even heard of The Virginity Hit?  It's a film starring an unknown cast, but produced by some big players in Hollywood... Will Farrell and Adam McKay.  The movie is about four friends, three of which have lost their virginity.  Matt is the four and final guy to try and lose his virginity in the bunch.  He's been with his girlfriend for 2 years, and he thinks their anniversary will be the day.

What I liked about the film:
Originality
In this day and age, it's all about Facebook and Twitter and YouTube.  In almost every movie featuring teenage characters, they reference these technologies.  TVH (The Virginity Hit) is no different.  It's shot in a very unique way; as a series of home videos/camera phone footage.  It's a unique look that works.  The friends have promised to chronicle Matt's journey to losing his virginity... and posting it to YouTube.  It's definitely in the raunchy comedy genre, but done so differently, it deserves a category all its own.


The Cast

The cast used their real names for their characters to make the film feel more authentic.  I don't recognize anyone in the cast, but they're all terrific.  The actors had a real chemistry between them.  They gave each other a lot of crap but you could see they all genuinely cared about each other.  Great cast!

The Story/Heart

There are so many raunchy comedies out there that don't work, because there's no heart.  They don't make us care about the characters, TVH works.  I cared about Matt and his journey.  I felt bad about his childhood and what he's been through.  The story was well written and the delivery from the actors comes off as improv, which worked in the film.


What I didn't like about the film:
The Absurd
The movie feels real for the most part.  But as soon as it strays away from that and tries to do more, it doesn't work.  There were a few exaggerated scenes that took away from the film more than they added.

The verdict:
Hilarious with heart

It's a film you should see, especially in a group of friends.  It looks different than any movie you've seen; it doesn't have a glossy, polish finish to it.  It's raw footage, that's as real a depiction of this generation as it gets.  Teenagers are doing the things depicted in the movie, period.  Off subject, read here about the controversy surrounding the billboard to the left.  The film gets a thumbs up from me.

I know this is a "DVD review", but the DVD of the film I rented had literally no extras.  Which is too bad.  It was an independent film, but It would have been fun to see the behind the scenes goodies.  Go out and see this movie guys, then let me know what you think!

The Social Network DVD review

This time of year is really exciting for all movie fans.  The big question is, who will be nominated for the various categories at the Oscars?  To me, the Golden Globes are... meh.  Who cares?  Oscar is the real prize, and we're really close.  And one movie that has been a lock for nominations since the first trailer is, The Social Network.

The movie is written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher.  If you don't know, it's about Mark Zuckerberg and the creation of the phenomena, Facebook.com.  Jesse Eisenberg plays Zuckerberg, the Harvard dropout that was just voted Time Magazine's "Person of the Year".  Pretty incredible considering the unbelievable growth of Facebook.  The film also stars Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake, who play the real life people who helped get the site off the ground.  The film also stars Armie Hammer, who plays the Winklevoss twins.  He plays dual roles; Cameron and Tyler, who sue Zuckerberg, accusing him of stealing their idea for Facebook.


What I liked about the film:
Generational

Mark Zuckerberg

I am obviously a huge movie fan; hence this blog.  But the movies with the most notoriety are often period pieces from a time long ago.  World War II is among the Academy's favorite time.  Along with British period pieces like this years The King's Speech.  So to see a movie based on events that took place during my lifetime is a real treat.  The subject matter is fresh and relative; and a treat for the techies that understand a lot of the dialogue being spouted off by the amazing cast.

The Writing

The writing is quick, witty, smart, relative, unconventional, conventional, fragmented, organized, business oriented, abbreviated, elongated, etc.  Sorkin is a freakin' genius, period.  The man will go down as the best writer of my generation and on.  He is not only great at setting up characters and scenes, etc.; he's amazing with the dialogue in the film.  The writing is so smart, yet simple enough for anyone in the audience to understand.  The story is told in a nonlinear fashion.  It jumps from a chronological telling of the development of Facebook, and bounces back and forth to the depositions in the lawsuits brought against Zuckerberg.  Brilliant. 

The Acting

Jesse Eisenberg

Eisenberg surely be nominated for Academy Award for the film.  He delivers every line so effortlessly.  His eyes tell stories all their own, and his face expresses such a wide array of emotion, he was the perfect actor for the part.  Garfield delivers an amazing performance as Zuckerberg's best friend and co-founder of Facebook.  His character has perhaps the widest array of emotion in the film.  Happy, excited, sad, devastated, betrayed, etc.  The Winklevoss' are played by the same actor, Armie Hammer.  And boy did they do a great job of making the audience hate them.  Stuck up, entitled, arrogant, privileged jerks.  Hammer nails it!

The Director

I'm a huge fan of Fincher's work, I'll be the first to tell you that.  Se7en, The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the future Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and of course The Social Network.  Wow, that is an amazing, and very underrated, resume!  He does a lot of things perfectly in this film.  The casting, the wardrobe of its time, the locations, and the score are all wonderful. 

What I didn't liked about the film:
The Length/Redundancy
It's exactly as the heading says.  The film is about 20-25 minutes too long.  90% of the film is fast paced and keeps the audience interested.  But there is a stretch in the middle act that just would NOT end.  Also, there are several scenes that didn't need to be there.  They added nothing to the story, and were pretty much covered earlier in the film.

Justin Timberlake
The last time I listed an actor as a "dislike" was my review for The Karate Kid.  In that case Taraji P. Henson almost ruined the film for me.  In this film, Justin Timberlake is the culprit.  I hated every SINGLE thing about his performance.  He plays Sean Parker, the founder of the song stealing site, Napster.com.  Supposedly he "earned" the part.  B-S, he got the part because the producers hoped to add a "big name" to the mostly unknown cast.  He's terrible and I hate his acting, period.


The (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) Blu-Ray of the film has a bunch of goodies.  Two audio commentaries; one with writer Sorkin, the other features director Fincher and the rest of the cast.  Also included is "How Did They Ever Make a Movie of Facebook?", a feature length documentary about the development of Facebook.  Also included are features with Trent Reznor who scored the film, and a few scene by scene breakdowns from the film.


The verdict:

Great, but not the best
The film is among the best I've seen in a long long time.  But strictly speaking in terms of my vote for Oscars, it wasn't as good as The Fighter.  I'm going to go out on a limb and say Inception & Toy Story 3 were better as well.  Not to fear, all four will be nominated and I'm sure one of them will win Best Picture.


Facebook has so quickly become embedded in our culture and our daily lives.  The fact that the events portrayed in the film occurred only 7 short years ago is pretty amazing in and of itself.  I hope this sparks a new line of films that happened in my lifetime.  War movies will always work, but these work just as well.  We'll see if I'm still blogging in 10 years, I'll have to look back at this post and see what the next Facebook will be.... as if anything could ever replace Facebook!

Buried DVD review

Buried, starring Ryan Reynolds, was one of those movies that everyone was buzzing about.... but nobody saw.  It's not that no body saw it because it was a bad movie, it was mostly because it was in such limited release!  It debuted at Sundance to amazing reviews.  Spanish director Rodrigo Cortés creates an unbelievable masterpiece of creativity.  Let me begin.

What I liked about the film:
Originality
So your telling me the entire movie takes place in a coffin?  They will never cut away from the coffin?  Like, never?  Ok, SOLD!  The entire film (95 minutes), takes place inside a coffin buried several feet beneath the earth.  Ryan Reynolds plays an American truck driver in Iraq, who's fleet was ambushed by insurgents.  He's put in the coffin with nothing but a cell phone, a new glow sticks, a flask and a knife.

We've seen movies before that take place in one, maybe two settings, i.e. Phone Booth.  But they're nothing like Buried.  Cortés does an amazing job of keeping the crowd interested.  There's never a dull moment during this film.


Subject Matter
This is an Iraqi war movie without being an Iraqi war movie.  If you've seen the trailers, you know that most of the story is told through phone calls from Ryan Reynolds to the U.S.  The film covers a wide array of topics that are both current, and significant.  It tackles the war in Iraq.  It covers corporate greed in the United States.  It covers the topic of insurance companies and the scam that they are.  Family issues and pressures to succeed.  All of this in 95 minutes within the confines of a coffin.  Amazing work by writer Chris Sparling. 

Ryan Reynolds

I am bias as a mo-fo when it comes to Reynolds.  I am a huge fan of his work.  I have followed his career since he was on TV's 'Two Guys and A Girl'.  But what he does in this film is his best work yet.  He must truly carry the picture, by the absolute definition of the word!  There are cases when actors are in every single scene of a movie, BUT they have help.  And when hearing actors talk about their roles in a film, they always talk about having other actors to bounce off of.  Reynolds didn't have that luxury in this movie.  His face, his voice, his limited movement had to do so much to keep the crowd interested, and man he nails it!

Rodrigo Cortés

Cortés had 17 days to shoot this film!  Ryan Reynolds follow-up to Buried, The Green Lantern, took 10 times that long!  The Spaniard says the film is a homage to Alfred Hitchcock films of the past.  Cortés' use of camera angles and lighting make us feel like we're caught in the coffin with Reynolds.  The shots reflect the emotion of the character in such a way, you forget the setting and just focus on Reynolds.

What I didn't liked about the film:
The Ending
Maybe it's a brilliant ending, but I disagree.  We have invested in this character for the entire movie; we've heard him get blown off by one person after another in the United States; we've seen him deal with the terrorists that captured him; we've seen him get accused of things he's never done; the ending should be just as fitting.  I'm not going to spoil anything.  But the ending is way too convenient for the complexity of the first 94 minutes in the film.  That's all I will say, let me know if you agree.


The Blu-Ray of the movie is pretty bare bones in the Special Features department.  A simple "making of" feature is all you get, along with a trailer of the film.  We have to be understanding though, it WAS an independent film with a tiny budget.

What excites me the most about this movie is... inspiration.  YES, inspiration to both up and coming directors, as well as the major studios.  Takes risks!  Give new directors the encouragement to create something new and original like Buried.  And as for the directors themselves, don't fall into the pattern of directors like Brett Ratner; an idiot who couldn't make an original film if his life depended on it!

"S.W.A.T. Firefight" Trailer

We don't usually feature straight-to-DVD films on the blog unless they're animated superheros, but this one is a good one. Remember S.W.A.T. starring Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell and Oscar nominee, Jeremy Renner? Well, this is a sequel of sorts. Check out the trailer to S.W.A.T. Firefight. It actually looks pretty impressive for straight-to-DVD. But don't be fooled, I thought Smokin' Aces 2 looked good until I watched it. Oh me oh my!

This one stars Gabriel Macht (The Spirit), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2) and Kristanna Loken (coincidentally, Terminator 3). Enjoy.

"The A-Team," "Despicable Me," "The Town" DVD Reviews

It was a big week on DVD and Blu-Ray. Three movies I really enjoyed in theater, all available this week to own. Let's start with The A-Team. For my theater review, click here. As far as the Blu-Ray goes, there's some cool stuff. You get an extended cut for starters. One of things I touched on in my review was that there were 5 significant action scenes in the film, rather than the standard 3. The Blu-Ray offers up one more, just for good measure!

There's also some cool behind-the-scenes material, along with deleted scenes and a gag reel. Here's all the details from Amazon.com:

The Devil's in the Details: Inside the Action with Joe Carnahan

Deleted Scenes

Gag Reel

A-Team Theme Mash-Up Montage

Plan of Attack

Character Chronicles

Visual Effects Before and After with Commentary by Visual Effects Supervisor James E. Price

Theatrical Trailer

The next big movie to hit video shelves this week was Despicable Me. The movie was sooo good. I was really looking forward to getting the Blu-Ray on this one. In my original review, I mentioned how visually stunning the movie is, the Blu-Ray is out-stand-ing. A ton of goodies, including 3 mini movies featuring the adorable Minions. There are a lot of extras that are a bit different from what you're used to. There's games and recipes, as well as the standard making of footage. Below is the full detail from Amazon.com:

Disc 1 (Blu-ray)

Exclusive on Blu-ray and Double-Pack DVD: 3 All-New Mini-Movies Featuring the Minions

The World of Despicable Me

Despicable Beats

Gru's Rocket Builder

A Global Effort

Despicable Me Game Previews

Commentary with Directors Chris Renaud & Pierre Coffin Featuring the Minions

The Voices of Despicable Me

Super Silly Fun Land

Blu-ray Exclusive Features

Gru-Control - see the making of the film with behind-the-scenes footage and cast interviews with a PIP window

Miss Hattie's Top Secret Cookie Recipe

pocket BLU - featuring the 'Minion Me' and 'Minion Dominion' apps for iPhone & iPad

uHear - Never miss another line of dialogue when you're watching Despicable Me with this feature that instantly skips back a few seconds on your Blu-ray disc and turns on the subtitles

Disc 2 (DVD)

DVD of Despicable Me

Disc 3 (DVD)

Digital Copy of Despicable Me (expires 12/31/11)

Finally we have The Town. From the first time I saw the trailer, I was hooked. Then I watched it and reviewed it, and then I sat and waited for the Blu-Ray. The extras here are nice, but I really wanted more to be honest. There is an extended cut of the film, which is great. But I don't know if this happens to you, but I usually can't remember the original cut frame by frame to notice the extras. But there is SOME behind the scenes stuff. One cool feature is "Ben's Boston" where there's a lot of talk about the various locations in the film.

I wish there was a bit more detail and discussion about the characters and what their various motivations were. Especially Jon Hamm and Chris Cooper's characters! Here is the rest of the goodies from Amazon.com:

Includes theatrical version
Extended cut not seen in theaters
Commentary on both versions by Ben Affleck
Ben's Boston
Segments include: The Cathedral of Boston; Nuns with Guns: Filming in the North End; Pulling Off the Perfect Heist; The Town and more.


Three great movies, three great Blu-Ray discs. I spent some serious money this week and next week should be no different. That's when Salt comes out on Blu-Ray and the third chapter in the Family Guy Star Wars parody. Til then, keep your DVD players on and watch some behind the scenes awesomeness.

"Iron Man 2" DVD Review

Iron Man 2 was obviously one of the biggest movies of the summer/year in 2010. Director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey Jr. are back for another go. Let's just say we covered it A LOT here at AtD. As a huge fan of the first film, I expected a lot out of the sequel, and have to be honest, was a bit disappointed. For my original review, go here. What I'm going to do now is give some additional insight that I've seen it multiple times, and talk about the Blu-Ray.

As far as my review, I still feel the same way about my "likes." The writing, the villains, the action are all still pretty awesome. The sequel contained what worked in the first film and improved on them. The writing was great in both films; quick, witty and smart. The villains were much better in the sequel (as far as depth), more unique and visually better than the first. And of course, the action was improved upon, big time.
The "likes" are the same, but the "dislikes" are even more of a dislike now that I've seen the movie a couple of times. The second act of the movie is God-awfully slow. There is nearly nothing going on in the middle of the movie and the pace is paralyzing. I wrote about the "misused acting," and boy was I right. Don Cheadle is a wonderful actor, but it just didn't show in Iron Man 2. Watching it again made me wish Terrance Howard was signed for the sequel. There is zero chemistry between Downey Jr. and Cheadle.

And worst of all is the abrupt, horrible climax that did not justify the earlier action sequences. This is immediately following the never-ending chase scene with the droids. Jeez Louise.

Now the special features. I give them a 7/10. There is a nice 'making of' that was satisfying and insightful. The featurettes are fun, and again, give an insider look to the making-of. I also liked the concept art involved in making the movie.

I bought the 2 Disc Special Edition Blu-Ray. There is a 1 Disc Blu-Ray as well as a DVD. Enjoy the film.

"Superman./Batman. Apocalypse" DVD Review

I read about Superman./Batman. Apocalypse (S/B A), the straight-to-DVD film, a few months ago and got really excited. If you frequent this blog, even a little bit, you know how obsessed I am with comic books, movies and comic book movies. I'll give you a brief description of the film and a quick review.

Remember the Supergirl film? C'mon, it came out and was supposed to carry on its own franchise. You don't remember? It's ok, neither do a lot of other people. Well, Supergirl is the cousin to Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman. Her Krypton name is Kara Zor-El. She, too, was sent in a spaceship to Earth from Krypton. S/B A follows Kara from her landing on Earth to becoming Supergirl, but it's not all fun and games.

Along the way, Batman is suspicious of this new alien on Earth. Superman is convinced she is his cousin and is no threat to mankind. But there is a dark side to Kara, and it is brought on by who else? Darkseid. Darkseid has a long and rich history as a villain in the DC Universe. This movie was the perfect way to get him into the straight-to-DVD movies.

The movie features some of DC Comics' most popular characters, and doesn't disappoint. It's good to remember this is more of a Supergirl story and that Batman and Superman are really secondary characters in this one. I love how they incorporated Wonder Woman and the Amazons into the film. It was great.

Another thing I'd like to note are the special features on the Blu-Ray I purchased. The Warner Brothers/DC Universe Blu-Rays have some of the most comprehensive special features I've ever seen. History of major characters, episodes of previously aired cartoons, interviews, etc. If you are a comic book fan or even an animation fan, you'll love this movie. The animation is on par with some of the best in the industry; smooth, recognizable and memorable. Check this gem out and let me know what you think.

The UK Is Getting a SICK "Inception" Blu-Ray Gift Set

Check this out! The UK, via play.com is offering an incredible gift. A special edition gift set for Christopher Nolan's Inception. The set drops on December 6th and will set you back a mere £29.99, or $47.00 U.S. Here's what it comes with:

-Limited edition aluminum briefcase

-PASIV (Portable Automated Somnacin IntraVenous) Device User Manual

-Movie art-cards

-Inception Spinning Top (Cobb's Totem)

I want this! No details yet on the release here in the U.S. but I want the gift set! Oh well, I'll wait till someone on eBay tries to get rid of theirs, because $47 is too rich for my blood. Check out a close-up of the suitcase below:

"Kick-Ass 2" Greenlit. Strong DVD Sales Despite Weak Box Office Sales

MTV has the scoop on Kick-Ass sequel, Kick-Ass 2: Balls To The Wall. In talking to the comic book creator, Mark Millar, MTV reports the sequel is greenlit. This is seriously awesome news.

The movie under-performed in theaters, and really, no one knows why. It could be comic book fatigue or it could be the excessive violence. Also, the comic book appealed to a much smaller audience than, say, Superman or Batman.

Nonetheless, the movie did great numbers on DVD and Blu-Ray, enough to motivate everyone involved to do a sequel.

Director of the first film, Matthew Vaughn, is off filming X-Men: First Class. Once that is wrapped up, it would be safe to bet he'd begin pre-production on the Kick-Ass sequel.

We'll let you know as the news is reported. The picture on the left is from the upcoming Balls to the Wall comic book! Can't wait to buy that as well.

redbox to start offering Blu-Ray discs for $1.50 a night, AWESOME!

There are a lot of movies that stir up controversy, same goes for actors/actress.  But rarely does the industry itself stir up controversy, until recently, with redbox.  What is redbox?  They are the popular DVD rental kiosks you see at your local department stores.  They only charge $1 (a max of $25) a night to rent movies.  Granted they don't have a wide a selection of films, or copies of each film, but a buck is a buck.

The controversy is this; is redbox diminishing DVD sales for the studios?

Some say yes.  Blockbuster is about to go bankrupt because of digital downloads and, in part, redbox.  The studios are suing redbox, and losing by the way.

Some say no.  The other argument is that the studios charge too much to purchase DVD's and Blockbuster with their late fees priced themselves out of the rental market.

My argument is the latter, the studios don't lose money, they just want to make MORE money.  I am an avid purchaser of DVD's and Blu-Ray's, literally thousands.  I don't download movies illegally and rarely do I rent from my cable provider or though my Playstation 3.  If anything redbox has encouraged me to buy MORE movies after I've rented them.

This is my logic... if I rent a movie from redbox for a dollar, and like it... I'm going to buy the movie.  This way it only cost me a dollar more than it would have, and I'm sure I like the film.  If I rent a movie from redbox for a dollar and don't like it... I just saved 15-20 dollars on buying a movie I've never seen and was not going to like.

Back to the story at hand.  redbox is now offering Blu-Ray discs for $1.50 a night, effective immediately.  I love this!  There have been movies I rented at redbox that I wish were in Blu-Ray, i.e. The Book of Eli.  That movie is visually stunning and would have been amazing in Blu-Ray's HD format.  That movie is another example of how renting the film first, encouraged me to purchase it later.

What's your opinion?  Do you have one?  Are the studios being greedy?  Or am I contributing to the devaluing of an entire industry?  Let us know.