For a movie that didn’t exactly perform well at the box office, Warner Bros. has put together a pretty strong collection of extras for the Blu-ray release of “The Invention of Lying.” You’ll get all of the same material on the DVD version, though, so unless you care about the added incentive of a digital copy, you might be better off just saving a few bucks on what isn’t exactly a must-own film.

“Prequel: The Dawn of Lying”

Originally conceived as a pre-credits sequence, this alternate opening details evidence of the very first lie in history. Narrated by Patrick Stewart and starring the film’s principal cast as their prehistoric counterparts (including Ricky Gervais, Rob Lowe and Jeffrey Tambor), the scene is mildly entertaining, but was rightfully cut during post-production. It might sound great on paper, but it just doesn’t work tonally.

“Meet Karl Pilkington”

Anyone who’s ever listened to the Ricky Gervais podcasts is already familiar with his friend/punching bag, Karl Pilkington. This 18-minute video diary documents Pilkington’s trip from England to Boston to serve as an extra on the film. It’s not exactly the most economical thing to do, but if nothing else, it proves just how far Gervais is willing to go for his own personal amusement. The fact that Pilkington’s scene just so happens to be the one that was cut (see above) only makes the investment seem that much more senseless. Hey, at least they got a funny extra out of it.

“A Truly ‘Honest’ Making of Featurette”

It’s not quite as advertised, but this short 7-minute featurette does offer interviews with the cast and crew about working on the film, as well as a few exclusive outtakes and a behind-the-scenes look at the many variations of Gervais’ infectious laugh.

Read the rest of this entry »

One of the biggest box office hits of the year, “The Hangover” finally comes to Blu-ray and DVD just in time for the holidays boasting a theatrical and unrated cut of the film (for once, you don’t have to choose between the two) and a slew of extras that are fun to watch once, but aren’t necessarily as good as you would expect.

“Picture-in-Picture Commentary”

The highlight of most Blu-ray releases is typically the audio commentary, and though this track featuring director Todd Phillips and co-stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis doesn’t start out strong, it gets better over time as they discuss everything from the music to Helms’ fake tooth to the different babies used during production. The picture-in-picture video doesn’t exactly, though, help because everyone involved looks positively bored (or just trying to enjoy the movie, you decide), so it can hardly be viewed as an incentive for Blu-ray owners.

“Map of Destruction”

This interactive feature lets you retrace the guys’ crazy night by visiting all of the locations they hit up along the way. From Caesar’s and the Riviera to Mike Tyson’s house, every stop includes interviews with the cast and footage of on-set antics. Tyson himself even gets a chance to shine with a great comeback on director Phillips.

“The Madness of Ken Jeong”

I’m not exactly sure why we needed eight minutes of Ken Jeong improvising, but this series of deleted scenes/alternate takes shows how he created the character of Mr. Chow through some experimenting.

Read the rest of this entry »

Poring through bonus features to DVDs may sound like easy work, but it gets pretty tedious after a while. We get it, you’ve just made the greatest movie of all time. Now please get in line with everyone else, because so did they.

Props, then, to the people behind the “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” for coming up with a slew of extras that will be fun for the kids and give their parents something to chew on as well. Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) and Alfie Enouch (Dean Thomas) host a series of clips where the child actors meet with various behind-the-scenes personnel, discussing editing, makeup, costumes, special effects, and even owl training. Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), meanwhile, plays a fun game called “What’s on Your Mind?” with the cast, asking questions about their favorite food, people and places. It’s completely fluffy and light, but fun.

There are several deleted scenes, including one involving clouds gathering over Hogwarts that should have made the final cut. On the self-promotion front, there is a featurette dedicated to the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Islands of Adventure in Orlando. The biggest surprise, though, is the 50-minute film (!) “J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life,” a rather sobering documentary about her upbringing and the parallels between her life and the Potter universe. Good stuff, Warners.

For many people, “Shorts” will go down as one of the worst films of the year. I still don’t understand why someone as talented and resourceful as Robert Rodriguez wastes his time on such drivel, especially when he could be off making any movie he wanted. That won’t stop some parents from buying it for their kids, however, so let’s take a look at what else they’ll be getting in addition to the film. And no, the digital copy doesn’t count.

“The Magic of Short”

This making-of featurette takes a look at some of the behind-the-scenes tricks that went into creating the world of “Shorts,” from practical effects like the conjoined parent suit worn by Leslie Mann and Jon Cryer to designing a CG Booger Monster. Unfortunately, it’s not quite as long as it should be for a movie built entirely around visual effects, and it feels more like an afterthought than a genuine extra.

“Shorts: Show and Tell”

Running only five minutes, “Show and Tell” is a collection of interviews with the film’s child actors as shot by co-star Devon Gearhart. They all say a few words about their experience on the film, but it’s pretty dull stuff.

“Ten-Minute Film School: Short Shorts”

By far the best extra on all of Rodriguez’s films, the latest installment in the Ten-Minute Film School series is a bit of a letdown. This time around, he offers up advice on how to make your home movies more interesting with the addition of sound effects. Since that doesn’t really take ten minutes to do, he also shows footage of the home movie he made with his kids to pitch “Shorts” to the studios. If there’s anything to be learned from the lesson, though, it’s that just because your dad is a good director, it doesn’t mean you’ll be a good actor. Man, those kids are terrible.

“Ten-Minute Cooking School: Chocolate Chip Volcano Cookies”

Another DVD staple, this recipe neither creates the volcano it promises nor is very unique when compared to past offerings. It’s essentially just a chocolate chip cookie with a bunch of other stuff (like marshmallows and nuts) thrown in for the hell of it. Though his daughter Rhiannon adds some much needed comic relief, this is easily his worst Cooking School to date.

In fact, you could say the same for the Blu-ray itself. Though I didn’t expect very much from “Shorts,” I did expect more due to Rodriguez’s involvement. I guess I’ll have to lower my expectations the next time he decides to make another movie for his kids, because they’ve only gotten worse.

Not a whole lot, unfortunately, as Warner Bros. continues their hit-and-miss streak of Blu-ray releases. Though “My Sister’s Keeper” isn’t exactly the kind of film that needs hours of bonus material, it certainly deserved better than this. A director commentary or a proper making-of featurette would have done wonders to flesh out the otherwise skin-and-bones disc, but at least there’s something extra for the fans.

“From Picoult to Screen”

This 13-minute featurette promises to show the creative process of author Jodi Picoult, but it’s really just a shameless piece of promotional material that glosses over the journey of “My Sister’s Keeper” from page to screen. There are some decent interviews with Picoult, director Nick Cassavetes, and stars Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin, but you can’t help but feel like there’s a more in-depth making-of featurette hidden somewhere in the Warner Bros. vaults. Surely the studio has more behind-the-scenes footage and interviews that they could have included, so why not create something with a little more substance?

“Additional Scenes”

As the only extra on the DVD release, this collection of deleted scenes runs just over 16 minutes long. With the exception of a funny scene involving Alec Baldwin at the court house, a majority of the material revolves around Jason Patric’s character, including an additional sequence with each of his daughters and a court scene that reveals Anna’s trepidations about surgery as a kid. It’s nice to see that Patric played a bigger role in the film than the theatrical cut suggests, but despite getting heavily edited out of the movie, it actually works in his favor. Take these deleted scenes for what they are: proof that sometimes less is more.

That’s it in terms of actual bonus material, but Warner Bros. has also included a digital copy of the film for those that feel like a good cry on the go. It’s not really worth the upcharge, however, so unless you’re a Blu-ray junkie, you’d probably be better off just sticking to the standard DVD.

It’s been awhile since we’ve done one of these here on Premium Hollywood (recently, they’ve been combined into my sometimes-weekly Blu-ray column), but with the DVD version of “17 Again” disappointing fans with, as Edwin Starr would say, absolutely nothing, it seemed like a good idea to break down just what exactly HD fanatics will be getting for the seven dollar upcharge.

“Zac Goes Back”

Your standard EPK-style production featurette, this 12-minute collection of interviews features the cast and crew talking about what it was like to work with one another on set. Along with explaining how Zac Efron became attached to the project to begin with, the interviews also expose Efron’s attempts at mimicking Matthew Perry’s various acting habits in order to properly portray him as a youngster.

“Going Back to 17”

Cut from the same set of interviews, this brief collection of footage asks the cast and crew about their own high school memories (complete with childhood photos), as well as whether or not they would accept the chance to experience it all over again. You can probably guess what the unanimous answer is.

“Way Cool Tell-All Trivia Track”

Certainly not as way cool as its title suggests, this pop-up track features trivia from the making of the film and general facts about the 80s. It’s probably the most interesting extra on the disc, but it’s only something that diehard fans will want to sit through the whole thing. Thankfully, the pop-ups aren’t at all distracting, so you can actually enjoy the movie while learning a few things along the way.

“Breakin’ Character Outtakes”

No surprise here, as Thomas Lennon steals the show with a series of funny adlibs and cast crack-ups – especially Zac Efron, who can’t seem to keep a straight face when working opposite the improv veteran.

Read the rest of this entry »

Movies starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe are usually expected to do big business at the box office, so how did “Body of Lies” only manage to earn $40 million during its domestic release? Chalk it up to post-9/11 fatigue, as Ridley Scott was clearly late to the party when choosing a political thriller set in the Middle East as his next project. Still, even though the movie didn’t do well stateside, it made nearly twice as much overseas, proving that both actors still have major star appeal. And as a result of its overall performance, Warner Bros. has produced a well-balanced collection of special features for the film’s Blu-ray release.

“Audio Commentary”

Director Ridley Scott, screenwriter William Monahan and author David Ignatius all sit in on this audio commentary to discuss the film, but unlike your typical track, each participant has recorded their thoughts separately. At first, it may seem a little strange to have the commentary jump back and forth between those involved, but it actually works better than most tracks because you don’t have to worry about people getting cut off or having the discussion pushed in another direction. Scott ends up dominating a majority of the commentary anyway, but sadly, he has very little to say about the actual making of the film, and instead just explains everything that’s happening on screen.

“Actionable Intelligence”

The Blu-ray version allows you to access this collection of nine mini-featurettes as you watch the film, but they can also be viewed individually via the special features menu. Running 79 minutes in total, this is the closest you’re going to get to a making-of featurette, including a behind-the-scenes look at production and costume design, stunts and special effects, and profiles on the lead actors. The best of the bunch, however, are two in-depth featurettes dubbed “Field Operation” that go into greater detail about the making of two crucial action sequences.

“Interactive Debriefing”

Scott, DiCaprio and Crowe sit down to discuss their thoughts on the film’s story, collaborating with one another, and the CIA. I’m not exactly sure what’s “interactive” about the feature aside from the ability to choose what order you view the interviews, but they do provide great insight into the film. Crowe’s interviews, in particular, are worth checking out, as it’s the only time he appears anywhere in the bonus material.

“Deleted Scenes”

Of the five deleted scenes included, only one is worth checking out – a lengthy sequence where Golshifteh Farahani’s character discovers what Roger Ferris really does for a living – while Scott’s optional commentary proves just as frustrating as the movie track. The fact that none was recorded for the alternate ending is only more maddening – especially because it’s superior to the one that appears in the theatrical version.

That may not seem like a lot, but trust me, by the time you’re finished with the single-disc release of “Body of Lies,” there’s nothing more you’ll want to know. Plus, as always, a digital copy of the film has also been included for your convenience. Just a quick note to Warner Brothers: you guys have done a great job on your Blu-rays, but in the future, can you please take us to a static menu instead of auto-playing the movie? It’s pretty annoying.

After considerably scaling back the U.S. release of “RocknRolla” to a mere 826 screens (most wide releases get 2500+) because it was deemed to be “too British,” Warner Bros. has reasserted its indifference with the film with a single-disc Blu-ray that isn’t necessarily terrible, but could have been much better.

“Audio Commentary”
Guy Ritchie and Mark Strong aren’t exactly two of the most outspoken guys in the business, but I respect them for their individual contributions to cinema. Their discussion on the film might not be as riveting as some had hoped, but it’s still a solid commentary with nary a quiet moment. Strong is very enamored with Ritchie’s latest film, while the writer/director plays the humble card most of the way through.

“Will You Put the Cigarette Out?”
A single deleted scene featuring One Two (Gerard Butler) running on a treadmill while some old guy smokes in his face and Mumbles (Idris Elba) runs his mouth. Not exactly exhilarating stuff, but we’ll take what we can get.

“Blokes, Birds and Backhands”
Some reviewers have called out this making-of featurette for leaning more towards the EPK side, but though it’s mostly promotional fluff about the characters and the story, the interviews with are still enjoyable. Plus, a few tidbits are dropped along the way, the most interesting of which is that the “sex scene” between Butler and Thandie Newton was completely improvised on the day. Originally intended to be a passionate kissing scene between the two actors, Newton begged Ritchie to change it when Butler arrived on set with a nasty cold. Oddly enough, the scene actually works better than it would have as a boring kissing scene, so kudos to bacteria.

“Guy’s Town”
A location featurette about all of the different London hotspots used during filming (including a yet-to-be-opened Wembley Stadium), this 8-minute extra also skews a little towards the promotional side, but it’s still a nice addition to the set.

All in all, this will probably be a bit of a disappointment for fans of Ritchie’s films. With only a couple of extras to choose from and a digital copy to load on to your mobile entertainment player of choice, “RocknRolla” is just begging for a much-improved double dip in the future. Unfortunately, the chances of that happening are about as good as Guy Ritchie becoming the next Prime Minister, so don’t hold your breath.

It isn’t all that rare these days for a studio to release a movie on DVD with little or no special features, but many Blu-ray owners feel that they should at least be rewarded with something other than enhanced video and sound for spending the extra cash. Unfortunately, Warner Bros. doesn’t feel the same way, because the Blu-ray release of “Pride and Glory” contains the same extras as its DVD counterpart. Even worse, the studio is apparently so ashamed of the lack of bonus material that it actually tries to hide it by having the movie start the minute you stick the disc in your player. No trailers to fast-forward through or menus to navigate.

How disappointing, because while there may only be one special feature to speak of, it’s better than the movie itself. Running just over an hour long, “Source of Pride” takes the traditional making-of featurette to a whole another level with a documentary that showcases the struggle director Gavin O’Connor went through in order to get his film made. From holding unconventional rehearsals (which co-star Noah Emmerich dubs “rewritings”) and casting bit roles days before they’re ready to shoot, the pre-production portion is so stressful that when filming begins, things really go to hell.

The script is in a constant state of flux, Nick Nolte must be recast at the last possible second with Jon Voight, and yes, Edward Norton is extremely difficult to work with. Apparently, all those stories about Norton being a pain in the ass were true – though O’Connor downplays the situation considerably by noting that his star actor is just really dedicated to the job. Meanwhile, an ending to the movie still hasn’t been written, and in fact isn’t written until the night before they’re scheduled to film the scene. Anyone that thinks making movies is easy, or wonders why “Pride and Glory” turned out so bad, needs to watch this documentary right away. It would have been nice to have some additional material to go along with it, but considering all of the trouble that the studio was put through during the making of the film, it isn’t at all surprising that they weren’t willing to front the cash to do so.

When you’re the highest grossing movie of the year, fans tend to expect a little more bang for their buck when it comes to the inevitable DVD and Blu-ray release. “The Dark Knight” is certainly loaded with an impressive collection of bonus material, but the lack of certain extras seems to hint that an ultimate edition is already in the works. You never know how long you’ll have to wait for that, though, which makes the two-disc release the perfect distraction until it does. With over three hours of bonus material and a digital copy to boot, it may not be the best Blu-ray of the year, but you could certainly do worse.

“Focus Points”
The Blu-ray version allows you to access this collection of 18 mini-featurettes as it pertains to the movie, but you’d be better off watching it all at once as a 64-minute making-of featurette. Among the topics discussed include the challenges (and advantages) of filming the opening sequence and Batmobile chase in IMAX, the design and creation of the new Bat-Suit and Bat-Pod, and the planning and execution of the hospital explosion and the super-cool semi-truck flip.

“Batman Tech”
A TV special that focuses on the history and practicality of Batman’s gadgets. Diehard fans probably already caught this when it first aired on TV, but those that didn’t will discover that the Caped Crusader is more based in reality than you might think.

“Batman Unmasked”
Another TV special that aired prior to the Blu-ray release, this one isn’t nearly as interesting as “Batman Tech,” but it still delivers a one-of-a-kind look into the psychology of Batman and his villains. The focus on the latter group is particularly cool as the interviewees discuss the similarities between Batman’s rogue’s gallery and real-life criminals and murderers.

“Gotham Tonight”
Undoubtedly the weakest of the set, this collection of fake news stories (including profiles of Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent) doesn’t really work as well as it should. The acting is subpar and the stories themselves feel staged. Granted, that’s what you’d expect from fake news stories, but still.

“The Galleries”
Four excellent photo galleries including a variety of Joker cards, concept art, poster and production stills. Most of the Joker cards designed were clearly unusable, but it’s still cool too explore all the different styles they considered.

“Trailers and More”
Three trailers and six TV spots. ‘Nuff said.

Overall, not a bad collection of extras for Warner’s first go-around with “The Dark Knight.” Any real collector knows that a much better version will likely be released next Christmas – and hopefully with more behind-the-scenes footage of Heath Ledger at work, not to mention make-up tests for both The Joker and Two-Face – but if you’re jonesing for another viewing of “The Dark Knight” before then, you can at least find comfort in the fact that the two-disc Blu-ray isn’t a complete waste of time.