Author: Jason Zingale (Page 17 of 154)

Entourage: Season Seven Preview

June 23, 2010 /

entourage_3

After what was probably the worst season in the show’s history, it was nice to see Doug Ellin and the rest of the “Entourage” crew bounce back last year with a fantastic sixth season that returned to the show’s roots while still allowing the characters to mature. It also found Vincent Chase back on the A-list after a tedious detour into obscurity (and Mexico) that dragged on for way too long. In Season Six, he didn’t have much to do beyond the odd talk show appearance or fuck session, but that’s Vinnie at his best. The other characters, meanwhile, were given life-changing storylines, like Eric shutting down the Murphy Group to work for a bigger management company; Drama gambling to get out of his “Five Towns” contract for greener pastures; and Turtle going back to school to learn how to run a business. And let’s not forget Ari, who not only bought out Terrence’s agency, but finally promoted Lloyd to a full-time agent.

With the show’s June 27th premiere just around the corner, HBO has released a series of trailers promoting its return, One of them is nothing more than a series of shiny glamour shots of the quintet laughing and just looking cool as they stand around the show’s trademark 1965 Lincoln Continental, followed by the vague tagline, “What’s Next?” There’s also a more revealing trailer making the rounds with actual scenes from the upcoming season, and although it’s not too spoilerish, it does a reveal a few things about what to expect.

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For starters, it appears that Vince will be working with director Nick Cassavetes on a new action film, with Cassavetes looking pretty intimidating for a guy best known for helming “The Notebook.” Drama will also be busy trying to find the perfect project to showcase his talents, Turtle’s call girl/car service company will take off, and Ari will try to break into sports as the new head of the biggest talent agency in the world. Surprisingly, Eric doesn’t feature too much in this trailer, so hopefully Sloan doesn’t have him on too tight of a leash now that they’re engaged.

And in case you were wondering where all the celebrities were hiding, don’t worry too much, as Season Seven promises to have just as many cameos as usual, including appearances by Sean “Diddy” Combs, Mike Tyson, Stan Lee, and Jessica Simpson, among others. The most promising guest appearance, however, will likely be John Stamos, who’s scheduled to appear as himself (and alongside “Full House” co-star Bob Saget, no less) in a storyline that has something to do with Drama’s new show. Check out the trailer below, and then come back on June 27th to follow along as we blog the new season. Still not enough coverage? Be sure to visit Bullz-Eye’s Entourage Fan Hub for actor profiles, DVD reviews and more.

Celebrities, Entourage, External TV, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

Blu Tuesday: Green Zone, She’s Out of My League and Entourage

June 22, 2010 /

With the World Cup in full swing, you’d think that the studios would have taken advantage of the event by releasing a few soccer-related titles on Blu-ray. (“Bend It Like Beckham” or “Victory,” anyone?) It was definitely a lost opportunity, but that’s okay, because there are still plenty of great titles to choose from, including the Blu-ray debuts of two HBO comedies.

“Green Zone” (Universal)

Though not as exhilarating as the “Bourne” films, or as poignant as “United 93,” director Paul Greengrass’ post-9/11 thriller, “Green Zone,” is still a damn fine movie that takes a politically-charged look at the botched search for WMDs in Iraq during the infancy of the 2003 United States-led invasion. Matt Damon once again teams up with Greengrass as the Chief Warrant Officer in charge of the investigation, only to realize after coming up empty on several occasions that the “solid intel” he’s been given may not be as reliable as his superiors believe. Greengrass’ trademark shooting style will still have some popping Dramamine just to keep from feeling dizzy, but the chaotic nature of the action makes sense in a war zone environment. I’m not entirely sure why this bombed so badly at the box office, but Universal clearly still believes in the film enough to release a Blu-ray that’s been adorned with plenty of bells and whistles.

“She’s Out of My League” (Paramount)

It’s not exactly the most original romantic comedy to come down the pike, but thanks to some sharp writing and great performances from its cast, “She’s Out of My League” is a great Judd Apatow clone that will have you laughing more than you might expect. Jay Baruchel is like a young Ben Stiller as the anemic geek who can’t believe he’s dating someone as hot as Alice Eve, and though the movie never gets quite as crazy as “There’s Something About Mary,” there are definitely shades of the film throughout. But just like that movie, as well as Apatow’s “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up,” “She’s Out of My League” really gets a lift from its supporting players, particularly T.J. Miller and Kristen Ritter as the mean-spirited best friends of the two leads. Pity Paramount couldn’t scrounge up better special features, because while “She’s Out of my League” is worth owning, the lackluster Blu-ray is better off just renting.

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Action Movies, Entourage, External Movie DVDs, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVDs, Movies, TV Comedies, TV DVDs

Blu Tuesday: Vengeance Trilogy

June 15, 2010 /

Though it’s technically been available for a few months due to an exclusivity deal with Best Buy, Park Chan-wook’s “Vengeance Trilogy” is available everywhere else starting today, so it seemed like a good time to finally take a look at this fantastic four-disc set from Palisades Tartan’s Asia Extreme division. Since I’ve already reviewed all three films in some capacity over the years, I’m not going to again, other than to say that “Oldboy” remains the highlight of the trio and “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance” the most overrated. “Lady Vengeance,” on the other hand, is even better when watching the “Fade to White” version – a previously unreleased cut of the movie that is slowly drained of color until it eventually dissolves into black and white.

The “Fade to White” edition of “Lady Vengeance” is just one of many new extras that appear on the four-disc set. It’s also the only way to purchase two of the three films on Blu-ray in the U.S. (“Oldboy” has been available for a few years now), and although that may seem like a pretty voracious decision on the part of the studio, they’ve clearly done their research, because I haven’t come across too many people who want to own one of the films and not the others. With that said, Palisades Tartan has done everything in their power to make these new Ultimate Revenge Editions truly ultimate in every way. Both “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance” and “Lady Vengeance” boast audio commentaries with Chan-wook and his lead actors, as well as hours of production featurettes, interviews and more. They also look and sound great thanks to brilliant 1080p video transfers that really play to the film’s strengths, and DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio tracks.

Of course, I’ve saved the best for last. While “Oldboy” isn’t quite as technically impressive as the other two films – namely due to an error on the packaging that promises a DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio track that doesn’t exist – the studio does make up for it with some killer extras. There are so many, in fact, that it’s a bit surprising that they didn’t decide to split up the content between two discs like they did with “Lady Vengeance.” Along with three commentary tracks – one with Chan-wook, another with him and cinematographer Chung Chung-Hoon, and the last one with the director and his cast – the Ultimate Revenge Edition also includes all the deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes documentaries, and interviews that have appeared on previous releases. The piece de resistance of the Blu-ray, however, is “The Autobiography of Oldboy,” a three-hour video diary that goes about as in-depth into the making of a film as you could possibly get.

Some studios are all too quick to splash around words like “special” and “ultimate,” but Palisades Tartan’s four-disc release of Park Chan-wook’s “Vengeance Trilogy” more than lives up to its billing thanks to an incredible collection of special features and a supplemental booklet filled with essays about each movie. Chan-wook’s ultra-violent revenge tales aren’t for everyone, but for fans of his twisted trilogy, this is quite the love letter.

External Movie DVDs, Movie Dramas, Movie DVDs, Movies

What Else Ya Got? “The Book of Eli”

June 12, 2010 /

The Hughes brothers’ first film in nine years didn’t exactly burn up the box office, but thanks to the star power of Denzel Washington, it did manage to turn a respectable profit. Apparently, it was even enough to convince Warner Bros. to go all out with the film’s Blu-ray, because while some of the studio’s more recent releases didn’t really feature much in the way of special features, “The Book of Eli” is loaded with them.

“Maximum Movie Mode”

It’s nothing like the incredible presentation hosted by Zack Snyder on the “Watchmen” Blu-ray, but this picture-in-picture video track is still a pretty cool supplement to the film. Designed more like Universal’s U-Control feature – where a small box pops up in the corner of the screen at various times throughout the movie – the Maximum Movie Mode features interviews with the cast and crew, behind-the-scenes footage from production, as well as concept art and screen to storyboard comparisons. Additionally, you can branch off to mini-featurettes called…

“Focus Points”

…or you can view them on their own without having to sit through the entire movie. There are ten in all, each running about 3-4 minutes in length. Though each Focus Point covers a different aspect of the film, most of them fall under one of three categories: Production Design, like “Building Carnegie’s Town” and “Apocalyptic San Francisco”; Stunts, like “Underpass Fight,” “Shootout at George and Martha’s,” and “Solara Causes Mayhem”; and Character Profiles, including a look at “The Motorcycle Gang.”

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Action Movies, External Movie DVDs, Movie DVDs, Movies

Mary and Max

June 11, 2010 /

Falling somewhere between Nick Parker’s charming “Wallace and Gromit” shorts and Tim Burton’s more adult stop-motion films, the 2009 Sundance hit “Mary and Max” is a hilarious and poignant tale about two very different people from separate sides of the world. Eight-year-old Mary Daisy Dinkle (voiced as a child by Bethany Whitmore and as an adult by Toni Collette) has no friends in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia, so one day she randomly selects a name out of the United States phonebook and writes them a letter to ask where babies come from.

That person is Max Jerry Horowitz (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a 44-year-old overweight New Yorker who also has no friends apart from the imaginary one he created as a kid. Against his better judgment, Max decides to answer Mary’s question, thus jumpstarting a 20-year long pen-pal friendship that explores everything from love, religion, and even mental illness. Though the film is told in a storybook manner with narration by Barry Humphries, “Mary and Max” has some surprisingly mature messages at its core. Mary may only be a child, but that doesn’t stop Max from speaking bluntly, which as we later learn is a result of his Asperger’s Syndrome. Pretty heavy stuff for Claymation, but thanks to a wonderful script by director Adam Elliot and key performances from Whitmore and an unrecognizable Hoffman, this is one animated film that every adult fan of Pixar should rush out and see.

Click to buy “Mary and Max”

Animation, External Movie DVDs, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies

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