Author: Jason Zingale (Page 54 of 154)

Blu Tuesday: Twilight, Bolt and Bond

March 24, 2009 /

Get ready to clean out your bank account, because there are plenty of great high-def titles hitting stores this week. So many, in fact, that I don’t have the space (or time) to talk about every one. James Bond fans will probably see the biggest dent in their savings, however, as five different titles have received the Blu-ray treatment. Let’s go ahead and jump right in with arguably the biggest title of the week.

“Twilight” (Summit Entertainment)

It’s not very often that a film adaptation is better than the source material, but then again, Stephanie Meyer’s novel really isn’t as good as its rabid fanbase would lead you to believe. Female moviegoers may have made “Twilight” a pop culture phenomenon, but that doesn’t mean guys won’t enjoy it too. It’s no “Lost Boys,” but it’s still worth seeing once. For some strange reason, however, the Blu-ray edition is exclusive to Best Buy and Target until May 5th, when Amazon unleashes their ultimate collector’s edition. Diehard fans looking to get their HD fix would be better of just waiting for that version, because despite the fact that it contains the exact same bonus material (audio commentary, deleted/extended scenes, making-of featurette), it also contains a sneak peak at the upcoming sequel, “New Moon.”

“Bolt” (Walt Disney)

Credit Disney for one thing: they understand the needs of their consumers. While many studios have adopted the idea of including digital copies, Disney has taken it one step further by packing every major Blu-ray title with a digital copy and a DVD version of the film. After all, kids tend to watch movies on the go, and since there currently aren’t any portable Blu-ray players on the market, it encourages parents to purchase the hi-def version without having to buy a DVD version for the road. Unfortunately, the extras aren’t quite as revolutionary, though there are a few cool art galleries that make me wish I could buy some of the prints for my home. Plus, kids and parents will both get a kick out of the “Super Rhino” short. It’s a great complement to what is easily Disney’s best CG film to date.

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Action Movies, External Movie DVDs, Horror Movies, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVDs, Movies

California Dreams: Seasons One & Two

March 21, 2009 /

Everyone has fond memories of spending Saturday mornings watching cartoons as a kid, but they often don’t remember that shows like “Saved by the Bell” were also part of the weekend festivities. With the characters of Bayside High gearing up for graduation in late 1992, however, producer Peter Engel was busy launching a worthy replacement. No doubt inspired by the “Saved by the Bell” rockumentary episode, “California Dreams” took the concept one step further by making the entire show about a group of friends – Matt Garrison (Brent Gore), Jenny Garrison (Heidi Lenhart), Tiffani Smith (Kelly Packard) and Tony Wicks (William James Jones) – who play in the eponymous pop/rock band and their unruly manager (Michael Cade).

Though not as popular as Zack Morris and Co., the guys and gals of “California Dreams” actually ran a season longer. Granted, the acting is a little worse (that’s what happens you cast musicians over actors), but the real standout of the series is Steve Tyrell’s original music. It may sound a bit dated now, but the soundtrack is what ultimately allowed “California Dreams” to distance itself from all the other shows just like it. The first two seasons are bit hit and miss (though Season Two features some major improvements like moving the action away from the Garrison household and the addition of new cast members), but fans will still get a kick out of the included reunion featurette. Hopefully, the five-disc box set does well enough to persuade Shout! Factory to release future seasons, because “California Dreams” doesn’t deserve to be judged solely on its early years.

Click to buy “California Dreams: Seasons One & Two”

External TV, TV, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV DVD Quicktakes, TV DVDs

Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter

March 20, 2009 /

When Zack Snyder announced that he would be taking on the seemingly impossible task of adapting “Watchmen” for the big screen, the only question that was asked more than “Will the squid be in it?” was “What about ‘The Black Freighter’?” The graphic novel’s story within a story is one of the most famous things about Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s groundbreaking comic because of the parallels that can be drawn between the journey of its unnamed protagonist and several of the main story’s characters. It’s all about a shipwrecked mariner (voiced by Gerard Butler) trying to make it back home to Davidstown in order to save his family from an impending attack by a demonic ship called the Black Freighter.

With the film already clocking in at 163 minutes, however, it just wasn’t conceivable to include “Tales of the Black Freighter” in the final cut, and so Warner Bros. decided to release the animated tale as a direct-to-DVD supplement to the film. Unfortunately, when viewed out of context, “The Black Freighter” loses any relevance it might have had to the story. Instead, it’s just a 21-minute pirate cartoon that, while it still retains its basic meaning, fails to serve the purpose it was originally intended for. The addition of a faux news program about Hollis Mason’s autobiography, “Under the Hood,” is a fun little extra that would work great as a DVD special feature, but as the B-side to the main feature, it’s hardly worth paying for. That pretty much sums up the disc as a whole, because if “The Black Freighter” really was as essential as many would lead you to believe, they would have included it in the film. Not even the most diehard fan should waste their money on this cash grab – especially when it will be included on the Special Edition DVD the way it was meant to be seen.

Click to buy “Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter”

External Movie DVDs, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies

Lost 5.9 – Namaste

March 18, 2009 /

For as much as I appreciate a week off from blogging, it’s hard to deny that those breaks really suck the momentum out of the show. Luckily, “Lost” makes it so easy to get sucked right back in – especially when the writers are having so much fun introducing characters from the present to former acquaintances in the past. Tonight’s episode featured several instances, and while they made a fairly big deal about Sayid meeting young Ben (probably because he’s going to try and stop him from poisoning the Dharma Initiative in a future episode), the brief mention of Ethan being Horrace and Michelle Dessler’s son was a far more exciting reveal from a fan’s point of view.

Then again, it also settles a fairly major debate regarding how Michelle was even able to have the baby in the first place. On the present day island, child birth was considered impossible until Claire had Aaron. Of course, that also didn’t happen until after Charlie killed Ethan. So what if baby Ethan was never supposed to be born, and as a result of Sawyer and Juliet saving Michelle’s life, they indirectly prevented any other child births from successfully taking place on the island until the mistake was reversed? It certainly makes a lot of sense, but I’m still not sure how it fits into the grand scheme of things.

Lost 5.9

Getting back to Sayid, the guy has run into some pretty shitty luck. While Jack, Kate and Hurley get to take the easy route as Dharma recruits (“What’s up with the jumpsuits?” “You didn’t tell them?”), Sayid has the unfortunate pleasure of being pigeonholed into the role of a hostile. Some trigger-happy nerd named Radzinsky wants to shoot him then and there, but Sawyer, who’s managed to rise among the ranks during his years as a company man, takes him to the barracks instead. What I don’t understand is why Sayid doesn’t just spin his story to make it seem like he’s running away from the hostiles? He’s already wearing handcuffs, so perhaps he could just explain that he was trying to escape. Then again, they’d probably think it was a trick and kill him anyway.

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External TV, Lost, TV, TV Dramas

Blu Tuesday: Punisher: War Zone and More

March 17, 2009 /

This week’s high-def offerings are pretty slim due to some unconventional marketing decisions. Though DVDs and Blu-rays are typically released on Tuesdays (hence the title of the column), there are only a few movies actually being released today. Summit Entertainment hopes to maximize Day One sales of “Twilight” by holding a midnight sale of the film on March 21st, while Walt Disney’s “Bolt” races into stores a day later. (Curiously, the DVD edition is still scheduled for the following Tuesday). Because it makes more sense to talk about those titles when they’re actually available in stores, however, I’ll save both “Twilight” and “Bolt” for next week’s column. Which leaves us with just one major release for the week…

“Punisher: War Zone” (Lionsgate)

Lexi Alexander’s “Punisher” reboot had all the makings of a box office disaster, so it shouldn’t come as any surprise that it performed terribly in theaters. Still, for all the drama plaguing production (from recasting Thomas Jane with Ray Stevenson to Alexander’s falling out with the studio), “War Zone” is a pretty entertaining flick. Fans of the comic will absolutely love all of the graphic violence, and though it can be a bit cheesy at times, it’s still better than some of the other Marvel films. The Blu-ray definitely does the movie justice (especially Steve Gainer’s excellent cinematography), but in the end, there just aren’t enough extras to make it worth owning.

The only other major releases this week are two catalog titles from Fox: “The Princess Bride” and “The Robe.” The former looks to be identical to the 20th Anniversary DVD (with the exception of a high-def transfer), while the biblical epic touts a digital restoration and all-new bonus features. Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to check out both discs and report back next week. Until then, be sure to save up some extra cash, because next week’s impressive Blu-ray schedule could set you back a hefty sum.

Action Movies, External Movie DVDs, Movie DVDs, Movies

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