Category: External Movie DVDs (Page 47 of 74)

The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior

August 16, 2008 /

I’m not exactly sure anyone was clamoring for a follow-up to 2002’s “The Scorpion King,” but with the release of the third installment of the once-popular “Mummy” franchise in theaters, someone over at Universal clearly found it beneficial to dump this low-rent prequel onto DVD and Blu-ray at the same time. The story begins decades before the first film, where a young Mathayus has just witnessed the death of his father at the hands of a traitorous Arcadian named Sargon (UFC fighter Randy Couture). When he returns several years later after being sent away to train with the royal guard, Mathayus (Michael Copon) discovers that his land is now under Sargon’s rule. Determined to exact revenge, Mathayus embarks on a dangerous journey to the underworld to recover the only weapon capable of destroying his enemy. If you thought watching the spin-off of a sequel to a remake was bad enough, try watching the direct-to-DVD prequel to that same film. “The Scorpion King 2” is oozing with bad production values, even worse acting, and some of the dumbest dialogue you’ll hear all year. It’s like a shitty episode of “Young Hercules,” but with a villain that has cauliflower ear and knows mixed martial arts.

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Hitler: The Last Ten Days

August 15, 2008 /

Say whatever awful things that you want about Adolf Hitler, because there’s little question that he deserves every sling and arrow that you want to throw in his direction, but you can’t say he wasn’t a fascinating individual. “Hitler: The Last Ten Days” is a film that wants to be just as fascinating, but it fails at least as often as it succeeds. The biggest ongoing problem is that, while Sir Alec Guinness unquestionably has the acting chops to pull off the role of the Fuhrer, his decision to stick with his own accent rather than a German one never fails to be distracting. (Don’t tell me it’s because he couldn’t do a German accent!) Setting aside the accent, Guinness’s performance is solid, both in his ferocious outbursts as well as his chilling calm, such as when he makes the suggestion that the Hitler Youth be sent to the front lines. Ennio de Concini selected a slightly strange tone for the film, however, going for humor in the oddest moments. For instance, when Hitler marries Eva Braun (Doris Kunstmann), the officiant nervously asks Hitler, as required by the text, “Are you Aryan?” Later, after Hitler and Braun commit suicide, the first thing the Fuhrer’s subordinates do is light up cigarettes, since Hitler didn’t allow smoking. Granted, these things are based on fact, but the inherent darkness of the events are inappropriately lightened up at times, such as when de Concini chooses to have the post-suicide smoke-fest scored to cheery, upbeat music, almost as if to say, “Hey, Hitler’s dead! Time to party!” “Hitler: The Last Ten Days” is worth seeing, but if you want a film about Hitler with a tone that more accurately matches the subject matter, better you should pick up Oliver Hirschbiegel’s “Downfall.”

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Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert

August 14, 2008 /

Say what you will about the phenomenon that is Hannah Montana, but it’s no different from the many other musical acts that preceded her. People are quick to forget just how fanatical female teenagers can get – whether it’s Elvis Presley, The Beatles, New Kids on the Block, ‘N Sync, or even Britney Spears – and though much was made about Miley Cyrus and her Disney-bred alter ego’s “Best of Both Worlds” tour being sold out within minutes, it’s certainly not the first time that it’s happened. That didn’t stop desperate dads from doing whatever it took to score tickets (including running a 50-meter dash in high heels for a radio contest, as documented in the film), but it also didn’t make getting them any easier. Thankfully, Disney not only recognized that thousands of teeny boppers would miss out on the big event, but that they could actually turn a healthy profit by releasing the concert in theaters.

As far as concert films go, “Best of Both Worlds” is typical fare. Most of the movie is spent watching Miley perform, but occasionally, the audience is treated to a sneak peek backstage or a behind-the-scenes look at rehearsals. And guess what? It’s not that bad. The 3D version of the concert is less exciting than it sounds (just when you begin to feel like part of the crowd, a scene not filmed in 3D pulls you right back out), but it’s still a nice addition to the set. Plus, while Miley’s music isn’t exactly the stuff of Grammys, what she lacks in quality material, she more than makes up for with an energetic performance. The same goes for the Jonas Brothers (this generation’s equivalent of Hanson), who stop by to give Miley a breather midway through. Both are key players in this new wave of tween-ertainment, and while you might not understand what all the fuss is about, when all is said and done, you’ll at least respect it.

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Watching the Detectives

August 12, 2008 /

Cillian Murphy is the last guy that most people would ever imagine popping up in a romantic comedy, but he pulls it off remarkably well in Paul Soter’s directorial debut, “Watching the Detectives.” Best described as “‘High Fidelity’ for the movie lover,” the film stars Murphy as Neil, a self-proclaimed film buff who runs an old-school video store that specializes in genre flicks and cult classics. When a sexy spitfire (Lucy Liu) enters his store one day, Neil’s world is turned upside down as he’s forced to keep up with her spontaneous and adventurous lifestyle in order to win her heart. A lighthearted rom-com made for film geeks by film geeks, “Watching the Detectives” is much better than I was expecting. Cillian Murphy delivers a solid performance in the lead role, while Lucy Liu piles on the charm as the ultimate high-maintenance girlfriend. Though it may shock some to discover that the movie was written and directed by Soter (one-fifth of the comedy troupe Broken Lizard), it’s a more-than-respectable “solo project” that should finally earn him a shot at stepping behind the camera for the Lizards’ next project.

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Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

August 2, 2008 /

If you’re a movie buff, you probably smiled when you saw the elbow-in-the-ribs joke of this film’s title, but to illuminate those who don’t know their Hollywood trivia, it’s been said that the success of “Where the North Begins,” which provided a similarly-named canine star (Rin Tin Tin) with his first starring role, was responsible for keeping Warner Brothers from going bankrupt. “Won Ton Ton: The Dog Saved Hollywood” takes that approximate concept – a dog becoming a bigger star than most human actors – and adds to the plot a would-be actress (Madeline Kahn) who’s the only person to whom Won Ton Ton will listen. Bruce Dern plays the aspiring director whose career takes off thanks to the dog, Art Carney is the studio head, and Ron Leibman gets a lot of laughs out of his role as Rudy Montague, a very thinly-veiled version of Rudolph Valentino, but the real fun of the flick comes from the number of old-Hollywood stars who make cameos. Indeed, “Won Ton Ton” might actually beat “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” for the number of guest stars, though it’s a little sad to realize that, in 2008, only real cinemaphiles will appreciate how cool it is to see a cast which includes…wait, let me take a deep breath…Johnny Weismuller, Victor Mature, Rudy Vallee, Walter Pidgeon, Ann Miller, Ann Rutherford, Peter Lawford, the Ritz Brothers, Andy Devine, Alice Faye, Dennis Day, Broderick Crawford, Cyd Charisse, Fernando Lamas, Sterling Holloway, Dorothy Lamour, William Demarest, Jackie Coogan, Phil Silvers, George Jessel, Edgar Bergen, and even Stepin Fetchit. “Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood” isn’t a true classic of the ’70s, but when it comes to films which provide opportunities to say, “Hey, look, that’s (INSERT ACTOR HERE),” it’s in a league of its own.

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