Category: Movie DVD Quicktakes (Page 15 of 41)

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

October 22, 2009 /

Easily the best of the “Ice Age” movies to date, though there is still room for improvement. The main characters of Manny (Ray Romano), Diego (Denis Leary) and Sid (John Leguizamo) are still bland as waffles, as are “Ice Age 2: The Meltdown” returning characters Ellie (Queen Latifah), Crash (Seann William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck). But the “Ice Age” gang gains one huge upgrade in the form of Buck (Simon Pegg) a daredevil weasel who also happens to be completely nuts, which of course wins Buck the instant affections of Crash and Eddie. They even worked dinosaurs into the mix without jumping the shark – they live in a secret world beneath the ground – though it did cause me to wonder how the other animals knew what they were, since they had never seen one before and presumably do not have history books. There is a hilarious tribute to ’90s action movies where Buck tries to save Manny and Diego from a meat-eating plant, and must choose between cutting the red root and the blue root. The Scrat subplot is still the best part of the movie, and is ramped up by a new love interest, the eyelash-batting Scratte. But the A-story is slowly but surely holding its own.

We cannot vouch for the 3D aspect of the movie, but considering the number of thrilling first-person chase sequences contained here, it appears they were quite generous with it. They were also quite generous with the extras, including every Scrat short film and a deluge of featurettes on drawing characters and coming up with the designs for Scratte and the dinosaurs. Why Fox decided not to screen this for us is a mystery, as the movie is quite good.

Click to buy “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”

Movie Comedies, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Video

Easy Virtue

October 16, 2009 /

Easy Virtue

Today we associate multi-talented playwright Noël Coward with witty repartee, a forgiving view of sexual peccadilloes, twenties pop standards by Cole Porter and Coward himself, and the heavy use of cocktails. The play, “Easy Virtue,” about a country household thrown into chaos when the family’s only son impetuously marries an American woman with a shadowy past, however, was a melodrama and the 1928 silent film version was directed by the none other than a young Alfred Hitchcock. 81 years later, Australian director Stephen Elliott (“The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”) and co-writer Sheridan Jobbins have taken a very different tack, modified the plot, and turned the drama into a mostly comedic confection filled with witty repartee, a forgiving view of sexual peccadilloes, the music of Coward, Porter and, er, Tom Jones and Billy Ocean, and the heavy use of champagne and wine — but hardly any martinis.

Elliott does a good enough job finding the material’s comedic possibilities, but his style doesn’t quite fit and he gets into trouble when he indulges in some annoying Baz Luhrmann-esque musical/stylistic flourishes. Still, the main problem here is that, while Colin Firth as the family’s alienated patriarch and Kristin Scott Thomas as the repressed mother do first rate work, and Ben Barnes (a.k.a. “Prince Caspian”) is able as the young husband, Jessica Biel, in the crucial role of the extremely non-ugly American, barely registers. Her colorless performance tips the film over the edge of being an enjoyable diversion and into mediocrity.

Click to buy “Easy Virtue”

Actors, Actresses, External Movie DVDs, External Movies, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies, Reviews

Trick ‘r Treat

October 14, 2009 /

Michael Dougherty probably never imagined his directorial debut would become a cult hit before it was even released. Then again, he probably didn’t expect so much trouble in actually getting it released, either. Originally planned to hit theaters in October 2007, “Trick ‘r Treat” spent the next two years sitting on the shelf collecting dust, all while the anticipation among horror fans continued to grow. The movie has finally been released on DVD in time for this year’s Halloween celebration, and though it’s not nearly as good as the hype suggests, it is one of the most original and entertaining horror films in years – and this coming from a relative non-fan of the genre.

An anthology film in the same vein as “Creepshow” and “Tales From the Crypt,” “Trick ‘r Treat” spins four tales about mischief and mayhem in a small Ohio town on Halloween night. Dylan Baker stars as a high school principal who moonlights as a serial killer; Anna Paquin plays a young virgin on the prowl for her perfect man; Brian Cox faces off against a murderous little demon that doesn’t approve of his disregard for Halloween traditions; and a group of teenage pranksters get a taste of their own medicine.

Combining creepy imagery with some really dark humor, all four stories work well individually (especially the ones starring Baker and Cox), but it’s the way in which they’re skillfully interwoven that makes it such a blast to watch. Maintaining a sense of chronology to the film by placing characters from some stories in the background of others, Dougherty does a fabulous job with keeping the audience interested throughout the film’s brisk 82-minute runtime – even if some stories are better than others. It’s just a shame the movie didn’t get the attention it deserved, because while horror fans are stuck watching the same shitty sequels and remakes year in and year out, “Trick ‘r Treat” is exactly the breath of fresh air that the genre desperately needed. It really makes you wonder how Warner Bros. dropped the ball on this one, because while “Trick ‘r Treat” isn’t quite an instant classic, it’s a film you won’t mind revisiting every Halloween.

Click to buy “Trick ‘r Treat”

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

Trumbo

October 12, 2009 /

Trumbo

23 years after his death, Dalton Trumbo (“Johnny Got His Gun”) remains among the best-known screenwriters of all time. Ironically, that’s largely because much of his best work was done in secret. Jailed in 1950 and then blacklisted for his refusal to discuss his constitutionally protected membership in the Communist Party, Trumbo survived by writing prodigiously, using pseudonyms and “fronts” until 1960, when director Otto Preminger and actor-producer Kirk Douglas openly placed his name in the credits for “Exodus” and “Spartacus” and sounded the first death knell of the Hollywood blacklist.

Drawn partly from a play by the writer’s son, Christopher Trumbo, and featured on PBS’s “American Masters,” this documentary combines interviews with Trumbo’s family and friends, including stars Kirk Douglas and Dustin Hoffman, and dramatic interpretations of his writing by a long list of acting heavyweights such as Joan Allen, Michael Douglas, Liam Neeson, and Donald Sutherland. On the down side, director Peter Askin plays up Trumbo’s heroism while playing down his political extremism and indulges in some pretentious and annoying cinematic tics, including shooting the actors looking on pensively while their occasionally overdone readings play on the soundtrack. Still, when Askin captures the writer’s unsentimental and often humorous essence — as in Nathan Lane’s wry reading of an ingenious letter to the teenage Christopher Trumbo on the joys of masturbation and Paul Giamatti’s testy renditions of Trumbo’s broadsides at his local phone company — this is a highly engaging summary of the life and work of a singular figure in mid-century movie history.

Click to buy “Trumbo”

Actors, Actresses, Documentaries, External Entertainment, External Movie DVDs, External Movies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies, Reviews

Model Shop

October 6, 2009 /

Model Shop A shambling 1969 walkabout through the Venice and Hollywood sections of Los Angeles with music by proggy psychedelic band Spirit, “Model Shop” is not for everyone. Shot in gorgeous “Perfect Color” by the late Jacques Demy with dialogue by Carole Eastman (“Five Easy Pieces”), it’s a departure for the most traditional of French New Wave writer-directors who charmed the world with the great 1964 musical, “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.”

If you’re not fascinated by L.A.’s history and culture, you could quickly lose patience with “Model Shop.” There’s little story and Demy’s cast is mainly comprised of amateurs and two young working actors who might as well be. Still, you may want to stick around. “Model Shop” stars Gary Lockwood (“2001: A Space Odyssey”) as an aimless young unemployed architect who may or may not be contemplating dodging both the Vietnam-era draft and his live-in girlfriend (Alexandra Hay). Eventually, however, he spots a bewitching, somewhat older, woman played by Anouk Aimée (“8 1/2,” “A Man and a Woman”), who turns out to be recreating her role from Demy’s 1961 breakthrough, “Lola.” When Lockwood finally meets up with her in a model shop – where men would once pay to take their own non-nude girlie shots (life before the Internet!) – and then in her apartment, the film’s dramatic side is salvaged thanks to a wonderfully simple and very moving performance by Aimée, who shyly and beautifully takes over the movie. Slowly, an artful mess becomes a moving romance.

Click to buy “Model Shop”

Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movie DVDs, External Movies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies

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