Category: Movie DVDs (Page 20 of 100)

Defendor

April 13, 2010 /

With Matthew Vaughn’s “Kick-Ass” due in theaters this Friday, Sony picked the perfect time to release their own movie about a wannabe superhero – only “Defendor” is a little different in that its title character isn’t exactly right in the head. Granted, anyone that decides to get into the vigilante business has to be a little crazy, but Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson) is also a little slow. Dressed in a black suit with a duct-tape “D” on the chest and boasting an arsenal of weapons ranging from a WWII trench club to marbles and wasps, Defendor roams the city helping those in need. After saving a crack-addicted call girl (Kat Dennings) from a crooked cop (Elias Koteas) one night, Defendor teams up with her to take down a New York City crime boss that he believes to be a fictional villain named Captain Industry. Highlighted by a solid performance by Woody Harrelson, “Defendor” has its moments, but it ultimately falls prey to some shoddy direction from Peter Stebbins, who doesn’t seem to know whether the movie is supposed to be a dark comedy or a gritty crime drama. Koteas has some funny moments as the sleazebag cop who’s constantly harassed by Defendor, but it’s hard to find the humor in a mentally challenged adult who risks his life because he doesn’t think that bullets can harm him. “Defendor” definitely had the potential to be a great addition to the superhero genre, but it’s never better than mediocre.

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

Howard’s End

April 11, 2010 /

Featuring Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Anthony Hopkins, and a heartbreaking Vanessa Redgrave, 1992’s “Howard’s End” was the third (and most star-studded) adaptation of a novel by E.M. Forster from the famed triumvirate of producer Ismail Merchant, Oscar-winning writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, and director James Ivory. With the Merchant-Ivory team’s famed talent for exquisite visuals amidst extravagant period settings, it’s also perfect fodder for a Criterion two-disc DVD set.

Thompson and Bonham Carter are sisters Margaret and Helen Schlegel, affluent early 20th century intellectuals who find themselves embarrassingly intertwined with the crassly wealthy Wilcox family. Eventually, the ailing matriarch, Mrs. Wilcox (Redgrave), starts up an intense friendship with the older and more stable Schlegel sister, Margaret. After her death, wry Margaret unexpectedly falls for and marries Mr. Wilcox (Hopkins), not knowing the ardent capitalist had chosen to ignore a death-bed bequest of enormous import. Meanwhile, the younger Helen’s overweening sympathy for a sensitive clerk with intellectual aspirations (Samuel West) inadvertently threatens everyone’s happiness and proves, once again, that it’s money that matters most. A morally complex blend of complex comedy and drama with florid tragedy reminiscent of another great literary adaptation, George Stevens’ “A Place in the Sun,” “Howard’s End” is everything you could ask for in thoughtful period entertainment, with some highly nuanced ideas from novelist Forster on the interplay of economics and emotional life. Critics sometimes downplay the “tasteful” Merchant-Ivory-Jhabvala films, but this hugely entertaining winner of three Academy Awards, including a Best Actress statue for Emma Thompson, gives Oscar bait a good name.

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

We Believe

April 8, 2010 /

You have to feel a little sorry for the makers of “We Believe,” the entertaining movie documenting the 100-year anniversary, if you want to call it that, of the Chicago Cubs’ last World Series victory. Many thought the 2008 Cubs were going to be the team that ended the heartbreak, and goodness knows they gave even the most cynical Cubs fan – of which this writer is one – reason to, well, believe. Late-inning comebacks, a no-hitter in a neutral stadium…it was a crazy year, just crazy enough to do the impossible. Director John Scheinfeld assembles a who’s who of Chicago celebrities, Cub players past and present, and assorted baseball luminaries (Bob Costas, George Will, Bud Selig) to discuss the unique relationship between the Cubs and their fans, intercutting it with history lessons of both the city of Chicago and the team they love. Their coverage of the material is most comprehensive; they even took a few minutes to talk about Steve Goodman, the folkie who penned the good-time song “Go Cubs Go” in 1984, which received a revival in 2008.

Unfortunately, Scheinfeld didn’t get the happy ending he was clearly hoping for when he began the project; the Cubs were swept out of the playoffs in the first round by the Dodgers, and about halfway through the movie, Gary Sinise’s narrative updates on the team’s performance during the 2008 season become less and less frequent, and the movie begins to wander. When they finally get to discussing the playoffs, Sinise is mum on the outcome; they just show people discussing the aftermath. No one mentions the Dodgers by name, and only one person uses the word ‘sweep.’ What begins as a celebration of baseball and its loyal fans ends as a surprisingly insular, fans-only event.

Ah, but those Cubs fans will lap this up. The interviews with the 2008 players are refreshingly candid – best of the bunch was Ryan Dempster, who does a pitch-perfect Harry Caray impression – and the local celebs (Jeff Garlin, Bonnie Hunt, Joe Mantegna, Billy Corgan and Dennis Franz, to name a few) are upfront about their love for, and frustration with, their team. While “We Believe” may not chronicle the breaking of a century-old streak that they had hoped, it is a heartfelt tribute to arguably the most steadfastly loyal fans in baseball, if not all of sports.

Click to buy “We Believe”

Documentaries, External Movie DVDs, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Video

Blu Tuesday: The Lord of the Rings – The Motion Picture Trilogy

April 6, 2010 /

While we all patiently await Guillermo del Toro’s big screen adaptation of “The Hobbit” (currently scheduled to be split into two parts and rumored for a 2011 release date), Warner Bros. has decided to whet our appetites by releasing “The Lord of the Rings” on Blu-ray. It’s certainly been one of the most requested titles since the format first arrived on the scene, but now that it’s finally here, the release has only been mired in controversy. Although a lot of fans have been aggressively vocal about the studio’s decision to only release the theatrical editions at this time (one look at Amazon’s product page shows an average rating of 1.5 stars), the reasoning behind the boycott is absolutely ridiculous.

It’s not as if Warner Bros. is trying to dupe consumers into buying two versions of the movies like they did with the DVDs. In fact, they were kind enough to announce fairly early on that HD versions of the extended cuts would be made available closer to the release of “The Hobbit” in theaters, namely because director Peter Jackson wants to produce all-new bonus material for that set. So why the outrage? Quite simply, because the only thing fanboys know how to do better than overhype a movie is complain about it. Sure, it sucks that fans of the extended editions have to wait so long, but to think that the studio has some kind of secret agenda is pure hogwash. Plus, some people actually prefer the theatrical editions to the overly long extended cuts (myself included), so it’s nice to see that Warner Bros. is offering that option from the get-go. If you don’t like it, too bad.

After all, you don’t hear fans of the theatrical editions complaining about the lack of new bonus material on this set, and that’s actually a more viable argument. You still get all of the special features from the original two-disc DVDs (with the exception of a new video game trailer in place of the old ones), as well as digital copies of each film, although it’s hard to imagine watching “LOTR” on such a tiny screen. It would have been nice if they had included a few new extras with this release, but that shouldn’t really affect whether you buy the trilogy on Blu-ray, because it’s really about the movies themselves, and they look and sound better than ever.

Each film is presented in full 1080p video (and in their original 2.35:1 aspect ratio) and boasts a powerful DTS-HD Master Audio 6.1 lossless audio track with a thunderous bass that won’t disappoint. The picture is also crisp and clean for the most part, although some might notice that “The Fellowship of the Ring” looks a little soft compared to the other two films. That’s likely a result of the way it was filmed as opposed to anything having to do with its transfer to HD, but I’m sure everyone will have their own theories. Still, even with a few minor imperfections, this remains a must-own for any fan of Jackson’s epic trilogy. Those who disapprove of the release can complain all they like, but after seeing just how awesome these movies look on Blu-ray, they’re going to find it pretty hard to resist.

Action Movies, External Entertainment, External Movie DVDs, External Movies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVDs, Movies, Reviews

Flame and Citron

April 5, 2010 /

Conspicuously red-headed, twenty-something “Flame” (Thure Lindhart, “Angels and Demons“) is both a tortured romantic and an efficient killer and anti-Nazi patriot. Whether the target is a Gestapo officer or a pro-Nazi journalist, he’s efficient and not too concerned with moral fine-points — except, perhaps, when it comes to women. Former automotive saboteur “Citron” (Mads Mikkelson, the evil Le Chiffre of “Casino Royale“), however, is overtly troubled by the job, and even more so by his deteriorating marriage. Things become torturous for the pair, comrades but perhaps not quite friends, when a series of events involving questionable leadership, traitors within the resistance, and Flame’s emotional attachment to a sexy and sympathetic resistance spy (Stine Stengade) makes them wonder just how many of right and wrong people they’ve been killing, and why the local Gestapo head (Christian Berkel) isn’t one of them.

“Flame and Citron” attempts to blend the blunt realism of an anti-Nazi resistance thriller like Jean-Pierre Melville’s recently rediscovered “Army of Shadows” with a contemporary action film. Initially, director/co-writer Ole Christian Madsen’s bombast and an overlong first act partially derail matters in this 2008 Danish language production, but once it gets going, the film achieves its goal and becomes an honest look at the real cost of killing. A genuinely affecting, complex story kept remarkably clear by Madsen, strong acting (sometimes too strong), and some painfully effective action sequences makes this film a bitterly poignant reminder of the real cost of World War II.

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Action Movies, External Movies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies

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