Category: Movie DVDs (Page 42 of 100)

Passengers

May 17, 2009 /

Whenever a movie with an A-list cast suddenly disappears from the release schedule only to pop up on DVD several months later, you know it was probably for a reason. In the case of “Passengers,” it’s that the movie isn’t very good. Anne Hathaway stars as Claire Summers, a young psychologist assigned to the small group of survivors of a recent plane crash. When the patients begin disappearing, however, Claire teams up with one the survivors – a surprisingly carefree man named Eric (Patrick Wilson) – to unlock the truth behind the incident. Though Sony originally marketed the film as a supernatural thriller (it even had a very limited theatrical release around Halloween), there’s almost nothing supernatural or thrilling about it. Director Rodrigo Garcia tries to ratchet up the tension by sprinkling in ominous stalkers and conspiracy theories, but to little avail. Even the big twist ending – which the script tries to protect by ignoring the obvious – can be seen from a mile away, making the wait seem even longer. It’s always sad to see a great cast wasted (along with Hathaway and Wilson, the film also stars David Morse, Andre Braugher and Dianne Wiest), but “Passengers” just doesn’t have what it takes to be an engaging thriller.

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S. Darko

May 15, 2009 /

Despite the fact that “Donnie Darko” was one of the most imaginative, bold, exciting and talked about cult films of the last ten years, nobody really asked for a sequel. It was just that kind of movie – it said everything that it needed to say in one sitting. Heck, even Richard Kelly’s director’s cut that came around a few years later felt pretty superfluous. Nevertheless, the bean counters have won again, and so we have “S. Darko,” which is made by an entirely new set of creative folk yet stars Daveigh Chase, who played Donnie’s little sister, Samantha, in the original. Taking place seven years after the events of “Donnie Darko,” the sequel sees Samantha and her friend Corey (Briana Evigan, daughter of Greg) taking a road trip cross country, only to have their car break down in a crappy little town. There, all manner of weirdness surrounds them, most of it ripped directly from the original film. Tangent universes? Check. Roberta Sparrow’s time travel book? Check. Evil bunny mask? Check. A perverted motivational speaker? Check. Funny thing is, “S. Darko” finds absolutely nothing fresh or new to do with any of these ideas.

The movie is so reliant on the mythology set up in the original that it would make absolutely no sense if you haven’t seen the original, and yet because it brings nothing new to the table, fans of the original are bound to find it little more than a pointless exercise in commerce. It’s a shame about the screenplay, because most of the actors turn in pretty good performances, especially Evigan, whom I look forward to seeing more of in the future. Director Chris Fisher knows his way around the camera as well, and there are some really pretty pictures on display. And certainly any movie featuring music from The Cocteau Twins, Catherine Wheel and Dead Can Dance can’t be all bad, but it just so happens this one isn’t very good, either.

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The Last Templar

May 13, 2009 /

There’s one major problem which infiltrates “The Last Templar” almost from the moment it begins: they’ve changed a lot of stuff from the original novel by Raymond Khoury. This obviously isn’t something that would be an issue for someone who’s never read the book, but for those who’ve been wondering how it made the transition from print to screen (and who didn’t catch the miniseries when it originally aired on NBC earlier this year), accept this assurance that you’re almost certainly going to be disappointed. Everyone else, however, will probably enjoy the adventure well enough, provided their suspension of disbelief is fully charged. Archaeologist Tess Chaykin, played by Mira Sorvino, is essentially a female version of Indiana Jones, except one who now has a child and isn’t quite as ready to go globetrotting for ancient artifacts as she once was. When four people on horseback dressed as Templars storm New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art during its exhibition and swipe key artifacts, Tess muscles her way into the investigation, albeit against the desire of FBI Agent Sean Reilly (Scott Foley), and ends up traveling across the world in an attempt to discover the lost secret of…wait for it…The Last Templar.

Veteran producer Robert Halmi Sr. turns in another good-looking yarn, and the cast is certainly strong, with Victor Garber, Kenneth Welsh, and Omar Sharif also on hand. Sorvino and Foley have the kind of chemistry that makes you wish this was a better movie than it actually is. The big action scene at the beginning of the film, where Sorvino swipes a horse and goes jousting in Central Park, is ridiculous enough to lose a lot of viewers right off the bat, and there are more than a few moments where you’ll cringe at the dialogue. (How can anyone not groan when Sorvino punctuates an ass-kicking by snarling, “I’m nobody’s baby”?) Still, the aforementioned chemistry between the leads is generally enough to keep you watching, and those who want to get themselves pumped up for “Angels & Demons” will probably find “The Last Templar” an enjoyable diversion. And if you do, then you’ll also want to watch the making-of featurette on the DVD, which is about as entertaining as these things get.

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Blu Tuesday: Taken, Star Trek and Underworld

May 12, 2009 /

It’s been awhile since my last Blu-ray column (two weeks ago, I attended a brand retreat in Walt Disney World with Hanes and returned with a non-swine flu), but luckily, I didn’t miss too much. In fact, with the exception of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (which you should definitely pick up, by the way), there were no other major releases last week. This week is a different story, however, with a few A-list titles, a slew of movies from the Paramount and MGM vaults, and an awesome collection that sci-fi fans are going to want to check out.

“Taken” (20th Century Fox)

By far the biggest surprise of the year, Pierre Morel’s “Taken” is a good old fashioned action thriller that doesn’t waste a single minute on pointless exposition or silly subplots. Liam Neeson is excellent as the Jack Bauer-type who jets off to Paris when his teenage daughter is kidnapped by human traffickers, and then proceeds to kick the ass of each and every person involved until there’s no one else left to punish. Though I’ve yet to actually check out the extras on the Blu-ray release, the U.K. edition sported some pretty cool bonus material including a picture-in-picture geographical locator, a making-of featurette, and side-by-side comparisons for six of the film’s key sequences. I’d expect the U.S. version to feature the same, but here’s hoping we get a few exclusives as well.

“Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection” (Paramount)

With J.J. Abrams’ big screen reboot of the sci-fi classic tearing up the box office in its first week in theaters, it’s really no surprise that Paramount would want to take advantage of the hype train by releasing all six of the original “Star Trek” films on Blu-ray for the first time. As we’ve already seen from the Season One release, however, Paramount’s HD reissues are more than quick cash grabs, but rather serious undertakings meant to please the most loyal of fans. The same appears to be true of the “Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection,” a seven-disc box set that includes remastered editions of all six movies (sorry, no director cuts this time around) and an additional disc of bonus material entitled The Captain’s Summit. Suffice it to say, this is a no-brainer Day One purchase for any real “Trek” fan, but at such a great price ($79.99 on Amazon), I’d even say it’s worth it for the casual fan as well.

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What Doesn’t Kill You

April 30, 2009 /

Some people may wonder why “What Doesn’t Kill You” didn’t receive a proper theatrical release, and to be completely honest, it all comes down to luck. Over the last few years, there have been a number of gritty crime dramas released in the same vein as Brian Goodman’s directorial debut, and though a majority of them weren’t any better or worse, they had the good fortune of being made first. That’s really the only thing standing in the way of the film, a based-on-a-true-story tale about two lifelong friends (Mark Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke) making a living as soldiers for the local crime boss in Boston. When a job gone wrong lands the pair in prison, however, one struggles to make the most of his second chance under the haze of drugs and money.

If there’s one thing going for “What Doesn’t Kill You” that some of the other likeminded films didn’t have, it’s a strong performance from its lead actor. Mark Ruffalo has been on the brink of breaking out for what seems like a decade now, and yet he continues to hammer away with quality roles where he really gets to flex his dramatic muscle. Ethan Hawke isn’t quite as memorable in what could easily be viewed as a copycat of his character in 2007’s “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,” but he still does his best work in films destined for the festival circuit. Unfortunately, though “What Doesn’t Kill You” may claim to be based on a true story, it’s simply too far-fetched to be believed. Goodman should have had the good sense to ignore that aspect of the tale and just focus on crafting a movie that we haven’t already seen countless times before. Maybe then it would have never gotten lost in the shuffle.

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