Category: Movie DVDs (Page 45 of 100)

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

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

Welcome to the Concession Stand

March 17, 2009 /

Welcome to a new feature here on Premium Hollywood…and, believe me, it’s one I’ve been wanting to premiere for quite some time. I’m someone who enjoys trying new foods and new beverages, and I’ve often thought it would be fun to write a column which gave me the opportunity to write about the experience. Unfortunately, I’m forever buried in DVDs that need to be reviewed. Finally, I had an epiphany: why don’t I figure out a way to combine the two?

And, thus, “Concession Stand” was born.

The beverage: Mountain Dew Voltage.

Last year, over a quarter million votes helped Voltage win the so-called “DEWmocracy” election, with the taste, name and color of the product all developed by the customers themselves…well, y’know, with a little help from the folks at PepsiCo. (What, like they’re gonna give the yokels all the power?) As the bottle proudly trumpets, it’s your standard Dew brew, but charged with raspberry citrus flavor and ginseng. The color of the beverage is a slightly disconcerting shade of blue, but the raspberry mixes with the traditional Dew flavor rather well, making the taste not so far removed from a Sweet Tart. If it’s icy cold, it goes down fast and smooth…which is good, since it’s so sweet that drinking it slowly may result in you taking awhile to finish the bottle, but caffeine fiends with a sweet tooth will have no problem chugging it down to score the inevitable rush.

When I was pitched the opportunity to check out Voltage, they sent me three bottles of the stuff, so I scoured my to-be-reviewed pile to see if I had three DVDs featuring the same person in some role or other. Lo and behold, I did…and that person’s name was Lea Thompson.

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Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, Celebrities, External Entertainment, External Movie DVDs, External Movies, External TV, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVDs, Movies, Reviews, TV, TV Comedies, TV DVDs, Video

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

Baghead

March 15, 2009 /

Four struggling L.A. actors retreat to a mountain cabin to write themselves some work via a zero-budget screenplay, but things take a meta-not-quite-horror turn in the Duplass Brothers’ follow-up to their “mumblecore” festival circuit hit, “The Puffy Chair.” Billed as a kind of comedy-horror film, “Baghead” starts out strongly, poking knowledgeable fun at the indie film scene, but takes way too long developing the uninteresting tangle of relationships, real and imagined, between buddies Matt (Ross Partridge) and Chad (Steve Zissis) and their respective not-exactly-dates, Catherine (Elise Muller) and Michelle (the ultra-cute Greta Gurwig of “Hannah Takes the Stairs”). By the time a seriously tipsy Michelle thinks she’s dreamed of a creepy slasher with a bag over his head, and that becomes the subject of the screenplay the foursome imagines they might work on, we’ve lost a great deal of interest. Even when an actual dude with a lunch bag over his head starts appearing, the dramatic juices never really flow. While “Baghead” eventually regains some steam, it’s pretty much the opposite of scary – and I’m rather easily scared – and not even close to funny or compelling enough to rate a recommendation, despite a sweet-natured ending, some laughs early on, lots of good intentions, and some very decent performances. It might, however, make an interesting point of comparison when the possibly-meta super secret Joss Whedon/Drew Goddard collaboration, “The Cabin in the Woods,” comes out next year.

Click to buy “Baghead”

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

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