Caffeinated Clint
With so many Blu-Ray and DVD releases coming out these days – I’m serious when I say about twenty a day turn up at the moment, to both my office here and abroad; some come in handy when I’ve got an itch I can’t reach with my index finger – it makes sense to relaunch this mini-review assemblage. This way, we’ll be able to cover more stuff (stuff we mightn’t necessarily cover – due to time constraints), whilst having that little bit of extra time to spend on some of the reviews that deserve more than 100 words – like special edition’s, criterion releases, and so on.
Ghostbusters (Blu-Ray)
Where do I start with this one? I’ve read many reviews for this highly-anticipated release – and they’re mostly negative. And fair call too. This one isn’t going to be any different. For such a wonderful movie (I fuckin’ love Ivan Reitman’s “Ghostbusters” – it’s the perfect blend of comedy, thrills and practical workable effects) to get such a an abysmal transfer, it’s criminal. There’s more grain here than in my gran’s poop. There’s less detail than in that Jack Nicholson movie. And I’ve gotten a bigger bang from a brandy-filled nun than the soundtrack here offers – it’s as flat as Keira Knightley; not even Ray Parker Jr’s theme has any oomph! Very, Very disappointing Sony. Love the extras component to the release (the commentary, the new featurettes and so on) but it doesn’t make up for the ostensibly rushed transfer. Hopefully nobody’s bought a Blu-Ray player just so they can watch the new “Ghostbusters” release.
Friday the 13th Part 2 (Blu-Ray) and Friday the 13th Part 3 3-D (Blu-Ray)
Both pretty awful films (in fact, most of the “Friday” sequels were) – but they look pretty good on Blu-Ray… well as good as you can expect twenty-something year-old flicks to look. The sound actually packs quite a bit of punch on both, and the 1080p transfer is a cosmic improve over the recently re-issued DVDs- which were, if not anyone’s fault (but time itself), a little grainy and murky. The “3-D” version of the second sequel actually plays rather well here. I didn’t know if it would. There’s some slight discolouring, but overall, it does – for the most part – look like that big mother-fuckin’ knife is headed for your noggin! Good extras on both releases too (albeit the same ones you saw on the Special Edition DVDs of both films earlier this year).
Tango & Cash (Blu-Ray)
What was I saying about some releases just not needing a full-page review? This’d be one of them. “Tango & Cash” is a good little flick – Sly Stallone and Kurt Russell made a great team; sad Kurt passed on a role in “The Expendables”; and love the dig at ‘Rambo’ – but comes to Blu-Ray with very little bells and whistles. Not that it deserves much more… I guess. No extras. Just a slightly above-average transfer that won’t sell Blu-Ray players, but will likely appeal to Stallone fans (when the price drops). Still remember going to see this one at the cinema in, whatever it was, 1990? I remember it so well because it was the day my buddy decided to bring his own mega-punnet of homespun popcorn into the cinema. He was the one Mr T was referring to when he said he Pitied the Fool! Red was not just the colour of Dakota’s panties last week.
A Time to Kill (Blu-Ray)
I was watching At the Movies (local review program – think Ebert and Roeper… if only Roeper wore big dawn-hooker earrings) on the ABC last week when the presenters preceded to tell viewers that Sandra Bullock (whose film “The Proposal” they’d just reviewed) hasn’t done a good film since her breakthrough, “Speed”. What a load of bullshit! Did they not see Joel Schumacher’s classy, gripping film adaptation of John Grisham’s novel? This rocked like a Who groupie! Excellent performances (even by the oft-panned Bullock, but especially Matthew McConaughey and Samuel L.Jackson). This is one of the better adaptations of one of Grisham’s books. Revisit it if you only remember it for the shirtless McConaughey scene, or the sweat dripping down the front of Ashley Judd’s tight tank top.
Bolt (DVD)
I know a lot of you loved it, and some even walked out soggy from screenings, but I thought Disney’s “Bolt” was actually one of the most overrated movies of the year. Maybe it’s because I’ve grown up watching these ‘dog/kid’ movies, or it could be that I’ve just became more jaded in more recent years (and that wouldn’t surprise me at all – any job gets a bit ‘blah’ after a while), but I just found out this way-too-cute but mostly, unsure of itself. Yeah, I’d recommend watching it – but I don’t know that I’d say the Academy should’ve thrown it more of a, er, bone. Some good extras on the disc.
Love the Beast (DVD)
I actually thought this’d be about as hard to sit through as watching bird shit dry on a fountain – to my surprise it’s actually turned out to be one of my favourite Australian films of the year. I don’t quite get why Eric Bana wants to rimjob his beloved car, but I do get love – – and man, you can’t help but be drawn in by this rather unorthodox romance between a man and his transportation. It even, like say a Nicholas Sparks novel, has a sad ending. I think everyone will find something in this one.
Legally Blondes (DVD)
Oh god, give me a fuckin’ hammer ma! I remember my old friend Reese Witherspoon (yeah, there’s more name dropping here than an Austin Movie Convention) telling me at one point that she was considering doing a third “Legally Blonde”. The idea at the time was to send her character, the dimish Elle Woods, to London. Whilst the idea remained the same… or kinda… the lead actress hasn’t. Witherspoon’s wisely packed her bags …. and in her place are annoying-as-shit twin siblings Camilla and Rebecca Rosso. Aaargh. They play Elle’s cousins from Britain, forced to move to Beverly Hills (and live in Elle’s house; not that Elle’s around of course – she’s in Washington) when their father gets a job there. The only reason I decided to give this one a whirl is because its director is none other than ‘Savage’ Steve Holland – who, as my fellow children of the 80s will attest to, was somewhat of a comedy ‘god’ back in the day. But this isn’t a shade on “Better Off Dead” or “One Crazy Summer” and only proves how desperate, and starved, the previously unwaged Holland must’ve been.
Everwood : Season 2 (DVD)
It’s probably largely Emily Van Camp’s fault, but I just couldn’t get enough of “Everwood” there at one stage. In all seriousness, it was a really good show. Less of the fanciful fluff and more meat than most free-to-air television dramas possess. I also became a fan of Treat Williams all-over-again, thanks to his bravura performance as Doc, er, Brown. But yes, young spunky Emily always remained atop of my thoughts. After years, and years, of petitioning, Warner Bros has finally released the second series of the show. This was the year that Amy (Van Camp) had to get used to life without boyfriend, Colin, who’d died (actually, we didn’t know if he died or not – the season 1 finale ended on a cliff-hanger) recently, and turned to drugs to help numb her pain. Meantime, Ephram (Gregory Wise) got it on with his sister’s babysitter, Madison (the adorable Sarah Lancaster). Hopefully it doesn’t take five years for Season 3 to hit shelves.
Collateral Damage (Blu-Ray)
Remember the ruckus about this one? It was supposed to come out in 2001, but after those fuckin’ pigs compressed the twin towers into clay, the studio decided it’d be respectful to let this terrorist-themed movie rest a while. And good on them – nobody wanted to see this kinda-stuff at the time; not after such a tragic event like that. But it didn’t make people want to see the movie any more. Nobody seemed to care about it before it was postponed; nobody cared about it after it finally hit screens. It was, for all intents and purposes, the start of the end for big Arnie Schwarzenegger. His films were getting worse and worse. This is one of those Schwarzenegger efforts that, although entertaining and worth a look, you’ll never feel the urge to return to. Blu-Ray looks good though… possibly even better than the first “Terminator 2” release.
American History X (Blu-Ray)
I know director Tony Kaye isn’t that proud of this movie – and I get that; the studio messed with the film he wanted to make – but he should be, “American History X” is actually a pretty darn good movie. Very solid in fact. Edward Furlong was never better… and Edward Norton is a beast. I dare anyone to resist the urge to hold onto their arm chairs as the film comes to its conclusion. Quite a good transfer too. If you’re a fan of the movie, I’d say grab this one.
Fatal Attraction (Blu-Ray)
Man, it plays rather tame now… but back in ’87, when I was still a wide-eyed teenager, this thing was the bomb. Sex. Thrills. Bloody Bathtubs. Boiling Bunnies. Glenn Close was as ugly as a spew-green wedding dress, but her scenes with Michael Douglas were hotter than the red tap! Though there’s a bit of grain, and the soundtrack could’ve offered a bit more punch, the Blu-Ray is actually quite good. In comparison, another Paramount title “Major League”, which I viewed the same night, didn’t look anywhere near as sharp.
