It’s no shock that Drew Barrymore chose Whip It as her directorial debut.  A film about women’s roller derby featuring tough, trash-talking tattooed women seems right up her alley.  What is surprising is her ability to mine genuine humor and emotion out of such an unconventional premise. 

Ellen Page (Juno) gives another terrific performance as Bliss Cavendar.  As the film begins she is a front-runner in a beauty pageant, and obviously miserable.  There is something missing from her life, but her mother’s obsession with these pageants is preventing her from figuring out what she should be doing with her life.  Eventually, she finds her way to Austin, Texas, and becomes a roller-derby sensation going by the name of Babe Ruthless.

As her mother, Marcia Gay Harden portrays a character that genuinely wants what is best for her daughters.  She just doesn’t understand the impact roller-derby has on her daughter’s life.  As Bliss Cavendar, she is a ridiculed, nerdy waitress living an ordinary life.  But when she becomes Babe Ruthless, her life opens up.  She is forced to become more aggressive, physically and mentally.

Page plays Cavendar and Ruthless as if they were two different people.  The constant repression of Ruthless (what seems to be her real persona) is a tremendous pressure on her in “the real world,” and it is this struggle that drives the film.  As things progress, it becomes clearer to everybody that this is who she is meant to be.  This sense of discovery is a huge part of why the film works so well.  It’s a believable and entertaining transition.

The other reason the film works so well is the terrific supporting cast.  Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development) shines as her best friend, Posh.  They have a believable repartee between them, and this friendship is a cornerstone of the film.  Barrymore smartly spends a lot of time away from the roller derby just observing these two living their lives.  Their friendship is a crucial aspect of the characters, and it’s a smart move to spend so much time with them, away from the main story.

As for the roller derby itself, it’s a violent and fascinating sport that I honestly didn’t even know existed.  Barrymore sets up the rules pretty early in the film, and then does a great job actually filming the sport itself.  I’ve seen a lot of sports movies and while this does tend to follow the formula, it’s refreshing to follow a sport that I’ve never seen before.  There is an energy and excitement to the game sequences, and she never loses sight of the action.  It becomes very easy to follow, and I eventually found myself actually getting invested in the game itself.

The other roller-derby competitors are a really fun group to watch.  Kristin Wiig, Zoe Bell, Eve, and even Drew Barrymore all play various team members.  They all play tough girls, but never end up as stereotypes or cliches.  Each individual is a memorable character, fleshed out and believable.  The interactions between the team demonstrate a sense of family that is never forced.  Another standout is Juliette Lewis as Iron Maven, the common enemy of the team.  She seems to be having a blast with this performance, and her over-the-top attacks make it easier to root for the team.

Unfortunately, the extras on this set are terrible.  There are nine deleted scenes, and many of them are simple scene extensions.  There is a three-minute feature on the screenwriter and her process of writing the story.  And the last feature is an ad for the soundtrack.  I was amazed at the miniscule amount of material on the set.  I would have thought Barrymore would have had a lot of material chronicling her debut.  She doesn’t even provide a commentary track.

But my disappointment was balanced out with my enthusiasm for the film itself.  I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it nearly as much as I did, and was amazed at just how fun it actually ended up being.  While the story is a bit of a cliché, it’s smartly written and always entertaining.  I wasn’t expecting much from Barrymore, but she really did a great job and I look forward to seeing whatever her next attempt may be.

Over the years I’ve seen many musicals, both live and on film.  Yet somehow, I’ve managed to go my whole life without ever seeing a single moment of the Music Man.  It’s not that I’ve been against it in any way, I’ve simply just never gotten around to it.  I began watching the newly released Blu-Ray completely unfamiliar with the story, the characters, or any of the music (although I did end up recognizing a lot of it, having never realized where the music came from).  Going into a film blank is an exceptionally rare experience for me, and one I was eager to jump right into.  Unfortunately, it turned out that I hadn’t been missing anything that great.

This is one of those movies made up of moments.  There are fantastic set pieces, character beats and musical numbers throughout, but as a whole the story just doesn’t really come together.  Robert Preston is a standout, bringing an energy and excitement to his role of con artist Harold Hill.  Having perfected the role on Broadway, he supports the entire film with his performance.  Shirley Jones (The Partridge Family) also shines as Hill’s love interest, “Marian the Librarian.” 

Without these two performances, I don’t believe the film would be as renowned as it is today.  The story revolves around Hill’s attempts to con River City, a small town in Iowa, into purchasing band equipment and lessons that he cannot provide.  As we learn, he has scammed several towns prior to this one, collecting the money and running away.  However, due to various circumstances, he can’t leave until the town has received their band uniforms.  During this time, he falls in love with Marian, gets to know the citizens and manages to improve the town through music while they in turn make him a better man. 

It’s a very simplistic story, and is dragged out over two hours and thirty minutes.  In a film with so much boisterous energy and lively musical numbers, I was amazed at how slow the film actually felt.  We spend so much time getting to know practically the entire town that we don’t really get to know anybody.  Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, considering how annoyingly caricatured several of the residents are.  I understand that the movie is based on a play, but the performances still feel way too theatrical for the medium.  The filmmakers needed to tone down these performances, but rather encouraged the slapstick and over-the-top goofy accents and voices. 

Of course, The Music Man is a musical, and in this regard, the film is fantastic.  I ended up recognizing the majority of the songs without even realizing I had heard them before.  These are iconic songs, ones that have earned a place in the pantheon of great musical numbers.  The main song of the film is Seventy-Six Trombones, a fantastic march that Hill uses to sell the idea of a band to the residents of the town. 

However, some of the best musical moments are those that slowly evolve from regular dialogue, eventually transitioning into full-blown musical numbers.  In fact, the opening sequence is like this, featuring a group of traveling salesman conversing through overlapping musical dialogue in time with the rhythms of their train.  And sometimes, these different styles end up overlapping, with full-blown melodies integrated into the more conversational style of song. 

As for the Blu-Ray itself, the picture looks and sounds terrific.  The colors are vibrant and the image pops off the screen.  The sound is flawless, with a clarity that enables us to hear every word of overlapping dialogue and perfectly realize every note of music.  The extras however, are minimal.  There is the original theatrical trailer, which is a lot of fun, and a feature called “Right Here in River City.” 

Running just over 22 minutes, this is a terrific documentary featuring modern-day interviews intermixed with footage from filming.  By incorporating current interviews with Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett and Onna White, they provide a modern perspective on what it was like to film this so many years ago.  It’s apparent that everybody involved in this production had a great deal of admiration and respect for the finished product.  They also seemed to have a great time actually filming it.  Filled with anecdotes as well as insightful analysis, this is a bonus feature worth watching. 

I just wish I could say that I liked the film itself more.  While I loved the music and some of the performances, I couldn’t get past my frustration with the citizens of the town or the dragged out storyline.  The film is worth seeing and I’m glad that I did, but I still can’t help but find the film overrated.

Most movies these days seem to live and breathe by a gimmick.  It seems as if there always has to be some new conceit, whether it’s the effects, the characters, action sequences, or a twist within the story.  In 2003’s Mystic River, brilliantly directed by Clint Eastwood, he knew he had a great story and cast, and that was all he needed.

He opens the movie with an unsettling prelude, showing our central cast as a close group of childhood friends.  One of these friends, Dave, ends up abducted by someone posing as a cop.  Four days later, he escapes after enduring unspecified, but obviously horrific abuse, and it is this chapter of this life that will forever define who he is. 

Cut to the present, and these three still know each other, but they are no longer the tight-knit group they once were.  Dave, now played by Tim Robbins, is a father himself, but one who is obviously haunted by the demons of those four days.  His friends, Jimmy and Sean, now played by Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon, are living their own lives, Jimmy as the owner of a local store and Sean as a cop.  Through a series of unknown events, Jimmy’s 19-year old daughter ends up murdered the same night Dave comes home covered in blood, claiming to have killed a mugger.  Is it coincidence or is he the killer?

On paper, this is a relatively straightforward murder mystery, but there is a power to this story unusual for the genre.  Jimmy’s grief over the loss of his daughter is palpable.  Penn’s acting is so intense that you genuinely feel devastated over the loss of his beloved girl.  When he decides that the cops assigned to the case (including Sean) aren’t doing enough in their investigation, he begins his own detective work, and you completely believe in his tactics.  Of course, things end up spiraling out of control, but the desperation behind every act makes it all believable.

As the film progresses, the audience is able to start piecing the puzzle together.  There are no shocking twists, and the story itself is rather straightforward.  What makes this film unique are the nuances of the characters.  Dave’s abduction is the dark cloud hanging over the proceedings and the fact that they used to be friends adds an element of depth to everything that is happening.  Eastwood describes the film as being like a Greek tragedy, and that seems about right.  He views the film as the “unraveling of a mystery that goes back generations,” and yet at the same time, evolves to an unbelievably intense finale, one completely of the present.  The central mystery doesn’t end up taking much time out of their lives, and yet the story feels epic. 

Every character is crucial in a story like this, and every actor does a phenomenal job.  Even those with limited screen time make the most out of their performance.  There isn’t a false note within the film.  Laurence Fishburn, Marcia Gay Harden and Laura Linney all do stupendous work, shaping their performances to create memorable characters of consequence. 

Warner Bros. has released a terrific Blu-Ray of this film.  Extras include “Mystic River: Beneath the Surface” a 23-minute documentary featuring current interviews with the cast, Eastwood, Brian Helgeland (the screenwriter), and Dennis Lehane (the novelist who wrote the book on which the film is based).  This is one of those features that is kind of dry, but fascinating at the same time.  It simply consists of people talking to the camera, reminiscing and ruminating on the film.  There is no flash in this feature, but there is a lot of substance.

There is also a feature that runs just over 11 minutes called “From Page to Screen.”  This was originally a special for Bravo, and doesn’t feel all that different from the “Beneath the Surface” feature.  It’s just more interviews and clips.  However, my favorite extras were the Charlie Rose Show interviews.  Featuring interviews with Clint Eastwood, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon, Rose does a great job just conversing with these fascinating people.  There are times where these types of interviews feel as much like a commercial as anything, but these particular interviews are simply conversation.  Sitting in front of a black set with no fancy graphics or eye-catching camera moves, they sit and discuss their life’s work, not just the film.  These segments provide fascinating insight into these brilliant actors and directors, and I loved watching them.  Rounding out the extras are the teaser trailer and the full preview.

Eastwood states that he shoots his movies by “treating every scene like it’s the most important scene in the picture.”  This dedication has almost always served him well, but it really comes across here.  Almost every moment is both crucial to the film as a whole, as well as serving as a fascinating stand-alone moment.  There is no wasted time in this film.  It’s a masterful script, turned into a brilliant movie.  Both Sean Penn and Tim Robbins deservedly won Oscars for their performances, and the film got nominations for Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Supporting Actress (for Marcia Gay Harden).  This is a remarkable film, and one that deserves every accolade it received.  Having directed several brilliant films, I would still consider Mystic River his masterpiece.

Amelia Earhart is probably still the best-know female aviator despite the fact that she disappeared without a trace over 50 years ago. Director Mira Nair has now created a long-overdue tribute to this incredibly audacious woman with “Amelia,” which has now arrived on blu-ray. Amelia (Hilary Swank) has always been fascinated by the prospect of flying. At an early age she witnessed the first flying machines and decided to become a pilot herself.

Star Hilary Swank has the boyish looks that are a near doppelganger for the first woman who flew across the Atlantic. She is a fine actress and has the chops necessary to bring Earhart to life. Swank stars against strong leading man Richard Gere in what should have been a stellar cast that included Ewan McGregor and Christopher Eccleston in supporting roles. The Englishman and Scot are both highly talented. Unfortunately, the first problem that arises is the near wooden performance of Swank that loses the ambition and charisma of Earhart. She was one of the largest figures in America in pre-World War II days and Swank does not conjure up a woman so universally loved. Gere, on the other hand, has been one of the favorite actors for women since 1982´s “An Officer and a Gentleman,” but he doesn´t share chemistry with Swank.

The movie begins almost immediately showing some of the final moments of Earhart´s (Swank) failed flight around the world where her husband and publicist George Putnam (Gere) is getting word that Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan (Eccleston) are flying against stronger headwinds and may not have enough fuel to reach the tiny island of Howland Island. The film then moves back to Earhart´s earlier days when she fell in love with flying and, like everything else in the film, it spends precious little time proving depth to her history. This is a movie where almost everything is glossed over except for a few long looks between Earhart and purported lover Gene Vidal (McGregor). It isn´t long before Putnam hires Earhart to fly as a passenger to cross the Atlantic. This first flight is one of the film´s better scenes and whether or not Earhart almost fell out of the plane happened, it contains the most dramatic moment of the film.

The unfortunate ending to Earhart´s highly publicized flight around the world is not hypothesized by the filmmakers and screenwriters Ronald Bass and Anna Hamilton Phelan deserve some credit for not taking an Oliver Stone-like route to telling the story. Director Mira Nair though needed to add just a little more drama to the final moments and I feel she spent entirely too much time on the radio communications between Earhart and the Naval forces that were waiting for her at Howland Island. The point was gotten very quickly and any emotion that Earhart was unable to communicate and find the island was lost. A few shots at distraught Noonan showed that the navigator understood death was upon him, but Swank gave little emotion during this drawn-out sequence. The filmmakers could have done without the hypothesized moments in the cabin of the Electra and focused on how everybody else handled the events.

“Amelia” is a very gentle film with many nuances surrounding the Amelia Earhart mythology. It is never sensational and instead opts for a closer look at the woman that Amelia was rather than the adventurous feats she continuously undertook. Her historic solo crossing of the Atlantic is playing for now more than a few minutes while her globe-circling attempt to fly around the world bookends the film as a whole. Instead of focusing on the near-misses, the strenuous and undoubtedly frightening moments of some of her flights, instead we learn what kind of a woman Amelia Earhart really was. How her relationship with George Putnam – who adored and loved her like a goddess – grew, how she withstood the temptations presented to her by the aviation industry and other powerful companies, how she disliked the celebrity status she had and the sell-out she felt she had become, and how she ultimately dedicated her entire life to flying.

“Amelia” is a touching and heartfelt movie, very different from what I expected. Focusing on her character, life and her person as a whole, it is much less action-laden as you might expect but more than makes up for it by wonderfully keen observations and warmth. I loved the film and will clearly watch it again and again.

Blu-ray Disc Special Features:
Disc One
    •    Theatrical version
    •    Deleted scenes
    •    Making Amelia
    •    The Power of Amelia Earhart
    •    The Plane Behind the Legend
    •    Re-constructing the Planes of Amelia
    •    Movietone News

Disc Two
    •    Digital Copy

DVD Special Features:
    •    Theatrical version
    •    Deleted scenes
    •    Making Amelia
    •    The Power of Amelia Earhart
    •    Movietone News

In what I’m sure is an attempt to capitalize on the 2009 remake of the same name, the original Fame from 1980 is getting a cleaned up re-release on Blu-Ray.  Director Alan Parker’s 1980 film chronicles the lives of a group of students/performers attending New York City’s High School for the Performing Arts.  Beginning with the intense audition process and culminating with a graduation four years later, the film is a gritty portrayal of teenage artistry and the desire to evolve their craft into something more.  However, despite the lofty ambitions, I found the film often unfocused, trying to follow too many stories at one time, and never staying with a story long enough to make it worth the effort.

Throughout the course of the film, we watch the struggles of these artists, dancers, actors and singers.  There are several fascinating characters, and yet the struggle to follow so much at once shortchanges what should have been a more concise film.  Alternating between the intensity of the school and the intensity of their lives, the film is choppy and uneven. 

It doesn’t help that the film can’t decide whether or not it’s a musical.  Being at a school that focuses on the arts naturally lends itself to musical numbers, but when the music erupts onto the streets of New York, it’s jarring and awkward.  If the film embraced this musicality and was a musical throughout, this might have been easier to accept, but the rarity of these moments enhances the lack of focus.

However, the movie looks great.  Filmed at a real performing arts high school in New York, with many of the school’s real students in the film, there is an authenticity throughout.  With the exception of the musical numbers, there is never a moment that feels produced.  Shot very naturalistically, it occasionally takes on the nature of a documentary; one in which we simply observe these students and their lives.

The acting of the film is a mixed bag.  Occasionally great and often terrible, it was surprising to see such an uncomfortable mix of talent.  Everybody seems to be trying really hard, but it often feels as if they are trying too hard.  The actors playing the students seem so desperate to convey the talent behind their characters that they end up overplaying them as people.  It doesn’t help that the story would cut away everytime I’d start to get invested in a performance. 

Ironically, most of the cast ended up not making it big in the industry.  A few did, of course, but many of them just disappeared.  One of the interesting features on the Blu-Ray is a video commentary with several of these actors.  When an icon appears on the screen, you can activate this feature and watch them recording a modern day commentary track.  It is fascinating to see these people thirty years later talking about their performances and experiences making the film.  There is also a commentary track with Parker that runs the full length of the film.

Interestingly, they have also included a short documentary released with the film in 1980.  I love vintage behind-the-scenes features, and this is a pretty comprehensive one.  While it runs just over 10 minutes, it shows the filming of several sequences, and has interviews with Parker and several cast members.  There is also an 11-minute modern day documentary looking at the real school that inspired the film.  The school has been updated since filming, but it’s still fascinating to get such a thorough look at the location as well as interviews with several students currently attending.  This was a nice touch, creating a parallel with the students of today to the students of the film.

The only other extra is the film’s three-minute trailer, which sells the film exactly as it is.  A showcase for teenage talent with scattered plot throughout.  I would have liked more focus and payoffs to several of the stories, but regardless, it’s an interesting film.  I haven’t seen the remake, so I don’t know how they compare, but I can’t imagine it’s a whole lot better.  Having also inspired a television series, this was obviously a very popular film.  It was even nominated for six Oscars (it only won two).  I enjoyed it somewhat, but it wasn’t good enough to warrant a spinoff and a remake.  This is a school worth visiting once, but I have no desire to return.

I’ve often heard Boogie Nights described as a film about the 70’s adult film industry.  While this may be true on the most basic level, it’s about much more than that.  Sharing a similar technique that he later employed in Magnolia, director Paul Thomas Anderson tells an epic-sized story by presenting several smaller-scale stories integrated together.  Yes, the film is set in the world of pornography, but that is not what it is about.  It is about a specific group of people.  They may work in the seedy underbelly of the San Fernando Valley, but Boogie Nights is the story of their lives and not their occupations.

That doesn’t mean that the film isn’t graphic.  While there may not necessarily be a lot of sex, the sequences that are there tend to be relatively pornographic themselves.  By the very nature of the subject matter, the film has an undercurrent of sexuality that can be very uncomfortable. While this is a very powerful film, it is understandably not for everybody.

Set during the transition from the seventies to the eighties, Anderson frames the film around Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg).  Beginning the film as a dishwasher, Adams finds his way into the porn business, eventually becoming porn superstar Dirk Diggler.  Wahlberg is amazing in the role, transitioning from the enthusiastic young newcomer to the desperate loser desperate to reclaim his glory days.  There have been many films that have chronicled an individual’s rise to stardom and eventual descent into despair.  What makes this film unique (beyond the time period and setting) is the cast of characters surrounding the lead.

Featuring a large percentage of the cast from Magnolia (filmed two years after Boogie Nights), there are no “filler” characters.  Overseeing this group is director Jack Horner, played by Burt Reynolds, who received an Oscar nomination for his performance.  Serving as a sort-of father figure to Adams, the audience slowly begins to notice the darkness beneath his character.  Reynolds creates a subtly nuanced character, one that is easy to identify with at first but becomes more and more unsettling as the film progresses.  There are other great performances from John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, Heather Graham, and on an on. 

But another true standout is Julianne Moore. If Reynolds is the film’s father figure, she is definitely the mother figure.  As porn star Amber Waves, this is taken to a literal extreme at one point when a character asks if she can start calling her mom, and she agrees.  It’s a complex performance, and she definitely earned the Oscar nomination for Supporting Actress that she received that year.

It’s hard to believe that this was only Anderson’s second film.  It feels like the work of a master filmmaker, one who has been doing this for years.  Going beyond props, lighting and music, he captures the essence of the seventies and eighties in a remarkable way.  It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how he accomplished this, but this world feels like reality and not recreation. 

For such an accomplished film, I was expecting a greater amount of bonus features.  The bulk of the extras are the deleted scenes.  As the film already runs long at 2 hours and 35 minutes, these scenes feel extraneous.  Many of them are simply padding, filling out scenes that are already in the film.  The deleted sequences that feature John C. Reilly are isolated from the rest and put in a separate feature entitled “The John C. Reilly files.”  These could have just easily fit in with the other deleted scenes, and were probably separated to create the illusion that there are more extras on the disc than are actually included.  Rounding out the set is the trailer and a music video featuring the cast of the film.

While I personally prefer Anderson’s work in Magnolia and There Will Be Blood, I am still in awe over the filmmaking prowess on display in this film.  I mentioned above that Julianne Moore and Burt Reynolds received Oscar nominations for their roles, but Anderson also received a nomination for Best Screenplay.  He is a fantastic writer, and has a true mastery of creating characters and writing dialogue. 

As I said above, this film goes to some really dark places.  But there are moments of joy mixed in.  The action may take place in an uncomfortable setting, but none of the characters in the film are ashamed.  They take pride in what they do, and are just living their lives.  And this is what I liked about the film.  Getting to see complex characters living their lives.  I don’t know if I’d be comfortable watching this again anytime soon, but I can definitely appreciate what I saw.  This is not a movie about the 70’s adult film industry.  It’s a movie about hope, despair, love, hate, etc.  It’s a powerful movie, and one definitely worth seeing.

FBI agent Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) lives in a world where robotic surrogates stand in for people, protecting them from violence, contagion—and the appearance of aging. These picture perfect, real-life avatars—fit, good-looking, remotely controlled machines that assume their operator’s life role—enable the population to experience life vicariously from the comfort and safety of their own homes. Greer and his partner, Agent Peters (Radha Mitchell), are called in to probe the mysterious death of a college student, whose life ended when his surrogate was destroyed. When Greer’s surrogate is damaged in the investigation, he ventures out of his apartment for the first time in decades. In a world of masks, Greer must decide who is real and who can be trusted.

The basic concept that the movie builds itself upon is that in the very near future we will be able to buy robots that not only look and feel human, but that we can control as well.  Humans, according to the film, will choose to live their lives via these robots which are known as surrogates, people will sit at home all day long and let these surrogates go to work for them, relax for them, buy clothes for them, do everything for them.

Bruce Willis, as one might expect, plays the main FBI agent on the case.  Tom Greer (Willis) quickly finds himself caught up in a world of secrets and lies, one where the military, the federal government, and the company which created the surrogates have all been keeping secrets.  He must figure out whether it was Lionel Canter (James Cromwell), the inventor of surrogates; the leader of the anti-surrogate group, The Prophet (Ving Rhames); the current corporate bosses at VSI, the company that makes surrogates; or someone else behind the device and the murder.

The film is far better in its smaller moments, when it focuses on Greer’s personal life and the disconnect he has with his wife, Maggie (Roasmund Pike).  The couple have lost their son in an accident and have done a relatively poor job of holding their marriage together.  Maggie has trouble living with her actual body in the real world following the incident, choosing to insulate herself from possible pain instead.

The extra features on the new Blu-ray release include deleted scenes and a featurette which looks at how close we are scientifically to being able to create surrogates (it too fails to make a compelling case for why society as a whole would choose to live that way).  There is also a piece on how the graphic novel the film is based came about and eventually made it to the big screen; a music video, “I Will Not Bow,” by Breaking Benjamin, and an audio commentary track by Mostow.

The Blu-ray release features an impressive 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track.  Some of the action sequences are overly loud, but those same scenes also feature great bass, and superb use of the surrounds.  Dialogue doesn’t suffer even in the loud scenes – it feels as though the dialogue has been goosed equally with the effects.  With the amount of detail and clearness of the image, it is easy to pick the surrogate out of the crowd (the surrogates have a plastic-y sheen to them).  The level of detail extends beyond faces however, and the image features a great deal of depth and good black levels.

Mostow may have created a beautiful world with Surrogates, and he may do quite well in general at depicting robots covered with real and/or fake skin, but what he hasn’t done here is to create a future that is in any way believable.  Only a fool would think that science and technology did not have the potential to become a burden, and because of that it seems highly unlikely that humanity would ever wish to follow down the road Mostow and company have laid out in the film

Bonus Features

Surrogates on DVD includes:
Commentary with director Jonathan Mostow
·      “I Will Not Bow” Music Video by Breaking Benjamin

The Surrogates Blu-ray contains the DVD extras plus exclusive bonus features that go into the heart of the film’s intriguing premise:

·      A More Perfect You: The Science of Surrogates — The world of surrogates is not far away! Mind-controlled robotics is already in use in today. This featurette explores the realities of this technology and offers an in-depth look into the creation of the superhuman versions of the cast created for this film.

·      Breaking the Frame: A Graphic Novel Comes to Life — A visual exploration of the evolution of Surrogates from graphic novel to major motion picture from the earliest designs and sketches. Pivotal sequences come to life in a dazzling 3-D animated experience.
Four Deleted Scenes

As films become more generic every year, it seems increasingly difficult to find a film with a truly unique premise.  Especially in romantic comedies, which by their very nature are generic and safe.  And yet in “The Invention of Lying,” writer/co-director and star Ricky Gervais (he of the brilliant British version of the Office) has crafted a genuinely original romantic comedy, both funny and poignant.

As the film begins, we are introduced to a world in which the very concept of a lie doesn’t exist.  It’s not that people in this world are somehow physically prohibited from lying, like in Jim Carrey’s Liar, Liar.  It’s that they literally do not understand the concept of lying.  If a statement is spoken, by nature it is truth.  So what happens when somebody invents the idea of “saying what wasn’t?”

As Mark Bellison, Gervais brings an identifiable, everyman quality to the character.  He is a recently fired screenwriter (in this world, films consist of people reading facts to the screen), resigned to the fact that he is not “genetically compatible” with Anna McDoogles, the girl of his dreams (Jennifer Garner).  Once he discovers the concept of lies, he predictably utilizes this new power for his own gain.  But whereas most films would stop here, letting him learn valuable life lessons and still get the girl, Bellison ends up affecting the world on a much grander scale. 

Quite on accident, he ends up accidentally inventing religion.  As he explains to the world the concept of “The Big Man in the Sky,” I began to realize how much bigger this movie is than initially expected.  With the world reacting in a mixture of elation and terror, the film takes on a scale both epic and personal.  And yet, it never loses sight of the love story between Bellison and McDoogles.

Much of the film’s humor comes from the very nature of the world itself.  Since nobody lies, they’ve evolved an over-the-top bluntness.  It isn’t simply an incapability of fiction, but rather, truth-telling to the extreme.  Everybody shares everything they are thinking, and this is simply accepted.  This is a world without regard for others feelings and Gervais mines the situation for everything he can.  Rob Lowe and Tina Fey stand out as people completely comfortable with saying what is on their minds, no matter how insulting and offensive that may be.  Garner also does a great job of this, but she mixes in an element of humanity to her portrayal. 

In fact, the entire cast is terrific.  Louis C.K. is hilarious as Bellison’s best friend who just can’t quite grasp the new concepts he is being presented with, and Jeffrey Tambor, Jonah Hill and even Phillip Seymour Hoffman show up in smaller, but equally funny roles. 

It would have been nice if the extras were even remotely as entertaining as the film.  One of the biggest and worst features is a (thankfully) deleted opening sequence…with cavemen (played by many of the film’s cast).  It was embarrassing to watch, and would have felt completely out of place in the finished film.  There is also a feature where the cast is interviewed about Gervais while showing footage of him screwing up take after take with his over-the-top laughter.  I usually find these generic and forgettable, but this is one is downright annoying.  I’m sure he’s a great guy to work with, but his “hyena laugh” was getting on my nerves after awhile.  Rounding out the set are some more deleted scenes, 10 minutes of Gervais’ Video Podcast, and a feature about Karl Pilkington, Gervais’ best friend, as he prepares to shoot his scene as a caveman extra.

I wouldn’t recommend bothering with any of the extras.  But the film is something special.  It’s a rare romantic comedy with originality, genuine emotion, and humor.  I highly recommend it.

I’ve talked to several people who have tried convincing me that the graphic novel on which Whiteout is based is really good.  Having seen the film without reading the source material, I can only assume that either those people are wrong, or the filmmakers completely botched their adaptation.  While there is nothing overtly awful about the film, there is very little worthy of praise.

Kate Beckinsale plays Carrie Stetko, a U.S Marshal based in an Antarctic research station.  The location is by far the most interesting aspect of the film.  Much less interesting is the murder mystery Stetko gets involved in.  What starts out as a potentially intriguing mystery (how DID that body end up abandoned in the middle of nowhere?) quickly escalates into a standard variation on the masked killer chasing people around an isolated setting.

Unfortunately, much of these sequences take place outside and in heavy snow conditions.  While director Dominic Sena (Swordfish) does the best he can to keep things interesting, there is no masking the lack of visual variety.  Not only is everybody bundled up, making it difficult to make out which character is which, all the locations look exactly the same.  There are only so many ways you can shoot endless expanses of white. 

In order to keep things interesting, Sena attempts to shoot in different styles and speeds.  None of it is ever compelling.  When the action moves indoors, things don’t get much better.  He shoots the research station as an endless expanse of hallways and bedrooms without conveying any visual excitement.  While most of the directing falls flat, it especially falls flat in several of Stetko’s flashback sequences. 

Without giving anything away, she had an incident happen to her many years ago that (what a shock) is comparable to the current story.  As the film progresses, the viewer is treated to the same incident over and over again, but with slight additions each time.  For some reason, Sena decides to make us rewatch what we’ve already seen over and over again in order to get to the new stuff.  When all is said and done, the flashback is a pretty short sequence that has been dragged out over the entire film and does nothing to enhance the story. 

The characters are generic and the story uninvolving.  Action sequences are poorly staged, the film is dull visually, and the resolution didn’t provoke a reaction out of me one way or another.  By the end of the film, I had just stopped caring.  One of the very few extras on the Blu-Ray is called “Whiteout: From Page to Screen.”  This is a 12-minute feature where the film is discussed in terms of the graphic novel.  The writer, Greg Rucka, and artist Steve Lieber seem genuinely impressed with the film as an adaptation of their work.  It must be a thrill to see your illustrations brought to life.  I get that.  But if their work is as good as I’ve heard, I just don’t understand how they could have been happy with the way their story is depicted. 

Beyond four minutes of pointless deleted scenes, the only other feature is called “The Coldest Thriller Ever.”  Also running about 12 minutes, it’s exactly what you’d expect.  The Canadian location where they shot the film represents Antarctica very well.  And it was supposedly very cold.  That is pretty much the extent of that documentary. 

Sometimes the most frustrating movies are the most generic and forgettable ones.  There are times when I’d rather watch a bad movie than a movie that I don’t care about one way or the other.  This movie sat on the shelf for a really long time, and it’s pretty obvious why.  There is no reason for it to exist.  My friends have tried convincing me to read the graphic novel, but after watching this film, I have no desire to visit these characters or this world ever again.

It should be pretty easy to determine if “Something, Something Dark Side” is for you.  If you like Family Guy and Star Wars, you’ll probably enjoy it.  If however, you dislike either of those, you probably won’t get much enjoyment out of Seth McFarlane’s spoof of “The Empire Strikes Back.”

Having already spoofed A New Hope in last year’s “Blue Harvest,” the Family Guy gang reunite for “Something, Something Dark Side,” a similar retelling with the Griffins and various Quahog residents standing in for George Lucas’ classic characters.  Having already established Chris as Luke, Lois as Leia, Peter as Han, Brian as Chewbacca, and Stewie as Darth Vader, we now get Chris’ boss Carl (a very minor character in the show) as Yoda, Lois’ dad as the Emperor, Mort Goldberg as Lando, and in a great sight gag, the giant chicken as Boba Fett.

Unfortunately, the jokes themselves are very hit and miss.  There are a few really big laughs (especially in the opening crawl and Hoth sequences), but all too often it feels as if the writers are struggling to come up with ANYTHING to fill in a sequence.  Every shot has some sort of verbal or visual pun taking place, and sometimes the jokes feel desperate (an AT-AT wearing Crocs?  That’s the best they could come up with?).  There are also a large number of jokes that rely on familiarity with pre-existing jokes from the show, and even worse, sometimes the callback to a previous joke is the entire joke. 

I’ve always found it frustrating in satires and spoofs when the writers simply reference something and consider that the punchline.  The reference needs to be twisted and manipulated into something new, not simply acknowledged and then dropped.  Family Guy is often guilty of this, and “Something, Something Dark Side” is no exception.

However, it is obvious that the writers are fans of the Star Wars saga, and some of the best moments come from their observations of the world Lucas created.  Whether it’s an unusual piece of costuming, the wires all over the ice in the Hoth caves, or the weird double-piloted Cloud City vehicles, they manage to ridicule the film without ever putting it down.  It’s a delicate balance, and they pull it off well.

Also of note is the animation.  On the commentary track, they mention that this is the last hand-drawn Family Guy episode (on paper).  Visually, every image is a perfect marriage of Family Guy and Star Wars.  The universes combine in a wonderful way, and the artistry is stunning.  As any fan of Empire knows, there are a lot of extravagant setpieces in the film, and they are captured here flawlessly. 

There are a few notable extras on this set.  There is a commentary track featuring several of the cast and crew that alternates between being interesting and a complete waste of time.  They end up just talking to each other almost as much as they talk to the audience, and while there is a lot of insight given in little doses, it’s not really worth the listen.  Much more entertaining are the “Family Guy Fact-Ups.”  As you watch the film, fun little pieces of information pop up; some informative, and sometimes just funny. 

There is also a feature on the painting of the poster art, and an animatic scene to scene with commentary.  These are semi-interesting, but at this point, we’ve seen this sort of thing too many times before.  The most interesting extra is the table read of a rough draft of the first two acts.  I love voice-over acting, and it was fascinating to watch the cast at work, alternating between their many different voices.  There is also a brief clip of the table read for the next film, “We Have A Bad Feeling About This,” a spoof on “Return of the Jedi.” 

I enjoyed the movie for what it was.  It was entertaining and I laughed.  However, I don’t know if I’d call it “good.”  Too many of the jokes fall flat, and too many sequences felt forced.  It’s worth seeing if you’re already a fan, but it’s not going to be remembered as anything more than a fun diversion.  For some reason, Fox decided not to air this as an episode (unlike Blue Harvest), so the only way to see it is on the newly released Blu-Ray.  It would make a good rental, but as a purchase, it’s for the die-hard fans only.

Cutting right to the chase, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia is a masterpiece.  A masterpiece of acting, directing, cinematography, and most importantly, story.  I’ve always viewed the film as a selection of intertwining short stories that end up converging in a surrealistic storm (to describe the literal storm would ruin one of the great moments of the film) of coincidence and fate.  However, Anderson describes the film as one epic story, broken off into separate, but individually vital components of the whole. No matter how you break the structure down, the film works as an emotionally intense and beautifully tragic film.

It’s easy to see how Anderson was able to put together such an amazing cast with so few credits to his name.  Every role is a great one, complex and filled with amazing acting opportunities.  In a film featuring such brilliant actors as Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, etc. the real standout is Tom Cruise.  In my opinion, he gives the performance of his career as Frank T.J. Mackey, a despicably vulgar “self-help” guru who teaches guys how to “seduce and destroy” women.  I can’t think of a more unlikable character that he’s played.  And yet, he finds a way to portray levels to this character I would have never thought possible.  There is a moment, dialogue-free, where he simply stares at the camera, and in doing so, conveys an incredible depth and mixture of emotion.  He won the Golden Globe for his performance, and was nominated for the Oscar.

In fact, the film got three Academy Award nominations in total.  As mentioned above, one was for Tom Cruise, and the others were for Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Song.  None of these nominations were a surprise.  Even the song “Save Me,” was completely worthy of the nomination.  Music played a pivotal role in the film.  Mostly consisting of songs by Aimee Mann, her music added another layer to the film, perfectly resonating thematically with the action on screen.  Her lyrics serve as sort of an outward expression of the character’s internal anguish, and without giving anything away, eventually culminates in a brilliant moment of cathartic release for the entire cast.  Her music plays a literal role in the film, and it’s one of the most original uses of a soundtrack I’ve seen in a long time.

This is a movie that defies convention.  Almost impossible to describe, watching Magnolia is an experience.  This is not one of those films you can impartially observe in the background.  It requires patience.  Running three hours and eight minutes, the movie feels long, but it’s never boring.  There is a lot of information to process and it will be nearly impossible to forget.  I haven’t seen the film in years, and as I was watching it again the other night, I found myself remembering almost the entire thing. 

I’m sure it’s pretty obvious by this point, but I am recommending the newly released Blu-Ray.  The biggest extra on the set is the “Magnolia Video Diary,” which is exactly what it sounds like.  The diary begins before the first production meeting, and goes all the way through the entire ordeal of filmmaking.  Most “behind-the-scenes” special features really try to make the process of filmmaking seem glamorous, and that is not the approach here.  They make filmmaking look like the job that it is, and a stressful one at that.  The camera is running through the good moments and the bad, and while a lot of the production looked like fun, a lot of it didn’t.  I personally found this approach to documentation interesting, but I would understand if people prefer the usual glossy behind-the-scenes packages.

Also included are some short deleted scenes featuring Tom Cruise and his “Frank T.J. Mackey Seminar,” and the full “Seduce and Destroy” infomercial seen running in the background of several sequences.  Rounding out the extras are the two trailers and nine television spots, all of which perfectly encapsulate the film, and the music video for Aime Mann’s Oscar-nominated “Save Me.”

Overall, I found this to be a pretty good set of extras for what is a great movie.  The Blu-Ray looks and sounds fantastic, and is a worthy addition to any Blu-Ray collection.  I know I haven’t given a lot of specific plot information, but this is the type of movie worth discovering.  The back of the box describes the film using the words “violence, love, Game Shows, Biblical Floods, coincidence, weather, sing-alongs, self-help seminars and quests for redemption.” That’s about all you need to know.

In January 1990 television history was made as households across the country were introduced to a one-of-a-kind family whose outrageous antics and wild behavior made them an institution of prime-time television and a pop culture staple over the next two-plus decades.  Now, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment celebrates this historic milestone when “The Simpsons” Season 20 Blu-ray and DVD collection arrives January 12, marking the show’s first time ever in high-definition. Series creator Matt Groening has added his own special touch by drawing all-new menus for both the Blu-ray and DVD, creating another keepsake memento for “The Simpsons” fans. Highly collectible packaging will also include a character layout of Springfield’s most favorite characters sure to challenge the ultimate Simpsons fan to name them all.

A show that has remained culturally significant and hugely popular with audiences for over 20 years, the latest DVD collection features every outrageous episode from the 2008-09 season, including the family’s hilarious trip to Ireland, Homer and Ned’s turn as bounty hunters and Bart trading lives with a multi-millionaire lookalike of himself.  The show’s impressive who’s who of guest stars continues with the likes of Denis Leary, Joe Montana, Marv Albert, Mark Cuban, Emily Blunt, Anne Hathaway, Ellen Page, Jodie Foster and Kelsey Grammer, returning for his 11th time as Bart’s nemesis, Sideshow Bob.

The two discs of the set are split between shows that happened before and after the HD switch of the series. And there is a night and day difference between the two. The nine episodes on the first disc, which occurred before switch, are a touch better than the upscaled DVD quality we’re used to. But only slightly. But with the 12 episodes on disc two, the animation is far more distinct and sharp. Outlines are much more crisp, color shading is much more exact and far less fuzzy, and overall the image is just more stable. The more pronounced takeaway is that, going forward, the show will look very good. But if you’re hoping for a noticeable upgrade in the future for earlier seasons, the first disc doesn’t show that as being too promising. You’re probably going to be fine just hanging on to your standard-def DVDs and upscaling them.

“The Simpsons” Season 20 includes a total of 21 hilarious episodes and features “The Twentieth Anniversary Special Sneak Peak” by Academy Award nominee Morgan Spurlock.  Available in collectible packaging for a limited time only, the Blu-ray Disc.

The twentieth season of The Simpsons is difficult to get overly excited about. The show may have lost much of the hilarious satire and comedic bite from its first decade, but it’s still enjoyable, and flashes of brilliance sneak in just often enough to continue giving you hope. But as far as a collection for purchase, there are a lot of trade-offs with this set. Not all of the episodes really take advantage of the high definition format, bonus materials are nonexistent, and there aren’t really any “must have” episodes. For more die-hard fans of the show, the episodes here are presented as well and as complete as they’re going to get, so there’s no practical reason to avoid it, other than simply the hope of “more” in a few years time.

Blu-Ray Disc Content
Disc One:
    o    Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes
    o    Lost Verizon
    o    Double, Double, Boy in Trouble
    o    Treehouse of Horror XIX
    o    Dangerous Curves
    o    Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words
    o    Mypods and Boomsticks
    o    The Burns and the Bees
    o    Lisa the Drama Queen
    o    Additional Bonus Features Include:
        •    “The Twentieth Anniversary Special Sneak Peak by Morgan Spurlock”

Disc Two:
    o    Take My Life, Please
    o    How The Test Was Won
    o    No Loan Again, Naturally
    o    Gone Maggie Gone
    o    In The Name of the Grandfather
    o    Wedding for Disaster
    o    Eeny Teeny Maya Moe
    o    The Good, The Sad and The Drugly
    o    Father Knows Worst
    o    Waverly Hills
    o    Four Great Women and a Manicure
    o    Coming to Homerica

DVD Content
Disc One:
    o    Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes
    o    Lost Verizon
    o    Double, Double, Boy in Trouble
    o    Treehouse of Horror XIX
    o    Dangerous Curves
    o    Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words

Disc Two:
    o    Mypods and Boomsticks
    o    The Burns and the Bees
    o    Lisa the Drama Queen
    o    Take My Life, Please
    o    How The Test Was Won

Disc Three:
    o    No Loan Again, Naturally
    o    Gone Maggie Gone
    o    In The Name of the Grandfather
    o    Wedding for Disaster
    o    Eeny Teeny Maya Moe

Disc Four:
    o    The Good, The Sad and The Drugly
    o    Father Knows Worst
    o    Waverly Hills
    o    Four Great Women and a Manicure
    o    Coming to Homerica
    o    Additional Bonus Features Include:
        •    “The Twentieth Anniversary Special Sneak Peak by Morgan Spurlock”