Movies

[DVD REVIEW] Princess Protection Program

Inna Mkrtycheva — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:59:00 +0000

Princess Protection Program stars tween sensations and real-life best friends -- excuse me, BFFs -- Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato. Gomez plays a 16-year-old girl named Carter, who lives in Louisiana with her father and works at a bait shop, and Lovato is Rosalinda, the princess and reigning-queen-to-be of a fictional Spanish island called Costa Luna. Carter's father happens to be a secret service agent who's assigned to protect Rosalinda, and when the tyrannical leader of a neighboring nation stages a coup during her coronation rehearsal, he is forced to enlist Rosalinda in the titular Princess Protection Program, and to take her to Louisiana where her safety will be assured. As fate and convenient plot twists would have it, the two girls clash at first, but before we hit the feature-length mark you can bet they'll be the bestest of friends. They pick up one another's habits along the way, not always for the better; Rosie teaches Carter to be graceful and dignified, and Carter teaches Rosie that it's important to work for your money. She also teaches her how to burp, informing her that it's something most American teenagers know how to do since the third grade. So you can see how this makes for fine, high-minded entertainment. But I digress.

See, Carter is a tomboy because she has a boy's name and wears jeans, and Rosie is a princess because she wears pretty dresses and speaks softly. Two "perfect girl" archetypes falling on opposite sides of the spectrum; the girl you can bring along to hang out with your buddies and shoot hoops with and the one who will do the cooking and blush and be really good with your parents. It's not really the most feminist-friendly message in the world, especially considering the fact that the princess model is ultimately decided to be the ideal -- I mean, why can't the perfect girl be an amalgam of the two? Or even exist completely outside of the boundaries of such blatant stereotypes? -- but then again, this is Disney we're talking about. The same people who have been giving us the same damsel-has-a-happy-ending-but-not-without-her-prince-story for years. At least Gomez's character veers from the standard, and when her beloved Prince Douchebag finally gives her the time of day (after she puts on a pretty dress, mind you), she tells him off. Nonetheless, even though the girls happily run off into the proverbial sunset at the end of the film, it's only after Carter gives up her tomboyish ways and succumbs to the way of the princess. Princess Protection Program sends a semi-sincere, if somewhat muddled, message.

Now, normally I have no qualms about ragging on kids movies and the usually mediocre talents of their characters. But honestly, it's kind of hard to hate them. (That is, until you watch the behind the scenes footage, but more on that later.) Both Gomez and Lovato are pretty decent actresses for their age, and considering the script they had to work with, I'd say that being able to muster up any sense of emotion is quite a feat. They also lack that snotty sense of entitlement that so many stars their age seem to exude as naturally as they exhale. I won't name names, but you get the idea. But who knows, maybe they're just better at hiding that sort of thing. In which case they are very good actresses.

DVD Extra Features:

The "Royal & Loyal BFFs" segment consists of Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato hanging out on the set talking about their favorite "rock" musicians ("Paramore, the Jonas Brothers...") and boys they find dreamy. I'd skip over these segments unless you're really curious about how many scoops of frozen yogurt Selena Gomez can put away in a single sitting. (I think the answer was around 9.) Seriously? Does anybody actually care about this stuff? In addition to the inanity, there's a mini-documentary called "A Royal Reality" where a real-life princess talks about her princess-y duties. There's also a music video featuring both girls.

[DVD REVIEW] The Betrayed

Erin Burris — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:43:00 +0000

It’s rare that a film can be considered good when it takes place in basically only one room. This isn’t one of those times…it’s just rare. The Betrayed is a thriller, but it’s terribly hard to be thrilled when you can see every angle of the room at all times. The door that separates our girl from our villains is made of glass, so you can always see someone coming. Of course, because of lighting you see the person’s larger-then-life shadow approaching a few moments ahead. Which can be scary. It wasn’t here, but again…just mentioning.

Some productions have done the one room thing well. 12 Angry Men was a movie that was interesting from beginning to end and it took place in a jury room. A special episode of the big 90s show Homicide: Life on the Street took place entirely in the interrogation room and it was captivating. Now this is a show that normally took place as the detectives hit the pavement, running all around Baltimore to close a case. But this one episode, “Three Men and Adena,” is just about a single night where detectives try to draw a confession, and it’s very compelling. It’s certainly possible to create drama around one space. This film, however, is not an example of a successful one-room drama.

The thrills are also cut short because the sound quality was so bad that you will constantly need a remote in hand to turn it up and back down again. You can’t hear any soft dialogue whatsoever, but right when you turn the dial to make it audible...BAM! A roaring car crash flashback blows your eardrum out. The main thrill from this thriller came from dialing up and dialing volume back down to suit your needs.

The story begins with Jamie Taylor (Melissa George) shown post-car accident, in a dungeon-like back room of a warehouse. The room is bare save for an industrial showerhead that hangs in the center of the room, over a drain in the floor. The art director must’ve had fun with the oldest tricks in the book: how to make a thriller/horror movie’s scary dungeony set. Step 1) Low lighting. Step 2) Grays and browns only. Step 3) Some type of industrial style warehouse. That sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Yeah, right out of my rulebook. OK, my rules came after this movie. But still. It seemed like a copycat of something. Basically everything ever made in the genre.

Jamie and her young son are captured by a masked man (Oded Fehr). He tells her that her husband Kevin has been involved in illegal activity and wants money from his bank account. Jamie pleads that he’s an upstanding citizen and has never committed a crime. The masked man reveals months of tapes he has retrieved from wire tapping Jamie and Kevin’s home, granting Jamie with the task of going through the tapes to discover where Kevin has kept the money. Money that she doesn’t even think exists. At the risk of losing her son, she is forced to discover truths while withstanding various levels of persecution from her attackers.

Although I can’t be sure this was writer/director Amanda Gusack’s intention, The Betrayed employed shades of a pitiable genre: torture porn. For those unfamiliar with the term, it’s the blurring of the line between eroticism and horror. I wouldn’t say it embodies the category by any means, but a few scenes were certainly questionable. The camerawork was rather selective and parts of the film played with voyeurism and female sexuality. Honestly, I hope I’m over-speculating on this one because the genre completely disgusts me. These few scenes broke up the monotony of an otherwise poor excuse for a thriller. You should enjoy a movie as you watch it. Beginning, middle, end. This isn’t one of those films, just mentioning again. Instead with The Betrayed, you’ll just be waiting for the credits so you can at least see how it ends. You’ve put in your time, so you won’t walk away. But you won’t enjoy the ride.

DVD Extra Features:

Usually there’s at least something to write for this section of these reviews, but with the straight-to-DVD release of this one, there are no extra features to speak of.

[DVD REVIEW] Fracture

Lex Walker — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 06:34:00 +0000

When Grisham was king of the novel-to-movie adaptation, a title stolen briefly from the hands of Stephen King, law dramas would hit theaters every year and would consistently entertain. As the Hollywood system is wont to do, the introduction of Grisham-films to the theatrical sphere spurred a mass exodus of other legal dramas from the page to the screen. But then there was a lull. It seemed for quite a while that stories about court cases were best shown on television – or maybe it was that audiences were inundated with Law & Order spin-offs to the point that no one wanted to pay to see them in theaters – who knows. The point is, when Fracture rolled around in 2007 it actually seemed fresh. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.

But the heart is fickle; or rather, the heart isn’t so easily fooled by the peak-a-boo antics of a film genre. Even after staying in hiding for a near decade, the American audience won’t just wave in a new law drama without a discerning eye. To its credit, Fracture made it past the initial stages of suspicion thanks to its stalwart pedigree. Director Gregory Hoblit (Frequency, Primal Fear, Fallen, Untraceable) may not have a perfect directorial record when it comes to films, but the man has major records when it comes to directing legal suspense having directed copious episodes of NYPD Blue, L.A. Law and Hill Street Blues. Add into the mix two stellar actors - Anthony Hopkins, whose achievements make the man an acting legend, and Ryan Gosling, who’s proven himself one of the most promising actor’s of his generation – and suddenly Fracture looks like the perfect vehicle to kick start the legal procedural film trend anew.

Yet it didn’t – and there are two perfectly good explanations as to why. First and foremost the film isn’t all that gripping to start with. Sure, we’d all love to figure out how it is Ted Crawford (Hopkins) killed his wife (Embeth Davidtz) – but not at the cost of a plodding story which stretches out its overly confident twist to a breaking point. Hopkinz and Gosling entertain, but even they can’t undo the damage of the extra 20 minutes thrown in to demonstrate the cat and mouse concept every legal film thrills with. Willy Beachum (Gosling) could have been the most likeable lawyer to grace the silver screen in all of time, but it still wouldn’t have saved the plot from exhaustion; instead his likability just adds to the frustration of the audience as he seems to take his sweet time in getting to the film’s final twist. Quit rending your garments in despair and self pity and take the steps you’ll inevitably take to win the day – stop stalling. It’s the drawn out moments which take Fracture from a compelling legal drama to a ho-hum courtroom venture.

The final nail in the coffin of Fracture’s attempt to revitalize the dramatic legal film is the ending. It’s certainly a twist, and it’s certainly out there – but it won’t just be the lawyers in the room who know they just got cheated. After an entire film where Crawford plans each step with masterstrokes of legal cunning, to think that he’d get caught up on a technicality that no judge would approve in their right mind is almost an insulting finale to the otherwise faithful legal tale. It may have been long and overdrawn, but at least it didn’t sacrifice what little integrity it had on the legal front – until that ending. What a shame. The ending may irk me, but when the credits roll and the scenes have played out, Fracture remains a light and enjoyable legal film, even though you can’t take it took seriously lest the holes start opening up wide. Take the film in at a leisurely pace and halfhearted attention and you’ll enjoy it.

Fracture looks beautiful with all its low-lighting and gritty style. The high-definition gets to shine thanks to the cinematographic style of Fracture and it makes a high-def purchase of this film worth considering as opposed to just hoping for a minor upscale in quality from a DVD copy. It might not be a perfect fit for the HD treatment, but its style merits consideration – especially for fans of the film.

Blu-ray Extra Features:

It’s a barebones set unfortunately, and besides a few deleted scenes and theatrical trailer there are two alternate endings. Now, considering that one of the film’s largest detractors is its ending – the prospect of alternate endings goes a long way towards mending the film’s worth. I’d almost recommend stopping the movie with five minutes left on the clock and switching over to one of the alternate endings instead.

[DVD REVIEW] Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience - Deluxe Extended Movie

Lex Walker — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:35:00 +0000

The movie itself is critic-proof, but the box office, DVD and Blu-ray sales are not. It seems that Disney’s nigh endless well of self-made stars may finally be starting to dry out – and not a moment too soon. Since the Disney Channel shifted away from playing old episodes of Tale Spin, Goof Troop and Gummi Bears all those years ago, they’ve been on an endless and seemingly unstoppable quest to create and market a new generation of stars. Unto itself, that’s not a bad goal. But even after unleashing Shia LeBoeuf on the world, Disney’s thirst for creating celebrity legacies became insatiable. Hannah Montana. Miley Cyrus. And now the Jonas Brothers; but unlike Hillary Duff, the Jonas Brothers don’t even have the smallest modicum of talent – and Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience makes that clear in as many dimensions as it can.

The target audience for Disney’s latest concert flick pays no mind to their parents telling them the Jonas Brothers are nothing special; in fact they ignore the words of warning from every person who’s seen this phenomena come and go. Screaming girls with flailing arms extended towards their teenaged heartthrobs threaten to overpower the calculated strums of the guitars as they play songs written by Disney’s songwriting hatchet men in dark rooms with nothing but said girls in mind. It’s a darkly vicious cycle and the transparency of the entire situation is finally letting the light through. Songs about oooh, girl, how you’re so beautiful; or dang, girl, how you broke my heart; or even an acoustic diddy about how I’ll wait for you. We can’t blame musicians for rehashing on the same messages forming the basis of virtually every rock discography belonging to the likes of Bon Jovi, Meatloaf or Sting.

But there is no effort to be found in the Jonas brothers’ corner. They don’t perform for the love of the music. Disney’s dreamy trio isn’t about the music. It isn’t really even about the fans. It’s about converting at least one or two of these boys into marketable movie stars – which explains the bits and pieces in between the two to three song sets. These moments offer the screaming girls before their TV sets a few minutes to ogle at the brothers as they talk or walk showcasing their photogenic potential for all the other studios to see. The strutting doesn’t work. Instead of showing us three brothers with remarkable talent, we see them for the mediocre musicians with a lucky streak that they are. Are they anymore deserving of fame than three other male musician trios? Not at all. So why were they picked? They’re brothers with an uber-family-friendly message of anti-sexual proclivity.

And yet, the sexual overtones here are eerily prevalent. A large hose showering adolescent girls with white gunk? Teenaged guys prancing about on stage singing about love with shirts half unbuttoned? Not to sound like the prudish parent everyone resents, but Disney sends mixed messages with the Jonas Brothers’ feature film debut. It’s great to find ways to involve the audience and give them some experience that’s more than purely aural, but I’m not sure white foam was the right choice. Why not throw tied-off condoms filled with water into the crowd instead? It’s still an overtly sexual message disguised as a childhood activity (running about under a hose vs. water balloon fights). If Disney isn’t to blame for the concert’s unflinching anti-sexual hypocrisy, then Bruce Hendricks comes next in line. The truth about the foam-spewing-hose will be known; even if we have to beat it out of him (I can do overt sexual innuendo too, Disney).

The three-dimensional work disappoints. Do we need to see hands waving in 3D? It may lend itself to a more immersive concert experience, but otherwise it’s a waste of the technology that does little more than remind people of how many directors still use the effect as a gimmick and little more. Director Bruce Hendricks could have spent more time focusing on the stage and the performers than on the audience – but he didn’t. Hendricks could have shown non-concert footage with actual weight as opposed to the staged bits with the band and fans; but he didn’t. Hendricks never attempts to utilize the technology to the best of if its use nor the band. We receive little in depth coverage of their lives on the road and are instead asked to settle for a superficial candy-coated pill of Disney marketing. The tweenage generation might not care now how little they actually get from this movie, but in 5 years, if they ever look back on this film, they’ll realize just how short changed they were. They’re not being entertained but conned.

Blu-ray Extra Features:

There are no extra features, whereas Disney has instead chosen to give us the format blitz instead. The Blu-ray copy includes a DVD and digital copy as supplementary material. The DVD only has the film in 2D and the same is true of the digital download. There are four pairs of 3D glasses included – but it’s Red & Blue lenses, so there’s a migraine headed your way.

[TV] Futurama Complete Collection Debuts as Comic-Con Exclusive

Arya Ponto — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:37:00 +0000

If you're a big Futurama fan, chances are that you've got all the season box sets already made available since the show was canceled many years ago (thought it never left the air, it seems, thanks to Adult Swim).

But those were in DVD boxes! That's lame! How about getting a complete collection set inside a Bender head, in line with the show's fascination of putting severed heads in jars? I'd question why they would put a robot's head in one of those jars, but it's better to not ask these things.

Starting tomorrow, the limited set will be available for pre-order for Comic-Con attendees only. You have to buy it online at the Fox store, then pick it up in person at the San Diego Comic-Con later this month (no shipping!). Only 500 copies are available, each comes with a hand-numbered letter from creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, as well as a limited edition collectible poster.

The set contains all four volumes (15 discs) plus the four direct-to-video movies Bender's Big Score, The Beast With A Billion Backs, Bender's Game and Into The Wild Green Yonder, adding up to an impressive 19-disc collection. Notice that the etching on bender's jar says 1999-2009, which is a reference to the fact that this is not really "complete," since Futurama is actually returning on Comedy Central in 2010. So I don't know. Would you buy an incomplete complete collection just for the Bender head?

It costs $199.98, in case you were wondering. So if you're going to Comic-Con or you know someone who will (you can place someone else's name to pick up on the order form), go reserve your copy here. The set will NOT be available for purchase on site, unless someone didn't pick up theirs by Sunday.

But wait a tick, you say. I saw this set on Amazon a week ago for pre-order! How can Amazon have it when it's for Comic-Con only?! Well, Amazon has since taken the product page down, implying a mistake, but the press release for this set says that it'll be available everywhere in October. So I guess they're going to make more later on, sans the letter and poster. Not sure how Amazon is handling the existing pre-orders, however.

[MOVIE REVIEW] Downloading Nancy

Arya Ponto — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:59:00 +0000

Downloading Nancy is not, just so you know, a movie about the Internet. The online world itself plays little part in the story, save for it being the tool that connects Nancy (Maria Bello) to an intimate stranger named Louis (Jason Patrick), behind the back of her distanced husband Albert (Rufus Sewell). If anything, writers Lee Ross and Pamela Cuming, as well as director Johan Renck—all first-timers—use the term more for its allegorical quality. Nancy's marriage is so devoid of happiness that she's gotten used to cutting, masturbating and chatting online to find moments of short bliss. From that last one she meets Louis, a man she asks to kill her.

It's not as depressing as it sounds, but it is discomforting. Maybe more to some than others, which limits its audience (and apparently the critical appreciation too, as some reviews coming out of its Sundance premiere earlier this year seem to have lambasted the film for its extreme subject matter more than its execution).

To its credit, it doesn't fantasize—or fetishize—Nancy's masochism. There are the unavoidable tinges of eroticism, yes, but it knows enough to avoid sexualizing, as movies often treat dangerous kinks. Not that there's anything overtly wrong with that, but when your character is a woman who enjoys pain as the result of an emotional abuse, it's not so much the joy of physical exploration anymore as it is a coping mechanism, thus robbing it of its, er, sexiness. One hard scene to watch has a blindfolded Nancy walking barefoot across a hotel room, while Louis repeatedly puts mousetraps in front of her toes. It establishes them as two individuals who get off on this, but it doesn't hide the look of pain in Nancy's face with each loud snap.

The actors do the heavy lifting. Maria Bello as Nancy, naturally, bears no further praise. It's a difficult performance that requires extraordinary fearlessness; not just in enacting the explicitly degrading sex scenes, but also the dark place her character burrows into. Bello's portrayal of an unbalanced suicidal woman never crosses the line into showy scene-grabbing preciousness. She plays Nancy as an average housewife, whose desperation has gone so deep that it's permanently oozing out of her. The moments where she does "act out," so to speak, ring true as genuine outbursts.

But it's not all about Nancy. Rufus Sewell as the spiteful husband successfully sells the vision of a terrifying marriage. Not from physical or verbal abuse; but from the way he avoids eye contact or his hateful dismissal of her jokes and advances. You wonder how the hell they got married in the first place, but seeing his genuine worry when Nancy disappears, there's a realization that this is an alarming trend in married couples—when love can't translate to affection (this film is supposedly based on a true story, though that rarely matters much). Jason Patrick's Louis, on the other hand, is terrifying on a different level. He's transparently psychotic and doesn't hesitate to inflict physical abuse on Nancy, but he also demonstrates care for her and gives her the fulfillment she never had.

The most disappointing aspect of the film, surprisingly, is the great Christopher Doyle's cinematography. Downloading Nancy is textbook drab, depressing indie film: tight shots, colorless, and a whole lot of blue. Missing are the lush colors prevalent in Doyle's recent works, or the energetic style of his guerrilla past. His lensing here is lifeless, maybe to better suit the mood of the film, but certainly adds nothing to it. It's like they decided that since the characters are miserable, then the movie must look as miserable as possible to convey a point. Nancy's marriage is cold, her life anemic? Then let's have the landscape icy and sulky; drain all the colors out of everything. It's not a wrong decision to make, but it's ghastly one-note. Unfortunately, so is the film.

Renck plays with a non-linear narrative, dividing the film between Nancy's emotionally charged affair with Louis, Nancy's barren past with Albert, and Louis' chilling confrontation of Albert. Given the possibility of murder, the film builds a sense of mystery and suspense around these three conflicts, which cooks up a narrative drive that is otherwise missing from the vignettes of pain that dominate the film.

For all its stark approach to the subject, Downloading Nancy doesn't seem to have much to say about it. Often, the film shocks more than it informs. Is there a point to all this, or is it using an extreme situation just to play bleak? It's a fascinating—no doubt divisive—film, but it's hard to deem it noteworthy. Though the characters do have some life in them, the story unfolds in a flat, stubbornly dreary manner that eventually reveals itself to be more tiring than challenging.

[DVD REVIEW] Spaceballs

Lex Walker — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:15:00 +0000

If you ask someone what their favorite Sci-fi spoof movie is, chances are Spaceballs will be mentioned. It’s the as-of-yet unmatched parody of Star Wars (and Star Trek, etc.) that just can’t seem to be replaced. It’s not even Mel Brooks’s best work, but it has a stranglehold on the genre. Brooks has a comic sensibility that many filmmakers can only dream of: the timing is perfect, the casting is always top-notch and the scripts have that necessary balance of self-importance and ridiculous notion to keep the entire scramble of a genre in one piece. Unfortunately, Spaceballs seems to grow dimmer as opposed to brighter as time marches on – but that has a lot to do with Mel’s self-professed, basic principle of parody: you can’t parody what you don’t love. Alas, the world has fallen out of love with Star Wars and Spaceballs feels it.

The Spaceballs are a greedy, vicious lot whose planet long ago ran out of air thanks to their civilization’s wasteful ways. Leaving their planet behind, the Spaceballs took to the stars and decide to steal the air from the neighboring planet Druidia. The higher-ups of the Spaceballs, Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis), President Skroob (Mel Brooks) and Colon Sandurz (George Wyner) guide their ship of inbred assholes to abduct Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga) of Druidia just as she’s ditching her arranged marriage. Vespa’s father calls upon the aid of Lone Star (Bill Pullman) and his mawg accomplice Barf (John Candy) to rescue his daughter. Along the way romance blossoms, the Schwartz is discovered and climactic battles occur – all with that laugh-a-minute pacing Brooks is famous for.

The real failing here is not a lack of brilliance in Spaceballs’ script – because it’s there. Unquestionably. The problem arises from most of these great jokes being so memorable that upon the second or third viewing you’ve already laughed at the joke before it’s even come on screen – it’s just that comfortable. And that’s a great thing – all comedies ever made hope for such a status with their viewers. But after the fourth or fifth viewing, Spaceballs’ jokes feel worn out instead of comfortable. The comedic shoes which carried us for five years suddenly seem worn down – the soles [read: jokes] too thin to hold the movie over for another 96 minutes. Spaceballs is hilarious, but it requires a bit of time between each watch. The jokes aren’t as layered as Blazing Saddles, where you can watch it two times in a month and laugh at all the small sub-textual things you missed the first time through. Spaceballs has a much more overt comedy to it and so requires longer periods of absence to make the heart grow fond again.

While Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga and Joan Rivers (as the C-3PO look alike Dot Matrix) have their moments, this film will always rest on the humorous laurels of Rick Moranis and John Candy to make it great. If you ever want a film to make you regret Moranis’s departure from acting – this is it. As Dark Helmet he’s superb. His reactions, his spit takes, everything. God, I miss him. The same is true of John Candy. The man lights up the screen even when he has ridiculous prosthetic ears mounted to his head.

Visually Spaceballs gets only a minor visual bump from the Blu-ray transfer. If you want proof, Fox has graciously bundled the Blu-ray with a DVD copy (an exact replica of the ones most of us have on our shelves; barebones extra features and all). The sound however still has a few issues here and there. At moments the sound betrays its lo-fi heritage and it can be painfully audible, whereas at other times (in the most action-packed sequences) it’s a better sampling. A decent transfer, but by no means perfect.

Blu-ray Extra Features:

If there’s any real incentive to pick-up the Blu-ray, it’s in here. Finally, after all these years, Mel Brooks and company have seen fit to give the audience genuine behind the camera retrospectives beyond the meager audio commentary brought over from the DVD. While we’re talking about audio commentaries, I was a bit disappointed to discover that the Mawgese and Dinkese audio commentaries mentioned on the case are nothing more than a throw away 25 second gag. How great would a feature-length audio commentary of “dinkdink DINK dink DINK DINK” have been? Sigh. But anyways, the three featurettes of note are a piece on John Candy where his friends talk about the man and the actor; a 20 minute conversation between Mel Brooks and co-writer Thomas Meehan discussing the origins of the story; and finally “Spaceballs: The Documentary”, the real meat and potatoes of the disc. It may only be 30-minutes long, but considering it’s more than we’ve ever had offered and the amount the dump into it, it’s a nice piece to have (finally). Beyond that there’s a storyboard-to-film comparison with side-by-side clips, some picture galleries, a mistake reel and a trailer with an intro by Mel Brooks. These last few are all rather unimportant but worth a look for the fans finally relishing Spaceballs extras.

The extra features almost help us forgive Mel Brooks for selling Spaceballs into animation hell with Spaceballs the animated series.

Today's Short: "Late Term Abortion"

Arya Ponto — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:32:00 +0000

Being pro-choice doesn't mean you lose the right to choose once the baby's out of the womb. Dr. Charles Nash, PhD, who is not really a physician, will help you get rid of unwanted children—no matter how late! Is this something that should be condoned? Actually, it's just a funny sketch from the guys at TotallySketch.com. Best part is at the end.

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Today's Short is a feature on JustPressPlay showcasing wonderful short films found all around the web. If you have suggestions, hit us up.

Win a Harry Potter Collector's Book Boxset!

Lex Walker — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:20:00 +0000

Hey, all you Harry Potter fans! To be frank, the summer blockbusters of 2009 have all been somewhat miserable (even if they are making serious bank). The last reprieve of the summer is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, directed by David Yates, hitting theaters on July 15! Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint return as the wizards-in-training as they gear up for one of the most harrowing chapters in the series. To celebrate its release, JustPressPlay is giving one lucky winner all seven books in an awesome collectible case and to five runners-up a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (finally released on paperback July 7th). That's right, because we value literacy.

All you have to is zap your e-mail into the box below, hit submit and you'll be entered to win! Like magic...or technology - which are interchangeable if you're older than 75.

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There's only two weeks left and so we here at JustPressPlay are giving you a chance to snatch up a must-have collector's item. The Harry Potter boxed set includes the seven phenomenal Harry Potter hardcover books by best selling author J. K. Rowling. These books are housed in a collectible trunk-like box with sturdy handles and privacy lock. Bonus decorative stickers are included in each boxed set. You may have read each one 5 times through by now, but even when they were brand new sans folded pages and scuff marks they never looked as good as this.

Notice: Many will enter, few will win. Limit one (1) entry per person, excess of one entry results in disqualification and ineligiblity to win. E-mail information received will NOT be kept a week past contest end date, all information will be held private and never used for soliciation. You don't like spam, we don't like spam. For more information on the Harry Potter books visit Scholastic's Website. Contest ends July 22, 2009.

[MOVIE REVIEW] Public Enemies

Arya Ponto — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:32:00 +0000

In 1934, John Dillinger was famously shot dead coming out of a gangster movie.

The movie in question was a Clark Gable picture called Manhattan Madness. Perhaps sensing the obvious irony, director Michael Mann's vision of Dillinger resembles Gable's smooth gentlemanly rep. Handsome and persuasive, romantic even when he's violent.

Johnny Depp's Dillinger is a far cry from the way Lawrence Tierney or Warren Oates portrayed him in previous films about America's most notorious bank robber. This time he's lovesick and mostly troubled by unnecessary violence, behaving more like a prince charming than a dangerous criminal. Hence the many scenes of him spewing schmaltzy pick-up lines to Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard), the gal who had the "honor" of calling herself Dillinger's girl. Elsewhere, a Napoleonic J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup), wanting to push his Federal Bureau of Investigations out of infancy, assigns his super-agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) to lead the Dillinger manhunt. One that would eventually end at a movie theater.

The film is so sympathetic towards Dillinger that it happily paints the FBI as a vicious and recklessly incompetent mob that would torture suspects, beat up women and never get anything done. This is troubling because it clearly wants to paint Purvis as a hero, yet aside from a quick gasp here and a remorseful brood there, Purvis is shockingly unaffected. Dillinger, on the other hand, gets some crybaby moments that, embodied by Depp's pretty mug, are supposed to tug women's heartstrings. It follows the trend of hoisting macho action scenes on effeminate men that Mann also applied in Miami Vice and Collateral.

This movie's downfall lies in how Mann seems to have fallen in love with John Dillinger, or at least Depp's portrayal of Dillinger, to the point of underselling the film's more interesting objective, which is visiting the "Public Enemy" era of American history, the era that coincided with the rise of the FBI. There are obvious traces of this, from the title itself to a scene likening the media adoration for both Dillinger and Purvis. The FBI stages photo-ops, while Dillinger likes to joke with the press; both side vying for public endorsement. But the film, strangely, doesn't seem interested in Dillinger's status as public enemy or folk hero, just his personal life and his daring exploits. Halfway into the movie, we see Dillinger transported by car, and Mann shows people lining up along the streets so they can wave to Dillinger as if it was a motorcade. However, before this, there's only one throwaway mention of him caring about the public's opinion, and afterwards, it's inconsequential. The film fails to capture why Dillinger is such a known figure, treating him as just a slippery criminal giving G-Men a hard time.

Mann abandons that side, thinking a Dillinger-worship would be more enchanting. It is unfortunately not the case. Especially not when it reduces enriching characters like Pretty-Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, Frank Nitti, J. Edgar Hoover and even Melvin Purvis, among others, into cameos or one-dimensional historical shout-outs. When, at the end of the movie, the film throws out an on-screen text factoid that Purvis eventually quit the FBI and shot himself, it's almost humorously out of left field, because the film offers no insight into Purvis' personality. Yes, chalk this up to another round of Christian Bale roped in by lazy typecasting. Need an intensely stoic and obsessive or brooding hero? Turn on the Bale-signal. He will give you a perfectly operational but unmotivated performance.

The visuals are a sore point. Michael Mann is a supporter of digital filmmaking, and good for him for that because it is, like it or not, going to become the new standard. But for some unfathomable reason, Mann prefers his shots looking as "digital" as possible, like a home video footage. He makes it even more apparent with the liberal use of jerky handheld motions even in static dialogue scenes. Certain shots look like Cloverfield with period costumes. That's just weird, and so jarring that it often distracts from the scene. The only time the style works to the film's advantage is during a nighttime shootout. The sharper look gives nozzle flares from tommy guns a distinct burst. When edited well, it really boosts up the intensity of the action scenes. There's also the electric-cool score by Elliot Goldenthal, giving the film a near-western feel. Fitting, given its taste for big gun battles.

Public Enemies is extraordinarily researched (thanks to the non-fiction book it's based on by Bryan Burrough) and also meticulously executed, with Mann shooting much of it in actual historical locations around Wisconsin—but it's a cold, cold film. It has no high or low points, just assured moment-to-moment progression, mirroring Dillinger's own crime spree. No goals, no trajectory, and not much thought; he was all about the next heist. He robs, he romances, he fights, he goes to jail, he escapes, and he starts over again. And then he's dead. And the movie ends. Thank you for the timeline, but where's the drama?

Heath Ledger Wanted to be Fired from "Dark Knight"?

Arya Ponto — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:38:00 +0000

So what was it about Heath Ledger's Joker that made it so memorable, so feverishly engrossing in its complete abandon? Was it his deep understanding of the character? His anarchic approach? Could it be that it was because he was secretly hoping to get fired from the movie, so he let it all hang out and it ended up working flawlessly for the psychotic supervillain?

According to a new article on the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair, Ledger didn't really want to be in a big blockbuster movie like The Dark Knight and only took the job to get away from other big offers.

Be warned that the piece is quite gossipy and focuses on Ledger's personal demons and his failed relationship, which is rather off-putting for me, personally. It takes snipes at Michelle Williams, and I'm disappointed to see Terry Gilliam contributing to this speculative "what made Ledger snap" stuff. A part of it, though, is fascinating in what it reveals about Ledger's decision to go from an Academy Award-heavy film and small art projects to being a Batman villain.

For this, Vanity Fair's contributing editor Peter Biskind got Ledger's agent Steven Alexander and cinematographer Nicola Pecorini, who worked on Ledger's last film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, to comment on Heath's decision to become the Joker.

Alexander tells Biskind that Ledger had a pay-or-play deal on The Dark Knight—meaning he’d get compensated no matter what—so he felt he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted as the Joker. According to Pecorini, Ledger hoped his performance would be so far-out he’d be fired, and thus become the beneficiary of a lengthy, paid vacation.

Just to clarify: pay-or-play, or otherwise known as a guarantee, is a term on actor's contracts that ensures that they get paid for participating in a shoot. So in the event that a production stops for whatever reason, or if the actor is let go from the project, they would still receive their salary. They do this because committing to one film usually means passing on other opportunities, so they want compensation just for clearing their schedule. Essentially, a big long production like The Dark Knight would be the perfect excuse for Ledger to pull off a plan like that.

Obviously, it paid off in a different manner, despite meeting a tragic end. Whether or not this was actually Ledger's intention behind it, what he did in the role ended up working wonderfully for its reckless, fearless and almost unchecked performance. It would have been interesting to see how Ledger himself would've reacted to the aftermath of the film and where his career could have taken him.

As for Parnassus, a footage of the film was shown at the Cannes Film Festival last month, which showed a clip of Ledger's final performance. Video included below.

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[DVD REVIEW] Secret Diary of A Call Girl: Season 2

Anders Nelson — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:46:00 +0000

In the interest of honesty, I feel obliged to say that I didn’t think that Secret Diary of a Call Girl was going to be very good. All of the advertisements that I’ve seen for it have suggested that it’s here to pick up where Sex and the City (a show I have never had the slightest interest in watching) left off, and, knowing Showtime, I didn’t think that the whole concept was going to be done very tastefully. And I can admit that I was wrong. This show is actually pretty good, which has a great deal to do with the intelligence and sensitivity of the writing and the charisma of lead Billie Piper.

“Belle” is the professional name of Hannah, a very high-class prostitute working in London. Unlike most media depictions of the world’s oldest profession, Belle is a free agent: she sets her clients, she sets her rules, and she doesn’t bend to the will or bidding of any pimp or madam. After having firmly established the rules of the game in the first season (primarily that she doesn’t allow herself to have any relationships on the side), the second season allows Belle to test her limits a little bit, mainly regarding Alex (Callum Blue), an especially handsome doctor who reciprocates Belle’s feelings for him. Problems also come from Bambi (Ashley Madekwe), another young woman who wishes to enter the ‘business’, and from Ben (Iddo Goldberg), Belle’s ex and confidante who clearly retains feelings for her and is none too happy about her relationship with Alex.

Belle is the lynchpin of the show, and one could probably fill an entire review with the number of things that could go wrong in characterizing her, but Piper safely avoids pretty much all of them. Where she could be vain, she is vulnerable. Where she could be trapped, she is liberated. And where she could be desensitized to the problems that she is causing in other people’s lives, she authentically feels bad about what she is doing, and weighs how to fix it. Piper is obviously attractive (you have to be to pull off the role), but the show never objectifies her, even as she does her best to objectify herself. The storyline involving her breast augmentation surgery serves to remind us how infrequently our female leads are allowed to have anything wrong with them physically.

If the show does have a major fault, it’s that it’s almost too likable. While there is certainly a classier side to prostitution that rarely makes its way onto screens (I mean, there’s got to be, right?), this almost makes it seem too easy. The constant breaking of the fourth wall also serves to make it seem like one long advertisement for being a hooker, with Piper as the paid celebrity endorser. While it’s good to see that she’s not a victim here, it’s also a little unconvincing that this lifestyle doesn’t possess more occupational hazards.

That said, I laughed out loud, something I don’t usually do. In the very first episode, Belle asks Bambi if she got her name due to her doe-eyed look. No, she responds, it was because her mom got shot. I laughed out loud.

DVD Extra Features:

The first disc contains an interview with Billie Piper, where she talks about the show and the way that feminists have responded to the idea of a sexually empowered prostitute. The second disc features a short series of webisodes featuring the characters doing various things like talking about recent tricks or their favorite drink mixes. They’re amusing enough.

[DVD REVIEW] Inkheart

Neil Pedley — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:05:00 +0000

Of the entire imagined-shit-coming-to-life-and-causing-chaos sub genre that has bombarded the family friendly calendar slots in the last year or so (Bedtime Stories, Night At The Museum, Imagine That) Inkheart is certainly the best. But honestly that’s not saying much. Perhaps better to say it has the most ambition because easily digestible escapism for grandma and all the kids it most certainly isn’t.

About fifteen minutes in, after Brendan Fraser’s antique book dealer Mo (about as convincing as Meg Ryan as a helicopter pilot) has dragged her around yet another dusty store, pocketed a tome of apparent rarity, and been accosted by a weird, scarred man with fire coming out of his hands, daughter Meggie (Bennett) turns to her dad and demands to be told what the hell is going on. It’s a feeling you’ll most definitely share, as it’s a question that sadly persists throughout the entire length of the film and one that flatly stamps out any hint of fun that threatens to emerge.

Eventually, after much shrieking, running about, and dodgy men in even dodgier wardrobes, it's revealed that Mo is a “silver-tongue” - a being capable of drawing characters from books into the real world by reading their stories aloud. But this gift comes at a cost of balance, with people from our world (including his wife, Meggie’s mother, Resa (Sienna Guillory)) disappearing into the pages in their place. Having finally found a copy of the book that holds Resa, Mo must keep hold of it long enough to read her out while simultaneously dodging fire-juggler Dustfinger (Bettany), desperate to be returned home, and Andy Serkis’ villainous Capricorn who wants to usurp Mo’s gift for evil ends.

It all seems so delightfully promising, but it’s just so muddled as to be impenetrable and the relentless energy it expends chiefly only serves to confuse and confound with endless motion and next to no emotion. Robbed of his glib defenses and denied the opportunity to deliver either punch or punchline, Brendan Fraser is slightly more emotive then a brick wall, as the ability to exude grief and guilt are seemingly way beyond him. Eliza Bennett is suitably plucky but is saddled with a teasing teen romance with Farid from the Forty Thieves that never goes anywhere. The cast is rounded out by veteran British thesps who are apparently having an off-screen bet to see who can be the most eccentric, a contest easily won by Helen Mirren’s dotty old Aunt Elinor, a character that serves no discernible purpose whatsoever. Only Paul Bettany manages to come through unscathed, making the very best of an underwritten role.

There are nods to the great power of literature as fuel and refuge for the imagination; Capricorn’s Italian castle is teeming with characters brought out by his own stuttering silver-tongue: flying monkey’s from Oz, The Hound of the Baskervilles, the ticking crocodile from Neverland, and an army of people whom the stutter has bestowed with deformity (text from the books stain their faces). But for a story seemingly built on a set of rules it staunchly refuses to play by them. Capricorn commands the kind of manpower that would shame a James Bond villain, so why does he need Mo exactly? And if Mo can match his efforts and more why doesn’t he read out James Bond, or Batman, or some Special Forces guys to help him out? If, as it emerges, that you can simply write your own story to manipulate reality when you don’t have a book to read, why didn’t Mo just do that to begin with?

In the end, for all its lush production design, glossy visuals and like-clockwork set pieces, it’s impossible to escape the feeling that there is something decidedly half-assed going on here. In fact on closer inspection there is something downright cynical in the commissioning of a film based on a book that espouses the enchanting power of literature, and essentially tells children to stop watching movies and go read a book.

Blu-ray Extra Features:

A selection of throwaway deleted scenes only further add to the narrative jumble. Also included is a game of improvised storytelling whereby Inkheart author Cornelia Funke offers an opening line and invites the cast and crew to each contribute a small section. A separate featurette has Funke outline the adaptation process from script to screen. Lastly Eliza Bennett reads to us a few of her favorite passages from the Inkheart novel.

[DVD REVIEW] Wallander

Neil Pedley — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:03:00 +0000

The enigmatic protagonist of a series of dark, Swedish detective novels penned by author Henning Mankell, the impressively named Kurt Wallander is something of a global phenomenon within the crime fiction genre. In Germany his adventures outsell those of Harry Potter and the series boasts sales of over twenty-five million copies worldwide. Fine literary pedigree we can all agree, but this TV mini-series adaptation, the first of any kind for the English language sadly loses something in the translation.

In a bid for authenticity, something that is always admirable, the BBC set up shop in Ystad, Sweden to film the series; three self-contained episodes, ninety minutes a piece. But rather than casting locals who could speak English and then simply having Branagh adopt a Swedish accent (something he is surely capable of) they instead opted for an all English cast. The result are stories where all the signs, newspapers, and billboards are in Swedish, all the names are Swedish, and yet everyone speaks with a non-regional English accent, the overall effect of which is to constantly remind you that you’re watching a very polished reproduction.

The loss of any organic feel to the series is a death knell as much of the atmosphere derives from this specific time and place. From the melancholic theme which sings of “Tram lines across northern skies,” to the deceptively idyllic countryside there is something inherently Swedish about these mysteries that does not carry over to this series. Offering bleak mysteries laced with noir sensibility that sniff out the dark side of human nature, Wallander is a twisted take on the paradox of Sweden; a nation gripped by wild spikes in suicide and violent crime, wrestling with its own image as the great social experiment of openness and sexual freedom.

Lacking this central contextual spine, the series slumps into yet another largely vanilla detective series with beats and tics that we’ve seen a dozen times before on British television; the detached and disheveled obsessive who goes home to an empty apartment and a mountain of ironing was done in A Touch of Frost. The caustic, abrasive maverick with a shambolic personal life and an estranged family evokes memories of Cracker. Even Wallander’s love of opera, a recurring theme in the books, was axed for the series for fears it would too closely mirror Inspector Morse.

It certainly doesn’t help the cause that in adapting the novelized series they elected to start in the middle, thereby depriving us of vital exposition and background as to Wallander’s motives, his passions, hell, his story, which would have surely been laid out back at the beginning. Branagh is of course an acting powerhouse, but his performance here is so measured and minimalist as to be downright understated. In keeping with the downbeat tone there is much in the way of lingering close-ups and long, drawn out moments of silence that at times make it appear there is some inner monologue fleshing out the goings-on that we’re not privy to.

It’s not that there is anything bad about the series; in fact it is the very definition of adequate. But given that it is in the end so middle of the road and so redundant in form that if this sort of thing appeals to you then, given their wild popularity, perhaps the books are a better bet for richer character and deeper mystery.

DVD Extra Features:

These extras are commendably extensive. "Who is Kurt Wallander?" is essentially a fifty-five minute information dump that unloads absolutely everything you could ever possibly want to know about: the novels, the towns, the author, the sociological context, and much more. It’s a real treat. The rest are perhaps a tad dry. "Branagh’s Wallander" is a fifteen minute long chat with the actor during which he discusses how he came to be involved and his take on the central paradigm of the series. "The Wallander Look" is a thirty-five minute take on the production design by Branagh and author Henning Mankell. "Branagh and Mankell Interview" has the pair discussing their insights on the nature of the stories.

Best Ultraman Story Ever?

Arya Ponto — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:49:00 +0000

I used to love Ultraman. I don't know why. There's something awesome about the idea of a guy holding up a magical pen and suddenly turning into a giant dude in leotards fighting an equally giant monster—but only for three minutes! Because then his chest starts blinking and he loses his powers. That was always a ridiculously neat catch. The point is, Ultraman was cool.

Hence why I'm looking forward to this movie, which sounds like the greatest Ultraman movie ever made. It's called Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends - The Movie. They're going to have to shorten that up for the US release. I'm not up to date with my Ultraman knowledge, but as far as I can tell, it's a movie based on a TV series based on a video game. Hence the "The Movie" suffix, I guess.

{flv}http://wwws.warnerbros.co.jp/ultra-legend/ultra-legend2009v01.flv{/flv}

Here's the lowdown. An evil Ultraman who was captured by the Ultraman King thousands of years ago has escaped from Ultraman prison. In his attempt to control the universe, he uses something-something to control 100 giant mosters. 100! So all your favorite Ultramen, I'm talking 50 of them, including my personal favorite Ultra Seven, are teaming up to fight the Bad Ultraman and his 100 giant monsters. It's nuts.

Oh yeah, and because the battle takes place on the Ultraman homeworld, none of them have the aforementioned 3-minute time restriction. It's kind of disappointing, really, because that would have been pretty funny.

Warner Bros Japan is releasing it in Japan this December. Hopefully, it'll come to the US shortly after.

[via Nippon Cinema and Twitch]

[DVD REVIEW] Biography: Harry Potter Kids

Anders Nelson — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Cable documentaries have always tread a thin line between informed reporting and tie-in fluff, and for the most part, A&E’s Biography has always been ahead of the curve (though I think that anyone who remembers the late 90s heyday of VH1’s Behind The Music misses it). As a result, their program documenting the rise to fame of the Harry Potter kids comes across as a sort of weird hybrid of styles, combining some actually interesting pieces of information with the sort of interviews and footage that you might expect to see in an E! True Hollywood Story about the films. But then again, some of that is probably unavoidable for any documentary program chronicling the lives of people not yet twenty years old, or the fact that no matter how well-produced it is, no movie tie-in show can never help but feel like just that: an ancillary product to the main promotion.

The truth is that if you’re a Harry Potter fan, you probably already know the vast majority of the information presented in this documentary. It opens with the already well-documented story of J.K. Rowling’s rise from being a single mom on welfare to becoming the wealthiest woman in Britain and the highest paid novelist in history. Then it moves on to the purchase of the film rights by Warner Brothers, which of course leads to the international search for the appropriate star. Ending finally with the ultimate casting process, which is recalled fairly lovingly by all three of the stars here. Naturally, their subsequent rise to fame and acquisition of positively obscene amounts of money is explored.

In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, the bulk of this documentary is spent detailing the life of Daniel Radcliffe(Harry Potter, in case you’ve been living in a cave), with the subsequent bits on Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) feeling almost like begrudged afterthoughts. And admittedly, the show does a pretty good job of detailing his rise to respectability, climaxing with his Broadway turn in the revival of Equus (a show that features full-frontal nudity), and makes a solid case for all three being underestimated performers still coming into their own as they mature into adulthood. Unlike other child stars (the professional demise of Macauley Culkin is given some attention here), these three actually seem to have their heads on their shoulders, and might have some longevity beyond this series.

There are some interesting tidbits along the way, such as the battle to pick a director considering Spielberg and Gilliam were two names that were bandied about early on, with the latter being Rowling’s first choice. It takes a look at some of the career choices made by the stars; for example, Grint starred in a film called Thunderpants, which is apparently all about farting explosively. Also addressed is the somewhat awkward acknowledgment that at some point on the set of the final film, Grint and Watson are going to have to make out before cameras for audiences around the world, which is certainly going to be very strange for the two people who have grown up together and probably not much easier for the rest of us who knew what they looked like when they were twelve.

On the whole, the quality of the information presented and of the interviews is well above what you would expect of this sort of thing (certainly better than those pre-release shows that they used to have on FOX), and induces no unwelcome sugary headache like so much celebrity-based media does. But it knows its audience is the Harry Potter fans who probably know all of this stuff already, and it plays to it. By the end, you’re not likely to feel initiated if you don’t already.

[DVD REVIEW] MonsterQuest: Season Three - Set One

Neil Pedley — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0000

“Witnesses around the world report seeing monsters. Are they real or imaginary? Science searches for answers...on MonsterQuest.” It’s a simple enough mission statement that perfectly encapsulates how even the most high-minded amongst us are not immune to the growing pressures of commercialization. As such, this summer season on the History Channel heralds the arrival of such fare as the returning Ice Truckers, the brand new Expedition Africa, and the ongoing complete waste of time that is MonsterQuest; shows that aren’t really educational and have sod all to do with history and that really only serve to siphon off the channel’s waning credibility.

“Witnesses around the world report seeing monsters…” They also report seeing Jesus in slices of toast, Elvis shopping at Wal*Mart, and controlled explosions going off inside the twin towers. “Are they real or imaginary?” They’re imaginary. “Science searches for answers…” Please, don’t bother! Bring back the WWII marathons. Just please don’t waste our time! Sadly they do waste our time, an inordinate amount of it; looking, testing, searching, investigating, and utilizing some of the most high-tech equipment known to mankind. It’s a lot of adrenaline, a lot of exercise, and a lot of willpower and self-belief on the part of those involved. Sort of like a trip to the gym only this one lasts days at a time and costs tens of thousands of dollars.

This first half of the series’ third season documents the continued search for eight legendary creatures: Nessy, cattle killers, giant crocs, Jersey devils, sewer gators, the Yeti, Megaladon, and Bigfoot. See the key word here is “quest.” It’s not called MonsterFound or even MonsterBrieflyGlimpsed. Each week, despite extensive searching by a team of experts, they inevitably come up empty handed. It’s hard to fault the effort mind you. These guys really do believe they’re on to something (apart from grant money). Zoologists, exobiologists, paleontologists…if there is an -ologist's opinion to be solicited, they’ll solicit it. Employing state of the art sonar, carbon dating, and infrared cameras with roving underwater robotic gear, you can’t argue that they don’t approach this stuff as scientists. But watching them trying to convince themselves and maintain conviction in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary is a bit like watching a comedian crash and burn live on stage.

In fact some of what we imagine passes for drive and commitment in this field borders on downright embarrassing. These guys will project onto anything if they think it will yield a break. An extensive ROV search of 128 different sonar pings recorded on the bed of Loch Ness coughed up plenty of potential evidence caught on murky underwater video. Is it a monster head or is it a rock? It’s a rock. Is it decomposing monster flesh or is it clay? It’s clay. Is it preserved bone from a monster carcass or is it clay? It’s clay. It’s clay from the clay bed that lines the bottom of this loch, formed out of the Great Glen Fault, which over the years has weathered into large deposits of clay!

A boating and diving expedition in the Gulf of California to locate a giant carnivorous predator locals refer to as “The Black Demon” is equally fruitful. After several days of spotters from a plane alerting a boat to the location of large dark shapes in the water, a sure sign of shark activity, divers finally make a confirmed sighting…of a shark; a whale shark to be precise. Large? Yes. Black? Certainly. Sadly though a whale shark does not posses any teeth and distinctly un-demonic. But naturally this does nothing to dissuade our intrepid investigators who vow to return and search another day. That’s really the ultimate problem with MonsterQuest. Not only does its team spectacularly fail to find almost anything pretty much every single time, but they’re not even prepared to debunk the myths that they can’t in any way corroborate. Always it seems we end up back where we started with unanswered questions and the old fall back that absence of proof is not necessarily proof of absence.

At a half hour format, totaling perhaps twenty-two minutes with commercials, such flights of fancy might be mildly diverting. But stretched to a full forty-five minutes and treated with such laboring, earnest, seriousness it’s guilty of violating that most precious of cable television commandments – thou shalt not bore. You see, just because some bearded fat guy in the Pacific Northwest dimly proclaims that the night he saw whatever the fuck it was he thinks he saw to be “the scariest night of my life”, doesn’t mean there is actually anything scary out there to be found.

DVD Extra Features:

None are included.

Zack Snyder Interrupts Your Blu-ray Viewing of "Watchmen"

Arya Ponto — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:43:00 +0000

I may not like Zack Snyder's adaptation of Watchmen, but I do admit that he put a lot of effort into the details, which is why the movie is just perfect for the following Blu-ray feature. The Watchmen Director's Cut Blu-ray presents something called the Maximum Movie Mode. It's basically a visual commentary on steroids, featuring the director himself. As you can see from the video below, Snyder plays host to the film, bringing up behind-the-scene footage, comic comparisons, trivia, storyboards, and even pauses and rewinds the movie to point out certain things.

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It's a really cool idea that implements the usual bonus features in a fresh way. It's much more captivating than audio commentaries or featurettes, because it's actually aligning the behind-the-scenes stuff with the corresponding scenes in the movie, allowing you to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how a movie scene evolves from concept to finished form. This takes advantage of the capabilities a Blu-ray disc can offer, which helps making the format more appealing than regular DVDs.

Take a look at how it works in this clip here:

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One thing that I'm not so sure about is Snyder's physical appearance. It's cool that he's so involved in the presentation of his own movie, but at the same time it seems intrusive. I don't know, I'll have to give the whole thing a try. But wouldn't it add to the already long running time? That's like a 3-hour commitment just to give this feature a try.

While I like the concept and would love to see more films offering this in-depth of a look, I can't imagine that there would be a lot of directors willing to "host" their movies like this. Off the top of my head, I'd guess maybe Peter Jackson, Kevin Smith, Eli Roth, Robert Rodriguez, or Jon Favreau? Favreau is the most likely. The Iron Man Blu-ray was already insanely packed with behind-the-scenes docs on nearly every single aspect of the making of the film; I can see them formatting the Iron Man 2 features in this manner with Favreau hosting. However, I think a lot of directors still prefer to maintain an air of mystery, or let the movies do the talking, so I don't see this becoming as standardized as the Director's Commentary (most of which are inane chatter anyway).

Watchmen Director's Cut Blu-ray goes on sale July 21. You can pre-order from Amazon now. The new cut, which boasts an additional 25 minutes, will also be released in theaters on July 17 in Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis and Dallas. For one weekend only.

There's also another feature that's going to reward those who buy the Blu-ray on release day. On July 25 at the San Diego Comic-Con, Snyder will host a special screening of the Director's Cut in front of an audience. Those who are not attending the 'Con can fire up the BD Live feature on their players and watch the movie at the same time, allowing them to chat live with Snyder.

Me, I'm just really curious if the extra 25 minutes can make the movie more tolerable. At the very least, maybe the movie wouldn't feel so rushed.

[DVD REVIEW] Rob Thomas: Live At Red Rocks

Tyler Barlass — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:47:00 +0000

I once read an interesting quote by LA Times music writer August Brown. He wondered if “the music you fall for between 18 and 22 is hard-wired to be the only music you really love in that insane, possessive, identity-crafting way for the rest of your life.” I pondered on this thought for some time, for it’s very true that the music I loved in that hectic four year period of my life is music that is no doubt very near and dear to me. That time period has actually only passed rather recently for me though, and I wonder if the music of that bittersweet era will continue to grow and become even more treasured to me in the years ahead. I think it’s likely, but at the moment the music that I hold in the highest realms of nostalgic mystique is the music that I grew up with, and since I grew up in the ‘90s a lot of that music was the radio friendly pop-rock music of our last decade. Bands like the Gin Blossoms, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Fastball and especially the often maligned Matchbox 20 would find their albums in near constant rotation in my CD player for extended periods of time. Matchbox 20 held an even bigger place in my heart than just about any other band of that era. Their debut album was the first CD I ever purchased, basically putting an end to my sad little cassette collection, and was played to the point of overkill. I look back at Matchbox 20 (now going by Matchbox Twenty) and I see how their debut album was really just a couple good singles and some filler. But one thing still shows itself after all these years, lead singer Rob Thomas has one hell of a captivating voice.

Thomas gained solo fame when he added vocals to one of the biggest hit songs of all time, “Smooth” off of Carlos Santana’s comeback album Supernatural. From there it didn’t take long for Thomas to tap the mainstream viability of his voice. In 2005, after two more Matchbox Twenty albums, Thomas released his first solo album Something To Be. The album was terrifically successful, debuting as the #1 record in America. Four years later, after getting back together and releasing a bit of new material with his former band, Thomas is now set to release his second full length solo project titled Cradlesong along with his first solo concert DVD simultaneously. The concert, which was filmed at the beautiful Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, is a taste of both past and present and for fans of Rob Thomas, it’s definitely worth your time.

The show is thankfully a mix of songs from both Thomas’ debut solo album and his Matchbox Twenty catalog. Starting off with an enjoyable rendition of “Something To Be” off of the album of the same name, Thomas plays a good portion of his solo material while sprinkling in older songs to spice things up. These songs include a revamped version of “3 AM,” a cover of the David Bowie song “Let’s Dance” and a surprising acoustic version of “Smooth.” It’s a good thing there are as many surprises as there are seeing as how a good deal of the songs off of Something To Be begin to get stagnant after a while, leaving songs like a scaled back version of “Bent” and a hauntingly beautiful performance of “You Won’t Be Mine” to save face. It’s not that Thomas isn’t charismatic and affecting though. Whether he’s behind a guitar, behind a piano or just pacing the stage, Thomas is a joy to watch as he pours his impassioned voice into each and every song he performs.

Though the music and performances featured on the DVD are more or less what you’d expect, what’s unexpected is the look of the film itself. Despite being in one of the most beautiful places anyone could ever attend a concert at, Live at Red Rocks does very little to captivate the viewer with the surrounding beauty of the venue. Literally cut into a mountain, the lights from he show shining across the towering red rocks that surround the stage, Red Rocks Amphitheatre is one of the most famous and iconic stages of all time. I’ve seen a good number of concerts that were shot at Red Rocks and this has to be one of the worst uses of the amphitheatre for a film I’ve seen, the concert could literally have been shot at any outdoor stage in America and you probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. This doesn’t necessarily take away from the music being performed, but it surely adds nothing to it.

The practice of releasing a concert DVD on the day of a new album release is a sound one. For those who will be heading out on Tuesday to pick up Rob Thomas’ Cradlesong, you should think about checking out Live At Red Rocks, which will no doubt be a treat for those who are faithful enough to buy the new album on the day of release. Thomas and his one of a kind voice is something I rarely tire of, and despite some of the sluggish moments of the concert and the untapped potential of the film’s venue, Live At Red Rocks should be an entertaining watch for anyone who calls themselves a fan.

Extra Features
Video for the song “Street Corner Symphony” which was shot at the same Red Rocks concert.

First Gundam, Now Gigantor—What Are You Up to, Japan?

Arya Ponto — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:35:00 +0000

I'm not trying to stir up hate or anything, but when a country builds two giant robots in one year, I'm allowed to be paranoid. Not long after Tokyo finished the life-size Gundam project, now Kobe is doing the same for their Wakamatsu Park with a full scale statue of Tetsujin 28-go, better known in the US as Gigantor.

Unlike the Gundam statue, this one is meant to be a permanent tourist attraction for Kobe. It stands 60-feet tall, weighs 50 tons and is expected to finish construction in September, which, what a coincidence, is the same month I plan to buy a fallout shelter.

{youtube}h8P33ohPhXc{/youtube}

Created by one of Kobe's most famous native son, manga-ka Mitsuteru Yokoyama in 1956, Tetsujin 28-go (literally means Iron Man #28) is noted for being the first ever "giant robot" comic book. A popular black-and-white anime adaptation was made in 1963. It was later broadcast on NBC as Gigantor with its names changed and the violence toned down.

Back in January, Imagi Studios (TMNT, Astro Boy) released this cool teaser trailer as a test for T28, a CG-animated movie based on the manga, to gauge public interest.

{flv}http://www.imagius.com/t28/web/archive/intro/flv/intro_high.flv{/flv}

If you want to see this made, head over to the official site, where you can send in your vote (although it's been 6 months now, so they should really make up their mind already).