I'm playing major catchup here after being laid low by the sinus infection from hell. Thankfully this week's releases are pretty minimal compared to the first half of the month. I'm going to kick this installment of the Roundup off with the week of 6/2 and hit up 6/9 after, so this is a long one. I'm working on better info re: movies new to stream for free. The people at Hulu are outdoing themselves.
Release of the Week
Revolutionary Road
From my review on 6/4:
One of the Great But Ignored of last year (along with Che), Revolutionary Road was released on home video Tuesday to little fanfare. The movie is a stark contrast to the empty, disposable summer junk food flooding screens this summer. Hopefully that means more people will finally see what I consider one of the best acted, scripted, and directed films of last year.
Revolutionary Road is a classic film about married life that succeeds because it is not shackled to page by page adaptive fidelity as much as the universality of the themes present in the original work. Watching the Deleted Scenes [HD 25:17] reveals just how honest Mendes was with himself in making decisions in the editing room. Without those trims, there would be more of "the book" in there, but it would have been to the detriment of the film being the lean and brutal masterpiece it is now. The scenes feature worthwhile Optional Commentary with Sam Mendes and screenwriter Justin Haythe. It nicely compliments the Feature Commentary with the same participants.
Deakins-lensed movies should always look this good on Blu-ray. The transfer is crisp and sharp...it's absolutely perfect. You see every imperfection in characters' faces and individual stray strands of hair. Rich contrast and color we should all expect on every hi-def release. Lives of Quiet Discomfort: The Making of Revolutionary Road [HD 29:03] isn't long enough to satisfy me, but it's not EPK fluff by any stretch. There are some good nuggets here and there, from how quickly production ramped to how they managed some tricky location shoots. DiCaprio, Winslet, and others also make coherent, interesting observations on their characters and the story, which is not the norm on other similar featurettes out there.
New Releases (DVD & Blu-ray)
Defiance
From my 6/17 review:
Defiance falls into a similar potential trap as Valkyrie for over-analytical mass movie-consumers like movie bloggers: it's technically a really awesome history lesson. If The History Channel made dramatized "re-enactment" specials this good, I'd watch The History Channel. I know a number of bloggers I read tossed their review discs on while doing something else and just three seconds into the opening were tweeting about how bored they were with it. I think people who are actively interested in seeing the movie will enjoy it a lot and come away wanting to learn more. Those of us devouring movies buffet-style are more prone to giving this a pass. I'm glad I gave it a chance.
The extras (all HD) on the Blu-ray include Defiance: Return to the Forest [26:05], which is your run-of-the-mill Behind the Scenes thing; Children of the Otriad [13:42], where the children of the Bielskis and their descendants talk about how they learned pieces of the story growing up; and Scoring Defiance [7:00], which is pretty self-explanatory. Also included is a short series of photos taken of the remaining Bielski Partisan Survivors [1:58] by director Zwick. I listened to the entire commentary, which Zwick flies solo on, and it's a great listen. The man respects his craft and his audience, and it comes across nicely. I tried to do something else while listening: laundry, cleaning, no go.
Spring Breakdown (Direct to DVD/Blu-ray)
Breakdown isn't going on my best of 2009 list, but it deserves a glance, if only for Jane Lynch's gut-busting performance as a senator very similar to Kay Bailey Hutchison, controversially (in GOP circles) passed over by McCain last year for Sarah Palin. "K.B." is expected to be appointed Vice President so long as her assistant (Parker Posey) can keep K.B.'s introverted, renaissance faire-going daughter (Amber Tamblyn) from partying and slutting it up at spring break on South Padre Island.
Posey is flanked by her introverted, mom jeans-wearing college pals played by screenwriter Rachel Dratch and fellow SNL alum Amy Poehler. Dratch is engaged to a man played by SNL head writer Seth Myers who belongs in Bruno's entourage more than a hetero relationship. Poehler's character carries over body image issues from her college days and adopts her "gangsta bitch" persona at one point, which thrilled me. Poehler was the reason I could stand Blades of Glory, so sue me.
There are more out-loud laughs in this movie than many that actually see wide release. It also features the holy grail of "chick flick" rarities: a "who needs these fuckers?" attitude regarding men. Spring Breakdown stands as yet another example of how finding worthwhile entertainment requires more work than ever before. I really did not expect to like this movie nor did I have much interest in seeking it out. Had they put Jane Lynch on the cover, they'd probably sell more of this title. She's become a "that lady" thanks to bit parts on primetime sitcoms and bit parts in 40 Year Old Virgin among others. I'll put it this way: my mother-in-law would see her face and recognize her, unlike the people on the cover currently.
Regardless, Breakdown will get some decent word-of-mouth provided some people actually see it. Included on the Blu-ray are a Digital Copy, Gag Reel [2:03], some Additional Scenes [2:51] that feature more Jane Lynch, and a Feature Commentary with director Ryan Shiraki and writer Rachel Dratch.
He's Just Not That Into You
HJNTIY floats a "you'll be fine not worrying about men" message early on, but falls into by-the-numbers sexism pretty quickly. The women who don't end up with a man are saddled (beast of burden imagery intended) with The Lonely Woman face, not sure how they'll go on living. No female empowerment here, move right along. Ken Kwapis made the most of what he had to work with, as did the actors.
Extras include The Baltimore Blade [HD 29:03 total], which is a set of 6 mini-interviews with the actors in-character about where their lives went after the end of the time the movie "documents." These were done on the set during principal photography and more than anything prove Ben Affleck and Justin Long are the best of the cast when it comes to riffing. This is a half hour of your life you can save. 6 Words That Make Up a Film [HD 11:04] is your standard "how the movie happened" featurette. The Director Stages a Scene: Duet for Telephones [HD 4:02] is a mini-clinic on how to choreograph a phone scene, which Ken Kwapis did quite well here. The Deleted Scenes [HD 25:17] w/ Optional Commentary notably feature a whole lot of Scarlett Johansson, but mainly it's content revolving around a subplot with her mom that was wisely sliced. Had they used as much of Johansson as originally intended, she would've been a sub-lead more than the "oh, she's in it" part she ended up with. It's interesting to watch with the Commentary on with Kwapis defending Johansson, but it'd be terribly boring otherwise.
Home (also Streaming Free)
Home is a movie about the world we live in that is narrated by Glenn Close and whose photography was all done aerially (like Winged Migration, but more top-down/from-the-side). It is very apparent that the dialogue she is speaking was originally written in a different language (French). The Blu-ray transfer is rapturously beautiful, on par with Planet Earth and Nature's Most Amazing Events (more on that in a moment). It tangentially hops from aspect to aspect of the planet's inhabitants and topography, highlighting the links connecting everything. Anyone averse to paying to see this in any way (a stop in your Netflix queue or a standard rental) can watch it for free on YouTube. I've linked to it further down in the Free to Stream section.
Catalog New to Blu-ray
Fletch
Inside Man
Bruce Almighty
These are all direct ports from their most recent DVD iterations. Fletch shows its age from the opening titles. I still dig the movie, but it hasn't aged gracefully. Rebooting that series with a closer adherence to the original novels is a great idea and I hope it falls back into Kevin Smith's hands.
It bears mentioning that Universal identified an audio issue with Inside Man prior to its original release date last month. One of the back surround channels just dropped out at one point through the end of the movie. Rather than release a faulty product, Uni delayed the title, doing a full re-pressing. Kudos to them. It's a shame that's the exception and not the rule.
Don't tell anyone, but I don't hate Bruce Almighty at all and find myself sucked into cable viewings more often than I'm comfortable with.
New to DVD
Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog
This viral video sensation is an example of how to self-market an independent project that became and continues to be a wild success, despite the complete lack of studio involvement. Included are all extras previously available online. Two Feature Commentaries are on there (impressive for a 42 minute short): Commentary! The Musical and a non-singing cast and crew commentary. The Making of Dr. Horrible Featurette covers exactly that, the cliffhanger nature of the serial installments, and the huge online fandom explosion. Rounding things out are some Evil League of Evil Application videos that were fan-submitted and completely independently produced. I nearly shut them off, but stuck with them due to a plucky, handmade quality that won me over. The most this should cost anyone in the US is about $10.
TV New Releases
Nature's Most Amazing Events
These five hours of BBC Earth docs (6 in all) are free of the commercials that plague these wonderful programs on broadcast TV. The worst thing to ever happen to nature documentaries has been commercials. I really don't want anything to do with Geico car insurance when learning about sardine migration or watching Orcas attack humpback whales. This title is on DVD and Blu-ray, but I've only had a chance to take a look at the DVD. It looks fine, but I notice the difference between these docs in high-def versus standard def.
The most interesting thing about these 50-minute "documentary shorts" is that they cover the kinds of little things that are glossed over and ignored in big-scale macro-doc series, the kind of thing you would only ever learn about in an obscure graduate school course. There are some behind-the-scenes Diaries featurettes in there too. Worth a Saturday afternoon.
Cannon Season 2 Volume 1
I wasn't alive when Cannon originally aired, and I expect that with the unhealthy body image of the protagonist and all the fat jokes, this series wouldn't make it past the pitch stage today. I'm an unapologetic fan of finely-produced procedurals, and this one has me hooked. I'm caught up on Law & Order SVU, so this gives me some back-episodes to work through this summer.
Streaming Free
Home
You can watch the whole movie in a variety of languages for free on Youtube. They've disabled embedding.
The Week of 6/9
This was a beast for new and catalog releases, and the primary reason this took so long to compile.
Release of the Week
Woodstock
From Jeff's assessment:
"The Bluray of Michael Wadleigh's director's cut of Woodstock is a curiously beautiful thing to sit through. There's something in the way it brings you back to '69 and makes you feel the whole tingle of it, the way it felt "out there" before the festival kicked off and how the emotional generosity and benevolence from the crowd and the performers alike seemed to catch on and reverberate every which way."
"I'm glad I own it, glad I've seen it. I'll be watching portions from time to time over the summer. The Bluray mastering adds stronger colors and sharper detail to my recollection of how the film looked in theatres, although I haven't watched the regular DVD version. The bottom line is that it was filmed in 16mm so it can only look so good. The sound, as you might imagine, is excellent and full of good throb, but I'm sure it all sounds better in a big theatre with heavy-duty speakers."
From my own viewing of the DVD version on my HD set, it looks great. What's missing (and the reason to go Blu if you can) is the lack of Lossless Audio. It sounds fine, but extra audio bitrate really makes it something you'd want to crank. There's a featurette that I started but didn't finish after watching the whole beast.
New Releases (DVD & Blu-ray)
Gran Torino
I really dug the movie, non-actors and Clint singing over the credits and all. In a year with 10 Best Picture nominees, I feel like this one would have made it. Blu-ray included a Digital Copy and some featurettes. I haven't had a chance to take a look at it yet.
The International
Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, international intrigue, DVD & Blu-ray. I missed this one in theaters.
Powder Blue
Jassica Biel is a stripper and goes nude. On Blu-ray. Whatever.
New Releases (DVD only)
Crawford
Crawford already came to DVD, but it wasn't as widely-distributed as it now will be. From my SXSW rave last year:
"David Modigliani's Crawford is a about much more than the major change felt initially when George W. Bush first moved there in 2000 a few months before the election. It's more than you get out of a trailer or a quote from a friend. In fact, Crawford, Texas itself is a lot more than it may seem like at first.
"This movie is more than a chronicle of events, humorous anecdotes, or an examination of what direction small-town America went in during these last eight long Bush Years. This is a movie about the future, and the film's relevance is even greater considering the pivotal role of the recent Texas Primary and the still uncertain picture regarding the Democratic nominee.
"The intellectual elite (high-thread-counters, in the Hollywood Elsewhere parlance) may have it stuck in their heads that small towns across the country are full of ignorant, tobacco-chewing pro-Bush morons, a complacent idiocracy. Many saw the 2004 election map as straight up red and blue thanks to the arcane effect of the Electoral College on our voting system. Crawford as presented in the documentary by pro-Bushies and anti-Bush residents alike is that it's definitely a purple town, and you'd be surprised how often this is true in what are considered "rural" communities.
"Those particular locals include a woman who owns a Bush merchandise shop and a Baptist preacher who prays for the day Bush will visit his church, expected types you'd see in "Bush Country". They also count among them anti-war activists who founded a Peace House and kids who completely defy the stereotype of their small town by not "chewing grass and wearing boots".
"There are good ol' boys who as "good ol'" as they come but don't fall in line with the crap others buy on Fox News each night. They know Bush only gets outside with a chainsaw to get at some cedar trees when there are cameras on him and they wish he'd pick up more of his trash.
"Plenty of people dislike the Bush regime and are aware of how disingenuous the "Crawford Good Ol' Boy" image is, but the more important examination, which Modigliani wisely chooses to focus on, is the tragic rise and fall evinced in the 74 minutes that the film runs. I watching it, the movie feels longer and richer than its runtime suggests."
The DVD has some featurettes, cut sequences, and post-doc interviews at a screening they did with the help of the Alamo Drafthouse's Rolling Roadshow in Crawford, TX.
Crossing Over
I really wanted to like this movie, but it felt incomplete. This is likely due to Sean Penn holding Final Trim sway over the film, throwing his weight around at the last minute to have his entire subplot removed from the film. It's despicable that hundreds of people worked for months and months to have some high-powered actor chop an integral part of the movie like he owned it.
Harrison Ford does a great job in the bits he gets, as do Summer Bishil and Cliff Curtis. Nothing against the other actors, but they get the meatiest stuff to work with in this immigration multi-threaded story. The DVD is another bare-bones Weinstein Company disc.
Nobel Son
This is a movie to be avoided for anyone but those morbidly curious with how much one can squander Alan Rickman. From my couch-based pan:
"Nobel Son is noble effort at taking a decent concept, some decent ideas, and some excellent talent and molding them into something cohesive. I get what they were trying for, but it didn't get moving quickly enough to build up any steam. Alan Rickman is a philandering chemist who is cheating on Mary Steenbergen of all people. Bryan Greenberg plays their PhD student Anthropologist son.
"So Rickman wins a Nobel prize, Greenberg meets an eccentric hottie (Eliza Dushku), there's a kidnapping and ransom situation, and it ends up for me with a "really, that's it?" I'd wager they could have chopped half an hour out of it and it would have been just as entertaining to me. There are a few twists, but I was never invested enough to care. The Paul Oakenfold soundtrack just made me feel like the year 2000 and didn't add or detract to be honest.
"The DVD includes some Deleted Scenes [4:45], a Featurette [13:00] that doesn't add too much to the experience, and a Feature Commentary with director Randall Miller, co-writer Jody Savin, and actors Greenberg, Dushku, and Mike Ozier."
Catalog New to Blu-ray
Fatal Attraction
Indecent Proposal
The Siege
Predator 2
All four of these are ports of features from the most recent DVD editions.
Fatal Attractions' Alternate Ending now in HD. It and Indecent Proposal look and sound better than ever. Two more solid catalog upgrades form Paramount.
Rewatching The Siege drove home how I avoided its relentless shoving down my throat following 9/11. I remember walking in to Best Buy and seeing practically an entire shelving unit dedicated to it on its own mere days later. The movie isn't bad, and is among my favorite Zwick movies.
I'm finally nailing down some time to watch and review Predator 2 all on its own for a semi-recurring retro review feature called (Not So) Great Cinema, dedicated to my friend Kirk, who wrote the following manufactured anecdote and open letter to the AMC cable channel about this "American Movie Classic":
What It Is To Love Gary Busey, Pt. 1.
"We're going in after an other-world lifeforce from another galaxy that has a self-defense mechanism that we don't understand. It's intangible to this time and space. It's actually from the Theory of Relativity and from the Theory of Quantum Mechanics. Take those properties and equalize 'em and you have the Quantum Theory of Gravity, which is the discussion of how this universe started and how it will end. The Predator knows that information already. It is our job, and our objective, to go capture the Predator. Sit him down and talk with him and find out why he does what he does, how he does what he does and where he gets the weaponry and the defense mechanisms he uses in order to obtain his goal. That is our goal. If we don't achieve that goal, we will be turned into vapor clouds made of small pink particles known on Earth as BLOOD!"
--On the set of Predator 2, ca. 1989-90
Dear AMC Television,
Your network's name implies that you feature "American Movie Classics."
However, I would like to propose that, based on current programming,
that this is not the case. I enjoy your programming immensely. However, I
sincerely doubt that films such as "Navy Seals" (which I've enjoyed
many a time), "Predator 2 (not Predator one, mind you)", and "Mimic"
frequently achieve the lofty heights of American Movie Classics. I do
fervently believe, however, that these are the most sterling and accomplished
movies that the 5.99 DVD bin at Wal-Mart (and various afffiliates) have
to offer, bar none. I humbly request that the name of your station, or
at least the block of programming dedicated to these classics be
renamed to "Five Dollar Classics", not taken off the air, for where would we
be without them?
Thank you for your time and cooperation,
Kirk Lawrence
(and associates).
To learn more about Kirk Duke Lawrence form his writing, this is his pop culture and film-centric Livejournal.
Box Sets
The Jack Lemmon Film Collection
Included are a couple goodies and the intolerable (to me) Yum Yum Tree:
Phffft!
Operation Mad Ball
The Notorious Landlady
Under the Yum Yum Tree
Good Neighbor Sam
TV New Releases
The Cleaner Season 1
There have been a couple major TV subject matter trends over the last couple decades: the soapy medical show and the cop procedural. These have both been very popular since the days of radio. I want to say that the "person cleans up their life and then helps others do the same" trend has been borne of a hybrid of the cop show and reality "help yourself!" shows. Benjamin Bratt turned in one of the most under-recognized performances of his career with Pinero a few years ago, and in The Cleaner, he mines the convict persona to great success as well. I didn't know the show existed until I saw the Season 1 DVD announcement, and I'm glad I did. Of course, this gives me one more thing I'm behind the curve on.
I haven't gotten through all of the extras yet, but the Season One set includes cast and crew commentary on selected episodes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and deleted scenes.
Perry Mason Season 4 Volume 1
The only thing I'm more of a sucker for than police procedurals is courtroom drama, and few have ever compared to Perry Mason. Continuing in CBS' decision to issue catalog shows in 2 volumes per season (shows had 30-40 episodes each season), here you get the first 15 episodes of the fourth year completely uncut. Ever since they hit syndication, you could only see them edited down.
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Last week's column is being buttoned up later than I'd like due to some discs arriving late, but should be up soon along with a review of Criterion's exceptional release of the perplexing Last Year at Marienbad.