See This Film: King of the Hill Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Jesse Bradford, Jeroen Krabbé, Lisa Eichhorn, Kristin Griffith, Lauryn Hill

Format: AC-3, DTS Surround Sound, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1

Number of discs: 3

Rated: PG-13 

Studio: Criterion Collection

Release Date: February 25, 2014

Run Time: 103 minutes

 

 

        I remember watching King of the Hill when I was around the same age as the film’s protagonist, Aaron (Jesse Bradford). The mere fact that I was able to enjoy it as much today as I did as a child is a testament to the magnificence in Steven Soderbergh’s filmmaking. Never shying away from the harsh reality of the times, King of the Hill also manages to do so with a childlike naivety and optimism that slowly shifts to a hopeful independence. Soderbergh is able to obtain the feel of the times in this period film, but almost more important is his ability to place us in a coming-of-age narrative with effortless accuracy. As a child I was able to admire Aaron’s ability to survive starvation, but as an adult I was impressed by his ability to retain hope.

 

On the Job Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Piolo Pascual, Joel Torre, Joey Marquez, Gerald Anderson

Director: Erik Matti

Format: Blu-ray, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, THX, Widescreen

Language: Filipino

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Well Go USA

Release Date: February 11, 2014

Run Time: 116 minutes

      

        On the Job has the type of premise which is begging for a Hollywood remake, excitingly original content for a genre that has been overdone in many countries. The promise of this unique plot is wasted somewhat in the execution, mostly because this Filipino film chooses character study over action sequences. There are still some riveting moments within the film, but it ends with more of an introspective whimper than a bang.

 

Battle of the Damned Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Dolph Lundgren, Melanie Zanetti, Matt Doran

Director: Christopher Hatton

Format: Blu-ray, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Dubbed: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R

Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay

Release Date: February 18, 2014

Run Time: 89 minutes

 

        I was actually surprised at how decent the effects were in Battle of the Damned, especially considering how ridiculous every other aspect of the film is. Dolph Lundgren is a far better actor than he gets credit for, especially being able to handle this material with a straight face. The only saving grace to Battle of the Damned beyond Lundgren’s weathered mug is the willingness to throw logic out the window when creating the script. An absurd addition of fighting robots to the story halfway through the film is inexplicable and strange enough to keep this from becoming just another low-budget zombie disaster.

 

Romeo and Juliet Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Hailee Steinfeld, Douglas Booth

Format: AC-3, DTS Surround Sound, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English (DTS 5.1)

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Dubbed: English

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG-13 

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Release Date: February 4, 2014

Run Time: 119 minutes

 

        Anyone over the age of twenty-five is likely to be skeptical at the necessity of yet another adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, while it simultaneously seems doubtful that anyone younger will enjoy the somewhat straightforward approach to the widely recognizable tale. Everything about this latest adaptation is underwhelming, almost as if the filmmakers had hoped the entire production could lean on the popularity of Shakespeare’s most manipulative melodrama and a few pretty young faces.

 

Wadjda Blu-ray Review

    Actors: Waad Mohammed, Reem Abdullah, Abdullrahman Al Gohani

Director: Haifaa Al-Mansour

Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: Arabic

Subtitles: English

Dubbed: French

Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: PG 

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Release Date: February 11, 2014

Run Time: 97 minutes

       

        Even in Hollywood it is rare that a female director sees the same success as male competition, with only a few names as exception. If you were to remove the nepotistic connections which make this possible, even fewer female filmmakers would be standing, and so the production of Wadjda would seem a small miracle in any country. The fact that it was the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia is impressive enough, but that the project was driven by a female director with a message that challenges the male-dominated ways of life is more than a small miracle. Wadjda is a spectacular film exceeded only in the impressiveness of the story behind the production, with director Haifaa Al Mansour unable to interact directly with the male crew or be present during the filming of the street sequences.

 

Sherlock: Season Three Blu-ray Review

    Actors: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Rupert Graves, Una Stubbs, Mark Gatiss

Directors: Jeremy Lovering, Colm McCarthy, Nick Hurran

Writers: Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Format: Blu-ray, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: BBC Home Entertainment

Release Date: February 11, 2014

Run Time: 262 minutes

 

       

        Sherlock Holmes is one of the most recognizable fictional characters in both literature and the subsequent film and television adaptations, which allows for the release of yet another adaptation without any resistance from fans of the franchise. While TV’s “Sherlock” shares an emphasis on the friendship between the infamous detective and his sidekick and much of the visual flair that Guy Ritchie’s theatrical releases also had, it sets itself apart by adding a modern element to the beloved stories. The entire endeavor breathes new life into the old stories, reviving them with quick, clever dialogue and a dynamic visual style.

 

Dallas Buyers Club Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Jared Leto, Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner

Format: Color, Widescreen

Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)

Subtitles: Spanish

Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: Universal Studios

Release Date: February 4, 2014

Digital Copy Expiration Date: May 2, 2016

Run Time: 234 minutes

 

 

        Dallas  Buyers Club is a marvelously competent film, both engaging and inspirational, entertaining yet grounded in the reality of a true story. It is nearly impossible not to like Dallas Buyers Club, which is why I have such difficulty expressing my skepticism in any real point to the film’s narrative. However capable the filmmaking or flashy the performances may be, the end result of the film’s narrative fails to strike any cords of relevance beyond the protagonist’s willingness to do anything to survive. It captures a rare chapter in American history where an individual attempted, mostly unsuccessfully, to challenge the seemingly tyrannous monopoly that is the pharmaceutical industry.

 

Sorority Party Massacre DVD Review

     Actors: Kevin Sorbo, Marissa Skell, Yvette Yates, Eve Mauro

Directors: Chris W. Freeman, Justin Jones

Format: Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R

Studio: ANCHOR BAY

DVD Release Date: February 11, 2014

Run Time: 103 minutes

 

       

        When the best a cast has to offer is Kevin Sorbo (“Hercules”) and aged porn star Ron Jeremy, this is a fairly decent indicator that the film is a certified piece of shit. These two are brief cameos in a film filled with actors who somehow manage incompetence to the point of making Jeremy look talented, and the viewing experience of Sorority Party Massacre nearly unbearable. Even in fast-forward this film moves too slow, testing the patience of any viewer’s willingness to endure bad acting, poor direction and an atrociously asinine screenplay, all for the brief moments of sloppy gore and nude scenes from actresses not suited for internet porn.

 

Baggage Claim Blu-ray Review

     Format: AC-3, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English (DTS 5.1)

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Dubbed: English, French, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG-13

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Release Date: February 4, 2014

Run Time: 97 minutes

 

        I appreciate that romantic comedies are often built upon clichés and derivative narratives that offer up flaccid fantasies for the undiscerning idealistic consumer. Baggage Claim, however, builds so much of the storyline upon a shallow materialistic mentality that it is entertainment specifically directed at superficial personalities that find more attraction in a male’s bank account than any element of romance. Even though the protagonist inevitably makes the morally admirable choice by the end of the film, her ugly choices leading to that obvious end result are difficult to forgive.

 

Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Mark Chao, William Feng, Angelababy, Carina Lau, Lin Gengxin

Director: Tsui Hark

Format: Blu-ray, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, THX, Widescreen

Language: Cantonese

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Well Go USA

Release Date: February 11, 2014

Run Time: 134 minutes

       

        The 3D format has become a hugely moneymaking gimmick, and one which has certainly played a large role in giving audiences a reason to see a film in theaters rather than waiting for home entertainment or downloading illegally. We have seen from successes like Avatar, The Avengers and Gravity in the United States that people are willing to pay more if it gives them a unique viewing experience, and filmmaker Tsui Hark (Seven Swords, Flying Swords of Dragon Gate) has been at the forefront of a similar shift in Asian cinema. The only problem with this mentality of making movies is the shortsightedness when it comes to home entertainment, especially as that is the primary means of seeing these films as imports. The effects are still very good in Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon, but there are elements better suited for 3D, and at times they resemble the type of flat, unfinished CGI effects from the late 1990s.

 

The Armstrong Lie Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Lance Armstrong, Reed Albergotti, Betsy Andreu

Director: Alex Gibney

Format: AC-3, Blu-ray, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: Chinese, English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Release Date: February 11, 2014

Run Time: 124 minutes

 

        I’ve never been very good at sports, but it has more to do with my attitude than any lack of physical abilities. As a child, I found myself only interested in competition if it simultaneously involved the companionship of friends. My concerns were always more aligned with the mentality of playing than they were in winning, and that makes me less of a competitor than those with the die-hard athlete attitudes. While I respect that the element of ambition and drive certainly has a place in competitive sports, I have never had the attitude that winning is the only point. Once winning becomes the only objective, there are no ideals or morals which won’t be discarded in order to achieve this goal, and Lance Armstrong has become the poster child for this mentality.

 

Rocky: Heavyweight Collection Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers, Burt Young, Mr. T

Directors: Sylvester Stallone, John G. Avildsen

Format: AC-3, Blu-ray, Box set, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English (DTS 5.1), French (DTS 5.1), Spanish (DTS 5.1)

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Dubbed: French, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 6

Rated: PG-13

Studio: MGM

Release Date: February 11, 2014

 

 

        The Undisputed Collection of the Rocky films included all six of the films in the franchise, four of which were on Blu-ray for the first time. The discs for the first, Rocky (1976) and the last, Rocky Balboa (2006), in the series were the discs from the previously released Blu-ray, which caused complaints from many consumers. Now just a short time later we have yet another collection, this time titled the Heavyweight Collection and featuring a newly remastered release of Rocky and limiting the size of the package as well as the number of discs needed. The seventh disc of special features has been removed this time around, though nearly all of the former extras have still been included on the first disc. 

 

Most Hated Movies: Scorned Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Annalynne McCord, Billy Zane, Viva Bianca

Format: Blu-ray, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Dubbed: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: ANCHOR BAY

Release Date: February 4, 2014

Run Time: 86 minutes

 

 

        I’ve watched a lot of bad films in my time, and I can usually predict them before the opening credits have even begun to roll. Knowing that Annalynne McCord (“90210”) was the star of this film initiated immediate warning signs in my head, but I never could have guessed how much she would dominate this film and how devastating that poor casting decision would be to Scorned. In all fairness, McCord is not the only one showing her shortcomings as an actor. Not a single actor looks good by the end of the film, and much of that is due to a remarkably asinine screenplay by Mark Jones & Sadie Katz, not to mention the inept direction provided by Jones. Few bad films have so little of worth in their content and production values in such equal proportion.

 

A Case of You Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood, Vince Vaughn, Brendan Fraser, Sam Rockwell

Director: Kat Coiro

Format: Blu-ray, Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

Release Date: February 4, 2014

Run Time: 91 minutes

 

 

        Every aspect of A Case of You reads like a first draft screenplay which places all of its chips on a solitary clever idea, but the unwillingness to follow that premise through with believable character choices leaves us with a protagonist that comes off as creepy and insecure and a romantic interest who is either self-absorbed or just plain stupid. This is unfortunate, because a bit more work in the screenwriting phase or clearer direction from the three writers may have made for an engaging and socially relevant romantic comedy. Instead, we are given a half-baked idea and characters that seem intentionally oblivious as the only means to propel the story forward in the desired direction.

 

A Perfect Man DVD Review

     Actors: Liev Schreiber, Jeanne Tripplehorn

Director Kees Van Oostrum

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

DVD Release Date: January 28, 2014

Run Time: 94 minutes

 

 

        Using adultery as the launching point for a romantic comedy is a bold move, and one that A Perfect Man takes a majority of its running time recovering from. Skipping over the ‘boy-meets-girl’ portion of the storyline, all of A Perfect Man focuses on the losing and winning back of that girl. There is a clever rom-com scenario which allows out flawed male protagonist to “meet” the girl, unaware that it is the same one that he already lost.

 

Dark Touch DVD Review

     Actors: Missy Keating, Marcella Plunkett

Director: Marina de Van

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

DVD Release Date: January 28, 2014

Run Time: 91 minutes

 

 

        Although I commend the way in which Dark Touch fearlessly addresses real-life trauma within the context of a horror film, the subject matter is often too tragic to mix with elements of fantasy. As a result, the elements of spectacle are weighed down and all real-world tragedy that inspired the storyline seems trivialized by the supernatural aspects. As clever as Dark Touch may be on an intellectual level, it inevitably feels emotional manipulative with such a social abhorrent subplot.

 

Blue Caprice DVD Review

     Actors: Joey Lauren Adams, Isaiah Washington

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: Ifc Independent Film

DVD Release Date: January 14, 2014

Run Time: 94 minutes

 

 

        Blue Caprice does a fantastic job of capturing insanity in a way which appears rational, while also doing absolutely nothing within the storyline to make the characters even remotely sympathetic. There is no doubt in my mind that this is directly tied into the fact that the plot was taken from the true events of the random Beltway sniper attacks, and cautious storytelling is a way of respecting the real-life tragedy which occurred. On the other hand, watching two unsympathetic antagonists at the center of this story makes for an emotionally attached viewing experience. It is difficult to feel sympathy for the victims we never get to know and impossible to enjoy the devastation of the antagonistic road trip taken by these killers. The result is a film which can only hope for stylistic admiration, leaving no room for audience to feel anything close to sympathy or empathy.

 

Concussion DVD Review

     Actors: Robin Weigert, Maggie Siff, Jonathan Tchaikovsky, Ben Shenkman, Julie Fain Lawrence

Director: Stacie Passon

Producers: Anthony Cupo, Cliff Chenfeld, Rose Troche

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: ANCHOR BAY

DVD Release Date: January 28, 2014

Run Time: 96 minutes

 

        I did not get this movie. I understood the premise as described by the back cover and the implications made by the title, but in the larger scheme of the film’s narrative it seems entirely insignificant. We are led to believe that a suburban wife and mother’s accidental concussion ends in a new career as a high-end prostitute, but there are never any attempts to make a connection between the two events. It would almost seem entirely unrelated if it weren’t for that title and plot description.

 

Last Vegas Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline

Director: Jon Turteltaub

Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: PG-13)

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Release Date: January 28, 2014

Run Time: 105 minutes

 

 

        Imagine The Hangover as a fantasy rather than a nightmare, replace the young cast with an impressive ensemble of actors with credits far too impressive to be sullied by this tripe, and you will have Last Vegas in a nutshell. This film may have been passable with a less impressive cast, but the expectations are raised too high with this ensemble and even the performances of their careers would not have been able to save Dan Fogelman’s predictable screenplay.

 

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Will Forte, Neil Patrick Harris, James Caan

Directors: Cody Cameron, Kris Pearn

Writers: Christopher Miller, Erica Rivinoja, John Francis Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein, Judi Barrett

Format: AC-3, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English, French

Dubbed: French

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Release Date: January 28, 2014

Run Time: 95 minutes

 

 

        As was the case with the original, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is a silly film which works because of its slap-happy characters and groan-inducing puns. Realism and logic have no place in this wonderfully imaginative follow-up film to the children’s book adaptation. The characters in this film exist in a true cartoon world, where anything is possible, and this loopy approach gives the film a distinct style of humor.