Only Lovers Left Alive DVD Review

    

Director: Jim Jarmusch

Format: Multiple Formats, AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Subtitles: English, French

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

DVD Release Date: August 19, 2014

Run Time: 123 minutes

 

 

        Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive is the ultimate hipster vampire film, with pretentious exclusivity in musical preferences taking up more of the film’s running time than anything vampire related. This is perhaps the only vampire film I can think of without a single onscreen vampire bite, and the film’s only death occurring in-between scenes shown. Blood is a source of sustenance, but also becomes another area of exclusivity, with only a strong connection providing the type of choice. Taking the sustenance straight from the source is for the less refined vampires.

 

High School Confidential Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Michael Landon, Russ Tamblyn, Jackie Coogan

Director: Jack Arnold

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Widescreen

Language: English

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: Olive Films

Release Date: August 26, 2014

Run Time: 85 minutes

 

 

        This anti-drug juvenile delinquency film may not be as widely known as Reefer Madness (1936), but it may be worse in its attempt to be hip in its message. High School Confidential (1958) stars Russ Tamblyn three years before West Side Story, and is apparently based on the undercover police work done by Texas Joe Foster. Just like the main character is a cop pretending to be the school’s coolest new kid, the film quickly begins to feel like an imitator. Clearly a propaganda film meant to appeal to younger audience because of the current slang utilized in the dialogue, High School Confidential now stands as an embarrassingly hilarious reminder of the past.

 

Favorites of the Moon Blu-ray Review

 
 
 

     Actors: Mathieu Amalric, Katja Rupe

Director: Otar Iosseliani

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: French

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Entertainment One

Release Date: August 12, 2014

Run Time: 105 minutes

 

        Favorites of the Moon was one of the films screened at this year’s City of Lights City of Angels Film Festival, a French film fest based out of Hollywood. The new print of this classic film has been digitally remastered for this Blu-ray release of Otar Iosseliani’s surreal absurdist comedy, and it looks great despite being a film best reserved for open-minded viewers. The ensemble intersecting storylines touch upon issues of class, though without ever feeling weighed down by heavy political agendas.

 

Boredom DVD Review

     Director: Albert Nerenberg

Format: Multiple Formats, Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: NR 

Studio: Entertainment One

DVD Release Date: August 12, 2014

Run Time: 61 minutes

 

 

        Although there are more than a few interesting facts about boredom in modern society within Albert Nerenberg’s documentary, it also means enduring a great deal of the director’s personal sense of humor. Narrated by the director, he claims that the entire idea for a film for boredom was a result of the filmmaker losing his smart phone and having nothing to do while riding the train. While these deadpan jokes can be amusing at first, they grow tiring over the course of the 61-minute run time.

 

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Colm Feore

Director: Marc Webb

Writers: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, James Vanderbilt

Producers: Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Ultraviolet, Box set, Subtitled

Language: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Rated: PG-13

Studio: Sony

Release Date: August 19, 2014

 

        I wasn’t overwhelmed by any of The Amazing Spider-Man, though it was a solidly entertaining reintroduction to the popular superhero. Perhaps it was the familiar origins story, the onslaught of similar comic book films, or the fact that the previous Spider-Man series had concluded less than a decade earlier. Whatever the reason, I went into The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with very low expectations and found myself pleasantly surprised. While it is an uneven film in terms of storytelling, dragging in large areas of the film despite having attempted to do too much in terms of plot and quantity of characters, there are moments within the film that rival anything from the first installment in the re-franchise.

 

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! Dual-Format Review

    Actors: Victoria Abril, Antonio Banderas, Loles León

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Color, Surround Sound, Widescreen

Language: Spanish

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 3

Rated: NC-17

Studio: Criterion Collection (Direct)

Release Date: August 19, 2014

Run Time: 101 minutes

        How much I enjoy Pedro Almodóvar’s Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (Átame!) depends upon on how much I try and intellectualize it. If I take the characters and the screenplay too seriously, I find myself annoyed at their illogical decisions and the gaps in narrative within the story. There is a lot which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but instead conveys an almost intentional artifice in the film’s events. It would feel entirely existent within a fantasy world if it weren’t for the moments of brutal violence that drive the narrative back into reality. They become so much a part of the film’s design that the anticlimactic happy ending is another jolting reminder that we are watching a film. From the film’s opening sequences and the story behind the film’s conception, this seems to be Almodóvar’s intention.

 

Bears Blu-ray Review

     Director: Alastair Fothergill

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Color, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English (DTS-HD High Res Audio), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Dubbed: French, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

Rated: G

Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Release Date: August 12, 2014

Run Time: 78 minutes

        Disneynature releases specialize in taking all of the harshness out of nature programs, glossing over heavier realities of life with cute images and humorous celebrity narration. Growing up, I remember watching the old Disney nature live-action films, and that is what I equate with the releases from this new Disney sub-studio. There isn’t much new in the narrative, but it is a nice family-safe introduction to nature documentaries.

 

Hateship Loveship DVD Review

     Actors: Kristin Wiig, Guy Pearce

Director: Liza Johnson

Format: Multiple Formats, Color, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

DVD Release Date: August 12, 2014

Run Time: 102 minutes

 

 

        In hindsight, it is fairly easy to understand why “Twilight” was a successful franchise among teenage girls, even before the novels were made into films with heartthrob young actors in the roles. The narrative involves a plain looking girl who single-handedly wrangles the unbridled ‘beastly’ qualities of the two ‘teens’ fighting over her affection. It is a wish-fulfillment fantasy even without the elements of vampires and werewolves. I have never read the short story by Alice Munro that is the inspiration for the awkwardly titled Hateship Loveship, but the film seems a middle-aged woman’s wish fulfillment along similar lines as those in Twilight. Instead of supernatural teenage boys, the female protagonist of this film is able to tame a wild drug addict to be her domesticated partner.

 

The Blacklist: The Complete First Season DVD Review

     Actors: James Spader, Harry Lennix, Ryan Eggold, Diego Klattenhoff

Format: Multiple Formats, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Number of discs: 5

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

DVD Release Date: August 12, 2014

 

 

        I don’t know if it is merely NBC’s tendency to heavily market their most promising new shows or simply the hype of James Spader’s return to television, but somehow I heard more about “The Blacklist” than any other new show this year. Unfortunately, this show also features the creativity of a network show ten years ago, making it feel dated and fairly unoriginal. I can think of several espionage/crime shows that are similar (and in many cases, better), and the real disappointment is how ill-suited Spader seems for the role he plays. Fans will still enjoy his distinct approach to dialogue, but I can’t help but feel like it was a bit forced at times. Mildly enjoyable as “The Blacklist” is, it mostly made me long for the better shows that it borrows from and better characters that Spader has played.

 

Proxy Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Joe Swanberg, Kristina Klebe

Director: Zack Parker

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Widescreen

Language: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

Release Date: August 12, 2014

Run Time: 122 minutes

 

        Although bloated in length, the strength of Proxy lies in director Zack Parker’s willingness to allow the film to be carried by mood rather than plot. In that regard, the first hour of the film is an enigma of success. I was absolutely captivated, but the film’s momentum is hijacked by a plot twist in the middle of the film and what worked for the first hour becomes increasingly tiresome by the end of the 122 minute running time. Despite several strands of various themes throughout the film, Parker never commits to any of them enough for the answers to live up to questions raised. With all criticism in consideration, even in failure I was more engaged by the unique filmmaking Parker’s Proxy than all of the safely mediocre horror movies of recent past.

 

Swelter Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Alfred Molina, Josh Henderson

Director: Keith Parmer

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Widescreen

Language: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: Well Go USA

Release Date: August 12, 2014

Run Time: 118 minutes

 

        It is quite apparent that filmmaker Keith Parmer is attempting to emulate Quentin Tarantino with his sophomore feature, Swelter. The beginning opens like so many other Tarantino imitators, with a heist and convoluted postmodern editing that introduces characters with freeze frame title information. Then the film moves from crime thriller to western, segmenting rather than blending the genres. This makes for an overly confusing first act, before finally settling into a predictable modern western cliché.

 

I’ll Follow You Down Blu-ray Review

    Actors: Haley Joel Osment, Rufus Sewell, Victor Garber, John Paul Ruttan

Director: Richie Mehta

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Widescreen

Language: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Well Go USA

Release Date: August 5, 2014

Run Time: 92 minutes

 

        If you were to remove all of the spectacle of action and humor from Back to the Future and the mystery and intelligence of Donnie Darko, the remainder of what was left would likely resemble all that is contained in I’ll Follow You Down. It is a cookie-cutter time-travel narrative, utilizing nothing but the melodrama to tell its story. I can’t think of a more straight-forward telling of a disjointed timeline, and the result feels like a short film dragged out to feature film length. Because little happens in the film, there is no need for impressive special effects or action sequences of any kind. This is not always necessarily a bad thing, but it is noticeable in a film void of any type of audience enjoyment.

 

Bitten: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Laura Vandervoort, Greyston Holt, Greg Bryk, Paul Greene, Steve Lund

Format: Multiple Formats, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Subtitles: English

Number of discs: 4

Studio: Entertainment One

Release Date: August 12, 2014

Run Time: 572 minutes

 

 

        The popular literature business is apparently no different than the mediums of television and film, and that is apparent in the vast number of supernatural soap opera novels that followed in the wake of Twilight’s inexcusable success. And because Twilight was adapted from a poorly written book series into a sloppily constructed film franchise, many of the imitators have followed suit with their own film and television adaptations. The clearest example of this is “The Vampire Diaries,” though “Bitten” follows very closely with canine steps. Replacing the vampires with werewolves, many of the story elements remain the same.

 

The Wind Will Carry Us Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Behzad Dorani, Bahman Ghobadi

Director: Abbas Kiarostami

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Widescreen

Language: Farsi

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Cohen Media Group

DVD Release Date: July 22, 2014

Run Time: 118 minutes

 

        Released in 1999, The Wind Will Carry Us is a deceptively simplistic story with contemporary themes dealing with the clash of modern technology in a world built upon old traditions. Restraint in the filmmaking process of Abbas Kiarostami only adds to the themes presented, giving everything shown more significance because of all that is left out of frame. The number of characters whose faces are never seen only enhances the impact of the scenery, which takes on one of the largest roles in the film’s narrative.

 

Next Goal Wins DVD Review

     Actors: Coach Thomas Rongen

Directors: Steve Jamison, Mike Brett

Format: Multiple Formats, Color, Dolby, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: Ketchup Entertainment

DVD Release Date: July 22, 2014

Run Time: 96 minutes

 

 

        I don’t really follow sports, and have never been much of a competitive person in that regard. I can appreciate the talents and abilities that go into playing the games, but find the personalities of entitlement and inflated egos an infuriating aspect of what it can become. Winning becomes everything and that’s usually when I lose interest. The reason why I hate sports but love sports movies is because the films always focus on the underdogs and the improvement of character that inevitably helps them win. In some of the best, they don’t even have to win for it to be a victory.

 

The French Minister DVD Review

     Actors: Thierry Lhermitte, Niels Arestrup, Bruno Raffaelli, Raphael Personnaz

Director: Bertrand Tavernier

Format: Multiple Formats, Color, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: French

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

DVD Release Date: July 29, 2014

Run Time: 114 minutes

 

 

        Based on the award-winning graphic novel by former government speech writer Abel Lanzac, The French Minister is The Devil Wears Prada of political films.  The narrative is far more concerned with the comedic nightmare of working for an egomaniacal public personality than the actual politics that it is all endured to accomplish. It is about the job, rather than being about the cause, which allows it the relatable qualities of narrative that made past horror boss films successful as well.

 

Finding Vivian Maier DVD Review

     Actors: Vivian Maier

Director: John Maloof, Charlie Siskel

Format: Multiple Formats, Color, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

DVD Release Date: July 29, 2014

Run Time: 90 minutes

 

 

        Finding Vivian Maier is a compelling cinematic documentation of young filmmaker and amateur historian John Maloof’s discovery of a never-discovered photographer from the past. Maloof purchased boxes of Maier’s work at an auction, without knowing what he had bought. This purchase led to an investigation and he discovered that she was a nanny who did street photography as a hobby over the course of her life. The work and the unraveling of this mystery is the strength of the film, while the interviewees can be more of a distraction and irritation.

 

Community: The Complete Fifth Season DVD Review

     Actors: Joel McHale

Format: Multiple Formats, AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment

DVD Release Date: August 5, 2014

 

        It’s actually fairly ironic that “Community” character Abed (Danny Pudi) is obsessed with the show “Cougar Town,” because the two shows have more in common than you might think. Television is an unpredictable medium. Unlike film, a dedicated fanbase is not enough to ensure continued productions. Many fan-favorite shows have been canceled in the past, and only recently have they learned how to find new homes on different networks or new media outlets. “Arrested Development” had a second life through Netflix, but the gap in-between production seemed to kill any momentum in the series. “Cougar Town” jumped from ABC to TBS without the same break, and following this season “Community” will be moving from NBC to the online programming of Yahoo TV.

 

Insomnia Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Stellan Skarsgård, Maria Mathiesen, Sverre Anker Ousdal

Director: Erik Skjoldbjærg

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Color, Dubbed, Surround Sound, Widescreen

Language: Norwegian

Subtitles: English

Dubbed: Swedish

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Criterion Collection (Direct)

Release Date: July 22, 2014

Run Time: 97 minutes

        Scandinavian thrillers have a long constant in literature, and there has been a definite rise in film and television over the last decade as well with “The Bridge” and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo film franchise. None of these would have been possible, however, without the international success and acclaim for Erik Skjoldbjærg’s 1997 Norwegian noir, Insomnia. Later remade as Christopher Nolan’s large studio film debut starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams, Skjoldbjærg’s moody crime thriller also began that tradition of Hollywood adapting Scandinavian successes. 

 

Dom Hemingway Blu-ray Review

    Actors: Jude Law, Luca Franzoni, Demián Bichir, Mark Wingett, David Baukham

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, AC-3, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen

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

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Dubbed: English, French, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R 

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Release Date: July 22, 2014

Run Time: 94 minutes

 

        Jude Law is so good at chewing the scenery as Dom Hemingway, I desperately wanted to remove him from this film for a more deserving storyline. As aimless as the film is, Law’s performance as the title character had me drawn in from start to finish. It was only once the full-throttle performance was finished that I was released from the trance in order to fully realize my disappointment. It almost feels as though the filmmakers enjoyed their main character so much that they were unable to decide what type of film he belonged in, and so this movie feels disjointed with the uneven blending of a variety of genres. One moment this feels like a crime film, the next a dark comedy, and finally wrapped up with sentimental melodrama. It isn’t that any of these sequences don’t work, but simply that they don’t blend well together. The only constant in the inconsistent filmmaking is Law’s fearless performance, which is enough to make at least half of the film’s flaws forgivable.