Il Sorpasso Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Vittorio Gassman, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Catherine Spaak, Claudio Gora

Director: Dino Risi

Writers: Dino Risi, Ettore Scola, Ruggero Maccari

Producer: Mario Cecchi Gori

Format: Black & White, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: Italian

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 3

Rated: Not Rated

Studio: Criterion Collection

Release Date: April 29, 2014

Run Time: 105 minutes

        In terms of plot and characters, Il Sorpasso was among the first to establish the traditional road film narrative, blending comedy and tragedy in a brilliant social commentary by way of escapist entertainment. Many similar films have followed; utilizing the elements that Italian filmmaker Dino Risi first made work so brilliantly in 1962. You can see the odd couple character humor in recent road trip comedies such as Due Date or The Heat, and the tragic ending seemed to immediately have an impact on American cinema with Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider (1969), so why is it that Il Sorpasso is not more widely known and appreciated? Better late than never, Il Sorpasso has been added to the prestigious Criterion Collection with this dual format Blu-ray/DVD release, complete with new special features that include praise-filled introduction from filmmaker Alexander Payne, who followed in Risi’s tradition with last year’s Academy Award-nominated road comedy, Nebraska.  

 

Riot in Cell Block 11 DVD Review

      Actors: Neville Brand, Emile Meyer, Frank Faylen

Director: Don Siegel

Format: Black & White, NTSC

Language: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: Criterion Collection (Direct)

DVD Release Date: April 22, 2014

Run Time: 80 minutes

 

 

        Realism in American films would become all the rage in the 1960s and 70s, mostly thanks to influences from European cinema, but it was a groundbreaking revelation when used in Don Siegel’s Riot in Cell Block 11 in 1954. Because of the smaller budgets, often B-films were the films given a greater opportunity to take risks, as was the case for 1990s independent cinema. Siegel worked within this medium to create a prison film which carries a social message within an entertaining genre picture.

 

Generation Iron DVD Review

     Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Rourke, Michael Jai White

Director: Vlad Yudin

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Studio: ANCHOR BAY

DVD Release Date: May 13, 2014

Run Time: 107 minutes

 

        Whether or not you understand the mentality of the oversized bodybuilders competing for the annual title of Mr. Olympia, there is no denying that the stories of each of these men is in itself fascinating enough to make this film interesting to gym rats and couch potatoes alike. A few of them are angry and aggressive, which makes them less likeable but no more compelling to watch. They all have egos to help convey an added sense of confidence, but it is interesting to see what really drives men like this to reach extreme sizes, even at the expense of their own health.

 

The Toho Godzilla Collection Blu-ray Double-Features Review

 

        Godzilla films are often categorized by the period in which they were created, with the classic Shōwa Series spanning from the original 1954 film to 1975. Then the franchise was revived again in 1984 with the films known as the Heisei Series, starting over the mythology of Godzilla and his many foes. This collection of Godzilla films ended with the apparent death of the beast in 1995, until he was revived again in 2000 with the series known as the Millennium Series. This concluded with 2004’s Godzilla: Final Wars, at which point the Toho sets were destroyed, and rights to another Godzilla film were withheld for a decade.

 

Devil’s Due Blu-ray Review

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

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Dubbed: English, French, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Release Date: April 29, 2014

Run Time: 90 minutes

 

        I could simply say that Devil’s Due is the Rosemary’s Baby of found-footage horror films, merely suggest that it is Paranormal Activity with a pregnancy, and that would be enough to concisely and completely review this film. Unfortunately for me, that would not be a very long review, so I will endure further consideration of this transparent copycat in order to fulfill my job more completely. Let it be known, however, everything I say from here on out will likely be as unnecessary and redundant as Devil’s Due itself.

 

Great Expectations Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane

Director: Mike Newell

Format: AC-3, Blu-ray, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English (DTS 5.1)

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Dubbed: English

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG-13 

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Release Date: April 15, 2014

Run Time: 128 minutes

 

        There is nothing particularly wrong with the latest adaptation of Charles Dickens’ oft-adapted classic “Great Expectations,” directed by Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral). There also isn’t anything right enough to redeem its inability to set itself apart from countless other adaptations, with particularly dull young actors unable to breathe any new life into the roles while the older cast members do a bit of over-acting to make up for it. Somehow this adaptation feels as though it shortchanges Dickens’ material while also dragging along unnecessarily.

 

Mayberry RFD: Season 1 DVD Review

     Actors: Ken Berry, Francis Bavier

Format: Box set, Color, NTSC

Language: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1

Number of discs: 4

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: Warner Home Video

DVD Release Date: April 8, 2014

 

 

        Spin-off shows are common, but “Mayberry R.F.D.” was almost more of a continuation show than a spin-off, simply allowing for a few new lead characters to take over as the previous ones from “The Andy Griffith Show” departed. The premiere episode of “Mayberry R.F.D.” is as much a departure for the characters of “The Andy Griffith Show” as it was an introduction to the new characters, featuring Andy’s marriage to long-time girlfriend Helen Crump, with Barney Fife appearing as best man.

 

See This Film: Once Blu-ray Review

 

Language: English (Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Dubbed: English, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Release Date: April 1, 2014

Run Time: 87 minutes

 

In the golden age of Hollywood cinema musicals seemed to have the most extravagant budgets, and these films were a huge success as well as a grand spectacle, but it wasn’t the sets and the costumes or dozens or chorus dancers that made the films musicals. Traditionally the songs helped to advance the plot, telling part of the story or developing the character within the song, and within these terms Once is a true musical. While there are essentially only two important characters and they are the only ones to sing, these songs help to advance the story in many ways, often having nothing to do with the music itself. The male protagonist is physically unable to speak about his heartbreak in one particular scene in the film, so instead he sings about it with improvised songs on the back of a bus. Despite a low budget, shaky camera work that often goes out of focus, and a storyline so simple that it nearly hits the same note for 86 minutes, Once is clearly one of the greatest modern musicals in all the ways that matters.

 

Master of the House Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Johannes Meyer, Astrid Holm, Mathilde Nielsen

Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer

Format: NTSC, Silent

Language: Danish

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: Criterion Collection (Direct)

Release Date: April 22, 2014

Run Time: 111 minutes

 

        Danish filmmakers were pioneers at the dawn of cinema, right up there with the French. Had it not been for the invention of sound and back-to-back wars in Europe, they might have been the dominating nation in the art form. This argument can be clearly seen in the work of Carl Theodor Dreyer, which was ahead of its time not just in terms of filmmaking techniques, but also in the stories which he chose to tell. Master of the House is one of Dreyer’s more modest films, but there is brilliance in its simplicity and maturity in the narrative based on the play Tyrannens fald by Svend Rindom.

 

Cowgirls ‘N Angels 2: Dakota’s Summer Blu-ray Review

Language: English (DTS 5.1)

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Release Date: April 15, 2014

Run Time: 91 minutes

 

 

        I had no previous knowledge of this film franchise, having somehow managing to avoid the release of Cowgirls ‘N Angels in 2012, but somehow I can’t imagine it makes much difference in reviewing this title. As far as I can tell, there is no direct connection between the storylines, aside from a title and basic premise dealing with young girls and trick horse-riding. Cowgirls ‘N Angels 2: Dakota’s Summer is a mouthful of a title, but the film itself is a fairly inoffensively straightforward story that could easily be a TV movie from any number of the television stations that only my nine-year-old sisters would watch.

 

Seven Warriors Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Sammo Hung, Jacky Cheung

Director: Sammo Hung

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

Language: Cantonese

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Well Go USA

Release Date: April 22, 2014

Run Time: 92 minutes

 

        Akira Kurosawa’s films have been adapted many times, which is fitting considering how many classic narratives he also adapted into his own unique features. Seven Samurai must be the most popular of these narratives, remade several times in new settings and the same storyline. Seven Warriors sets the classic story of outnumbered noble fighters in The Warlord Era of China, with former soldiers choosing sides between defending the weak and becoming thieves and bandits. Taking on the style of Hong Kong’s New Wave Movement with the legendary Sammo Hung at the helm, Seven Warriors is an energetically updated version of Kurosawa’s narrative, now dated in the most spectacular of ways.

 

Doctor Who: Web of Fear DVD Review

     Actors: Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines, Deborah Watling, Nicholas Courtney

Director: Douglas Camfield

Writers: Mervyn Haisman, Henry Lincoln

Producer: Peter Bryant

Format: Black & White, NTSC

Language: English

Rated: NR (Not Rated)

Studio: BBC Home Entertainment

DVD Release Date: April 22, 2014

Run Time: 150 minutes

 

        Many of the “Doctor Who” episodes are long lost, wiped by BBC’s unfortunate decision to wipe many hours of broadcast years ago. This has left many of the Patrick Troughton storylines in the series forever incomplete, though an occasional miracle brings back episodes thought to be gone. There are still sections of “Web of Fear” which are missing, though episode 6 was discovered in 2013, and now is available with all of the existing episodes in this storyline on this DVD release.

 

Most Hated Movies: Alexander the Last (2009)

 

 

        Filmmaker Joe Swanberg is at the head of the independent film movement often referred to as “mumblecore.” These films often include awkward nudity, natural lighting and mumbling dialogue. The attempt is supposed to be realism, but these films simply suggested that reality is both depressing and dull. Though Alexander the Last is an improvement on Swanberg’s previous films, Hannah Takes the Stairs and Night and Weekends, this is not saying much. The improvement can immediately be attributed to Greta Gerwig’s missing presence from the cast.

 

Desert Island Films: Slasher Franchises

 

In “An Introduction to the American Horror Film,” Robin Wood describes a simple structure for the Classical horror film as normality “threatened by the Monster,” but following Psycho the significance of the monster shifted (Wood 117). The greatest fear addressed in a majority of horror films since 1960 is the fear of other people. It took a directors like Michael Powell and Alfred Hitchcock to first break this barrier for filmmakers in the genre to “expose the illusory securities and limited rationales of contemporary life to reveal the chaos which underpins modern existence and constantly threatens to ensure its collapse” (Wells 75).  Peeping Tom and Psycho helped contribute to the feeling of social insecurity, as they created monsters that were fully human and would change the face of horror.

 

Most Hated Movies: Death Do Us Part DVD Review

     Actors: Peter Benson, Julia Benson, Christine Chatelain, Emilie Ullerup

Director: Nicholas Humphries

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: R (Restricted)

Studio: ANCHOR BAY

DVD Release Date: April 15, 2014

Run Time: 89 minutes

 

 

        Would a bride really take her wedding dress along for a joint bachelor/bachelorette celebration in the wilderness, far from any location that the actual event will be held? Would said bride randomly decide to put the dress on once the party has begun in the remote cabin in the woods? Should the audience expect the kind of logic that would explain these actions in a poorly made slasher film such as Death Do Us Part? The answer to all questions is clearly no, but a lapse in logic is not what makes this such a poorly constructed horror film. It is everything else makes this film terrible, which subsequently makes the lack of intelligence in the filmmaking all the more unforgivable.

 

Confession of Murder Blu-ray Review

     Actors: Jung Jae-young, Jo Eun-ji, Jang Gwang Choi Won-young

Director: Jeong Byeong-gil

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

Language: Korean

Subtitles: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: Well Go USA

Release Date: April 15, 2014

Run Time: 121 minutes

        Somewhere in here was the potential for a really good movie, but thanks to an uneven filmmaking that bounces between realism and comically cartoonish action it becomes difficult to feel much gravity in the film’s final twists. An action film which embellishes human abilities can be easily forgiven, but Confession of a Murder is not an action film despite a few high octane moments. This is more of a suspense film, hinging all of the action on the mystery at the center of the narrative. The extreme coincidences tying all of the film’s melodrama together requires suspension of disbelief enough, leaving no room for acceptance of the slapstick style of action contained in one of the film’s largest chase sequences.

 

Trap for Cinderella DVD Review

     Actors: Aneurin Barnard, Tuppence Middleton

Director: Iain Softley

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

DVD Release Date: April 15, 2014

Run Time: 100 minutes

 

 

        There are enough moments in Trap for Cinderella that are good enough to make a majority of the film feel like wasted potential, and enough moments of contrived silliness to make the viewing experience feel like a waste of time. For one thing, there are far too many scenes which feel manufactured for the simple goal of showing Tuppence Middleton’s exposed breasts as often as possible. The fact that the lead actress is nude nearly as many scenes as she is clothed only highlights how failed the eroticism of Trap for Cinderella is, which is disappointing considering how little else there is to offer within the narrative.

 

Everyday DVD Review

     Actors: Shirley Henderson, John Simm

Director: Michael Winterbottom

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

DVD Release Date: April 8, 2014

Run Time: 90 minutes

 

 

        Filmmaker Michael Winterbottom is not afraid to try new methods in his filmmaking process, even when they often work better in theory than in practice. Whether jumping back and forth from mainstream Hollywood cinema to small independents, narrative features to documentaries, or simply making a movie that controversially utilizes un-simulated sex scenes from his lead actors, Winterbottom has been a fearless filmmaker willing to take chances. Everyday is built upon yet another unique method of filmmaking, which once again proves far more interesting than the end result.

 

Wrong Cops DVD Review

     Actors: Mark Burnham, Eric Judor

Director: Quentin Dupieux

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

DVD Release Date: April 15, 2014

Run Time: 82 minutes

 

 

        Wrong Cops is the latest feature from Quentin Dupieux, following his cult hit Rubber in 2010, and the similarly titled Wrong from 2012. Despite the similarities in titles, Wrong Cops is not a sequel to Wrong, despite a brief cameo from Dolph Springer (Jack Plotnick) and his dog. This new sub-genre of extreme comedic irreverence in independent films is carried out with confidence by writer/director Dupieux. These films feel like a marriage between David Lynch and Jared Hess, what might happen if the random carnage and dreamlike narrative were to take place in a world of awkward character actors.

 

Bastards DVD Review

     Actors: Vincent Lindon, Chiara Mastroianni

Director: Claire Denis

Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

DVD Release Date: April 8, 2014

Run Time: 100 minutes

 

 

        Bastards captures the essence of film noir in structure and style, while removing all elements of entertainment and fun from the experience. It replaces the B-film elements of the sub-genre with brutal melodrama, which makes the discombobulated narrative far less of a spectacle and more of a test in endurance. There is far too little spectacle to make the dark elements of the film worthwhile, though this is less of an issue than the overpowering ugliness in the exploitation of the film’s main message. Real life issues are treated as plot development, making the movie no more profound than it is enjoyable, and leaves the viewer feeling abused without cause.