Halloween '08 Edition A Rundown of New Genre Offerings Plus: disney's SLEEPING BEAUTY in HD
With Halloween looming later this week, I thought I’d take the
opportunity to recap our coverage of new genre outings on DVD and
Blu-Ray -- these have been compiled below for your reading pleasure,
and hopefully will result in some chilling viewing experiences for you
and yours as we hit October 31st.
Before we get to that, it’s worth noting again that Blu-Ray
enthusiasts have had good reason to celebrate over the last few weeks
thanks to sterling releases like “The Godfather Trilogy,” a
smattering of vintage James Bond adventures and the four-disc
“Omen Collection” box-set.
Now Disney has thrown another log onto the fire with their first “classic” animated release in high-definition -- SLEEPING BEAUTY (***, 75 mins., 1959, G),
the studio’s gorgeous Cinemascope fairy tale that was last seen
on disc in an excellent 2003 DVD that’s been out of print for a
little while now.
The double-disc Blu-Ray package offers a fully restored, AVC-encoded
transfer with a newly “enhanced” DTS Master Audio
soundtrack, both of which are hugely satisfying. The meticulously
cleaned up transfer offers eye popping visuals and enables viewers at
home to experience the majesty of the film’s theatrical
dimensions and scope really for the first time; even prior DVD
renditions, which looked fine for their time, fail to compare to the
depth and clarity of the high-definition Blu-Ray image. The audio end
has been likewise punched up a bit, though purists may want to stick to
the “restored” original theatrical soundtrack, which has
also been preserved here.
Though Disney is quick to bill this release of “Sleeping
Beauty” as its first deluxe “Platinum” package, the
prior DVD featured a good array of supplements, most of which have been
retained here (with the particular exception of a featurette on the
music with Leonard Maltin and the original disc’s commentary
track). These include behind-the-scenes featurettes on the
movie’s production and legacy as a unique entry in the Disney
canon (it’s still a bit of a cold fish story-wise, just a
spectacular looking one), with the added benefit of fresh extras
including an alternate opening (with a discarded song, newly recorded
for this disc), deleted songs, and additional games for the little
ones. A new commentary track is particularly engaging, offering
comments from Pixar’s John Lasseter and Leonard Maltin, while a
full run of art galleries rounds out the package. Buffs will also note
the inclusion of a Disney Cinemascope short, “Grand
Canyon,” presented in HD and with DTS Master Audio sound on Disc
1.
In all this is an obvious must-have release for Disney aficionados and
a fantastic start to their Blu-Ray roster of classic animated films
(“Pinocchio” is slated to follow next March). The Blu-Ray
set is also bundled together with a fold-out slipcover and a copy of
the standard-definition DVD as well.
Coming from Disney this week, meanwhile, on both DVD and Blu-Ray is TINKER BELL (78 mins., 2008; G),an
all-new direct-to-video adventure starring Peter Pan’s fairy
cohort. Tink talks for the first time in this computer-generated
offering that follows our heroine as a young fairy-in-training in a
colorful, and quite charmingly designed, Disney direct-to-video effort.
Having watched many of the studio’s small-screen affairs over the
years fare from decent to poor to surprisingly okay, I think it’s
safe to say that “Tinker Bell” is easily one of the
studio’s finest efforts: kids will enjoy the story, while adults
ought to be enchanted by the dazzling colors and satisfying animation,
which looks spectacular in high-definition on Blu-Ray.
Joel McNeely’s pleasant score is another plus, while a variety of
celebs voice the various characters Tink encounters in her journey
(from Lucy Liu to America Ferrara and Anjelica Huston). It makes for an
entertaining family fantasy that doesn’t overstay its welcome at
78 minutes, and Disney seems to be quite confident of its success since
a sequel is already promised for 2009.
Special features on both platforms include 10 minutes of deleted
scenes, a Making Of featurette, several interactive games, a dynamic
16:9 (1.85) transfer on DVD and AVC-encoded Blu-Ray presentation, plus
5.1 Dolby Digital sound (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-Ray side). Halloween '09 Blu-Ray and DVD Treats
DEAD SPACE: DOWNFALL (74 mins., 2008, Not Rated; Anchor Bay):
Gory tie-in to the new Electronic Arts video game is a mismash
sci-fi/horror saga that “borrows” (or rips off) liberally
from “Event Horizon” and “Aliens” as it spins a
tale of an alien artifact that turns a spacecraft into a living hell
with zombies, mutants, and other creatures running amok. Film
Roman’s animation is okay and horror-crazed teenagers might
gravitate towards the violence and action, but the story is pedestrian
and all of it feels like leftovers from the predecessors it rips off.
Anchor Bay’s Blu-Ray and DVD editions sport a deleted scene,
trailer, photo gallery, isolated soundtrack (spotlighting Seth
Podowitz’s score), and a portable digital copy of the movie,
along with highly effective 16:9 (1.85) and VC-1 encoded (Blu-Ray)
transfers. A boisterous Dolby TrueHD soundtrack adorns the BD platter
while standard Dolby Digital 5.1 will suffice for standard-definition
viewers.
THE OMEN COLLECTION (Fox):
Four-disc, high-definition box-set sports the original chronicles of
Damien Thorn, aka the Anti-Christ, as well as John Moore’s okay
2006 remake (at least it’s a better inclusion than the horrid TV
movie “Omen IV: The Awakening,” which thankfully has been
left out of this anthology).
In spite of its flaws, the original OMEN (***, 111 mins., 1976, R; Fox)
and its sequels form a trilogy that’s a rarity in the horror
genre: glossy “A-list” studio productions with outstanding
Jerry Goldsmith scores, effective Panavision cinematography, and a
compelling story line that runs through all three pictures. The pay off
may not be worth the wait, and some narrative opportunities are fumbled
in the sequels, but with Goldsmith’s symphony of horror carrying
the viewer through effortlessly, it’s still an annual viewing
experience for this critic around this time of year.
Concerning director Richard Donner’s 1976 original, it's still
hard to believe Gregory Peck and Lee Remick attached themselves to such
a piece of pulp-horror nonsense, but the picture is so well-made --
expertly directed by Donner, atmospherically shot by Gilbert Taylor --
that it remains something of a genre favorite, if not a classic. The
widescreen images and use of music are quite unsettling, even if the
film's satanic-oriented plot has been copied so often by now that the
picture has lost some of its original punch. Goldsmith's soundtrack,
which certainly established itself as a bona-fide masterpiece of genre
music, does wonders for the film, which moves at a steady pace,
accentuating psychological horror almost as much as it does the
outright apocalyptic elements in David Seltzer's screenplay.
The AVC-encoded HD transfer in Fox’s Blu-Ray disc (the only of
the original "Omen" films to get a standalone release outside the
box-set) is superb, adding a layer of sharpness and clarity to the
cinematography we haven’t seen since its original theatrical
release. Some grain remains, and the print isn’t blemish-free,
but it’s certainly a huge upgrade on the standard-definition
release and fans will appreciate the additional detail only the Blu-Ray
affords. On the audio side, the DTS Master Audio track is comprised of
the remixed 5.1 track from the last DVD release, and sounds superior to
the original mono mix, which is also included here for purists.
For extras, Fox has wisely culled together all the extras from a number
of prior DVD editions, sweetening the pot by including a new commentary
from Nick Redman, Lem Dobbs and Jeff Bond, and restoring Jerry
Goldsmith’s isolated score in 5.1 along the way (note that the
late '90s laserdisc also offered a stereophonic isolated score track as
well, though the Blu-Ray's 5.1 mix comes from superior elements,
producer Mike Matessino tells me).
Redman, Dobbs and Bond offer an interesting account of the film’s
production, with plenty of attention given to Goldsmith’s
Oscar-winning score and how it functions so brilliantly in the movie.
Two other commentaries have been reprieved from earlier DVDs, including
a 2006 talk with Richard Donner and screenwriter (and, obviously,
“Omen” fan) Brian Helgeland, as well as an earlier (and
often hilarious) discussion with Donner and editor Stuart Baird. Donner
and Helgeland’s talk covers some of the same terrain as the
Baird-Donner commentary, though it’s amusing how Donner has some
variations on the same anecdotes he discussed previously (then again,
the movie WAS produced over 30 years ago!). While all three tracks will
be of interest for fans, the Donner-Baird discussion is the most
consistently engaging of the bunch, while more production detail is
relayed in the Redman-moderated 2008 track, which is exclusive to the
Blu-Ray platter.
Additional extras include the hugely entertaining, feature-length AMC
documentary “The Omen Legacy,” which Image released in its
own DVD back in 2001 (with a vintage “Damien: Omen II”
featurette still exclusive to that disc), plus Donner’s
introductions from preceding releases, a “Bonus View”
picture-in-picture track mainly comprised of rehashed interviews from
other featurettes and “The Omen Legacy,” and a brief talk
with filmmaker Wes Craven discussing his fondness for the picture.
Also on-hand is the 45-minute “666: The Omen Revealed”
documentary, plus lengthy interviews with Jerry Goldsmith and David
Seltzer, along with a deleted scene that was added to the 2006 DVD
platter. That sequence -- showing Mrs. Blaylock’s original demise
-- is presented in rough workprint form and offers commentary by Donner
and Baird as well.
Goldsmith’s
interview segments include the composer’s views on how Donner
wanted the sequence where Damien panics outside the church to echo the
throbbing, primal sound of John Williams's "Jaws" theme; about winning
his Oscar (calling himself "familiar with losing"); how his wife Carol
came to sang "The Piper Dreams," and about working within the confines
of the film's stringent budget. In fact, the producers coughed up an
additional $25,000 to hire Goldsmith at the time, since he was
initially outside the realm of the picture’s then-miniscule
studio budget! (The film cost $2 million without the composer's
services).
During the other documentary materials, it’s also interesting to
hear how Donner stripped a good deal of the overtly horrific elements
out of the picture (he and Baird talk about how they cut out Billie
Whitelaw's extended fight with Gregory Peck from the final cut because
it was too excessive), and one of the biggest revelations comes when
they talk about the movie's original ending -- where Peck, Remick, and
Damien are dead, ending the film on an ambiguous note and asking the
audience to question if Peck wasn't simply insane.
Alan Ladd, Jr. (who seemed to add a good deal of his own input into
now-classic '70s films like this and a little movie that followed
called "Star Wars"), then-bigwig at Fox, asked Donner if Damien
couldn't be alive at the end of the movie, and the filmmakers agreed to
shoot the now-famous final sequence, where the demonic little tyke
smiles at the camera while holding the President's hand at his adopted
parents' funeral. The disparity between Donner wanting the film to be a
psychological thriller and Seltzer’s original intent of creating
a supernatural horror movie comes through quite clearly here, both in
the finished product and the various extras housed on this essential
Blu-Ray release.
Both DAMIEN OMEN II (**½, 107 mins., 1978, R) and THE FINAL CONFLICT (**½, 108 mins., 1981, R)
continued to chart Damien’s apocalyptic rise, first as a young
teen unaware initially of his heritage, and later -- as portrayed by
Sam Neill in “The Final Conflict” -- a political prodigy
newly appointed U.S. ambassador to England.
The AVC-encoded transfers on the sequels are superior to “The
Omen” only in that the elements appear to be in healthier
condition; “The Final Conflict” in particular looks
exceptionally good here. As with before, DTS Master Audio sound is the
default listening option, offering a pleasing, if not quite enveloping,
sound stage for Goldsmith’s marvelous soundtracks, which only
improve as the series progresses in their thematic depth and dramatic
effectiveness. Each film also offers previously-available commentary
tracks (from producer Harvey Bernhard on “Damien” and
director Graham Baker on “The Final Conflict”) plus
trailers.
Bernhard’s
commentary on the 1978 sequel “Damien: Omen II” does go
into some detail about the sequel’s woes, including the early
firing of Mike Hodges -- whom the producer blames for taking too much
time filming establishing shots -- and the general problems involving
the rather pedestrian screenplay of the first “Omen”
follow-up.
“Damien” isn’t a bad movie by any means, but it is a
disappointing one considering the potential of the project.
Damien’s growth and understanding of his demonic background could
have made for a richly dramatic and eerie tale, but the resulting film
is rather simplistic and by-the-numbers, playing out like a rehash of
its predecessor. There are still many elements about the movie that are
worth recommending: Goldsmith’s score, Gil Taylor and Bill
Butler’s cinematography, and several crackerjack death sequences
(gotta love Lew Ayres’ demise!) make the movie entertaining in
spite of its near constant predictability.
Though “The Omen” was initially slated to chart
Damien’s life in four installments (note Leo McKern’s line
about the “four faces” of the Anti-Christ early in
“Omen II”), declining box-office revenues on “Damien:
Omen II” cut the series down to a trilogy, which was concluded in
1981's “The Final Conflict.”
Regarded by most viewers as the weakest entry of the three films,
“The Final Conflict” is a problematic movie still worthy of
re-evaluation: Sam Neill’s performance as the adult Thorn, the
vivid photography of Phil Meheux and Robert Paynter, and another
outstanding Goldsmith score -- for many his finest of the series and
one of his strongest of the 1980s -- make the finale an interesting
variant on its predecessors. There’s more of a mature,
apocalyptic tone to the film, and several marvelous moments -- namely,
the terrific, wordless opening, underscored only with Goldsmith’s
accompaniment -- help to compensate for the tepid, anti-climactic
finale, which works only because of the music...and for Damien meeting
his demise at long last.
Director Graham Baker’s DVD commentary is, at best, weak -- Baker
has little to say about the movie and the result is one of the least
satisfying and sporadic commentaries I’ve ever heard on DVD. (If
you’re looking for more substantial supplements on the sequels,
you can find them in “The Omen Legacy” documentary, which
includes a wealth of interviews and production detail on the entire
series).
Fox has rounded out the set with a reprisal of the THE OMEN (**½, 110 mins., 2006, R) remake’s previously available Blu-Ray disc.
This straightforward re-do from director John Moore (“Behind
Enemy Lines”) met with moderate box-office results in June of
2006. Here, Liev Schrieber and Julia Stiles are the not-so fun couple
who find out too late that their child Damien isn’t really their
son and really IS the Anti-Christ.
I had mixed feelings while watching the 2006 “Omen.” On the
one hand, the film is reasonably well-produced and Moore adds a few
visual twists (namely, a number of nightmarish dream sequences) that
truly surprise since they’re unexpected. Sadly, the film
otherwise is so bland, banging all the same notes as the original but
with less style and inferior production values. Whatever deviations are
made from David Seltzer’s original script (an additional death
sequence at the beginning; less of a reliance on biblical prophecy) are
also ill-advised and Stiles seems far too young to carry off her part.
The Blu-Ray edition contains a commentary track, a few extended scenes
and an alternate ending that’s not a whole lot different than
what ended up in the final cut. Of the few Making Of featurettes,
there’s a fairly lengthy look at Marco Beltrami’s music,
while the MPEG-2 transfer is fine and DTS Master Audio sound rounds out
the disc.
Overall, Beltrami’s score sums up the whole movie: it’s
perfectly serviceable, but it doesn’t hold a candle to
Goldsmith’s original ‘76 soundtrack, primarily because
there’s no memorable thematic material in it. The rest of the new
“Omen” basically conveys a similar sentiment --
there’s nothing “wrong” with the film per se, but why
watch a John Moore version of this story when you can see Richard
Donner’s rendition...and with Gregory Peck and Lee Remick in
place of Schrieber and Stiles. As I mentioned before, though, at least
it’s superior to “The Omen IV”!
Overall, this is a terrific Blu-Ray box-set marred only by its
packaging: the feeble cardboard box is awfully slender to house a
four-disc release like this, with the individual discs being attached
-- barely -- by a single sticky “spindle holder” on the
center of each pane. In other words, there’s no hard casing here
at all, making this a perfect candidate for being crushed en route to
your home. Needless to say a release of this caliber deserves better. POLTERGEIST (****, 114 mins., 1982, PG; Warner): Brilliantly
scored by Jerry Goldsmith, memorably shot by Matthew F. Leonetti and
backed by a script -- credited to Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais and
Mark Victor -- that features an identifiable, likeable family at its
core, "Poltergeist" has lost little of its appeal since its original 1982 release.
This Spielberg-produced, Tobe Hooper “directed” tale of a
suburban family (father Craig T. Nelson, mom JoBeth Williams, and kids
Heather O’Rourke, Oliver Robbins and Dominique Dunne) haunted by
spirits in their California home has its “shock” moments,
but also an effective depiction of an otherworldly “other
side” that few supernatural films have so successfully evoked --
even with all the technical advancements that have occurred in genre
films since its original release. The story, a variant on the old
“Twilight Zone” episode “Little Girl Lost,” has
moments of humor and warmth interspersed at various points, as well as
suspense and “roller coaster” like thrills provided by
superb ILM special effects and a pace that never flags throughout its
114-minute running time. At its core, though, are the natural
performances of Nelson, Williams, and the young cast members, who come
off as real people and make you care about their plight throughout.
After being available only in a weak 1998 DVD from MGM, Warner Home
Video issued a 25th Anniversary Edition last year with remastered
visuals. Regrettably, while Warner’s restored and remastered new
Blu-Ray platter does boast a vivid new HD transfer (VC-1 encoded) with
eye-popping colors and an enveloping Dolby TrueHD soundtrack that
provides an effective soundstage for Goldsmith’s classic score,
the disc -- like its standard-def predecessor -- comes up empty when it
comes to meaningful extras.
Shockingly, not even the trailer is included here -- in fact,
there’s nothing at all related to the movie itself in the entire
package. No Making Of featurette (remember the vintage 1982 segment,
seen on TCM and the 1994 laserdisc, that showed Spielberg instructing
actors and establishing camera angles while credited director Hooper
stood by, silently, on the sidelines?), no discussion about its
production...the lone supplement is a simplistic, two-part featurette
on real-life paranormal investigators that’s nowhere near as
entertaining as your average “Ghost Hunters” episode on the
Sci-Fi Channel.
All of this is perhaps unsurprising -- the issue over the creative
involvement of writer-producer Spielberg and the debated contributions
of Hooper has been hotly contested even prior to the film’s
theatrical release in June of 1982 (check Aint It Cool News for a 2007
interview with Zelda “Tangina” Rubinstein, who implies that
Tobe Hooper was basically under the influence and states that Spielberg
handled directing chores on all six days of her shooting).
Yet after all this time, it’s disappointing Warner couldn’t
have assembled a package that danced around the sensitive elements and
given us as thorough a history of the film’s production as
possible -- along with some deleted scenes and, at the least, its
original advertising materials. Considering the studio’s
outstanding track record with special editions, you'd have to assume
that long-standing "controversy" between Spielberg and Hooper was
undoubtedly the reason for this disc's lack of content. And it's a
shame, because “Poltergeist” -- still a perfect mix of
thrills, chills, humor, and warm, likeable characters a quarter-century
after its debut -- deserves more.
That said, the movie has never looked nor sounded better, and Warner
has housed the disc in another of their terrific “Digipack”
hard-bound book cases featuring color stills and production notes.
It’s a nice looking package and a dynamic presentation of the
movie that, even in spite of its lack of extras, should satisfy all
“Poltergeist” fans.
CARRIE (***, 98 mins., 1976, R; MGM/Fox):
Brian DePalma's visceral take on Stephen King's novel is
well-remembered for its blood-bath climax, as well as its interesting
cast of young, future stars, from Sissy Spacek to John Travolta. As a
movie, “Carrie” relies heavily on big shock moments,
chronicling how a tortured teen with ESP (and a religious fanatic mom
played by Piper Laurie) comes to take revenge on her classmates'
repugnant behavior. Nancy Allen, Amy Irving, and William Katt are among
the faces you'll spot in the terrific ensemble, which was assembled
concurrently with the casting call for "Star Wars"! Like a lot of
DePalma's early work, there are countless Hitchcock homages in both the
movie and Pino Donaggio's score, but the movie is still one of the
filmmaker's better films all around. “Carrie” set the
standard for countless genre "revenge" films that followed, and it
still poignantly taps into timeless themes of teenage alienation and
acceptance, the gore notwithstanding.
MGM’s Blu-Ray edition of “Carrie” resembles an early
format release with its MPEG-2 encoded transfer and lack of extras save
for a trailer. The single-layer 25gb platter also includes a decent DTS
Master Audio soundtrack, and while the transfer is attractive enough
(particularly given the movie’s soft focus photography and the
age of the source elements), it’s a disappointment that the
documentaries produced for the 2001 DVD Special Edition weren’t
retained here.
THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (**½, 119 mins., 1979, R; MGM/Fox):
Never regarded as a classic, even of the cult variety, the original
“Amityville Horror” nevertheless became one of the biggest
independent hits of all-time. Produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff’s
American-International Pictures, the pulpy adaptation of Jay
Anson’s supposed “true story” of the infamous haunted
house provides plenty of cheap thrills and a few unintentional yucks to
go along with it.
James Brolin and Margot Kidder essay George and Kathy Lutz, who move
into the quiet Long Island community of Amityville. Unbeknownst to
them, their new home was previously occupied by a family that was slain
by their teenage son in a series of brutal shootings. Whether or not
the teenager was driven mad by the house (or something in it), the
Lutzes soon find themselves being barraged by a variety of haunted
house cliches: slime flowing out of toilets, glowing eyes in the
upstairs bedroom, invisible play pals of their young children telling
them secrets, and George being taken over by some kind of entity from
another dimension. Even a local priest (Rod Steiger) fails to clean the
house of its inherent evil after giving it the old Father Merrin try.
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg, “The Amityville Horror” is
standard but competent ‘late 70s horror. The performances are
solid but the movie has that “plastic” kind of look so many
films of its era do. It’s like watching an “Eight Is
Enough” episode crossed with “The Exorcist.” More
effective is Lalo Schifrin’s score, which unfortunately was
copied in so many other genre films (and used in even more trailers)
that it’s then-unique mix of child chorus and creepy orchestral
arrangements also seems well-worn.
MGM’s Blu-Ray edition of “The Amityville Horror,”
like “Carrie” above, contains no special features of any
kind -- a disappointment given that the 2005 Special Edition DVD of the
film offered documentaries, a commentary from paranormal expert Dr.
Hans Holzer, and additional History Channel specials on the
“Amityville” house itself. All of these extras have been
excised from the single-layer 25gb Blu-Ray release in favor of a
decent, but not spectacular, AVC-encoded transfer of the movie with DTS
Master Audio sound. Visually there’s more depth to the picture
than the prior DVD, but the film’s plastic cinematography can
only be enhanced so much, while the sound is equally modest in its
effectiveness.
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (****, 105 mins., 1974, PG; Fox):
Mel Brooks’ classic comedy hits Blu-Ray in a marvelous release
from Fox that, fortunately, doesn’t cut any corners when it comes
to special features. The movie itself remains a marvelous
entertainment, a spoof of and homage to the Universal Golden Age
monster efforts, with pitch-perfect performances from Gene Wilder,
Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr, Madeline Kahn
and Kenneth Mars. Fox’s 50gb Blu-Ray edition includes extras
cobbled together from prior releases plus some new goodies, from
Brooks’ commentary track to a Making Of documentary and trivia
track, interviews with John Morris and vintage conversations with
Feldman, Leachman and others, plus outtakes, deleted scenes, photo
galleries, Morris' isolated score and other extras. The AVC encoded B&W transfer is
excellent and the DTS Master Audio sound just potent enough in doing
justice to Morris’ beautiful, haunting original score.
THE HAPPENING (*½, 90 mins., 2008, R; Fox):
Unintentionally funny, mind-blowingly static “apocalyptic
thriller” from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan fails on the
level of serious drama but works if you view it as a competition
between stars Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel as to who gives the
worse performance.
A PG-rated story “jacked up” to R-rated proportions by its
studio for the sake of garnering additional box-office dollars,
“The Happening” starts off with New York City residents
killing themselves, and each other, with no rhyme or reason. Thinking
that terrorists have dumped a chemical into the air causing the
tragedies, Philadelphia high school teacher Wahlberg (really?) finds
wife Deschanel and tries to get out of the city. There they attempt to
navigate with other survivors in a rural landscape where nothing is
certain -- except for the hot-dog munching guy they meet who tells them
plants are behind it all. And no, I’m not kidding!
Any movie that includes a scene where Mark Wahlberg apologies to a
plant and asks its permission to “go to the bathroom” is
ripe for ribbing, and “The Happening” is a total disaster
from the second it starts. Shyamalan’s penchant for minimalist
performances only enhances the comedy inherent in the picture’s
completely awkward delivery, depicted no more effectively than in the
performances of Wahlberg and Deschanel.
In fact, the typically cute and appealing Deschanel is so awful here
that you’d think she was in an Ed Wood movie -- her reactions are
so at odds with what’s going on that you basically feel her
performance was shaped by the director screaming “Zooey,
laugh!” “Zooey, act scared!” “Zooey,
cry!” in a completely random fashion. Certainly the way in which
the film is edited does little to dispel that notion.
No more effective is Wahlberg in the least convincing performance by an
actor in the role of an educator you are ever likely to see. Like
Deschanel, Wahlberg’s awkward facial expressions and reaction
shots almost seem like they’re better suited to an episode of
“Mr. Belvedere” than a drama supposedly about the end of
the world.
“The Happening” is total and complete misfire on every conceivable level, but thankfully it’s so...well...wrong,
for lack of a better term, that it crosses the threshold from the realm
of merely boring (like “Lady in the Water”) into
unintentional yuck territory. If you’re in the mood and have
enough friends over to join in the fun, this is certainly one of the
livelier films Shyamalan has made -- even if it’s for all the
wrong reasons.
Fox’s Blu-Ray disc includes a solid, but not spectacular,
AVC-encoded transfer with 5.1 DTS Master Audio sound. Ample extras
include a wealth of deleted scenes with Shyamalan introductions, Making
Of featurettes, a gag reel (and I thought the whole movie was a gag
reel!) and a digital copy of the movie for portable media players.
SWEENEY TODD (***½, 116 mins., 2007, R; Dreamworks):
Finally out on Blu-Ray domestically, this spellbinding adaptation of
the Stephen Sondheim musical from director Tim Burton is highly
entertaining, if a bit more graphic and less humorous than its source
material.
Johnny
Depp is superb as the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, who returns to his
grimy London home to seek vengeance on the magistrate (Alan Rickman)
who imprisoned him, taking his wife and young daughter in the process.
Helena Bonham Carter is the unhinged Mrs. Lovett, whose floundering pie
shop proves to give Todd -- the former Benjamin Barker -- a
“unique” means of disposing of those who stand in his way.
With a few musical exceptions (the opening and closing “Ballad of
Sweeney Todd” has been reduced to an orchestral overture), the
film is faithful to the show and stylishly assembled with the creative
input of Burton’s creative team (cinematographer Dariusz Wolski,
production designer Dante Ferretti, costume designer Colleen Atwood).
Depp’s singing voice matches the intensity of his performance,
and he’s well complimented by Bonham Carter, even if her
performance is more psychotic than prior stage renderings by Angela
Lansbury among others. The supporting cast is likewise exceptional,
with Rickman turning in strong work as the villainous Judge, Timothy
Spall as his cohort, and Sacha Baron Cohen in a highly amusing turn as
the fraudulent hairdresser Adolfo Pirelli.
The subject matter is perfect for Burton’s cinematic
sensibilities, though it’s somewhat surprising that the
show’s black humor has been toned down while the violence and
gore have been raised up several notches. Some of the latter is due to
the very nature of the cinematic medium, yet I couldn’t help but
think a less graphic interpretation wouldn’t have served the
picture more effectively, as the gore can be off-putting to mainstream
audiences (and likely might’ve been the reason for the
film’s somewhat disappointing box-office in-take).
That said, “Sweeney Todd” is still a symphony of great
filmmaking and one of the finest cinematic musicals to come our way in
many years.
Dreamworks’ Blu-Ray disc, distributed by Paramount, has been
eagerly awaited by the movie’s fans since its release last year
and does not disappoint. The VC-1 encoded transfer is superb and the
Dolby TrueHD is forceful when called upon. Extras (in HD) are ample,
including a number of featurettes examining the production from its
origins, with copious interviews with Sondheim, Burton, and the stars
on-hand. The trailer and a look at the actual historical events that
formed the basis for the Todd legend round out the package.
Fans should note that Warner Home Video issued the film on Blu-Ray
overseas last spring in a nearly identical package, save for a pair of
supplements (Depp & Burton “Moviefone Unscripted” and
the original trailer) which are exclusive to the U.S. Blu-Ray platter.
HALLOWEEN (**, 121 mins., 2007, Unrated; Dimension/Genius): Rob
Zombie’s graphic “reworking” of John
Carpenter’s seminal 1978 horror classic is a little better than
the franchise’s last few sequels, though that’s faint
praise given how low the series has fallen since the days of Donald
Pleasance and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Zombie here tries to tap into the psychological, white-trash origins of
masked killer Michael Myers, who as a kid enjoyed torturing animals
before slaying most of his family. As you might expect, those
revelations aren’t especially shocking, the film not especially
scary, and the performances all just kind of bland (even Malcolm
McDowell’s Doc Loomis seems muted, lacking the unhinged vivacity
of Pleasance’s performance). Tyler Bates’ score reuses John
Carpenter’s classic theme but for the most part
“Halloween” 2007 shows how more is less, especially when
compared to the relative subtlety of the original.
Dimension’s double-disc Blu-Ray edition of Zombie’s
“Halloween” includes a four-plus hour (!) documentary on
the production of the film by the director, comprising all of the
second platter. The film itself is presented in its 121-minute Unrated
cut with loads of extras including deleted scenes, an alternate ending,
the trailer, interviews, screen tests, and additional Blu-Ray Live
functions. The 1080p transfer is excellent, as is the Dolby TrueHD
audio.
DIARY OF THE DEAD (**½, 96 mins., 2007, R; Dimension/Genius):
George Romero’s latest attempt at resurrecting his zombie
franchise is an interesting, if minor, retelling of his original tale,
this time capturing the horrific rise of the undead through the lens of
college students with a camera. As usual, social commentary is thrown
into the mix, though despite the thoughtfulness (relatively speaking)
of “Diary of the Dead,” the film’s thrills and
novelty factor aren’t exactly fresh these days. Genius’
Blu-Ray edition offers a fine 1080p transfer with Dolby TrueHD audio
and extras including commentary from Romero, a feature-length doc on
the film’s production, outtakes and other goodies.
ZOMBIE STRIPPERS (*½, 94 mins., 2008, Unrated; Sony):
Witless comedy from writer-director Jay Lee finds Jenna Jameson as a
stripper (talk about typecasting!) who turns into a zombie. Rather than
close his club down, though, owner Robert Englund opts to keep his
ghoulish attraction going...and going! A few laughs can’t
compensate for a threadbare production with brainless gags and not
really enough gore to satisfy hard-core horror fanatics. Sony’s
Unrated Blu-Ray disc includes a format-exclusive trivia track and gory
scenes not shown in theaters (did this movie actually play in
theaters?) plus behind-the-scenes featurettes, other deleted scenes and
commentary with the cast and director.
BEETLEJUICE (***, 92 mins., 1988, PG; Warner):
No-frills Blu-Ray edition of Tim Burton’s 1988 afterlife comedy
offers up a fine VC-1 encoded transfer, deftly preserving the
film’s colorful visuals and even odder characters, and a robust
-- if not always well-utilized -- Dolby TrueHD soundtrack, featuring a
boisterous and memorable Danny Elfman score. Though billed as a 20th
Anniversary release, the disc is short on any meaningful extras, though
Elfman’s isolated score has been retained (contrary to its
omission on the packaging) as a listening option. Three episodes of the
“Beetlejuice” animated cartoon are also on-hand, plus the
trailer and a soundtrack sampler CD featuring a few cuts of
Elfman’s score and Harry Belafonte’s “Banana Boat
Song.” NEXT
TIME: JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH in 3D! Until
then, don't
forget
to drop in
on the official Aisle Seat Message
Boards, check
out the Aisle
Seat Blog, and
direct
any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone!
Copyright 1997-2008 All Reviews, Site and Design by Andre
Dursin