Year: 2009
Running Time: 89 Minutes
Rated: PG-13
SRP: $ 39.95
Studio(s): Disney Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Release Date: January 25, 2009

Film/Feature: C
If you haven’t had enough science fiction films about human-like cyborgs, then you may room for Surrogates, a Jonathan Mostow-directed film that’s based on the 2005 Top Shelf comic by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele. In a not-too-distant future, humans have the ability to live life through a surrogate robot/cyborg model of themselves. The surrogates are idealized versions of humans, and by living life through a remote control life-sized action figure there is less crime, no racism, and life is seemingly lived better. That is until the story begins and FBI Agent Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) arrive on the scene of a murder scene. A surrogate turns up terminated and when it’s found out that it is a college boy named Jerod Canter was in control they discover his human body was terminated simultaneously. Canter is the son of Dr. Lionel Canter (James Cromwell), the man who originally created surrogate technology.

The investigation turns to Greer and his partner Jennifer Peters (Radha Mitchell) who follow a lead to the Prophet (Ving Rhames) leading a cult known as the Dreads, who choose to live a surrogate-free lifestyle and clue them in on a weapon that was used to carry out the murders. When Greer gets too close to the truth, he is nearly zapped by the weapon. He is temporarily discharged by his superiors and to take some time off and spends the rest of the film up out of his surrogate chair to reconnect with his wife, Maggie (Rosamund Pike), who is all too comfortable in her virtual world to go back to what she had with Tom. When it seems like he’s lost her to her virtual life, he pursues his investigation and discovers a plot to rid the world of all surrogates but also those humans connected to them.

I realize that Surrogates is about a robot world replacing live flesh, but that does not mean humans should act like robots as well. Willis shows no charisma or everyman charm he normally brings with him. He plays the tormented soul just fine, but not much else. The idea behind Surrogates are that they allow people to play idealized versions of themselves, how they want to be known, and frankly, there’s not much difference between Surrogate Tom Greer and his human counterpart. Willis’ role is the focal point and he doesn’t give much reason or hope for a non-surrogate world. In turn, this road block helps make The Surrogates a run-of-the-mill science fiction thriller that borrows from films like A.I., The Matrix, iRobot, but falls short of giving us something truly unique.

With its short run time (which is counter productive in this genre), there’s not enough here to connect to or be sold that this world could exist, never-mind being asked w In fact, I’d sooner warm up to the idea of a Surrogates TV show instead of a film so that the ideas in this story could be given some proper pacing and seasoning. Surrogates and the idealistic visions of their original purpose were not without good intentions but somewhere along the way their execution fell flat, and that’s exactly the way I’d describe the film as well.

Video: A–
The Surrogates blu-ray gets a strong1080p AVC-encoded transfer in 2.40:1 aspect ratio. and it’s a fine representation of what the film was intending to do. There’s a subtle difference in skintones between humans and surrogates. Give credit to the extras playing surrogates like over-botoxed models, but the makeup crews must be given their props as well as those slight differences help distinguish most of who are surrogates and who are humans. It’s that fine attention to detail that’s on display here as well as the full range of colors whether it’s the gritty and gray industrial wasteland where the anti-surrogates live. Their barracks area looks like a concrete jungle that’s been bombed repeatedly. Then in the nightlife which is all lit in neon colors and backlit sign, the screen is filled with savory hues. Mostow and company shot some scenes in a soft glow purposely and do not reflect any visual defects or digital artifacts that would mar the overall visual experience.

Audio: A
There are enough shootouts and chase scenes to make the 5.1 English DTS-HD Master Audio track show its strength. Lots of directional movement and subwoofer activity will please the audiophiles, and the dialogue sounds superb even during the story’s most quiet moments. The balance can sound and at times a bit too much oomph, but technically, Surrogates has nothing to be ashamed of. Other audio selections include: French, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks and subtitles are available in English SDH, French and Spanish.

Extras: C+
Audio Commentary by Director Jonathan Mostow features a calm and almost soothing dialogue, that is a scene specific track delving into the subtext of the film. I believe that Mostow does a fine job filling in what the audience was asked to fill in for themselves if they were paying attention. He calls attention to small details in the art production and points out where additional shooting was needed because the original cut left much for the audience to piece together. Even though he’s by himself, Mostow is concise, knowledgeable and is not dry, nor is he boring. He’s definitely proud of the effort that was put forth and he expresses the enthusiasm for the material well, but don’t expect a lesson in film school. There are subtitles available for the commentary.

There are four Deleted Scenes HD (5:15) which can be viewed separately or all at once.

A More Perfect You: The Science of Surrogates HD (15:08) The technology behind Surrogate robots and how that tech is thriving in our modern-day world. This is probably the star featurette in the picnic basket. It tickles that curiosity bone and ties into the technology used in the film to the point where at least the science was plausible.

Breaking the Frame: A Graphic Novel Come to Life HD (6:39) Robert Venditti and Brett Wedele are briefly interviewed in the middle of a motion version the comic playing out. It starts to really take a good look at the comic but halfway through turns into your typical Hollywood EPK.

To finish off the extras is a standard definition version of the ”I Will Not Bow” Music Video SD (3:49) by Breaking Benjamin which is the usual mash-up of sexy band clips sandwiched in between scenes from Surrogates.

Overall Shock Value: C+
The origins of Surrogates lie in a good graphic novel, that plays with the story-telling devices on a sequential, visual medium, so there will be plenty of curiosity to see how it was adapted to the big screen. The concept lays a good endoskeleton for a solid science fiction film but there’s not enough meat to flesh out a memorable fictional world. I don’t know many memorable science fiction films that run under 90 minutes because there’s so much that normally needs to be established and while plenty has been done to create the world of surrogacy, we are only given bits and pieces of the antagonist, and never truly make a connection with his cause. The disc itself has no real deficiencies, this blu-ray just suffers from the story not going for it all. I wanted to like it more, but I am likely to let my Surrogates recommendation stay with just the comic. However, I do respect the curious, and caution those cats to Rent It first and go from there.

Year: 2009
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Rated: PG
SRP: $ 39.95
Studio(s): Sony Pictures
Release Date: January 5, 2010

Film/Feature: A-

Even though a lot of emphasis has been put on Pixar’s Up, one of this past year’s most memorable animated features was Sony’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Kids, parents and those on Weight Watchers have their dreams realized when Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) invents a contraption that is designed to save the town of Swallow Falls, a city where it’s ’round the clock, nonstop sardines. The machine is called the FLDSMDFR (an acronym too long to list out) that turns water into food and sends it into the sky where it can rain down whatever the starving desires, bringing new life and public interest to Sallow Falls. Flint gains newfound fame and credit for making life worth living in Swallow Falls. Flint was picked on as a kid for his scientific breakthroughs but for the first time, something he created brought happiness to the world.

If not for the sudden scientific and culinary phenomena, barely anyone would know about this fishing town located under the “A” in Atlantic Ocean on the world map. A weather girl named Sam Sparks (Anna Faris) catches the bizarre and delectable events on camera and the Mayor Shelbourne (Bruce Campbell) thinks he can exploit this in a facelift of the town and drive world tourism to his front door. Greed and gluttony wreak havoc on the city as the FLDSMDFR is put under a great deal of stress and misuse and it’s up to Flint to save the day, and repair his estranged relationship with his father (James Caan). Enlisting the help of Sam and her Guatemalan cameraman Manny (Benjamin Bratt), Flint and his pet monkey Steve (Neil Patrick Harris) who can talk through a Flint-modified Speak and Spell, this motley crew tries to fix the unstable FLDSMDFR, which threatens to destroy and bury the world in tons of food.

Cloudy had two solid nondescript performances by leads, Hader and Faris, but Campbell and Mr. T deliver two performances that remind the audience that this is a film where you can have fun. Campbell is just creepy as the mayor and the more gluttonous he gets, the more frightening he becomes but you can imagine him relishing in the villainy motives. Mr. T on the other hand is a scene stealer and really is the heart of the film, playing Officer Earl Deveraux as the over-the-top, authoritative figure balanced with his devotion to his “keyd” tugs at the heartstrings.

This is the second children’s’ book to be expanded successfully into a feature-length film. Spike Jonze’s “live” + CG-animated adaptation of Where the Wild Things had a much darker and grim abstraction that takes time to digest and ponder, where Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs took the opposite approach and aimed straight for the all-ages group and this film will score a hit with that audience. Seeing all of that food bury and destroy the city captures the imagination with memorable visuals and top-notch animation. Cloudy’s funny, it’s intelligent and is a timeless story especially for those whose eyes are bigger than their tummies.

Video: A
This is one of the most satisfying visual experiences of the year. Cloudy has a high definition, 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in the original 2.39:1 aspect ratio on blu-ray. The colors will parade and dance on your display and need not pull to hard on the corners of your smile because it’s awesome. The city of Swallow Falls has this muted color palette but when the food falls from the sky—wow! I want to draw attention to two scenes of note which caused my eyes to lock open: when the the sky was raining with ice cream and when Flint and Samantha went into the orange Jello palace. One of the most impressive visual effects though is the storm clouds which roll and plunder in the sky with this billowing purple, pinks, and yellow and anyone with a proper display will see that this has as much visual pop to it that Pixar films have. Also, give credit to the animators for putting in the detail on the food, like lighting, reflection, and proper texture to makes it look appetizing, and mouth watering. I do think that in the lower lit scenes (in the meatball) there could have been more light to show some of the detail (and there’s lots of it) gets lost, but overall blacks are stable and deep, shadows are clearly defined. The set of Swallow Falls is one of the largest mapped environments in an animated film and the hard work is showcased in this transfer.

Audio: A+
You cannot knock this film for being technically deficient. The audio is heard through a lovely 5.1 English DTS-HD Master Audio track with a beefy and robust showing in the lower range of sound. Rear channels are continually being sent plenty of active sound effects to give a pleasurable and memorable audio experience. The storms are the high point as the food that comes flying down to the ground all of the surround channels get active and help recreate those scenes in your screening room. It all culminates to the climax where the spaghetti tornado is hurtling objects all around, you’ll see why this is reference material audio. The music has a triumphant, overachieving feel to it that pulls the emotions at just the right moments and climbs up from behind. Other audio selections include: 5.1 DTS-HD French, 5.1 Spanish tracks and subtitles are available in English, English SDH, French, Spanish, with English and Spanish subtitles for the commentary.

Extras: B+
Audio Commentary by Writers/Directors Christopher Miller and Phil Lord and Actor Bill Hader is a fun, light-hearted chatty commentary track that easily accessible, full of stories about the pre/post production and animation, and facts pointed out during specific scenes and moves along at a brisk pace. It won’t go down as an all-time must listen track, but it goes along with the enjoyable spirit of the film its filmmakers.

A Recipe for Success: The Making of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs HD (10:51) is your classic EPK that discusses how the project started as a children’s book written by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett.

Key Ingredients: The Voices HD (12:39) Each principal cast member is interviewed on how they were drawn to the project and their experience voice acting. Hader, Faris, Caan, Campbell, Samberg and Mr. T are gathered to shed some light on their characters. You get the sense that each member genuinely had a good time working on this film.

Extended Scenes HD Elevator Joke (0:38) and Early Cut with Awesome Food Fight (1:59) are two scenes that are referenced in the commentary and can be seen. They aren’t look but even in animated films, sometimes even more so, edits are quite hard to do given how much work is put into them.

Early Development Scenes HD (5:47) Two scenes can be seen in their early storyboard / animatic stage. Flint’s Letter to Super Scientist Vanca LeFleur and the Twister action sequence.

Progression Reels with Introductions by Visual FX Supervisor Rob Bredow HD (9:08) is a tour of the some of the visual effects challenges presented to Sony Imageworks’ animators such as the color palette, making food look delicious to the viewer, and making a tornado out of spaghetti. This to me, was the most interesting and enjoyable extras on the disc.

Miranda Cosgrove’s Raining “Sunshine” SD (3:45) is a music video of the movie’s song which viewers are able to sing-a-long with it.

Make it Rain Food HD (0:32) is an brief PSA.

Flint’s Food Fight Game is a hybrid of Space Invaders and Asteroids in a Cloudy theme. It’s not sophisticated by any stretch and the only person playing it after five cycles is just stubborn.

Splat Vision The producers of this blu-ray really understand their audience because this is a fun way to watch the film again. You can fling food with cross hairs during any part of the film. Is your screen covered in goop? Then just take the squeegee to wipe the screen clean and do it all over again. Again, there’s not a lot of levels to this feature but it’s fun, and I can see a family having a scream over this.

The second disc is a DVD+Digital Copy Disc combination which is great for those long travel trips or if you just want to sneak it in on your wok computer during lunchtime. While it is in standard definition, you have admire what many of these studios are doing in ensuring families need to only buy one version of the films so that they can enjoy it in every way possible.

Trailers for Planet 51, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, Monster House, Surf’s Up, Open Season, Open Season 2, Hachi: A Dog’s Take.

Overall Shock Value: A
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is another example of how much room is still left to make a great, animated films despite the market being dominated by the two big animation houses. This film looks and sounds unreal, and I urge you not to see the film on an empty stomach because the food looks that good, and the story will make your belly hurt even more from having a good time. Something tells me that this will get a re-release once 3D capable televisions become more common, since this was initially released in that form. Until then, this is a great release and whether you’ve got kids, or your just a big kid at heart, this Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs blu-ray+DVD combo gets one easy Buy It recommendation.

Year: 2009
Running Time: 112 Minutes
Rated: R
SRP: $39.95
Studio(s): Sony Pictures
Release Date: December 22, 2009

Film/Feature: B +

This past summer, science fiction movie fans got introduced to one of the more interesting characters that have come in a long time. Wikus Van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley) works for Multinational United AKA MNU, a large corporation who tries to come up with a way to move a race of aliens from a shanty are of Johannesburg, South Africa to a secluded camp where they can be closer monitored and be kept away from the human race. Wikus plays the villain, the victim, and then the hero of District 9, a film that uses a gritty sci-fi environment to remind us of the history and xenophobia of South Africa.

District 9 begins as a documentary, interviewing citizens of Joburg who express their opinion of the co-habitation. Through their words, we are led to believe that the aliens in the film are hostile, are an aggressive threat and a despicable nuisance. Then it turns into a handheld trailing of the story’s main character, Wikus. Expanding on short film called Alive in Joburg, District 9 is co-written and directed by Neill Blomkamp. An alien aircraft is shipwrecked on Earth, right over Johannesburg, South Africa in 1982. Most of the more intellectually advanced beings on the ship died off from either a sickness or injuries, leaving just mostly workers. Humans eventually infiltrate the ship and force its survivors into exile in a cramped shanty town called District 9. The aliens look like insects or “prawns,” which is a possible reference to a cricket species that are considered a plague in South Africa. There is no friendly integration with the human race as we are genuinely afraid of them. After years of inhabiting District 9, humans want to move them further away from society asking them to vacate so that they may be put into tighter quarters where they can be better monitored.

And this is where Wikus comes into the story. A corporate lackey, Wikus is sent into District 9 to give the aliens a choice. Either move to a new cramped “camp” or be extracted out the area by military force headed up by Koobus Venter (David James). Not only are they issuing this notice, but MNU is also destroying any signs of eggs and technology the refugees may be developing. Wikus does his job with little grace and in the sweeping of one house finds a capsule which releases a mist of liquid on his skin beginning a chain reaction in his body. That capsule was the key to an escape attempt by one of the remaining intelligent aliens, renamed Christopher Johnson (Jason Cope) and Wikus goes from being the company man to the most wanted commodity on the planet. His body undergoes the start of a transformation, and to MNU, that’s valuable to them because he becomes the first person to be able to use the alien weapons which were confiscated from the ship. The weapons only work with prawn biology so MNU wants to use him and his body to work the alien weapon technology and ultimately use his DNA to create a new army. In another conflict, Nigerian gangs has scrapped up enough alien technology by swindling the prawns trading cat food for weapons. The gangs are astonished by Wikus because they believed that they could work the weapons if they ate the carcasses of dead prawns. Wanting to restore his true body, Wikus seeks out Christopher to help him, but only for selfish reasons.

Was his efforts enough to sway your opinion of him? Would any of you try to make those same compromises to make things as they were? We’re not supposed to know much of the Prawns. Their elite beings on the ship were stricken with an illness that put caused them to float to Earth’s atmosphere in a “life raft” as Blomkamp succinctly puts it in his commentary. They have no culture, no means to defend themselves and fight to survive in a very real scenario where the humans invasive nature, gets its comeuppance.

Now there’s no possible way to avoid the significance of staging a science fiction story about alien genocide set in Johannesburg, where the racial and political climate is always a hot topic as is the crimes of apartheid. District 9 is about two races that square off with each other. One is definitely trying to wipe the other out, one is definitely trying to take all of the others’ weapons away, and even though there are these wonderful metaphors to what we as humans have done to each other in history, this film is able to entertains enough that it’s not weighed down by the underlying themes of the film.

The segregation of two races has always been a problem in the country of South Africa, practically in every country, but racism and xenophobia are so ingrained there that it makes Johannesburg the perfect setting for District 9. The spaceship is a constant backdrop hovering above, a reminder, like a big cloud or burden over the city. It is obviously inspired by when South Africa was under apartheid (1948-1994) and District Six, the inner-city area in Cape Town, South Africa whose 60,000+ citizens were forced to leave in that regime.

While it’s simple and easy to get stuck on that hurdle, District 9 is about Wikus. I believe we’re not supposed to like him and as he realizes that MNU just wants him for his biology he takes great leaps at trying to bridge that gap. Sure he helps Christopher Johnson and his child, but only because of selfish reasons. He’s a bit of a despicable character who shows no care or concern for the aliens until he finds out that only they can help restore his body.

District 9 challenges the audience to take a love/hate approach to a polarizing protagonist, torn by the inhumane treatment of his employer and his numerous selfish acts. Does Wikus really make a change in character, or does he remain true to himself, or at least his human self all the way to the end? Can a person really change who they are just because their biology changes? These questions and others that stem further are the reasons I like the film. This is not the mother of all science fiction films, far from it as the third act degrades to familiar shoot-out conventions. But it does satisfy that exploitative urge to see things blow up in such gross beauty. District 9 has an ending but a lack of real closure leaves the door wide open to an eventual sequel; but Neill Blomkamp gives us a beautifully designed world, a fascinating character, and through a fresh take on alien/human co-habitation, he also presents a commentary of contemporary South African culture.

Video:A+
The world of District 9 is filled with a gritty, filthy garbage-ridden world captured on a 1080p AVC-encoded high definition transfer in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Colors are mostly real world-based, ranging in the muted browns and other dusty colors, sun starched landscapes as piles of trash, salvage, and destitute go endlessly as far as the eyes can see. Blacks are inky and are bottomless. The detail of those heaps of scrap, in the machinery, the scenery, paint a vivid picture of the world of District 9. On rare occasions, like the alien prawns themselves feature bright colors in their bodies, much like the insects their patterned after. These colors are juiced and provide great contrast to the rest of the prawns’ moving body parts. The intricacies of textured material like the dirt-filled scraps of detritus that make up the shanty town, the dust in the air, sweat on the skin or hair, or the polyester in MNU’s workers’ suits are all well-defined. There are two styles of filmmaking going on, the documentary style and the cinematic action. Both are seamlessly woven into a coherent and visually harmonious display of chaos unfolding.

Audio: A+
District 9 is heard on blu-ray via a 5.1 English DTS-HD Master Audio track. Wow, was this an enjoyable audio experience! Not in the sense that the audio made it feel like your home theater was being destroyed; there was just a lot of activity sent to the rears to add to the atmosphere of scenes like in the chopper, you’d hear the conversations between the helicopter pilots, gunfire bounces all around you, and when the mothership fires up its engines, you’ll feel that ignition and the wind that’s blows through Joburg. Dialogue is crystal clear and the LFE output is generous. Other audio selections include: a French DTS-HD Master Audio and an English Audio Descriptive track; subtitles are available in English, English SDH, French, and Hindi.

Extras: A–
Cinechat allows users to watch the movie simultaneously with a friend over the net (who also has the blu-ray) and enables a chat screen with which to have an on-screen chat as a BD-Live feature.

God of War III Playable Playstation 3 Game Demo Obviously for people who have a PS3 but for those who have never played God of War are in for a treat. This is the first of the trilogy designed for the PS3 and there are noticeable improvements in game play and speed which utilizes the strengths of Sony’s dream machine. Kratos has new weapons including the ability to turn his fists into stone gauntlets and shoot them out and swing them like a mace as they are still attached to his arms by chains. To see the game played at that speed and that high definition was an awesome sight and there’s enough game to whet your appetite when it eventually comes out later this year. And yes, it’s as bloody violent and victoriously fun for those itching for the sequel.

If you finish the demo, (and GoW vets will) a Making of featurette is unlocked that talks to the game designers about the abilities in jumping to the PS3 by making weapons that rely on more dramatic lighting, the increased grappling abilities and just the speed of the game play to make more complex animation and battle sequences.

Audio Commentary by Director Neill Blomkamp is talkative track filled with Blomkamp’s breakdown of the film, regrets as a first time filmmaker. There’s a slight bit of repetition from when you start digging into the extras but I’m impressed to see Blomkamp’s enthusiasm to make sure the track has no dead spots.

Innovation: The Acting and Improvisation of District 9 HD (12:05) Copley acting without being able to see the aliens.

Conception and Design: Creating the world of District 9 HD (13:18) is a feature in coming up with the look basing it off of the landscape of Joburg and the shanty housing.

Alien Generation: The Visual Effects of District 9 HD (10:18) shows the way the film was shot with a documentary style and the utilization of motion capture.

Joburg From Above: Satellite and Schematics of the World of District 9 Interactive Map: is a series of interactive Maps and technical illustrations and schematics of the alien mothership, MNU Headquarters, and District 9 with live information feeds, and MNU HD Updates.

Deleted Scenes HD (23:38) there are 22 cut scenes that can be viewed individually or in one sitting.

Metamorphosis: The Transformation of Wikus HD (9:52) Wikus’ physical change is all practical effects so Copley talks about getting into that mode mentally as an actor while his body undergoes prosthetics, body casts and makeup.

The Alien Agenda: The Filmmaker’s Log SD (34:19) that dissects the a much more satisfying, making-of special split into three parts: Envisioning District 9, Shooting District 9 and Redefining Distict 9. The film was born out of the failed Halo film and working with Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens and how it developed into a much bigger, but budget-constrained project. In the second part, Blomkamp talks about the more technical side of shooting the film, the types of cameras that were used that gave different parts of the film different looks. Blomkamp also talks about filming on location in a nuclear house for weapons. His choice of an unconventional film made for an even more difficult filmmaking process and the third section of this diary goes over what Blomkamp would have done different, sound editing, and post-production.

Overall Shock Value: A–
District 9 is solid film that’s packaged nicely on blu-ray, with near flawless video and audio treatment, and bountiful extras. There’s plenty here to keep fans busy long after viewing the feature and the inclusion of the God of War 3 Playable Demo is smart marketing by Sony. I imagine that there are going to be sequels in line for District 9, and the appreciation of this film may grow in time, especially with how it fits in with future chapters that may or may not see fruition. In the truest sci-fi nature though, it stands on its own just fine as a film that is certainly influenced by real events but also gives our world a harsh image of how we easily turn on our own and how cyclical the sins of the human race are and how short-sighted our civilization can be for the sake of profit and greed. District 9 isn’t the best science fiction film this year, (that distinction goes to Moon) but it is one of the many that has shown how strong the genre has been supported this year. Buy it!

“We’re very excited,” says Green, “we never expected to do a second season, let alone a fifth and sixth, so we are thrilled by the audience response and how the show continues to grow internationally.” Senreich says, “We love Adult Swim. It’s really that simple. From the get-go, we’ve always said that Robot Chicken was a show where we play with friends and we look forward to doing that for years to come!”

Robot Chicken, the highest-rated original series on Adult Swim, has aired since February 2005 and remains the top-rated original on the network. The series has been Emmy-nominated as Outstanding Animated Program for the last two years; Green was nominated for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and the series has won multiple Emmys in Animation. Robot Chicken produced two hit Robot Chicken: Star Wars specials, and Robot Chicken DVDs consistently rank among the industry’s top TV on DVD releases during the week they are released. In addition, Robot Chicken has won four Annie Awards, including Best Animated Television Production, Best Writing and Best Director for Green.

“Puckaahhh!”

Year: 2009
Running Time: 54 Minutes
Rated: Not Rated
SRP: $ 29.99
Studio(s): 20th Century Fox
Release Date: January 5, 2009

Film/Feature: B+
After Family Guy’s successful spoof of Star Wars: A New Hope called Blue Harvest (2007), a follow up poking fun at Empire Strikes Back was as much a sure thing as a sunny day in California. In Family Guy Something Something Something Dark Side, we get to see Stewie as the venomous little Darth Vader again and see Peter Griffin as Han Solo, Lois as Leia, Cleveland as R2D2, Chris as Luke Skywalker, and Quagmire as C3PO, Brian as Chewie, and Meg… well, she has a minor role. And Mort, well Mort has an incredibly funny role that I won’t spoil.

In fact, I will try not to spoil any of SSSDS, because it is best seen with as little knowledge as possible. Just brush up on your familiarity with Empire Strikes Back, and the usual barrage of 80’s and 90’s pop culture references which drive the comedy of Family Guy. As someone who also enjoys Seth Green’s Robot Chicken Star Wars spoofs because they are little stories that fit perfectly in the told story, I was pleased to see Family Guy do something different by doing a direct parody of the Original Trilogy. It’s a boon for anyone who enjoys that inappropriate (but hilariously funny), crass edgy material that Family Guy dips into and wants to see this beloved animated family in the classic Star Wars parts. I couldn’t stop laughing and in an hour’s time, you can relive all that’s great about Empire Strikes Back. It’s true that this watches like three straight episodes of Family Guy, but it is uncensored, it is in glorious high definition, and the animation is so good that some scenes look almost identical to scenes in the live-action movie.

I know Star Wars parodies can be found as common as a penny lying on the street, but Something Something Something Dark Side hits all the right notes and stays within its own little universe thankfully Far Far Away. When the inevitable follow-up We Got A Bad Feeling About This comes out, I’ll be the first one in line to complete the Griffin remix of Star Wars.

Video: A-
This is the first time Family Guy has been seen in high definition and SSSDS gets a1080p AVC-encoded transfer in its original full frame 1.33:1 aspect ratio.If there’s any doubt at how good an animated series can look, then just compare this blu-ray with one of the early season DVDs. The separation of animated objects is crystal clear, black outlines are stable and straight. With the scenes set on the planet Hoth in the winter landscapes, there’s a thin sheer veil of white snow mist throughout and just adds enough to the image to make for an impressive image. Colors are quite brilliant especially in the infamous light saber fight with the grated floor and fiery lights below. The swampy and muddy Dagobah scenes with Yoda show a lot of intricate work as well–not to mention the handful of live action scenes that are inserted (that will not be spoiled here) look incredibly crisp. And since many of the scenes are done in outer space, the blacks are Vader-dark and are lovely in this transfer. In all of its seasons and specials, Family Guy has never looked so good.

Audio: A-
Done equally well is the audio mix for SSSDS. It has a surprisingly active 5.1 English DTS-HD Master Audio track, that has plenty of bells and whistles you’d normally expect out of a Star Wars film. Action sequences like the At-At battle the front and rear channels come alive with lots of activity. Especially when there are ships that zoom by in Cloud City or whenever the Millennium Falcon takes flight all of the classic Star Wars sound effects can be heard in HD-audio glory. John Williams majestic score also gets its spotlight on center stage as this is the first time it’s being heard on blu-ray and for those waiting for Lucas’ Original SW Trilogy, this will help the agonizing wait for its eventual arrival. There are no other audio selections and subtitles are available in English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Suomi, Dannish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish.

Extras: B
For an episode that runs just shy of an hour, there’s a good amount of extras to dig into. All of the extras are in high definition, AVC-encoded and are in 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo.

Audio Commentary by Executive Producers Seth MacFarlane, Mark Hentemann, David A. Goodman, Writer Kirker Butler, Director Dominic Polcino and Actor Seth GreenThere is also subtitles available for the commentary which helps distinguish who among the six guys is talking because outside of Green and MacFarlane it’s difficult to know who’s who. The commentary is full of extra laughs and uncensored hilarities that are at times screen specific but full of side conversations and Hollywood stories. And there might be the slight influence of Patron. It’s also revealed in the commentary that a Clue spoof is in the works and will probably see the light of day later in 2010.

Family Guy Fact-Ups is a trivia track done in VH1 Pop-up that’s full of outrageous and hilarious minutiae about Family Guy and Star Wars.

The Dark Side of Poster Art HD (9:18) is a brief featurette about how Joe Vaux painted the blu-ray/DVD covers as a beautiful homage to Roger Kastel’s original iconic posters. Character designer Mick Cassidy also joins in on the discussion and eventually beers are drunk and shirts are being taken off. I will say that there is enough chest hair in this extra to last a lifetime.

Animatic Scene-to-Scene with Commentary by Director Dominic Polcino HD(6:36) Polcino compares side-by-side animated penciled storyboards before color is put in to the finished product.

Family Guy-Something Something Something Dark Side Table Read Act 1 and 2 HD (49:27) In a conference room, are at least 50 people packed with cast and crew in practice run of the script. I love animation table reads, because you can partially see the actors really get into character; you can see how well the script is based on the genuine laughter in the room and to actually see all of the interactions of the actors. Many times actors record their parts separately so this is a great prelude to what the finished product will sound like. There are also plenty of scenes and lines that got cut out too, some of which were very funny, so make sure you check all these out too.

Sneak Peek of Family Guy Episode VI: We Have a Bad Feeling About This Table Read HD (2:26) is a very short taste of what’s to come in the eventual third installment of Family Guy Star Wars specials. The camera is tight into Seth MacFarlane so you can really see him play Peter Griffin as Han Solo who is being defrosted from his carbonite tomb.

Disc Two is a Digital Movie Disc that makes portability easy. Normally on the sheet that holds the confirmation code also lists the expiration date and there was not one listed, but if these Digital Movie Discs are your thing, make sure to see when that is (it may show on the download).

Overall Shock Value: A-
While it’s hard to justify a separate purchase for a Family Guy movie, (especially when it will eventually be packaged together with the other Star Wars spoofs once they’re all completed, or in a complete series set), but this is a lovely first foray into high definition for Family Guy and if you’re a fan of the show AND a fan of Star Wars, then I don’t see how you can pass this up. If you’re a casual fan, then perhaps you give it at least a rental; but for my money, I’m going to recommend the curious to Buy It.

Year: 2009
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Rated: R
SRP: $ 39.99
Studio(s): 20th Century Fox
Release Date: January 3, 2010

Film/Feature: C
Jennifer’s Body doesn’t aim much higher than a B-movie throwback, but unfortunately doesn’t get out of the C-class of mediocre shlock. It is written by Diablo Cody who arrived on the scene and won an Oscar for the sharp-witted indie drama, Juno (2007) and is directed by Karyn Kusama who earned her own accolades with Girlfight (2000). So Jennifer’s Body gets the unique opportunity of being a horror film that’s driven creatively by two women. What was the most terrifying thing they could come up with? High school girl-on-girl hate–something that can be truly terrifying, and can reach incredulous levels of cattiness, but doesn’t pay off as one would hope.

The setting is Devil’s Kettle High School and Jennifer Check (Megan Fox) and Anita “Needy” Lesnicki (Amanda Seyfried) are childhood friends who grow up to be BFFs (Best Friends Forever) but realize that they may have outgrown their bond. Jennifer keeps her around because her good looks allow her to stand out even more against Needy’s frumpy Ugly Betty syndrome. Needy has a stable and faithful boyfriend, Chip (Johnnie Simmons) who struggles with her timeshare away from Jennifer. One night, Needy is dragged out by Jennifer to see a band called Low Shoulder at the nearby Melody Lane tavern. The girls are separated after a fire brings down the bar. Jennifer goes with the band, led by front man Nikolai (Adam Brody) leaving Needy to drive home alone. The band mates intentions are not good, and it’s not what you think. Trying to ensure they hit it big, Low Shoulder wants to sacrifice Jennifer because they think she’s a virgin. And this is where the wheels come off the tricycle.

It takes a great suspension of disbelief to think that Megan Fox can play the role of a girl in high school–no one walks around with that kind of confidence, even when they look like Fox. But to convince me, that this band thinks that Jennifer is a virgin when she’s built like that, and chooses to sacrifice her, is one of the several far reaches this story makes. The town “goes to shit,” so to speak, when she survives, and surprise-surprise, Jennifer’s not a virgin. Instead of performing a proper sacrifice, Low Shoulder unleashes the succubus onto the boys of Devil’s Kettle. Jennifer seduces those willing boys into her various lairs around town and makes them look like like a pile of pizza vomit.

After Jennifer explains what happened to her, Needy gets the inkling to search the “Occult” section of their library–because every school library has one of those–and realizes that she’s the only one who can stop her. From there the film kind of falls apart and doesn’t know when to end. It suffers from Cody’s all-too-cute dialogue with dated references that will make future viewings groan-worthy. I liked that boys were the prey, and the sexual tension between Needy and Jennifer made for both an interesting complication and teasing motive, but Jennifer’s Body needed to go either more on the shlock, or more on the serious horror. There’s too much of a juggling act that’s being performed here with attempts at witty high school comedy, gothic stylings, and absurd situations and it’s really unclear what kind of film Kusama and Cody were trying to make.

The one saving grace of the film for me came at the end when Needy hunts down Low Shoulder and gives the film a proper ending. Sincerely, it’s one of the slickest closing credits I’ve seen all year, shot mostly in high contrast and super-saturated still images of the revenge scene in its aftermath. Had a majority of Jennifer’s Body was shot like that, I’d be raving about this film. Contrary to Fox-haters, she isn’t bad in the film, and neither is the more talented Seyfried (Mamma Mia), but this script is pretty bad. I stood on the side of the fence with those who enjoyed Cody’s script in Juno, and still do, The United States of Tara is clever, but Jennifer’s Body is a real letdown.

Video: B+
Megan Fox fans will have plenty to droll over seeing her in this high definition 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Viewers will also find a color-rich picture that’s flips between high-detail images and stylistically soft shots. Primary and secondary colors jump out nicely on the screen, skin tones and the varying complexion quality in the high schoolers are clearly visible. In certain scenes, there is some filtering and de-saturation going on, my favorite scene is when we see Needy in the correction facility where everyone is wearing orange jumpsuits in this dank and dirty jail. Lighting is well-balanced whether the scene is outside during the middle of the afternoon or under moonlight. Night scenes are very good but admittedly could go a tad darker. Contrast is especially strong at daytime and naturally lit scenes and shadow delineation is spot on where it needs to be.

Audio: B+
Stomping into your home theater, Jennifer’s Body gets a 5.1 English DTS-HD Master Audio track. It starts out subtle with a front and center channel-heavy, dialogue-driven but bursts into style when the fire at the Melody Lane tavern eventually builds to a first-class explosion. After that there lots of activity in all five channels to add atmosphere in each scene. I liked how there wasn’t too many horror score cues to tell you when something scary was coming. That can be really overused, but the songs in the soundtrack are pumped up and aggressive whenever they make their way into the film. While the film is hit or miss, this blu-ray is technically on solid ground. Other audio selections include: French, Spanish, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks and subtitles are available in English SDH, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, and Thai.

Extras:C+
If you really love this film, there are two commentary tracks to sift through, but what made this category suffer in the rating was the quality of the remaining supplements as well as the lack of replay value.

Audio Commentary by Director, Karyn Kusama and Screenwriter, Diablo Cody Kusama pushes the commentary and Cody adds to her comments. These two truly believe in this film, and that’s a good thing, but they tend to have a very high opinion of every detail of the theatrical cut of Jennifer’s Body. One of the more refreshing things, however, is getting the perspective of the genre through the eyes of two women.

Audio Commentary by Karyn Kusama is found on the Unrated extended version of the film and her comments are preceded by a small red clapper icon at the bottom right in scene specific moments. Kusama discusses mostly the differences between the two versions of the film and I found this to be a tighter, more concise and more enjoyable.

There are six Deleted Scenes HD (13:55) reveal a handful of scenes that don’t add a great deal but the inclusion of them shows how they slowed down the pacing even though they added information that helped to connect a few scenes in a more coherent manner.

Video Diaries HD (12:51) These aren’t as cool as they sound or as inclusive as one would hope. It’s mostly clips done by a hand-held camcorder with poor quality shooting behind-the-scenes stuff following cast members and Diablo Cody around the set. There’s not much worth a second viewing here honestly.

Jennifer’s Body: The Dead Pool HD (14:00) Is a breakdown of the climax of the film, the pool scene. Interviews are done with Kusama and Cody but there’s an in-depth look at how the Fox’s special effects “jaw” was created.

Megan Fox is Hot HD (0:56) An absolutely pointless montage of Megan Fox scenes.

Megan Fox “Peer Pressure” PSA SD (0:40) Okay, while the last extra was lame, this though, was funny.

Gag Reel SD (4:55) Again, not usually an extra that’s going to get a lot of viewings past the initial screening, the gag reel shows the cast and crew clowning around but too much of the “gags” are drowned out by the “Low Shoulder” song used in the film.

Fox Movie Channel–Life After Film School With Diablo Cody SD (26:26) is one of the more substantial extras. I’ve never been a fan of these Life After specials as the questions are usually softball questions served up by three film students and in this episode, they interview Cody about her career path, her creative writing process and the inspiration behind Jennifer’s Body.

Trailers for Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead, (500) Days of Summer, and Something, Something, Something Darkside.

Disc 2 is a Digital Copy Disc for downloading Jennifer’s Body into laptops, iPhones, and other portable media devices. The expiration date is 12/28/11.

Overall Shock Value: C+
Jennifer’s Body tries to toe that line of 80’s shlock and modern-day trips down horror lane but misses the mark on both fronts. While Cody’s pop culture-filled script and voice worked in Juno, that same kind of poetic flair didn’t match the tone of Jennifer’s Body, which tries very hard to create brooding fright through style and atmosphere. Technically, the film shines, but the extras are best explored by devoted fans of Jennifer’s Body. This isn’t a total loss, but I’m reserved to recommend this blu-ray (or DVD) as a Rental.

A lot of thoughts ran through my mind as I watched Leap Year; “I wonder how far the contractors have gotten on remodeling our kitchen”, “I need to remember to shave my head tomorrow”, “Shit, I’m outta doughnuts!”, “This movie isn’t over yet?!?” To say the film was tedious would be a compliment (and surprising, given its scant 90-minute runtime). In the tradition of romantic comedies involving women who start out as neurotic control freaks, only to be forced out of their comfort zones to find true love with scruffy, laidback men, Leap Year doesn’t miss a beat, playing every possible cliché of the genre note for excruciating note. In the film, upscale apartment stager Anna (Amy Adams) can’t get over that fact that her boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott) has yet to propose marriage, having been together the last four years. It’s an understandable frustration that ultimately leads Anna to take the advice of her father to follow Jeremy to a medical conference he’s attending in Dublin, Ireland. Apparently there’s a tradition in Ireland that a woman can propose to a man on February 29th of a Leap Year, and Anna is at her wits’ end. Facing every hurdle imaginable just to get to Ireland, she’s forced to enlist the aid of a rough and rugged innkeeper named Declan (Matthew Goode) to take her the rest of the way, resulting in a series of misadventures that forces them towards an inevitable mutual attraction.

Getting past a concept that paints Anna with a large brushstroke of crazed desperation, one of the film’s many problems is that it repeatedly betrays the few bright ideas it has. It’s great that there’s some effort, late in the second act, to humanize Anna with a backstory of struggle and perseverance in response to having to deal with an irresponsible father, but it’s not terribly believable when everything preceding this presents Anna as cartoonishly prissy and naïve of the non-upper class world, utterly incapable of dealing with even the most trivial of obstacles on her quest (her attempt to plug in the charger for her Blackberry results in the destruction of a hotel room, and knocking out the power across an entire village). This leaves one to wonder why she would even listen to her father about the Leap Year proposal anyway, given her unresolved issues with him. Furthermore, the film’s supporting cast is beyond weak. The best romantic comedies are the ones that don’t rely solely on its two leads to carry the entire film, but there’s so much wasted potential to be found in Leap Year. John Lithgow’s time on-screen is all too brief as Anna’s father, and aside from a few charming anecdotes, the Irish town folk Anna and Declan encounter on their travels are just kind of . . . there. Making use of a few recognizable English/Irish comedic actors would have helped immensely. Especially considering how woefully unfunny the film is in general. You can thank Murphy’s Law for that, as everything that can possibly go wrong does, and we can see it all coming a mile away; an encounter with a herd of cows predictably results in Anna stepping in a pile of said animals’ feces, whilst wearing impractical, ridiculously expensive shoes. Rather than sit on a bench for over two hours while waiting for a train to Dublin, Anna and Declan trek up a nearby hill to visit a castle. How much you want to bet they lose track of time and miss the train?! (hint: It’s such a sure bet, you could wager your first born child) Prudish innkeepers force the pair to pretend they’re married, and the room ONLY HAS ONE BED!!!

It’s amazing how often Leap Year takes the few things it comes close to doing right, only to backslide into a mud puddle of mediocrity time and time again. Amy Adams and Matthew Goode have a fair amount of chemistry, but they spend most of the film trudging though a story on auto-pilot, almost completely devoid of wit or genuine heart, and honestly a bit insulting.

Final Verdict: D+

There are few simple truths in this world, and Youth In Revolt illustrates one of them: movies about awkward teens doing whatever it takes to get laid will never go out of style. It’s one of the most relatable aspects of anyone’s formative years, and is always rife with frustration, thus making it fertile ground for just about any teen comedy. As Nick Twisp, Michael Cera is as awkward as can be, while on the lamb at a trailer park with his mother and her deadbeat boyfriend (Jean Smart and Zack Galifianakis, respectively). When he meets the seemingly angelic Sheeni Saunders, Nick is convinced that he’s met the girl of his dreams. Bonding over their love of French cinema and Frank Sinatra, the two have a summer romance that’s all too brief for Nick. Upon returning home, he creates a “supplementary persona” by the name of Francois Dillinger (arguably, one of the best alter ego names EVER!), and sets in motion a chain of events that he hopes will lead him back to the love of his life.

To its credit, Youth In Revolt is a step, albeit a small one, towards Michael Cera showing filmgoers that he’s capable of more than what we’ve seen from him in other roles. Even if Francois Dillinger is treated like an idea more than a real character, it does serve as a chance for Cera to break out of his nerdy hipster shell. It’s fun to watch him lose himself in the audacity of Nick’s alter ego, playing him as the charming, self-assured sociopath that he is. The film also benefits from an inspired supporting cast that includes Zack Galifianakis, Ray Liotta, the always on-point Fred Willard, and Justin Long.

As hilarious as Youth In Revolt is, however, it’s also surprisingly frustrating. The film is funny in spite of itself, rather than offering a cohesive and engaging story to balance the comedy. There is the illusion of a narrative structure that isn’t really there, as we go from one scene to the next without any real connective tissue. Everything happens for the sake of happening; Nick schemes to get his father (Steve Buscemi) to move to where Sheeni lives, in anticipation of his mother sending him there, as she’s totally incapable of dealing with his actions as Francois. When the plan backfires, upon discovering that Sheeni is sent to private school, Nick immediately befriends someone fortuatously willing to play chauffeur so he can see her, leading to your typical “boys in the girls’ dorm overnight” hijinks. There’s also the appearance of Sheeni’s stoner older brother Paul (The aforementioned Justin Long). Like the rest of the film, the character does provide a great deal of comedy, but without serving any other purpose.

Even more frustrating is the fact that Nick’s conscious decision to essentially suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder, is spurred on by a girl who is little more than a tiresome chastity cliché. Despite Sheeni liking Nick just the way he is from jump, for whatever reason, she needs him to “be bad”, so they can truly be together! It’s difficult to connect with her, and thus understand Nick’s affections for her, when so many things about her scream “manipulative cocktease”.

Make no mistake, Youth In Revolt is not without its strengths; in addition to Michael Cera finally showing signs of growth, the entire cast is spot-on, the dialogue is clever without ever sounding pretentious, and the humor is smarter than most teen comedies. But this is the kind of teen comedy that could have benefited from a more constructed narrative and more practical character development.

Final Verdict: B-

Year: 2009
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Rated: PG-13
SRP: $39.99
Studio(s): Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release Date: December 22, 2009

Film/Feature: B+
Ladies, excuse me for a second while I ask the men out there a question. Hey guys, have you ever been in love or thought you’ve been in love with someone who just crushes your heart? Then you just can’t seem to get over them? Ever have these great expectations of what that relationship was and then come to grips with the very different reality of the situation? (500) Days of Summer is that remedy you need to help get that girl out of your system.

Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a cynical writer at a greeting card company who happened to stuck there for the past three years on his way to becoming an architect. Then one day the sky turned blue when quirky and arrestingly cute girl named Summer (Zooey Deschanel) walks into his workplace. Summer is his boss’ (Clark Gregg) new assistant and Tom becomes that guy, who’s got to get that girl. Sounds like the basic romantic comedy, right? Wrong. The film’s narrator, (Richard McGonagle) warns you that what you are about to see, is not a love story. He’s right, it’s the exact opposite of that.

The story jumps back and forth from different days in Tom and Summer’s timeline from the first half when things are great, to the dark days in the end. Through these jumps in time we slowly get a full picture as to what went wrong, where it all went bad and also the great things that made this break up so hard on Tom. One look at Deschanel and it’s easy to see how Tom fell for Summer, a girl who’s comfortable in her own skin, and has her reservations of relationships and how abstract love can be. Tom takes it upon himself to challenge her and says that love is everything we see in movies and sappy love songs. Summer is attracted to that resistance and as our main characters slowly open up to each other, we realize that Summer’s point of view is based in reality, whereas Tom’s is rooted in destiny.

The film surfaces love’s ambiguities and challenges certainly, but it also reminds us that love has its moments where you wake up feeling great because of who you’re with. Basking in the afterglow of their first night together, Tom leads us to one of the more memorable scenes of the year, set to Hall & Oats song, “You Make My Dreams,” Tom is as high as can be, only to be taken down the ladder as the next scene flashes forward, hundreds of days later when that emotion has worn off. Gordon-Levitt portrays both that misery and elation with such honesty and bravery, while Deschanel can do so much with a flip of her eyes or tip of her head. You’ll find yourself rooting for both sides because each sells their side so well.

Music is a big part of this story, and the lies and goods it sells to us. We are almost conditioned for disappointment. We are brought together by a common interests, but often let those things do the speaking for us instead of really bearing down and saying what we really feel. On display in the film is another silent character, the city of Los Angeles. Director Marc Webb chose to shoot the downtown city of LA to give it this great metropolitan feel. It’s an LA that’s absent of anything related to Hollywood and propels LA as this living city. It’s a refreshing snapshot, and adds to the romance and architectural themes in the story, but I remind you, this is not a love story. It’s the story of growing up and discovering Tom’s own idea of love that’s formed by experience and not just the lyrics of a song or the inside of a greeting card. The only bothersome angle I didn’t like was Tom’s junior high sister, Rachel who happens to be full of sage advice when it comes to relationships and when his life long friends McKenzie (Geoffrey Arend) and Paul (Matthew Gray Gubler) are of no help.

Yes it has clichés of romance stories, but it’s all easily forgivable because what’s being said in the film is very real, and very heart-felt. I love-love-love what Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel bring to this film; their style of acting transports you back a few decades to when you can get lost in the sincerity of the acting and not get so distracted by who they are in real life. The smallness of the film makes it read that much bigger and has that much more impact, and that’s why it did so well at Sundance this past winter. Webb really understood how to take a very intimate story and have it play much bigger.

(500) Days of Summer is the type of comedy that will click with those who love Francois Truffaut films, karaoke bars, indie music mopers who like the Smiths, and Ikea hipsters for sure, but it should also be familiar with those trying to wade out of that funk that’s so easy to get stuck in when coming out of a relationship. (500) Days is a witty, little sardonic look at love; it’s cuteness is contagious, and it’s just that dinner mint of a film you need sometimes to refresh your outlook on life.

Video:A
If you’re a fan of the way films used to look, then you’ll love the way (500) Days looks in this 1080p encoded transfer in a very wide 2.40:1 aspect ratio. There’s this wonderful diffusion going on that gives everything a soft glowing look and that’s the way the film was intended to look, so don’t look for the hyper-level of detail seen in some of the more modern films on blu-ray. There’s still a juicy bouquet of earth tone colors, amidst deep dark blacks, and the screen is almost always full of warm-colored hues reminiscent of the autumn harvest. There is a fine display of natural skin tones throughout, fine grain, and a great balance of contrast keeps frames full of depth and dimension. (500) Days of Summer is just a beautiful looking film.

Audio:B+
(500) Days of Summer’s main audio option is a 5.1 English DTS-HD audio track and in typical romantic comedy fashion, it’s chiefly driven by the dialogue through the center channel. Music is a key part to the film and the entire film opens up whenever a song or melodic score piece flows in. Everything is nicely balanced, there’s no distortion or dialogue that’s too difficult to hear. There’s a minimal amount of panning and surround effects, but this really isn’t the movie that’s designed to do so. Other audio selections include: English for the Visually Impaired, and three 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks in French, Spanish, Portuguese; subtitles are available in English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Thai.

Extras: A
There’s a mixture of standard and high def featurettes, but I wouldn’t ask for any more or any less. It just hits that perfect amount of extras and original content for those who want to delve into the story a bit deeper. Try to leave the commentary for last because that’s the most satisfying supplement. The menus are well-designed, echoing the film’s unique presentation.

Disc 1
Audio Commentary by director Marc Webb, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and writers Michael Weber and Scott Neustadter. is a lively track full of good discussion and revelations that much of this story comes from the real events in Neustadter’s misfortunes with a former obsession.

Not a Love Story: Making (500) Days of Summer HD (29:21) Is a solid making of featurette that looks to the Webb, the producers, writers, and actors to share their thoughts on the film, production design, the finer parts of downtown Los Angeles, the inspiration of Saul Leiter and representing characters through color.

Deleted and Extended Scenes HD (14:42) there are 10 scenes to zip through with a few of them being real bummers that they didn’t make the final cut. There’s optional commentary with Webb, Gordon-Levitt, and writers Michael Weber and Scott Neustadter.

Filmmaking Specials SD included are a bunch of snippets of what looks like a show on Filmmakers where Webb fielded topical questions about (500) Days. They are Director Marc Webb on Casting Joe and Zooey (2:07) on The Summer Effect (1:35) on French Film References (0:58) and on the Color Palette (1:11). Finally there’s two Fox Movie Channel Presents in Character, with Zooey Deschanel (2:38) and with Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3:08).

Audition Tapes SD (7:00) for Geoffrey Arent (McKenzie), Matthew Gray Gubler (Paul), with optional commentary with Webb.

Summer at Sundance HD (13:46) Watch as the days build towards the premiere at Sundance through the eyes of Director, Marc Webb.

Summer Storyboards SD: Summer Effect(1:36) Reality/Expectations (1:55) Both sets of storyboards come with two angles (storyboards and side-by-side comparisons) to view them with optional commentary with Webb. For The Summer Effect Webb provides two different commentaries about Character and the Look.

Conversations with Zooey and Joseph SD (12:26) The two lead actors share a cup of coffee and have six short conversations discussing acting, Los Angeles, and music.

Mean’s Cinemash: Sid and Nancy/ (500) Days of Summer HD (3:28) playing off of a moment in the film where Summer compares their relationship to cinema’s famous Sid and Nancy where Summer is Sid and Tom is Nancy. Yes, this is as funny as it sounds.

Bank Dance SD (4:18) is a music video starring Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt and is directed by Marc Webb who made a name for himself in this trade. If you find both actors as irresistibly charming as much as me, then you’ll love this adorable musical number.

Music Video SD (4:01) Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap

Trailers HD (6:29) for Amelia, Fame, and Adam

Disc 2
Digital Copy Disc for downloading onto your computer or portable media device.

Overall Shock Value: A–
I can’t recommend (500) Days of Summer enough. This is one of my favorite films of the year and it hits that need of charming-and-profound-indie-film that hits the sweet spot. Anchored by two terrific performances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, there’s an honest idea about love and trying to deal with the reality of love existing in real life as compared to what we’re led to believe through popular culture. Along with a rich and faithful transfer, and solid audio, the blu-ray is everything any fan could hope for. Buy it!

Film/Feature: C+
Mike Judge is one of those few creators who understands what makes people laugh in both animation, and live action. A good comedic mind would tell you that it doesn’t matter what the format is, and they’re right, but it’s rare to be able to toe that line and do it as successfully as Judge. He’s given us Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill, and to many of you out there, he’s simply known as the man behind Office Space. It the latter’s more of your taste, then perhaps you might want to see how Judge’s cubicle dynamics go from the corporate buzzkill to the assembly line at Reynold’s Almond Extract.

Joel (Jason Bateman) is sexually frustrated CEO of a small extract company piddling about his routine life until he runs into the worst month of his life. A freak accident threatens to destroy the company and a two-bit scam artist (Mila Kunis) is pulling the strings. If only he could make it home before 8pm. After the clock strikes eight, his wife (Kristin Wiig) puts on the sweat pants and the chance of him getting lucky goes out the door. His best friend Dean (Ben Affleck), a bartender and Xanax pusher, comes up with a wild and elaborate plan to rid him of all of his troubles; except that Dean and plan should never be used in the same sentence.

Extract is a nice, bite-sized distraction that’s character-driven and doesn’t try so hard to be so outrageous that it becomes just another mind-numbing forgettable comedy. Unfortunately there’s not enough there to guarantee a spot amongst a must-see pile of films out there. It has its share of laughs that jab at workplace logic that never gets old–this time with a blue collar spin–but just because there’s nothing wrong with it, doesn’t make Extract a film you have to rush out and see. Think of a vineyard with a great wine that you love, and then you try one of the other wines in their lineup. It’s got a different direction to it, it’s not as robust, and it has similar notes, but it falls well-short of being a memorable wine. Well, Extract has plenty of positive things going for it, but it just falls short of being a memorable comedy.

What it does have going for it is that you know these people, you know this place and you know the characters that can aggravate you to no end. It’s not specific to one city or region of the country. It’s everywhere and Judge’s Extract has a way of taking what you know and feeding off of that familiarity in an enjoyable enough film. Just temper your expectations.

Video:C+
Miramax put Extract on blu-ray with a 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Colors aren’t as terrific as you’d hope and most notably, the skin tones push towards a pink-orange area that needs some color correction. Blacks and contrast could have been stronger, deeper and more pronounced. Details and clarity sort of phase in and out at times, and the most discernible eyes will catch the spots where this happens. I’d hope for a better looking film and understand this is a small independent film we’re looking at, but the bottom line is that I’m not walking away too impressed by the video.

Audio:C+
Much like the film, there’s nothing really fancy about Extract’s 5.1 English DTS-HD audio track. It’s a mainly a dialogue-driven film, with music pushed to the front and surrounding channels. Suburban neighborhood and some factory noise also gets sent to the rear channels but the volume is turned down so low that you’d have to pump up the volume to really hear it from where you’ll likely be seated, so I was disappointed with the effort here although I expected Extract to be a low-key title to begin with. Other audio selections include: a French 5.1 Dolby Digital track and subtitles are available in English SDH, French, and Spanish.

Extras:D+
There’s not much to the extras of Extract, and no blu-ray exclusives. In fact, you’ll probably learn more about the film in this Mike Judge Q/A session.

Mike Judge’s Secret Recipe HD (11:00) A brief making-of EPK extra the interviews Judge and some cast members about the story of Extract.

Extended Scenes HD (4:00) are five scenes that do run long and were wisely edited.

Deleted Scene HD (0:37) One deleted scene was taken out involving a conversation between Dead and Joel on the “day after.”

Trailers HD previews for When in Rome, Surrogates, and the Boys are Back

Overall Shock Value:C+
I didn’t think much of Office Space after my first viewing but the more I saw it the more I enjoyed it. I never took my affection to the extreme that I’ve heard others share, but Extract is something different; it’s smaller and more intimate, which I found to be one of Extract’s more endearing qualities. Will I think rabid Office Space fans will see this on par with this fabled film? Probably not, but there are some good fresh moments in this film that many viewers should connect with. Extract is devoid of any substantial extras and this is not a blu-ray of high technical achievement. I’d still recommend Extract as a rental.

Film/Feature: A–
Working in scientific research, is not as glamourous as other high profile careers. I come to that conclusion based on how many movies and television shows have been based on science and research… yeah, it’s tough to come up with one–until now.

Better Off Ted is about the inner-workings of global think tank, Veridian Dynamics, a research and development company in the dozens of fields including innovative industrial products, biomedicine, cryogenics as well as, defense technology. They come up with innovations such as biocomputers, exploding pumpkins, cow-less beef, and hair-growth remedies. This particular division of Veridian is headed by Veronica Palmer (Portia De Rossi) and in charge of research is Ted Crisp (Jay Harrington). Ted talks directly to the camera and is our main entry point to the company. He’s a confident, organized, corporate stiff who’s wife ran out on him and their daughter, Rose (Isabella Acres) who keeps her father in check.

Reporting directly to Ted are Head Scientists Phil Myman (Jonathan Slavin) Lem Hewitt (Malcolm Barrett), who are kept in the basement away from corporate but are always involved in the episode as they have to update the uppers of their progress, present in front of the board, and some of their experiments make their way up the building. Linda Zwordling (Andrea Anders) also reports to Ted. She works in the Testing, is the company idealist, flirts with Ted, and looks to violate company policies in protest of the anti-autonomous corporate culture.

De Rossi plays what she does best, and that’s playing a cold, heartless bitch. Borrowing familiar notes from her character in Arrested Development, De Rossi embodies corporate management perfectly lacking any sensitivity, looking for ways to cost-cut, and living the coda of ‘company first, employees last.’ She carries out mandates by her superiors and throws enough bones and scrap meat to the employees to keep them satisfied that they have a job.

It’s not comedy because it’s made up, folks.

Also separating Better Off Ted from the TV trash is accurate nonsensical workplace foibles, like the conversations between technical and marketing where there’s something lost in translation, unreasonable deadlines, cubicle communities, and dozens of other Dilbert-esque situations that all too many people can relate to. There’s also one Veridian commercial each episode that eerily mimics the style of science marketing, in painfully dry, and hilarious summations of that particular show. They have a special way of giving you hope and terrifying you at the same time. Sometimes the show even goes where it probably shouldn’t, and gives it a great satirical edge, like when the a cost-cutting move to install inferior motion light sensors keep all of the African American employees in the dark, or when Ted wrestles with the morality of helping his daughter outsell her classmate who is disabled.

I pray this show doesn’t fall prey to the same endings as Sports Night or Arrested Development as shows being so smartly written that it scares off a lot of people, and they’re run is cut too soon. Despite the setting, this show should strike a familiar chord with anyone who has worked in a corporate environment. It’s not important to have worked in corporate science to laugh at Better Off Ted because the comedic situations are universal. Corporate mentality and culture is so deeply engraved in our minds and what better to laugh at than life itself, right? But if you do work in science or technology be proud that your profession is so cleverly portrayed on television. You’ll get even more out of this show than the average person. And if you just know someone who works in science, tell them to take their head out of the books and watch this show.

Video: B
Better Off Ted has a standard definition, 480p transfer in 1.78:1 aspect ratio. I watch the show regularly in high definition when it’s originally broadcasted so in comparing that to the DVD, it has a much less sharp and detailed pop off the screen. Still, it doesn’t detract from what is overall a solid looking transfer. Good color and reproduction of skin tones are there; there are not many night scenes to really determine how good the black levels are, but contrast, shadow delineation, and saturation are at satisfactory levels with thankfully no post-production “enhancements” visible. Early on, especially in the Pilot episode, compression artifacts are visible in the Veridian commercials. As the series continues, though, they seem to correct that problem. Otherwise a fine looking show.

Audio: B+
A 5.1 English Dolby Digital audio track is a bit overkill for this series which is mostly weighted in the center channel. Dialogue from the center channel is the bread and butter of the series but a haunting brew of corporate choral music will surround you from all directions. Other audio selections include: a 2.0 Spanish Dolby Stereo track and ugly white and pixelated subtitles are available in English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Extras: F
There are no extras. This is a big disappointment but hopefully with more viewers, more money can be budgeted for some fun extras.

Overall Shock Value:A–
With all of the suffocating reality shows, it’s good to know that well-written shows still exist. Better Off Ted is one of those shows with enough quirks, wit and charm that you just can’t help but want more of it. Thankfully, I wasn’t alone in this thought because it was nominated for the Emmy Award for Best Comedy Series and was renewed for a second season and follows Scrubs at ABC on Tuesdays 9:30/8:30 Central. Despite the lack of extras, I’m still highly recommending this DVD as a stocking stuffer, or just a simple treat for yourself; because in the abyss of bad television, network shows as good as this deserve the attention. I have no doubt that people who work in any tech field will enjoy this, as will fans of Dilbert and Arrested Development. Buy it! and Long live corporate nerds!

Film/Feature: A+
Cult Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino is quoted in the film,

“Nobody shoots a car, the way Aussies do. They manage to shoot cars with this fetishistic lens that makes you want to jerk off!”

Attention: Genre Film Fans, never has there been a bigger collection of jaw-dropping stunts, outrageous gore, and gratuitous tit shots in one sitting than in Not Quite Hollywood. You may be found sitting with your mouth gaping open, because there are that many “Holy Shit!” moments. Like the films celebrated, this documentary isn’t a boring sedative, it’s an exciting romp through cinema’s wildest step child, Australian genre films. It’s fast-paced, filled with unbelievable clips like Nicole Kidman as a BMX biker (wait, what?), and eye-gaping interviews with legendary actor/stuntman Grant Page, or seeing Aussie director John D. Lamond talking casually on a couch, while at a strip club. 80 different interview subjects of Australian, American and British directors, actors, screenwriters, producers and critics including Quentin Tarantino, Stacy Keach, John Seale, George Lazenby, George Miller, Barry Humphries, Roger Ward, Dennis Hopper, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brian Trenchard-Smith and dozens more, tell-all in this history lesson of Australian genre B-movies.

It all started in the late 60’s to early 70’s, the ultimate revolution occurred in Australian culture. Feminism, sexual liberation, moratoriums on wars, you name it, the Aussies were into it, and no one wanted to be controlled or be governed. On a filmmaking front, the only films that were being made down under were nature films to promote tourism as if Australians were obsessed with koala bears and kangaroos. But in 1971 Australia’s censorship regime flipped house and with the introduction of the R-rating set off an explosion of a new age of genre films.

Ozploitation can be broken into three categories, and Not Quite Hollywood is broken into these three segments which progress chronologically. The first of these is the sexual comedy which was more or less born from the country’s sexual revolution, and the celebration of one’s skin. In The Naked Bunyip (1970), a Dr. Kinsey-type character goes around piqued and tries to chart different sexual fantasies which was a cheap way to get naked people on camera. Filmmakers such as Tim Burstall (1927-2004) who directed Stork (1971), Alvin Purple (1973), and Eliza Frazer (1976) thrived on the bawdiness and erotic comedies and still, other Australian filmmakers struggled with trying to create films to make portray Australians in a way that they wanted outsider’s perception to be. Call it an identity crisis, call it perversion at its finest, call it what you will, Australia had a booming epicenter of interesting filmmakers whether their own country’s elite liked them or not, the public spoke with their wallets.

In phase two of the film, “Comatose Killers and Outback Chillers,” the focus shifts to the horror genre where films like Inn of the Damned, and Night of Fear jump started the industry with a gory arrival. Others came like Patrick (1976), a psychological thriller where a man in a coma controlled people with telekinetic powers. Long Weekend (1978), featured a repulsive couple who were always at each other’s throat, but are attacked by Mother Nature when they go on a camping trip, because they posed as this cancer-like force of destruction. Writer Everett De Roche, then came up with Road Games (1981), which he describes as a Rear Window set in a truck; starring Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis and began a resentment by the Australian board because of American actors who were brought in to drive up ticket sales.

In the film’s final act, the action film, one staple that seemed to make its way in was the desert marauder, or bullies in the outback looking for trouble and someone to pick on, or worse things unimaginable. The one that trail blazed this new path was the biker-culture film, Stone (1974), which was hard to determine what was real and what was made up because of that particular filmmakers quest for authenticity. Other gems from this era were Mad Dog Morgan (1976), which featured a near-insane Dennis Hopper and The Man from Hong Kong (1975), which should have been called, the Man with the Bloated Ego because it starred the well-known difficult personality, Jimmy Wang Yu. But there was not a bigger success story than Mad Max (1979) launching the career of Mel Gibson and began a sub-genre of post-apocalyptic films like Turkey Shoot (1981) and Midnight Spares (1982).

Not Quite Hollywood takes a good glance into frontier filmmaking at its wildest, where feminism was being pioneered and taken down on the screen at the same time, the drive-in culture was on the rise, and innovative and creative films were being done on shoestring budgets. Safety precautions in stunts were almost never taken, and filmmakers would go to the horse track to try and win money to finance their films; it was as if this tight knit industry collectively gave a middle finger to their critics. Hysterically, the doc frequently cuts to Aussie film critics Bob Ellis and Phillip Adams who are never afraid to spew a barrage of disgusted words towards these films again. Kudos goes to Mark Hartley for putting forth the effort to bring a wider attention and hopefully a broader appreciation for the Australian genre films. He’s opened up a whole new vault of genre films to Ozploitation novices like myself to track down and enjoy.

Video: B
Not Quite Hollywood is preserved on DVD with a standard definition480p encoded transfer in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Now these are grind house films so the picture quality bounces back and forth from modern-produced interview pieces to moderately preserved clips, to really bad looking negatives of these rare films. I’m going to default to the filmmakers that what they were able to find for the film was the very best they could find. Grain is ever present and some clips have sever damage and artifacting, while others barely have a visible image, but for the most part, clips are very clear, color is strong but muddied down, and there is a toothy grit in many of the clips but all of the interviews are pleasant to watch even if they don’t look as refined, and for this film, that fits the mold.

Audio: B+
The Audio on the other hand is consistently good and comes to you via 5.1 English Dolby Digital audio track. Dialogue is clear, coming from the center, with an active soundstage that utilizes the rear channels of your home theater frequently with sound effects like splintering glass from the various movie clips, head banging music, and joyful explosions that make their way to your subwoofer. Other audio selections include: English 2.0 and subtitles are available in Spanish, sadly because I think those with untrained ears may have trouble hearing through some of the accents.

A Scene from Turkey Shoot

Extras:A

There are no subtitles for any of the extras which is a letdown for anyone who wants to try and track this stuff down.

Audio Commentary by Director Mark Hartley and the Ozploitation Auters is a free-for-all commentary track that includes Brian Trenchard-Smith, Antony I. Ginnane, John D. Lamond, David Hannay, Richard Brennan, Alan Finney, Vincent Monton, Grant Page and Roger Ward. This is a great supplement to hear a very honest recount of what making films in Australia was like in the 1970’s and 1980s, and even today. What’s difficult is that some of the participants are doing adding their parts via phone so with that many contributors, who’s talking to who gets a little lost. Still the stories these filmmakers want to share are both entertaining and fascinating like what the filmmakers of Mad Max’s first impressions of Mel Gibson were.

Deleted and Extended Scenes SD (Approx. 60 minutes) There’s almost an extra hour of cutting room material. 21 total scenes are available to peruse one-by-one or see all at once. Most of them are deleted scenes with four being extended scenes.

Quentin Tarantino Interviews Brian Trenchard-Smith SD (13:00) QT and Trenchard-Smith (who made The Man From Hong Kong (1975), Stunt Rock (1978), Turkey Shoot (1982) Hospitals Don’t Burn Down (1978) talk films not for exploitation neophytes. Tarantino does reveal that he plans to release Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair after “once everything dies down and Miramax disentangles themselves from Disney and have their new company, we’ll release the whole thing together.” These two guys talk about tweaking their films for the MPAA and dealing with shady production companies.

Audio Interview with Director Richard Franklin SD (22:47) an audio clip of an interview with the late Franklin in front of a live audience, who was the director of such Australian gems as Patrick (1978), Fantasm (1876), Psycho II (1983) and Eroticon (1971). Franklin fields questions and shares his experiences in trying to make films in that renaissance period of Ozploitation era.

Image Gallery SD (5:03) is a groovy photo montage set to some funky music.

Funding Pitches from Quentin Tarantino and John D. Lamond SD (1:24) Tarantino and Lamond make a pleas and endorsements to those who may be interested in distributing the film. Thank the stars for Magnolia Pictures.

Original Theatrical Trailer SD (2:13) The excellent trailer that was enough to sell me on seeing the film is here.

Magnolia Trailers for Ong Bak 2, The Canyon, World’s Greatest Dad and HD Net (7:07)

Overall Shock Value: A+
If we’re talking about shock value, Not Quite Hollywood is right up there with the best films I’ve seen all year long. I’ve probably seen it nearly five times and I see something new with every viewing. The Aussies were so outrageous in their filmmaking that you’d think I was making this up, if you haven’t seen it yourself. Not Quite Hollywood is an educational acid trip down wild and risk-taking genre films that I think only the most devoted fans of genre films will be open to. If you’re looking for a film that will act like a fist and punch out your teeth, drop a grenade in your mouth and pull the pin, Not Quite Hollywood is there, winding up for the knockout blow, all you have to do is pick it up to seal the deal. Buy this, please.

Year: 2005-2007
Running Time: Approx 22 Hours
Rated: Not Rated
SRP: $139.99
Studio(s): HBO Films with BBC Studios
Release Date: November 17, 2009

Film/Feature: A+
HBO and BBC united as one force in creating a two-season dramatization of the Ancient Roman Empire that was done so well, that no one should be able to touch this material for decades. There’s no use for it, because this is as perfect as one could ever dream of Ancient Rome.

Over two seasons, Rome showed the rise of Julius Caesar, from general to emperor to his death on the senate floor; and that was just the end of the first season. The second season would shift towards Caesar’s heir, Augustus Octavian and the rise of the triumvirate as well as its tumble to where her son would put his family through Hades to become emperor supreme. But rather than some straight re-enactment of what the history books showed, series co-creators Bruno Heller Jonathan Stamp anchored the entire series on two centurion soldiers, the only two to be mentioned in Caesar’s war journals: the stern and stable Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd-Trainspotting) and the bawdy and blood-lusty Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson-Punisher War Zone). There was little known about these soldiers and that made it fertile ground from which the series could build its foundation on.

The entire series pivots around their ascents into power and descents into madness and as a result, the size and mass of Roman history is digestible and addictive. Vorenus and Pullo are as high as working class citizens of Rome can be. Too common to ever be considered royalty, too privileged and honorable to be considered slaves. The perfect conduits to insert and observe the significant events of the Roman empire. Their return from the victory in the Galic War brings Vorenus home to his wife Niobe (Indira Varma) for the first time in nine years and that dynamic is explored throughout the first season while Pullo entangles himself in dark times.

Of course, the other half of the series is the actual history of the Roman Empire centering around the women of Rome and their influence and back door politicking, especially Atia of the Julii (Polly Walker). Atia’s daughter is Octavia of the Julii (Kerry Kondon). Her lover is Mark Antony (James Purefoy), her enemies are Servilia of the Junii (Lindsay Duncan) and Cleopatra (Lyndsey Marshal) and most importantly, her son is Gaius Octavian (Max Pirkis- young; Simon Woods-older), heir to one, Julius Caesar (Ciarán Hinds).

This intertwining of history and fiction with revelations of the back rooms of scandal and struggle of the aristocrats made for rich drama. Rome was not afraid to show the dysfunction, manipulation, savage violence, nor, the incredible sex of the Romans. It is HBO, after all. Besides the Roman’s convenient comfort with their own skin, the handling of the historical material is mature and complete enough to leave any viewer satisfied. This is as complete and enjoyable as I’ve seen the story of the Roman Empire and I’ll finish with excerpts taken from the gorgeous blu-ray packaging that describes each season.

Season One
Taken from the blu-ray packaging:

Half a century before the dawn of Christianity, Rome has become the wealthiest city in the world, a cosmopolitan metropolis of one million people– epicenter of a sprawling empire. Founded on principles of shared power and fierce personal competition, the Republic was created to prevent any one man from seizing absolute control. It is a society where soldiers can rise up from being provincial commoners to become national heroes, even leaders of the Republic. An intimate drama of love and betrayal, masters and slaves, and husbands and wives, Rome chronicles the epic times that saw the fall of a republic and the creation of an empire.

Season Two
Taken from the blu-ray packaging:

Rome is reeling after the death of Caesar. To universal amazement, Caesar’s will names eighteen-year-old Octavian as his sole heir. Now begins one of history’s most brutal and vicious battles—both behind closed doors and on the battlefields– as rivals to Caesar each attempt to become the new leader of the Roman Empire. With shocking revelations and bloody manipulations, rich, powerful families and common soldiers become part of a cutthroat power struggle that will forever shape the history of the world.

If that don’t get you to buy this series, I don’t know what will.

The honorable Lucius Vorenus

Video: A
Rome has been out on DVD since 2006-2007 but this is the first time HBO has put it out on blu-ray. They gave it a killer 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio and it’s a definite upgrade from the DVD releases. The first noticeable upgrade is the color just bursts on the screen. All of the labor put into the recreation of the set designs, the costumes and the makeup are much more noticeable given the increased level of detail of the blu-rays. The strong level of blacks are maintained all throughout the series, and contrast is strong whether the scenes are at night or in the day, interior or exterior. Skin-tones have warmth, albeit sweaty appearance. Know too, that the series was shot on 35 mm film and not digital so the picture quality, while refined in high definition, maintains the designed look of classic cinematic films instead of the ones that are shot on digital format. The grain that’s present is kept at a comfortable level and is originally intended to be there. There are no signs of artificial edge enhancement or distracting image blemishes. This is a good-looking transfer. If you want to see the difference in the 35mm film converted shots of the feature when compared to the high definition of the Season Two featurettes show the how both aesthetics have their own unique appeal. And to compare that back to standard definition, you’ll be able to see the visual difference in the extras from Season One which remain in standard definition, whereas all of those on Season Two are in HD.

Julius Caesar (Ciarán Hinds) with some plebs

Audio: A
No to be overlooked or overheard, is the 5.1 English DTS-HD audio track. David Cohn who was Rome’s sound designer deserves a wealth of praise for what he created here. While the power of the audio comes from up front, there are many instances where the rear channels are used well-enough that they create a more immersive image of a surrounding shell of audio. Scenes such as war battles envelope all around; city chatter and noises help recreate Ancient Rome in your viewing room; whispers in the Senate room place you in the crowd; and the raucous chants in the “small” gladiator stage. Rome’s score as composed by Jeff Beal will fill the room and charm its way into your ear. It’s a soundtrack that beckons you to the sweet spot in your couch and seduces you with its snake-charming melody. If anything I’d say that the rear channels are not used enough where I could easily recall a scene to use as demo material, but this is all about sounding strong and clear for 22 episodes. Other audio selections include: 2.0 DTS in French, Spanish and Caslitlian and a Polish Voiceover in 2.0 DTS, 5.1 German DTS-HD, DTS Digital tracks and subtitles are available in English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Polish, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Hebrew, Romanian and Castilian.

Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) and Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd)

Extras: A
First thing I must mention about the Rome box set is the packaging. Typically standardized and “blue” creative packaging design is a rare thing in blu-ray. But Rome is anything but. It is justifiably as gaudy as the series itself. The box has a rigid cardboard slipcase, and the casing slides out like a book, complete with a ribbon bookmark. Each page holds a disc, detailing the contents, and displays attractive stills from the series. I do wish that they were able to pack more on less. Each disc holds two episodes, a few with three. But given all of the soundtracks in the multiple languages, I know that may have been a challenge. The strength behind this rating is based on how much I enjoy commentaries because there are no shortage of them in Rome. There are also nine featurettes and some interactive blu-ray features. All of the featurettes in Season One is in standard definition and Dolby stereo, while all of the Season Two specials are in high definition and DTS sound. One thing I found missing were subtitles for the audio commentaries.

All Roads Lead to Rome is a very cool feature that HBO tends to put on their maxi series. This allows viewers to get historical facts, and factual lessons while the episode is going on. A little banner shows up on the bottom and there is fact checking, a rolling glossary, and explanations into rituals and customs of Roman times. I watched nearly the entire series with this feature on and I highly recommend using this because you get a much more real perspective of what went on in the history books as well as an incredible resource at not just seeing a series about Rome, but really get to learn what did happen.

Bloodlines is another interactive feature that allows viewers to pull up a picture box menu to see who is connected to who. See those who are strung together, see the relationships and hit enter twice on one person and you get to see that person’s connections.

Episode Previews Season One HD (9:45) 12 tv spots for the first twelve episodes are accessible in each of the first five discs. Each preview last 40 to 50 seconds.

Episode Previews Season Two HD (9:45) 10 tv spots for the last ten episodes are accessible in each of the last five discs. Each preview last 40 to 50 seconds.

The rest of the extras are spread throughout the 10 discs.

Disc 1
Episode I: The Stolen Eagle
Audio Commentary with Co-Creator/Executive Producer Bruno Heller and Co-Producer/Historical Consultant Jonathan Stamp This is the first of a baker’s dozen of commentaries. The team of Heller and Stamp do six total, and right out of the gates, they’re a bit on the subdued side. Informative, but there’s plenty of gaps where they quietly watch the episode.

Episode II: How Titus Pullo Brought Down the Republic
Audio Commentary with Co-Creator/Executive Producer Bruno Heller and Co-Producer/Historical Consultant Jonathan Stamp Again, very laid back, Heller and Stamp seem to have a wealth of information but don’t seem to want to share it all for the audience. They do have some amusing comments that will prompt a chuckle or two, and there is some supplemental things to be learned while listening, but not as much as one would hope.

Friends, Romans, Countrymen SD (11:09) introduces all of the major players of the first season of Rome: Luceous Vorenus, Titus Pullo, Atia, Servilia, Mark Antony, and Caesar.

The Rise of Rome SD (23:38) goes behind the scenes on set locations, wardrobe and actors’ boot camp; and closes with the civic pride to shoot in Rome and with Roman extras, building monstrous and authentic sets.

Disc 2
Episode V: The Ram Has Touched the Wall
Audio Commentary with Ray Stevenson (Titus Pullo) is a nice change-up; Stevenson’s full of vibrant volume and life with his comments. He takes his time-outs like everyone else, but he is surprisingly full of Ancient Roman facts, as much as or if not more than Stamp was willing to share.

Disc 3
Episode VII: Pharsalus
Audio Commentary with Co-Creator/Executive Producer Bruno Heller and Co-Producer/Historical Consultant Jonathan Stamp

Episode VIII: Caesarion
Audio Commentary with Director Steve Shill

Disc 4
Episode IX: Utica
Audio Commentary with Director Jeremy Podeswa

Shot X Shot: Caesar’s Triumph SD (10:34) Episode X: Triumph is the most expensive of season one. Julius Caesar is brought in as Rome’s first emperor and the celebration, the 500-600 costumed extras, animals, and set design pushed the budget sky high and altogether was shot in two days.

Disc 5
Episode XI: The Spoils
Audio Commentary with Kevin McKidd (Lucius Vorenus) is another terrific actor commentary, one in which McKidd talks throughout and like Stevenson delivers a nice informative, and amusing track. If only McKidd and Stevenson could have done a commentary track together or more than just one each, because I enjoyed both of their commentaries the most out of the whole bunch.

Episode XII: Kalends of February
Audio Commentary with Co-Creator/Executive Producer Bruno Heller and Co-Producer/Historical Consultant Jonathan Stamp

Shot X Shot: Gladiator SD (23:02) Probably one of the iconic and memorable moments of the series is the scene that pits Titus Pullo against the gladiator pit in Episode XI: The Spoils. See the research, the choreography, how they filmed it, and the way digital effects finished off the scenes.

When in Rome SD (22:42) delves into the facets of Roman culture such as religion, the Great Mother, Servilia’s curse, marriage, sex, and the slave society.

Disc 6
Episode I: Passover
Audio Commentary with Co-Creator/Executive Producer Bruno Heller and Co-Producer/Historical Consultant Jonathan Stamp

Tale of Two Romes HD (20:31) is a fabulous featurette that discusses the history of Rome and how it became divided into separate slums and hoods. Maps are also used to help illustrate the development of Rome. Festering from this structure came organized crime, or mobs, and this was also looked at as well as the Jews in Rome, gambling culture, religion and politics, narcotics, power and sexuality, and the prominence of professional graffiti writing. One of the best extras in the entire series, and more of what I was hoping for out of the commentary tracks.

Disc 7
There are no extras on this disc.

Disc 8
The Making of Rome: Season Two HD (22:53) shows the changes that had to be done to up the ante and create a cinematic and realistic visual representation of the real ancient Rome, especially the Aventine which was the birth of modern gang fare, the digital effects for large battle scenes, and the recreation of Cleopatra and Mark Antony’s palace.

Disc 9
Episode VII: Death Mask
Audio Commentary with Director John Maybury and Lindsay Duncan (Servilia) discuss the exit of Servilia from the series, and the giant arc of that character. They start out real strong talking up a storm but halfway through they almost stop talking and are caught watching the episode in silence, even with major events happening on the screen.

Episode VIII: A Necessary Fiction
Audio Commentary with Executive Producer John Melfi and Director Carl Franklin
is a much more exciting and talkative track with constant and more relevant conversation through the entire episode.

Rise of Octavian: Rome’s First Emperor HD (20:45) Octavian’s rule began from 44 B.C. When Ceasar was assassinated and left him his heir to the Roman Empire. This featurette charts Augustus Octavian’s path and rise to dividing up the empire with the triumvirate of he, Mark Antony and Pledius.

Disc 10
Episode IX: No God Can Stop a Hungry Man
Audio Commentary with James Purefoy (Mark Antony) is another good track where Purefoy divulges a lot of his experience in shooting this episode and being a part of Rome. I found an interesting tidbit he shared was the music he and Linsday Marshall (Cleopatra) listened to while filming the love scenes. Not so tender love for these scenes, Marilyn Manson, Nirvanna and the Sex Pistols are just a few of what was playing to work out the nihilistic lifestyle of Antony and Cleopatra.

Episode X: About Your Father
Audio Commentary with Co-Creator/Executive Producer Bruno Heller and Co-Producer/Historical Consultant Jonathan Stamp much like their previous commentary tracks Heller and Stamp put forth an effort that’s more sparse than what I was hoping but it’s not bad. It is nice to hear both of them satisfied, and exhausted in their efforts, but most of all proud and that comes through.

Antony and Cleopatra HD (14:49) discusses Cleopatra’s historical path through two of the Roman Empire’s most prominent figures, as well as, Antony’s compromise of his values and and honor for the ultimate love of his life.

Who could resist Cleopatra (Lyndsey Marshal) when she looked like this?

Overall Shock Value: A+
Forget any movie, play or television version of the Roman Empire you may have seen before. HBO’s Rome is more comprehensive, sumptuously enjoyable, and impressionable than any other conventional story about the real “Empire.” Even though there were fictional liberties taken, historical roots that you feel that much of Rome was a fair depiction. The story of Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, the most fictionalized narrative, is also the most enjoyable part: A Rome epic that’s the joint venture of HBO and BBC has all the story you want, all the sex you desire and every back-stabbing moment of deception you could ever ask for. Everything is impressive about this series from the epic set designs and superb acting, to the treatment of the historical events both magnificent and ugly. Captured on blu-ray, with extraordinary supplements and apt treatment of sound and picture, Rome has not looked or sounded any better. Recommendations do not come much easier than this. A definite Must Buy!

Miramax released this new blu-ray box set collecting three of Kevin Smith’s early films. Clerks, Chasing Amy and Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back. The latter is an older blu-ray release but Clerks and Chasing Amy are new blu-ray releases, and of the two Chasing Amy is sporting lots of new extras. I’ve reviewed all three of them with links below.

Clerks Blu-Ray Review

Chasing Amy Blu-Ray Review

Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back Blu-Ray Review

Year: 1996
Running Time: 113 Minutes
Rated: R
SRP: $39.99 Single release or $89.99 Kevin Smith 3-Pack
Studio(s): Miramax
Release Date: November 17, 2009

Film/Feature: A+

It’s not who you love, it’s how you love.

After taking an amusing detour in Mallrats, Smith got back to basics and made a personal film. Not in the traditional sense. Not with Meg Ryan or not like some cookie-cutter Kate Hudson film. Smith had one more chance to do a successful film or else be forgotten in the pile of directors that could have been big. (For the record, Kevin, I liked Mallrats) His goal was to make the movie Dogma, but before doing that, he had to get back on his feet, after being soundly defeated at the box office with Mallrats. Somehow, he crafted a story born out of his real relationship at the time with actress, Joey Lauren Adams and came up with Chasing Amy. Now, none of the actual events in the movie really happened in Smith and Adams’ life, but the film served as a metaphor for the crossroads that many relationships can’t seem to build a bridge over.

In this film Holden (Ben Affleck) and Banky (Jason Lee) are the best of friends, and partners in crime, comic book creators of the wildly popular comic, Bluntman and Chronic, based on the likeness of View Askewniverse dealers, Jay and Silent Bob. Holden is a conservative guy, firm in his convictions and traditional in every sense of the way, and then he meets Alyssa (Adams), a fellow independent comic creator, and falls head over heels for her. The problem is that she’s gay, and Holden’s pursuit of her troubles Banky and creates a rift that could damage years of friendship.

It’s a sordid love story that has tragedy written all over it but is neither predictable nor insensitive. Sex is spoken in vulgar fashion, but in a way that Smith so eloquently can do so well. Combined with raw performances by Adams, Affleck, and Lee, soon after the movie starts, you know that these characters will stick stay in your mind.

I found Chasing Amy so wonderful, that it restored faith that an American filmmaker could do something new with something that’s so fundamentally trite at that time in cinema. It was mature, ground-breaking and took such a strange angle at love that no one’s come close to touching it since. Chasing Amy starts out as a sex comedy that takes viewers to places they weren’t expecting, and without them knowing it, reveals the a genuine love shared between two sets of people in a way that will make you laugh one minute, and cry the next.

Take away all the dressing and Chasing Amy is not so much about sexual inadequacies, insecurities, or straight men trying to convert lesbians, as it is about getting close to the bond between two people and seeing how much or little of it can survive through and ultimately how fragile love can be.

Chasing Amy was a real shock to me at the time. I never knew that Smith had it in him to make a film like his, or that the actors had it in them to realize such full and complete characters. That’s why Chasing Amy continues to be an important film. It has soul behind the words, and that unrefined emotion behind the performances that’s rare in entertainment, and is worth revisiting time and again.

Video: A-
Much like the Clerks Blu-Ray, the new 1080p High Definition VC-1 Transfer preserves the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio and improves the overall look quite well, but it’s not going to hold up well when you compare it to a film that was shot with better equipment. Primary hues and synthetic color have a bit more juice behind them, while real world colors have a drab, muted quality. You can tell when different cameras were used at different scenes. Take Chapter 14 for instance, the establishing exterior shot of the restaurant is very clear, and then when the scene goes inside it looks fuzzy and and grainy. Then the scene goes back to inside Holden’s car and the detail jumps up again. So it would be nice to see a bit more consistency across the board but this variance is probably due to the way it was shot rather than the VC-1 encode. The color in this chapter also shows all the gradual ranges of blues, purples, golds, and ambers in the scene. It’s for the most part a fairly strong transfer. There’s still grain present throughout so for those who prefer that cinematic look will be happy in the overall aesthetics. Textures have a bit more detail so to actually see differences in clothing, furniture, etc. Remember that this film was made on $250,000 which is not a lot of money, folks when you’re talking about a color film. And while that’s a significant increase in the cost of Clerks, it’s still not ever going to look like million dollar film, so given the resources and the limits in technology used, Chasing Amy looks better than it ever has, but only serious videophiles are going to walk away from this blu-ray.

Audio: B+
Like the video presentation, the high definition English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is going to feel like a little bit of overkill for what’s a dialogue driven film. The audio gets an ample jolt in spots where music is played, or again in Chapter 14 when the rumble of the Thunderstorm rolls through. Raindrops can also be heard in the rear channels when both Alyssa and Holden argue in the rain. Another scene of note is Chapter 20 at the hockey rink. It’s probably the most active scene in the film creating a full scene around you. Other audio options include Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital, German 5.1 DTS, and subtitles are available in English, English SDH, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Bahasa, Maly, Mandarin, Farsi, Korean, Svenska, Norsk, Dansk, Suomi, Islenska, Russian, Turkish, and Romanian.

Extras: A-
For the first time, this film gets dusted off since the fine 1996 Criterion Collection. And as a huge fan of Criterion, I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of my old DVD, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t double-dip to get Chasing Amy on blu-ray. They’ve added lots of new material as exclusives to the blu-ray, but unfortunately they took off an incredible audio commentary by Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, Ben Affleck, Jason Mewes, Robert Hawk, Jon Gordon and Vincent Pereira. There was also a booklet that was used in the Criterion case with an essay by Smith, chapter menu and “Who’s Who in the View Askewniverse” that’s sadly missing as well. What has been transported over is the following:

10 Deleted Scenes (25:01) SD Tell ‘em Steve Dave (3:43), Original Love Story (5:08), Bring on the Free Hooch (1:10), Money and Power (5:25), Help a Brother Out (0:48), The Right Man (1:37), Shoes? (1:02), Bitch, You’re Schooling No One (1:32), A More Tolerant Age (2:49), The Mata-Fucking Hari! (1:43).

Outtakes (4:36) SD is a gathering of laugh-inducing moments on the set.

Trailer (2:05) SD Theatrical trailer

Sneak Peeks for On Blu-Ray (1:02) Everybody’s Fine HD (2:32), Extract HD (1:19), and Surrogates HD (1:21).

Blu-Ray Exclusives
Now we come to the new stuff which most are in high definition (with the exception of the Q and A) and in 2.0 Stereo.

First is the New Audio Commentary by Kevin Smith and Producer Scott Mosier will be a treat for those who are familiar with Smith and Mosier’s online Smodcasts. This is the only place to hear Smodcast No. 97, which is the new commentary for Chasing Amy on Blu-Ray. None of the Smith’s commentaries could ever be claimed as being scene-specific, but from the beginning, the track gets derailed into a free-wheeling conversation that takes us from one tangent into the next and while I miss the directness and focus of the original commentary, it’s a track full of laughs, (where the duo’s sobriety can almost come into question) and puts a new spin on seeing Chasing Amy for the umpteenth time. If you like this Smodcast, you can find the others here.

Tracing Amy: The Chasing Amy Doc HD (1:22:00) Like in other documentaries about Smith’s films, this is an excellent look back at the landmark moments of Chasing Amy. Everything is discussed including the early groundwork of where the story would come from, sexual insecurities, Smith and Adams relationship that would be the foundation for the film, making a film about the gay lifestyle, bromance between Banky and Holden, having $250,000 to spend instead of $3 million, and the rise and fallout of Sundance including the damage it did to the friendships of View Askew.

Was it it something I Said? HD (18:00) is a very candid one-on-one conversation between Smith and Adams as they revisit their relationship and reflect on Chasing Amy and what that did to their careers. Smith is clearly still giddy and excited to be there, while Adams still appears to have some reservations, but neither of them hold back and is a strong supplement to the film after all these years.

10 Years Later Q and A SD (27:46) with Kevin Smith, Jason Lee, Joey Adams, Ben Affleck, Dwight Ewell, Scott Mosier and Jason Mewes. Smith and crew field questions at the Arclight in Los Angeles, in reflection of Chasing Amy like revisiting the emotional scene between Holden and Alyssa, how Adams and Smith’s relationship at the time affected filming and a host of other softball questions that allowed the cast to give playful answers. It does helps to put on the subtitles as the audio isn’t very good and some of the actors like Jason Lee and Jason Mewes don’t talk very clearly into the mics.

Overall Shock Value: A+
We can always hope for all films to have a big boost in video and audio in the jump to blu-ray but at the end of the day, you still want the films to look as originally intended and not look or sound artificial. Technically, it’s better than the 1996 Criterion Collection, and it’s got a handful of new and exclusive new material just for blu-ray. Chasing Amy is finally on blu-ray and is the biggest reason to go out and get the Kevin Smith 3-Movie Collection.

I’m not shy to say that Chasing Amy will always have a firm place in my favorite films of all time, because it’s unconventional journey with memorable performances. It’s a deep look at love, not just between significant others, but friends as well, and instead of trying to find the words to describe what a treasure Chasing Amy continues to be, I’ll just say, please watch it with an open mind if you’ve never seen it before and if you have, to see it again (preferably on blu-ray) and enjoy.

Year: 2001
Running Time: 104 minutes
Rated: R
SRP: $39.99 Single $89.99 Kevin Smith 3-Pack
Studio(s): Miramax
Release Date: November 17, 2009 (Kevin Smith 3-Pack) Original Released on Blu-Ray 2006

Film/Feature: C+
After making four unique films that stood on their own, Kevin Smith decided he had enough pull at Miramax to make the biggest inside film in American film history. To get the most out of Jay & Silent Bob Strikes Back, one had to see Clerks, Marllrats, Chasing Amy and Dogma previously, as it was originally thought to be the closing chapter on the View Askewniverse (only to be thwarted by Clerks II). Strikes Back feels like a denouement, a hybrid of a Looney Tunes cartoon, a Wayans Brothers parody film, and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. It was as if Smith wanted to prove he could make another comedy in the vein of Mallrats, (which was picture-perfect) but let’s be honest, as rare as it was to have a film hit gold like Clerks, it was just as rare to have a film like Mallrats (eventually) find its audience as well.

I’m sure I wasn’t alone in hoping that fan-favorite View Askew characters like Banky, Brodie, Holden, Alyssa, Hooper X, Dante or Randall would get featured roles once again. Instead most of them were relegated to brief one-line cameo appearances and that alone stoked the flames of what would be an overall letdown for me.

In Dogma, Smith achieved the perfect heavy dose of the Jay and Silent Bob characters that didn’t affect the film negatively; instead they enhanced every scene they were in. In Strikes Back, however, that balance was tipped. Instead of being supporting characters Jay and Bob were THE characters, and Jason Mewes did prove he could carry an entire film; but a film anchored by Jay and Bob wasn’t nearly as interesting to me as Smith’s other characters. It took some of the bite out of the first four films that seemed to be so carefully laid out.

The flimsy premise rests on the doob-namic duo hitchhiking their way to Los Angeles to stop a Miramax-produced Bluntman and Chronic film from being made. The comic book characters based on their likeness (from Chasing Amy) has targeted them as sellouts and if they’re able to stop the film, they hope to restore their good name and squash the negativity spewed by anonymous online posters on a message board. Even that is an inside joke; a big screen sucker punch at the trolls on Smith’s own message board. Along the way, they bump into all of the View Askew alums, and then get into bizarre adventures with the Scooby Doo gang, diamond-stealing-catsuit-clad clichés (Ali Larter, Eliza Dushku, Jennifer Schwalbach, Shannon Elizabeth), a costumed villain named Cock-Knocker played by Mark Hamill, a moronic park ranger played by Will Ferrell, and a who’s who young Hollywood at the time. And I can’t forget about the monkey named Suzanne. There are no deep meanings, or some new geek-centric way of looking at life, just lots of inside dick and fart jokes.

I had always found a special place for all of Smith’s films up to that point but for the first time, I felt I was part of a small focus group who knew where most of the jokes came from. Not only had viewers need to see all four previous films, but they had to have enjoyed them as well. Strangely though, to a much younger crowd, it served as an easy entry point to Smith’s library. As long as you don’t take it too seriously, and you followed all of Smith’s works (including his comics), the film still works. Despite having too much Jay, and the wasted appearances by Joey Lauren Adams, Dwight Ewell, and Jason Lee, seeing it on blu-ray after all of these years reminded me of how funny I did find it, but I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t say that I thought it could have been much better.

Video: B+
Strikes Back got the blu-ray treatment back in 2006 and it’s a solid 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in Clerks’ 2.35:1 original aspect ratio but I felt it could be more consistent through the entire film. In the beginning, blacks could have been deeper, contrast is not at a preferred level and as a result, it gives a slightly faded appearance. Eventually things look much better, especially in the Miramax studio finale, where colors have a good striking look. Sometimes the picture has a lot of detail and definition, while at other moments the picture takes on a softer and grainier texture. Will big Kevin Smith fans notice? They might, but it’s not going to incite some riot for higher definition either.

Audio: B+
Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back comes correct on a 5.1 Uncompressed English PCM track which is a solid track. This is a Kevin Smith film so reign in your expectations of an audio orgasm. Strikes back is still a talky film, but there are more musical cues and notes, lots of activity on the handful of actions scenes spread throughout the film. Dialogue is all very distinct and pleasingly vulgar to the ear. We’re not listening to reference material here, folks, but it does an adequate job and reproduces one of Smith’s more lively soundtracks with justice Subtitles are available in English, English SDH, French, Spanish

Extras: D
For those that have the DVD, know that there is a lot more available that could have been ported over. If only they had waited until the box set to release Jay and Silent Bob Strikes back on blu-ray, then perhaps we could have seen the documentary, “Oh What a Lovely Tea Party” on this disc instead of the Clerks blu-ray. Which leaves us to the only extra on the disc…

Audio Commentary by Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, and Jason Mewes is mostly Smith and Mosier with a bored Mewes lurking in the background or sleeping. Smith and Mosier are as always an excellent joy to listen to. They’re two friends and co-workers full of stories, anecdotes, and honesty that’s better than the lovey-dovey smooch-fests that can really drag a commentary track down.

Overall Shock Value: C
I’ll cringe if they somehow release this film again later on another blu-ray with all of the DVD extras ported over. Why they didn’t do that with this release, I’ll never know, but the omission of those extras certainly didn’t help the grading of this blu-ray. While I don’t recommend anyone going out of their way to get this version of this film on blu-ray, I wouldn’t hold anyone back who finds a great online deal on the box set. Technically it is shines where it needs to, but the extras are just lacking too much from the 2-disc DVD release and there’s nothing new or exclusive to the blu-ray itself. So unless you have never seen the film or don’t have any version at home, I’d pass on buying this by itself, but if you’re looking for the Kevin Smith 3-Pack upgrade, then it will suffice. As I said, the film has this infectious type of silly comedy to it, but it is story-wise an inferior film when compared to the rest of Smith’s body of work.

Film/Feature: A

Its cultural influence includes one of the earliest modern explorations of bromantic relationships, honest and vulgar, sexual conversations that were spoken everywhere except on camera, and observations from a geek’s view-master of popular culture. Kevin Smith paved the way for Judd Apatow, Todd Phillips, and continues to influence others, be ripped off, or paid homage to in film festivals around the world. Clerks marked the return of the vulgar comedy that disappeared in the late 80’s. He did for as much for the comedy film as much as Quentin Tarantino did for the genre film. Clerks didn’t hold back. Clerks was a fearless skydive into the bottomless pitt of the unknown; not just in the effort by its green filmmakers, but in the type of story it told, that would reach audiences to that point, had not been established. His voice was one that was distinct, loud and clear.

For those too young, too old, or not hip to Kevin Smith’s filmmaking debut, Clerks is about a day in the life of two store clerks, Dante and Randall. One runs convenience store, the other a movie rental store. It was the capital of slacker-town, the armpits of the underachievement, and apparently, the one place that hadn’t been explored in movie form. On his day off, Dante comes to work at a fork in life trying to choose either a path with his sexual insecurities with his current girlfriend, Veronica (Marilyn Ghigliotti) or recapture the flame with his past girlfriend, Caitlin (Lisa Spooner) with whom he’s been speaking to behind Veronica’s back. He soon finds out that he is the last to know that Caitlin is engaged. And if his girl troubles weren’t enough, then it’s his lack of ambition that holds him back from ever progressing in life. It’s a good thing his best friend, Randall is there at his side, to nag him, needle him, and goad him to walk away from his responsibilities.

Clerks spoke to a whole generation of 20-somethings, and later, teenagers trying to find direction in their life, trying to define love and overcome obstacles in life that hold them back. If you were in your 20’s in the late 90’s, Clerks was a relevant film to you. It just didn’t hold true only to Generation X, but has since been well-received by Generation Y and Baby Boomers alike, who have discovered Smith. Anyone that’s ever held a customer service job or even less specific, hated their job, can relate to something in Clerks.

Smith’s knack for the written word made up for his lack of cinematic vision. His infamous static camera and trademark lack of depth was forgiven when a rapid-fire of profanity-laced tirades came out of two convenient store clerks, loitering drug dealers, and obnoxious customers that manages to encapsulate every odd character who walks into a retail store. Never had there been so many large, poignant observations of life been made in an on-location set so small.

Part of Clerks’ magic was its charm: the extremely low budget, the black and white appearance, Smith’s New Jersey friends and roots, and its long and storied road to success. Part of that experience includes passing Clerks to those who haven’t seen it, as if it were a torch bearing light onto a beach of an undiscovered country, still waiting to be inhabited, 15 years later and beyond. And now it can continue on in high definition.

Video: B
Smith addresses to his surprise in the new blu-ray intro, that the film actually received the high definition treatment in a 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in Clerks’ 1.78:1 original aspect ratio on what’s essentially a lo-fi film. Despite his less than flattering comments on his first film, Clerks does look much better than the original DVD release, and slightly better than the 10th Anniversary DVD release. It’s still filled with grain, but let’s attribute that to where it needs to be credited to, the 16mm print and affordable camera Smith, Klein and Mosier had to work rather than the transfer itself. There was a lot of clean up work done for the last DVD release so most of the visual miscues are gone. The picture is much clearer, sharper, blacks are sufficiently deep and solid but know, that grain and fuzziness are still present. Any desire for better picture quality out of Clerks is an unreasonable expectation and is an uneducated desire given the way the film was originally shot. Again, part of the charm of Clerks is that underground feel–ironically a result of the lack of finances–rather than poor DVD or Blu-ray authoring. Clerks will never be a shining example of high definition video no matter what is done to it, but the important thing is that it looks clean and the contrast is adjusted so that the clearest possible image can be seen, and I think the transfer accomplishes that fairly well.

Audio: B-
Clerks gets a new 5.1 English DTS-HD Master Audio track and after listening to it, one could barely tell it’s much different than the previous 10th Anniversary track. There’s still a bit of distortion out of the center channel at high volume levels, and it’s doubtful any effort was put into taking Clerks into the same level as a sci-fi action flick, trust me, that’s okay. Dialogue is clear when it needs to be and music from the soundtrack jumps the curb. There’s still some muddy moments but surrounds are under-utilized outside of music, and there’s a little desire for a bit more directional movement, but your average Kevin Smith fan is not going to find much at fault here. Subtitles are available in English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Bahasa, and Malay.

Extras: A
It’s hard to really come down on anything here. I don’t know if I appreciate the “cunning ruse” to try and sell this as a 15th Anniversary Edition when 95% of it is from the 10th Anniversary DVD. Everything has been ported over from that near-perfect edition with one big exclusive to blu-ray, that being the Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back documentary, Oh What a Lovely Tea Party. All of the extras are in standard definition, unfortunately, and is the only shortcoming of an otherwise exhaustive revisiting of this classic film.

Theatrical Version
Classic Commentary Circa’ 95 with Kevin, Mos, Mewes, Brian and others is a strong, classic track which is the most scene specific as Smith and gang are going to get. Vincent Pereira is one of the “others” on the track and keeps the conversation as focused as it can be.

Enhanced Playback Track Enhanced Play with trivia track and “Clerks Quarks” like the “F#@$” Counter which counts how many times the F word gets thrown around in the flick. See the number multiply whenever Mewes is on screen!

The First Cut Edition
Intro SD (8:41) Smith and Mosier ramble a bit and eventually get around to introducing the new and improved cut of the film.

The First Cut Commentary with Kevin, Brian, Jeff, Mos, and Mewes is exactly what you imagine it to be. This is the first commentary track that featured Jeff Anderson and it’s a funny one that fails at being a scene-specific track, opting for an organic, funny, and honest audio track which is exactly what you expect. Listen for a story involving Smith’s mom and Mosier just take a life of its own. You can also switch the angle and see the live commentary while its happening, put it in a split screen, or just listen to it.

Other 10th Anniversary DVD Extras
Clerks Lost Scene Animated Short HD (10:06) is an animated version of the scene at Paulson’s Funeral Parlor that was originally done as an Oni Press comic drawn by Ande Parks and Phil Hester. It was later animated (In Clerks Animated style) as a 10-minute short and intro’d by Smith and Mosier. The scene can be viewed separately or integrated into the extended cut of the film and yes, it’s as funny as one would think. View Askewniverse /Chasing Amy fans will enjoy the return of Joey Lauren Adams as Alyssa Jones.

The Flying Car with Intro by Smith SD (8:14) is a Clerks live action short that was filmed for the Tonight Show of all places and has Dante and Randall back in the saddle, this time while they’re stuck in traffic discussing one of Randall’s “scenarios” to make Dante look like the bad guy. It’s similar to the joke used in Clerks when they were last seen riding in a car. It’s a tad on the long side, but is another Clerks-related treat.

Clerks Restoration
•Restoring the Clerks Sound with Scott Mosier SD (5:00)-Mosier breaks down the technical restoration process in detail that will likely go over the heads of most people but for students of film and the filmmaking process this clip is for you.

•Restoring the Clerks Look with David Klein SD (0:36)-Klein spits out quickly his contribution but not to the level of detail that Mosier displays.

•Introduction to the Theatrical Cut with Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier (7:00) -A new 10th Anniversary introduction to the film where the boys talk more about their remastering of the image and sound of Clerks.

Original Auditions SD (14:33) look into the audition process of Clerks to see Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, and Ernie O’Donnell read for the critical parts of the film.

Snowball Effect SD (1:31:00) A complete diary-documentary of Kevin Smith’s humble beginnings, the important people in his life, and the chronicling the creation of Clerks and how its adventurous path into the hands of Harvey Weinstein and Miramax. There are interviews with Smith’s friends, family, cast members of Clerks, and everyone who had a hand in its success. This was put together, again, for the 10th Anniversary DVD release and is easily the most comprehensive piece done about Clerks.

Outtakes from “Snowball Effect” is a collection of more scenes for the documentary but were left on the cutting room floor. Strangely, there is no “play all” option, even though on all of the main menu selections with sub-menus do have that alternative viewing method. The cut scenes are: View Askew Vulgar the Clown (2:58) Jeff Auditioning for TV Show (1:26) Chemistry with Brian O’Halloran (2:45) Janet Maslin (0:51) Creative Writing Class (7:42) Lisa Spooner (1:42) Kevin on Scott (8:54) I Will Leave (4:32) Sundance Introduction (0:51) Kevin and Scott at Sundance Trophy (0:33) Quickstop (1:00) Night Shooting (1:22) Winning the Lottery (6:48)

10th Anniversary Q and A SD (42:00) is a question and answer session after a fan screening held at the Arclight in Los Angeles. Those who participated were Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, Dave Klein, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, and Jason Mewes.

MTV Spots with Jay and Silent Bob SD (18:01) eight really funny bumper spots used by MTV to segue in and out of videos (back when they showed videos).

Mae Day Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier SD (11:38) is the first film done by Smith and Mosier done in Vancouver Film School about a failed documentary.

Soul Asylum “Can’t Even Tell” Music Video SD (5:41) is probably one of the early looks at the Clerks world in color. But the intro is priceless because Mosier appears dressed as Green Hornet promoting the Green Hornet film that they were initially slated to do and later passed to another filmmaker. The Green Hornet film still has yet to be made and be mired in pre-production problems.

Theatrical Trailer SD (1:55) The original trailer

BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVE
Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party: The Making of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back SD (1:27:00)

• Intro SD (3:18) To help stomach yet another edition of Clerks, this time on blu-ray, Kevin introduces a documentary-making of Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back

Anyway, back to the feature, which is a mixture of behind the scenes footage and interviews with some key players in the film and their association with Smith. The production is assembled by Jennifer Schwalbach (Smith’s wife) and Often times though the volume is way low but it helps to have the subtitles on. Is it worth upgrading if you already have the Clerks 10th Anniversary DVD? No, but again as Smith says in the intro, it will help buffer the idea of getting the film in blu-ray adding to the multiple versions you may already have on DVD.

Overall Shock Value: A-
Clerks remains one of Smith’s best films. It still goes to those places that most films don’t dare to walk towards and it still speaks of concerns that would bother anyone of that age or period of soul-searching. As a part of the Miramax: Kevin Smith 3-Movie collection, it’s a great part of a solid three-pack for anyone who is either looking to upgrade their DVD collection to blu-ray, because it contains everything from the 10th Anniversary and a little more. If you’re buying it separately, again I would say it’s a good buy, but only if you don’t already have the 10th Anniversary DVD. If you do, then I’d say rent it first, and check out the new Jay and Bob documentary. Technically, this film is not going see much more improvements than already what’s been done. This is a film that was done on the cheap, and the look and sound is going to reflect those choices, so there shouldn’t be any aggressive notion that it should be better. Consider this me spitting water back at those who disagree.

Year: 2009
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Rated: PG
SRP: $45.99
Studio(s): Disney Pixar
Release Date: November 10, 2009

Feature/Film: A
Instead of sequels like Toy Story 3 and Cars 2, I’ve preferred the more recent Pixar projects like Ratatouille and Wall-E for their “big picture” concepts and experimental narrative devices. Their latest release, Up has all of those things, and something no other Pixar film has, an lasting emotional effect that will bore into your heart. Co-drected by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson, the Monsters Inc. tandem returns to showcase the full life of Carl Fredricksen voiced by Ed Asner, a lonely and retired balloon salesman who jumps into adventure to honor a promise he made to his late wife.

Up’s opening is like a complete film all by himself, Carl’s life unfolds before us as a young boy who meets a girl named Ellie, brought together by their love of explorers and adventurers, one in particular, Charles Muntz (Chistorpher Plummer) who seeks out new worlds in his zeppelin. Muntz is accused of being a phony and gets in his dirigible and goes to South America to bring back proof of his findings. Next is a montage assembly of important scenes of their Carl and Elli’s life together is done without dialogue, just big band music behind a sweet love story playing out from their friendship into boyfriend and girlfriend, then husband and wife who renovate the old abandoned house they used to play in as children. Then his entire world was taken away from him.

Now a shut-in, Carl turns his hearing aid down, closes the shutter and longs for the days when he and Ellie rebuilt that home, shingle by shingle. The house serves as a living mausoleum. Even the neighborhood has left him and his house is the only speed bump that stands in the way of commercialization.

Rather than be dragged away to the nursing home, he devises a getaway, loading every balloon he has to lift the house into the sky where he’ll navigate to the flat-headed tepuis of Paradise Falls in South America, the place where he and Ellie said they’d retire. They never did go on that adventure they saved up for, because the complexities of life got in the way. What else does Carl have to lose, as long as he takes the house with him, Ellie is at his side, right? What he doesn’t know is that an 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell (Jordan Nagai) stowed away on his porch, leaving him in the care of Carl.

Russell is best described as…a whole-hearted, adorable Asian-American boy, eager, and yearning for adventure. He has his own story but that’s not as important as him being a trusting friend. There’s no turning back now, and once they crash land in the tropical jungle, they must finish the journey on foot, dragging Carl’s house behind them. And this is where Carl’s adventure begins, the same place Muntz just happens to be.

What’s more interesting is the somber and powerful portrait of a cantankerous old fool who never thought his actions through. He is unlikeliest of interesting protagonists, but bears with him a very heavy and sad story. Once a romantic, always a romantic and Carl just can’t let his wife go, dragging behind him all of his memories, but Russell shows him, through his innocence–while testing Carl’s patience–that there’s still much to live for. Carl sees a lot of young self in Russell, someone who he’s departed long away from.

Carl realizes he needs to allow another person into his heart, to care again for someone other than Ellie, and let the house go. But that’s easier said than done, especially when one spends their whole life building towards something, and is a few days walk of fulfilling it. With every hurdle that stands in his way, Carl is tested in what burden he must bestow and decide what kind of happiness will drive him forward.

While Pixar’s Wall-E was environmentally responsibility, Up is a much more mature film that allows the audience to look within for the need of some cathartic release, studying life’s highs and lows, how the best people can be dragged down to misery by their regrets and sorrows instead of facing life’s changes as new challenges; it happens to more people than you think. While Up reminds us of what a sad and scary life can be in the later years and that without companionship, or someone to share it with, life can be one big drag; it also shows that as long as you hold those near to your heart, and the desire to bring out that young explorer, then there’s always time for new adventures.

Video: A+
Disney/Pixar once again keeps the bar high for how good animated films look in high definition. Up has a 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio. There were several times I had to say out loud, “Wow!” The primary and secondary hues are almost like neon lights because they burst off the screen. From the colors of the balloons to the color of the natural landscapes, they’re clean, bright, and provide unmatched boldness and rich quality. Blacks tend to go on and on and on, and for an animated film there’s plenty of blacks used in this film, giving a much more cinematic feel to the film. Detail is crisp in every shot but it’s hard not to notice the level of exhaustive efforts reproducing Dug’s body of hair, the hundreds of balloons, to the multi-textured skin of Carl is superb.

Audio: A+
The folks at Disney/Pixar are not going to let anyone down with Up’s 5.1 English DTS-HD Master Audio audio track. It’s a whimsical, playful, and active soundtrack that does a fair amount of movement around a home theater and maintains dialogue and LFE sound at comfortable levels. Scenes like when the House pulls up from the ground, or when Carl flies into a rain storm really come alive in high definition audio. Really take note of the storm scene where the thunder and lightning just burst out of nowhere like a real storm of that nature. The howling winds blow laterally to the left and right and swirl all around the room. Immersive environments like the jungle scenes, or when our heroes are surrounded by a pack of rabid dogs, both impress with proper placement and and add to a scene’s depth perception. Echoes play correctly and there’s no drop offs when the sound does move. There was really no doubt going in that the audio would kick a lot of butt on this blu-ray and it did not disappoint. Other audio selections include: 2.0 English DTS-HD, English Descriptive Service 2.0, 5.1 Dolby Digital EX tracks for French, Spanish and subtitles are available in English SDH, French, Spanish. There are test bars and audio tests to optimize your home theater and a screen saver in the setup menu.

Extras: A-
Like all Disney discs, there a overwhelming amount of extra material that should take plenty of hours of exploration. First off, the design of the entire package is clever. The menus and load screens play up the whole balloon and Dug theme. The delightful big band score plays in the background and makes you want to jump up and waltz with your kids or spouse. I wasn’t too fond of the lack of creativity on the menu navigation which was at times a bit clunky, nor was I appreciative of the lack of a “Play All” feature on any of the discs. While this Up’s extras don’t come close to that on Wall-E, there’s still plenty to make Up an investment of your time.

Disc 1
I love Pixar’s Cinexplore Audio Commentary by Bob Peterson and Pete Doctor who co-directed the film. They are some of the most intelligible tracks you’ll hear because they talk about all of the elements of taking a concept and carrying it through. Meanwhile storyboards, animatics, the discussion of themes and design amongst other visual aids are thrown up into the picture-in-picture box. Cinexplore track are some of the finest around and make that eighth or ninth viewing in the middle of the week a little more bearable.

Partly Cloudy: Theatrical Short HD (5:46) is an adorable animated short on how storks get their deliveries. It’s so good, I may use it someday when my future kid asks where babies come from.

Dug’s Special Mission: All New Original Short HD (4:40) like the Wall-E original short, This Dug short gives a little bit of back story that brings up to the point where we meet Dug in the movie.

Adventure is Out There HD (22:17) is probably my favorite extra outside of the Cinexplore Commentary. This shows the inspiration for Up’s setting, which had to be a place where Carl couldn’t just dump Russell to the nearest social worker, so the filmmakers were inspired by these large flat-topped mountain cliffs that rose up out of Venezuela called Tepuis. They were originally brought to their attention by tepui naturalist and filmmaker, Adrian Warren. They feature some of the oldest exposed rocks in the planet and Peterson, Del Carmen, Docter and the lead animators actually made the multiple day trek through rigorous terrain, and climbed the tepuis to research them for the film. Some of the tepuis visited were Roraima, Kukenan, and Angel Falls.

Alternative Scene: The Many Endings of Muntz (4:56) is a deeper look into Muntz and his character, whether or not he’s a villain and other alternate endings

Digital Copy Tutorial (1:00) shows you how to activate your digital copy disc.

Sneak Peek Previews for Disney Movie Rewards, Dumbo 70th Anniversary Edition, Ponyo, Disney Prep & Landing, Toy Story 3, The Princess and the Frog and Santa Buddies.

The Egg HD (1:57) is an easter egg (get it?) short of an early concept that had Muntz relating special powers with egg and the Fountain of Youth and it didn’t match Carl’s story.

Disc 2

Global Guardian Badge Game Try and help Russell earn his geography badge patch by trying to match cities, countries and states. I dare anyone to do well in this without throwing their remote at the television. 1) It’s a difficult game to race against the clock, and 2) to maneuver in small spots on the map makes for a frustrating experience. However, it is addictive because the idea of being bested by a blu-ray game doesn’t sit well.

Documentaries

• Geriatric Hero HD (6:24) looks deeper into our grouchy protagonist and his life story. The Pixar animators tapped their grandparents while studying aging, as well as, the movement of the elderly.

• Canine Companions HD (8:26) takes a look at Muntz’s talking dogs.

• Russell: Wilderness Explorer HD (9:00) shows the creation and design of the character of Russell, the young boy who would voice his role.

• Our Giant Flightless Friend, Kevin HD (5:04) You guessed it, a whole feature on that crazy looking bird, Kevin.

• Homemakers of Pixar HD (4:38) reveals how Carl’s house was built, and how models were built to accurately get lighting and shadows just right. The symbolism of the house

• Balloons and Flight HD (6:25) is a look at dirigibles, balloons, and the nostalgia of a future promised.

• Composing for Characters HD (7:37) the emotional heart of the film is added in the composition of the score done by Michael Giacchino who made sure to give every character a theme.

Alternative Scene: Married Life HD (9:13) is an explanation and storyboarded punchy alternative to the Carl and Ellie’s childhood romance.

Up Promo Montage HD (5:52) is a bunch of cute Up shorts strung together.

Worldwide Trailers HD Trailer #1 (1:52) Trailer #2 (2:33)

The DVD is included for all those folks or parents who have DVD players in the kids rooms, in the van or a portable player. This is a real ingenious move by Disney to think about those worried about having to rebuy it in the future. They give you the film in every single way you can imagine. Including…

Digital Copy Disc for when you want to take Up with you on the go.

Overall Shock Value: A+
For the first time I felt some real emotional reaction watching a Pixar film. Sure, there’s lots of adventure and fun for the entire family, but the big moments in Up for me are the ones that really tug heavily at the heart strings. I’m still thinking about it, actually. The extras are nothing short of amazing and could eat away a day in one sitting but since I doubt Up is a film you’ll only watch once, savor those supplements over time. The beautiful design and animation teams of Up deserve once again high praise and their work can best be experienced on blu-ray. With this package where you get the blu-ray, DVD, and digital copy disc all in one, there’s not better value for your movie dollar.

Year: 1999
Running Time: 139 Minutes
Rated: R
SRP: $34.99
Studio(s): 20th Century Fox
Release Date: November 17, 2009

Film/Feature: A+
Fight Club was heralded by modern and contemporary critics and masculine film buffs alike, as a modern American classic, ten years ago for its relevance and its harsh comment on this country’s way of life. With the 10th Anniversary blu-ray release, it was a proper time to revisit Fight Club to see whether or not that kind of immediate reaction aged well over time.

Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, Fight Club looked at how susceptible ordinary people can be while working in soul-sucking careers. Though it’s not the career paths, but rather our dependency on the consumer cycle of the world that sucked the most of us. Slaves to insurmountable debt, slaves to the things we feel the need to buy, eventually makes us slaves to our jobs; Fight Club is as timely now more than ever. As a nation, we’re worse off than in 1999: iPhones, Blackberries, hybrid cars, XBOXs or PS3s, Costco memberships, Widescreen LCD TV’s, casual Fridays, country club lifestyles and the retro fashion revival of the 80’s. Yeah, it’s that last one that puts us over the edge. Two market crashes and a shortage of jobs, those things that consumed our free time, also consumed what was left in our bank accounts. Our belongings would eventually own us, and whether you agree with that philosophy or not, there’s nothing stopping the one-direction moving walkway.

David Fincher faithfully adapted Palahniuk’s fiction novel in a way that plucked a universal chord among many film buffs widespread across the country. Though supported by the studio, Fight Club took a life of its own, mostly on DVD. Its cynical and prophetic ways were razzed nationally by critics who felt it was the shining example of the downfall of cinema. Quite the contrary, it endured and the fascination spread like a resilient epidemic popping up in art houses on an annual basis. People liked what the film said, where it went, and who drove behind the wheel. Fight Club attacked the culture that generations built their worlds around, it targeted corporate brands and put a cynical choke hold on liberal media after they tried to strike it down with conservative criticism, and therefore in some insane ironic imitation of art, gave legitimacy to Tyler Durdenisms. It’s a story of men getting back to the basics and tearing down the system, piece-by-piece, sticking it to the man, but who also lost sight of what was right in front of them.

Ten years ago we were introduced to Edward Norton’s nameless schlub, a young professional with no emotional connections. Be becoming a support group voyeur, he lived through other people’s sorrow. He was an addict and needed saving and found it in his antithesis, a part-time soap salesman/part-time anarchist, Tyler Durden. Played by Brad Pitt, Durden becomes the good Shepard, the Yoda for frat boys with too much testosterone. With his newfound friend, Norton and Pitt’s alter egos massage their masculinity by pummeling the flesh of each other and similar lost men, looking to feel something–anything. Durden dominates Norton’s character, like a boy who masters the controls of a remote controlled plane, performing stunts, assigning homework for an anarchist’s way of life, full of simple mantras and maxims. Armed with a legion of dolts, that could only be derailed by a woman.

Helena Bonham Carter played an arousing adversary named Marla, whose odd behavior and blithe disregard for others is initially met with a bad taste of cigarette butts and typhoid fever. You wanted to damn her feminine ways; rid yourself of her compassionate heart and silence her incessant moans of delight. But as Norton’s character spirals into his own darkness, the resistance towards Marla turns into sympathy; especially after a dramatic U-turn.

Fight Club is its own support group, for those who bought into its cinematic brilliance from our couches. It’s never as good as the first time you went to Fight Club–well, you know why–you had to fight. While none of us could ever truly wrap our heads around Norton’s nameless character, nor his sickness, we continue to come to the Fight Club to watch him fulfill his destiny. The Fight Club support group may have an improved new look and a brand new sound in blu-ray, but it will still surround you with its big manly bitch tits for you to cry in and give you an outlet to destroy something that’s beautiful. Besides, 10 years later, it’s still cheaper than going to a movie, and there’s still the free coffee.

Video: A
For the first time Fight Club is seen in high definition on a 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in the original 2.40:1 aspect ratio, and I do declare that this is a transfer that would make Jack proud. Fight Club has always had this designed look of a gritty, messy and imperfect look. And all of that is maintained, but detail has taken a step upward. The texture of skin and the pores are clearly visible. From well-aged leather and wool to a flannel shirt bought at the thrift store, the texture of clothes are easily distinguishable, despite all of the tunnel dark sequences. In one scene, I noticed the color of Edward Norton’s eyes have this blue-ish green color that I had never previously never saw before. Some of the other visual notes I rave about are the shine on liquid, sweat, and blood; the reflections in see-thru glass, even being able to see through Brad Pitt’s amber shades. The dark locations cast dozens of shadows on people’s skin and the delineation, and overlapping of those shadows are clearly reproduced. Blacks are intensely deep, and some look more vibrant, more colorful than when I first remembered seeing it on DVD. For example when Tyler picks up Marla from her apartment. The green glow from the hallway lights bouncing of the sickly green walls really shines. There are no obnoxious post-enhancement effects, artifacts or haloing. Grain is present but is purposely placed so to give a manly, weathered look and this transfer preserves Fincher’s vision.

Audio: A+
Okay now we’re getting to my favorite part of this release. Fight Club on blu-ray sports a 5.1 English DTS-HD Dolby TrueHD audio track; I believe I’ve died and gone to Durden Heaven. To say this audio track is explosive would be understating it. It gets in your grill, it rattled your ear drums, and it triggers your other senses. Your nose will flare, your mouth will drool, and the hair on your neck will have a collective hard-on. It’s incredibly immersive, full of subtle sounds that recreate each location on screen, inside your viewing room. From the opening title sequence to the Dust Brothers score, to the closing scene with the Pixies, your head will morph into a rattle as the music swirls around your head.

There are three scenes I want to point out. The first is the transition from Chapter 8 into 9, where Jack character is talking about his “Single Serving Life” when his plane rips in half. The winds come tearing through and roar past your head, your subwoofer sounds as if it rips a hole in your floor. Mind-blowing, I tell you. In Chapter 27, Tyler drives the stretch car into a parked car and launches off the edge of the road. You can feel the weight of both cars on the impact, all of the glass breaking and flying in every direction, a large tree scraping by and the rain dropping into puddles after the car comes to a complete stop. Finally, all of the scenes in the actual Fight Club itself, create this Colosseum environment, where the crowd noise such as the spitting, the buzz of the lights, the echo of Tyler’s voice, the sound levels distortion; all of it, add more expression to these scenes. You’ll be able to explore these scenes more in-depth in the extras. But it’s not all about the crazy sound effects. A lot of it is atmosphere. There’s a ramping up of the music in dream sequences, or internal thoughts, the sleep-inducing quiet of a desk job. Ren Klyce was nominated for an Oscar in Sound Effects Editing and it’s well-deserved. This is one of the most exciting soundtracks I’ve heard this year. Folks, this is the reason you get a blu-ray player.

Other audio selections include: 2.0 English, 5.1 DTS French, 5.1 Dolby Digital Spanish and Portuguese tracks; subtitles are available in English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Cantonese, and Mandarin.

Extras: A+
Exclusive to Blu-Ray
Since this is an anniversary disc and you’ll be trying to determine if you want this or not, I’m pushing the Blu-Ray exclusives up before the DVD extras, which have been ported over from the fine 2-disc collection. Also note that all of the extras and film fit on one disc, so when I commonly gripe about packing more on less, this is what I’m talking about folks. Also there is a big of a gag that Fincher put in that is best experienced by just loading the disc up. I’m sure by the time you read this, it will have been spoiled on the internet, but just remember back when Fight Club was first released how poorly it did and the bad reception it got from critics, as well as what was playing at that time.

A Hit in the Ear: Ren Klyce and the Sound Design of Fight Club HD is a cool interactive feature where after hearing one of Fincher’s right hand men, sound designer Ren Klyce talk about trying to find and create those perfects sounds. Klyce recalls how they created the perfect sound for that thrusting punch to match the ghastly images on the screen. In the interactive experience, you get to hear the difference in tweaking the audio in two different environments as well as being able to tinker with each channel in your home theater setup, with four scenes: Welcome to Fight Club, Angel Faces Beating, The Crash, and Tyler’s Goodbye.

Flogging Fight Club HD (9:58) is brief look at Spike TV’s honoring of Fight Club’s 10th Anniversary by its acceptance into the “Guy Movie Hall of Fame.” Half of it is a five-minute clip montage of the film, but the rest of it is Fincher, Pitt and Norton writing their acceptance speech, performing their speech which included laughing at the least-flattering taglines by critics, highlighted by Pitt reading a quote from Kenneth Turan of the LA Times and saying, “He is a cock.”

Insomniac Mode: I am Jack’s Search Index is another user-friendly feature that allows a user to sift through all of the topics and then where ever these topics are discussed, you get a listing of all of them, and you can skip directly to that reference. Fox also categorized each commentary track so you can peruse and cherry pick what you want to hear in each commentary. For example if you want to jump to a story involving IKEA and the Soundtrack liner notes, you can go right to that point of the Fincher commentary instead of trying to remember what chapter that may be in.

Old Extras

There’s a ton of features I forgot about by looking through this collection of great DVD extras. After being accustomed to seeing everything in high definition though, its too bad we could get to see this stuff remastered as well. Another user detail I found sorely missing out of the DVD extras is a “Play All” feature. First, there are FOUR audio commentaries in all and all of them are well done.

Audio Commentary by:
#1 David Fincher speaks about dealing with studios, how he stumbled on the book and how Fox came into purchasing the rights to the movie, advertising, his favorite parts, and the destruction of buildings at the end was actually the first thing that was done. There are only English and French, Dannish, Finnish, Dutch, Norwegian, and Swedish subtitles for this commentary.

#2 David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton are in the same room talking about bonding, putting Edward through the wringer, the controversy over Fight Club being labeled a violent film, the dispelling of pro-fascism, their reactions to how slow it took with the public amongst dozens of other things. They yuck it up and is one of my favorite commentaries because I think we get a true sense of working relationship but their friendship. You walk away thinking, “I want to hang out with these guys!” Helena Bonham Carter’s comments, which were recorded separately are added on scenes with Marla or anything else she wanted to chime in on like how Fight Club is as much a generational representation of women today as it is men. There are only English and French, Dannish, Finnish, Dutch, Norwegian, and Swedish subtitles for this commentary.

#3 Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club) and Jim Uls (screenplay) discuss adapting the novel to film, how Meatloaf’s fat suit violates health codes for Planet Hollywood, benefits of sitting in cancer support groups, the real people the characters are based on, research for the book, the speed at which cancer kills, and other little known facts about the film. There are a lot more moments of silence in this commentary but it’s no less interesting than the other tracks. There are only English and French subtitles for this commentary.

#4 Alex McDowel (Production Designer), Jeff Cronenweth (Director of Photography), Michael Kaplan (Costume Designer) and Kevin Haug (VisualFX Supervisor) cover everything else including five “subliminal Brads”, the look and tone, creating real support groups, Lighting, Costuming, working with Fincher, prank cigarette burns, whether or not the Paper Street house was real or fiction, and the rest of the nooks and crannies not covered in the other three tracks. There are only English and French subtitles for this commentary.

Behind-the-Scenes Vignettes with Multiple Angles and Commentary SD by Kevin Haug (VisualFX Supervisor) Cliff Wnger (Special FX Coordinator) Kevin Mack (Visual FX for Digital Domain), and Richard “Doc” Bailey (Digital Animation Supervisor/Producer). You can choose a segment (Production, Visual Effects, On Location) and then within one of these processes, you can choose various angles and commentary tracks. It’s just another example of the all-access openness that Fincher has on his films.

Seven Deleted and Alternate Scenes SD Chloe and Rupert (00:53), Marla’s Pillow Talk (00:35), Copier Abuse (3:15) Tyler Quits Smoking–with two angles (1:28) Angel face’s beating–with two angles (3:14) Walter (1:39) Tyler’s Goodbye (1:55)

Promotional Gallery
Lobby Cards/Advertising – 21 Stills (1:40) Press Kit – 35 stills (2:50) Stills – 157 Stills (13:05)

Art Galleries
Storyboards for the entire film– 267 stills (22:16), Visual Effects–18 stills (1:25), Paper Street House –37 stills (3:05), Costumes and Makeup –22 stills (1:50), Pre-Production Paintings –50 stills (4:10), Brain Ride-Map –34 stills (2:50),

Transcript of Edward Norton Interview at Yale University October 3, 1999is fine read about his character at 13 screen shots long.

Rounding out the extras are Three Trailers, Two movie theater PSAs, 12 TV Spots SD, Five Internet Spots SD, Dust Brothers Music Video SD (3:32)

Overall Shock Value: A+
After 10 years since the first punch was thrown, I’m still spitting up blood. With big corporate buyouts, massive debt across the country, and the desire to buy-buy-buy, we move closer to a homogenized and mass consumer-centric generation. And of course, buying this blu-ray plays right into that ploy of consumerism. Don’t cha just love irony? This continues to be an American classic, of a cynical breed of filmmaking that speaks to many generations, man and woman, young and old. The blu-ray interactive extras are fun little adventures, but I am always going to lean towards superior sound and picture as the biggest reason to upgrade when it’s deserving. The new DTS-HD soundtrack is as perfect as it gets, and the transfer projects Fight Club as we’ve never seen before. So for that alone, I highly recommend upgrading to blu-ray.

Year: 2008
Running Time: 91 minutes
Rated: PG
SRP: $34.98
Studio(s): Magnolia Home Entertainment
Release Date: November 3, 2008

Film/Feature: A+
The arrival of the golden arches signaled a change that farmers had to produce food fast and cheap. Once the demand was in place, so too did the system arrive that would supply it. With the help of government subsidization, unhealthy food is now more affordable than a pound of fresh produce. When you’re counting pennies, ingredients that would be used for a homemade meal isn’t as convenient as fast food. What’s the cost of that convenience? Your health? Your career? Your life?

Food Inc. takes a look at farming conditions, the companies who control the farmers, the dependency of corn and its contribution to E. Coli pandemics, the struggle to get said companies to label their food, mistreatment of laborers who work at the slaughterhouses, and the controlling of the seeds which basically puts the farmer under a dictatorship. That’s a lot, but Food Inc. is clear in presenting informative facts and testimonials that should provoke the viewer to consider what it is they’re putting on their plates and take the time to be a better informed consumer.

Robert Kenner begins his documentary by bringing his cameras where he’s allowed–and some places he’s not–to show where the food you put in your mouth begins–and it’s not pretty. Food Inc. is narrated by Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food, and Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, who intelligibly explain that the American farmer is all but dead, slaves to large corporations who want to propagate some myth that the food you get in your local grocery comes from the local farm.

Farmers sign contracts with the big companies, like Tyson and Smithfield Foods to raise chickens under gross conditions, forcing them to incur large amounts of debt and periodic expensive manufacture upgrades to keep them forever in large debt and reward them with much less for their troubles. Farmers are prisoners to these companies, silenced to speak or show what goes on inside their coops. Kenner visits one Perdue grower, who risks her livelihood to show what her working conditions are. She trudges through the waste and smell, scooping up dead carcasses; running what appears to be a death camp. Tyson trucks filled with illegal workers, who come in at night and take the ripe ones away. The issue of labor is later discussed from the small chicken farm to Smithfield Foods– the largest slaughterhouse in the country– that brings in workers from a 100 mile radius, many of them illegally from Mexico and are deported when it becomes a hot topic. Guess who takes the fall? Not the companies who hires and trucks them over.

An interesting thread in the film is the mass dependency of corn and the creative manipulation of it in nearly every kind of processed food, and how it allows for the cheaper production of livestock-related foods. In theory, not a bad thing, but when you consider one of the uses of stocked corn is to feed livestock to fatten them in these large factories, one has to consider what are the long term effects? It will eventually open the door for E.Coli and a few casualties are not nearly enough for companies to ensure future outbreaks never happen, or feel its necessary to inform the consumers of what they do because they think it will confuse the consumer.

It’s plenty of doom and gloom until Joel Salatin, a Polyface Farms Owner who carries on the old-fashioned open-range methods. They are not kept in cages or stables that pack animals like sardines, nor force the animals to eat what’s not natural. It’s not as profitable as the large operations, but there’s integrity and the quality of that food is greater. In conjuncture with the growth of organic food companies (another topic discussed), it’s a small glimmer of hope.

The last act of Food Inc. scrutinizes the seed monopoly, Monsanto, originally a chemical company responsible for making Agent Orange and other pesticides like,“Round Up.” Monsanto began creating genetically engineered seeds that can resist pesticide which allowed food to be grown year-round. But a basic fundamental skill of farming is being able to keep your best seeds for future crops, but not today. Monsanto has infiltrated the farm communities with their seeds making them so cheap and finds a way to ruin those who don’t use their seed. Saving seeds will get you investigated by regulators, and even if a farmer chooses not to use their seed, or their crops are contaminated by seeds that have been carried in the wind, that farmer is blacklisted and begins the long road of legal battles that most farmers simply can’t afford.

How effective the film in changing people’s practices depends on the individual viewer/consumer. One can look at the effect of people demanding that their milk not have rBGH/BST (Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone-another Monsanto product) in it. Milk racks are now dominated by those without the growth hormone which has been linked to health problems. And at least now people can make their own decisions because they can at least read the labels so you can make an informed decision. The effect of Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me began a chain of events at McDonald’s (even though they wouldn’t admit to it) and steered me clear of 75% of McDonald’s food–especially they’re fries–so these films can have a profound effect on people. It should come to no surprise that Tyson, Perdue, Monsanto, Smithfield and all of the other companies declined to take part in the film. Food Inc. belongs in those films that everyone should see because it could change the way you live your life; that is, if you value it.

I watched another documentary called, The Future of Food directed by Deborah Koons Garcia at the great Ann Arbor Film Festival a few years back. The film discussed a handful of subjects, including the the Monsanto seed controversy and the complex line of traps that have been put in place to steer the American consumer into a food system that benefits large corporations. I thought that this was a wonderful film but was also worried at its limited exposure to those who might stumble on it. Food Inc. serves as that larger vessel. It isn’t some propaganda film to brainwash us into thinking something that’s not there, rather it takes a wrecking ball to the walls concealing information large corporations don’t want you to know. They’re banking on you not caring enough about your own body. After seeing Food Inc., believe me, it’s time you start asking.

http://www.foodincmovie.com/

Video: B
For a documentary, this 1080p VC-1 encoded transfer in 1.78:1 aspect ratio is more than I could ask for. Often times docs are shot on tight budgets with a variety of cameras which can give a varied look. Colors (and details for that matter) look their best in the supermarket are bright, bold but when the camera goes out into the world of grays and browns on the farm, the accuracy does remain, but that pop factor of high definition is lessened. The skin on animals and feathers, and seeds, all look as if you were standing next to the camera in many instances, while other times there’s less sharpness. Thank goodness though there’s no such thing as smell-o-vision, though. All of the set interview pieces with Pollan and Schlosser tend to look the best, whereas some of the others can be a bit grainy. If you’re used to seeing documentaries, it’s very forgivable.

Audio: B
There is a 5.1 English DTS-HD audio track but honestly it’s a bit much for what is amounts to mostly spoken dialogue out of the center channel. Some of the front left and right channels are used for music, but remember that this is a film that’s supposed to provoke thought and discussion, not blast your eardrums. Subtitles are available in English SDH and Spanish.

Extras: B
While abundant extras are important for your average film, in documentaries, one is usually inclined to learn more about the subject discusses. The following extras do that by providing additional information and resources for viewers/consumers to seek out on their own and at their leisure whether it’s from bonus footage, or a simple public service announcement. All of the extras are in standard definition and 2.0 Stereo.

Deleted Scenes SD (37:44) Eight scenes include unionizing the Smithfield plants in Cheapness Comes at a Price; the dumping of business waste in fresh rivers in There’s No Place Called Away; allowing animals to be in their natural environment in Honoring the Pigness of the Pig; more on the spinach outbreak of E.Coli in, It Could Happen Again; Tyson poultry growers in Smells Like Money; more of Joel Salatin and a cow’s salad bar in It’s in the Grass; Iowa State justifies poor conditions because they are “growing food” in Designing the Perfect Pork Chop; and Rosa Soto speaks about diabetes in her family and trying to educate youths in We’re in an Epidemic Now.

ABC News “You Are What You Eat”: Food With Integrity SD (7:21) A Nightline segment that originally ran on June 16, 2009 that shows how the founder of Chipotle restaurants buys his food from places that grow pigs in a full-range environment rather than being cooped up in some factory or farm. The chickens are vegetarian fed, and the beef cattle they use live on a natural environment, and are not fed any growth hormones.

“The Amazing Food Detective” and “Snacktown Smackdown”: Stay Active and Eat Healthy SD (3:05) Kaiser Permanente PSRs that directs kids to a website where they can play games that teach them about saying no to junk food, vending machines in schools, and living a healthier lifestyle.

Celebrity Public Service Announcements SD (7:14) PSRs about the Child Nutrition Act, Ingredients, and others done by Alyssa Milano, John Salley, Anthony LaPaglia and Gia Carides, Martin Sheen and Kelly Preston.

Food Inc.:The Book is a blurb on the companion book that can be purchased in book stores.

Resources are a listing of websites for organizations for the further education of what we put into our body, food borne illness research and prevention, food safety, public health advocacies, and much more.

Theatrical Trailer HD (2:12)

Magnolia Home Entertainment Trailers HD (8:00) for Answer Man, Is Anybody There?, The Great Buck Howard, and HD Net.

Overall Shock Value: A
It would only take 90 minutes to get a sample of what big business has done to the food industry and see how powerful they’ve become. The shock value of Food Inc. can be off the charts, whether you see it on blu-ray or DVD. There is no made-up drama here. Just a real snapshot of what’s going on and how each of us are affected by what these companies have gotten away with for the sake of profits. It can ruin any meal. I will champion any film that’s as well-organized and well-thought out as Food Inc. (and Future of Food) and applaud the filmmakers who continue to put these films like this out, because there is a risk in telling real stories that I want to know. What’s even more important, though, is that we watch them.