SCREAMERS (DVD Review) - 31/12/06

For the last Review of 2006 it's a bit of a blast from the past with Peter Weller in "Screamers" a lesser known film from the pen of Philip K. Dick based on his short story "Second Variety". Stuck in an endless war Weller's character is beset by problems at home on planet Earth and also the planet he's fighting for in the shape of automated machines that have developed sentience in a way their designers could not see? A typical low-budget B-movie that is brimming with ideas but unfortunately is your bargain bucket Vanilla DVD disc release. Released in 1995 it's amazing how clonky the SFX look from just 11 years or so ago - But limitations aside it's an inventive tale told chillingly well with a number of clever twists you don't see coming. Having already subjected "Our Wife" to the mindless brain-numbing of Movie Talk Mr. Periwinkle wanted me to slip this phrase into my next review "as it's all downhill from here to stupidland" so job done!

JACKASS NUMBER TWO (DVD Review) - 27/12/06

*****INSANE*****INSANE*****INSANE*****Just what is there not to like about this film? From the opening shots to the closing credits it's funny all the way through and I say roll on "Jackass 3" which they will seriously have to raise the bar for if this second film is anything to go by?? Having seen the cinema version which was censored - Don't bother with the other versions and go straight for the Unrated version which is even funnier. I mean Preston Lacy 300 pounds of lard lubed up and flying through the air off a ramp with Wee Man on his back actually crashes down and bounces and is obviously hurt but the only thing he is worried about is if his arse crack is showing and asks to have his underwear pulled up - Madness! Packed with Uncut material and full of humour I was cringing in horror and laughing with tears from one scene to the next. For serious thrill junkies only!

SPECIAL FEATURES: The Unrated and Uncut, Uncensored Version of the film. Commentary by the Jackass Crew and The Making Of Jackass Number Two. Extensive Additional Segments NOT SHOWN in Theatres, plus Outtakes & Deleted Scenes. TV Spots & Uncensored Music Video, Photo Gallery and Trailers/Previews and MTV Segs.

Widescreen Version Enhanced for 16:9 TVs. Dolby 5.1. & 2.0. Subtitles: English & Spanish. Region 1 (USA) NTSC - Colour. Ratings: (USA) Unrated/ (Canada) R. CC. Runtime: 93 Mins. Paramount/MTV 2006. 11111006320/12087/ISBN # 1415727856.

THIS MONTH'S SPECIAL EDITION DVD 25/12/06

This month's Special Edition DVD is the Region 1 (USA) 3-Disc Director's Cut of "Hellboy". Now I have a real aversion to going out and re-buying something I have already bought before as I had the original release 2-Disc Set of this when it was first released. Mr. Periwinkle told me that it was definitely worth getting and watching and luckily enough a friend purchased it for me for Christmas - Unfortunately I have to disagree with Mr. Periwinkle on this - Although the Unrated and Extended Version is interesting I don't think it really add's to the overall story in any way. It's more like subtle nuances than anything else - But it is worth adding to a DVD Collection because it is the Director's original vision which is always interesting as a viewpoint.

Suffice to say the story based on Mike Mignola's work is a triumph and covers a plot by the Nazi's to unleash hell on earth in the form of Ragnarok through the diabolical machinations of Rasputin. In the form of an anti-hero the demon Hellboy fights back with the help of an Occult organisation against the forces of evil - and Wow! what a roller-coaster of a ride it is... a cast over brimming with talent and a classic approach to film-making from Guillermo Del Toro in the use of models and miniatures brings off a quality piece of work. I am so looking forward to the sequel of "The Golden Army" reputed to deal with the real nature of Faerie and The Hollow Lands in 2008. Covering 3-Discs in individual cases: Case 1 features Hellboy on the cover/Disc One - SPECIAL FEATURES: Never-before-seen Extended, Unrated Version of the film with an all-new Commentary by Guillermo del Toro, exclusive to the Director's Cut with his new Video Introduction. Composer Commentary with Isolated score and a Branching DVD Comics feature drawn by Mike Mignola, with all new expanded text from Guillermo del Toro. The "Right Hand Of Doom" Set Visits and Factoids and a Storyboard Track - Now with hundreds of new images. DVD-ROM feature with Printable Original Screenplay, Script Supervisor's Handbook and Director's Notebook.

Case 2 features Liz Sherman on the cover/Disc Two - SPECIAL FEATURES: New Video Intro by Selma Blair with Hellboy: The Seeds Of Creation (A 2 Hour 30 Minute Making Of) plus Deleted Scenes with an Optional Commentary and Character Bios. Motion Board-A-Matics and Animatics with Multi-Angle Storyboard Comparisons and a Marquette Rotation Gallery. Trailers & TV Spots with Filmographies and Poster Explorations. Finally comes a Weblink to Hellboy Merchandise. Case 3 features Abe Sapien on the cover/Disc Three - SPECIAL FEATURES: New Video Intro by Ron Perlman and a Cast Video Commentary and Production Workshops with Makeup & Lighting Tests and the Q&A Archive: Comic-Con 2002. A Quick Guide To Comics and the Director's Notebook, Photo Galleries, Mike Mignola Pre-Production Art with Conceptual Art Galleries and Comic Book Artists Pin-Ups. Language: English/French Dolby 5.1. Subtitles: English & French. CC Region 1 (USA) NTSC. Runtime Approx: 132 Minutes. 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen Colour. Unrated. Columbia Tristar 2004. ISBN # 1404964126.

As a nice little added extra this set also includes an Exclusive Collectible: An "Excerpt From The Diary Of Grigori Rasputin" created by Mike Mignola which I've featured a couple of pages from below. All in all an excellent package and well worth getting!

THE WOODSMAN - Cable TV Film Review 25/12/06

Starting out along the lines of "Kissed" (about Necrophilia) and "The War Zone" (about Incest) it takes a very brave actor to take on the subject matter in "The Woodsman" (about Pedophilia) and have it seen by a wide audience. This film was pushed way back into the late night slot and it is probable that none of these films will reach far to the viewing public - as each is extremely harrowing in it's own way and very difficult to watch. It was only because Kevin Bacon was in it that I watched it at all and although he puts in an excellent performance it is painful. Not only is this a nasty matter but it is conflicting in it's various viewpoints. It really is an experience that each individual must watch and decide for themselves.

THE COVENANT Film Review - 24/12/06

Renny Harlin where did it all go wrong? I can understand for every "The Long Kiss Goodnight" there is a "Cutthroat Island" - So I can only presume in lieu of "Mindhunters" we get "The Covenant"? This poor man's "Lost Boys" is a piece of codswallop dressed up for those pining for the days of Buffy (and the demise of Angel presumably) as gothic witchcraft crossed with the poster-boy-band-from-hell in lingering swim trunks that barely fit and a Production Manager who has found the right locations but has got a bit happy with the smoke machine.

A total absence of plot and character development makes me wonder how tripe like this gets funded into a feature film? The tired old cliches are all here and the list of those is endless - apart from a few decent SFX shots this creaking heap of garbage will soon be available on DVD to buy - Expect to see it in the Remainder Bin at your local Video Store for about £2.99 when they can't shift any copies or stumble over a stack of 300 or so shoved by the counter in an HMV shortly covered in dust.
The story as it is; covers the descendants of Witches and the powers they possess, challenged by another powerful Witch from another family - Chuck in a modern twist and the usual suspects and there you go - Like a boil-in-the-bag sachet this is utter cod (without the butter sauce).

DEJA VU Film Review - 17/12/06

Directed by the wonderful Tony Scott ("The Hunger") and Producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Showing remarkable restraint in this production) this superb boiling-pot of a story has everything. Denzil Washington's anguish at the start of the film is palpable as he investigates a horrendous tragedy that soon turns into something else. Ably supported by Val Kilmer and protagonist Jim Caviezel ("Frequency" with a similar feel) we get a tale that you really have to think about as you get your head around the time-travel specifics and time (literally) as the seconds run out and decisions have to be made. Starting off in present day and then jumping back in time the clever twists slowly reveal as you try to piece together what will happen and what has happened. A sense of urgency causes you to get on the edge of your seat as you try to define the plot as it races ahead of you. A number of good films have been released recently and this is up there with the top of the crop and another I can't wait for to be out on DVD; so I can watch it again more closely in detail, as you often miss some of the finer points on first viewing.
Bruckheimer's restraint (as I've mentioned before) on this production; clearly enhances the film above a mere action thriller and add's a romance that is actually believable in a way that isn't too trite and still enables the action to rattle along at a fast pace, with all elements in place that at first you don't realise just how clever it all is? Denzil Washington has done some good films and comes off really well in this and thanks go a lot to the Director Tony Scott.

THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN...ARE BEHIND YOU! (DVD Review) - 17/12/06

I've a fondness for The League Of Gentlemen and here (Just in time for Christmas - Strangely enough!) is their Live Pantomime of "Cinderdick Gets Wood In The Seven Pussies" and obviously features their vast gallery of grotesques from the TV shows and Live Stage work. It's the sort of thing you would view once; and have a few chuckles along to, then take it back to the rental shop and go down to the Chinese for a takeaway after. The thing that struck me as most interesting on the DVD was the backstage documentary which shows just how much hard work and effort is put into a production like this - a very enlightening feature which shows just what a great consummate group of actors the League are! (Even the deleted scenes are a laugh).

THE SUM OF ALL FEARS - TV Film Review 10/12/06

It had Morgan Freeman in it who plays a rather sharp CIA character and a fine cast that really doesn't pull any punches - Fine acting aside this rip-roaring thriller sets a fast pace as the story setting is quickly established and it's a full pelt run from there; as things escalate very crazily into a hand to the mouth, as you don't quite believe as if these things will go so out of control so badly. A quite astonishing SFX effect shatters your beliefs very soon and things heat to molten as the story smacks you in the gut and it all becomes a tension-twisting race against time. Another actor takes on the Jack Ryan character here with his third outing on the big screen in a feature that promises a lot and does really deliver for once.

LOVE ACTUALLY - Cable TV Film Review 10/12/06

One of those films you hear a lot about and have a spanking great cast with people like Hugh Grant and Bill Nighy that you never get around to seeing and then suddenly it becomes pre-festive Christmas fodder because it's "that time of year" and the setting of the film is surprise - Christmas. With similar films like "The Holiday" doing the cinema circuit at the moment this one was worth catching as a few year's had past and you could get all weepy about middle-age clashes of conscience, disintegrating relationships and obviously "love" actually. A disparate group of people threaded together very slightly in one way or another have a bittersweet shot at love as Christmas approaches. Entertaining in a slight way but labelled in the bargain-bin of life as a chick-flick.

INTERVAL

During this Interval will Patrons please note that there is No Smoking anywhere on this blog. Why not have a Hotdog whilst your waiting?
Alternatively why not have a Lyons Maid Ice Cream? Or feel free to tuck into a heavenly portion of Nachos & Cheese with a side of Salsa...
Or maybe share a large Coke with a delicious box of Popcorn? (Sweet & Salted available)

SCHOOL OF ROCK - TV Film Review 4/12/06

Needing a 2-hour filler before "Torchwood" was on; this fit the bill nicely and was bound to be amusing in equal measures and was even more surprising, when I found out that it was actually based on a "true story" no less! Bringing Jack Black to further prominence in Hollywood his literally manic performance goes way overboard as a slacker who manages to inspire a group of school children into a different appreciation of music and how to express themselves.

With a total suspension of belief (and you'll need that!) we get a fairly warm comedy that doesn't really get too insipid and turns out overall quite enlightening in an entertaining way. Gene Simmons (Of "Kiss" fame) eventually used this as a template (presumably?) for the Reality Show version.

CHANGING LANES - TV Film Review 4/12/06

Whilst Mr. Periwinkle was sopping up the last bit of juice off his plate with a chip and "our" wife daintily tucked into the chocolate fountain and I felt like I had seriously overdone the stuffing of food down my neck - This was quietly recording itself off the TV onto my DVD hard-drive for later playback viewage. I always felt that Ben Affleck was being given a hard time for his acting but I've always felt he was fine in what I'd seen him in and in this movie he was teamed up with Samuel L. Jackson so it was at the least going to be mildly entertaining. Strangely enough it starts with people running out of time and needing to be somewhere else fast and following an accident with the two main protagonists spins way out of their control as each really fouls up each other's day over a misunderstanding and gets rather nasty as the film progresses. As a "I've really nothing else to do" type of film then it will pass a couple of hours nicely - But it isn't a film I would go out of my way to watch and having seen it you wouldn't watch it twice. Entertaining once - But really time-waster fluff.

ALONG CAME A SPIDER - Cable TV Film Review 2/12/06

Available on both Region 1 (USA) & Region 2 (UK) DVD I had struggled over the last few years to get around to seeing this prequel to "Kiss The Girls" and made strenuous efforts to avoid seeing anything about it; so that the game wasn't given away, like I'd done with the original film. How so? Well I was on my way to the cinema to watch "Kiss The Girls" and stopped off in a bookshop as I has an hour or so to kill and picked up the actual novel of the film and guess what (?) the major plot point of the whole film was on the back cover blurb - Now what sort of moron of a publisher would print the ending of the book on the cover? Amazing isn't it? I nearly didn't bother going to see the film but Morgan Freeman was in it so that persuaded me.
Seeing a picture of Michael Wincott I immediately said out loud "he's the villain!" and I was right about one part of the plot; but the quality cast soon pulled a fast one and things soon spun out of control as this mildly tense thriller started to get it's hooks into you. What would be really nice is if the Cable Channels could get together with TV Listing Mags and organise their schedules so that these films start at the correct time instead of half an hour later - So annoying!! Morgan Freeman never puts a foot wrong as his dulcet tone of voice lulls you into a false sense of security as the plot gradually reveals itself. A class act all round - But the original film was far superior in tone and style - This one seemed more like an afterthought. Still entertaining enough to past 120 mins on a late Friday night into the early hours.