Category: DVD Review

DVD Review: ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ 3 Disc Special Edition

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A remake of 1951 classic sci-fi flick of the same name, ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ fell pretty flat in theaters and the reviews werent very good. I am here to say though the movie isnt THAT bad, and actually if you are a fan of the original you will probably enjoy this one as well. However if you arent a fan of Keanu Reeves then this movie might bug you but I find this role suits him pretty well.

Warning, the below contains SPOILERS:

The movie is basically about an invasion of other civilizations or “aliens” that come to earth in giant orbs and come with positive intentions. The peacekeeper Klaatu(Reeves) arrives and is “born” into a human body on Earth. He has come to warn the human race of what will happen if they do not change their living habits. Once here he is met with hostility and violence and makes the decision that the Earth has to be saved at all costs, including the destruction of all humans. Jennifer Connelly plays a scientist that is brought in to help understand who and why they have come to earth. Jayden Smith gives a pretty decent performance as Connelly’s step son in the film. The film kind of lets down at the end, much like M. Night is famous for, but dont let that stop you from seein ig I really enjoyed it..its fun.

The really great thing is the 3 disc dvd is packaged with the Original movie, so you can watch them back to back and see how you feel about the remake first hand. So I definitely recommend getting the 3 disc, its only a couple bucks more and you get 2 movies, plus your digital copy!

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5

DVD Review: ‘Bedtime Stories’

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When I first saw Adam Sandler was beginning to go the way of childrens films over his far greater ‘R’ rated movies, a little tear came to my eye and I had to take a moment to weep. Gone were the days that my favorite adultchild actor would be making shampoo and conditoner fight, fighting imaginary giant penguins and trying to take it to Bob Barker. What I found when I watched ‘Bedtime Stories’ was a suprisingly fun movie that everyone in the family can enjoy, and my daughter has been enjoying multiple times now that we have it on DVD/Blu-Ray.

Adam Sandler plays Skeeter Bronson who was raised in the hotel business and when his dad gets bought out is made the promise of eventually taking over the hotel. Fast forward to 2008 and he is still in the hotel business but not running it, instead the takes up a toolbox and fixes problems around the hotel with very little respect. When his sister has to go out of town he is asked to watch his niece and nephew for a week, and thats where things get crazy. As he is telling them a bedtime story in which the kids take part and make up their own versions that eventually start to come true. Is that pure coincidence or devine intervention? You wont find out in the movie but that doesnt matter, its fun and enjoyable to watch.

Russell Brand, Keri Russell, Guy Pearce(strange role for him), Courney Cox and even Lucy Lawless make up Sandlers supporting cast and everyone does a great job. The incredibly beautiful Keri Russell makes you fall in love with her in every movie and this one is no different!

Definitely go out and buy this one for your kids, its one that they can watch multiple times and still doesnt get old. We got the DVD/Blu-Ray combo which has both versions of the movie in the package as well as a digital copy. The DVD has some great special features which include deleted scenes, outtakes, a special feature on Bugsy, and if you have Blu-Ray Disney BD-Live.

DVD Review: ‘The Other End of the Line’

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The genre of this movie is romance and rated pg-13. Though it is definitely a romance flick, it feels like a tween or family movie. There are a few short clips of suggested intimacy but language and content is clean. This would be a good choice for a tween slumber party or a lazy family Sunday.

Jesse Metcalfe (Granger Woodruff) is adorable in this movie; it is hard not to be drawn to his characters self-inflicted conflicts. Granger receives repeated phone calls from a credit card phone operator (Jennifer Davis aka. Priya Sethi) who explains to him that his card has excess charges and that his card information was possibly compromised. The operator says her name is Jennifer Davis and she is based out of San Francisco, though her name is really Priya Sethi and is based out of India. Through the numerous phone calls between Priya and Granger, sparks start to fly. Priya flies to San Francisco to meet Granger who is spending time there on business.

Granger makes plans to meet with Jennifer but instead meets Priya.Granger and Priya get to know each other and share a few adventures and outings bringing them together and challenging them at the same time.

Overall Rating: 3 out 5

DVD Review: ‘Quantum of Solace’

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Quantum of Solace was released today on DVD and Blu-Ray. Last week I got home from work to find a package waiting for me that contained a copy of the DVD. It also contained a copy of the classic Bond flick, Never Say Never Again, which also came out on Collector’s Edition DVD today. It’s been a busy few days but I found some time to pop in the Quantum of Solace DVD.

I’m not going to review the film, since we already did that here, and the consensus was that the film is worth a look.  However, I will let you know about some of the bonus features. The film is being released in a single disc version, which only contains a teaser trailer, a theatrical trailer and a music video for the song “Another Way to Die† by Jack White and Alicia Keys. I personally am not a fan of the song or the music video. The 2-Disc Special Edition, which was the version I received, has what I assume the single disc DVD as Disc 1 and a second disc, which contains the bulk of the bonus features. There are a bunch of features listed but in my opinion, there are a few that are unnecessary.

The first and best feature of the disc is a featurette called Bond on Location, which runs about 25 minutes. This is a typical making of bonus feature but it focuses more on the exotic locales seen in the film and explains a lot of the work that went into picking the locations. I actually found a lot of it to be very interesting, plus you get to see a lot of behind the scenes footage of some of the great action shits in the film. However, the next 3 features are essentially useless since they focus on topics covered in the first feature and even use most of the same footage/interviews. They are also very short, 2-3 minutes. The next interesting feature in my opinion is the profile on the director, Marc Forster but this is unfortunately very short. There is also a very short music feature for anyone interested in briefly seeing how the scored was composed. The final feature, is the longest running about 45 minutes if you choose Play All. It is a series of behind the scenes videos that originally appeared online to promote the film. The feature is called Crew Files and each 1.5-3 minute file features a crew member talking about their experience and some of behind the scenes footage of that crew member on set. I really like this idea, especially since we hear from so many people from such diverse positions. There are a few crew files that reuse interviews and footage from the other features but for the most part, this is mostly new material. The Blu-Ray does not contain any extra footage, but I am sure the HD transfer is beautiful and may be worth it for such a visually stunning film.

Overall, this DVD is at least worth a rental if not a purchase. With such great visuals and setpieces in the film, I would have liked to see some features that focused on the stunts although we do get some glimpses of stunt work in the features the disc does have.

Make it a double feature and watch Casino Royale or take off a few days from work and make it a 22 feature marathon.

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

Review: ‘Dead Like Me: Life After Death’

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Travis:

It’s been a bit of a wait for the ‘Dead Like Me’ movie, which was supposed to tie up loose ends left frayed by the early cancellation of the Showtime series after just two seasons. I have to admit, I really enjoyed the Showtime series and hated to see it canceled. I own both seasons on DVD and was looking forward to seeing how the movie would wrap things up. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t really “wrap” anything up, so much as attempt to continue the series with a new plot element.

This new plot element is the reaper’s handler Cameron (Henry Ian Cusick), who replaces Rube (Mandy Patinkin) after he “got his lights”. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, “getting your lights” refers to when a reaper has met their quota of reaps and is allowed to continue on to Heaven, etc. The entire story of the movie centers around the relationship between the reapers (George, Mason, Daisy and Roxy) and Cameron. Later in the film, George manages to re-establish an awkward relationship with her little sister Reggie, but that’s all I’ll say about that.

Ellen Muth returns as George Lass and I have to say it doesn’t seem like she’s aged much at all. She still has her sharp wit and quick tongue, but George has become more of a by the book beacon of being morally and ethically right, whereas in the series she was always sort of the “green” reaper learning from her mistakes, often challenging the status quo. In the movie, her role becomes somewhat reversed as Cameron is much more casual and loose with the rules of reaping, compared to Rube, and the other reapers initially find a new sense of fun and freedom in this opportunity. In all honesty, this is what ruins the movie for me. I miss Rube and Mandy Patinkin was perfect for the role. This new guy is annoying and isn’t even in the movie as much as you would think. Presumably, they filmmakers were not able to secure Patinkin to return, which I am guessing is the reason the story took this direction in the movie.

Callum Blue, Sarah Wynters and Jasmine Guy all return to reprise their roles as Mason, Daisy and Roxy. The first half of the film has some promise at being an interesting mystery in regards to who Cameron is an why he works the way he does. However, the second half of the movie ultimately becomes more of a farce and the focus has to be placed on George’s issues with living after death, so to speak. Naturally, the story is told from George’s point of view and is her story, but it occasionally gets lost in the mix. Overall, elements of the original series still exist and make appearance in the movie, but much of the wit and charm and general mood of the series is absent from the movie, which I felt came off as a more watered down re-introduction to the series than an effort to wrap up the story and further it along in a meaningful way.

[Overall: 2.75 stars out of 5]

DVD Features:

  • Audio Commentary by Director Stephen Herek

DVD Review: ‘My Name is Bruce’

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Hey, sugar lips! ‘My Name is Bruce’ isn’t a great movie… it’s not even necessarily a “good” movie… but, it’s Bruce Campbell and that’s good enough for me. This is the second feature film that Campbell has directed, the first being ‘The Man With the Screaming Brain’ which I actually enjoyed more than this one. The key factor in appreciating Bruce’s movies is that you be a fan of Bruce. Otherwise, you’ll probably give up within the first 20-30 minutes. This, coincidentally, is sort of what ‘My Name is Bruce’ is all about and ultimately what it banks on for it’s distribution success.

‘My Name is Bruce’ is written and directed by, and stars, Bruce Campbell as himself, in a “mostly” fictionalized way. In the movie, Campbell is a mediocre b-movie actor who’s down on his luck and his career couldn’t be more trashed. He lives in an old trailer and is stuck making crappy sequels to movies like ‘Cave Alien’. His agent, played by Ted Raimi, isn’t helping matters much, but tells Bruce he has a very special birthday surprise lined up for him. Soon after, Bruce in kidnapped by a fan and hauled off into a small rural town called Gold Lick to save them from Guan-di, the Chinese God of War, protector of the dead… and patron saint of bean curd.

This movie is filled with slap-dandy loads of Bruce Campbell dialogue, on-liners, sarcasm and pathetically failed attempts to score. Campbell manages to squeeze in virtually every one of his trademark phrases. The entire movie is basically an effort to make fun of himself and Bruce does a great job of that. Overall, this is my least favorite of Bruce Campbell’s movies. However, while it’s still fun to watch for fans of Campbell, the DVD extras are the best part of this DVD from Image Entertainment and Dark Horse Independent.

DVD Features:

  • Feature-length commentary with director/actor Bruce Campbell and producer Mike Richardson
  • Documentary: Heart of Dorkness The Making of My Name is Bruce
  • Featurettes: Bruce On…, Beyond Inside the Cave: The Making of CaveAlien 2, Kif s Korner, Awkward Moments with Kif, Love Birds, Hard Truth News from Hollywood The Real Bruce Campbell
  • CaveAlien 2 Trailer, My Name is Bruce Trailer
  • Poster Art Gallery, Props Art Gallery, Photo Gallery

The DVD also includes a collectible 24-page ‘My Name is Bruce’ comic book, and… if you order it in time, you’ll also get a mini-poster for the movie signed by Bruce Campbell. Better hurry though, because I’m sure these mini-posters are limited and while the DVD just came out on Tuesday, it’s already on back-order!

[Overall: 3.25 stars out of 5]

DVD Review: ‘Opie Gets Laid’

‘Opie Gets Laid’ is a sex comedy that does everything but hold anything back. Writer/director James Ricardo writes with a sharp tongue that’s both smart and dirty. Watching ‘Opie Get Laid’ is a unique experience, like watching a soap opera crossed with cheap soft porn crossed with the dialogue and content of a Kevin Smith movie.

Opie (James Ricardo) is the world’s biggest loser. He spends his day watching porn and eating pizza and junk food. He never leaves his apartment and his outlook on life is than that optimistic. When Thai (April Wade) shows up at the wrong apartment looking for a lesbian good time, she decides to stick around and hang out with Opie. One thing leads to another and after a lengthy philosophical debate on politics and religion, Thai and Opie get busy.

No longer a virgin, but still the world’s biggest loser, Opie begins to sink into a multi-directional love tetrahedron. He begins meeting women with low standards from an online dating service and becomes the talk of the town. Fought over and then shared by Thai and her girlfriend Dakota (Ute Werner), Opie soon finds himself the boy-toy of various attractive women with low standards, who end up seeing him on a tight schedule of shifts. Opie has become the most popular loser in town, until things get out of control and Opie must make a decision.

Opie’s art-filled apartment is the sole location of the entire film, but the level of strange occurrences and awkward situations rivals that of Scorcese’s ‘After Hours’. His encounters include a girl’s nudist parents and a swinging Jehovah’s witness. The witty dialogue is blunt and feels a little forced, but actually works in favor of the movie. Despite the fact that Opie’s the exact opposite of what the average woman wants, ‘Opie Gets Laid’ succeeds at being a sort of counter-culture romantic comedy and Opie becomes the dating anti-hero.

[Overall: 3.75 stars out of 5]

Back in April 2008, WeAreMovieGeeks introduced you to ‘Opie Gets Laid‘. The DVD released for sale on January 13, 2009.

DVD Features:

  • Director’s Commentary
  • Actor’s Commentary
  • Theatrical Trailer

DVD Review: ‘Planet B-Boy’

Travis:

‘Planet B-Boy’ first caught my attention when I saw a trailer for the documentary online and thought, “hey, this movie looks like a lot of fun.” There are many out there that live the life of break dancing, I am not one of them. But, that’s not to say that others cannot appreciate and find meaning in the true nature of the art. This, above all else, is the goal of the film as it attempts to bring outsiders into the fold of what it means to be a “B-Boy”.

The film follows 19 different teams from 18 different countries competing in the Battle of the Year in Germany. The teams all practice diligently and become the top picks from their countries which allows them to take part in the Battle of the Year, the end-all-be-all of who is on top. We’re introduced to different styles, philosophies and techniques. No two dancers perform the same and the best dance from their hearts. As the competition progresses, the film takes great care in presenting the individual artists to us in an honest and open way as they bare their souls to us about why they break dance.

Knucklehead Zoo is the team competing from the USA and we get a sense of what they’re fighting for which we can ultimately connect with their loss in the competition. Ichegeki, the team from Japan, stands out and finishes very well. Katsu in particular carries a significant part of the film as we follow his inner struggle with his father’s death and the obvious inspiration it gives him in his dance. Gamblerz is a South Korean team and defending champions, but finds themselves defeated by a fellow team from South Korea called Last For One, who take first place. The Korean team’s experience also makes for a very intriguing story, because for them this is the ultimate way to fully live and express themselves before being drafted for the mandatory two-year minimum service in the military that all Korean men must give under law.

‘Planet B-Boy’ is exhilarating, entertaining and enlightening. This form of dance takes great skill and endurance, but more importantly it requires a passion that shows and the level of passion determines the intensity of the individual B-Boy dance. Do yourself a favor and check this one out. It deserves a large audience.

[Overall: 4 stars out of 5]

Review: ‘Wanted’ 2-Disc Special Edition…

We raved about ‘Wanted’ after we watched in theaters and it still holds the entertaining aspect as well on DVD, but now you get a few extra features that you didn’t see in theaters.

Here is my review of the movie:

This has to be one of the most entertaining movies since ‘Shoot Em Up’, but this movie was done on a much larger scale. The casting was absolutely flawless†¦ James McAvoy was funny in the humorous scenes, but you could still buy him as a new up and coming bad ass assassin. Oh, and Angelina Jolie was a pure sex kitten! Morgan Freeman turned in a great performance and delivers one of the greatest lines in the movie†¦ “Kill this Mother%&$*er†, it was old school and had perfect execution. The movie stretches itself around a few things that you just have to buy into for the movie, curving bullets, flipping cars, a bath that can heal even the deepest of wounds (knife through the hand) in a matter of hours.

This movie keeps you on the edge of your seat, twists and plows through action craving emotions and leaves no apologies. This movie is like the best one night stand of your life, and when you wake up she is gone never to be heard from again†¦

Here is what you can expect for the bonus features:

There isn’t a whole lot to the bonus disk, you get an extended scene, a digital copy of the movie(which is awesome if you rock an iPhone or iPod), and a few behind the scene’s features. Its definitely worth a watch if you really dug the movie.

The thing I am disappointed in, is the fact that the sex scene between James McAvoy’s character, and Jolie’s character wasn’t included. If you remember back he mentioned this in an interview and how it was very intimidating for him. Bummer, maybe we will see that in a super delux edition down the road sometime.

All in all you should definitely buy this DVD, or try to WIN A FREE COPY from us…

Review: ‘Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead’

Well, Thanksgiving is almost here so we all have Turkey on our minds. I was sitting in my room waiting for my next video to finish rendering when I decided to watch Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead. It’s a movie about a different type of poultry; zombie chicken poultry to be exact. I know it’s not exactly perfect for Thanksgiving since it doesn’t have any mutant turkeys but until Eli Roth makes Thanksgiving for real, this is the most relevant horror movie to watch on Thanksgiving. (I did do some research and I came across a film called Blood Freak about a mutant killer with a turkey head but from what I’ve read, it’s truly awful and not in the it’s so bad it’s good way that we all love.) So if you like blood, guts, sex, gratuitous nudity, singing, dancing and bathroom humor, read on for my review of Poultrygeist.

If you haven’t heard of Poultrygeist yet, you are probably not a fan of Troma films. Lloyd Kaufman, president of Troma Entertainment, has been working on his latest Tromasterpiece for over 3 years. Troma is the longest running independent film company in the world with over 1,000 titles to their name. They have a unique brand of entertainment, with most of their films being chock full of all the wholesome goodness I listed above except for the singing and dancing.

Poultrygeist begins with Arbie and Wendy dry humping in an ancient Tromahawk Indian cemetery while a crazed metal patient with an axe watches and masturbates. He dies when a zombie chicken arm is shoved up his ass and pokes through his mouth, but only after he sniffs Arbie’s discarded underwear. One college semester later, Wendy has become a lesbian and is protesting the grand opening of an American Chicken Bunker fast food restaurant that has been built on that very same sacred Indian Burial ground. Arbie, upset about seeing Wendy with her girlfriend Micki and the fact that they probably won’t go for a threesome, decides to get even by taking a job at the fast food joint. He starts his job working with Denny, Paco Bell, Carl Jr. and even the future version of himself.

You may think this movie sounds completely insane and is just an excuse to shock and disgust the viewer. Well, it is. But the film also has some commentary on the fast food industry, big business, protestors, racism and other important social issues. You may have noticed the names of the characters all refer to famous fats food restaurants. In addition to making a statement, the film is also pretty damn entertaining. The musical numbers are pretty funny; I especially loved the last one. In fact, I loved the entire ending. Actually, I’m going to take it a step further and say that the last 30 or so minutes of the film was pretty much perfect. The zombie chicken massacre was amazing, the humor was on point and the ending was hysterical, even though being a Troma fan I immediately predicted it would happen once they got into a car.

The rest of the film was also very entertaining. There were some great one-liners and some interesting set pieces. There are also some funny fantasy musical sequences, including one that happens during a semi-dance-orgy in Wendy’s dorm room. The special effects were very good, especially for a Troma movie. My favorite effect involved a small order of chicken nuggets attacking a screaming customer. The acting ranges from decent to over the top, which is exactly what is needed in a film like this. The film moves at a quick pace and it’s fun and crazy tone is set early on and kept throughout the film.

In addition to a great film, the DVD is packed with bonus features. Like most of Lloyd’s films, the second DVD has a feature length making of the film called Poultry In Motion. I did not get to watch it yet but I’m sure it will be as informative and entertaining as his previous making of documentaries. There are also a few deleted scenes and an alternate ending. My favorite deleted scene involves Lloyd’s real life daughter’s death by soda machine, which was cut from the film. The third disc will probably be more popular at parties since it features the songs from the film in a karaoke version. You can sing along with the characters by following the words on screen or remove the voice track and sing solo. There are also some hidden Easter eggs including a small interview with Trey Parker, which seems to be excess footage from the just released Cannibal: The Musical 13th anniversary edition DVD.

Before I finish, I do want to add that this is not a film for everyone. If you like Troma movies, you will definitely love this. If you haven’t seen a Troma movie, this is a good one to start with. It is a tad less offensive than most Troma films and it has some of the best production value even though there are no fire trucks present. If you are looking for a wildly funny movie filled with bodily functions, various fluids spraying across screen and zombie chickens, this is a movie for you. In honor of Lloyd Kaufman, I will end this review with a really bad pun. You’d have to be a cluckin’ idiot not to enjoy Poultrygeist!

[Rating: 4 out of 5 Zombie Chickens]Â  

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com