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“THE HUNGER: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON”
“ARMY WIVES: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON”
"DR. DOLITTLE: MILLION DOLLAR MUTTS"
“WARNER BROS. PRESENTS SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS 1960S VOL. 1”
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2008, R for language and some sexual content/nudity
Best extra: "Richard Yates: The Wages of Truth," is a compelling and warts-all look at the acclaimed American novelist.
"IT'S ABOUT THE COMPLEXITY of marriage," Kate Winslet says, discussing the devastating and bleak film she made with her husband, director Sam Mendes, and her longtime friend and "Titanic" co-star, Leonardo DiCaprio. Winslet was so impressed with the novel, set in suburban Connecticut in the 1950s and tracing the disintegration of a marriage, that she spent two and a half years gently bringing both her husband and DiCaprio on board the project.
The Blu-ray features a beautiful transfer. The film was lensed by Roger Deakins, who has shot nearly every film for the Coen Brothers including "No Country for Old Men," and, as always, his work is impeccable. The uncompressed audio track is spot on as well. The film is entirely dialogue-driven, although there is a nice immersive feel to the sound design that really sells the different locations from the house where most of the film takes place to Frank's office to a smoky bar filled with dancing couples.
Yates, who passed away in 1992, is examined in the "Wages of Truth" documentary which features interviews with his family, friends, biographer, and others, who discuss his alcoholism, mental illness, difficult personality, writing, and the details of his life (from writing speeches for Robert Kennedy to jobs teaching writing at a number of universities). Also included is a commentary by Mendes and screenwriter Justin Haythe, a making-of featurette, and twenty-five minutes of deleted scenes with optional commentary. All of the extras are in HD.
Although the film was released to universal acclaim, it failed to score any major awards aside from a Best Actress win at the Golden Globes (Winslet took home the Oscar for "The Reader”). It’s probably due to its aggressively depressing tone and storyline. While the film features two incredible performances from its leads and is without fault in the technical departments, “Revolutionary Road” is probably not a path viewers will care to visit more than once. Highly recommended for its cinematic value but stay away if you're looking to be uplifted.
— Josh Boone
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2008, R for war violence and language
Best extra: An informative and educational commentary with director/co-writer Edward Zwick, who’s more like a college professor than a Hollywood insider, giving every detail about this remarkable story.
WAS TUVIA BIELSKI (Daniel Craig), a modern day Moses? To thousands of Jews, there’s no question.
The little-known story follows Tuvia and his three brothers who led the largest Jewish resistance force during World War II. The band of refugees eluded the Nazi’s for two winters in the woods, joining forces with the Red Army as the Germans pushed into the Soviet Union.
During one of the hi-def featurettes, Tuvia’s son Robert Bielski recalls how folks would just show-up at the family home to hug his dad. “For years I thought they were family, but they were survivors.”
Zwick learned of the extraordinary story after reading Tuvia’s obituary in the New York Times. With a reputation for heroic movies (“Glory,” “Blood Diamond”), he produced a powerful war adventure with terrific lifelike performances from Daniel Craig (Tuvia), Liev Schreiber (Zus) and Jamie Bell (Asael) as the Bielskis. All three learned Russian for their roles, which forces subtitles to be sprinkled throughout the movie.
Blu-ray disc imagery is nothing short of spectacular, with natural film grain, deep contrast and excellent black levels during the deep forest scenes which were filmed in Lithuania, subbing for Belarus – where this true story unfolds. Belarus was off limits, since it’s under a dictatorship.
The disc also includes a 30-minute making-of documentary and a short featurette on the emotional score created by composer James Newton Howard, featuring violin soloist Joshua Bell.
— Bill Kelley III
Blu-ray widescreen, 1989, R for war violence and language
Best extra: The Blu-ray exclusive “Virtual Battlefield,” an interactive map highlighting key Civil War battles and historical events. It also includes the movements of the 54th Massachusetts and short video journals, which were taped in hi-def.
WITH A STROKE OF a pen, President Lincoln freed a race of people. Likewise, his decree to use black soldiers changed the path of the Civil War.
“Glory” tells the story of the 54th Massachusetts, the first black U.S. regiment. Denzel Washington (in an Oscar winning role) and Morgan Freeman star as soldiers who fought gallantly in a suicidal mission against a Confederate fort near Charleston, S.C. The two actors took pay cuts to make the limited-budget film.
The story is based on the letters of Col. Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick), a Boston abolitionist who was commander of the 54th.
Director Edward Zwick used breathtaking images (Oscar winning), a powerful score and thousands of re-enactors to film this stirring tribute.
And, you won’t be disappointed with the Blu-ray imagery. It’s exceptional with plenty of natural film grain and no signs of digital noise reduction – which is always a plus. Also, the Oscar winning sound gets a major boost with the Dolby TrueHD soundtrack.
The disc contains three standard-def carry-over documentaries from earlier DVDs. You’ll learn about the regiment’s writing campaign to get equal pay, the recruitment of 179,000 ex-slaves and the deaths of 33,000 on the battlefield. You’ll also learn about Sgt. William Crane, the first African-American to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Zwick also provides a commentary and says, “The heart of the movie is the ensemble of soldiers.”
— Bill Kelley III
DVD widescreen, 2007, G
Best extra: Sadly, none
IN THIS AGE OF myriad bonus features, from silly games to detailed making-ofs, it’d be nice if a film with beautiful scenery and incredible wildlife provided some of those behind-the-scenes scenarios that home movie viewers want to hear about. Instead, "The Fox and the Child" by filmmaker Luc Jacquet ("March of the Penguins") sorely lacks in bonus features and Blu-ray quality.
What saves this DVD is the story about a 10-year-old girl (Bertille Noel-Bruneau) who becomes obsessed with a fox that lives in the forest surrounding her home. Narrated by Kate Winslet (recalling those days as a little girl), the story follows a year in the life of the child as she tries to befriend the fox and eventually her pups.
This documentary-style narrative is family friendly, but blunt when it comes to telling the story of animals in the wild, so much so that some of the scenes might be unsuitable for those who still think Peter Rabbit is real.
Nevertheless, it’s a pity that this DVD lacks bonus features and high-definition; the entertainment value would have exponentially grown. Having said that, renting it should suffice for now, until Warner/New Line provides more for your buck.
— Toni Guagenti
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2008, not rated (but language and drugs aplenty)
Best extra: The hi-def featurette "Moving Weight" takes a novel approach towards a serious subject.
IN LAST SEASON's finale of Showtime's inventive dramedy, the life of pot dealing housewife Nancy Botwin went up in smoke a second time. Faced with dwindling options, she set the family's house on fire and bolted. As her less-than-enthused husband Andy and their two boys go on the run, with a DEA agent not far behind, their quiet suburbia gets replaced by a stay with Andy's ailing grandmother and cantankerous father, nicely played by Albert Brooks. (It was also a reunion with two "Weeds" cast members, who played the voices of his wife and son in "Finding Nemo.")
The change in scenery for the family was a welcome one. With F/X's take-no-prisoners meth show "Breaking Bad" nipping at its heels, the show needed a shakeup. But with the zany writing and acting on "Weeds" remaining in fine form, there's more than enough room for the two to share.
The Blu-ray imagery is an obvious upgrade as opposed to watching the 13 episodes in hi-def cable or satellite. It also includes seven channels of uncompressed DTS HD sound. But, don’t expect Emmy winning photography here, like an episode from “Lost” with exotic locations in Hawaii. “Weeds” barely gets off the the back lot.
Plenty of extras are included on the two-disc Blu-ray set or three-disc DVD bundle to keep fans occupied. Commentaries with cast and crew (seven) are nearly as numerous as the hi-def mini-featurettes. In "Little Titles," series creator Jenji Kohan talks about how the new, shorter opening titles were done on the fly, and how an unused portrait of her for one of them can be seen on her Facebook page. "One Stop Chop Shop" describes how the writers' retreat headed to the border to learn from DEA agents. (Why, for instance, do sequential numbers mark border fences?) Then there's "Moving Weight," in which an actor on the show has a chat with an experienced lawyer about the drug trade. Educational but not heavy-handed, it's an enlightening inclusion, and an interesting primer for Season Five as it starts up this week.
—Carl Hott
Blu-ray widescreen, 2006, R for strong violence, language, some drug use and brief nudity
Best extra: "Under Attack" focuses on the film's dangerous stunts, some captured with remote controlled cameras, and the use of seemingly unbroken shots, one which lasts nearly seven and a half minutes with Clive Owen running through a war zone.
A SHOWCASE OF virtuoso filmmaking, Alfonso Cuaron's tells the story of a doomed future set in a world where women can no longer bear children. Cuaron's didn’t want to shoot the film in the science fiction format like "Blade Runner," but in the revolutionary "The Battle of Algiers," which used a documentary approach to show the Algerian War.
"Children" comes to Blu-ray with a strong transfer devoid of edge enhancement that perfectly captures cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki's gritty palette. There is natural film grain throughout, strong contrast, and deep blacks. The lossless audio track puts you right in the middle of the explosions and gunfire.
I wish the disc had more in-depth extras, such as a commentary from Cuaron. Instead we get a handful of featurettes that look at the film's visual effects (particularly the creation of the baby during the birth scene), interviews with philosophers about the future scenario, and some deleted scenes. All are presented in standard definition. There's also a sparse picture-in-picture function that allows you to watch some of the commercials in full that are shown throughout the movie on TV screens in the background.
One of the best films of 2006 gets a solid hi-def treatment. Recommended.
— Josh Boone
Blu-ray widescreen, 2006, R for language and some violent images
Best extra: Spike Lee’s commentary, transported over from the standard edition, is, as always, well worth a listen.
DENZEL WASHINGTON, CLIVE OWEN and Jodie Foster star in this mind-bending thriller that plays like a cross between “Dog Day Afternoon” and “The Usual Suspects."
This is one of Universals finest catalog releases on Blu-ray from a picture quality standpoint. I doubt the film looked this good in theaters. Colors are vivid and striking, detail is incredible and some moments demand a paused screen to really appreciate how strong this transfer really is. The audio track is reference quality as well, bringing New York City's busy streets to life as well as the action, dialogue, and jazzy score.
Although there's nothing new here, the Blu-ray offers a strong and informative commentary from Lee, who had just turned 49 the day he recorded the track and was particularly reflective, 20-minutes of deleted scenes in standard-def, and a handful of featurettes, including a laid back conversation between Lee and Washington, who discuss their various collaborations over the years.
— Josh Boone
Blu-ray widescreen, 1997, R for violence and language
Best extra: It’s the only bonus feature,a commentary with director Wolfgang Petersen.
ONLY IN HOLLYWOOD: The presidential 747 jet is hijacked by Russian neo-nationalists demanding the release of a military general. Only the president, played by Harrison Ford, can save the day.
The Blu-ray imagery is solid, but nothing to write home about. Basically, the results are a product of Petersen using the Super 35 filming process which uses a small negative rather than a movie filmed with anamorphic lens (Panavision). The sharpness and image detail are down a notch or two and the film grain is more evident. There are no signs of digital noise reduction or edge enactment, always a bonus. On a positive note, the transfer is substantially better than the latest “T2: Skynet Edition” Blu-ray, another movie filmed on Super 35.
On the sonic front, the Dolby TrueHD track is ear popping, especially as the F-15 fighters are scrambled. Your living room will rock like you’re on the flight line at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach.
The commentary is quite informative and funny; Petersen praises Ford for doing his own stunts and getting President Clinton to ask Glenn Close to play the vice president. “We knew she wouldn’t turn down the president,” says Petersen.
— Bill Kelley III
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, not rated
Best extra: Nothing really. How do you top Mother Nature and the BBC?
MUCH OF THE material in “Amazing Events” will be familiar to those who enjoy nature documentaries. We know the story about the thawing Arctic and its victims, the polar bears. We’ve seen documentaries about salmon migration in the Pacific Northwest. Still, the footage captured here by the BBC’s Natural History Unit is positively stunning. The amazing events, which premiered only a few weeks ago on the Discovery Channel, are genuinely amazing.
Blu-ray’s 1080p/VC-1 transfer offers the best picture, with strong and vibrant color, fine detail and excellent contrast. Any filmed-in-the-wild imperfection is easily dismissed. This does not have all the quality of the “Planet Earth” series, but its close; viewers shouldn’t be disappointed. Sound, which includes engaging narration from David Attenborough, is presented through a two-channel, Dolby Digital stereo track. That means you won’t get that full, surround sound experience. Yet it blends in beautifully with the picture.
Recommended.
— Mike Reynolds
Blu-ray widescreen, 1997, PG-13 for intense adventure violence, brief language and sensuality
Best extra: No extras except the BD-Live connection.
PEOPLE USED TO PAY cash money to watch Grade-B adventure flicks like “Anaconda” at the drive-in. You’d pile into the car, head out to the big screen and line up beside a speaker that worked (with a cord long enough so you could get the door open later). Kids would play on swingsets at the front of the screen and teens would head to the snack bar for sodas and popcorn, meatball sandwiches and mosquito repellant.
Columbia Pictures now presents “Anaconda,” stock characters, giant snakes and jungle, on Blu-ray, which you can watch in deluxe color and sound on your own at-home theater system. Unfortunately, the transfer to Blu-ray here is not that great. Details are soft and color a bit flat compared to other high-def efforts. But then again, what do you expect from a giant snake movie? What’s there is decent – along with a darn good lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack, all the better to hear the roaring snakes and ranting Jon Voight villain. Beauties in distress include Jennifer Lopez, Kari Wuhrer, Owen Wilson and Eric Stoltz. The smart, capable guy is played by Ice Cube. The marvelously menacing Danny Trejo is a henchman.
Nope, it doesn’t make sense (roaring snakes?) Neither did “The Horror of Party Beach.” But it’s good, whacky fun. Nuke lots of popcorn.
— Mike Reynolds
“THE HUNGER: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON”
DVD widescreen, 1997-1998, not rated but contains violence, gore, nudity, sex and language
Best extra: A preview of season two hosted by David Bowie is the only extra.
THE SCARIEST THING about Showtime’s 30-minute horror anthology might be its first season host, Terrence Stamp. Every anthology must have a connecting theme, so Stamp tells us he’s spinning out his nightmares to keep them from rattling around in his head.
Lucky him – but bad luck for the viewers. This being an “adult” horror anthology, you can believe there’s plenty of explicit sex onscreen. Most of this is – indeed – nightmarish. So are the plots, sets, and acting. Basically, “The Hunger” is cable’s excuse for yet another soft porn series.
The 22 episode, four-disc set features actors on their way up, such as Daniel Craig, appearing in the aptly named “Menage A Trois” with Karen Black and Lena Headley. Producers include Ridley Scott and Tony Scott.
Don’t confuse this with the excellent 1983 movie, “The Hunger” with Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie and Susan Sarandon. Just skip it altogether.
— Mike Reynolds
DVD widescreen, 2009, TV-14 LS
Best extra: “Active Duty: The Cast of Army Wives at Fort Bragg” is a featurette that shows the cast and crew visiting Fort Bragg, where they spoke with several real-life people, civilian and military, on the base. Represented are The Family Readiness Group, the airborne training unit, and Sgt. Major Lambert, returning to Iraq for a fifth tour of duty. There was also a meeting with real Army wives. Touching.
“ARMY WIVES,” IS the critically acclaimed Lifetime show about the lives of four women and a man bonded through their involvement with someone in the United States Army. Season Two takes the show to new heights as the major characters are thrown together in intimate — and often dangerous — situations.
Look for more infidelity, more fighting (on and off the battlefield) and more uncertainty. Lifetime's “Army Wives” is one of TV's most popular shows. Standouts this season include the spunky Sally Pressman (Roxy), who plans to reopen the Hump Bar after last season's tragedy there.
Extras with this five-disc DVD set also include: A “bloopers” featurette; “The Tribe,” which introduces and features each of the principal characters (We learn here that the pilot was titled “A Tribe Is Born.”) There’s even a sampling of deleted scenes — complete with commentary by the show’s producers, Marshall Persinger and Deborah Spera.
A very interesting inclusion is a featurette, “Operational Intelligence: Getting the Army’s Support,” which explains how, because of the show’s popularity, the Army offered its support and technical expertise, adding to the show’s authenticity. Everyone involved wanted to get everything right. Reel to real.
Let’s hope you’re up and ready for Season Three. The Army has its code, the wives have their own.
— Cliff Redding
Blu-ray widescreen, 1985, PG for violence and language
Best extra: "Just Charge it to The Underhills: Making and Remembering Fletch," but remember, these bonus features were on the 2007 "The ‘Jane Doe’ Edition"
RELEASED DURING THE "Beverly Hills Cop" action-packed comedy era, "Fletch" is about Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher, a journalist who goes undercover to bust a citywide drug ring in L.A. Fletch, who writes the "Jane Doe" column, uses his super-sleuth laid-back skills, changing identities along the way, to fit his investigative purposes, and to solve more than just the drug-ring mystery. He does it with humor that’ll still leave you laughing 24 years later.
The Blu-ray version allows the viewer to see Fletch’s alter-egos, such as G. Gordon Liddy, Dr. Rosen Rosen, and John Cocktoastin among others, in crisp realism. This updated, high-def classic would have been better served with some fresh bonus features. Instead, they come directly from "Fletch: The ‘Jane Doe’ Edition," that includes the standard-definition presentation and their lack of Chevy Chase (Fletch) in the featurettes.
Actors Tim Matheson (Alan Stanwyk), Dana Wheeler-Nicholson (Gail Stanwyk), Larry Flash Jenkins (Gummy) and M. Emmet Walsh (Dr. Joseph Dolan) are featured on the making-of, as well as screenwriter Andrew Bergman and producers Alan Greisman and Peter Douglas. Some of them talk about director Michael Ritchie’s intelligence and humor in putting "Fletch" together, and his death in 2001 of complications from prostate cancer.
Maybe one day Chase will agree to be a part of an anniversary edition, and maybe even partake in a commentary. Now that would be a Blu-ray worth buying.
— Toni Guagenti
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, R for language, sexual content, violence/disturbing images, and some drug and alcohol use by teens
Best extra: Commentary with writer/director Nathan Hope and producer Vincent Palomino
GOSHEN, IND., is a place that’s almost as creepy as Amityville, N.Y. ("The Amityville Horror"), or Estes Park, Colo. ("The Shining").
"Elsewhere" is a teen flick with a thriller twist. Sarah’s (Anna Kendrick, "Twilight") best friend, Jillian (Tania Raymonde, "Lost") disappears from the tiny town of Goshen and Sarah’s the only person who cares what happened to her. What she sleuths out along with computer geek Jasper (Chuck Carter) is a secret others would rather keep buried.
“Elsewhere” in Blu-ray is suspenseful and beautiful all at the same time. When Sarah’s phone continually rings with mysterious text messages, pictures and videos from her friend, you’ll look for your own phone even though your ring tone isn’t the same. Make sure those speakers are up loud. The imagery used by Hope is, in some spots, hopeless. You know where the movie is heading, but you still want to believe that teens like Jillian will find a happily ever after.
The commentary, which contains a wealth of info about Goshen, the filming and writing process and other great tidbits viewers love to hear about the actors (Raymonde was all set for her role when she came in for the audition – including the blonde and black hair and overly painted face). Standard-definition bonuses include deleted scenes, which basically are extended scenes, a photo gallery, the trailer and "The Road to Elsewhere" featurette.
Sometimes wishing to be someplace else isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
— Toni Guagenti
"DR. DOLITTLE: MILLION DOLLAR MUTTS"
Blu-ray widescreen and enhanced widescreen DVD, 2009, PG for some rude humor
Best extra: "Tiffany’s Tricked Out Cell Phone," which includes doggie and human fashion throughout the movie
OH THE OOZING of the cheese in "Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts!" No, not literal cheese, but cheese as in cheesy acting, cheesy plot and cheesy movie.
Maya Dolittle (Maya Pratt) wants to follow in the footsteps of her famous father, Dr. Dolittle (played by Eddie Murphy in 1998 and 2001), so when the Heiress’ Heiress (whatever that means) Tiffany Monaco (Tegan Moss) gives her a chance to take a short cut away from vet school and through Hollywood, Maya opts for glitter over education.
Of course, that choice gets her into trouble but doesn’t stop her from landing a hot guy with a cute female dog to mate with Maya’s dog Lucky (voiced by Norm MacDonald). By the end, everything is tied up in a neat bow.
The high-def bonus features are short, thank goodness, including a look at the canine fashions, Maya and Tiffany’s clothes, and featurettes "Star Tours: Dolittle Style" (basically a tour of the fake characters’ digs in the film) and "No Business Like Show Business." The Blu-ray also comes with the movie on DVD.
It’s probably a good thing that animals can’t really talk, or review movies. Woof! Woof!
— Toni Guagenti
“WARNER BROS. PRESENTS SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS 1960S VOL. 1”
DVD full-screen, 1960s, not rated
“WARNER BROS. PRESENTS SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS 1970S VOL. 1”
DVD full-screen, 1970s, not rated
Best extra: “The Good, the Bad and the El Kabong” from the 1960s disc, is a documentary of Joseph Hanna and William Barbara’s early days of television production and how they adjusted their animation for TV after years of producing theatrical cartoons. The final vestiges of their theatre work can be seen in their work on “Quick Draw McGraw.”
BOASTING 12 SHOWS on two discs, there’s little rhyme or reason as to what’s included. Even so, for those who grew up watching these cartoons, these episodes will stir happy memories of mornings spent in front of the boob tube. None of the shows will bowl you over with their amazing quality, but the work holds up better then you’d expect.
For connoisseurs of animation, some of the bonus features are informative, a bit of surprise given the slapdash nature of the collection.
“The Herculoids: First Family of Planet Quasar,” an extra on the 1960s disc, goes into depth about how the show’s designer, legendary comic book artist Alex Toth, changed the look of Saturday morning cartoons with this one show.
The other extra worth checking out is “Solving Crimes the Chan Clan Way” from the 1970s disc. It’s not that “Charlie Chan and the Amazing Chan Clan” was a TV show worth remembering. But the documentary talks to two of the shows writers, one of whom is none other than M.A.S.H.’s Jamie Farr. The documentary details how TV networks’ standard and practices department had stringent rules about what could be shown, and their insistence on copying a successful formula robbed Saturday morning of any trace of originality, life or fun.
The documentaries alone aren’t worth the price. But coupled with a bit of nostalgia, the two discs are a pleasant diversion.
— Larry Printz
Blu-ray widescreen, enhanced DVD widescreen, R for crude and sexual content, nudity and language
Best extra: Commentary with director Brian Herzlinger and producer Emilio Ferrari
HEATHER GRAHAM’S "this-wasn’t-supposed-to-happen" face on the cover of "Baby on Board" might draw you into this romantic comedy, but don’t be fooled: There’s little else to entice you to watch this movie.
Angela (Graham) and lawyer hubby Curtis (Jerry O’Connell) are a power couple with everything going for them, except for the family, which they hope to start later. Thanks to faulty condoms, their plans die as the marriage of best friends Sylvie (Katie Finneran) and Danny (John Corbett) falls apart.
Sure Chicago looks fabulous in Blu-ray, and Graham and O’Connell are nice to look at in high-def, but the movie’s contrived plot can’t save it. Herzlinger and Ferrari’s commentary, as with most feature-length gab fests, can help the viewer appreciate what went in to making the film, but still, the movie’s got to be worth the money.
In addition to the commentary, the Blu-ray includes a high-def photo gallery of the actors in some of the scenes, the movie trailer and nothing else, not even a digital copy. I wonder why not?
— Toni Guagenti
DVD widescreen, 1964, unrated but contains some nudity
Best extra: None
PROBABLY ONE OF the most accessible of Jean-Luc Godard’s films, this lyrical, seemingly simple story of a married woman with a lover – neither of whom she seems to be deeply in love with – may also be a look at the bored bourgeoisie. Godard, who clearly adores beautiful women, trains his camera on the lovely, enigmatic face of his star, Macha Meril.
— Peggy Earle
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