“CORALINE: 2-DISC COLLECTOR’S EDITION”
“300” THE COMPLETE EXPERIENCE”
“THE LUCY SHOW: THE OFFICIAL FIRST SEASON”
“PUSHING DAISIES: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON”
“2 OR 3 THINGS I KNOW ABOUT HER”
"ARTHUR HAILEY’S HOTEL: THE FIRST SEASON"
“WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN: DEADLY ENEMIES”
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, R for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language
Best extra: Warner's immersive "Maximum Movie Mode" blows all previous picture-in-picture experiences out of the water.
WHEN DIRECTOR Zack Snyder ("300") steps out in front of two flat-screen monitors and introduces himself, you know this is going to be different from any other "In-Movie Experience." Snyder pops up throughout explaining the action and effects and how it all compares to Alan Moore's acclaimed 12-issue comic book series (which went on to become one of the bestselling graphic novels of all time). But, it doesn't stop there. You'll get focus points with interviews with "Watchmen" illustrator Dave Gibbons and various members of the cast and crew, behind-scenes footage, a timeline of the alternate universe "Watchmen" is set in, storyboards, and more.
Warner Bros. delivers a flawless hi-def transfer with the 24-minute longer “Director’s Cut” and a phenomenal uncompressed DTS HD audio track.
The second disc includes three hi-def featurettes. The first "The Phenomenon: The Comic That Changed Comics," is a comprehensive look at the creation of the comic book and includes interviews with all the important players except Moore, who has sworn off Hollywood after the butchering of both "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and "From Hell." Moore has claimed that he will never again see a film based on his work, which is a shame, considering how faithful Snyder is to Moore’s material and how well he nailed what Moore was going for. The other two featurettes examine real-life vigilantes throughout American history and the science and gadgets in the film. Last but not least is the music video of My Chemical Romance's cover of Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row."
Clearly, one of the year's best Blu-rays making it a no-brainer. But beware: Snyder and Warner Bros. are promising an Ultimate Five-Disc set in December – which will include an even longer cut integrating “Tales of the Black Freighter” storyline and a new commentary with the director and Gibbons. You can get $10 off by registering online.
— Josh Boone
“CORALINE: 2-DISC COLLECTOR’S EDITION”
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2-D and 3-D versions, 2009, PG for thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor
Best extra: The making-of the feature, which includes several key points on stop-motion animation
THE DETAILS. THE patience. The creativity. "Coraline" is an amazing film shot painstakingly in stop-motion animation, and the first to be shot in 3-D. You can watch it over and over and still see new things you didn’t see before.
That’s why the high-def bonus features are so important; many showing how long it took to make this movie, to making sure the details were perfect and the intricacies of the puppets and their wardrobes.
The story is about a little girl (voiced by Dakota Fanning) who moves to a weird place where two worlds exist. One seems perfect, the other, her hum-drum life with her parents. Based on the Neil Gaiman book by the same name, "Coraline" will make any child appreciate what they have.
In addition to the 3-D version with glasses, the Blu-ray set includes the DVD version of the movie and a digital copy, BD Live options, D-Box extras, U-Control features that include picture-in-picture facts and fun, and a look at the actors recording their characters’ voices and then integrating it into each scene along with a rapid-fire feature commentary with director Henry Selick (and a little from composer Bruno Coulais).
Parents should be warned this movie is PG, with images and such that could be a bit creepy for kids under seven. Teri Hatcher’s character in the perfect world becomes down-right scary.
— Toni Guagenti
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2008, PG for some language including suggestive remarks and a drug reference
Best extra: Commentary with director/writer Sean McGinly and actor Colin Hanks
FOR THOSE OF us old enough to remember the Amazing Kreskin and his appearances on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," "The Great Buck Howard" will evoke nostalgia, but only for a little bit.
The movie is based on Kreskin’s act, but not his life. The semi-autobiography comes from McGinly, who dropped out of law school, much like Troy Gable (Hanks) does in the movie, to pursue a writing career that happened to take him on tour with Kreskin back in the 1990s.
John Malkovich plays Howard, an interminable optimist in his mentalist abilities and his star-staying power. A high-def behind-scenes featurette explains the whole kit and caboodle.
Throw in some HD outtakes, extended and deleted scenes, an HDNet look at the movie (some crazy reason only in standard-def) and the amusing, educating commentary, and this Blu-ray will entertain. It’s interesting to hear about Tom Hanks’ role in the picture as Gable’s father, who isn’t so keen about his son dropping out of law school to go into the entertainment business. The younger Hanks explains that his father never berated him about his choices, even as an actor.
The Blu-ray features a film-like experience with excellent sharpness and detail. And, the movie music is very much Las Vegas/game-show like, so it’s upbeat and fun, even though, at times, the movie takes an emotional, dramatic turn. In the end, Howard stays true to himself, as does Gable.
As Howard says time and again after finishing an amazing feat on stage: "Isn’t that wild? Wild!"
— Toni Guagenti
“300” THE COMPLETE EXPERIENCE”
Blu-ray widescreen, 2007, R for graphic battle scenes throughout, some sexuality and nudity
Best extra: An interactive picture-in-picture feature provides three perspectives: “Creating A Legend,” “Bringing the Legend to Life,” and “The History Behind the Myth”
WARNER BROS. OFFERS two graphic novel-based films this week: Alan Moore’s “Watchmen” and the re-release of Frank Miller’s “300.” Gotta make sure the comic geeks get their share of high-def in-home cinema.
Ain’t no crime in that – and the Battle of Thermopylae where 300 Spartans held off the massive Persian army should make decent summertime viewing. It’s just that its fictional re-tellings can’t compare with history. (Other movies about the battle have also been created, including “The 300 Spartans,” 1962.)
At any rate, we’ve seen “300” on Blu-ray before; it looks and sounds great. The film arrives direct via CGI from the book by Miller and Lynn Varley. Directed by Zack Snyder – who also directed “Watchmen” – it’s full of bright color, sharp detail and big sound. This new packaging includes the nifty picture-in-picture feature, incorporating material from previous featurettes. You won’t learn anything new, but you will have a new way to access data released on earlier versions – which are again carried over here. That’s cool. The BD-Live experience connects viewers to online material, if your player happens to be hooked up to the internet. A digital copy is also included along with a detailed 40 page book.
Nothing Miller has on film compares to “Sin City,” the groundbreaker masterminded by Robert Rodriguez. If you like costume drama and stunning battle scenes, there’s always the Ridley Scott/Russell Crowe gem, “Gladiator.” It’s got heart. Better yet, look into The History Channel’s “Last Stand of the 300” which recreates the Battle of Thermopylae. It’s not in high-def, but the story is amazing and will stay with you longer than Miller’s version.
“Watchmen” is the pick of the week, comic friends.
— Mike Reynolds
“THE LUCY SHOW: THE OFFICIAL FIRST SEASON”
DVD full-screen, 1962-63, not rated
Best extra: Interviews with Lucie Arnaz and Jimmy Garrett (Lucy’s son Jerry in the show)
IT’S NEARLY 50 YEARS later and these first-season episodes of "The Lucy Show" still incite laughter, lots of it.
Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance truly are a classic comedic pair, and they continue their relationship brilliantly as friends who live and raise their kids together. Viv is divorced, Lucy widowed. The antics that ensue, buying a sheep to "mow" the lawn, trying out for the space program, etc., can keep viewers happy for hours.
The episodes themselves have been digitally remastered, and look quite pure, especially in black and white. Other extras, like clips from an opening night special, vintage openings and closings (and the ability to watch each episode with those clips and cast commercials), flubs and excerpts from CBS’ hour-long special in 1962 to kick off their stellar season, are not remastered and each has plenty of flaws to bring back memories of a time when shows didn’t jump off the screen and put you in the action. This is definitely substance over glitz.
Personally, I wish there were some way to watch all the episodes without having to watch the show’s opening, with the stick figure Lucy and Viv, because it gets repetitive. Other than that, this four-disc set gives any vintage TV lover a wealth of information, not only about Lucy and the show, but about other actors and principals vital to the show’s success, including Lucy’s ex-husband, Desi Arnaz.
— Toni Guagenti
“PUSHING DAISIES: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON”
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2008-2009, not rated
Best extra: Only one: a making-of featurette in four parts.
ABC NETWORK SHOULD have received a medal for its creative risk in allowing the wildly inventive show "Pushing Daisies" to see the light of day. Maybe it would have stopped the network from cancelling it after a mere two shortened seasons. Whether the final blow was the writer's strike or some executive with cold feet is immaterial. It was easily the most daring show of the last decade, and it deserved better.
The brightly colored fairy tale about a piemaker with the ability to wake the dead for one minute and his screwball collection of friends, including a childhood crush he can never touch and a sourpuss detective named Emerson Cod, had an underlying dark streak that was certainly not to everyone's taste. And yet it offered something television had never seen before. Its elaborate sets, CGI and costuming not only looked like a million dollars (and it probably was, one possible reason for its cancellation), it featured voiceover work by Jim Dale, the versatile man behind the "Harry Potter" audiobooks. Picture David E. Kelley reimagining Willy Wonka and you're in the ballpark.
No commentaries were recorded for the show's swan song DVD set, but four featurettes cover a lot of ground. "The Master Pie Maker" is mostly a lovefest for series creator Bryan Fuller, with a few details about the other departments (notably production, which really had their hands full). Fuller credits the French film "Amelie" as one of the show's influences. "From Oven To Table" follows the prosthetic creation for one of the show's many bizarre deaths. "Sweet Secret Ingredients" looks at the snappy 1940s-type music of Emmy-winning composer Jim Dooley, while "Add A Little Magic" gives a nod to the show's dreamlike special effects, notably the deconstruction of a large, ornery CG rhinoceros.
— Carl Hott
Blu-ray widescreen, 1978, R for language, violence and brief nudity
Best extra: Director Alan (“Angel Heart”) Parker contributes an engrossing 56-page memoir about the making of the film. This is similar to booklets Criterion provides and it’s a nice addition to the already stuffed supplemental package.
PARKER’S BRUTAL SURVIVAL story set in a Turkish prison won Oliver Stone his first Oscar as a screenwriter and was nominated for an Academy Award best picture. Based loosely on a true story, the film was controversial for its extremely negative portrayal of Turks and the film’s torture and violent rape scenes.
For a film that's over 30 years old, "Midnight Express" looks surprisingly good on Blu-ray. While it doesn't have the wow factor of more recent titles, it's an impressive transfer that preserves film grain and maintains solid black levels and detail throughout. The lossless audio track is front heavy with a claustrophobic sound design that adds to the prison setting.
The Blu-ray edition recycles the recent 30th Anniversary Edition and comes with a commentary by Parker, which you could skip in lieu of the mammoth 80-minute retrospective documentary (broken into three sections), which covers the same ground as the commentary with more contributors and even more information. Both Parker and Stone seem genuinely sorry for demonizing Turkey. Star Billy Hayes died of AIDS in 1991.
— Josh Boone
DVD widescreen, 2008-09, not rated
Best extra: An “anatomy of an episode” special on “Mr. Monk Makes the Playoffs” that includes a weird discussion with Bob Costas about a demented cat salesman.
GET OUT THE wipes. The beloved detective show “Monk” passes the 100-episode mark in its seventh season, taking several trips into the compulsive, neat-freak, phobic detective's past: via hypnosis that returns him to a childlike state, an encounter with a childhood bully and the introduction of a loony half-brother with far fewer hang-ups than Monk.
That, along with the all-star lunacy of “Mr. Monk's 100th Case,” make it clear the series hasn't lost its deftness and wit, thanks to fine writing and a top-notch cast, led by Tony Shalhoub. Extras are simple but effective – an “Anatomy of an Episode” featurette dealing with Monk's ill-fated trip to a football game, a series of video commentaries by cast and crew, and even the delightfully dopey “Magnum, P.I.”- style series promo. As always, it'll leave fans panting for more.
— Caroline Luzzatto
“2 OR 3 THINGS I KNOW ABOUT HER”
DVD Widescreen, 1967, unrated
Best extra: Interview with former Godard friend and colleague, Antoine Bourseiller.
CRITERION PRESENTS another head-scratcher from Jean-Luc Godard, but this time with enough expository material to make it almost seem accessible.
“2 or 3 Things,” as the film scholar commentator says, is more of an essay than anything else. Its subject, on the surface, is a day in the life of Juliette, a pretty, young French housewife and mother who, unbeknownst to her husband, works as a prostitute to help pay the bills. But it’s really a sociological comment on suburban Paris in the late 1960s – with an emphasis on the new high-rises being built, advertising and commercial objects, i.e., if Godard had been subsidized for product placement in this film, he would have made a fortune. The cinematography is gorgeous, as every scene contains intense bright colors: Dresses in a shop, gasoline pumps, billboards, etc.
All the extras are worthwhile – the informative commentary; an interview with Marina Vlady (Juliette); a discussion about prostitution between Godard and a French government analyst; a filmed “concordance” of the movie, identifying what many of its obscure references mean. But most revealing is the recent interview with Bourseiller, a former actor and theater director. In the ‘60s, he and his wife became great friends of Godard and Anna Karina, Godard’s ex-wife. For five years, the two couples were inseparable. Bourseiller describes those years as being some of the most brilliant and enjoyable of his life, during which Godard inspired him in a variety of ways. And then, suddenly, when Godard’s politics turned radical, he cut Bourseiller (and many of his other friends) off and refused to ever see him again. All these years later, it’s obvious how much this abrupt breakup still hurts.
— Peggy Earle
"ARTHUR HAILEY’S HOTEL: THE FIRST SEASON"
DVD full-screen, 1983-84, not rated
Best extra: Only one, and it’s not really a bonus, the pilot episode that launched the series starring Bette Davis as the matron of the St. Gregory Hotel in San Francisco
AH, THE OVERACTING IN 1980's TV series, you’ll get plenty of it out of "Hotel’s" first season.
The six, standard-definition discs contain the show’s 22 episodes and the made-for-TV movie that launched the series that stars James Brolin, Connie Sellecca and Anne Baxter. You also get a ton of guest stars, like Peter Marshall, Shirley Jones and Shelley Winters.
Throw in the opening score by Henry Mancini and executive producer Aaron Spelling, and you have a drama that rivaled "Dallas" back in the day.
While the DVD is not in HD, the quality is still pretty remarkable for its time. Close ups on Brolin, Baxter and Sellecca are good enough to show age and blemishes. As for the scenery, the hotel is definitely outdated, but San Francisco still looks stunning as shown in several of the outdoor shots.
For a bit of nostalgia about the big-hair ‘80's and the greed and wealth Americans were obsessed with at the time, "Hotel" is worth a revisit.
— Toni Guagenti
“WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN: DEADLY ENEMIES”
DVD widescreen, 2008, not rated but some mild animated violence
Best extra: Audio commentaries with each episode are the only features
“DEADLY ENEMIES” continues the DVD release of the animated TV series and follows the first three episodes that were featured in “Heroes Return.” The five episodes further reunite the X-Men, who were scattered after Professor Xavier’s disappearance in the first episode. Most of the episodes center on a particular character, such as Storm or Nightcrawler, and feature various Marvel villains, such as the Shadow King, Mojo and the Hulk. (The latter isn’t a villain, but he and Wolverine have a history of throwing down.)
Each episode features audio commentary by supervising producer Craig Kyle and head writer Greg Johnson. Writer Chris Yost also joins them for some of the episodes. The commentaries are fairly run of the mill, with discussions about where the ideas come from and commentary on the characters’ actions and motives. They do give some nice background on some of the characters who viewers might not be as familiar with, and they often point out background characters who might be more obscure but are fun treats for those with a deep knowledge of mutants in the Marvel universe. They also tease ahead to some things (“This will become very important in later episodes”) that will come into play later.
All in all, it’s a solid DVD and sure to please kids and fans of the X-Men comic book series. Still, it’d sure be nice if they’d just give us all of the first season rather than trickling out the episodes on individual DVDs.
— Brian Cleveland
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