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Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, R for horror violence/gore and language
Best extra: "Beyond the Grave" is a comprehensive Blu-ray exclusive Picture-in-Picture track.
WOODY HARRELSON MAKES killing zombies look like a blast in last year's surprise hit. It began life as a television pilot and went on to have the highest grossing opening weekend of Harrelson's career.
The Blu-ray offers reference quality audio and video. The image boasts remarkable fine object detail, deep midnight blacks, and impressive depth that gives the image 3D pop. The film is primarily a front-heavy dialogue-driven track but there is plenty of surround use as well and fun sound effects as zombies are killed in a variety of ways.
Extras are solid as well, with a commentary from Harrelson, co-star Jesse Eisenberg, director Ruben Fleischer, and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. This is a light and easy track that covers all the bases one would hope for, including the development of the script, the shoot in Georgia, and the work of special effects makeup designer Tony Gardner, who gave Michael Jackson's "Thriller" zombies their distinct look. Also included in HD are two brief featurettes, deleted scenes, and two minutes of visual effects progression scenes showing shots in their rawest form and taking them through post to their finished state. The Blu-ray exclusive PIP track makes many of these extras redundant, integrating a good deal of them into the track.
Fast paced, inventive, and laugh-out-loud funny, "Zombieland" is the best zombie comedy since "Shaun of the Dead." Fans will be happy to know a sequel is in the works, potentially in 3D.
— Josh Boone
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, PG-13 for some sensuality, language, thematic elements and smoking
Best extra: “Making Amelia,” a chat with the director, producer and stars, although if you like vintage airplanes, you will like two bonuses about the aircraft used/recreated for the film
WHEN DIRECTOR Mira Nair signed on to make “Amelia,” she decided early that computers wouldn’t be the dominant medium to make this film work.
It pays off, especially in beautiful high definition as this epic about Amelia Earhart takes place in the exotic places the aviatrix visited – deserts, the tropics, the Serengeti.
Nair also made sure filmmakers found a working Electra plane (circa 1941 and housed in France) to make that final, fateful flight of Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan more realistic. A short bonus shows how the plane made it from France to the south of Africa for filming. Another bonus explains how two important planes in Earhart’s rise to fame, the Friendship and a Lockheed Vega, were recreated for filming.
Other high-definition bonus features include the making-of from the legend, story and actor perspective; a making-of from the production and costume designer perspective; 10 deleted scenes, and a digital copy.
A standard-definition bonus presents Movietone News Reels from back in the day when Earhart reigned, including include a “Race to Rescue Amelia Earhart” after her disappearance somewhere in the Pacific Ocean in July 1937. Some of these were used during the movie to make it more authentic.
— Toni Guagenti
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, PG-13 for some language including sexual references
Best extra: Filmmaker commentary with director/writer Brandon Camp, writer/producer Mike Thompson and executive producer Rick Solomon
“LOVE HAPPENS” MIGHT not be that romantic comedy you expected with stars like Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston – it’s actually a little deeper than that.
It’s the story of Burke (Eckhart), a motivational speaker who helps people cope with a loved one’s death although he’s not taking his own advice when it comes to the death of his wife in a car accident three years earlier. He meets Eloise (Aniston), a floral designer, and, of course, his destiny changes.
Although not teeming with extras, this disc gives viewers with Internet access a lot of BD-Live options, including the ability to save favorite movie scenes and e-mail them to a friend.
It also has six high-definition deleted scenes and a short, different look at making the movie, set to music, no words, and several scenes that use computer-assisted technology to either create the background or enhance it. Here, a picture is worth the proverbial thousand words, but, in case you want to know more, the filmmakers go into detail during their commentary about what was real and what wasn’t. For such a beautifully shot movie, mostly in Vancouver, but in Seattle as well, the real and not real are seamless.
— Toni Guagenti
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, R for some bloody violence
Best extra: Two commentaries with nearly zero overlap! Unlike most releases, they're both worth listening to. It's a miracle!
SET IN THE EARLY 1980s and shot on 16 mm to evoke horror classics from the 70s and 80s, writer/director Ti West (“Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever”) relies on Hitchcockian suspense over gore making this one of the more effective fright fests of recent memory.
The Blu-ray sports a wonderful, ultra-grainy, transfer, that looks rock solid, with remarkable detail considering the 16 mm source. The uncompressed audio is tremendous as well, although its inclusion isn't mentioned on the back of the case. For those who want details, this is a DTS-HD Master Audio track. From the ominous score to the choice period music to the sound effects that put you right inside "The House of the Devil," this is an immersive track worthy of praise.
West sits down for both commentaries, one with lead actress Jocelin Donahue, the other with two of the film's producers and the sound designer. Both are fine examples of how commentaries should be done, avoiding the trappings many fall into. It was a cheap film shot fast and West details the demanding schedule, how E-bay was utilized to dress the film in period decor without costing an arm and a leg, and how certain sound effects were achieved. Also included are two brief featurettes (one in HD, one SD) and a handful of deleted scenes.
Horror fans rejoice! "The House of the Devil" is a must-buy!
— Josh Boone
DVD widescreen, 2009, PG for brief mild language and incidental smoking
Best extra: Some behind-scenes extras don’t trump the movie, which is a behind-scenes look at a champion basketball team.
HERE’S THE STORY of LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and his childhood friends as they grow up in Akron, Ohio, as basketball superstars.
The filmmakers prove that characters the viewer can care about and a strong story equal good results – a movie that is both entertaining and suspenseful. Like any good sports story, it’s not just about the sport; this story is about friendships.
The movie gets bogged down a little early on with interviews, but there’s no way around that in a documentary like this. The film keeps action moving with music, a speedy mix of old video clips, still photos and cool sound effects – maybe the breeze you would hear when LeBron sails toward the hoop.
Fueled by LeBron, there is a cast of characters and a coach who are easy to root for as they fight their way toward a high-school basketball championship. The best players can become arrogant and lose, but realize their mistakes and improve. Let’s hear it for character development – a nice quality in a documentary!
Extras include “Winning Ways: A Look Inside Sports Psychology.”
— Patrick Wilson
“ROBERTO ROSSELLINI’S WAR TRILOGY: THE CRITERION COLLECTION”
DVD full-frame, 1945, 1946, 1948, unrated
Best extra: A tie between documentaries “Once Upon a Time …Rome Open City” and the biographical “Roberto Rossellini”
WHERE TO BEGIN? This 3-disc Criterion set revolves around the restored versions of Rossellini’s ground-breaking classic World War II trilogy: “Rome Open City,” “Paisan,” and “Germany Year Zero.”
“Rome” focuses on the Nazi occupation of that city via the doomed lives of a woman (Anna Magnani) engaged to a partisan and an anti-fascist priest (Aldo Fabrizzi). “Paisan” is composed of six vignettes dealing with the liberation of Italy, set in cities going south to north, from Sicily to Milan. “Germany” takes place in bombed-out post-war Berlin, seen through the eyes of a 12-year-old boy struggling to care for his family.
Criterion has outdone itself with the special features included on each disc, too many to list. The best are two lengthy documentaries containing archival and recent interviews with directors such as Rossellini himself, Federico Fellini, Francois Truffaut, Martin Scorsese, the Taviani brothers, as well as with actors and family members (Isabella Rossellini, Rossellini’s brother and sister; Magnani and her son, Fabrizzi) and various colleagues, experts and scholars. Both documentaries are packed with fascinating information and great archival footage and stills. The only disappointment in the set is the sole commentary that accompanies “Rome Open City.” With few exceptions, the film scholar narrator is simply describing what is on the screen. That said, this is a terrific collection, a delight for film buffs, and an absolute must for Rossellini fans.
— Peggy Earle
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, not rated, contains scenes of extreme battle violence and death
Best extra: “Character Profiles” features interviews with six of the participating veterans in the series.
JUST WHEN YOU thought there was nothing more to offer in WWII documentaries, along comes the History Channel to prove us wrong. Here is a concise and very personal review in 10, 45-minute episodes to slam viewers into the front, back and home front of the defining event of the 20th century.
Opening episodes begin with two hours on the Pacific theatre, a largely ignored area (although “The Pacific,” from the people who filmed “Band of Brothers,” premiers in March on HBO). Locals will get to see the fleet silently leaving from Norfolk, Va., under cover of night in 1941 – this to elude patrolling U-boats, join up with the British fleet, and engage in a surprise attack in North Africa. It is the stuff of legend.
The unique aspect here is the use of color footage. A documentary, “Finding the Footage,” provides a look at the two year search to locate the rare film while another doc, “Preserving the Footage,” offers a look at efforts to restore and preserve it.
Understand that the material shows its age. Footage is very scratchy and the color is strange, but there is no denying the effect. This is the real stuff. Some material, too, is colorized, which may be distracting to those who are used to the B&W. It is frequently graphic as well. When journalist Richard Tregaskis reads from his work, "Guadalcanal Diary," he describes a landscape of utter destruction, empty ammo boxes, discarded weapons and the bodies of American and Japanese soldiers "locked together" in their final death struggles. But now we see this, too, in color, flies and all. It is gruesome and memorable.
Footage of the effects of war on children is also startling, from the sight of a shaking, shell shocked toddler being fed by a GI to small bodies left behind after a purge. There are also explicit scenes inside medical units where soldiers are being treated for extreme wounds. Be prepared.
Scenes of war are complimented with home front material which provides a look at the United States in the ‘40s. Veteran Jack Werner, a German Jew who immigrated to America as Hitler took power, talks about his road trip, from East Coast to West, remarking on the kindness, hospitality – and innocence – of the American people. It was as if events in Europe had never touched them, he tells us. As events progress, Werner finds he must enlist to fight the “filthy Nazis” and we learn how his experiences aid him in battle. (Hint – never discard ammo, even if C.O.s say it’s all right to do so.)
Interviews with Werner and fellow veterans are part of the new HD material which looks and sounds great. (As a matter of fact, sound is fantastic overall; editors have done a monumental job, especially in archival footage.) Directors Matthew Ginsburg and Frederick Lumiere merge those interviews with actors – who would have been the same age as their war time counterpart – reading from their mail and journals. We never see the actors, who include Justin Bartha (young Werner), Rob Lowe, Josh Lucas, Rob Corddry, Tim DeKay (young Tregaskis), James Kyson-Lee, LL Cool J, Jason Ritter, Amy Smart and Steve Zahn. Gary Sinese narrates.
Highly recommended.
— Mike Reynolds
Blu-ray widescreen, 1985, R for violence, language, brief nudity and sexuality
Best extra(s): They aren't "extras," per se, but the high-def picture and digital sound are the attractions here – and both are significant.
THIS HIGH-DEF remastering is a tricky deal. Sometimes, in their zest to refurbish and realign – to get an old movie squeaky-clean so it shines like new – the boys and girls in the lab scrub the life out of it. (Exhibit A: "Patton.")
It would be a shame if "To Live and Die in L.A.," William Friedkin's propulsive drama about a Secret Service agent (William L. Petersen) who stops at nothing to get the counterfeiter (Willem Dafoe) who murdered his partner, was victimized by good intentions. This flick runs on grit.
Fans can relax – the film has been polished without sacrificing what makes it tick. OK, a few frames are soft around the edges and some of the blacks aren't quite as inky as you'd like, but those are minor complaints. Detail is sharp and the colors that pepper the shadowy palette fairly crackle. Where so many movies of this vintage are muddy messes, this one stands out. Kudos to the sound crew, too. Every line of dialogue and crack of gunfire is crystal-clear – if a tad heavy in the center speaker – and when the killer soundtrack by Wang Chung kicks in ... what a rush.
See and hear for yourself; the two-disc set includes the Special Edition standard DVD that came out in 2003. That disc also offers the same extras, but that's not bad, especially if it's been a while since you've dialed them up. It's a nice set that includes an alternate ending that, thankfully, stayed in the cutting room (Petersen, who would make "Manhunter" the next year, calls it "the Eddie Murphy ending"); a better-than-decent making-of feature with Friedkin and his cast; a photo gallery, and a director's commentary. Well, kind of a commentary. Right at the start, Friedkin says he's not going to reference the movie; instead, he's going to talk about the inspiration for it and why he made it.
What, you expected him to stick to the rules?
— Craig Shapiro
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, R for language and sexual content
Best extra: Interviews with five of the directors, Brett Ratner, Mira Nair, Yvan Attal, Josh Marston, and Shunji Iwai
THERE WILL BE better films to purchase as Valentine’s gifts. Seriously. This series of romantic (using the word loosely) vignettes set in NYC are aimed at a highly arty-farty crowd. If you or your honey-bunny fall into that category – great. If not … be warned.
Actors Natalie Portman, Rachel Bilson, Blake Lively, Shia LaBeouf, Orlando Bloom, Hayden Christensen, Ethan Hawke, Andy Garcia, John Hurt and James Caan are among the actors found in 12 stories directed by Faith Akin, Yvan Attal, Allen Hughes, Shunji Iwai, Wen Jiang, Joshua Marston, Mira Nair, Brett Ratner, Randall Balsmeyer (transitions directory), Shekhar Kapur and Portman herself (one of the better sequences). It all takes place in a grungy, hazy, blurry Big Apple, where dialogue is muffled under the effects of taxis, subways, and Bloom’s cold/allergy ridden character.
Two bonus films – one written and directed by Scarlett Johansson, the other by Andrey Zvyagintsev – are available along with the director interviews.
This was inspired by “Paris, je T'Aime” (2006) which was artistic, yet still managed to be engaging and fun. Unfortunately, we never get to know any of these characters so we never get to care about them. As for the haze of urban smog, visual and audio, we expect better from Blu-ray.
— Mike Reynolds
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