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Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, PG-13 for some violence and action
Best extra: If you’re a screaming teen on Team Edward or Team Jacob, you’ll get more than an hour of extras on everything from computer-generated effects to close-ups of the stars
PART TWO OF Stephenie Meyer’s four-novel epic about young, forbidden love and a longstanding werewolf-vampire feud hits stores this weekend with some stores holding Blu-ray release parties. There’s plenty to celebrate, especially for Summit Entertainment and the actors, who are making big bucks off the teen angst flick.
The movie translates well on Blu-ray, even with its myriad computer-generated effects, including Edward’s diamond skin, the monstrous werewolves and Forks High School – no, it’s not real. Viewers can find all this out and more during a high-def, six-part documentary of sorts that chronicles life after “Twilight” to director Chris Weitz’s interpretation of Book 2.
For more die-hard fans who don’t mind a couple guys talking over the movie, a commentary with Weitz and film editor Peter Lambert flows nicely with a lot of information about movie magic like camera angles and the sloppy kisses between Kristen Stewart (Bella) and Robert Pattinson (Edward).
In addition to HD music videos from Anya Marina, Death Cab for Cutie and Mutemath, Muse fans can watch the band in black and white for 90 seconds performing the group’s movie hit “I Belong to You.”
Next milestone in this long-running story: The release of “Eclipse,” scheduled for June 30.
If you can't wait to get your hands on this DVD, you can attend one of the DVD release parties going on throughout Hampton Roads. Check our map for a location near you.
— Toni Guagenti
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, G for everyone
Best extra: Commentary with co-director/writers Ron Clements and John Musker and producer Peter Del Vecho
DISNEY HAS A new princess in town and her name is Tiana, a humble woman from New Orleans who wants to follow her daddy’s dream and open up a spectacular restaurant on the bayou. What she doesn’t plan is getting turned into a frog with voodoo magic and falling in love with a green playboy prince. This enjoyable story is for the whole family.
The three-disc combo pack (Blu-ray, DVD, digital copy) provides hours of bonus features so viewers can get to know not only these new memorable characters, but the animators responsible for bringing them to life. The big news here: Animators harkened to the old days of animation and drew these sets, backgrounds, images and characters by hand. The detail and renderings of 1920’s New Orleans are spectacular. Andreas Deja, one of Disney’s veteran animators, did a jig when he found out the movie would be hand-drawn.
Every aspect of the movie is covered in Disney’s high-def bonus features, including deleted scenes with co-director/writer commentary, art galleries, “Princess Portraits” game with Ray’s firefly family creating the portraits, and a Ne-Yo music video. Other bonus features are mostly about making the film, from beginning to the final product. They include “The Making of a Princess”; “Conjuring Up a Villain”; “The Return of Hand-Drawn Animation”; “The Disney Legacy”; “Disney’s Newest Princess”; Bringing Life to Animation”; “The Return of the Animated Musical.”
In several of the extras, viewers get to meet many of the animators who created Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), Louis the trumpet-playing alligator (Michael-Leon Wooley), Eudora (Oprah Winfrey), Cajun firefly Ray (Jim Cummings) and voodoo king Dr. Facilier (Keith David). Supervising animator Mark Henn not only was responsible for Tiana, he was also responsible for “The Little Mermaid’s” Ariel, “Aladdin’s” Jasmine and “Beauty and the Beast’s” Belle.
For those with Internet capabilities be sure to check out the BDLive features and for those with BonusView capabilities, watch the film with “work in progress” animation.
— Toni Guagenti
DVD widescreen, 2009, PG for some thematic elements and mild language
Best extra: Lively commentary with director Todd Graff and actors Aly Michalka (Charlotte) and Vanessa Hudgens (Sa5m)
FOR A SURPRISE teeny-bopper band movie with a heart and musical soul, “Bandslam” is it. It could even cause parents of teenagers to sit down and enjoy a movie together. Really.
Will Burton and his mother, Karen (Lisa Kudrow), find a new life in New Jersey, where David-Bowie adorer Will becomes involved with some students who will change his life. After ex-cheerleader, prom-queen Charlotte befriends Will and engages him with her start-up band, the plot thickens and the music blossoms. Will this fledgling band of rockin’ teens win New Jersey’s coveted Bandslam contest? Or will they win something better?
Viewing the making-of featurette and listening to the commentary will help solidify an appreciation of this movie, especially through the eyes of director/screenwriter Graff, who was a musician with “The Pedantics” in a former life. Given his love of music and an obvious talent for writing a cohesive story, Graff delivers a film with a talented group of actors who each plays his or her own instrument and sings his or her own vocals. Some songs were actually done live in a garage-type atmosphere and not recorded in a studio and lip-synched during filming.
Graff pulls off another feat that will resonate with those who experienced the righteous establishment of CBGB in Manhattan, either back in the day when the likes of The Class and the Sex Pistols put it on the Punk map or before it closed and became a clothing store. With some help, he recreated the New York site in a Texas parking lot so Will and Sa5m can pay homage to the history.
Other features include a slew of deleted scenes with Graff commentary, Honor Society music video and Hudgens’ performance with the band in one of the final scenes.
— Toni Guagenti
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2008, R for a disturbing sequence of cruel and brutal violence, brief smoking, language
Best extra: Two commentaries, one with director/co-screenwriter Cyrus Nowrasteh and co-screenwriter Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh, the other with producer Stephen A. Marinaccio II, production designer Judy Rhee, costume designer Jane Anderson and costume supervisor Sierra Robinson
ON THE COVER of Freidoune Sahebjam’s 1994 book, “The Stoning of Soraya M.,” it says that more than 1,000 women had been stoned to death in Iran from 1979 to 1994. His book and, subsequently, Nowrasteh’s movie, dealt with one such woman who was accused by her husband of adultery even though she was innocent. Sahebjam, an Iranian-French journalist, stumbled upon the story while in Iran during the Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime and decided to tell the story. Actor Jim Caviezel (Jesus in 2004’s “The Passion of the Christ”) plays Sahebjam.
It took the Nowrastehs two years to secure the rights to the book on which they based their screenplay and more time to find a remote location in the Middle East and a bona fide, mostly Iranian cast to film with. Their committed attention to detail and Sahebjam’s story result in an extremely disturbing look at a human-rights atrocity that still happens in several countries around the world.
The commentaries provide fantastic detail about the story, setting, actors, history and magic that went into making this movie. The principals will not divulge where the movie was shot, just suffice it to say it was in a remote village in the Middle East where some of the extras included the village’s residents. The high-definition cinematography is gorgeous with burning orange suns and mountainous and dusty streets. The Nowrastehs talk about how many of the Iranian-born actors risked their life to make the film. The behind-scenes perspectives are honest and passionate, although the scene of the stoning might be hard to take even after the first viewing.
Besides the theatrical trailer, the other bonus feature is a three-part making-of feature, unfortunately in standard definition with substandard audio in spots. Actors, including Shohreh Aghdashloo (who played a memorable role in a season of Fox’s “24”), talk about why they got involved in this movie; it wasn’t for the money. Many wanted to draw attention to a horrendous act, most closely associated with Islam and the Muslim world (even though it has happened and is happening in other cultures). The Nowrastehs also talk about its production, which included making dummies to replace the actress (Mozhan Marno) who plays Soraya during the stoning. These are great features because they are done in the village where the movie was shot; it shows an honest depiction of how hard it was to get the film made and released.
— Toni Guagenti
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, R for sexual content, language and some drug material
Best extra: “Variety Q&A with Penelope Cruz”, not long but interesting when she talks about discovering her acting abilities at age 4 and her working relationship with director Pedro Almodovar
IN THIS SUBTITLED Spanish film, Almodovar (2002 Best Writing, Original Screenplay Academy Awards for “Talk to Her”) strikes again with passion, mystery and Penelope Cruz (Lena) in this colorful film noir.
The movie has many twists and turns and is told back and forth from 2008 to the 1990’s. Cruz, throughout, is ravishing, especially in high-definition. If you enjoy Cruz and Almodovar, you won’t mind the subtitles.
Bonus features are scanty and include three rather lengthy deleted scenes in high definition; an HD talk with Cruz and Almodovar on the red carpet at the 2009 New York Film Festival closing night and an odd, standard-definition split screen of Almodovar directing Cruz for nearly six minutes in one of the movie’s scenes.
Finally, Almodovar’s short film, “The Cannibalistic Councillor,” will slay viewers – using characters from “Broken Embraces,” including Cruz and Angela Molina, who plays Cruz’s mother.
— Toni Guagenti
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2008, R for language, some drug use and sexual content
Best extra: There's barely 12 minutes of bonus material on the disc and it's all puddle-deep sound bytes from the cast and crew cut up into four insanely short featurettes to make it look like there's a decent amount of extras on the back cover.
MATTHEW BRODERICK PLAYS one of the most unlikable protagonists in recent movie memory in this dirt-cheap indie that borrows elements from films like "Little Miss Sunshine" and "The Visitor" and tries to make them it's own. Unfortunately, the film feels tired and clichéd. Writer/director Joshua Goldin (whose writing credits date back to Sam Raimi's "Darkman") should have focused on his more original elements like the film's ruminations on game theory instead of retreading story beats audiences have seen so many times before.
The hi-def transfer is mediocre at best, probably due to budget constraints than to mastering. While colors are well represented, detail is decidedly soft and unimpressive. The uncompressed audio track is, not surprisingly, a front-heavy affair focused on dialogue and the film's soundtrack (the film's songs are the real highlight here).
Because the film is weak, bonus materials are sorely lacking and the Blu-ray offers underwhelming video, it's impossible to recommend this as a blind buy. If you're a big fan of Broderick, maybe consider a Redbox or Netflix rental.
— Josh Boone
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009 PG-13 for violent and disturbing images, some terror, thematic elements and brief sexuality
Best extra: One deleted scene that reveals “the truth”
REMEMBER “THE BLAIR Witch Project?” You were never asked to believe anything at all, although maybe some PR led you to believe it could be true. It was the experimental cinematography that tried to convince viewers that the footage was real.
"The Fourth Kind" takes another angle. As the movie opens, Milla Jolvovich appears on a white screen. She addresses the audience directly: "I'm actress Milla Jovovich and I will be portraying Dr. Abigail Tyler in The Fourth Kind. This film is a dramatization of events that occurred October 1st through the 9th of 2000, in the Northern Alaskan town of Nome."
After you that, we see half-cuts of the “dramatization” bleeding into the “actual footage” framed by an interview with the “real” Dr. Abigail Tyler. No doubt the film editing and the story itself make for a very disturbing alien abduction story set in Nome, where – you know – a lot of people have "reportedly" been abducted.
As the action unfolds on Blu-ray, you may as well place a trash can near your favorite living-room chair. Shaky camera effects can really get to a person. It's very roller-coaster and real.
The DTS HD Surround pulls you right into the moment. However, I couldn't tell you if there was a soundtrack over all the yelling, screaming and growling people under hypnosis. Apparently, it's not a very subtle form of therapy. At times, it can be downright back breaking.
SPOILER!!
After viewing, I pondered if it could be at all real. (Yes, I had seriously suspended my disbelief here. Give me a break!) Given it's my job to watch to the extras and report on them, I watched the deleted scenes first.
The scene that stands out the most saved me from having to Google "The Fourth Kind." It is one of the scenes that contain "actual footage" shot from the angle of the many police cars on the scene. As the reel starts, everything – car, person, tree – is perfectly in place... and silent. Then, the director yells "Action!" and the whole black-and-white lo-fi scene comes alive with chaos. (Darn! It's all fake.)
If it weren't for the movie demanding that I must believe – rather than asking, "Do you want to believe?" – I would highly recommend it. As for the other extras, thank goodness for deleted scenes. However, what's the use of D-Box if hardly anyone owns it?
Then, there was the promise of BDLive and social BLU, where you can download trailers and connect with friends. I couldn't get either to work. What's the use anyway? I can discuss the film with friends on Twitter, Facebook and – Lo and behold! – real life.
— Deb Markham
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, PG for some action and peril, and brief, mild language
Best extra: The artists and designers of the film take you through the process of creating the characters, storyboarding scenes, choosing a color palette and animating the characters in “Designing a Hero” and “Building Metro City.” It’s a fascinating behind-scenes look at how computer animated movies are made.
“ASTRO BOY” was a comic first published in Japan in 1952 and then later made into an animated television series. (Check out the “Astro Boy Image Gallery” for pictures of the early comic.) Although hugely popular in Japan, the comic never reached as wide a popularity in the U.S., which may explain why the movie only netted a portion of what it cost to produce at the box office last year.
The styling of the characters in Astro Boy is credited as being one of the first forms of manga (Japanese comics), featuring characters with large eyes, simple shapes, spiky hair and elongated limbs. Although the movie is not anime, it does allude to the styling that made the Astro Boy comic a Japanese sensation.
The movie is set in the futuristic Metro City, a technologically advanced paradise that hovers above the earth’s surface. Robots serve humans’ every need, from cooking a meal to providing national security.
Mourning the death of his son Toby, renowned robot scientist Dr. Tenma creates a robot, Astro Boy, to resemble his lost son. Filled with the most powerful and mysterious energy available at the time, Astro Boy takes on more humanistic qualities than any other robot. Yet, instead of filling the void Tenma’s son left behind, the robot serves as a constant reminder of the father’s loss. When Tenma plans to destroy his robot son, Astro Boy flees to earth where he finds a family among a raucous cast of orphans.
Before long, Astro Boy is returned to Metro City where he goes on to save the city and himself from the wrath of a politician gone awry. It’s a classic super hero plot of good versus evil. Astro Boy’s amazing powers of flight, super strength, x-ray vision and incredible speed make him one of the strongest forces in the world. But in the end, it is friendship and not power that keeps Astro Boy alive.
Other bonuses include “Inside the Recording Booth” which shows how the superb voice-cast of Nicholas Cage, Kristin Bell, Freddie Highmore and Nathan Lane, among others, created their characters and worked together despite rarely being in the same studio.
Skip the two new animated sequences. They fill in gaps in the movie you never cared existed in the first place. Instead check out the how-to guide for getting Astro Boy hair (hint: Lots and lots of gel.) We only received the DVD version for this review.
— Olivia Hubert-Allen
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, R for strong, bloody stylized violence throughout and language
Best extra: “The Myth and Legend of Ninjas” (HD) details the history of Asia’s shadow warriors.
HAVE YOU EVER watched cats fight? Director James McTeigue explains that’s the kind of speed-crazy, down and dirty action he and his collaborators – producers Andy and Larry Wachowski, screenwriters Matthew Sand and J. Michael Straczynski – were going for in their ode to the shadow warrior, “Ninja Assassin.”
They take their martial arts very seriously and have come up with a story about the brutal, Spartan-like training of kidnapped and orphan children in the secret society of assassins. Korean pop star Rain takes the lead as Raizo. He is on the run, seeking to betray his clan to the authorities because of the death of his lover. There’s a fairly complicated subplot about an Interpol-like organization but, mostly, we have the training and fighting scenes and they are spectacular. Cat-fast, too, to the point you’ll be tempted to slow the video down.
The color is incredible in Blu-ray, amazing reds, inky blacks, perfect skin tones (most in piles of limbs and heads). Sound is even better; shurikens whiz from every corner, blades slash through air and flesh, and I may have flinched from the “whoosh!” of an occasional blow. The extras were extra good as well, all in HD starting with that excellent feature on ninja history. “The Extreme Sport of Ninja” details how stunts were created; “Training Rain” demonstrates how Rain got in shape for the role and additional scenes highlight characterization.
Granted, “Ninja Assassin” won’t be every viewer’s cup of tea, but those who enjoy martial arts film (and anime) will have fun with this over-the-top action flick.
— Mike Reynolds
“DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS?”
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, PG-13 for some sexual references and momentary violence
Best extra: “A Bear of a Scene” (HD) demonstrates that Bart the bear – as in Grizzly – is a true professional.
WHO WOULD’VE GUESSED Wilford Brimley would have the best laugh-out-loud scene in a romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker?
This is by default, however, since we’ve seen all the other funny bits in previews on TV and at the movies. That’s a shame because, despite the hackneyed storyline, we expected more. This is Grant and Parker, for Pete’s sake! But, according to the making-of features and interviews, it seems Grant, Parker and co-stars Mary Steenburgen and Sam Elliott had a great giggle during filming. Well, in a deleted scene we can watch Grant, Parker and Steenburgen losing themselves while Elliott continues with his lines. Writer/director Marc Lawrence seems to be taking it all … very … easily.
The story is set in New York City and Wyoming – land of “Shane” – and looks great on Blu-ray. Color is breathtaking; western scenes are warm and rich; The Big Apple sparkles. Detail is good, too, as we watch the breeze ripple through Bart’s fur. (Bart gets 10 cans of tea when he hits his mark, Grant tells us, and everyone must applaud when he does a scene correctly.)
The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack provides excellent sound. We don’t have much in the way of effects, except for a couple of shootouts, but dialogue comes through cleanly. The story is about a pair of successful New Yorkers who, after witnessing a murder, must relocate through Witness Protection. Conflict appears in that the couple – played by Grant and Parker – has separated. The story about partners in marriage is a good one. The actual Witness Protection shtick isn’t so bad, it’s just that it all sprawls out in 103 minutes. Shorter and crisper would have worked better.
Additional extras include standard commentary with Lawrence, Grant and Parker and featurettes on “Cowboys and Cosmopolitans” and “Park Avenue Meets the Prairie.” There’s a lot of crossover info.
— Mike Reynolds
“FLASHFORWARD: THE FIRST 10 EPISODES”
DVD widescreen, 2010, TV-14 for DLSV
Best extra: “Creating Catastrophe: The Effects of a Global Blackout”
THE FIRST HALF of the first season of ABC’s thriller “FlashForward” is available just as the season is about to continue.
“FlashForward” is one of those shows that’s a little addictive on DVD. Why be left hanging at the end of an episode when you can jump right into the next?
The premise is that almost everyone on Earth blacks out at the same time, same day for 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Most people have an image of something that will happen six months in the future and many of the visions are troublesome. During the blackout, people are driving, walking, flying aircraft – so there’s chaos from the start and the show brings a nice touch of apocalyptic horror and mystery to mainstream television.
Joseph Fiennes plays the main role, Los Angeles FBI agent Mark Benford. John Cho plays his partner, Agent Demetri Noh, and does a nice job in a serious role, especially following all the “Harold & Kumar” crap.
Among DVD extras is a peek at an upcoming episode and a behind-scenes look at the stunts, makeup, explosions and acting in the opening blackout scene. Footage was shot in downtown Los Angeles. The scene had 200 extras and required shutting down a major freeway. “In retrospect, it was completely insane that we attempted this,” said David S. Goyer, co-creator, executive producer, writer and director (also the writer of ‘Batman Begins’ and story writer for ‘The Dark Knight’).
All 10 episodes also are available at ABC.com. Season one continues at 8 p.m. Thursday.
— Patrick Wilson
DVD widescreen, 2009, not rated
Best extra: A video commentary with writer Andy Breckman, who created detective Adrian Monk, Tony Shalhoub, who lived the character for eight seasons and director Randy Zisk, which makes viewers feel as if they're sitting on the couch chatting with a couple of old friends.
HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED: Eight seasons ago, a somewhat neurotic screenwriter created a detective riddled with tics and compulsions, one of TV's best actors took the part, and one of the era's best detective shows was born. It was a long road – and took an uncountable number of wipes – but the beloved "Monk" has finally wound to an end. The shows themselves are the star of this four-disc set, which includes several standouts, including Adrian Monk impersonating a mobster, adopting a dog, and rescuing the long-suffering Capt. Stottlemeyer from romantic disaster (again). The biggest highlight, of course, is the two-part finale, which takes an old-fashioned pleasure in wrapping up loose ends and setting the characters gently down into life after TV.
The extras aren't much to brag about. The set tour, narrated by a co-producer, is a bit dull. The interviews with the lead writer and a handful of cast members are charming and wistful – as viewers would expect from a farewell – and Shalhoub's behind-scenes tour and farewell is nicely done, although there's not a lot to it. The most fun extra is a video commentary on the show's finale, with a trio of longtime "Monk" collaborators squished together on a couch, discussing how they put together the show that wrapped up the long-running series.
— Caroline Luzzatto
“BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH HIDEOUS MEN”
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, not rated
Best extra: A six-minute interview with writer/director John Krasinski is one of only two short extras offered on the disc.
JOHN KRASINSKI, WHO plays the affable Jim on "The Office," attempts to film the unfilmable, in this case the late great David Foster Wallace's short story collection, which consists entirely of dense interview transcripts with nameless subjects discussing their relationships with the opposite sex. Krasinski, who fell in love with the book while at Brown University after participating in a staged reading, should be admired for his ambition even though the film fails more often than succeeding as a cinematic experience. Krasinski's passion project took four years to adapt and two years to shoot with a year break to do a season of "The Office" before returning for reshoots. Notable actors include Timothy Hutton, Will Arnett, Josh Charles and Krasinski himself.
The film doesn't lend itself well to Blu-ray. Since it’s completely dialogue-driven, an uncompressed audio track hasn't been included. Instead, we get a perfectly acceptable Dolby Digital 5.1 track. The visuals suffer as well, probably as a result of the shoestring budget and drab interview settings. While colors are natural, there's some noticeable DNR and edge enhancement on display.
While the interviews in the film are anything but brief and the film never rises above its stage play trappings, there's something fascinating here regardless of all its many failings. Fans of Wallace's brilliant writing should certainly check it out.
— Josh Boone
“THE BOONDOCK SAINTS II: ALL SAINTS DAY”
Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, R for bloody violence, language and some nudity
Best extra: Writer/director Troy Duffy, the ego-maniacal blowhard featured in the acclaimed documentary "Overnight," seems to have learned his lesson. The commentary he shares with actor Willem Dafoe is gracious, subdued and well worth a listen.
IN THE LATE ‘90s, Duffy had it all. Producer Harvey Weinstein had purchased his script, "The Boondock Saints," for $300,000, signed the novice to direct it, agreed to buy the bar he wanted to shoot it in and even got his band a recording deal. In no time, Duffy lost it all. "Overnight," which follows his self-destructive spiral is a must-watch Hollywood doc. Duffy eventually did make "The Boondock Saints" on a small budget and it went on to become a cult favorite on DVD, making over $50 million in profits. Duffy never saw a dime due to his deal.
Now he's back behind the camera with "The Boondock Saints II" and one would hope he got a better deal this time because fans made the bloody sequel the number one selling Blu-ray last week. Norman Reedus return as the MacManus Brothers and Billy Connolly and Dafoe reprise their roles as well. This nearly plotless, cartoonishly ultra-violent crime film set in Boston gets the job done. Just don't expect high art.
The film looks excellent on Blu-ray with a pristine transfer. Excellent cinematography goes a long way towards making one forget the film's low budget roots. Detail is tack sharp and colors are vibrant. The opening sequence in Ireland is quite stunning. The uncompressed audio track is aggressive and delivers the goods action fans want, plenty of bang for their buck. This is a very loud track buzzing with bullets and loud music.
Extras include two audio commentaries. The Duffy and Dafoe (who doesn't join the track until late in the game) track acts as a the more focused, detail-oriented commentary, while the second group track featuring Reedus, Flannery, and Connolly is almost exclusively a party track with lots of horsing around from Duffy and his actors. There are also a handful of deleted scenes and a number of brief featurettes (all in HD) that look at the film's firepower, the trip to Comic Con, and the film's production.
— Josh Boone
“CLASH OF THE GODS: THE COMPLETE SEASON ONE”
Blu-ray Widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2009, PG
Best extra: None
JUST AS THE remake of “Clash of the Titans” prepares to hit theaters, The History Channel is here to present the myth – and histories – behind legendary creatures such as Medusa, Zeus and Hades.
Each episode in the 10-part, two-disc set follows the mythological background of a character while offering some historical detail and theory as to how the legend came about. Most creatures, such as Zeus and other gods, were designed to explain natural events, such as the great flood also experienced by Noah, to people who had little in the way of scientific expertise. Zeus, apparently, punished humans for cannibalism with a flood. The Midgard Serpant, arch enemy of Thor, represents a battle between chaos and order. Nearly everyone has a fear of snakes, our host explains, describing how serpents show up as agents or chaos or evil in a number of myths. Thor, as the token everyman, is destined to battle the great snake in defense of humankind. “Tolkien’s Monsters” posits that the professor’s tales of Middle-earth were based on his love of mythology and his experiences in the trenches in WWI. Frodo’s post-war depression and sense of failure mirrors that of returning soldiers, overwhelmed by what they’d experienced on the battlefield.
Scholars and amateurs may not agree with all that is presented here, but viewing is entertaining and educational. Recommended.
We did not receive the Blu-ray for review.
— Mike Reynolds
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