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Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Family Guy – It’s a Trap! Blu-ray Review

December 29th, 2010 by Sean Ferguson

If you enjoyed the first two Family Guy Star Wars spoofs (Blue Harvest and Something Something Dark Side) like me, then you will probably enjoy the final installment in the saga, It’s a Trap! I’ve always been impressed with how much effort the Family Guy team puts into matching the source movies down to the smallest details such as the music cues and the editing with its dead on accuracy that thrills the inner Star Wars geek in me. 

It doesn’t hurt that George Lucas has generously instructed Lucasfilm to provide any assistance or material they need to pull these spoofs off.  When you combine authentic sound effects and music from Lucasfilm with the trademarked off the wall humor Family Guy is known for, you have a hilariously fun ride that lovingly skewers the Star Wars saga for the first two movies. This third entry however, feels a little more mean-spirited which takes away some of the fun.

Film (3 out of 5 stars)

Like the previous movies, this spoof follows the basic framework of its source movie, in this case Return of the Jedi.  In this final chapter, Luke Skywalker (Chris) and Princess Leia (Lois) travel to Tatooine to free Han Solo (Peter) by journeying to the fortress of Jabba the Hutt (Joe).  From there Luke goes to Dagobah to see Yoda and then rejoins the rebels to plan their attack on the shield generator and the Death Star.  Meanwhile the Emperor (Carter Pewterschmidt) and Darth Vader (Stewie) plan to turn Luke to the dark side, while Luke is determined to spend time with his Dad and turn him to the light side of the force.

Adding to the fun, the movie is loaded with cameos – including Patrick Stewart and Michael Dorn reprising their roles from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Adam West returns as Tarkin, Carrie Fisher (the original Princess Leia) voices Mon Mothma, and Rush Limbaugh stars as the voice of the Rancor.

Like a lot of Family Guy episodes, this hour long movie had moments that I thought were completely stupid and others that made me laugh hard.  My problem with Family Guy is that they sometimes run things into the ground deliberately and to the point of annoyance.  It’s almost like they want to provoke you since there is no other explanation for scenes like one of the sail barge where the characters nod to each other in acknowledgment of the plan that's about to be enacted. In the real movie, this lasts about seven seconds but here it’s drawn out to about five minutes.  I can understand poking fun at something that stood out for ridicule, but I have no idea why this sequence was extended as much as it was.

Although there’s a lot of laughs in the movie, it seems to pale compared to the previous two spoofs of the saga.  Even in the opening scrawl, there’s mention of burnout and being forced to make the movie to appease their Fox masters.  It all shows with a script that could have used more work by people who know Return of the Jedi better than the two credited writers.  (That’s no joke either as you can see their knowledge in one of the extras showing them playing Star Wars Trivial Pursuit).  You know you may be in trouble when the opening scrawl has lines like, “Look, just do me a huge favor and lower your expectations, okay? Just this one time. I promise I’ll make it up to you. I mean, Star Wars, fine. Empire, still not bad. But on this one we ran out of gas.”

The movie’s saving grace ironically enough, is when they capture the feel from the original movie.  These spoofs have always done an excellent job replicating the action and scenes from the original saga and this one does it even better than the previous two.  There’s also more action in this movie than the others and it seems like there’s been a lot more finesse in this production over the other two.  Visually it looks great and it really made me want to pull out the original Return of the Jedi and watch it.  Between the visuals and some funny parts, combined with my deep love for the Star Wars movies, I’m giving this a higher rating than it probably deserves.

Video (5 out of 5 stars)

This 1080p (1.78:1) transfer looks incredible.  The first Family Guy spoof to go wide-screen, the picture is laser sharp and visually very pleasing.  Colors pop and black levels are appropriately dark and inky and I especially liked the lighting and color design of the Emperor’s throne room which was very true to the movie.  The seamless blend of traditional and computer animation looks amazing and it’s really the highlight of this disc.

Audio (5 out of 5 stars)

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is equally good.  The Star Wars movies have always sounded fantastic and this spoof is no different.  The music and effects from the film are used well here, as is John William’s fantastic score from the film.  The sound can be so good that it can almost hurt when you hear Patrick Warburton’s rumbling voice as Jabba the Hutt.  For some reason, the menu’s volume is a lot lower than the rest of the movie so be prepared to adjust it once the movie starts.

Special Features (1 out of 5 stars)

I have to say that these extras are very disappointing.  It’s almost as if no one involved in the film even bothered to care about providing worthwhile special features which is even more of a travesty for a full priced Blu-ray that contains only an hour long Family Guy episode, which I think is shameful.
  • Audio Commentary—Seth MacFarlane (who only stays for about 30 minutes), executive producer/co-writer David Goodman, co-writer Cherry Chevapravatdumrong, producer Shannon Smith, and supervising director Peter Shin.  It’s obvious that with the exception of director Peter Shin, the rest of these people are more worried about what makes them laugh than the audience.  This is a fairly obnoxious commentary and Shin wisely keeps out of it as much as he can.

  • Animatic - The rough draft of the movie done in an animatic form. There’s a few differences but it’s really not that interesting.

  • Star Wars Trivial Pursuit: Ultimate Championship - The Family Guy: It’s a Trap production team plays Trivial Pursuit and you can watch them fail at Star Wars questions for over 30 minutes.  I can’t believe this is something that they believe that consumers will want to watch.  Not only does it show their lack of Star Wars knowledge, but who likes watching other people play Trivial Pursuit?

  • Drawing with Peter Shin - The director shows us how he  draws the characters.  While this will be completely boring to most, I think some kids might like to see how he does it and he seems like a nice guy.

  • Making the Scene - The directs shows us the transition of two animatics to their finished versions.  It’s not that interesting.

  • Lost Voice Mail from Darth to Luke - It’s not really funny and a missed opportunity.

  • Sock Puppet Outtakes – The most demoralising point of this disc.  Not only was the addition of a sock puppet into Jabba’s throne room not funny in the movie, it definitely doesn’t deserve to have an extra devoted to it.

  • Digital Copy

Final Thoughts (3 1/2 out of 5 stars)

While the movie has some funny parts, overall I am disappointed despite the excellent audio/visual presentation.  The special features are an additional slap to the face and I think that it’s probably a good thing that this is the final Star Wars spoof they are doing.  The addition of  characters from American Dad and The Cleveland Show also diluted my enjoyment of the movie.  The movie is at it’s best when it’s focused more on riffing on Jedi than on extraneous Family Guy tangents.  I just wish the actual Star Wars saga was out on Blu-ray!
 Order your copy today!

   















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Thursday, December 23, 2010

Sean’s Top 10 Blu-rays of 2010

December 22nd, 2010 by Sean Ferguson
Making a Top Ten list of Blu-rays was a lot harder than I thought it would be.  The fact that there’s so many excellent releases that I haven’t seen yet just made it even harder because I know a lot of them would be on my list.  So I decided to make a list of the Top 10 Blu-rays that I’ve seen and most likely reviewed, and another list of Blu-rays that I really want to see and would most likely would have been included in this list if I had seen them.  I want to make it clear that this order may not necessarily reflect the order that I would rate my love for the movies.   Instead, I decided to rate them based on a variety of reasons including: my affection for them, their audio/video quality, and what kind of special features that were offered.  Adding up all of those factors resulted in the following list:

Top Ten Blu-rays of 2010 that I’ve Seen

10.  The Goonies 25th Anniversary Box Set – One of my favorite movies of the 80s and I was very excited to get this on Blu-ray.  Although the audio/visual qualities were an improvement over the previous DVD release, they weren’t as good as I had hoped but that was made up by a bunch of cool extras.  A reproduction of the Empire Magazine that covered the reunion of the cast and a game are just some of the goodies in this box set.  Goonies never say die!
You can read my review of this here.


9.  Sherlock Holmes – As a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes and Robert Downey Jr.  in general, this movie didn’t have to work too hard to win me over.  Not only is this true to the characters, this updated take on Holmes and Watson benefits from the great casting of Downey Jr. and Law.  With Guy Ritchie’s inventive take on Holmes’ thought processes and his atmospheric look at London, this movie is fantastic and it looks and sounds great on Blu-ray.  My only complaint is that there should have been more extras.
You can read my review of the movie here.


8. Star Wars – The Clone Wars Season 2 – Most people that read this site regularly know that I am a huge fan of Star Wars.  I love all of them including the prequels (yes there’s good stuff in them) and also all of the recent animated versions as well.   The Clone Wars is the latest CGI effort from Lucasfilm that takes place between Episode II and III and it’s a great show.  The first season had some questionable episodes, but Season 2 is light-years better than the first one.  Now on Blu-ray and looking and sounding as good as it should and without the annoying pop-ups from TV!  I just wish there had been more extras.  The Star Wars movies are coming up next and I can’t wait!


7. The World at War – The World at War is without question, the definitive historical documentary account of World War II.  The scope and breadth of this documentary series is unparalleled as it covers events from 1933 through the war’s end in 1945.   After a costly and painstaking restoration effort, this is the wonderful result.  This is a must own for any history buffs.  The series looks better that it ever has and probably ever will again.  This is my favorite historical documentary series.
You can read my review of this series here.


6.   Beauty and the Beast – This is one of Disney’s biggest hits and was also the first animated movie to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.  The Blu-ray looks and sounds amazing and there’s a lot of good extras on the disc as well.  This timeless tale spawned Broadway musicals, multiple records, and helped open a new chapter in the Disney Renaissance.
You can read my review of this movie here.




5.  Saving Private Ryan – Easily the most realistic and harrowing depiction of war ever made, this masterpiece by Steven Spielberg is even more spectacular on Blu-ray.  The attack on Omaha Beach is breathtaking and the explosive sonic experience this disc offers is worth the cost of the movie alone.  This is the movie that kick-started a nation into remembering and honoring those that served during WWII and the Blu-ray is simply amazing.
You can read Gregg’s review of this movie here.



4.  The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – This trilogy would most likely would have been at the top of my list but the lack of serious extras and the extended editions dropped it down a few pegs on the list.  Without a doubt, the Lord of the Rings trilogy is some of the finest movie making ever put to film.  Armed with an incredible cast and the perfect director in Peter Jackson, these movies took ambition to a new level and made fantasy movies respectable in society and with the Academy Awards.  Next year the top spot will most likely be a fight between the Star Wars movies and The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Trilogy for the #1 spot.
You can read my reviews for the three movies here, here, and here.


3.  The Toy Story Trilogy – There’s no question that Pixar puts out first rate movies and Blu-ray releases and this trilogy is one of them.  All three of these movies are fun for the whole family and contain more heart and character development than almost any other Hollywood release.  By the third movie, we’ve grown so attached and invested in these characters that it can break your heart when they are put in jeopardy.  The Blu-rays are perfection as far as audio and visuals go like most of the releases from Disney/Pixar.  They’ve set the standard for CGI animated movies.
You can read my review of Toy Story 3 here.


2.  Deadwood – The Complete Series – Through Deadwood, creator David Milch wanted to explore how a lawless community becomes a civilized society.   The way that he explores that concept is both original and admirable.   Using a heightened, colorful language that is both coarse and intellectual, Milch exposes the West as it really was without a Hollywood sheen.  The roles are perfectly cast especially Ian McShane as the evil and erudite Al Swearengen and Timothy Olyphant as the hot-headed but fair Seth Bullock.  This is a great set and I loved the extras.
You can read my review of this set here.


1.  The Sound of Music – It was a tough call on the last five of my list but not only is this a fantastic movie, it’s also a perfect example of how to restore a film for high definition.  This movie’s audio and video were restored frame by frame and this movie looks and sounds  better than it ever has.  In addition, the abundance of extras provided for this release needs some special mention as well.  This Blu-ray received a perfect rating from me and the amount of care and attention that 20th Century Fox lavished on this movie has earned my admiration and helped earn its place as the #1 Blu-ray on my list for this year.
You can ready my review for this here.

Blu-rays  I Haven’t Seen Yet (And Probably Would Have Been On My List)
  1. The Back to the Future Trilogy
  2. The Alien Anthology Set
  3. The Twilight Zone Seasons 1 &2
  4. Inception
  5. Rocky Anthology Set
If you’d like to purchase any of these fine movies please click below:

                   

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Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Despicable Me Blu-ray Review

This has been a great year for animated movies and Despicable Me continues that tradition with it’s unusual character of Gru who is voiced brilliantly by Steve Carrell and who seems to be a blend of Dr. Evil, Looney Tunes, and the Addams Family.  Aided by a multitude of not so bright yellow minions, Gru wants to be the biggest villain in the world.  His only obstacle is a young upstart named Vector (Jason Segal) who has the same goal. The movie did exceptionally well considering that it’s budget was $69 million and it made over $500 million world-wide.  It was well received with 82% of professional critics gave it a positive review.

Film ( 4 out of 5 stars)

Despicable Me is a fun blend of spy vs. spy hi-jinks along with the expected cuteness that comes from the little girls.  Steve Carrell’s Gru is a malcontent who delights in all things macabre and he goes out of his way to share is misanthropic ways with the rest of society.  He pops little kid’s balloons, steals high profile items like the jumbo-tron from Times Square (along with a nice plug for NBC), and his house is the only one on the block with dead grass and painted black.

We quickly learn that Gru’s behavior is due to the lack of love and attention he received from his mother (we never see his father).  Julie Andrews plays Gru’s mother and part of the charm of the movie is the casting of one of the sweetest and most cherished actresses of our time to play Gru’s nasty and indifferent mother.  No matter how hard he tried to impress her, Gru always received an indifferent shrug from his mother even when he built a working rocket in their back yard.

Gru has long dreamed of being an astronaut and going to the moon, and that dream is re-awakened by the news that a new super-villain has stolen the pyramid at Giza.  Determined not to be upstaged by the newcomer, Gru goes to the Bank of Evil to request a loan from Mr. Perkins (Will Arnett) so he can fund his plan to steal the moon.  In the waiting room of the bank he encounters a young man who appears to be a wannabe villain and greatly annoys Gru with his lame weapons.  Gru doesn’t realize that the young man is actually Vector (Jason Segal), the person responsible for the pyramid theft until later.

Soon enough, the two begin to battle over a shrink ray as both are attempting to fulfill Gru’s plan to steal the moon.  Eventually, Vector manages to steal the shrink ray from Gru and hides it in his well guarded fortress that Gru cannot penetrate despite all of his efforts.  The only people that seem to get past Vector’s defenses are a trio of young girls who are selling cookies door to door.  Gru quickly realizes that the girls are his ticket inside and decides to adopt them in order so he can send them to infiltrate Vector’s fortress.

Between the girls, his minions, and his personal inventor Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), Gru has the means, the weapons, and the will to carry out his evil plans.  The only problem is that caring for the girls begins to change his outlook on life and Gru suddenly needs to decide what’s more important to him – the girls or his plans to be the biggest villain in the world.

Video (5 out of 5 stars)

This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer looks amazing.  I always look forward to these CGI animated movies because they always look incredible on Blu-ray and this one is no different.  Colors are vivid, detail is impressive for even the smallest little details (check out Gru’’s Blu-ray replacement logo called Gru-ray), and the textures and black levels are excellent.  There’s a lot to love in this transfer and I especially liked the detailing on his flying tank/car and the missiles with their gloriously vivid explosions.  There’s a lot of Looney Tunes/Wile E. Coyote  humor in this that I loved.

Audio (5 out of 5 stars)

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround track is very impressive as well.  There is a lot of dynamic panning across the channels and I especially enjoyed the powerful  LFE channel’s continual use for the multitude of rockets, explosions, sharks, and jets.  The satellite speakers get plenty of action especially at the amusement park and any scene with the hundreds of minions.  Dialogue is crystal clear and that and the music are never drowned out by the explosive effects that permeate this movie.

Special Features (3 out of 5 stars)

These are all pretty typical extras and there’s nothing that really stands out as they are mostly EPK quality but they are all in HD.
  • Audio Commentary: Directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin discuss the movie with some minions. The minions get old real quick in this too.  I liked them well enough in the movie but I really wish they had been left out of this commentary.
  • Gru-Control -  This minion-hosted Picture-in-Picture track is strictly for little kids and it should have been the only track to feature the minions.
  • Despicable Me Mini-Movies -  Three all-new animated shorts starring the Minions (“Orientation Day,” “Home Makeover” and “Banana”) They are cute but don’t expect any of the main actors to participate since this is minion and orphan dominated.
  • The Voices of Despicable Me – Meet the voice actors from the movie in this clip. The best part is watching Julie Andrews try to be mean.
  • The World of Despicable Me – A look into the making of the film.
  • Despicable Beats – A short bit with  composer Pharrell Williams in the studio.
  • A Global Effort – The movie was made from a lot of different areas of the world and the directors discuss their international production teams.
  • Miss Hattie’s Top Secret Cookie Recipes – Five different cookie recipes which I have not attempted to make yet.
  • Gru’s Rocket Builder -  A game where you fight Vector and build Gru’s rocket.
  • Super Silly Fun Land – Three mini-games (“Feed the Creatures”, “Tin Can Alley” and “Freeze the Minions” from the amusement park from the movie.
  • Despicable Me Videogame Trailers – Two previews of the video-game.
  • Pocket Blu Mobile Features – You need to have the app from the Apple Store to use this.
  • BD-Live

Final Thoughts (4 1/2 out of 5 stars)

I really liked the Mad Magazine Spy vs. Spy bits of the movie (think of Gru as the black hat spy) and the constant tech battles between Gru and Vector.  The whole orphan kids storyline was predictable but I still enjoyed it.  Kids (including mine) will love the little yellow minions who provide a lot of slapstick comedy to an already funny movie.

There’s also a lot of nice jokes for adults too such as the subscript to the Bank of Evil’s sign that says, “Formerly Lehman Brothers,” or the line where one of the young girls says, “When we got adopted by a bald guy, I thought this would be more like Annie.”  I could have taken less minion screen time but my son did love them so that’s probably why they are present so much.  In any case, the movie is a lot of fun and it’s one that the whole family can enjoy which is getting rare these days.

Order your copy today!

   

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Monday, December 20, 2010

The World at War Blu-ray Review

The World at War is without question, the definitive historical documentary account of World War II.  The scope and breadth of this documentary series is unparalleled as it covers events from 1933 through the war’s end in 1945.  Commissioned by Thames Television in 1969, it took four years to assemble all of the footage (including some rare footage in color) and it ended up costing what would now cost around $12 million dollars to produce.


Film  (5 out of 5 stars)

There have been many documentaries about the war but none of them are as comprehensive as this one.  Some of them like Victory at Sea (see review here) have a definite point of view and take sides, while The World at War does an admirable job of remaining balanced and objective while presenting the facts, which has made this documentary series popular across the world.  As usual, interviews were combined along wartime footage to tell the complete story, but in an interesting break from tradition, the producers intentionally went after the lesser known, but highly placed aides and assistants who were observers to the  main participants in the war.

Many notable people  on both sides of the war also asked to participate which led to interviews with Albert Speer, Karl Dönitz, James Stewart, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, Alger Hiss, Adolph Hitler’s secretary Traudl Junge, and historian Stephen Ambrose.  There’s also interviews with housewives, enlisted men, officers, and politicians as well, which offers a wider perspective of the conflict than most documentaries allow.

Watching the course of the biggest conflict this world has ever known from the beginning to the end is a sobering experience.  It’s also fascinating and terrible as well and it’s always been my favorite period of history to research.  It’s  horrifying to see how easily miscommunication, assumptions, indifference, arrogance, and appeasement led to the deaths of over 70 million people.  Never before had a conflict been so clearly distinguished between right and wrong and it’s heartening to know that the majority of the world united to stop a force for evil from world domination.

Out of the series twenty-six episodes, fifteen of them are devoted to major campaigns and the remaining eleven detail other events such as life in wartime in Britain and Germany, the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, and also the Third Reich’s implementation of genocide.  Here are the list of episodes that are spread across seven discs excluding the last two disc of extras:

  1. A New Germany: 1933 -1939
  2. Distant War: September 1939- May 1940
  3. France Falls: May-June 1940
  4. Alone May 1940 – May 1941
  5. Barbarossa: June-December 1941
  6. Banzai!: Japan 1931-1942
  7. On Our Way: U.S.A. 1939 – 1942
  8. The Desert: North Africa 1940 – 1943
  9. Stalingrad: June 1942 – February 1943
  10. Wolf Pack: U-Boats in the Atlantic 1939 – 1944
  11. Red Star: The Soviet Union 1941 – 1943
  12. Whirlwind: Bombing Germany September 1939 – April 1944
  13. Tough Old Gut: Italy November 1942 – June 1944
  14. It’s a Lovely Day Tomorrow: Burma 1942 – 1944
  15. Home Fires: Britain 1940 – 1944
  16. Inside the Reich: Germany 1940 – 1944
  17. Morning: June – August 1944
  18. Occupation: Holland 1940 – 1944
  19. Pincers: August 1944 – March 1945
  20. Genocide: 1941 – 1945
  21. Nemesis: Germany February – May 1945
  22. Japan 1941 – 1945
  23. Pacific: February 1942 – July 1945
  24. The Bomb: February-September 1945
  25. Reckoning: 1945… and After
  26. Remember

This Blu-ray is the result of the biggest restoration project ever done for a television show and done by using exclusive machines (of which there are only two in the world) and a new software program that isn’t even on the market yet.  It’s easy to see that a considerable amount of money and effort has been expended in an effort to to make this look and sound as good as possible.

Each frame of the series has been restored individually, and as much effort was spent restoring the audio to the highest possible quality.  To give you an idea of how much work this was, on average each episode has over 140,000 fixes, which means there were more than 3.6 million fixes for the entire series!  The World at War won many awards and also spawned two companion books also called The World at War, with the last release including interview material that wasn’t included in the series.

Video (4 out of 5 stars)

Much has been said about the restoration of this series by FremantleMedia which resulted in their decision to convert the ratio from 1.33:1 to 1.78:1 so it would be ready to be shown on 16:9 televisions.  Many people are unhappy with that decision and wanted it to remain in its original ratio, but they may not realize the process of how it was restored.  This conversion was not one that was done in some kind of an automated conversion.

In actuality, it was a human supervised process where a team of people decided frame by frame where to zoom in the shots to make sure that the image would retain it’s original impact and coverage.  In almost every case, I don’t believe anything major is lost and I believe they did an incredible job.  It’s understandable that major television programmers are going to want the 16:9 ratio for HD channels and FreemantleMedia justifiably wanted to recoup the money they invested in restoring it.


I own the previous DVD box set of this series, and I can honestly say that this is by far the superior release.  The image is so much better now with a lot of the previous damage painstakingly taken out.  There is still some grain present but a lot of care has obviously been taken on when to use DNR and when not to, so the resulting image looks amazing.

The few issues I had can’t be faulted to this Blu-ray , but due to the fact that a lot of the footage was taken during combat and the type and age of the the film stock does have limitations.  Contrast seems dialed down for this release, but in exchange, detail has been improved.  There are some points where the image looks soft but that may also be from the result of the conversion.  The parts that utilize 33mm film look exceptionally good.  Overall, I think they did a phenomenal job on this restoration and the conversion as well!

Audio (4 out of 5 stars)

Along with it’s newly restored visuals, a new DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track has also been included which is considerably better than the earlier version.  It’s noticed mainly during combat action, where the action pans across the channels providing an immersive effect.  The rest of the time, Sir Laurence Olivier offers his excellent narration through the front channels very clearly and with no distortion.  Carl Davis’ famous score is well served by this mix and powerfully introduces each segment.  There are still some audio flaws due to the footage, but overall this is as good as it’s going to get and it’s an extremely impressive restoration job from film taken as far back as 1933.

Special Features  (5 out of 5 stars)

This box set has a staggering amount of extras that provide a wealth of information that really expands on the episodes.  All of the extras from the previous DVD set have been ported over to this and all of the extras are in HD and have been converted to 16:9.  On each disc there are biographies of the historical figures involved, pictures from the Imperial War Museum, and links to footage from the series that contains, songs, speeches, quotes, and maps.

Blu-ray Extras:

Experiences of War- Interviews with eight different people and their perspective on the war.  Included are former military men, and a German woman who censored allied prisoners’ mail.

The Making of The World at War -  A talk with Sir Jeremy Isaacs  who states that his intention was to make a documentary series that would represent every country involved in the war and not just show Britain’s point of view.  This approach led to the popularity of the series world-wide due to it’s fair and balanced look at the war.

Secretary to Hitler -  Hitler’s secretary Traudl Junge, was with Hitler all the way up until his suicide in his bunker.  Junge talks about her experiences working for Hitler.

Blind Spot: Hitler’s Secretary This documentary focused on Traudl Junge was released in 2002 and the filmmakers promoted the fact that it was Traudl Junge’s first interview about her time with Hitler. Of course that wasn’t true, as she was previously filmed  for The World at War.

From War to Peace -  A talk with the late World War II historian Stephen Ambrose who is probably best know for writing Band of Brothers.  I’ve always enjoyed his books and this was an interesting featurette about the events concerning the end of the war.

Hitler’s Germany -  A look at what it was like for the population of Germany to live during the war and under Nazi rule.

The Two Deaths of Adolph Hitler -  Some people feel that Hitler shot himself, while other believe he took poison to end his life.  Both theories are discussed here even though the Germans that were with him in the bunker state that he shot himself.

Warrior -  Archival footage and interviews with some of the men who saw combat during World War II.

The Final Solution -  A  two part documentary about the Holocaust and the Final Solution policy that enabled the systematic murder of millions of people once it was implemented.

Making the Series: A 30th Anniversary Retrospective -  Ported over from the 30th anniversary DVD box set, this covers every aspect of the making of the series.  At over two hours long, it offers a ton of information on how this all came about.

Restoring the World at War – A look at the restoration project and the controversial decision to reframe the series.  Anyone complaining about the conversion should watch this extra as they will see that it wasn’t a decision made lightly and just how much effort went into maintaining as much of the original focus as possible.

Final Thoughts (5 out of 5 stars)

This is without a doubt, the  most comprehensive and balanced documentary series on World War II.  Not only is the content first rate, but the added restoration adds a sheen to this release that renders all previous versions obsolete.  Like I said earlier, I think that the care taken by the restoration team when they reframed shots is extraordinary and I think it’s a fair trade in exchange for this kind of quality.  You can look below to see the before and after shots that show off the stellar restoration.   This series should be in every history buff’s collection and it should be mandatory for every school-child to see.

Order your copy today!

     












A talk with creator Sir Jeremy Isaacs and a look at the restoration process and its results can be found below.




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Get Yourself Tangled in Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, and DVD by Pre-Ordering Now!

Tangled is the 50th animated classic from Walt Disney that uses the story from Rapunzel and reportedly is the second most expensive movie ever made, at a cost of $260 million dollars due to it’s six years in development.  Starring Mandy Moore, Zachery Levi, Donna Murphy, Brad Garrett, Ron Perlman, and many more, this movie was a hit at the box office with almost $200 million in ticket sales.



DISNEY TANGLED: BIGGEST OPENING EVER FOR WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS

Disney’s 50th animated film continues the studios great tradition of box office success at Thanksgiving with ‘Tangled’making it the highest opening film ever for Walt Disney Animation Studios and the second biggest Thanksgiving weekend opener in history behind Disney Pixar’s own Toy Story 2.
Disney now holds all top five three-day Thanksgiving opening records in industry history (Toy Story 2, Tangled, Enchanted, 101 Dalmatians, A Bugs Life). Once again, with Tangled cinema goers show their appetite for great animated storytelling.

A fresh, contemporary twist on a classic fairytale, Disney Animation Studios 50th film will be released on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, and DVD.  “Tangled is full of hilarious characters, but it also has tremendous action and a lot of heart,” says John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. “We wanted to create a unique world and story that evoke the rich, dramatic feeling that is classically Disney, but is also fresh and humorous, and that gives the audience something it has never seen before in computer animation. The filmmakers have created a world that builds on Disney’s heritage but transports us to a land that is completely new.”

Directed by rising stars of the studio Byron Howard and Nathan Greno, Howard previously directed “Bolt,” the 2008 animated comedy adventure that grossed more than $300 million worldwide and earned two Golden Globe® nominations (Best Animated Film and Best Original Song), and an Oscar® nomination for Best Animated Feature. Greno, a 14-year Disney animation veteran, served as head of story on “Bolt,” and has animation and/or story credits on “Mulan,” “Brother Bear” and “Meet the Robinsons.” The film features new songs and a score by eight-time Oscar®-winning composer/songwriter Alan Menken (“The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” “Pocahontas,” and, most recently, “Enchanted”). Lyrics are by Glenn Slater, a 2008 Tony® and Grammy® nominee for his work on “The Little Mermaid.”

ABOUT TANGLED
When the kingdom’s most wanted—and most charming—bandit Flynn Rider (voice of ZACHARY LEVI) hides out in a mysterious tower, he’s taken hostage by Rapunzel (voice of MANDY MOORE), a beautiful and feisty tower-bound teen with 70 feet of magical, golden hair. Flynn’s curious captor, who’s looking for her ticket out of the tower where she’s been locked away for years, strikes a deal with the handsome thief and the unlikely duo sets off on an action-packed escapade, complete with a super-cop horse, an over-protective chameleon and a gruff gang of pub thugs. It’s a contemporary comedy for audiences of all ages that also represents a technical and artistic milestone for Walt Disney Animation Studios and for the art of computer animation.

Three options to buy and their corresponding Special Features:

DVD
•  2 original storybook openings
•  50th Animated Countdown

2-Disc BD Combo Pack (BD+DVD)
•  DVD features plus
•  3 deleted scenes
•  The Making of a Fairy Tale
•  2 extended songs
•  9 Theatrical Teasers

4-Disc BD Combo Pack (BD 3D+BD 2D+DVD+Digital Copy)
•  DVD features plus
•  3 deleted scenes
•  The Making of a Fairy Tale
•  2 extended songs
•  9 Theatrical Teasers

Pre-order your copy today!





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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Knight and Day Blu-ray Review

December 15th, 2010 by Sean Ferguson

Knight and Day represents a return to form for Tom Cruise who had a choice of movies to pick from (The Tourist was one of them) before he decided to sign on to this movie.  I believe it was a good decision since Knight and Day lets Tom Cruise be Tom Cruise.  There’s a lot of action and humor in the movie and it really provides a showcase to remind people why Tom Cruise became a movie star in the first place.






Film (4 out of 5 stars)

The movie is basically an updated retelling of Charade but with a lot more action.  A chance encounter in an airport between Roy Miller (Tom Cruise) and June Havens (Cameron Diaz) starts an adventure that sends them all over the world.  What June doesn’t realize is that the cute guy that she’s thinking about hitting on is actually a spy on the run from his own agency and some assorted bad guys.

Roy has taken something that could revolutionize the world to protect it and it’s inventor from outside interests that want to capitalize on it.  Of course, there’s also the possibility that Roy may have gone rogue so he could sell it himself.  He is being chased by his old partner FBI Special Agent Fitzgerald (Peter Saarsgard) whom Roy claims wanted to kill the inventor and take the item for himself.

So when Roy and June end up taking the same plane to Boston that’s filled with assassins that are there to kill Roy, it’s just a matter of time before June is also caught up in the action.  It doesn’t help that June keeps screwing things up so much that the bad guys keep finding them.  I really wondered why Roy kept her along for the ride since she was much more trouble than she was worth, but I guess that version wouldn’t have been as date-friendly a movie as this one.

Cruise’s Roy is basically an American James Bond.  He can do and survive anything and although he shares Bond’s indestructibility, he doesn’t have Bond’s world-weariness or cold demeanor.  Bond has cut himself off emotionally to provide a distance to allow him to do his job while Roy is the complete opposite.  Roy is friendly and outgoing and doesn’t bother hiding his emotions.  They both have a weakness for women which can compromise their missions but Roy seems to be helping June because he cares about her and not just because he wants to sleep with her.

Knight and Day has some terrific action scenes and a lot of cool stunts that Tom Cruise did himself.  The chase scenes were cool and exciting and I really liked how they were planned out.  There’s a ton of plot-holes that are big enough to drive a truck through and the ending is very predictable, but between the stunts and the star wattage of Cruise and Cameron, I didn’t really mind.  This is a fun adventure movie and I love these kind of movies.  Most of the time, they are predictable, just like the Bond movies, but at the same time they can also be original in how they stage the action scenes or the stunts. The blend of humor and action is irresistible and I was glad to see Cruise return to they type of role that he is so good at.

Video (5 out of 5 stars)

This gorgeous 1080p (2.40:1) transfer is simply amazing.  The colors are vivid, the black levels are solid, and the detail shown is reference quality.  This transfer allows all of the amazing locations  from Jamaica and Austria to Boston and Spain to look as inviting as possible.

Audio (5 out of 5 stars)

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is also very, very good.  With a strong ambient field that is spread out across all of the channels, this is a great mix.  The dialogue is clear and crisp and the sound effects are equally impressive and add a lot of punch.  This is one of those mixes that you might have to turn down during action sequences so you don’t get yelled at by the wife.

Special Features (3 out of 5 stars)

The good news is that all of these are in high definition but the bad news is that there isn’t any substantive extras on the disc and there are no commentaries at all.  For someone as publicity aware as Cruise, it seems odd to not have a better set of extras.  I did enjoy seeing the obligatory “Tom Cruise did all of his own stunts “clips where he really did the stunts which was pretty impressive.  It’s too bad that everyone will think it’s CGI or a stuntman and not him.
  • Wilder Knights and Crazier Days – A look back at the making of the film with interviews with the cast and crew.  At a little over twelve minutes, this doesn’t go into any depth but it is interesting and has some good info.

  • Boston Days and Spanish Knights -  A look at the various film locations from Jamaica and Austria to Boston and Spain.

  • Knight and “Someday” – My least favorite extra on the disc focuses on Tom Cruise’s request for the The Black Eyed Peas to write a song for the movie and we see him and Katie Holmes visit the band backstage during their 2010 world tour where he joins them onstage and also at the secret after-party where they debut the new song.

  • Viral Video: Soccer -  A short clip of Cruise and Diaz kicking what looks like a CGI soccer ball back and forth.   Even if it is CGI, they had the moves down well.  If it was real, then color me impressed.

  • Viral Video: Kick – This clip has Cruise showing Diaz how to kick someone in the chest with him standing in for the stuntman.  It’s highly predictable but nevertheless very funny how it progresses.

  • Knight and Day: Story - More interview clips concerning the movie and the story.  I really hate it when they take one interview and chop it up into little bits just to make it look like you are getting more extras than you really are.

  • Knight and Day: Scope - Don’t bother watching this if you’ve watched the other extras before it since this is all recycled clips that were shown in earlier extras.

  • Theatrical Trailer

  • BD-Live Exclusive – Not Your Regular Spy - Short promo for the movie.

Final Thoughts (4 out of 5 stars)

This is a very light and enjoyable movie and 20th Century Fox did a great job on this Blu-ray although I wish the extras were done better.  It’s a shame that this movie didn’t do as well as it should have, but it had tough competition when it came out and hopefully it will find it’s audience on Blu-ray and DVD.

Order your copy today!

   



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Saturday, December 11, 2010

Deadwood – The Complete Series Blu-ray Review

December 11th, 2010 by Sean Ferguson
David Milch has been involved in or co-created some of the most memorable shows in television history. With a career going back to Hill Street Blues, or more recently the fantastic NYPD Blue, Milch has always done exceptional work. Deadwood is his tour de force and the culmination of a brilliant career.  The series was nominated for twenty-two Emmys, won seven, and also won a Golden Globe for Ian McShane’s performance.  For those of you that missed the show on HBO, it is now available as a Blu-ray box set of the complete series.


Film (5 out of 5 stars) 

The show is set in Montana in1876 and a gold rush has brought about the creation of the town of Deadwood as independent prospectors have come to search for gold.  With all of the traffic arriving, Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) makes a nice profit by selling both liquor and prostitutes from his saloon.  Others, like Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) and Sol Starr (John Hawkes) arrive in town to build a hardware store that will provide all of the mining tools needed for the prospectors.  While the gold is plentiful, the town and every business in it prospers and with the increase in size also comes with the potential for trouble.  With no law enforcement, the only person that has the pull to take the law into his own hands isSwearingen because he has a lot of money and also because his Gem Saloon is the heart of the town.
Through Deadwood, David Milch wanted to explore how a lawless community becomes a civilized society.  Although he originally was going to explore those ideas in Roman times, he had to switch it to the old West because of HBO’s other show Rome.  Milch found that those ideas would work just as well if not better in a lawless town.  As he said, “What I was really interested in was the development of law and order, or, specifically, how does order develop without law.  In new societies, in frontier societies where there is no central authority, how does order develop? It isn’t just a matter of brute force; even brute force can only be used by somebody with an idea of order. How does chaos evolve into order?”  Representing order on the show is Seth Bullock who is eventually made sheriff of Deadwood while Swearengen represents the unrestrained chaos that is destined to be swept away by “progress.”  These two men are more alike than they would care to admit, as they are opposite sides of the same coin.
With order and progress also comes government oversight, which is something that the people of Deadwood fear more than anything since they are aware that their town isn’t legally recognized which has provided them freedom from fees and regulations.  The town’s prosperity is evident throughout the show. When the first season starts, the town’s buildings are unfinished and over the course of the show become more structured and permanent.  That’s a good example of how the show captures the the era’s life and tribulations with a lot of authenticity.  Fights over claims, the importance of gold and how it changes the town, and how a diverse melting pot of people and ethnicities will band together to survive.  The show also illustrates how the how the old-fashioned beliefs of individualism in the wild west would eventually be assimilated by larger business interests and monopolistic corporations.
All of those issues are tied into every episode as underlying subtext which adds an additional philosophical aspect to the show.  The scripts for the show are highbrow, lowbrow, hilarious, authentic, and much as been said about the show’s lyrically profane language.  It’s been reported that the word “fuck” was uttered 2,980 times over the course of the series and 43 times in the first hour of the show alone!  When HBO raised their concern about the language, they asked Milch to write something about his choice of language in case they were harassed by the FCC.
Milch ended up writing a five page statement that ended with, “If, as seems demonstrable, words like prick, cunt, shit, fuck and cocksucker would have been in common usage in the time and place in which ‘Deadwood’ is set, then, like any words, in form and frequency their expression will be governed by the personality of a given character, imagined by the author with whatever imperfection, as the character is shaped and tested in the crucible of experience. The goal is not to offend but to realize the character’s full humanness.” No one delivers Milch’s lines better than Ian McShane who turns every syllable and inflection into a master work of acting perfection.  His Swearengen is a murderer, a pimp, a businessman, and on occasion a good guy.  His main concern is himself but at the same time he will do all he can to protect Deadwood from outside control both for selfish reasons, but also because he’s invested in the town.
His usual opponent is Seth Bullock who reluctantly took on the position of Sheriff and is intent on keeping an eye on Swearengen and his enterprises.  Bullock is a good but flawed man who’s main conscience is his partner Sol Starr.  There is a seething rage that Bullock keeps bottled up and the only thing that keeps him in check is the badge that he wears, (which is probably why he took the job in the first place).  Bullock has no problem working outside of the law if needed and he occasionally does. No one torments him more than Swearengen, who provokes Bullock just to show him that he isn’t as civilized as he would like to believe.  Further complicating Bullock’s life is his attraction for a local widow (Molly Parker) despite the fact that his dead brother’s wife and son were expected to join him as a family once the town was settled.
Rounding out the wonderful cast is Swearengen’s henchmen who are just as corrupt, evil, and funny as their boss.  Swearengen’s number one man is Dan Dority (W. Earl Brown) who does all of his dirty work.  Then there’s the town’s hotel owner and erstwhile Mayor E.B. Farnum (William Sanderson) who fears Swearengen as much as he kisses his ass.  Farnum is a true weasel who allies himself with whichever way the wind is blowing (although he’s usually Swearengen’s man).  Johnny (Sean Bridgers)  keeps the girls in line along with Doc Cochran (Brad Dourif) who takes care of their medical needs.  Then there’s the inscrutable Wu (Keone Young) who only knows about three English words but handles the laundry and dead bodies that Swearengen sends him.
Last but not least are the supporting characters and guest stars.  Deadwood seems to attract some very talented people including, Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Brian Cox, Titus Welliver, Gerald McRaney, Jeffrey Jones, Garret Dillahunt, Stephen Tobolowsky, Anna Gunn, Dayton Callie, Robin Weigert, Paula Malcolmson, Kim Dickens, Jim Beaver, and Ricky Jay.  All of them added a lot to the show and I especially like Carradine’s world weary Wild Bill Hickok.  Powers Boothe brought a ruthless yet humorous contribution to the show and McRaney’s George Hearst was just as capable of evil as Swearingen, but he also took pleasure in it.  There were so many excellent performances throughout this show that it’s impossible to list them all but every single person on this show gave 100% including David Milch who wrote such wonderful dialogue.

Video (5 out of 5 stars)  

I never was able to see this show in high definition (I don’t get HBO), so I always had to settle for DVD so I’ve really been looking forward to seeing this show onBlu-ray and I wasn’t disappointed.  This 1080p (1.78:1) transfer looks incredible! Finally having the ability to see details long missed really gives viewers just another reason to watch the show all over.  Flesh-tones are normal and the black levels are no longer slightly washed out like they were on the earlier DVD release. Despite the high level of detail, some flare-ups of noise are present but that may just be due to the artistic style the show was filmed in.  Because of that style there is some slight grain present but it just makes it look more cinematic and does not impair the picture quality at all.  I am still amazed at how much better this looks compared to the the DVD!

Audio (5 out of 5 stars)  

This DTS-HS Master Audio 5.1 surround track is flawless.  This is an extremely well balanced mix that provides every channel with a lot of activity.  The rustle and bustle of the town is heard all around you, while the the sound field constantly pans across the room to follow the action on the screen.  The LFE has a welcome and impressive presence and the music comes through beautifully as well. Dialogue (which is one of the main enjoyments of this show), is crystal clear and comes through a lot better than it on the earlier release.

Special Features (5 out of 5 stars)  

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but HBO doesn’t slouch on quality on anything, especially the special features.  This set boasts seventeen commentaries, several behind the scenes looks, historical featurettes, photos, tours of the Deadwood set, a Q&A from the Paley Center, and so much more that you will spend hours soaking this all in.  All of these extras are in HD.
  • Audio Commentaries with the Cast and Crew – Seventeen episode commentaries are offered throughout the three seasons of the show, including “Deadwood” with creator David Milch, “Here Was a Man” with Keith Carradine and Molly Parker, “The Trial of Jack McCall” with Brad Dourif and Robin Weigert, “Sold Under Sin” with Ian McShane and Timothy Olyphant, “A Lie Agreed Upon” with Molly Parker and Anna Gunn, “A Lie Agreed Upon” with Ian McShane and Timothy Olyphant, “Complications” with Gregg Fienberg, “New Money” with David Milch, “E.B. Was Left Out” with Kim Dickens, William Sanderson, Dayton Callie and a separate one with Powers Boothe and Garret Dillahunt, “Advances, None Miraculous” with John Hawkes and Paula Malcomson, “The Whores Can Come” with Timothy Olyphant and Anna Gunn, “The Whores Can Come” with Ian McShane and Paula Malcomson, “Tell Your God to Ready for Blood” with Gregg Fienberg and Mark Tinker, “A Two-Headed Beast” with Jim Beaver, Sean Bridgers and W. Earl Brown, “Amatuer Night” with Robin Weigert, and “Tell Him Something Pretty” with David Milch.  These have a lot of good info but the best ones are the ones with Olyphant and McShane who have a lot of fun together and listening to them is a lot of fun.
  • Making Deadwood: The Show Behind the Show – Re-purposed from season one, this is a generic overview of the show from David Milch and Gregg Fienberg host this featurette where they discuss their motivations, the historical accuracy, the story, the characters, the dialogue of the show, and how it all comes together.
  • The Real Deadwood - A look back at the actual history behind the town of Deadwood that was real interesting to me, but then again I love history.
  • The New Language of the Old West –  Keith Carradine (Wild Bill Hickok) interviews David Milch in this humorous featurette to discuss the language of the show and the reasons for it and what purpose it serves.
  • An Imaginative Reality – Another talk between Keith Carradine and David Milch after season one finished.  Listening to Milch it’s very easy to understand why his characters have such a grasp of language.
  • The Real Deadwood: 1877 – A look into historical events that shaped the future of Deadwood such as the gold rush, telegraphs, etc.  Technology forced the town another step towards becoming a civilized society.
  • Making of the Season Two Finale – At seventy-one minutes, this is the highlight of the extras for me as this three-part featurette goes into fine detail with the cast and crew about the entire process of making this show.  The spotlight is on the writing for the show (“Trusting the Process”), details about Mr. Wu and Chinatown and how they play into the story-line (Mr. Wu Proves Out”), and a look behind the scenes of  (“The Wedding Celebration”).  All of these are very well done and informative.
  • Deadwood Daguerreotypes – Thirty-three old-time photographs of both the cast in character and also some historical pictures as well.
  • Deadwood Matures – A look back at the results of the election of 1877 and the ramifications of the election returns.
  • The Education of Swearengen and Bullock – Another favorite of mine since it concerns my two favorite characters.  Both cast and crew discuss the complicated relationship between Swearengen and Bullock and their differences and also the similarities between them.
  • Deadwood Daguerreotypes – Another forty pictures of Deadwood back in the day.
  • The Meaning of Endings – David Milch walks around the abandoned set of Deadwood to discuss the ending of the show and also acknowledging the fact that the abruptness of the cancellation upset a lot of fans who wanted more closure.  He attempts to wrap up character plot-lines and discuss what season 4 would have been about but he is obviously depressed and says so.  Very interesting to see especially since I was one of those fans clamoring for another season.  I really wish Milch and HBO would give us those two Deadwood movies they talked about long ago.
  • The Real Deadwood: Out of the Ashes – A collection of historians talk about the real history of the town and lament that it’s now overrun with casinos and the fact that the actual town burned down completely long ago.
  • Cast and Creative Team Q&A – A talk at the Paley Center with most of the cast and crew along with HBO president Carolyn Strauss, David Milch, Gregg Fienberg, Ian McShane, Timothy Olyphant, Robin Weigert, PaulaMalcomson, Powers Boothe, John Hawkes, Anna Gunn and Molly Parker. This wasn’t as informative as I hoped it would be, but it did have a lot of laughs and Olyphant was particularly funny when asked about whether or not he did any research for the show.
  • Deadwood 360 – A tour of the town along with some episode background along with it.  A lot of good info on this one.
  • Al Swearengen Audition Reel – I had no idea that Titus Welliver (of LOST fame) was such a talented mimic.  In this, he plays every role in a one man audition session by impersonating David Milch auditioning the following actors (all played by Welliver): Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Robert Duvalland Robert De Niro. This was very funny and I think Welliver has another career waiting for him if he decides to quit acting.

Final Thoughts (5 out of 5 stars)  

This is one of my all time favorite shows and it couldn’t have been cast, written, or produced any better than it was.  This show should be shown in actor and writing workshops to illustrate not only its exceptional qualities, but also a lesson in originality.  I wish this show could have gone on longer than it did or at least the two movies discussed awhile ago that was supposed to wrap things up.  From all accounts, that isn’t likely to happen which is a real shame for all of us.  This is a stellar box set in every way and I highly recommend it!

Order your copy today!

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