Cool News
Harry's DVD Picks & Peeks - 3rd wk of May - True Blood, Japanese cult, T2 Blu, Fritz Lang, Fanboys & More!
Hey folks, Harry Here… Nice group of titles this week, really love the various Japanese selections this week! I’d suggest buying some of these titles rather than seeing the movie coming out this week. But you’ll read more on that Wednesday night. Wow. Brutal. Anyway – as with every week – the images and the titles are linked over to Amazon where you can learn more, browse or purchase – which would give a small portion of that purchase price to help support this column. Enjoy…
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
TRUE BLOOD: 1st Season
Watched this last week – and the weirdest thing about the series is seeing Anna Paquin having sex. She’s hot, but the notion of her being hot is like some sort of sign of a great deal of time passing. That said, I loved TRUE BLOOD – and there’s a lot more going for it than Anna Paquin nudity. There’s actually a lot of nudity and sexuality – to go with the vampire soaked weird reality of this wonderful HBO series. I devoured season one quickly – and yes, please… I’d like some more!
VALKYRIE
Didn’t get sent this disc in advance of the column, but I am very much looking forward to checking it out. The film was one I liked quite a bit. And I haven’t seen it since my trip to Berlin and my INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS set visit, so I’m sure all the Nazi uniforms will now bring back fond memories of that trip. Hehe. Just kidding. Singer sure did put one helluva great cast together for this didn’t he? We all know they don’t kill Hitler. What I love about the film is how close they got – and how far they got after that point. It is a helluva yarn!
PAUL BLART: MALL COP
I found the experience of watching this on Blu Ray excruciating. Not because of the disc quality. Everything is fine as far as that goes. No, I just found the comedy to be of the lowest caliber and that personally – Kevin James just isn’t for me – at least in this film. I’m well aware of just how popular this film is and how Kevin has a big career ahead of him now. I just hope he picks better material and matures as a comedian beyond this sort of thing.
TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (Skynet Edition) Blu-Ray
I got sent this. The disc won’t play. I weep. Friends that have it tell me it’s fantastic. Sadly, all I have is my awesome HD DVD from Europe. I’ll be getting another copy of this shortly. But of the below variety…
Limited Edition T2 Complete Collector’s Set Endoskull (Blu Ray)
Basically an overpriced version of the new Blu Ray with spectacular packaging and it comes with the ULTIMATE EDITION DVD and the EXTREME EDITION DVD set – and there’s all sorts of features that are not repeated from edition to edition to blu ray – so it iis the most complete assembly of T2 materials. But if you’re like me – I have those previous editions of T2, and in addition a Foreign HD DVD that I love. But the packaging is too cool and even if the new film sucks one’s will to live, I still love this and the first film and love the imagery of the Terminator universe. But wow the new film is an epic heap of suck.
FANBOYS
This film has had an epic journey to DVD – and a rather successful micro-independent run in theaters, but it will be on home video and cable where this film will find its greater audience. I anticipate a lot of folks really enjoying this film – and officially – NO – that’s not me in the movie. It’s a wonderful actor playing me in the movie. The commentary is kinda priceless.
A BUG’S LIFE (Blu Ray)
You know how this film relates to FANBOYS? Kevin Spacey Produced that one and he’s the evil Grasshopper in A BUG’S LIFE! That’s your theater trivia of the day. I’ve warmed to A BUG’S LIFE, I watched this disc last week and a lot of my problems with the film softened. I’m still a little annoyed that they aped Seven Samurai, that the ants are al non-ant colors, but those are small problems – and the jokes still make me laugh, and even though it is 11 years old in CG – it is still beautiful, no more so than in Blu Ray. Lots of extras, my favorite being this animated version of the ORIGINAL STORY IDEA. Funny thing is – the ending in the real film is actually much more fucked up than it was originally. There’s lots of great extras and Lasseter and Stanton are there to introduce everything including THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANTS. This is one for all the Pixar lovers – which is all of us, right?
MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D
This is a wonderful slasher flick – and watching the anaglyph 3D in my living room was a lot of fun – though I wouldn’t recommend that option on smaller sets. The key to 3D anaglyph enjoyment is to sit close enough to the screen that the 3D does what it needs to. This disc has lots of extras – but you should be aware of something. I suspect that around the time that the sequel to this comes out – there will be another release of this with an unrated cut – as Patrick Lussier told me the cut a lot of the sex scene down – and other gore moments. But that stuff isn’t here. So I suspect they’re holding that back. Of course, I could be wrong. Lionsgate would never double dip would they?
MAN HUNT
Looking at that cover, you should buy it simply because the words, “Directed by Fritz Lang” are contained. And if you don’t know why you should give two shits – goto IMDB, look him up. NetFlix M and Metropolis and that’ll get you hooked. His career is amazing – and in 1941, he made this stunning film. The cast is fantastic – leading off with Walter Pidgeon, George Sanders, John Carradine, Roddy McDowall and the lovely Joan Bennett. The films is all about a man out hunting, and he draws a bead on Hitler, but is caught before he fires, if that was ever his attention. This then becomes a man on the lam from Nazi Germany and through many other locales. Even back home. It’s a twisty fuck of a flick that never quite gives you what you expect, but is much better than you think.
THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE – Criterion Collection
Such a great fucking Mitchum movie! This is the type of awesome film that got made in the Seventies that just never ceases to amaze me. Back when character, story and what could be done with a camera, a crew and an actor was all that was considered or needed. This is a gritty and fantastic Boston underworld flick – that some have called the greatest Boston movie ever made. Criterion does a wonderful thing here by giving this the “treatment”. Yates supervised the transfer and did a commentary for the film. You’ll really love this movie.
OUTLANDER
This is an outstanding science fiction historical flick. From one of the key producers of LORD OF THE RINGS and starring Jesus and Hellboy! This should have gotten wide theatrical distribution. Sadly, it was never given a fair hand shake at any point along the way – except by the few audiences and critics that were blessed to have seen it. If you love fantasy/sci-fi you’re probably going to be really surprised by how much you love this movie. OUTLANDER has fantastic production design, creature design, action and drama. It really reminds me of how much I loved PITCH BLACK, but I think in some ways I like this film even more!
THE GUILD – Season One (Amazon Exclusive)
For those of you that know of “The Guild” you love it – like SPACED it’s a very particular celebration of their MMO lifestyle. If you know what that means – you know what that means – and this is very funny. You can only score this and the second season through AMAZON and if you’ve been following The Guild, this is how you can begin to share it with others!
THE GUILD – Season Two (Amazon Exclusive)
Most love Season Two even more than season one. This is so incredibly geeky a series that it is pretty impossible not to love, and there will probably never be another show about this particular univese nearly as fresh and fun as this!
ENEMY AT THE GATES (Blu)
I’m fond of this film – moreso I’m a big fan of Jean-Jacques Annaud – as he’s the type of director that is meticulous with his details – and this one just works really well. My god – its two snipers facing each other down for the pride of Mother Russia and those filthy Nazi bastards! Actually – as I’ve been raised – neither side is good – so it is an interesting fim to follow. The sex scene between Rachel Weisz and Jude Law is such an intimate and not overtly erotic sex scene, but it’s so intimate that none of that matters. It isn’t about the bodies, but the feeling between them. It’s very very sweet. I love the propaganda angle in this film – and how this situation grew beyond Jude’s anticipation. So gorgeous on Blu!
3 DAYS OF THE CONDOR (Blu)
One of my very favorite Sydney Pollack films and one of my very favorite Robert Redford movies. I’ve never been lucky enough, within memory to have seen 3 DAYS OF THE CONDOR on the big screen, but I’ve had it on VHS and DVD – and it is one of those perfect films to share with a lady. Because. Dude. Robert Redford is one of the greatest aphrodisiacs a cineaste has at his disposal. And here – he’s at his Cary Grant best – as a man on a lam that picks a girl to help him, against her will. He plays the lone survivor of a CIA literary group that reads everything printed in the world – to feed the pertinent info into the computer, to see if messages and orders and plots are happening. When he tries to come in, it goes real bad and suddenly he’s being hunted by everyone – and the film that follows is so smart, so emotional, so great that it’s simply a perfect film, now in BluRay – and it looks great. Very happy addition!
BATMAN (Blu Ray)
If you didn’t pick up that big BATMAN Blu-Ray set that had all of that 80s and 90s era Batman flicks – and you just want the original deeply flawed film. This is a very nice package – but you are not getting anything more than on the big set, other than the book casing which is nice. Just not a deal breaker.
THE MACHINIST (Blu Ray)
Unlike the film opening Wednesday at midnight – this is a great performance from Christian Bale… and Jennifer Jason Leigh! Here you have a director who cares first and foremost about character, story and atmosphere. Bale’s transformation is pretty incredible – and the idea this was what he looked like shortly before becoming Batman in BATMAN BEGINS is incredible. Here… on Blu Ray – you can count every rib – and it’s fucking frightening.
PIGS, PIMPS & PROSTITUTES: 3 Films by Shohei Imamura
Though this could be the greatest title ever for a seventies Blaxploitation film… it is not. Instead, it is 3 wonderful films by Shohei Imamura gathered and treated with love and care by Criterion! The films are PIGS AND BATTLESHIPS, THE INSECT WOMAN and INTENSIONS OF MURDER. These were very different films made in the sixties in Japan. And Imamura was a very powerful and precise filmmaker. Taking a completely unique perspective on his stories. Here’s the extras on this set:
Introductions on all three films by critic Tony Rayns • Conversations between Shohei Imamura and critic Tadao Sato about The Insect Woman and Intentions of Murder • “Imamura, the Free Thinker,” a 1995 episode from the French television series Cinéastes de notre temps • New and improved English subtitle translations • PLUS: Booklets featuring essays by film critics Audie Bock, Dennis Lim, and James Quandt
GIRL ON A MOTORCYCLE aka NAKED UNDER LEATHER
The last time I saw this movie was at a cinematheque screening – with John Williams sitting in the seat in front of me. This is a film, that I had known about my entire life. Seriously. My dad had the trailer for the film under the title, NAKED UNDER LEATHER – and the trailer was so trippy to me as a kid – that it has always been with me. Specifically the image of Marianne Faithfull standing on the back of a galloping horse as a man with a whip whips her leather off of her… as the image goes solarized or something. This is an art film, but a very good art film. It was directed by the great cinematographer/director Jack Cardiff and stars the amazingly attractive duo of Alan Delon and Marianne Faithfull. It is a very strange film about sensation, fantasy, erotica and desire. It isn’t a porn, but a serious film – and it’s finally in my possession.
FAST COMPANY (Blu Ray)
I was so excited when this disc arrived, I rushed it to my player – but unfortunately – like that T2 disc – it would not play. Everything else does – so I can only assume I got a bad disc. But this is one I really want. First off any film that stars William Smith, Claudia Jennings and John Saxon is a great thing to have. But you add to that, the peculiar reality that this film is directed by a seventies era David Cronenberg – and you have a winner. The film has more going on than just fast cars, as you’d expect from David. I can’t comment on the quality of this disc, but Blue Underground usually has the finest of transfers and a good deal of extras.
DETECTIVE BUREAU 2-3 GO TO HELL BASTARDS!
A new film (to me) from Seijun Suzuki? A thousand blessings KINO! I haven’t seen this film, but I have seen BRANDED TO KILL, A COLT IS MY PASSPORT and TOKYO DRIFTER by Seijun Suzuki – and he has an amazing sense of style. His films sometimes play with very pop-art style imagery and yet are violent, cool, sexy thriller film noir types of things – but done his way. This is part of the Bastard series and everything I’ve read has it as a great one! Ordered and awaiting!
WANDERING GINZA BUTTERFLY
Sigh. Meiko Kaji is so fucking awesome – she’s a wet dream of cinema. The badass awesome Japanese girl of the era. Imagine if Bruce Lee was a hot beaten down Japanese chick that suddenly snaps and wreaked bloody havoc. It’s awesome, lewd and amazing. But wait… for… the sequel too!!! Extras: Japanese language with newly-translated, removable English subtitles
Audio commentary by Japanese film expert Chris D.
New, exclusive video interview with director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi
Original Japanese theatrical trailers for both films
WANDERING GINZA BUTTERFLY 2: She-Cat Gambler
Here we find the lovely Meiko Kaji back in the role – this time avenging the death of her father whilst working a Ginza club – but she finds someone to help her on her bloody revenge. NONE OTHER THAN FUCKING SONNY CHIBA! And he kills better than anyone! Goregous wide screen, crazy film and with lots of extras:
New video interview with director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi,
New video interview with Pinky Violence film expert J-Taro Sugisaku,
Original Japanese theatrical trailers for both films
Coming next week, we’ll have a look at KILLSHOT, POWDER BLUE, CHILDREN OF MEN (Blu), SKY CRAWLERS, TRUE ROMANCE (Blu), ROBIN HOOD PRINCE OF THEIVES (Blu), Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960s, LAND OF THE LOST Complete Series, FIELD OF DREAMS (Blu), Saturday Morning Cartoons 1970s, SEABISCUIT (Blu), ZABRISKIE POINT, SPY GAME (Blu), MOD SQUAD Season 2, CINDERELLA MAN (Blu), INSIDE MAN (Blu), FALLING DOWN (Blu), HARLAN ELLISON: DREAMS WITH SHARP TEETH, M. BUTTERFLY and more…
Introductions on all three films by critic Tony Rayns • Conversations between Shohei Imamura and critic Tadao Sato about The Insect Woman and Intentions of Murder • “Imamura, the Free Thinker,” a 1995 episode from the French television series Cinéastes de notre temps • New and improved English subtitle translations • PLUS: Booklets featuring essays by film critics Audie Bock, Dennis Lim, and James Quandt
Audio commentary by Japanese film expert Chris D.
New, exclusive video interview with director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi
Original Japanese theatrical trailers for both films
New video interview with director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi,
New video interview with Pinky Violence film expert J-Taro Sugisaku,
Original Japanese theatrical trailers for both films
-
+ Expand All
-
nice
-
May 19, 2009 7:10:33 AM CDT
That's Kevin SPACEY in A Bug's Life, not Kevin Smith
by nasty in the pasty
Jeez!
-
From April 19, 2009: 'Brian Collins writes in from a local horror convention where director Patrick Lussier confirms reports that Lionsgate has zero interest in making a sequel to My Bloody Valentine'
-
I'm supposed to go there this summer, so I'm curious.
-
and it's complete balls?
-
This summer is turning out to be a poop fest.
-
Brian Eno, Lou Reed & David Bowie did it fine in the '70s before the wall fell down, so I don't see why it would be any harder now. The Germans don't have any problem showing off their bilingualism, unlike the French, who will often pretend not to speak English just to befuddle tourists. Which is actually kind of cool, really.
-
May 19, 2009 7:25:48 AM CDT
Salvation sucked the minute they didn't put Biehn in it
by _snakeplissken_
Mc-Fuckwit
-
Having purchased the first two on blu-ray before the announcement of another release, I'm curious if there is any up-grade. I'm not going to triple-dip, as I have them on dvd, too. I'm just curious if I should feel more screwed than I already do.
-
It's always appreciated when you at least try a little bit of German though.
-
The real problem is to find anything interesting there. Seriously, Berlin might be the most overrated cities in the world. You should visit Toronto instead.
-
Ironside or not, TS was doomed the minute they hired McHack to make a kids film
-
A Seijun Seizuki film I haven't seen; a Jack Cardiff-directed exploitation flick where I'll be having trouble deciding which lead is hotter, Alain Delon or Marianne Faithful; 3 Days of the Condor; Enemy at the Gates and, this week's best movie in my opinion, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, which I haven't seen since I hired it out on VHS years ago. Erm, if any of the studios are reading this, you know that most people go straight to the talkbacks, right? So...you know...feel free to send me a few promo DVDs, too. You know it'll be a good investment. I even use semicolons and everything!
-
I just read your Tweet, can't wait to read your whole review later this week and read the famous last line: "Fuck this movie."
-
I feel your pain-did some double-dipping on the star trek movie releases and a few others-thankfully some of the prices are coming down. Believe the longer you wait the better off you are. And, yes, I still have a more HD-DVD's than I'd care to admit.
-
of course. The germans speak better english than we do :)
-
people still care about what harry thinks hahahhaahhahahahhahah
-
Don't waste your time, folks.
-
But then again, they have their heads so far up Christian Bale's enormous arse they can practically taste what he puts on his chips.
-
Harry is a fool to suggest otherwise. Outlander is not terrible, but its simply nowhere near as tightly executed and visually stylish as Pitch Black..At the very least Pitch Black spares the audience horrible and lame scenes like that woeful 'shield challenge'...Keep that shit for Ivanhoe please!
-
...you'd have to be deeply impressionable or easily taken in by a bit of limp sword waving to imagine Outlander manages that.
-
May 19, 2009 8:19:50 AM CDT
"But if you’re like me – I have those previous editions of T2"
by meglos
Nah. We don't get sent free stuff.
-
Go to amazon.ca and pre-order it. It comes out next week. Why Canada gets the Blu-ray version and we don't is f-ing lame. The movie is a good one.
-
The Digital bits site basically sez the new one has been scrub down and alot of the grain and stuff has been cleaned up, making it look like its lil washed out. So you might wanna hang on to the older blu-ray and check it out for yourself.
-
what the roll of soundbite-merchants on Rotten Tomatoes have to say, but it's getting 25% there, so Harry's not exactly all alone. And McG went to his birthday party and gave him a Stan Winston Terminator head that was used in the movie, but he still thought it was weak...
I'm not saying Harry hasn't ever sold out in the past, but all you guys who think he has to run every single comment he makes on AICN by the studios seem to be losing it a little. And so what if he didn't like Craprica. It's called having a different opinion...one's liable to encounter this sensation the more often they leave the house. -
I had to turn it off halfway through the gay bar strip scene. so fucking lame. Lots of other great picks this week Harry.
-
Wow.
-
It's weird, he almost became a pulp director after being on top of the world in Germany before the rise of Naziism. His two pre-flight talkies ("M" and "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse") are both on Criterion and both amazing in their own ways.
-
is Harry's new way to write negative reviews is to put two or three lines in a DVD review column?
-
And the T4 hate on Harry's part is groan-inducing. Also, the film only has 8 reviews on Tomatoes so counting the meter is premature.
-
Direct from Harry's twitter-twatter: "I've been told my review can go up 9pm PST on Wednesday night. Ok - that's when it'll hit then."
-
And I do want to make an effort to learn to say "please" and "thank you" at the very least.
-
Robert Redford takes on a CIA assassin posing as a mailman...compare this sequence(astoundingly staged, shot and edited)with the incomprehensible
'action' garbage put together by
ADD poster boys McG and Bay. When we lose filmmakers like Pollack, we lose a generation of artist/craftsmen...and they're now replaced with idiots who sit at their AVID machines, editing their 140 minute CGI crapfests like overlong music videos...movies designed to blaze in the multiplex for exactly three days before they take a 65 percent drop and brisk march to DVD. Anyone who hasn't seen "Condor" should see it today...a mourn for a type of movie you may never see again..a drama/thriller with a compelling story, superb acting and put together by a filmmaker who actually, truly knows how to make a film. -
Thanks
-
Sucked, lame ass ending. Why did he have to lose all that weight??? Hated that movie, had such high hopes. At least Brad brought it back with some good Fringe.
-
It's laughable those people are mentioning T2 and then saying, in the same breath, T4 is a kids movie. T2 was a kids movie compared to T1 and was generally thought to be a "sellout" flick to the hardcore fanbois back then. It's a great film but let's face it, that shit is PG-13 by today's standards and everyone knows it. Hell the Graduate was rated R at one time kids. Quit being so hung up on the rating, they show worse shit on Heroes now on TV than was ever in T2. Also I'm not saying this movie won't suck, I would just see it, and definitely would not tout T2 as HARD CORE R in comparison. T2 was a "die hard" style comedic action flick. T1 was teh bawlz bitches!!!
-
And it's not like I had high expectations going in. Really bad movie. I'm excited about seeing Man Hunt, though. And Detective Bureau 2-3 looks like a lot of fun. Also, that Girl on a Motorcycle picture makes me wet and hard at the same time. I'm confused. And aroused.
-
I'll be staying in all weekend.
-
I got to meet McG at the Emagine in Novi, MI. We talked more about Chuck being renewed and "talent" issues. The flick was packed. Not to give a full review, but the movie was NOT the ultimate in suck, but it WAS way too heavy on gunplay and way too light on character. Fer gosh sakes, give me someone that I can care for!!! McG was a nice guy & all, but I felt bad that I wasn't terribly impressed with the film. I did like the Arnold appearance at the end and was amazed by how far CG has come.
-
May 19, 2009 9:32:22 AM CDT
"I’m still a little annoyed that they aped Seven Samurai"
by mr_incredible
Yeah, and? You've got a problem with THAT? That's just fucking lame. I suppose The Magnificent Seven and Battle Beyond the Stars annoyed you as well.
-
looks very interesting. After this site is more about posters for new teenie chick flicks and studio fellatio now i gotta say that harry's DVD picks is my favourite part of AICN. Gives me at least one idea for a download each week, and on good ones like this more like 5 downloads.
Way to go Harry, this site is still worth checking out!
(Now if you only could finally fire that fucking asshole Beaks!) -
sorry to bring this up yet again ....Van Helsing nuff said.
-
Just been looking at his twitter page. Funny shit. He's gonna piss all over it when his review hits tomorrow! Oh dear can it really be that bad? I liked the look of the trailer but apparantly there's lots of shit in this film. And Bale sucks apparantly.
-
Blink and you will miss Kristen Bell in the Slave Leia bikini.
-
I saw an ad for T4 on TV last night, and I noticed something. Praise reviews in the ad. "Best Summer Thrill Ride!!!" or whatever the fuck. Then I saw that the quotes were from a bunch of nobodies and now I'm worried that it's going to suck a bag of dicks. It's always a bad sign when you pad your trailer with praise from "critics" that nobody has ever heard of.
-
... finally!! A really weird and frankly bad film, but gotta love the visuals, no-holds barred outdoor desert-orgy and Dead/Floyd soundtrack.
-
T4 was not the stinking load I thought it would be, but it is almost completely derivative. And not just of its predecessors but also from films like Transformers and The Road Warrior. There are no new ideas presented here at all. Just chase scene after chase scene. Towards the end, I just wanted more from this film.
And Michael Beihn was in this movie, courtesy of Anton Yelchin – he did a fine job as a young Kyle Reese. Worthington was good as was Bale, in my opinion. They did what they could.
I don’t think this is a franchise killer like AVP, but this film is an empty shell, and instantly forgettable. Lots of action for the ADHD crowd, so it will probably make its money back. -
When they hired McG and the scriptwriters of T3.
-
Everyone knows this
-
May 19, 2009 10:11:28 AM CDT
lords of dogtown on bluray please!!!
by supercowbell4therequestformorecowbell
and ann paquins sex scenes in true blood are fucking epic
-
was when they announced it.
-
Look at the interview here www.nukethefridge.com
-
...as promised last week.This series rose from the ashes and kicked total ass this year. Fantastic stuff. Those writers from HEROES could learn a lesson or two from 24 on "How to save a show". Never thought I'd again call 24 my favorite series. Life is full of surprises.
-
I remember because that was the only time I laughed in the movie.
-
that always helps.
-
...I know you announced that last week. Plus new editions of El Dorado and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was released today.
-
the fuck?
-
WOW. Now that's a site made by cunts, for cunts.
-
It still burns me up to recall that nasty, dismissive diatribe, even though he has since switched his opinion on the show. That was one of the most brutally hate-filled write-ups I've ever encountered. There was no attempt at all by Harry to appreciate or understand what Ron Moore and company were trying to do with this new version of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, which was INFINITELY SUPERIOR to the campy original. Harry made a determined effort to ridicule a show which only went on to become hailed as the best on television, by a number of sources. But, to his credit, he at least eventually admitted that he was wrong and embraced BSG for its excellence.
-
Amen and ditto on your views on Condor. The mailman fight is a favorite, sp. since it's "everyman" Redford taking on a trained assasin. Lets not forget the contribution of cinematographer Owen Roizman, who's work graced some of the best of the '70s.I'm just afraid that some that are accustomed to the Michael Bay/"Eagle Eye" school of thrillers will find it slow...
-
People think this shit is so clever but it really isn't. Whether you liked or hated Indy 4 (and I personally loved it) that Fridge scene was no more ridiculous than any number of other scenes from the franchise. At least Jumped the Shark made sense, though that term is played out as well.
-
"You can count every rib on Bale's body in the Machinist Blu Ray"
...I think you'll notice he has one missing.
Praise Bale. -
It looks absolutely hilarious, whether intentional or not. I was looking forward to a Harry Knowles review of this awesomely titled film.
-
Not a Barbara Steele fan, eh Harry?
-
...the stereotypical angry fanboy who likes to bitch about movies on the internet, just for the sake of bitching. (And so is the NTF website, by the way, but that's a different topic.)
-
I mean I love AICN, but if it is not STAR TREK thay don't talk about it.
-
rules. see it.
-
please wipe the spoodge off your glasses long enough to actually read the shit you post links too. You just tattooed FAIL on your forehead. You nuke the fridge fucks sure are every bit as lame as AICN.
-
they will, and then they can blame you.
-
I had it at number one on my Netflix queue but they decided to send me my 3, 4, and 5 selections instead. So now I'm going to have to wait (a very long wait, most likely) in order to get Outlander from Netflix.
It took them over 4 months to finally send me Lakeview Terrace. And while I had fun watching Samuel L. Jackson chew up scenery like so much popcorn, yeah it sure wasn't worth a four month wait. At least with Blockbuster they usually have the newest, hottest movies in mass quantity. I think Netflix buys maybe 20 copies of hot titles, per region.
So, while I'm becoming increasingly frustrated by Netflix's declining customer service, I'm starting to buy more movies blind again.
Is Outlander worth the 14 bucks? -
I can't wait
-
i say we get these wannabe nuke shills in a ring with Harry and his mob of more experienced hollywood shills and let them slug it out for an action figure or something..whoever wins, we'll go to their sites and troll them with insults about their lack of taste.
Of course, we'll be right. -
...and bordering on psychotic for some people. Now we have a "documentary" about people mad at GL? Phantom Menace was 10 years ago--you didn't like it, whoop dee shit. I thought LOTR and Transformers sucked but I don't feel the need to express that 47 times a day.
-
putting LOTR in that category says more about you
-
On what level of existence is that not an awesome thing for a kids film to do?!
-
My step-grandmother is actually a distant cousin of Claus Von Stauffenberg. She used to tell us about him when I was a child. She was proud that she had a German relative who had tried to kill Hitler. She once sat in Hiter's lap when she was a little girl, blissfully unaware of the evil he'd cause.
Her dad was an SS officer and she always talked about how cruel he was. She never had a kind word about the man. Whenever she talks about her father I think, "God, her dad sounds like he was such a Nazi!"
And he was, actually... -
Amen, brother. I could watch that movie a million times - fantastic thriller, just brilliantly done. Back in the day when people had attention spans and a popcorn movie would at least HINGE on some form of reality.
-
"And I haven’t seen it since my trip to Berlin and my INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS set visit, so I’m sure all the Nazi uniforms will now bring back fond memories of that trip. Hehe."
I have a feeling now that no matter what the quality of Ingorious Basters is, you will like it because of all the perks. I would do the same if I had the chance but do you think it colors your opinion of a film? -
There was no way this film was going to appeal to the general public. To them, Star Wars fans and Star Trek fans are the same. To make the Star Wars fanboys the heroes, and the Star Trek geeks the villains probably just confused people. There was one too many "test" scenes which, to me, seemed like the writers needed to prove how much they knew about Star Wars, or were able to lookup online.
-
already ordered it, along with Sicko and TZ:4th season. No real reason i ordered those together like that. Cause i'm on a budget i usually treat myself to one video in the middle of the month. Ellison i'd interviewed for my college paper years ago (naturally i don't know where the original casset tapes are damn it! (although i have the interview in one of my article binders.)
-
Maybe McG should have taken example from T2, not Matrix Revolutions.
-
I made a prediction about T4 a couple weeks ago...for those who've seen it...was I right?http://tinyurl.com/qpesrgAnd has anyone seen the new T2 blu? Been waiting for a worthy copy in HD...
-
Love, love, love.
-
I'm sure you probably already know this Harry, but if newer discs won't play in ur Blu-Ray, you probably just need the latest firmware update from the manufacturer, :)
-
There is hope for this film after all!
-
documentary about how George Lucas fucked up his franchise and fucked his fans. But, it can never been said enough. It should be etched on his grave.
-
that the ants are al non-ant colors" Seriously? Man, you write the stupidest shit.
-
Check the disc for smudges and debris. Seriously. Bluray optics are MUCH more sensitive to anything on the play surface of the disc. So far, every blu I've rented either wouldn't play or was having severe pixellation making the disc unwatchable and it was only cause the disc surface was smudged up.Micro-fiber to the rescue!! Once clean, the disc plays perfectly! (though even smudged it will usually load and play..just play terribly and unwatchable...but maybe if the header/TOC portion of the disc are grubbed up bad enough, it might not even load..just hasn't happened to me specifically).
-
"the ants are al non-ant colors" should be etched on Harry's grave.
In over a decade of 'film critique' that one line could be his finest moment.
The pedantry of a true geek. -
One more reason why I don't care for Blu-Ray. I hope I won't have to regularly update the player for the Blu-Ray follow up. Whatever this will be.
-
stupid keyboard.
-
I need a Yoko fix..............
-
"But if you’re like me – I have those previous editions of T2, and in addition a Foreign HD DVD that I love." Yes, that you got for free. Remember, please remember, most of us have to, you know, work and use our own money for things. Next, "that the ants are al non-ant colors, but those are small problems" No, that is not a problem at all, not in the least. The very fact that you thought this should make you want to kill yourself, but the fact that you typed it and posted it is quite pathetic on a level that defies logic. "The sex scene between Rachel Weisz and Jude Law is such an intimate and not overtly erotic sex scene, but it’s so intimate that none of that matters." So, if I read that correctly, because it is intimate it does not matter than it's intimate? "you can count every rib" Please, Harry, never be filmed and put on Blu-Ray.
-
i cant believe what i just read. what...the...fuck!
-
May 19, 2009 2:35:05 PM CDT
IM MAD BECAUSE THE FISH IN FINDING NEMO TALK
by supercowbell4therequestformorecowbell
WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THAT? FISH CANT TALK?!! IM MAD
-
you were moved to tears by kingdom of the crystal skull but didnt like how the ants in a bugs life WERE FUCKING DIFFERENT COLORS!!?? WOW!!
-
.....and damn if it ain't HUGE. Really, it's life size. I love it. Also got Outlander on dvd and i will order the blu-ray version from amazon/Canada. I love Outlander, yeah it has some flaws, but call it my "guilty pleasure".
-
Thank Gods, it's finally out on DVD. The Star Wars web sites have been talking about it for years.
-
Doesn't deserve a sequel! Watch the original which I think is one of the most underated slasher movies of the 80's! Christ if you are going to have sex scenes in 3D at least get a girl who is well endowed! Take advantage of that 3D!
-
Kinda stepping on Hercs turf... obviously Harry won't review the LOST sets, or FRINGE, or 24, etc... but for some reason TRU BLOOD gets his attention. Makes no sense. No Harry, please don't respond with some excuse. What am I mad about exactly? The fact that you completely ignore awesome TV shows, and the explanation is "Harry does movies, Herc in coaxial does TV, period". Except you reviewed Tru Blood.. why? Probably because you were sent it. That's the reason.
-
assuming he walks.
-
i was giving McG the benefit of the doubt, and didnt care about the rating, but it looks like they just threw a bunch of special effects onscreen and forgot the story. Think i'll skip seeing this on opening weekend now. of course, you mindless bitches that complain about hollywood while lining up to get shit shoveled down your throats will be in line opening day. Congrats on being part of the problem, assholes.
-
This recent "deeply flawed" bullshit simply didn't exist at the time.
-
And I still do. Why do we have to automatically hate Batman 89 simply because of Batman Begins/Dark knight. Same with the Joker, why do we have to shit Jack's joker now that we have Heath's. I for one love both interpretations of the character. To me all three films have their strenths and weaknesses. In fact in certain repects Batman 89 still hasnt been topped in my opinion.
-
because i was a dumbass kid. its unwatchable now. its ok, just dated. Burton should stick to original material.
-
There's many different styles of Batman comics. Why not movies?
-
I hated BATMAN when it came out. I never cared for Burton's faux-goth-camp take on the character. And Nicholson's Joker, while enjoyable, was never frightening enough for my taste."I just want to know, are we going to try and love each other?"'Nuff said.
-
...I think we can all agree that Burton's vision of a dark (and comparatively mature) superhero movie was revolutionary at that time and without it, maybe even Nolan's Batmen would be way different movies.
-
in twenty years time, than Batman does now. And I love what Burton did, for the time. I just think his themes of alienation and the concept of "superhero being different" was better done in Batman Returns.
-
because it's more of a crime drama than a superhero story.
-
it proved that you didnt have to hire action stars to play superheroes. People were pissed when they heard about Keaton, but he was great.
-
for straying from the source material when Dark Knight threw source material out the window with the joker. Besides was Miller's Batman source material when it came out? What makes source material, source material? I dont know why some expansions in a comic book character's arc are considered canon when some are not.
-
Which original material, exactly? There've been so many different takes on Batman. All the Batman movies (with the exception of Batman Returns... which took place in Winter Wonderland) have been true to some version of the source material. Even Shumacher's Batman movies were true to the campy period of Batman comics.
-
It wasn't the comics Joker at all. It was if someone really tried to be The Joker.
-
Was very true to "The Killing Joke"...
-
I thought Nickelson was a fun take on Joker, but the rest of the movie looks horribly cheap now and the story was a mess. 89 Batman feels chopped up and never really gets going IMO, and it borrows way too much from the tv show. I like Ledger's version better, but they are both solid.
-
reminds me of the Cabin Boy VHS cover.
-
Burton is much better at doing original, or at least semi-original material. His remakes mostly suck.
-
People are already getting sick of 9/11 analogies in fictional works, so maybe in 20 years people will think TDK is as cheesy, as several cold war thrillers from the 80's seem to be today.
-
All of his movies have fucking dancing skeletons in them.
-
http://tinyurl.com/hknowles Yikes!
-
It was very well received and widely regarded to be the most loyal adaptation of the character fans had been given to that point in time. Just because subsequent entries spiraled out of control doesn't damn the first one. It's a product of its era to be sure and no doubt some people probably didn't like it but when it came to comic book films to that date it was in the upper echelon for most fans - and Nicholson's Joker was great...it only gets slagged for relative sake vs. Ledger, mostly by people that were still in testes or diapers when Burton's rolled out.
-
http://tinyurl.com/knowles2
Holy crap! lol -
Some nice stuff there. Never have heard of that George Sanders/Pidgeon flick, def. will wanna rent it at the least sometime.
-
Underwhelming at every turn. It's DETROIT ROCK CITY with Star Wars. I happen to like Star Wars & Kiss pretty much equally, as in, not very much. There just isn't much in this movie for the casual fan. Not really very funny at all.
-
And it has aged brilliantly. Suck it, bitches! No wait... How exactly is The Dark Knight a 9/11 analogy? Is it because it has explosions?
-
twitch, nuke the fridge (which has a pretty cool V clip up right now) and other sites seem to get a broader variety of cool new news in on a daily basis. this site has become very narrow and biased toward the most recent crap franchise to send them poster, airline ticket, action figure, etc.
I encourage everyone to seek out new sites and post the url's in the talkbacks so the exodus can begin. -
Is as erotic as the nipples on the Batsuit. Grimy, non-explicit, and Rachel Weisz's eyes rolling around like a demented ungulate. *Shudder*
-
The gotham in 89 runs circles around the gotham city Nolan has given us. It is iconic, dark, and stylistic. Thats why Anton Furst won an Oscar. Nolan's Gotham was solid in Begins but was uber boring in Dark Knight. If I want to see the city of Chicago I'll go there myself. I think he went too far with his quest for realism in the Dark Knight. And as far as I'm concerned 89 had the best batsuit by far.
-
I used to catch hell for saying it. But I've never been much of a fan of Burton, with the exception of Beetlejuice. Keaton was awesome and just infinitely quotable in it. I always thought Batman was only a half step away from camp.
-
Gotcha. Yeah, Planet of the Apes was AWFUL, ranking up there with the Halloween remake.
-
Enemy at the Gates had one of the most laughable sex scenes ever. It looked like he was killing her. I like that movie, but goddamn.
-
I just can't take anything you say seriously any more Harry. Set visits and ass kissing clearly sways you're opinion.
-
What a great night. I saw the cast, and everyone. It was a HUGE event. The entire U.S. was covered in Bat Signals that summer.
-
Man that movie is so good. One of the top three serial killer movies ever.
-
Pretty much sucked once he got to the States. Wonder what would've have happened had he taken Hitlers proposal?
-
May 19, 2009 8:39:07 PM CDT
the dark knight joker was everything the joker was
by supercowbell4therequestformorecowbell
the beautiful mind games, making batman question himself for everything he stands for, pushing him to the limit at all costs. THIS IS YOUR FATHERS JOKER.
-
That's it. There isn't much to say, it's not an amazing film, like one you'll be talking about for years or even saying the lines. It's just good and once you watch it. You forget it.
-
Harry, I loved the hell out of Colt at FF 3 and have since become a student of Nikkatsu. Thought I would let you know that Takashi Nomura directed it. Soooo stoked Criterion's putting it out in August. Thanks.
-
Wanted to get 24 too but decided I need money for food. Might pick up Outlander tomorrow because I forgot to look for it. And just wanted to thank those suggesting the Condor movie... I'm checking that out.
-
Hahaha if your around. I had that same Lakeview Terrance experience. It was like on long wait till a week ago, haven't gotten it yet. Plus I got screwed this week out of Valkerye and Fanboys and they sent me like my 6 and 7 picks. Sometimes I'm like Umm if its on VERY LONG WAIT, I'll fucking wait if you send it to me right away.
-
While I'll agree that the latter-day cinematic Batman phenomenon would never have gotten off of the ground without Burton's BATMAN '89, which got a lot of the tone right, as well as setting the standard for modern-day superhero costumes, it was a weak movie, and if you try watching it now, you'll absolutely see what I mean. The visual effects are lousy, even by 1989 standards, the movie plays like the script was only fifteen pages long and mostly contained the word "JOKER" and Nicolson plays every scene like he either just woke up and was very grouchy or just finished doing a couple of lines of coke with Robin Williams in his trailer.
However, Elfman's score was great and Keaton actually, surprisingly, made a decent Bruce Wayne/Batman, and if you pay attention, only the positive elements from the original made it into the sequel. For my money, BATMAN RETURNS was actually Tim Burton's BATMAN. The first one was a paycheck. -
Producer John Peters might as well have been the real director of the first film. A perfect example to illustrate this is how Peters disliked the original ending of the film and ordered the cathedral at the climax of the film to be built without consulting Burton at all, leaving him to make up a new ending as the he went along. He also gave Burton no choice or whether or not to include the horrible Prince songs. Burton has talked alot about how much he dislikes the first film in the last couple of years and only really considers the Returns to be his vision.
-
Hitler had so many assassination attempts on him and none succeeded making you wonder if fate had him go out until the very end. In any case the Brits didn't put much effort in assassinating him since he was doing such a good job of botching things.
-
I though the intimacy parts between Weisz and Law were pretty good but as for the main part the war action it was kind of stupid. There was no 2 rifles per man bullshit, soldiers werent kept locked in trains since in case of air attack they could escape, there were no 2 opposite lines of battle where sides would charge at each other, that was retarded, the battle was fought irregularly like a guerilla war in rooms and houses and rubble no in some mini fields.
-
Burton's Batmans were entertaining. Nolan's are snooze inducing boring shit. "Flawed" my ass. Anyone who fucking says "flawed' when describing a movie just sounds like it didn't meet their shitty me me me standards. No shit really no movie EVER is goign to be perfect, all works of art ever are flawed to some extent that's the whole point humanity aint perfect. Bale is too detached and cold. I'll watch the shorter curly haired Keaton who feels like a real person and is more relatable.
-
He MUST be right, right? Everyone knows that Harrys reviews are always right on the mark! My theory is simple.....If Harry says that a movie is bad then it must be good. If he says a movie is good then it will be a load of shite! Sho Nuff respect.
-
The rule actually is if Harry says something is fantastic its usually not very good and if he says something is bad....then its usually completely unwatchable shit. He basically just uses an extreme form of hyperbole whenever he reviews a movie.
-
Complete my knowlede is now.
-
Maybe my knowledge will be complete when I can learn to spell correctly lol
-
4/5 and the reviewer is usually pretty spot on. Harry might just have a stick up his a**
-
Was not so much that it was a terrible comedy, so much as that it was hardly a comedy at all. Seriously, there were hardly any jokes in it, it played like a kiddie version of Die Hard. Very strange film.
-
wait, so Harry hates SALVATION? and Harry loves STAR TREK (the new movie)? cool, that means SALVATION might actually ROCK!
-
Don't know why it came up on this post, but it's there. It's definitely a paper-thin story, but the great casting of the smaller roles, including Billy Dee, makes it still hold together despite the paper-thin plot. I like Batman Returns, but it has a little TOO much Burton in it.
-
this is exactly what myself and others having being saying about you for fucking yonks. A film you write this glowing review of that you fucking abandoned when it needed your help because you were too busy slobbering on Twilight's cock or whatever other fucking studio release. Too little, far too fucking late. You disgrace.
-
Jensen Ackles is good in it, because he's good in just about everything - but that's all this movie has going for it. The 3D is used to good effect in the first half, but then the folks making this simply devolve into "pick axe - pick axe - pick axe!" territory with the effect, forgetting the creative touches that can make 3D unique and which worked in the first half. The pacing is slow but not-so-deliberate, the mystery is painful in its obvious nature ... and Lionsgate has, like some have said here, expressed absolutely NO interest in making a sequel - I suspect they were hoping for a MUCH bigger profit.
-
surely you jest?
-
Shout it from the rooftops and then go kill yourself a Moorwen!
-
FTI DANKE>DUNKA=Thank You Bitte>Bitter = Please HOPE THAT HELPS
-
Sorry I'll take the orignal anyday... I used to really like Bale but nowadays I don't think the guy could even lace Keton's shoes...fuck him and his ruining of my franchises...
"Woooop....woooop....wait they get a load of me!" -
A great movie. (It was one of the first movies I ever owned on Laserdisc many years ago.) It also has probably one of THE best endings to a film ever.
-
And, I thought it was terrible. Terrible suits, terrible acting, barely passable...no, make that not-passable CGI. Stupid. Esspecially that whole other world beneath the well-complete with waterfalla that spill 1000 feet into a ocean? All that is under the water in that well? Anyways, I had high hopes based on the buzz on this site. If you wanna see a REAL WELL DONE monster flick, rent THE RELIC. It is 1,000,000,000,000x better than this wanna be.
-
But admittedly that's partially due to seeing classic Boston. I'm always interested in seeing some Fritz Lang stuff, even lesser work.
-
The audience sees something happen that litterally doesn't: It's the psychotic visions of the individual who's eventually revealed as the killer. The filmmakers do this just to create a lame "Whodunnit" mystery in the last act between two characters. And yes, beyond that it's incredibly dull.
-
Burton didn't follow the comic at all and the film contains little to no action and is just plain dull and boring. Everyone raves about Burton's dark vision in his film yet no one talks about how he can't direct an action sequence or suspense to save his life.
-
"You wanna get nuts?" "LET'S GET NUTS!"
"This town needs an enema!"
"Excuse me... did you ever dance with the devil in the pale moon light?" BLAM!! -
Usually when that happens, it expands to more screens and a wider release. Looks like Harvey had the last laugh in the end!
-
May 25, 2009 11:55:05 PM CDT
"Burton didn't follow the comic at all"- who who gives a shit?
by prossor
movies=/=comics&books. different mediums. who gives a bat-shit that Joker was Bruce's parents killer? no one.
-
This is actually based on a novel called "Rogue Male". Last year Esquire or one of those mags had a list of the best "man" books, and Rogue Male topped the list. I got it from the library and it is indeed excellent. It never names Hitler as the person who the protagonist tries to shoot. What is even more interesting in the book is that the protagonist doesn't try to shoot Hitler because he is a bad guy, just because it is a challenge for a hunter. I haven't seen the film, but the book seems completely unfilmable, as it takes place entirely within the protagonists head. The book is a primmer on surviving torture and evading capture, and it is very dense and difficult to read, but worth the effort. Can't wait to see the film.
-
That's who.
-
wow am i glad i downloaded that garbage, i could only sit through about 20 min of that p.o.s. before me and my friends had to shut it off. It deserved a theatrical release as much as Uwe Bowls movies do...wait that's stretching it.
-
The newly released Terminator 2 blu-ray is worth buying because it has all 3 versions of the movie which the first blu-ray release (they're already double-dipping!) did not. It also has a much better audio soundtrack. The video quality/transfer is identical to the previous blu-ray release which was only the theatrical cut. Plus, many chain stores like Best Buy are offering it for under $20 which is a decent deal.
That said, you must have a blu-ray player that's profile 2.0 (generally a BR Player that's been bought in the last year) to play this title. It's due to the disc trying to access online media which on an older Profile 1 player, it doesn't do properly even if you have the player hooked up to the internet. Nonsense like this is what keeps a lot of people frustrated or even discourages them from moving to the newest a/v format. -
The Japanese T2 blu from Geneon doesn't have the stupid, useless overlays, giving more bandwidth for you know, the movie. http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/term2.htm
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 325 total posts 322 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 106 total posts 106 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 63 total posts 60 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 74 total posts 58 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 159 total posts 51 posts
- If the Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day drops her pen, pick it up, but don’t look at her legs or else it will be on your record. -- 47 total posts 41 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 161 total posts 34 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 488 total posts 33 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 121 total posts 23 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 70 total posts 20 posts