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Harry's DVD PICK & PEEKS: Last 2 weeks of July 2011: Blues Brothers Blu, Welles, Kurosawa, Depp, Boyz n the Hood, Dylan Dog & More!
Hey folks, Harry here… had a crazy week last one, decided to double up the column from last week with this one – and release it today. Some great stuff on here! Essentials. As usual the pics and links take you to Amazon, where if you feel inclined to pick up the item on the other end of the link, a small portion of that purchase price helps keep the best efforts of this column going! So thanks a ton. Here ya go…
The Final Two Weeks of July 2011…
When you’re watching THE BLUES BROTHERS – there is no film better. It’s simply joy. Pure unadulterated joy. It is the slyest musicals, one of the happiest Action films, a captivating comedy – and there’s no other film made prior or after that is anything like it. The car stunts alone are amazing. The musical numbers sublime. This is a miracle film. A movie on a mission from God. My father collected old Black Blues 78s, so the Blues & Jazz were very well represented in my home… but I worshipped Cab Calloway as a kid, mainly due to all the 16mm BETTY BOOP cartoons that my Mom had collected. Minnie The Moocher, Old Man Of The Mountain, Betty’s SNOW WHITE… Calloway is astonishingly powerful in those old cartoons – and the live action openings that featured Cab and his band… they MADE me identify with Cab. So when I was 7 and saw BLUES BROTHERS with my parents – when I realized Cab Calloway taught the Blues Brothers… It had instant gravitas with my monkey brain. From that moment on – I had the BLUES BROTHERS in my arsenal of movies to show friends, to make the kind of friends that thought the cool shit I loved was indeed cool shit. BLUES BROTHERS is amongst the coolest films ever made. Sunglasses at night, the Black Suit armor, a magical police car, Illinois Nazis, Floating Supernatural Nun, Ray Charles with a gun, the best Diner order ever and the MUSIC MAN! THE MUSIC! This film singlehandedly woke up modern culture to the unbelievable awesome that is the Blues and Soul. Aykroyd and Belushi… they’re Gods. This movie is just pure magic. The BluRay is about as nice as you could ever hope for. Watch it and just bask in the pure awesome of perfection. The music is amazing… and while this isn’t lossless audio, it fucking rocked the cobwebs from the corners of my house. I’ve never heard it sound better.
Insanely fun. Everybody is great. Donald Sutherland’s professor. The adorable sweetness of Karen Allen, Tom Hulce’s wide-mouthed Joe-E-Brown-esque smile with those wistful eyes, every word that comes from John Vernon’s mouth. But the film belongs heart & soul to the most amazing creation… John Belushi’s Bluto is the spirit of excess, of manic Looney Tunism, he’s a horny cuddly disgusting cinema God. I remember thinking that this is what College was. This is a film like BLUES BROTHERS – directed by a particularly brilliant and inspired John Landis. As I was growing up – John Landis just knocked everything out of the park. Watching ANIMAL HOUSE – watching BLUES BROTHERS… Thinking about AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON… My wife asked me earlier tonight, what director, that is alive, who I miss. I miss John Landis. I know that folks tend to focus on the tragedy of John’s career, me, I prefer to focus upon the greatness. When Landis was on, I’ve still never seen a comedic director working today that could touch him when he made those awesome films of his. I keep hoping we’ll see movies that evoke this same feeling… but I think they were captured magic. Today we get raunchier, more outrageous, more more. But ANIMAL HOUSE isn’t the randiest gross out. There’s an irrepressible spirit at work here. Something that seems to live and delight in the chemicals of this flick. The alchemy that created these first two films… the ingredients no longer exist. These are magic films that never ever fail to delight. We drink to these films, we party to these films, we get in togas and don sunglasses at night with them. How does one not own them?
This brilliant documentary has been out of print for a while, but they’ve gone and created a 10th Anniversary edition. This is a movie where the director shot and lived with the people – the society that lives in the tunnels beneath Penn Station in New York. Shot in stunningly atmospheric black and white, this is a true documentary about the people that live beneath the streets of New York… CHUD style. Well, they’re not cannibalistic… but they’re definitely Humanoid Underground Dwellers. And their story will absolutely fascinate you. It is a world with very little light, but filled with Human and touching stories. If this sounds fascinating to you – I promise that it is.
One of the most beautiful films ever shot. AMELIE is a jewel of the screen. Audrey Tautou plays one of the most magical female wonders yet captured upon the screen. I find it impossible not to just love her. Her whimsy. The magic she plays upon people. Her world can be yours if you choose to find magic in your life. This movie is happy times. I still love DELICATESSON & CITY OF LOST CHILDREN as my two favorite films of Jeunet, of course the darkness of those films which is what so endears me to those early efforts, could’ve been Caro’s influence. Since that point, Jeunet has been more whimsy than shadow. AMELIE brings sunshine and smiles to the dark. It inspires us to be magic for our friends and family. If you allow it to. The Blu Ray comes with these extras: • ”The Look of Amelie” Featurette • Fantasies of Audrey Tatou • Q&A with Director and Cast • Auditions • Storyboard to Screen Comparisons • “An Intimate Chat with Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet” • “Home Movies” – Inside the Making of Amelie
One of the films that I most hated seeing go leave theaters during my recovery was Duncan Jones’ SOURCE CODE. I loved MOON. Smart fun science fiction. Then along comes SOURCE CODE, I wasn’t worried in the slightest about the film. When I didn’t receive a screener, I took the opportunity to watch it on Pay Per View – and I watched it twice tonight. I love what this film is. I love how it is a tightly wound series of mysteries, but it also reminds me of a science fiction action version of GROUNDHOG’S DAY. And I mean that in the most sincerely praise-worthy ways. I love that film deeply, and I’m only just now beginning to fall for SOURCE CODE. Stories such as these always bring to mind, CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER. Wonderful cast – wonderful twists and turns. Beautifully put together. Now… will the third time be…. What I wonder. Duncan Jones is here to stay. Picking this up tomorrow.
Neil Burger made a charming druggie film about enhanced human potential. The ability to have the complete total access to everything you’ve ever seen, to understand the worth of it all, the meaning of it all and to know how to use it all. Bradley Cooper is damn good here. In particular though, I loved DeNiro. It’s been a while since I’ve genuinely loved him in a flick. I’ve been a fan of Neil Burger and this is really fine work. The infinity zooms are kind of amazing – this really does have some amazing flair going. I found it to be a very strong film. Watched this on Pay Per View too. Looking forward to picking the title up tomorrow to see the Unrated cut.
Most that I’ve heard from have loved this film, in fact that was my reaction as well. The main criticism I hear leveled upon the wet tale is redundant in the last half… but for me, that’s the beauty of the film. I mean. If you and a pack of friends were swimming in the open water being hunted by a hungry crazed shark… It would probably feel very unrealistic as you each got eaten – and you would probably get fed up with it too. Just like poor Quint did as he floated with his mates all those years ago. I’ve always wanted to see the INDIANAPOLIS story. Still hope it gets made proper some day. Till then, this is the little film in the shadow of that greater tale. Just a terrible terrible situation. I don’t think I’ve yelled at my screen giving instructions to the characters at home in quite some time. So messed up.
Most of these combat video game adaptations are just fucking rotten. I’d heard rumors that this was fun, and when I saw Alan McElroy’s name as the screenwriter – and he’s actually someone that I’ve been fond of. He wrote Brandon Lee’s RAPID FIRE. He wrote a fine script that got a bit mangled in the making for SPAWN. What I like about Tekken is the world that it is set in. It’s all kinds of goofy in places, but I bought the world, their particular post-apocalypse. This falls short of being amazing, and is rather just quite good. Surprisingly so.
This is a fun minor film that I wish had had about 3-4 times the budget it had, so that DYLAN DOG could have had a big splash over here in the U.S. I enjoyed the film, but it was with acknowledging the limits that it had. I like Brandon Routh’s Dylan quite a bit. The look of the film was very fun and I enjoyed much of the film. I just know that we’re probably likely to never see another… better produced chapter of this fantastic Comic. To give Brandon and team another better shot at it.
Flat out a great film. Love the performances throughout. Singleton’s best film is still this one. Looks pretty great on Blu. Crazy how young everyone is in this. Doesn’t seem that long ago, but really is the 20th anniversary of BOYZ N THE HOOD and they didn’t even note it on the box. Well… we remember.
This is an excellent Valentine’s Day film. Or any other ‘romantic chocolate’ occasion. Even if you do not have the titular treat on hand, this film will stimulate your senses. You’ll swear you’ll begin to taste this film, smell this film – and my friends – if you have a special someone… a box of fine chocolates… this film upon the screen… you’re going to have a very good night. No matter who you are. Depp isn’t at all Wonka in this.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Criterion Blu
For me, this is the release of the year. Cocteau’s master fantasy. A film that bewilders the senses. My personal favorite fantasy film ever. There’s more pure magic in this film than in anything else I’ve seen. The film is like a misty dream. Nothing is ever merely ordinary. The makeup upon the Beast is amongst the best that has ever been created. The art direction is simply breathtaking. If you loved PAN’S LABYRINTH – give your full attention to this film. This is one of the springs that fueled it. Can not recommend highly enough! I was shown this film as a child, my parents would read the subtitles outloud to me, when I could still not read. It is the very best version of this tale. And it will amaze all.
One of Satyajit Ray’s best works – wonderfully brought to Blu Ray by Criterion. The movie is a true masterpiece of Ray’s career – Being able to see this film at this quality is one of those things that just really makes being a film lover such a delight. This is such a tender and wonderful film. The musical numbers… wow. So good, I envy those of you that will be discovering this film for the first time. Here’s the extras Criterion has for ya: In Bengali with English subtitles New digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack Satyajit Ray (1984), a documentary by Shyam Benegal that chronicles Ray's career New interview with filmmaker Mira Nair New interview in which Ray biographer Andrew Robinson on the 'Making of' A 1981 French roundtable discussion with Ray, Michel Ciment & Claude Sautet New and improved English subtitle translation
Enough of the awesome and brilliant great cinema, let’s kick some blood out of someone’s mouth. We need Van Damme’s NOWHERE TO RUN. It’s honestly Van Damme’s best film prior to JCVD, and one of the high water marks for one of his flicks. Wished he’d made more at this level.
I love this film because it pairs Orson Welles as a Ferry Captain who is ferrying Curt Jurgens, who has been kicked out of Hong Kong as an undesirable – on way to Macao – but Macao doesn’t want Jurgens either. You wouldn’t either – he’s fantastic in the film. He and Welles hate each other – and I could watch that act all day long. Great Exotic film – done as Hollywood could.
This movie just absolutely didn’t quite do it for me. I like all the siege and battle work in the film. The hacking gore stuff is quite powerful, though nowhere near the level of SPARTACUS: BLOOD & SAND… albeit more realistic and less stylized… But those scenes alone might make the film play for some of ya. The cast is interesting, but just not given characters that I really cared anything about. I like the siege… but not why the siege is going on in the first place. And I don’t really care who wins, lives or dies. So as a result it becomes a movie that just has stuff happening that will occasionally make you say, “cool” – not often, but at moments. I’d wait for Netflix on this one.
Fucking ridiculous movie. The second year that I was doing AICN, we had the dueling volcano flicks. VOLCANO and DANTE’S PEAK. Right now, I can’t recall what I thought of that Tommy Lee Jones movie, but I remember thinking they were all pretty ridiculous. In particular – the CG just doesn’t cut it today. But it is a fun diverting thing. I’d prefer a POMPEII movie if I was ever getting a Volcano flick again. I could get behind any historical Volcano flick, it’s just seeing a bunch of scientist running around measuring gas emissions… It just doesn’t nail the drama side of the story for me. Not a big draw for me.
This was the weaker of the weak MARS movies that came out about a decade ago. I find the film watchable, because I’m usually highly lenient in the Sci Fi realm because I’m a geek that loves Space shots – and all space exploration really gets my geek going. But man, with this cast – it should’ve been so much better. I prefer MISSION TO MARS… but thus far we haven’t had a great MARS movie. Now, if the martians invade earth, that’s a different matter. At that point – we’ve got 3 great films. Actually – I take that back, ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS is the great Mars movie, with TOTAL RECALL pulling second and then I have a real soft spot for THE ANGRY RED PLANET, but that Spider-Monkey-Bat monster just rules!
Here Akira Kurosawa did a loosely based film upon the great Ed McBain novel KING’S RANSOM – and made a fantastic Crime Mystery Thriller. I love HIGH AND LOW. Of course my true Kurosawa loyalties lie with the Samurai classics – but this is just proof that Kurosawa did it all wonderfully. The transfer is as usual, extraordinary – and Criterion has these extras for us: High-definition digital restoration, with original four-track surround sound Audio commentary by Akira Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince Documentary on the making of "High and Low" Rare video interview with actor Toshiro Mifune Video interview with actor Tsutomu Yamazaki, who plays the kidnapper Theatrical trailers from Japan and the U.S. PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien and more!
JUSTICE LEAGUE: SEASON TWO Blu Ray
YES! I’ve been wondering when we’d finally get this out on Blu. I had the first season on Blu, but the second season came out only on DVD… until now. What made that sting is that while I liked SEASON 1 – it was SEASON 2 where this show just got unbelievably awesome. I mean, right from the start with Darkseid (Ron Perlman!) This season is the one where SUPERMAN apparently dies (more to it than that!) and where we have a full fledged Alien Invasion. This just makes me pure happy. Great series!
Tinto Brass loves fleshy curvy lovely woman – and don’t we all? Getting a Tinto Brass fetish flick on Blu Ray is sort of a rite of passage. Proof that the world is headed in the right direction. If our imported smut gets the 1080p treatment – maybe the world ain’t so bad. This isn’t classic old school Tinto though, this is from 2005. As a result it’s a little more brazen. It comes with his short KICK THE COCK on a separate disc. That’s just weird.
I find these documentaries awesome teaching tools for novice film geeks wanting to get a quick and lazy education to a subject like the American Grindhouse movement. This doc is a lot of fun, but right now – use it to whet your appetite. To get ya started – or to see if you’ve missed anything overtly obvious in the realm of Grindhouse cinema. I can’t watch something like this without spending a week watching fave flicks.
Sadly it just isn’t quite up to Robot Chicken standards of humor for me. I should be all about this film, and yet I’m not. I love stop motion animation, but this stuff is just not at the level that is aesthetically pleasing to me. I kind of giggle throughout – but it just didn’t rule my world like I was hoping.
TEENAGE TWINS Collection ( TEENAGE TWINS / PUNK ROCK / ROLLERBABIES )
Several years back on the column I discovered a seventies porn that got sent to me called TEENAGE TWINS, I watched it and – yeah, it was all kinds of crazy. Yes it features real identical twins doing things they shouldn’t… but the real reason that the film blew me away – it had nothing to do with the twins – or the sex, which really isn’t hot. It’s that this is a fucking HP Lovecraft / Necronomicon porn from the seventies! It’s trashy as all hell, but it is kind of amazing to have this kind of geek themed stuff in those days. We had the musical ALICE IN WONDERLAND porn, the best was FLESH GORDON. But this dirty, no budget underground thing… it doesn’t sell itself that way, but the element is there. The other two movies… PUNK ROCK and ROLLERBABIES… I mean. They’re called PUNK ROCK and ROLLERBABIES. It’ll be absurd stuff from the period of origin. Crazy.
First week of August will kick off with RIO, CONAN THE BARBARIAN Blu, CONAN THE DESTROYER Blu, Braveheart/Gladiator Blu two pack, THE NAME OF THE ROSE Blu, STAKE LAND, BETTER OFF DEAD Blu, MAGNIFICENT SEVEN Blu, COPYCAT Blu, SANDS OF THE KALAHARI Blu, EXPORTING RAYMOND, SPY KIDS trilogy blu, STREETWALKIN’ and more. Till then enjoy!
Readers Talkback
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You guys are loving this, I know.
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Could be fun in a corny DTV martial arts way.
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than Groundhog Day. And it was great.
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Sell them to me! Sell me your children!
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July 26, 2011, 7:56 a.m. CST
Looks like Pierce Brosnan is running away from a particularly bad fart on the Dante's Peak cover
by Nasty In The Pasty
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Now I must see if they are cannibalizing the Golden Collection. Plus bring on the Censored 11!! Come to me, O racist toons!
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Solid fun. But the ending killed it for me a little bit.
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July 26, 2011, 8:10 a.m. CST
One of the films that I most hated seeing go leave theaters during my recovery was Duncan Jones’ SOURCE CODE.
by vin_diggler
what the hell does that mean Harry? it's to early for mind games.
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Sometimes you just exacerbate me, Harry. MTM is one of the WORST films ever made and one of the all too many blights on Depalma's body of work. Red Planet is at least entertaining. MTM is a pretentious poorly-conceived knock off of 2001.
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Dante's Peak is infinitely better than Volcano, which is just an embarassing joke.
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apparently a few more minutes than the extended cut that was released on DVD
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July 26, 2011, 8:17 a.m. CST
WOW! Watched UNKOWN last night and it KICKS all kinds of ASS!
by Stabby
Better than the best parts of all three of the Bourne films put together. Without the shaky-cam! Old school well choreographed action sequences that are realistic that you can follow with a linear logic. Does everything right that an Action/Thriller should do. When each bad guy bites it it's done note perfect. Suspenseful out the ass! Liam Neeson in my opinion elevates everything he is in, but in this case all other elements of the film (writing, directing, supporting cast) are his equal. Neeson really hits his stride with this one. I loved this movie. And I am a huge fan of Bond and espionage thrillers. If you are too, or if you just want to see the best action film of the year or have a huge man crush on Liam like I do, rent Unknown!
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the end. Horrible, horrible ending which ruined the film for me.
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Im really annoyed with movies that have no real effect on the character in the end. Though I think it would have been more cliche if Bradley Cooper died in the end. I dont know I think the ending ruined an other wise pretty solid movie.
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July 26, 2011, 8:25 a.m. CST
comparing Red Planet and MTM is like comparing syphilis and gonorrhea
by KEVIN_COSTNERS_RECYCLED_PISS
I think Mission to Mars actually made me lactose intolerant from the amount of cheese they crammed in. Red Planet on the other hand was just doomed from the outset. You can just imagine the writers sat round a table saying "Ok, so they get to mars... what next? Where's the conflict come from?" "...Ummmm, how about they get picked off one by one by a robot dog they brought with them?" "Howard, you've done it again!"
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on the internet a few months back, and it was terrible! plus, that is coming from someone who likes the street fighter and mortal kombat movies (never saw annihilation but heard enough that it's not worth it). tekken should not have been made into a live action movie; there's just too much crazy to make it faithful to the material. Unless I can see a bear fighting a block of wood,or a kangaroo, it's not tekken to me...
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July 26, 2011, 8:27 a.m. CST
Harry--you talk about Landis' tragedy like it derailed his career..
by THE_CHOPPAH
The man not only survived the lawsuit with his head intact (i prolly should use a better phrase butfukkit!) but went on to an insanely good run of films through the early 90s. His run from KFM to Oscar in my book rivals Spielberg's 80s run IMO. Yeah you read that right. Time will tell if Landis will get a comeback that he deserves.
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The actors that he worked with at the time. His films from 1977-1988 were working with comics at the height of their talent. Once the peak for these performers was over, so basically was Landis' ability to put out good films because he never found the next big comic, hence not making what most consider a really good film since Coming to America (which is the last good Eddie Murphy film of his pre-family film era). Maybe things would've been different had he found someone like Jim Carrey to work with back in the early 90's. But instead he stuck with old standbys (Beverly Hills Cop 3, and Blues Brothers 2000), and as a result went on a downward spiral.
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Cube was the shit though.. But Menace II Society is a better film than Boyz..
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Hollywood doesn't really care if three people die on your film set, they just care if you can put out movies that make a profit.
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July 26, 2011, 8:32 a.m. CST
Source Code was just OK... a bit too much like Quantum Leap
by Autodidact
I liked the movie and I like the idea of exploring the "quantum parabola" accessible to our unconscious mind, which is not exactly time travel. But the movie as a whole really just resembled a long Quantum Leap episode. And certain things were so telegraphed that they didn't really pay off for me (like the bomber's identity and using Russel Peters to distract everyone at some point). Red Planet was just kinda sad. I was really hyped for some good sci-fi when it came out, and it was basically Cujo on Mars, with no likeable characters. Mission To Mars was pretty bad too. I just remember being really bored and feeling like they must have put about five minutes of thought into the ending.
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Get the fuck outta here.. let's just say he never made TImecop or Universal Soldier or Hard Target..it still wouldnt be his best film. I can tell how bad this film is by looking no further than the opening credits and seeing that it was written by Joe Eszerthas and Richard Marquand. considering the latter died many years earlier, it makes you wonder how many years this script was sitting on the shelf collecting dust till some Golan-Globus wannabe decided to launder some coke money and throw some money at an Arquette to show some bush.
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GHOSTS OF MARS!!! HAHAHAHAHA!! I love that movie. Shitty flick but I love it anyway
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July 26, 2011, 8:40 a.m. CST
Have to disagree about Dante's Peak CG "not holding up today"
by Autodidact
Some of the compositing and model effects done for Dante's Peak don't "hold up" because they were never perfect in that movie in the first place. It's part of the movie's charm that you can see a couple seams despite the $130-140 mil they spent on it. But all the CG elements in Dante's Peak - mainly smoke, flying debris, and lava - still hold up to my eye. And I just watched it last week.
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Anyway, if SOURCE CODE has a bevy of extras, I will pick that up. I found the LA BELLE ET LA BÊTE Blu last week and, thankfully, it's the Criterion DVD package - only better.
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I looked it up... $116 mil. is the avg figure I'm seeing.
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I got the impression that Harry was saying that many people think of Landis' role in the Twilight Zone tragedy, and not his films, not that the tragedy derailed his career, which it surely didn't. I think that's funny though because I actually think that it's the opposite. I mentioned the Twilight Zone thing to a friend of mine who met Landis at a horror convention a few years back and he had no clue what I was talking about.
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agreed about Landis..i tried recently to watch BHC3 and BB2000.. big mistake. BB2000 is as bad as it was when i saw it opening night. It instigated a alcohol-soaked drug binge that i ONLY recently emerged from. BHC3 fares a little better by not by much. Everyone in that film seems to be going through the motions and not even trying. Murphy obviously was doing this to rise to the top after his BO failures Boomerang and Distinguished Gentleman..but yeah he never really recovered after getting egotistical with Harlem Nights..which is the TRUE turning point in his spiral. Landis on the other hand, got another horror-comedy and farce into the theaters. Both were seen by me in the theaters and are still beloved by me to this day.
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At least according to a number of bluray review websites.
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when is that gonna be available on blu? pan/scan dvd just dont cut it anymore. WB owns SPIES LIKE US, INNOCENT BLOOD and THREE AMIGOS..who do I need to Chop to make this happen?!?!
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It'd be a better world if Mr. Belushi was still around
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I would think that at some point it will get a blu-ray since it's kind of a mid-level 1980's cult film. Innocent Blood seems like something that with the current vamp craze would eventually get a blu-ray, even though it's kind of a forgotten film, sort of seen as An American Werewolf's poor bastard child. Spies Like Us is on a bluray double feature with Funny Farm.
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July 26, 2011, 8:56 a.m. CST
My brother texted me the other day that he saw a life-sized Belushi Blues Brothers porcelain doll
by Stabby
at a store nearby where he lives. Might have to go check it out.
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You mention JOHN LANDIS these days and many people would say "Who?"--which is just depressing. But list off his films and even his music vids (two iconic long-forms) and then they go "OH!!! Yeah I love those films" Mention and even try to explain the twilight zone accident and they either say "they made a movie?" or "Who's Vic Morrow?" Explain to them that Morrow was Jennifer Jason Leigh's daughter and they say "Who?" Tell them she was in Fast Times and they quickly say "NO! that was Phoebe Cates!" In which case you are there talking to your friend all the while "Moving in Stereo" is playing in your head and then.. your friends yells at you "Stop jerking off all over me again!" TRUE STORY
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the latter would be awesome though.
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But to put THREE AMIGOS/SPIES LIKE US/INNOCENT BLOOD in the same package and you got a happy Choppah
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They mostly peak too soon, have faceless villains, their resolutions lack a sense of reward, and their human drama always fails to compete with the spectacle of distruction. At least THE HAPPENING is entertaining because it works as a parody of everything that is wrong the mechanics of the sub-genre. Making the villain a gentle breeze? That's hilarious! Making all the characters behave in ways no human would ever act? Even better!
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July 26, 2011, 9:03 a.m. CST
Never knew Ron Pearlman was Darkseid...thought I was always hearing Michael Ironside.
by MRJONZ72
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In that they both did their best work around the same time (1977-1990), and have since put out very little and seem to have been unable to adapt to modern film making (not saying that's neccessarily a bad thing).
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Always reminded me of a perfect melding of Landis and Spielberg. If there is one director that I miss, it's the guy who did The Howling, Gremlins, The 'Burbs, and Matinee.
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Ron Perlman was Clayface... my son even knows that Amoukar is the voice of Clayface.
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July 26, 2011, 9:09 a.m. CST
I kinda have to agree with you assessment of Dante and Landis thre Samuel Fulmer
by MRJONZ72
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Watched the Criterion DVD with the commentary a while back. Really great, scholarly dissection of the flick.
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Just as Reitman and Landis got excellent work outta Elmer Bernstein.
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July 26, 2011, 9:11 a.m. CST
oh okay thanks Choppah...but yeah I actually do remember Ron P being Clayface
by MRJONZ72
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He voiced Orion. Michael Ironside voiced Darkseid. SOME THINGS ARE IMPORTANT
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July 26, 2011, 9:15 a.m. CST
Reitman-Landis-Dante are the Comedic Holy Trinity of the 80s
by THE_CHOPPAH
'Nuff Said!
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that is all.
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July 26, 2011, 9:23 a.m. CST
I guess that makes Savage Steve Holland a prophet then
by Samuel Fulmer
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he just doesnt have the same volume of output..had he made more, then i would think to compare him with the others, who seem to have a film out every year (especially Landis) but two films (with many many laughs) is just a little short.. and ZAZ is also there for their AIRPLANE!-TOP SECRET-NAKED GUN punch
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This is a fun minor film that I wish had had about 3-4 times the budget it had
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What about John Hughes?
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It's excellent! While I don't believe that a full soundtrack was ever released, the main theme came out as a Mo' Wax single. Those early Mo' Wax singles are becoming more and more hard to find, so if you come across one snag it!
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July 26, 2011, 9:51 a.m. CST
Source Code was a ripoff of the TV show Seven Days, not Quantum Leap
by Mugato5150
And yes, The Blues Brothers is one of the best films ever made.
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Shame. Totally forgot about that guy. I could try to be hip and say that its uncool to mention John Hughes, who seemed to replace Tim Burton at Hot Topic but the man made some good films. I watched his films, which werent just about snotty teens, as much as Landis' oeuvre. That's why I love ya Stabby. You are the only one to keep Choppah in check
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landis skull fucked the decapitated heads of the kids, allegedly.
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And he was still acquitted. The power of young Spielberg was even strong back then.
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July 26, 2011, 10:02 a.m. CST
I’m too overwhelmed to list all of Harry’s grammar errors today, but…..
by Jeffrey
The Harry Drinking Game is ON! Do a shot every time you come across the Red Ape murdering the language!
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Back when Cuba still had the whole world at his feet. What the FUCK happened?
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That virutally disappeared in the 90's, but hey I guess he could after the boatload of money he made off of writing/producing Home Alone.
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I'm not a native English speaker, but that doesn't make any sense to me. Can you write that?
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Just a heads up, if you watch Dark Days you have got to watch the documentary "Life After the Tunnel" which is also on the disc. The follow up is as important as the film itself, and Harry probobly should have mentioned that.
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Dante's Peak... Joe Dante.
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Good luck trying to learn what any of those films is actually about.
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July 26, 2011, 10:15 a.m. CST
There's a recent interview in Empire magazine (maybe also online)
by openthepodbaydoorshal
a couple of months back with Carpenter, Dante, and Landis. Nice stuff. I'm assuming like Brazil, Universal is schlepping out Blues Brothers and Animal House on Blu without extras. Would love to see behind the scenes of the stuntwork on Blues, or auditions from Animal House...ya know, the stuff DVD's were made for? And yes, the ending of Limitless was an odd fit for what came before. But why not? If athletes can become superstars thanks to steroids, why not politicians?
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SOURCE CODE is a great film obfuscated by mediocre 'thriller' advertising. I don't know how else they could have promoted it, and it possible I ended up liking it more because I was really surprised by how thoughtful, heartfelt and clever it was. Trailer made it look like UNSTOPPABLE... BUT WITH SOME TIME TRAVEL SHIT. It is so much better. I will follow Duncan Jones anywhere. RED PLANET approaches being a good film, but it's just a bit bland and uninteresting. But MISSION TO MARS is SPECTACULARLY bad. Every single one of the characters and the decisions they make are so amazingly stupid it comes out on the other side as refreshing. I can't believe DePalma didn't know this at the time -- I feel like he just went with it and delivered the most amazing and artful sci fi comedy of all time.
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Quite the contrary. BB has both the theatrical and extended cut with remastered picture and sound. Comes with hour long doc about film, which was on the DVD ANIMAL HOUSE has some noteworthy features too. Definitely picking up BB this time around. I really dont think Criterion is gonna screw me on this one.
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July 26, 2011, 10:27 a.m. CST
Quantm Leap = Taking over bodies... 7 Days = Mission to the Past
by Autodidact
Source Code is equal parts of both. Unless he was also taking over bodies in 7 days. I never actually watched it. Wasn't he actually travelling as himself? If so, Source Code as much like Quantum Leap.
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July 26, 2011, 10:34 a.m. CST
Why would anyone watch Source Code twice in a row???
by Stormshadow4life
I wouldn't even watch my favorite movie ever twice in a row...I do have a life to lead afterall! Source Code was good, but I'd be happy going months or a year before a re-watch.
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July 26, 2011, 10:35 a.m. CST
hmmm I had to scratch my head on Harrys assessment of "Nowhere to Run" as JCVD's best film before JVCD.
by MRJONZ72
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But Duncan pretty much QL said it's what inspired him the most on Source Code that's why he cast Sam as Jake's father.
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What does lossless audio mean exactly? Also Timecop was JVCD's best film I think. Mission to mars sucked, Harry has always liked really shitty films, I don't get it.
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July 26, 2011, 11:04 a.m. CST
At my age I'm way passed the stage of watching anything twice in a row.
by knowthyself
Let alone ten times a year. Isn't that something little kids do? Jesus Harry, grow the fuck up.
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lossless audio means that what you are getting on the disc is the same digital audio quality as that of the theatrical release or perhaps even the original recording. As in, not encoded or compressed.
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But only because he banged Natasha Henstridge on a sink in the movie.
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July 26, 2011, 11:20 a.m. CST
I love Hard Target if only for the line, paraphrased...
by openthepodbaydoorshal
"Whats your name?" "Chance, cuz my mama took one..."
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July 26, 2011, 11:22 a.m. CST
come on, guys! Everyone knows JCVD's best flick is
by AKA_Gern_Blanston
hands down, no question, without a doubt DOUBLE TEAM with Dennis "the Worm" Rodman! Honestly, the concept alone boggles the mind. Take JCVD at the height of his cokehead days, add in Rainbow Brite as his partner, and send them on a mission to kick Mickey Rourke's ass? It's gold, Jerry! GOLD!
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July 26, 2011, 11:25 a.m. CST
If you made 2001 a Space Odyssey into a typical 1950's sci-fi movie
by Samuel Fulmer
You'd get Mission to Mars. Kind of an odd movie to be released in the year 2000.
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July 26, 2011, 11:26 a.m. CST
Harry, Magnificent Seven blu has been out for awhile
by AKA_Gern_Blanston
the 50th Anniversary edition of Magnificent Seven on blu ray has been out since last Fall. It's just been a Target exclusive. I know you only do movies for Amazon, and therefore ignore the vast amount of excellent films on blu ray that are exclusive to Target and Best Buy, but to even try to say with a straight face that Magnificent Seven is new next week simply because Amazon can finally carry it is beyond laughable as it has been readily available for over nine months. It is a well done blu, though.
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and not the box set collection of all the films
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Imagine Belushi showing these fucking Apatow kids and Zack Gallimimus how it's done. Imagine Belushi in a Tarantino film. Imagine Belushi with his own HBO series. Fucker should've kept dancing. http://www.hulu.com/watch/97833/saturday-night-live-dont-look-back-in-anger
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Digital music in its raw form takes up a lot of space. So what people tend to do is compress it into a much smaller package. Usually compressing the audio causes it to lose some of its quality - this is why CD's sound better than MP3's, for example - the CD isn't compressed at all. Lossless audio is compressed in such a way that it doesn't lose any sound quality at all - it sounds exactly the same as the original raw recording. Movies on Blu-Ray are the same way - if you have a nice sound system, it can play the different audio types - DTS MA, Dolby Digital +, etc. But even though those are *much* higher quality than the old DTS and Dolby Digital standards, they are still "lossy" - they still lose some audio quality. There's another type, "Lossless PCM" that is used sometimes, that is perfectly lossless; it takes up more room on the Blu-Ray which is why it isn't always used, but that's where you get the best possible sound from Blu-Ray movies.
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Do you even read this?
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Only reason that guy has a career is because his brother passed away and he was somehow able to garner that into landing roles looking for a John Belushi type.
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July 26, 2011, 12:04 p.m. CST
It would probably feel very unrealistic as you each got eaten
by Immortal_Fish
I would think it would feel quite realistic if I was being eaten.
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July 26, 2011, 12:35 p.m. CST
We have life-sized statues of the Blues Brothers in a budget movie theater
by thelordofhell
Here in Phoenix(Tempe)
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July 26, 2011, 12:49 p.m. CST
Lionheart is easily Van Damme's best film. It's pure heart and emotion.
by The Krypton Kid
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July 26, 2011, 12:50 p.m. CST
And Justice League became great in Season 2 because that's when Dwayne McDuffie began writing for the show.
by The Krypton Kid
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The guy could fill a gorilla suit, that's for sure.
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The latest Donnie Yen flick on DVD from Indominia.
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Especially the early 90s... Double Impact, Nowhere to Run, Timecop, Maximum Risk, all got some nice famous titty action.
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My god Jamie Lee Curtis!!
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July 26, 2011, 12:59 p.m. CST
And how many Belushi clones have there been over the years
by Knobules
Millions. Cough, Jack Black, cough.. Look at me I am a fat lazy wacky guy!
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..sorry, I know it's a crap movie but holy shit was Carrie Ann Moss the crazy super hottness in Red Planet. Plus I think it's the last movie Tom Sizemore did before he did went apeshit. Fuck this planet!!!
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Good info.
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July 26, 2011, 1:11 p.m. CST
Ironclad just maybe absolutely possibly definitely decidedly didn't quite assuredly undoubtedly do it
by Mattman
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But only because I love hockey. And thta's saying something considering it's the mother fucking Penguins in the movie.
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July 26, 2011, 1:47 p.m. CST
Tekken was better than both Street Fighter films (which aint sayin much) but falls somewhat below Mortal Kombat.
by Stalkeye
Gary "Fist of the Northstar" Daniels was a good choice for Brian Fury and i'm also suprised they included Yoshimitsu as well. But what the fuck is up with Kazuya? He looks more like an Asian Freddie Mercury than the VG counterpart. Good film if you're a fan of the Game itself and no doubt, that I'm forward to the CGI adaptation.
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In Manhattan on 33rd Street near 8th Avenue, there's some pub that has (almost) life-size figures of dancing Jake and Elwood positioned outside, and they're pretty good, especially Elwood (the likeness and facial expression are dead-on). Unfortunately, considering where they're located — near Penn Station, an area replete with junkies and hookers once dusk nears — I'm willing to bet those figures have been subjected to every possible degradation known to man. And speaking of Belushi-related degradation, the very worst of the Belushi/Bluto imitators has to be John DiSanti as "Gross-Out" Gumbrowski in King Frat (1979). The whole film is the most gut-bucket, bottom of the barrel Animal House knockoff that it's possible to craft (if that's even the appropriate word) and it's so fucking terrible that it's actually worth seeing to witness something so appallingly bad. And the obviously overage DiDanti, who was forty-one when the film was released, is utterly shameless in a role that multiplies Belushi's Bluto to the nth degree while stripping it of everything even resembling acting talent or humor. Seriously, you have to see it for yourself to believe it.
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July 26, 2011, 1:51 p.m. CST
RE: "And Justice League became great in Season 2 because that's when Dwayne McDuffie began writing for the show"
by Stalkeye
Exactly!!! Didn't really care for McDuffle's Icon or Deathlok, but if you ask me, he found his niche when writting perhaps some of the best stories within a comic based animated series. Long live the (late) Duffy!!
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And somehow it's not fitting that it houses a statue of John Belushi?
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July 26, 2011, 1:59 p.m. CST
Thanks Stabby, Dreamwriter for that. One more question.
by welcometothepartypal
So Blues Brothers not being lossless means the studio went cheap? That's one movie that deserves to be lossless right?
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Fucking Fact! The scene in which Hulce's character (Larry) is confronted by his two consciences when debating wether or not to "violate" his drunken date was comedic gold. That and of course Belushi: "I'm a zit, get it"? that fucker MADE the movie. Sorry but Blues Brothers can't measure up to AH's brilliance. Best lines: 1. Dean Wormer: "Mr. Blutoski, Zero...point..zero." And.." Being fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life". 2.Boone:(in a all Black Club) "My Man Otis"!! 3.lawrence's Devil/Bad conscious' reaction to Larry opting out of a potentual piece: "homo"! Instant classic and perhaps Landis' best work.
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July 26, 2011, 2:31 p.m. CST
I liked Red Planet and it was indeed leagues better than M2M.
by Ted Knight
Red Planet created a cool atmospheric and futuristic ambience. For instance, the cold white, grey, & charcoal color pallette in the opening scenes aboard the spacecraft with crew in tow, mixed with the intermittent bright fluorescent colors of the laboratory props and such. Excellent background source music including a perfectly chosen Police track amongst the happenings. I thought the robot dog worked fine as a once friendly service bot turned rogue. It would certainly scare the crap outta me if I were one of the unfortunate stranded crew members. Kilmer, Sizemore and especially Carrie Anne Moss (though her screen time was rather limited) all gave good performances plus they created a solid palpable tension between each other as distrust and paranoia began to sink in. Speaking of Carrie-Anne, it's worth the price of admission just for the shower scene which rewards us with a welcome gander at her lovely coconuts.
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July 26, 2011, 2:33 p.m. CST
Sudden Death! The fight scene with the mascot!
by openthepodbaydoorshal
I seem to remember Ebert really liking this, because he thought it was an action film parody. No. Hyams and Van Damme were deadly serious, as always. But it has many unintentional laughs, and it gave Van Damme his "Die Hard on/in a ______" movie.
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July 26, 2011, 2:39 p.m. CST
See Jim Belushi in Polanski's The Ghost Writer..
by openthepodbaydoorshal
practically unrecognizable.
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July 26, 2011, 2:46 p.m. CST
Sorry, hit *enter* instead of *backspace* one too many times.
by Ted Knight
Anyway, what I wanted to say was: I appreciate Boys In the Hood and all the other "life in the hood" movies it spawned if for no other reason it gave us the king of Hood parodies, Don't Be a Menace While Drinking... eh, you know the rest.
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Really, you still get excited over cheesy 70's soft porn and women scantily dressed on movie covers. Seriously, are you writing to the pre-pubescent crowd of AICN that still gets wood over these things or have you yourself never had sex. Are you turning 40 or 13 this year ???
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If you find the right woman--they like that shit too. Never settle for less.
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point taken, i guess we only hear harry's side instead of his wife giving the same rave reviews.
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July 26, 2011, 3:04 p.m. CST
Blues Brothers----Carrie Fisher back in the day....Yummy
by thelordofhell
Getting anal from Dan Aykroyd while John Belushi was snorting coke off her tits. Oh to be a fly on the wall for that.
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because of Natasha Henstridge not because of him. Wow! That woman was otherworldly hot in them days.
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She called Bono irrelevant to the music industry and was never taken seriously again.
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July 26, 2011, 3:52 p.m. CST
Carrie Fisher vs Dan Ackroyd - who let getting old kick them in the ass the hardest?
by openthepodbaydoorshal
Thats a hard one.
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July 26, 2011, 3:53 p.m. CST
One sly Quantum Leap reference in Source Code (SPOILERS)...
by Nasty In The Pasty
When Jake Gyllenhaal talks to his dad on the phone near the end of the film, his dead's voice is provided by Scott Bakula (who even gets to recite his trademarked "Oh boy").
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Fucky-fuck.
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I think the chick on the Monamour cover has a great ass. i'm not going to go on and on about it because I can go home and fuck my wife's ass. Harry's reviews of these soft porn movies strike me as sophmoric for someone a few months older than myself.
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And got a real kick out of the movie. It's surprisingly good. My expectations were very low, of course. I enjoyed Mission to Mars mostly because of the directing style. The mood and atmosphere. And I agree that Source Code and Limitless are both very good films with poor endings that almost ruin the movie altogether. I've seen Source Code twice and still can't really understand what they were thinking with that ending. They might have decided to go that way because a more realistic, logical ending would be kind of a downer and anticlimactic. So they went with a Hollywood ending for the popcorn munchers.
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Maybe their wife doesn't have a great ass. I mean, I love my fiancee, but she's let herself go a little. Maybe I want to see some great asses today and not the love of my life's admittedly average ass. However, I do think it's a little weird that Harry is always panting-hot about this shit. I mean, I love curvy hourglass babes as much as the next man but I'm not going to buy a fucking DVD of them naked...god forbid on BLU RAY.
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Great chemistry with nemesis Lundgren. Pretty violent movie too...they don't make ' em like that anymore... Hard target is my second favourite; John Woo, fresh from making Hard Boiled in Hong Kong; remained pretty much intact stylistically-wise speaking.
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we all agree with Harry that human civilization is headed in the right direction because of the production of soft core porn on Blu Ray.
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Learn to use a fucking comma.
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Dan Aykroyd looks like the stay-puft marshmallow man but still does movies and porks Donna Dixon all the time.........Carrie Fisher counts on Star Wars fanboys for work and also looks like the stay-puft marshmallow man and got porked by Paul Simon. Winner by a mile-----Dan Aykroyd
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Van Damme made some good almost A-movies and a few Bs that put that leaden Shane-wannabe to shame.
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That is all.
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July 26, 2011, 5:52 p.m. CST
"He wrote a fine script that got a bit mangled in the making for SPAWN. " A BIT? REALLY? Spawn is the WORST WORST WORST Superhero movie - competing with STEEL.
by Professor_Monster
spawn was on tv the other night so I watched about 15 min of it - not having seen the thing since it was in theaters and I hated it even MORE than when I first saw it. i COULDN'T BELIEVE how bad the movie was - from the effects to the acting to the cinematography, there was nowhere to hide from the horrible this film produces. The costume looks like shit - you realize just how fucking retarded the characters Todd McFarlane created really are. The clown, Spawn, Maleboggy or whatever the Devil is called - just plain GARBAGE. When the dude is killed and goes to hell screaming "Wannnnnnddddaaaaaaa!" I laughed my ass off - someone thought that was a good idea.
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July 26, 2011, 6:51 p.m. CST
Van Damme's best film was 'Nowhere to Run'?!
by Turd_Has_Risen_From_The_Gravy
Harry's impossibly shitty taste rides on high yet again. Van Damme's best film is EASILY 'Hard Target' - and specifically the unreleased, extended NC-17 workprint of it: John Woo before he derailed completely, Lance Henriksen as a terrific and intimidating bad guy, great action sequences (even if they are rehashed from 'Hard Boiled'). Actually, Van Damage is the worst thing in the movie. Time Cop and Universal Soldier weren't bad, either - certainly much better than 'Nowhere to Run'.
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That show was totally tits.
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July 26, 2011, 7:28 p.m. CST
turd_has_risen_from_the_gravy; yeah that Hard Target workprint is quite Awesome
by aphextwin
Too bad the quality lacks in large parts (as expected with rough cuts); but the level of violence is insane (in a good way) and Lance Henriksen's character got some nice depth as well
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I have never heard this. Can you name the songs that were replaced? And what songs replaced them so I can check?
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That Scott Bakula played the voice of the Dad on the phone? The pilot episode of Quantum Leap had the same plot device of trying to call his Dad in the past. Nice little in joke that you've probably all picked up on!
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don't even bother
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More problematic is the extended cut, which features several shots and sequences that vary drastically from the normal look of the film. These inconsistencies appear to be isolated to the newly inserted scenes and exhibit an overexposed and washed out appearance. The new footage doesn't match at all with the old, and what's worse is that some additions come right in the middle of original scenes, making certain shots stick out like sore thumbs. While it's nice to have the option to watch the extended cut, the inconsistent appearance of the new material makes for a distracting viewing experience. http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/3271/bluesbrothers.html
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July 27, 2011, 1:13 a.m. CST
Will we Ever get a Hard Target Unrated Director's Cut?
by cymbalta4thedevil
That's the Great Lost John Woo Film, IMHO.
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July 27, 2011, 1:22 a.m. CST
Rollerbabies title reminds me of this old movie Prayer of the Rollerboys
by Jesiah
I think it had Corey Haim in it with gangs on freakin' rollerskates/blades.
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Bloodsport is the gold standard to which all JCVD must be compared.
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earlier dvd release?
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Yeah, i need to know the answer to that, cos there nfw i'm shelling out for that Blu-ray if its not got ALL the original tracks, the old VHS rental copy i owned had the original music and whenever ITV show it over here it has the original tunes, but the dvd version is an abomination i just cant watch. The canteen scene aint funny without "Wonderful World".
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Wondering as I only saw it once back then.
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July 27, 2011, 8:29 a.m. CST
Damn! I thought I was the smart one for catching Scott Bakula's role in Source Code..
by openthepodbaydoorshal
but kudos to Mr. Jones for that casting choice. Besides the obvious comparisons to Groundhogs Day and Deja Vu, I was reminded a bit of Robocop. The hero, who's body is destroyed, finds salvation through their mind.
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You've gone from prophesizing the End of Fanboy Era with the failures of Captain America and TinTin to talking shit about Dylan Dog? Yes this might be a horse you can tame and warp into your fractured half-assed theories. How many theaters did Dylan Dog screen in? 3? You might as well try to rope Steel into you thesis for some bonus points. My, how the bitchy have fallen.
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Are you guys sure about those songs? Maybe my brain is so infused with those songs that I hear them subconsciously even though they arent there on the DVD... Could be the syphilis.
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July 27, 2011, 9:04 a.m. CST
Glad to have Animal H on dvd/blu ray. Tape is rough when pausing during sex scenes
by Knobules
Backseat of the car at the Nightclub. Come on now. Your all jerkin it to that.
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The Blu-Ray has the following feature: U-Control, The Music of Animal House: Instantly identify the songs heard while watching the film, create a custom playlist of your favorites and even purchase songs from iTunes. I think this bodes well for the original music being on the Blu. Blu-Ray.com does say that the video quality ain't all that however. Compare the transfer to American Graffiti. I agree that the cafeteria scene would be unwatchable without What a Wonderful World. That song is a perfectly juxtaposed over Bluto's absurd eating habits.
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For all the great picks, almost went through with-drawls last week cause you didn't post. I will surely be picking up the blues brothers and boy n the hood this weekend.
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Natasha Henstridge was freakin' hot!! And the movie is entertaining with some great action scenes. What more do you need?
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I think it's the last edition released on DVD a couple of years ago. It seems to have the music. Is this a matter of foregin dvds not having the original music???
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The Double Secret probation edition came out in 2005, the 30th anniversary edition dvd came out in 2008. The double secret probation one has the original music. I picked it up for 5 bucks at Wal-mart. I'm not sure about the status on the 30th anniversary dvd though.
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Lets put it this way: IF they gave Brandon Routh another shot at this , I could only hope John Landis directs. Figure it out..... See how I wrapped all that up full circle Seinfeld style :P
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July 27, 2011, 12:43 p.m. CST
Using DYLAN DOG as an example to rag on all geek movies is like
by THE_CHOPPAH
is like using Ryan Leaf as an example to disparage all NFL quarterbacks.
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I'm like Howard Hughes over here. Over here. Over here. Over here. Over here. Over here. Over here. Over here. Over here. Over here. Over here.
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I'm really looking for the real genderbender, but you'll do just fine, I'm sure.
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There is none, they all suck equally. Jean Claude Van Splits and his sucky movies brought down the era of Stallone, Norris, and Schwazenegger action movies. Jean Claude and his gay ass splits whata tool.
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July 27, 2011, 12:50 p.m. CST
lol just fired up Netflix on the 360 and one of the first movies I see suggested is "Nowhere to Run"
by MRJONZ72
Haven't seen it in about 17 years so I guess I'll watch it again to see if I think its better than just an average movie.
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thats the one i have--double secret dvd.. the 30th anniversary is a waste of time..its a doubled dip in all sense of the word and actually might even have less features than the DSPE of animal house. fukk this..im going home to clear this shit up..
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Go back in time a year ago and ask the general audiences who Scott Pilgrim is and then ask them who Iron Man, Hulk, and Captain America are.. Your theories MIGHT have worked had they not been so skewed and biased. Dylan Dog didnt work. Whatevs. Iron Man, Captain America, Dark Knight, Thor, and X-Men DID. This is the way of the business sweetie. When studios find out the Film X makes money, they try to copy said films success. It doesnt matter if the genre is superhero, animated kiddy film, Rom-Com, or FratBoy Humor. Tons of films come out in the wake of the success of ONE film, let alone many successful film. Some are forgettable and some elevate the genre and stand the test of time. Some win Academy Awards. It is your purpose to bob and weave the onslaught of these films, not bitch and whine about the medium in which they are presented. Another side of business is that studios make a shit load of money on a film, say Iron Man. and the first thing they do is want to make a sequel (to make more money)..First rule of movie business when making a successful sequel is slash the budget. you already have asses in seats from the goodwill of the first film. Promotion of The Avengers prolly doesnt need to be as much either. My point to this long winded spiel is: Get your facts straight before putting fanboy society on blast. In time, Scott Pilgrim will be seen as the Epic film it is.
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Cyborg! No kidding. Atmospheric as hell and it works although- maybe it's even because of- you can notice how extremely cheap the thing is. Scary as all fuck baddie- the punk whose house they raid in Point Break- and very likable early van Damme. As someone else pointed out already, almost all of his early stuff really delivered on the sex bits, at times almost turning them into Golden Choice softies, very appreciated; I still get a boner remembering the sucking-on-Rossana Arquette's-tit scene in Nowhere to Run which, by the way, is one of his fucking worst. Natasha Henstridge was superfuckable, too, the only reason to watch Whole Nine Yards and almost pretty much everything else she was ever in, including of course Maximum Risk. Runner-ups: Wrong Bet (how they retitled Lionheart over here), Universal Soldier (raw Devlin-Emmerich), and Black Eagle (co-starring, if I'm not awfully wrong, Sho Kosugi). I, sadly, was never all that into his slick Hollywood, Peter Hyams-helmed flicks, although I watched them all religiously. I always loved the guy. Finally, if you can get your hands on this really early work- I think, not totally sure, that it was his very first- where he plays the villain, a russian kickboxer who's got to slug it out against this american teen trained by the ghost of Bruce Lee...,well, then do it.
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of course you dont see the hulk in the TEASER trailer...they prolly havent finished the effects for it. We still have an ENTIRE year for them to finish post-production. if its anything like the first two hulks i wont worry. and the pre-art i've seen looks great.
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Today after reading some of the comments here. It's got all the music. I've searched some other sights and it seems to be overseas dvds that have the music changes, so maybe those who live outside region 1 are the ones who don't have the original soundtrack on their dvds.
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July 27, 2011, 1:25 p.m. CST
Nah I wouldnt say all JVCD flicks suck I enjoyed Hard Target a lot def my fav. Hell its the only JCVD movie I own
by MRJONZ72
Its the movie that got me importing John Woo movies right after watching it...I had read about Woo and his movies in some mags but never seen one, granted after watching Hard Boiled 2 months afterwards I noticed a couple of action scenes recreated for Hard Target but oh well it was first foray into Hollywood. But I was shock to discover the in-depth characters and themes in his HK movies (along with the action scenes). Damn that was a long time ago..need to watch Red Cliff. But as far as JCVD.. I haven't seen them in a long time but also thought Timecop and Maximum Risk was decent too..when it comes to Universal Soldier I seem to only watch the end for some reason not the whole movie, but still though those movies and even Sudden Death I felt were better entertainment than Nowhere To Run. I dont think NTR is a bad movie its definitely better than Cyborg which I thought was the bottom of the barrel of JVCD films (or action films in general) during his pre direct to video days here in the states.
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God Bless America! I knew I wasn't crazy. Thanks for the update. Drinks are on me
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July 27, 2011, 1:31 p.m. CST
eloy I guess we agree to disagree on Cyborg lmao I just now seeing ur post..but the one he played the russian kickboxer sluggin it out with the teen.............
by MRJONZ72
trained by Bruce Lees ghost is No Retreat No Surrender that was made by Corey Yeun...good fight scenes in that..JVCD is pretty bad (I mean that in a good way)...Now I know Ive seen Black Eagle but its been so damn long I can barely remember much about it but yes that movie did have Sho Kosugi in it.
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Avengers needs to have a huge budget. At least twice the size of one of the individual Avenger films. Marvel owes it to us. They've been building this shit up for years now. It all has been leading to the Avengers. Avengers needs to deliver on the Avenging. The fact that they slashed its budget is worrisome and frankly a slap in the face to all the fans who have been following this grand experiment. And it's not just fanboys. When I went to see Captain America over the weekend more then half the audience stayed through the credits to see the button or whatever defuck its called. Don't let us down Marvel.
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Slimmer budgets force directors to be artistically creative, to focus their action scenes, and to build characters rather than drowning them in CG. Once again, Blenderbender is talking out of its ass.
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July 27, 2011, 2:04 p.m. CST
thetoiletbrush, this one is from the first line of the first review this week
by jim
Harry wrote: "When you’re watching THE BLUES BROTHERS – there is no film better."
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agreed with mattman. An out of control budget is a lot more worrisome than no budget at all. and by all accounts NOT genderblender, Avengers still has a pretty good sized budget, just not one exponentially bigger. She craves a budget 6 times as big so she can get six times as moist when it doesnt make all that money back, thus becoming a failure. I trust Marvel in the way they've handled the films thusfar and none have turned into debacles like Superman 4. Im sure Batman & Robin had a bigger budget compare to the first film.
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Whenever this film is mentioned everyone mentions how alike to Quantum leap it is. What suprises me is how everyone fails to mention that the film in its own way aknowledges it. Coilter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal ) makes a phone call to his dad in the movie. His dad is voiced by none other than Scott Bakula (Sam Beckett in Quantum Leap) How Awesome is that?
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First you snub Total Recall as only the second best Mars movie in an AFTERTHOUGH, then you say it was Ron Pearlman who voiced Darkseid when it was Ironside. Why don't you bemoan how they ruined Seaquest by replacing Roy Scheider and go for a strike three!!!
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I just don't want to see corners cut. Make no mistake, this movie is going to require massive Special Effects including cgi. That said, I too want to see Whedon focus on character and story over computer generated graphics. That said, imagine an Avengers film with 6X the budget of Iron Man DONE RIGHT! I think I may falling under blender's wicked womanly spell.
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July 27, 2011, 4:38 p.m. CST
All I really want to know is: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Criterion Blu - what kind of restoration have they made to the image?
by Jeff Myers
Cocteau’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST - brilliance!
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July 27, 2011, 4:49 p.m. CST
And for the record, I saw chocolat..just delightful.
by The_guy_in_the_rated_R_movie
Grannies on Sybians....
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Even though I hated "Superman Returns", I thought Brandon Routh's performance was the only good thing about the movie. In particular, I liked how he played Supes as the real guy, while Clark Kent was someone that genuinely threw people off from suspecting his true identity. And I really loved his work in "Scott Pilgrim".<br /> <br /> I'm also a big fan of Sam Huntington's performance on "Being Human", probably the only BBC remake that I like as much as the original. That said, I want to check out Dylan Dog just for the actors, although I think the movie was doomed to failure before it ever went before the cameras (Mainstream audiences just don't see movies called Dylan Dog).<br /> <br /> I can't extoll any virtues of "Red Planet" but it's a great movie to watch stoned. I guarantee you Val Kilmer was ingesting the green stuff when he made this movie. It's the only way you can make sense of his performance. Plus, the alien spiders were pretty cool. I hated "Mission to Mars" but enjoyed "Red Planet" in a so-bad-it's-good kind of way.<br /> <br /> As far as volcanoes are concerned, someone should make a movie about the supervolcano under Yellowstone park erupting. It's seismic activity has increased recently and there's a pretty good chance it'll blow soon ("soon" being relative to geological time, let's say in the next thousand years).
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See above
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Dylan Dog has sealed his fate. Hallmark TVM's await
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In a world where most documentaries are thinly disguised political ads, DD succeeded wildly in telling a completely apolitical story that still made you want to examine the way we deal with the homeless. Incredible stuff.
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I thought (and still think) that it looked great, but the story and the characters really did absolutely nothing for me. I found it terribly overrated after it received so much hype. I should probably try it again and see if I feel any different.
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I’m just trying to have a good time here, these talk-backs are supposed to make you laugh people. Don’t take things so serious as someone on this talk-back used to say. I cant help I have a large thought and then it just piles over onto the talk-back. Sometimes my thoughts will be small and ill say a word or two. Just so you know its all in fun but never mind that for now lets get back to talking about film. I think MUNICH is SPEILBERGS best film but my dad favors ALWAYS. You know I can stick my entire hand up my ass cause I was gang-raped last year, no joke there, it hurt! Those fuckers never got caught cause I was afraid to tell anyone, then I turned gay so I guess it didn’t matter. If I had to pick between buying LOTR on blu-ray or STAR WARS, I would for sure go for the light saber y’all! For all of those who didn’t like the prequels, you are stupid as fuck. LUCAS has controlled of your life, he made sure you would always work a dead end job and be stuck! He made sure EWEN MCGREGOR would never be a leading man again after he talked smack about THE PHANTOM MENACE! Just let that be a warning to all you cum gobblers out there! Any whore, I thought THE MATRIX was great, didn’t really like RELOADED but thought the last one was ok. Anyone who likes AVATAR must realize that THE SMURFS movie will be better. I cant stand people that do reviews in BLOGS, and I think ever since EBERT lost his jaw he has lost his mind! You know he gave THOR ½ stars or something like that, and he talked shit about that JACKASS dude that died, I hope his cancer kills him slowly! Peter Travers is usually on point, except for the reviews for the STAR WARS PREQUELS, so as a matter of fact I hope he dies of AIDS! HARRY is usually good as well but he said he feel asleep during INCEPTION, so I curse him with the IRISH curse! I tend to hate remakes and the remake of OLDBOY they are making with SPIKE LEE just makes my brain pop, I mean well have DENZEL WASHINGTON going around beating up the KKK and saying “GODZILLA AINT GOT SHIT ON ME!” I hope they both die before this actually happens and the people who produce it. Do you think it is a little much to use the words dead for people that make movies, your probably right for sure, but it’s about the same as sports fans reactions, and I don’t watch sports, I got man boobies, so I really wouldn’t know actually. Is it just me or does Peter Jackson get more credit for LOTR more so than the author, a paradox this is! Why can’t AICN have a music section for hip-hop, rock n roll, and death metal, that would be heaven and I forgot I’m living in hell as a wise RASTA once said. Why do you think black guys have big dicks and most white dudes don’t pass six inches, I think it might have been a curse from the GODS above, whatever we did I sure am sorry about it. Is it just me or is SEAN PENN wound up just a little to tight with politics, doesn’t he realize that type of behavior only works at the OSCARS. Time is funny as life goes on cause you realize how ugly you are now and how hot you were when you actually thought you were ugly when in all reality you weren’t, so you junior high kids, enjoy it while it last. Do you all consider this to be anarchy or just me being a douche bag, id rather be a douche bag than be a fan of TWILIGHT! By the way, has there ever even been a good review on this website for a TWILIGHT movie? Please let me know before hell freezes over. Why is TOM HANKS so nice, I mean I heard he is so nice that you cant really ever say anything bad about him, you would be considered a real jackass or jerk if you did. I’m trying to figure out one bad thing to say and its hard to do but here it is, LARRY CROWN & THE DA VINCI CODE! Does anyone know when that LEO kid from TITANIC will win an OSCAR, I mean he was in THE DEPARTED and still couldn’t win! Have you ever seen a woman fuck a turtle, its kind of gross, but I’m sure there babies will be pretty. Well I think I’m starting to run out of ideas here, I have been going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and goinggoing and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going ! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU WE WONT STOP!
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Just for the bit where the old woman hurls herself into the lake full of acid. I laughed like a drain.
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Somehow I didn't see that one up there. Headin to Amazon now.
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Alien 4 is a great looking movie... but Jeunet's quirky style, while perfect for Amelie, was not appropriate for the established Alien universe... nor was Whedon's screenplay. It shits on the entire franchise. Say what you will about Alien 3 (and I've said plenty myself), but at least the tone fits within the prior movies.
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The character is such a dumb twat. I agree, when she tosses herself into an acid lake it just feels right.
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Get your facts right Harry!
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While both Mission to Mars and Red Planet were weak, Mission to Mars was the lesser of two evils. I had high hopes for Mission to Mars given the talent involved, but it was a massive fail. And Dante's Peak was the better volcano movie also. Neither was worth adding to a DVD collection.
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